Seeing the surprised or fearful expressions of the Heroes before him, Ares asked again:
"What's wrong? By your expressions, do you not welcome me?"
"Of course not, of course not!"
Jason quickly shook his head, then stood up, bowed deeply, and with the posture of a very standard servant, invited Ares into the cabin:
"This way, God of War."
"No need, I find it quite comfortable here."
Ares chuckled, stroking the dog's head of Athena's statue beneath his backside. Although this oak tree still possessed its own consciousness, once Perseus carved it into the likeness of Athena, it became one of Athena's divine statues. Desecrating this statue would also alert Ares's annoying sister, just like Persephone's maid puppets.
That's why he had stayed here, whether sitting, squatting, or standing, he always stood on Athena's head to make his attitude clear.
"God of War..." At this moment, Ares's lovely junior sister, Medea, also came before him. The little witch was somewhat hesitant, her eyes mixed with a hint of fear towards a "stranger." After all, during her upbringing, Ares had not interacted with her using his true identity. Therefore, in Medea's eyes, although Ares and she were both disciples of Hecate, their relationship was far from as close as with Perseus. What's more, Ares seemed completely clueless about magic and sorcery.
"Just call me Senior Brother" Ares said gently to her.
Hearing Ares say this, Medea's eyes darted around, as if she had realized something, and her attitude became slightly more intimate. She cleared her throat and asked clearly:
"Senior Brother, why do you want to board the ship and sail with us?"
"Of course, it's to prevent you from leaving and never returning." Ares turned his head to look at the calm, azure ocean: "No matter what, you will be sailing in Poseidon's domain for a long time. My second uncle is vengeful, and this time, it was just me and Master who temporarily scared him off. If I weren't on your ship to keep things in order, he would soon come knocking, shamelessly taking action himself to make you perish in the sea."
As Ares said this, the Heroes on the Argo also remembered this possibility. Many of them showed fearful expressions, and two even immediately declared they would disembark.
Ares waved his hand, throwing the two timid fellows overboard, then continued:
"But you don't need to worry. With me on this ship, it will not sink."
"Indeed, with you here, I believe the Sea God wouldn't dare offend you."
Jason said, also using Ares's words to calm the hearts of the others.
Moreover, what Ares said was neither exaggerated nor false. At sea, if it were only Ares, Poseidon might truly not give his nephew face. However, with the Moon Goddess having already made her stance clear, the Sea God would surely be much more wary. If Jason were Poseidon, he would absolutely not directly confront the God of War again; that would truly be asking for trouble.
With the God of War here, the Argo's safety factor increased by at least several levels.
Next, under Jason's soothing, the hearts of the others on the Argo finally settled down. Except for the two cowards Ares had thrown off the ship earlier, they all boarded and took their respective positions. The Argo also set sail again, heading towards Colchis Island.
During this time, Medea also asked Ares if she could take the slaves with her. Ares, with a grand wave of his hand, used his divine power to directly give Medea another large ship, specifically for transporting these slaves.
Under the magic performed by Ares, this large ship would follow the Argo until it reached its final destination, Colchis Island. There, these slaves would gain the status of free citizens and join the nation that primarily worshipped Ares and Hecate.
Regarding Ares's doting behavior towards Medea, the other Heroes on the Argo could only feel envy. They hadn't expected Medea to be so favored by the God of War. Initially, they had thought Ares helped Medea out of respect for his teacher, Hecate.
As for Medea, upon seeing Ares so readily agree to her request, she seemed to think of something. While no one was paying attention, she quietly approached Ares and whispered to her:
"Senior Brother."
"Hmm?" Ares was using a file to smooth the head of the old oak tree that had been transformed into Athena's sacred statue. He found the head uncomfortable to sit on and decided to file it flat. Upon hearing Medea's call, the God of War, who was in the midst of desecrating his sister, stopped his actions and turned to ask, "Is something wrong?"
"Senior Brother." Medea looked left and right, and casually set up a sound-isolating magic barrier. Then she whispered, "Are you... Perseus?"
Ares did not answer the question directly, but merely smiled and replied:
"Well... at least I know all the stupid things you've done from the age of eight until now. As for the rest, you can figure it out yourself."
Although he did not confirm Medea's guess, this answer was direct enough, so a hint of joy appeared on Medea's face. But then, the little witch's expression fell.
"What's wrong? Are you unhappy?" Seeing Medea's expression, Ares asked curiously.
"Sigh." Medea sighed faintly and said, "Originally, I had two senior brothers, two strong legs to rely on when I encountered trouble. Now one leg is missing, and I'm crippled. How can I be happy? It's a huge loss."
Ares: "..."
This little girl's nonsense and saucy remarks came in sets, and he wondered who she learned them from.
However, Medea's reputation as a witch was well-deserved; her emotions changed very quickly. Before long, she began to declare to Ares with a raised hand:
"Don't worry, Senior Brother, I will definitely not reveal the collusion... ahem, between you and Master."
"As for that, you can judge for yourself," Ares said. "Since I've shown this card, it means that it doesn't matter if this secret of mine becomes known to others."
Medea thought for a moment and asked, "So, Senior Brother, there are still many things between you and Master that you're hiding from me, right?"
Ares grinned, saying, "You guess."
"Mmm." Medea pouted slightly, looking at Ares with dissatisfaction.
"It's no use trying to act cute with me. What I can't tell you, I can't tell you," Ares said, looking Medea up and down. "There are many things in this world that, if you know and understand them, aren't necessarily good. When I can tell you in the future, and you still want to know, then we'll tell you."
"Then when can I know?"
Medea asked.
"When you can defeat Heracles in a one-on-one fight, then you'll be qualified to know these things," Ares replied.