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

At this moment, Promise was seriously contemplating something that caused him to question his unwavering faith in Hera.

Promise was considering whether he should really change his religious beliefs.

Because right after Promise left Hephaestus' temple, Pegasus, the winged horse, flew for a short while before landing by a stream in an ancient Greek forest.

Then, just as he was fetching water and resting on a stone, Promise found himself with his neck suddenly grabbed.

With the morning light shining down, Promise, who had his neck seized by Hera, instinctively looked towards another woman beside him, wearing a red dress and with striking pink hair and purple eyes.

She was none other than Hestia, who had been accompanying Hera all this time. 

Hestia was the eldest of the Olympian gods, the most sacred and ancient goddess.

"Promise, are you okay? You actually managed to escape. You must have suffered a lot, endured many hardships there, right?" 

Hera said emotionally, almost tearfully, to Promise.

But... suffering and hardships?

Promise looked utterly bewildered.

Does learning sculpture techniques count?

"No, Your Grace, Queen Hera. The goddess Hephaestus has actually been very kind to me..."

"No, Promise, you don't need to explain. I know Hephaestus' nasty character better than anyone else!" Hera interrupted Promise and hugged him even tighter, exclaiming, "But it's good you escaped. It's good you're out."

Hestia, standing nearby, couldn't bear to watch any longer. 

She gently tapped Hera's hand and said, "Hera, be gentle. The child can hardly breathe."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but glance at Promise.

He truly is as delicate as the legends say...

Hearing this, Hera quickly loosened her grip.

Promise finally managed to recover from the suffocating embrace.

... So, it has nothing to do with being a virgin goddess. 

As long as you're a goddess, you all strangle people, right?

Just as Promise was thinking this, Hestia, with a gentle smile like a breeze, handed him a golden apple.

Her enchanting purple eyes met his gaze, and she said with a smile, "I am Hestia, sister to Hera and the others. I've heard a lot about you from them. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Promise took the golden apple with a calm expression, but internally...

The last of the three virgin goddesses, you really showed up!

At that moment, he felt his neck starting to ache again.

Just then, Hestia seemed to notice something and glanced at Promise's neck.

There was something Athena had told Promise from the beginning: even though his head was bound with the silver thread given by Athena, blocking the gods from peering into his heart, if he kept thinking about certain gods or matters in front of them, the gods could sense it.

In ancient Greek mythology, there was a golden rule: the more you worry about something, the more likely it is to happen!

"Honorable Goddess Hestia, student of the centaur sage Chiron, and the most faithful follower of Queen Hera, Promise is honored to meet you."

Promise stood up and formally greeted the goddess before him.

Although he was tempted to roll his eyes at having collected the 'postage stamps' of the three virgin goddesses, he didn't think much of it.

After all, meeting Hestia, one of the main Olympian gods, was inevitable.

In other words, she was part of Promise's pantheon portrait collection.

Seeing this, Hestia smiled and nodded at Promise. 

Just as she was about to say something, Hera, full of vigilance, suddenly pulled Promise aside.

She even leaned in close and whispered in Promise's ear, "Child, remember, if you ever run into my sister Hestia, be very careful. She is far from as gentle as she seems..."

Before she could finish speaking, Hestia's smile grew even warmer and more radiant. "My dear sister Hera," she said softly, "what are you whispering to this lovely child? Would you care to share it with your elder sister?"

Hera shuddered and quickly coughed to cover her embarrassment.

She then carefully examined Promise, hesitated for a moment, and uncertainly asked, "Child, are you really okay?"

"I'm fine," Promise replied, looking at Hera, who was like an older version of Hephaestus.

Hephaestus and Hera were indeed very similar, whether in appearance, hair, or eyes, to the point that you could easily tell they were mother and daughter at a glance.

But distinguishing between them was simple: Hephaestus had a youthful form, and her long, beautiful legs couldn't stand, while Queen Hera was the epitome of a noble matron.

Thus, seeing either one alone would easily remind Promise of the other, but their relationship was...

So, as he opened his mouth to say something, Promise ultimately chose to remain silent.

To change the topic, he took out the white feather pen, the artifact that painted the sky, and smiled. "Look, Queen Hera,

I can finally fulfill my promise to you now!"

Hera wasn't concerned about any agreements at the moment because when the artifact was revealed by Promise, both she and Hestia beside her were stunned.

Hephaestus had said it was one of her most perfect creations among many she had crafted.

What Promise didn't know was that Hephaestus had nearly bankrupted herself to make it.

Its value was comparable to the thunderbolt held by Zeus, the king of the gods, or the Trident of Poseidon, which could command all the seas!

Thus, when they saw it, even Hera, who didn't believe Hephaestus had good intentions towards Promise, understood.

Promise must have been living quite well under her care...

"This, this... If that's the case, how come you were imprisoned by her until now?!" Hera asked, both shocked and puzzled.

"Eh, didn't the goddess Athena and Hermes tell you, Goddess Hera?" Promise replied, equally puzzled, "Because I sought a craft from Goddess Hephaestus, she taught me the art of sculpture...

Didn't Goddess Athena and Hermes know this?"

Those two had been snooping around from the beginning, just watching for entertainment.

However, they hadn't seen the painting Promise gave to Hephaestus, because as soon as Hephaestus realized what Promise was about to do, she immediately sealed off the temple.

It was also because of this that Athena and Hermes later came looking.

And after finding out what Promise was about to do, they left.

Upon leaving, realizing it was a great opportunity, Athena immediately partnered with Hermes to persuade Hercules to go to Hera's paradise and complete one of the twelve labors: obtaining the golden apples.

So, at that moment with Hercules...

Who should have undergone a series of adventures, met the first sea god of ancient Greece on Mount Caucasus, released Prometheus who was bound there, and relieved the Titan Atlas who was holding up the sky to finally obtain the golden apples, thanks to the wisdom of the goddess of wisdom and the guidance of Hermes, had a direct green light.

All the adventures were omitted, and he had already arrived outside Hera's paradise.

Holding the artifact bag in one hand and Athena in the other, taking the invisibility helmet of Hades off Pegasus' saddle, Hercules stood somewhat bewildered.

"Respected Goddess Athena, and Lord Hermes, is this really okay?"

As he spoke, he couldn't help but turn his head, looking back at the two gods.

"Oh, don't worry!" Hermes stepped forward, trying to pat Hercules on the shoulder but realized just how tall he was.

If Promise represented the most delicate of humans in this era, then Hercules was undoubtedly the epitome of human strength.

Standing over 2.5 meters tall, his body had long surpassed human form, appearing as if sculpted by the gods themselves, muscles and blood filled with a divine essence known as pure magical power... this was Hercules of the ancient Greek divine era!

"There won't be any problems, and besides, Hercules, you know as well, all this is thanks to Promise!

Your teacher agreed for him to come down from the mountain, and Promise is also going to join you on the adventure for the Golden Fleece.

I mean, considering how delicate Promise is, without eating a few golden apples to strengthen up, a mere gust of wind could blow him into the underworld!"

Hermes 'reassured' him.

Though if Promise were to go to the underworld now, Persephone would probably follow right away, and life there might even be more comfortable than on the surface... of course, Hermes didn't mention this.

Upon hearing this, Hercules, who had been somewhat hesitant, now had a resolute look in his eyes.

"Respected Lord Hermes, you're right, I must protect him, and I feel immense pride and honor for my friend!"

At that moment, Hercules was already aware of some of the legends surrounding Promise, such as the curse of Actaeon, the Calydonian boar, and the stories of Orpheus and his wife.

Therefore, he felt compelled to do something for Promise.

With no further hesitation, he firmly held the sack, donned Hades' invisibility helmet, and entered Hera's paradise.

Seeing him leave, Hermes and Athena exchanged glances.

They even clapped their hands together in celebration.

Because with this, they had secured their financial freedom with the golden apples!

Hermes' supply of golden apples wasn't actually that plentiful; the golden apples in the hands of the gods generally came from divine feasts.

Hera used to distribute some golden apples to the gods every year,

But since Athena equated Promise with the apples, Hermes naturally understood that from now on, no one would see a golden apple at any feast again.

Just thinking about how they had found such an interesting person but couldn't interact with him in the future made him feel uncomfortable.

So, after they walked out of Hephaestus' temple, they immediately hit it off and plotted this robbery.

Even to avoid Hera's trouble afterward, they cleverly recruited Hercules, leading him to this place.

A most wise goddess of wisdom paired with the most cunning messenger of the gods, their combined efforts were something even Hera could do nothing about.

And indeed, this was the case,

At this very moment, Hera and Promise...

...

Hera, with eyes wide open, instantly realized she had been deceived upon hearing that Athena and Hermes had long been aware of the situation.

Thinking back to how she had repeatedly sought out Hephaestus, unaware of the situation, only to be met with ruthless ridicule and mockery...

Several times, she had nearly burst into tears...

"Pfft... cough, sorry, sorry." Hestia, who couldn't hold back her laughter, quickly apologized after being angrily glared at by a frustrated Hera.

However, her apology, barely containing her laughter and seemed more like silent amusement.

"Athena—!"

At this moment, Hera was almost biting her lips till they bled.

Even the clear sky flashed with a few bolts of thunder!

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