Jason, holding Athena's directional pointer, circled Persephone a few times.
Seeing that the pointer remained fixed on her, he finally confirmed that the breathtaking blonde-haired, golden-eyed woman before him was indeed Persephone!
He then took a careful look around, patiently waiting in place for over ten minutes to ensure that the nymphs outside wouldn't barge in uninvited.
After all, anyone with eyes could tell that Persephone was in a bad mood.
Dressed in a pale yellow gown, she gazed out of the temple window at the scenery beyond, sighing softly from time to time.
Having observed enough, Jason made up his mind and called out softly, "Lady Persephone… Lady Persephone, can you hear me?"
"Hm?" Startled by the unexpected voice, Persephone instinctively glanced around, puzzled.
"Lady Persephone, I am Hecate's student. My teacher sent me to help you. Right now, I'm wearing Lord Hades' Helm of Invisibility on temporary loan. Could you pretend you don't hear anything and quietly go close the door?"
Hearing Jason's words, Persephone froze for a moment. But when she caught the names Hecate and Hades, a flicker of excitement flashed through her eyes, quickly shifting to joy. Silently, she nodded and stood up to shut the door.
"I'm going to rest. Unless I summon you, do not enter under any circumstances. Understood?"
"Yes, esteemed Lady Persephone."
The nymphs, spirits of nature and minor goddesses, naturally wouldn't dare to disobey her.
Though Demeter had sternly ordered them to keep a close watch over Persephone before leaving to meet with Apollo, Artemis, and Athena, they had no way of knowing that someone had already slipped inside!
As soon as Persephone closed the door and released her divine power to envelop the area, Jason—without needing a prompt—sensibly removed Hades' Helm of Invisibility. Once his figure was fully revealed, he immediately bowed in respect.
"Esteemed Lady Persephone, I am Jason, Hecate's unworthy student. It is an honor to meet you!"
"…There's no need for such formality, child."
Seeing the young boy before her, Persephone's eyes flashed with mild surprise.
"I'm quite close with your teacher… Hm?"
As she spoke, she took a closer look at Jason, then hesitated. "On you… aside from Hecate's aura, why do I also sense Athena, Apollo, Artemis, and Hermes?"
"Lady Persephone," Jason replied, "this robe I wear was a gift from the great Goddess of Wisdom, Athena. It has guided my way here.
"This golden sword was loaned to me by the great God of Light, Apollo, and with it, I was able to cut through all dangers along my journey.
"The great Moon Goddess, Artemis, lent me her Golden-Horned Stag, allowing me to cross mountains and rivers from Arcadia to reach this place.
"And finally, the great Lord Hermes provided me with Lord Hades' Helm of Invisibility, as well as winged sandals and a magic staff, enabling me to slip past your mighty mother, Lady Demeter, unseen.
"Overcoming every obstacle, I have finally arrived before you."
Persephone blinked several times, stunned.
"And right now, the great God of Light, Apollo, has hidden the sun's glow. The great Moon Goddess, Artemis, has shrouded the moonlight. The great Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, has ensured that Lady Demeter remains unaware of what is happening here.
"Please, Lady Persephone, take Hades' Helm of Invisibility, put on the winged sandals, and take the magic staff. Use them to escape this mountain range. Artemis' Golden-Horned Stag and Lord Hermes will be waiting outside to receive you."
As Persephone gradually recovered from her daze, she looked at the boy handing her the items and couldn't help but ask, "But if I leave… what about you?"
"Lady Persephone, you need not worry about me," Jason said confidently. "After all, I am Hecate's student."
With that, he reached into the pouch Athena had given him and pulled out a glowing feather infused with the Underworld's aura—something Hecate had entrusted to him before his journey.
Seeing this, Persephone finally accepted the three artifacts from Jason's hands.
Before departing, she hesitated for a moment and looked at the young boy before her.
"Child, will we meet again?"
"Of course, esteemed Lady Persephone," Jason replied with a beaming smile.
Of course, we'll meet again—I still need you to forge my soul with Underworld fire!
"Jason, then… once this is over, I will make sure to repay you properly, brave child."
After gazing at him deeply, Persephone stepped toward the window, donned Hades' Helm of Invisibility, slipped on the winged sandals, and flew away into the night.
Watching the now-invisible Persephone disappear into the distance, Jason was momentarily dumbfounded.
Wait a minute… why did I go through the front door again? And Lady Persephone… why do you seem so experienced at this?
Shaking his head to dispel such thoughts, Jason walked over to a nearby torch, its flames piercing through the darkness. Taking Hecate's feather, he set it alight.
As the feather burned, it crumbled into shimmering embers. These embers grew larger, merging together into a cluster of glowing Underworld butterflies. As they swirled in the air, they eventually coalesced into a strikingly beautiful goddess—Hecate, clad in a flowing black gown, her long dark hair cascading down to her waist.
"Where is Persephone?"
"Teacher Hecate, she has already left."
Jason quickly recounted everything that had happened. At the end of his report, he couldn't help but grumble, "Teacher Hecate, don't you think Lord Hermes is… a bit of a trickster?
"I only realized halfway through my journey that Hades' Helm of Invisibility only works for one person! If you hadn't been backing me up, I'd have been completely doomed!"
"Hm… I don't think Hermes is to blame," Hecate mused. "But he did use his talents to mislead you, catching you off guard."
After a brief pause, she added thoughtfully, "If I had to guess, I'd say Athena put him up to it."
"Athena?" Jason was stunned.
As far as he could recall, he had never done anything to offend the Goddess of Wisdom!
"It's because she can no longer play her game with you…" Hecate chuckled. "She's already figured out that Artemis leaked her plan, so she'll probably be giving Artemis some trouble for a while.
"And so, as compensation, she decided to give you a little problem to solve at the end of all this… She knew you'd be fine, since I was watching over you."
Hecate smiled as she ruffled Jason's hair. "But because of that, I have some rather unfortunate news for you."
She knew Jason wanted nothing to do with the gods, finding them too much trouble. That made what she was about to say even funnier.
"Originally, knowing Athena's personality, she would've played a few more games with you before letting you go."
"But after tonight's events… Congratulations, Jason—you've now caught the attention of one of the most troublesome gods in all of Olympus! In other words, you're completely marked!"