chapter 27 (edited)

Every day, these heroes could sleep with a different woman, facing no dangers as long as they could meet the women's demands. They had the strength to farm, but they chose to indulge instead. "We are heroes, and you are mere commoners. Why should we farm when we can enjoy ourselves?" This arrogant mindset seemed perfectly normal in their world.

Cyd sat on the ship's mast, watching the heroes argue over trivial matters below. Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom, had found him the night they left the Kingdom of Women and kept her promise.

"I'll teach you how to gain the blessing of Ares, the god of war," Athena's confident voice echoed in Cyd's mind.

Indeed, Ares' blessing was among the hardest to obtain, even more difficult than Hades'. While Athena symbolized peaceful war strategies, Ares represented pure, brutal warfare. It seemed almost impossible to gain his favor, especially considering Hephaestus' past humiliations of Ares. Yet Athena was confident.

"The girl might be stubborn, but if you show your bravery and fierceness, she'll be pleased," she had said.

"Another goddess, huh?" Cyd covered his face, feeling exasperated. "Wasn't taking Hephaestus' male identity enough? Now it's Ares? Might as well turn Zeus into a goddess too! Oh, wait, that's already happened, thanks to Heracles."

Cyd leaned back against the mast, resigned. Pleasing the goddess of wisdom required intellect, and pleasing the god of war required displays of valor. Starting a war was out of the question, so he would have to demonstrate his bravery.

The argument below grew louder. "How long are they going to argue?" Cyd asked Atalanta, who stood beside him.

"Who knows? Since we left that island, they've been itching for the next one, hoping for more pleasures," Atalanta scoffed. "But Heracles insists we have enough supplies and there's no need to stop. Only a few support him, though."

"Let me guess, Jason wants to head to the island?" Cyd rolled his eyes.

"Though he's the leader, Jason knows who the heroes really trust. He's aligning himself with the majority to maintain his position," Atalanta glanced at Jason, who was negotiating with Heracles. "It's a smart move."

"If Heracles were the leader, this journey wouldn't be such a farce," Cyd stretched. "Well, I've decided not to get involved anymore."

"You're leaving at the next island?" Atalanta's eyes flickered.

"No, I just won't disembark. My gut tells me these guys will cause more trouble," Cyd tapped his head.

"Even if I don't join them, I'll still go hunting," Atalanta sighed in relief.

"Hey, Atalanta, could you bring back some food?" Cyd grinned, tugging at her sleeve. "I'm dying from eating this ship's dried rations."

Atalanta's lips twitched. "Is that an order?"

"It's a request."

"I'll think about it if I'm full," she turned away, ignoring Cyd.

At that moment, the argument on deck finally ended. Once again, the Greek heroes chose to disembark at the next island, leaving Heracles behind.

"I hope the next island is Colchis!" Heracles prayed, but he knew it was unlikely. Even as Zeus' son, reaching Colchis wouldn't be easy. If it were, Jason's uncle wouldn't have sent him on this quest.

Yet, within half a day, an island appeared on the horizon.

"Bye-bye! I'll watch the ship," Cyd waved at Heracles.

"Thanks," Heracles sighed, following the group. He increasingly felt like he was there just to clean up their messes.

Atalanta glanced at Cyd before leaving.

"They're gone," Cyd said, curling up his legs. "Time to come out, god."

Five minutes passed...

"Wrong guess," Cyd muttered, embarrassed. He had no special sensing abilities, just a hunch that a god might show up.

"How did you know I was here?" Hermes poked his head out.

"Not wrong after all!" Cyd grinned. "Why have you come, Hermes? Did I offend another god?"

"Not at all! I'm here to help you," Hermes slung an arm around Cyd's shoulder, pointing toward where Jason's group had gone. "You made the right choice staying behind."

"Looks like my instincts were right," Cyd narrowed his eyes.

"A Cyclops is living on this island," Hermes gestured toward the sea. "One of Poseidon's sons."

"I should jump into the sea now and hope I don't drown," Cyd's mouth twitched. The last thing they needed was to anger Poseidon.

"You won't sink," Hermes pointed to Cyd's left wrist. "Haven't you noticed? You've already received the third god's blessing."

"What?!" Cyd's mouth dropped open, noticing a blue crystal glowing on his wrist. "That wasn't there before!"

"You might think the gods see you as just a mortal, but Poseidon, the second most powerful god, values you. He blessed you even before you received that bracelet. He blessed you again when you decided not to go ashore," Hermes smiled. "You've achieved what ordinary people can't. You're undeniably a hero."

"I'm just an ordinary person with some quirks," Cyd shrugged. "You didn't come just to tell me about the blessing, did you?"

"Because of my blessing, I can't lie to you," Hermes shrugged. "So, I won't beat around the bush. It's about Artemis."

"Can I take back what I said?"

"Unfortunately, no."