Those pale yellow eyes looked at the young man in front her as the goddess of beauty spoke softly, "So, why have you come to me again?"
"Because for that case, I've already given my answer three days ago."
Promise dismounted from his horse, his green eyes quietly gazing at the goddess before him.
He said, "I told you, I have no interest in this trial and will not participate."
Aphrodite, hearing this, looked at Promise with some confusion and said, "It doesn't matter if you're not interested; the trial has already begun..."
However, "No," Promise shook his head calmly. "Goddess Aphrodite, it's already over."
In fact, the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite's thoughts were very simple.
Because of Hera and Hephaestus, she naturally disliked Promise.
Moreover, she was also the goddess of love and beauty, one of the twelve most revered Olympian gods in Greek mythology, a goddess who governed desire and was faithful to her own wants.
If you want someone get them, if you hate someone destroy them.
So, since she hated him, why not just destroy him?
It's important to know that Aphrodite's teachings to Helen were to seize and take control of everything she desired, viewing it as a matter of course.
She was an arrogant goddess, even with a somewhat malicious personality. In her eyes... no, in the eyes of this goddess of beauty, humans never really existed at all.
Because of this, Aphrodite never believed Promise could survive the trial she had designed for him, even though this young man had created many miracles up to this point.
After all, the trial she prepared for him wasn't one of valor or wisdom or something more profound, but a much simpler test—desire.
The island was filled with her divine power, and Aphrodite had fully unleashed the deepest desires within the hearts of those heroes, causing them to succumb.
Just as she had said to Hephaestus at the time, she knew Promise had a good relationship with those heroes, but it was precisely because of this, she wanted them to stand against him.
Aphrodite wanted Promise to lose everything, just as she had.
In truth, the goddess standing before Promise at this moment, was more in line with the depiction of gods in ancient Greek mythology.
Viewing human life as a game, carelessly altering it at a whim, whether out of malice or benevolence, just casting curses or grant blessings without any care.
Yes, this is how olympian gods should behave like.
Otherwise, Promise would've really thought that he didn't come to the Greek mythology, but to some parallel world instead.
Or did he transmigrate into a fanfiction?
After all, all along his journey, whether it was Goddess Hera, Athena, or Clotho at the beginning, or the other gods he had met later, they had all been far too gentle with Promise leaving the boy unsure of how to respond.
But now, seeing the goddess, who was actually the same as how she was depicted, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, the behaviour of those goddess' wasn't entirely incomprehensible either.
After all, when they saw that boy, who seemed as if a mere breath could snuff out his life, it was natural for them to instinctively hold back and show a gentler side of themselves.
"Over?"
Hearing his words, the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, frowned as she looked at Promise and said, "What do you mean, Promise... and shouldn't you be heading to the palace of that kingdom right now?"
"Do you realize how eager I am to see Hera and Hephaestus when they witness you losing everything? I wonder what kind of reactions they will have."
Her words, full of malice spoke of destruction, however, the young man listened quietly, still looking at her with a calm expression, and even smiled.
"Do you know, Goddess Aphrodite, what I've been thinking about these past three days? And why, even after knowing what you did, I didn't take Jason and the others away that night?"
"Isn't it because you know very well in your heart that they've already been fully consumed by their desires?" Aphrodite responded matter-of-factly. "In that state, how could they possibly leave?"
Hearing this, Promise couldn't help but shake his head gently.
He then took out a painting from the sky, and depicted on it was the golden lyre of Apollo, the god of light.
Then, in front of Aphrodite and Helen, he gently plucked the strings.
As the sound of the lyre resonated, the warm sunlight shone lovingly upon him.
Looking at Promise in this light and listening to the beautiful music, even the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite had no choice but to admit once again that he was even more extraordinary than the stories suggested.
Yet she still couldn't understand what Promise intended to do,
Atleast not until the melody spread across the island of Lemnos.
Because, as soon as it did, Aphrodite saw all the heroes, who had previously been lost in their desires, lift their heads.
Although there was regret and reluctance on their faces, they still packed their luggage and prepared to sail again.
Helen recognized the tune—it was the same song Orpheus played on the day the Argo set sail.
That day, Promise had painted a picture, though he wasn't in it.
"...You used Apollo's power to purify my divine power?"
Aphrodite's face darkened as she looked at Promise, unable to believe that the supposed betrayal and division she had orchestrated had been so easily dissolved by him.
"No, I didn't,"
However, hearing her words, Promise shook his head.
Though he knew that if he asked, Apollo, the god of light, would certainly respond to him.
"It's just that, Goddess Aphrodite, you misunderstood something from the very beginning.
The vast majority of the Argonauts didn't set sail for glory or wealth. Their reason was much simpler..."
Promise laughed as he said this, turning to the goddess, "They were all dragged along by me as forced labor."
As he spoke, the boy pulled out a small notebook from his pocket.
The moment Helen saw the notebook, she immediately understood.
It was Brother Promise's little book of grudges.
"As for Jason, to be honest, I didn't expect him to actually make up his mind. I was originally planning to hit him with a stick to knock him out and then drag him back when I returned."
Speaking about this, Promise tilted his head and looked into the distance at Jason, who was still struggling.
Wherever the golden lyre's music passed, illuminated by the sunlight, it came into clear view for Promise.
"It seems he truly wants my painting," he couldn't help but say with a smile.
'After all, you once said, I, Jason, am a hero.'
Aphrodite remained silent.
All of this was too unexpected.
"Do you know what once happened on this island?" in the end, she asked.
"Of course," Promise nodded once again.
"In that case, what kind of judgment should you give to these people, Promise?"
However, as soon as she spoke, Aphrodite noticed that the young man in front of her was giving her a strange look.
"Why should I pass judgment?"
Promise smiled, and then he said something that even shocked Helen.
"What does any of this have to do with me?"
As if she had never expected that these words would come from the boy's mouth, Helen's eyes couldn't help but open wide as she said:
"Promise... brother?"
The latter didn't explain himself to her. Instead, he simply stated the truth, "After all, judgment has already fallen, long ago. It came the moment the women on this island made their choices."
"They thought they were cleansing themselves with blood, ridding themselves of filth, but in truth, they only sank deeper into corruption."
"Besides, they don't have much time left. The men they killed were also the barriers that protected them.
Soon, people from another island will come here and destroy this place."
Knowing all this, the women of the island had desperately tried to keep the Argonauts, hoping to use them as labor and protection.
But now they were leaving.
Aphrodite remained silent again, but then raised her brows slightly.
To be honest, she wasn't angry about this situation.
What surprised her was what Promise said next: "I think I finally understand why Goddess Athena and the others never stopped me.
I used to think it was because of the painting, but now I realize the real reason is that they always knew it would be like this.
The one they found amusing wasn't you, Goddess Aphrodite. It was me all along."
...
"But now I don't understand.
It's a bit confusing.
Since you could have easily gotten my painting by just pretending to know nothing and letting events unfold, why did you come to me at this moment?"
.....
"That's why I told you from the beginning," Promise laughed again as he said. "Goddess Aphrodite, do you know what I've been thinking about these past three days? The answer is actually very simple."
"What I've truly been thinking is... how should I take revenge on you?"
Aphrodite was somewhat stunned by the absurdity of this response, but looking at the boy, she quickly realized that Promise's expression was serious.
She suddenly remembered the time when Hermes was hunted.
"Moreover, after arriving on this island and seeing you, I was surprised to find that my thoughts and desires were becoming stronger and stronger."
The desire of getting revenge..that is....
Promise looked at the goddess of love, beauty and sex, before him, the most beautiful goddess among the gods.
Looking at the very definition of desire in front of him, there was only one thought in his mind.
Ah, if I could make her cry... it would certainly be quite a sight!
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