"Child, where are you planning to go now?"
When Promise happily agreed to Apollo's request, the latter, smiling gently, asked him.
Hearing this, Promise hesitated for a moment before tactfully telling Apollo that he was going to a place called Lerna to meet a woman named Io.
Upon hearing this, Apollo stood up.
Holding his seven-stringed lyre and showing a smile as bright as the light, he said to Promise, "In that case, let me escort you on this journey."
...Huh?
Just as Promise blinked.
"That giant named Argos is no ordinary being. It's too dangerous for you to go there alone, and..."
As Apollo spoke, he seriously examined Promise in front of him.
Then he sighed and said, "I don't know why Hermes assigned such a dangerous task to you, nor do I understand why Athena and the others agreed, but I can't watch you be in such a dangerous situation, after all..."
At this point, Apollo, showing a smile he believing to be infinitely friendly smile, softly said to Promise, "You are as lovely and delicate as a flower. Since I have seen you, how could I bear to see you wither away?"
When he finished speaking, the expression on Promise's face at that moment was no different from when Artemis had declared she wanted to hunt him.
Then,
Despite all of Promise's tactful refusals, Apollo had already made up his mind, and even when he left, the goddess who turned into a laurel tree kept trembling.
Seeing such seen, Apollo was deeply moved, thinking that his lover didn't want to be separated from him, but Promise understood very well that it was tears of joy for finally being freed from suffering...
Indeed, a smile doesn't disappear; it just shifts!
Fortunately, the journey wasn't long.
Within just one day, Promise, along with Apollo, the god of light, and the Pegasus he was tightly holding onto, arrived at their destination.
And during this day, although Apollo's overly gentle gaze constantly made Promise feel uneasy, and even though he ate a golden apple at night to ensure he wouldn't need to sleep, nothing unexpected happened...
It might be because of the golden arrow of little Eros that all of Apollo's love was directed towards the laurel tree goddess Daphne at this moment.
Although Apollo is also a switch, he is different from the god-king Zeus. At least he doesn't fall for every beautiful woman he sees.
After all, like the moon goddess Artemis, he is also a hopeless romantic.
Therefore, the issues between Apollo and the laurel tree goddess Daphne mainly stem from the golden arrow shot by little Eros.
By the way, in some sense, this Eros is also the root of the tragedy between Medea and Jason.
When Promise and Apollo arrived in Lerna, it wasn't long before the hundred-eyed giant Argos appeared before them on the forest path.
Having sensed the strong aura of Hera on Promise and the presence of Apollo from afar, Argos came to meet the two on his own initiative.
As his name suggests, Argos's body was densely covered with eyes, giving a strong sense of oppression.
Apollo, looking at him, then worriedly turned to Promise, fearing that this delicate child might be frightened by Argos's appearance.
However, to his surprise, Promise, while examining Argos, not only wasn't scared but also showed great interest, even pulling out a paintbrush and canvas at some point.
Promise didn't know why, but at the moment he saw Argos, his artist's soul seemed to awaken, and he was flooded with rare inspiration!
Maybe it was because he had painted so many beautiful things.
Thus, Promise recorded him.
When he came back to his senses, several hours had passed.
The afternoon sunlight had come to an end, and in his hand was a painting titled "Argos, the Hundred-Eyed Giant."
And just like with Pegasus, Promise felt that he could summon Argos with this painting...
Finally coming back to his senses, Promise, looking at the painting in his hand and then at Argos in front of him, was somewhat bewildered.
"I think the Muses of Art would be very interested in meeting you and might even challenge you," he said.
At this moment, Apollo, who had been quietly protecting him, laughed.
He looked at the painting in Promise's hand, recalling the scene where he was so focused that it seemed like the world had only the paintbrush and the object in front of him, and couldn't help but exclaim again: "Promise, you really are an adorable and likable child."
Hearing these words, Promise instantly snapped back to full awareness.
Extremely aware!
He immediately leaned closer to the Pegasus.
"Are you Promise?" At this moment, the hundred-eyed giant Argos, who had been silent and serving as Promise's model, spoke.
What Promise didn't know was that being a model, especially under such circumstances, wasn't actually a very good task.
During that period, Argos felt as if he was standing in front of the goddess of wisdom or the goddess of fate, with all his secrets exposed to Promise.
If it weren't for the fact that the god of light Apollo was standing beside him and that the strong aura of Hera on Promise made Argos realize he was one of their own, he would have angrily crushed him for such offensive behavior.
"The great queen Hera's most favored follower?"
Facing Argos's question, Promise, who was trying hard to look up at him, thought for a moment and replied, "I am indeed a follower of the noble queen Hera, and as for whether I am favored by her, I am working on it."
Hearing this, Argos, looking at the humble but unyielding Promise, glanced at him with all his eyes, very surprised.
After all, he was just being polite. The name Promise had been boasted by Hera countless times...
"You don't have to look up, it's tiring, I can see you with the eyes on my legs too," Argos said with a warm smile, though with eyes on his face and mouth, his smile looked anything but warm, even scaring passing birds to death.
"By the way, what brings you and Lord Apollo here to find me?"
As he spoke, Argos's eyes also glanced at Apollo beside him.
Hearing this, the latter did not speak, after all, he couldn't directly tell Argos that he came with Promise to prepare to kill him, could he?
The god of light Apollo, who was also the god of music, medicine, and prophecy in Greek mythology, naturally knew the fate of Argos due to his role as the god of prophecy.
He would fall asleep due to the magic of the flute in Promise's hand and be killed by Hermes in his sleep.
Later, his eyes would even be taken by Hera to decorate the peacock's tail.
Fate could not be changed, and Promise was too weak, so Apollo had come along to play the role of the executioner.
After all, not many people knew about Promise's wager with the goddess of fate, Clotho.
The three Fates were extremely special beings even among the gods.
No one, not even the gods, wanted to know their predestined and unchangeable fate.
Therefore, the three Fates were naturally not well-liked.
While Apollo was thinking about how to explain this,
"Actually, we are here to rescue the woman named Io," Promise said directly, aiming for honesty.
This immediately stunned both Apollo and Argos.
When Apollo came back to his senses, he couldn't help but smile and shake his head, thinking,
What an adorable child, not even knowing how to lie.
As a result, his gaze towards Promise became even gentler...
Argos, after being stunned for a while, hesitantly asked, "Are you sure you know about Io, for example... her relationship with the great queen Hera?"
He tried to lower his voice, fearing that speaking too loudly might shock Promise to death.
Even so, the latter still felt a buzzing in his ears.
"Of course," Promise nodded.
He naturally understood what Argos meant, so after thinking for a moment, he said, "May I ask, Argos, if you can take me and the great god of light Apollo to see her first?"
After a brief hesitation, Argos agreed to Promise's request.
After all, with Apollo standing right there, and knowing how much Hera favored Promise, he felt that even if he did release Io, he wouldn't be severely punished.
So soon, Promise and Apollo followed the hundred-eyed giant Argos to the highest peak of a mountain, where many cattle and sheep were confined.
Among the cattle and sheep, a snow-white cow was being kept in a separate pen.
She gazed at the moon in the sky, crying out in pain, with tears that seemed never to stop.
Seeing this scene, Apollo immediately frowned upon recognizing the true form of the cow as a beautiful woman, and a sense of pity welled up in his heart.
He then turned his head to look at Argos, searching for his neck among the many eyes, thinking that if he was going to cut it off sooner or later, he might as well do it now.
Sensing Apollo's gaze, Argos finally noticed something was wrong.
As he grew wary, contemplating whether he should inform Hera, he saw Promise approaching.
"Argos, may I ask if I can draw a picture of her?" The young man asked as he took out another golden apple from Pegasus's backpack.
Without waiting for Argos to respond, he approached the snow-white cow, sat down, and began drawing while biting the golden apple...