NOVEL NEXT Chapter 117: I’ll leave her in your care!
Meanwhile, on the other side:
Well... Promise had already become somewhat accustomed to such transportation.
So he did not act surprised or afraid, instead, he slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in the Underworld, specifically in the temple of Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft.
The magical artificial sun, as always, illuminated the temple.
As soon as the boy opened his eyes and started to take in his surroundings, a cool voice reached his ears.
"I have to say, kid, you've got some guts."
Hecate's voice echoed in the temple reaching Promise's ears.
"I haven't seen you many times, but during that period, you took Persephone through the Underworld, stirred up trouble with Hephaestus, and now you've even gone on a hunt for Hermes!"
Hearing the voice, the boy turned his head, and Hecate, who was sitting next to him, appeared in his emerald eyes.
Her long black dress flowed like the night, her beautiful dark hair cascaded down her back, and her bright red eyes glowed with an otherworldly allure.
Probably because Promise had already seen her face before, Hecate no longer bothered with her veil.
Moreover, she was smiling, which was rare—evidently, she found the whole Hermes fiasco quite entertaining.
Beside Hecate sat Medea, holding a staff and dressed in a purple magical gown.
From the moment Promise appeared here, the girl had been extremely tense, avoiding eye contact and keeping her head down.
With the help of Hecate that day, after witnessing the creation of six of Promise's paintings, Medea not only clearly understood what kind of person Promise was, but also found out that she couldn't forget him even if she wanted to.
Coming back to his senses, and seeing Hecate and then glancing at Medea in front of him, Promise was about to greet them when he felt something tugging at his pant leg.
Looking down in confusion, he found the three-headed dog, Cerberus, now reduced to the size of a regular dog, with all three heads staring up at him expectantly, almost as if the creature was about to bark.
Promise had promised Cerberus honey cakes a while back, and the loyal dog had been waiting ever since.
In fact, Cerberus had even bitten Hermes for this!
"Oh, Cerberus, here's the honey cake I promised you." Realizing this, Promise quickly took out the honey cakes from the bag and to avoid getting bitten he handed them out one by one to each of Cerberus's heads.
The latter wagged its tail happily the entire time until Promise noticed there was one extra honey cake.
Well.. Cerberus had three heads and there were four cakes.
Holding the last honey cake, Promise noticed that Cerberus had suddenly stopped everything it was doing.
At this moment, his all three heads were staring intently at him,
Looking at those eyes glowing with a green light, the boy couldn't help but roll his eyes at Athena in his heart.
Even when she's not around, she still manages to cause trouble.
As expected of Athena!
Promise thought to himself and then looked at Hecate, who was enjoying the spectacle.
An idea popped into his head, and he smiled, "Goddess Hecate, would you like some honey cake?"
As soon as he uttered such words, Cerberus's three heads stopped vying for the cake and turned to look at Promise, clearly shocked that he dared to offer their mistress a honey cake.
Hecate blinked, and then in a flash, appeared in front of Promise, tapping the boy on the head with her staff, scolding, "You brat, what do you think you're doing? Trying to feed me like a dog?"
"Ow!" Promise exclaimed, taking a death, rubbing his head, his eyes widening. "That hurt!"
"Of course, it hurts. I used magic to directly hit your soul... What, did you think I'd be gentle with you like Hera or Athena? I'm not interested in being gentle with you."
She scolded him, then nonchalantly took the honey cake from Promise's hand and bit into it before walking away.
...Didn't she just say she didn't want it?
Promise was speechless as he watched Hecate, who seemed to have no care for her image as a goddess, walk off.
He rubbed his head and then looked over at Cerberus, who was now happily munching on the honey cake off to the side.
After a moment of thought, Promise turned back to Hecate and said, "Goddess Hecate, I have a trial that requires me to take Cerberus with me. Is that okay?"
"Ask him yourself. If he agrees, just paint him a picture."
Hearing this, Promise squatted down in front of Cerberus and asked, "Is that okay, Cerberus?"
Cerberus looked at Promise for a moment, then placed one of the honey cakes on the ground and set a paw on it, giving Promise a knowing look as if to say 'You understand'.
"Deal!" Promise understood instantly and patted his chest, assuring the three-headed hellhound, "You'll have all the honey cakes you want!"
Cerberus barked happily in response.
With Cerberus's agreement secured, Promise turned around to find Hecate standing next to her student.
Seeing Medea staring silently at her in complete, the goddess broke off a small piece of the honey cake and fed it to her.
"Dear teacher, could you please try to maintain your dignity as a goddess?" Medea sighed, and the nervousness in her heart disappeared.
"What are you talking about?" Hecate ate her honey cake and replied vaguely, "How could I not pay attention to my goddess image!
"I'm always dignified!"
Well...Medea chose not to respond anymore.
Just then, Promise also walked over.
"Long time no see, Medea," and greeted with a smile.
Upon hearing his voice and realizing that Promise had come so close to her, Medea, who was stunned for a moment, suddenly stood up, even took two steps back, hugged her staff nervously, and was speechless for a while.
Too nervous to speak.
"Hmm..." Seeing such extreme reaction, Promise was stunned for a moment, then looked at Hecate in confusion and said, "Goddess Hecate, did I do something to make Medea angry?"
"No, no, she's just a bit shaken." Hecate looked at her stiff student with amusement and spoke to Promise. "Oh, by the way, I have a favour to ask you. Could you take my student to Aeaea Island? My other student, Circe, will take care of her there."
Promise blinked at the mention of Circe and instinctively recalled the legends surrounding her and as he did so, his expression couldn't help but turn a bit complicated.
After all, the myths and legends surrounding this which aren't exactly favourable—visitors are often transformed into various animals, and she's known for her capricious and temperamental nature.
Moreover, Promise, who had been transported by Hecate multiple times, understood very well that with the power this goddess possessed, Hecate only needed to cast a spell, and there was no need for his help.
However, despite these thoughts, he readily agreed as he spoke, "Yes, no problem, Goddess Hecate. After all, Medea is my friend too."
The reason was simple, even if he didn't fully understand Hecate's intentions and didn't know what this goddess was thinking at all.
Since getting to know her, this goddess had actually helped him several times.
Even though the look of disdain on her face had never completely disappeared...
As Promise was thinking this, Hecate pushed Medea, who had a blissful expression after hearing the word "friend," saying,
"Hey, wake up, wake up.
Stop daydreaming, others are watching... You, telling me to pay attention to my image—do you have any right to say that?"
Hearing this, Medea snapped out of it, blinking and looking at Hecate, then glancing at Promise, who was tilting his head in confusion. Suddenly flustered, she blushed and shouted,
"Goddess Hecate!
You, You, You what are you saying in front of Promise?!"
"Sigh, why did I take in such a troublesome girl as my follower?" Hecate was very depressed.
Medea was also very depressed, wondering how the goddess she worshipped could be like this.
When she was quiet and sitting elegantly, she still exuded an air of mystery, grace, and beauty!
"Anyway, I'll leave her in your care."
Hecate turned her gaze back to Promise, and paused before continuing to speak, "Though she's a troublesome student, she's also one of only two I have. Promise, I don't want to see her get hurt, especially... in that future!"
Hearing this, Promise paused for a moment, before looking at the rare serious and solemn side of Goddess Hecate and finally understood what was going on.
So he smiled, nodding as he said, "Yes, I understand."
"Don't worry, Goddess Hecate, I'll make sure of it. After all... I had already promised Jason before agreeing to you."
"Then it's settled." Hecate, feeling relieved by his words, softened her gaze towards Promise, smiling lightly.
"Yes, it's settled." As he looked at the smiling goddess, Promise couldn't help but think that she was surprisingly beautiful when she smiled, as he nodded in agreement.
Hearing this, Medea looked at Promise, then at Hecate, feeling a bit confused.
She felt as if, at that moment, she was being sold by her teacher...