Fate: I Heard After Death, You Can Ascend to the Throne of Heroes?

I'm letting go. So go and seek her, your true goddess.

No one could have predicted that Hera would say this or make such a decision.

For she was Hera, queen of the Olympian gods, the most exalted goddess of her era.

And she loved Promise dearly, even more than her own children, caring for him in a way she had never shown anyone else.

Not to mention, everyone, both gods and mortals living on the earth, knew of her infamous jealousy and fierce possessiveness.

But now, contrary to everything expected of her, Hera, who should have never let go, let go of the hand that was tightly holding Promise at this very moment...

This scene was just like the "golden apple for the fairest goddess."

It was as if Hera, who had long possessed the golden apple that all other gods envied, had carefully cradled it as a treasure in her hands—only to set it down on this day.

It was so incredible...

"H- Goddess Hera…"

Coming back to his senses, Promise stammered, feeling lost as to what to do as he looked at Hera. "Did I do something wrong? Did I do something that I shouldn't have done to disappoint or anger you, making you want to abandon me?"

Promise was utterly bewildered.

But hearing her words, Hera shook her head gently.

Then looked at Promise with the same gentleness as always and said in a warm soft voice. "Of course not, Promise. You have always been my pride. I have always been proud to be your goddess."

"Then…"

"Then…"

Promise looked at Hera, even more confused.

Hera looked back at him, her beautiful amber eyes reflecting his image, but in that moment, she felt that figure seemed much more immature

Looking at the boy, she seemed to see Promise, who had just come down from the mountains.

In reality, only a little over two years had passed since then.

Yes, it had only been three years since she first met Promise and have come all the way to now.

For immortal beings like the gods, three years was nothing but a blink, a fleeting moment that could pass even in a brief nap.

"Child, do you remember how we first met?"

Hera spoke softly, smiling. "Of course you remember; how could you forget? After all, the painting you dedicated to me is engraved with that past... It was perhaps a joke that fate played on me, and it seems to be destined."

"I set out to find Jason, but found you instead. You weren't him, yet you surpassed anyone I could have hoped for.

"And before I knew it, you were the only one left in my sight, as if the world had granted me its most precious gift. Even now, I still think of you that way."

Promise felt himself calm, his emotions settling as he looked at the graceful goddess before him and sat down beside her.

Then, after a moment of silence, he said. "To be honest, Goddess Hera, in the beginning, I approached you with a bit of a purpose in mind."

"I wanted to become a hero, but I was so weak. Under such circumstances, you, who were the most exalted goddess, were the one most likely to help me achieve that dream."

Hera was the queen of the gods. Although she was jealous and suspicious, and there were many records of her being a villain in mythology, this was mainly related to marriage, which was easy to avoid in Promise' opinion.

Although Hera was not like Athena, who could use her wisdom to point out the way forward, if necessary, she could make the whole world revolve around Promise.

In the original ancient Greek mythology, Jason, who was protected by her, actually did nothing at all.

Hera compelled the gods to arrange everything, gathering heroes to Jason's side and leading him to the Golden Fleece.

She even helped him marry Medea, which brought him great fortune—despite the tragedies that would follow.

Although Medea was later seen as the villainous witch responsible for Jason's future tragedy, in fact, it was a blessing for Jason to marry Medea.

Medea was not only one of the two students of the great goddess Hecate, she was also a princess, and more importantly, the blood of gods flowed in her body.

Even in the entire Type-Moon world..entire Nasuverse, her heritage showed through her elf-like pointed ears.

Medea was the granddaughter of Helios, the sun god, and Perse, a Titaness of the ocean.

"I know."

Hearing Promise's honest confession, Hera wasn't angry. Instead, she smiled and said,

"I've always been watching over you, after all. Whether it was the trial by the goddess of justice, Themis, your bringing Persephone to Hades, or your boldness in leading the charge on Olympus and firing an arrow at Athena not long ago, each of these moments revealed your courage and wisdom.

"So…" she continued, "how could the young you possibly not have recognized that the old woman in disguise was, in fact, me—Queen Hera?"

As she spoke, Hera turned her head, gazing out the window toward the distant heavens, meeting the eyes of the gods who was watching them from afar. She continued, "That's why I never wanted to let go. Because I knew very well that if I let you go, they would all rush in to try to claim you.

"And honestly… I'm not sure I could win at all."

Hera's words slightly changed Promise's expression,

Only if one didn't look closely, they wouldn't find at all.

"After all, whether it's Athena or that Fate who always holds you close, Clotho, they are both better suited to help you than I can and perhaps even care more for you than I do.

"And you… clearly care more about them too."

After she finished speaking, the room fell into silence.

The dim candlelight flickered, mingling with the moonlight that lit the room.

"If that's true, Lady Hera, then why are you making this choice?"

Promise did not refute.

After all, no matter whether he wanted to refute it at the moment, lies were useless to Gods, so all he could do was admit it frankly.

"Lady Hera, though I did initially approach you with a purpose, I truly came to see you as my goddess."

"Yeah." Hera nodded with a gentle smile. "I know."

This had been clear during the incident with Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship.

By then, Promise had already fully accepted her.

Hera then continued, "And I also knew that the day you showed me that painting, I understood everything.

"Even if you preferred Athena and Clotho, you would never change your loyalty on a whim. As long as I didn't ask you to, you would likely continue worshiping me forever."

"Then…"

Hearing this, Promise couldn't help but look at her, with even more confused.

Now that the end of his journey was approaching, he really didn't understand why Hera would suddenly abandon him during this period of time.

"If you want to know the reason, I think it should be... jealousy."

And with that, Hera gave Promise a completely unexpected answer.

"Just as everyone says, I am indeed a very troublesome goddess—and I am not unaware of this."

Since she had already made her decision, and since she was in front of Promise, talking to the boy, Hera spoke with unusual frankness.

"I am jealous and suspicious, and I have a strong possessiveness.

I know it all."

"So, when I saw that you favored Athena and Clotho more, I was so overwhelmed with jealousy, envying them for winning your admiration so easily. And I wanted to defeat them, to make you focus on me alone!"

...

Wait, what?

Goddess Hera, this sudden transformation into a yandere with a knife… where is this going?

What on earth are you trying to do?