I had planned to pray to the goddess Aphrodite, lift their curse, obtain as much food, drinking water, and timber as we needed, and then leave this island at once. But...
“Hah, damn it.”
I really wanted to flip the whole place over.
From the start, the women of the island were exceptionally beautiful. Most of the sailors had fallen for their lovely, radiant appearances at first sight and failed to notice the stench and the smell of blood coming off their bodies.
And now that even the stench was gone, there was no way my sailors—most of whom were men—wouldn’t be bewitched.
While I was preparing to offer a sacrifice to the goddess Aphrodite, lift the curse, and then make a thanksgiving offering in gratitude, cries and moans drifted over from the beach where the ship had been moored.
At those sounds, the body that had grown hot from cleaning the temple and preparing the sacrifice turned cold in an instant.
How absurd. How utterly disgusting. How hideous. Heroes of Greece, men who had crossed over this sea bearing the honor of Greece—were your resolve and the glory you sought on this voyage worth so little that they could be shattered by this?
“...Hah, how ridiculous! Men who embarked on this voyage in the name of Greece—are you saying the spirit of adventure that set out to represent Greece has been broken by nothing more than women’s looks!!!”
I stepped out onto the beach and rebuked the sailors who seemed to have completely forgotten the original resolve with which they had joined this great adventure, the sailors who had lost their minds to lust, in a low, cold, and sharp voice.
Lynceus! Was what your eyes, which could see even the future, sought in this expedition nothing more than such desire?
Idas! Was the destination of your sun-like burning passion this place and no further?
Admetus! O king who was fair to men and women alike—does that fairness apply when embracing women too?
Ancaeus! Will you let the ship you led rot away in a place like this?
Zetes and Calais! Great sons of the north wind, demigods! Were your golden wings merely decorations meant to be broken here? Look at the Dioscuri siblings and Heracles, who possess divinity akin to yours; even they remain unfazed by the sight of these women.
Know shame. Know disgrace.
Pull yourselves together. If you set out on a voyage bearing the honor of Greece, then even if you cannot gain new glory, you should at least not stain the honor you already possessed!
“If you do not intend to reduce the honor you will gain from this adventure, and the honor you have already built, to the value of pebbles scattered on the road, then I advise you to stop your actions. Right now!!”
Anyone who does not stop at once will be deemed unfit to board my ship and judged to have no intention of continuing the expedition, and will be left behind on this island!
As I called out, one by one, not only the famous heroes but even the ordinary sailors by name, and picked apart the honor each of them had staked on this expedition, they looked at themselves and blushed in shame.
“...Amazing. Every word he said just now is striking exactly the place they’d feel most humiliated and insulted...”
“And he didn’t even raise his voice. If anything, he lowered it.”
“...So this is what big brother is like...”
...Excuse me? You lot? What are you doing praising me where I can hear you, huhhh!? Are you trying to make this an embarrassment play!? An embarrassment play, is it!? Are you trying to kill me from sheer shame, huhhh!!!
Inside, I was kicking the blanket, rolling it up into a ball, and flinging it around like a soccer ball while causing all kinds of a ruckus, but on the outside, my face only turned a little red.
“Ahem! First, I will go and offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to the goddess Aphrodite, who has lifted the curse. Those who still believe they are fit to board my ship, as I said, should stop what they are doing, clean yourselves up, and prepare the timber, food, and water before coming aboard.”
After saying my piece, I gave them a cold glare, turned my back, and headed back to the temple. When I returned to the beach after finishing the thanksgiving sacrifice I had prepared, not a single one of them had failed to board, as if they had finally realized they had thrown their own honor into a refuse bin and that their behavior had been no different from beasts.
“Queen, please do not forget the advice I have given you, and make sure your people keep it in their hearts as well.”
If you do not wish to repeat this situation pointlessly after solving it once.
The women of the island also seemed to have realized that they had once again done something foolish, and covered their bodies and faces with the clothes they had cast aside.
“Raise the anchor! We set sail again!!”
I had no intention of stopping them from coupling itself. After all, the structure of society was such that it could hardly be any other way.
But on this island, they had become so consumed by it that they knew no moderation, and their behavior was so vile that it had driven their own honor into a refuse bin.
Once the ship had caught the wind and moved some distance away from the island, I stood in the center of the vessel and spoke to the sailors about the thoughts above.
“I never minded if you dated someone you liked while on this voyage. So long as it did not tarnish your names, so long as each of you had a clear goal in staking yourselves on this expedition.”
But what was your behavior on Lemnos Island?
“You were so taken by their looks that you failed to notice the stench coming from their bodies, and failed to notice the blood smell coming from the island itself.”
And after you noticed the blood smell and the stench? You merely found the odor disgusting and never sought out its cause.
And after that? Once the curse that caused the stench was lifted, you were embracing the very women you had found so repulsive. What hypocrisy was this?
“If you do not intend to take responsibility for those women, or for the children born from them, then never again! Never do such a thing.”
I am not saying this only for as long as you are aboard this ship, but because I want you to remember it even after the expedition ends and you return to your respective homelands.
For you never know how an abandoned child may grow, or how it may one day come for your throats.
With that said, I began rowing once more. The sailors could not meet my eyes, but even so, I do not regret this. As a captain, as a king, as a leader, one must point out what is wrong and calmly distinguish between those who follow and those who resist.
Fortunately, none of them resisted me. They were heroes who treasured honor, so they seemed to understand what I meant by my words and why I had rebuked them so harshly, and they appeared to realize how insane their behavior had been.
“Are you truly all right, Hylas?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m not bothered at all.”
Unlike in the original tale, Hylas and Heracles had not been left behind on Lemnos Island and were still aboard the Argo, sailing with us.
Well, the fact that he had nearly been dragged off by the nymphs of the spring did not change. But the timing happened to be good; it was just when he had gone to draw water, right after the thanksgiving sacrifice had ended, so I barely managed to stop Heracles from swinging a club at the nymphs in fury over nearly losing his friend. Honestly... I was terrified out of my mind then.
I had come to understand far too deeply why he was Greece’s greatest hero.
And seeing Heracles like that, the nymphs were so terrified their souls seemed to turn inside out. Apparently deciding they might die too, they nearly tore Hylas’s arm off as they let go and plunged deep into the spring while I was holding Heracles back.
“Calm down, you damn madman!!!! Didn’t you say you’d use that power to protect people!?”
“And isn’t that exactly what I’m doing now, protecting my friend!!!”
“No, you swekki, don’t start spouting nonsense now!?”
Man, I really thought I was going to die then. Ugh, I still get chills.
“Heracles! I’m fine, I’m fine, so stop!”
If Hylas himself had not stopped him, I would have died there. I can say it again with confidence: thanks to the kind-hearted Hylas, I survived.
Well... thanks to the enraged Heracles wildly swinging around the wooden planks he’d turned into a club and oar in every sense of the word, we didn’t even need to clear the path to the temple afterward.
“Tch, the wind and waves are no good again today.”
After climbing the mast and looking back out over the distant sea, I had no choice but to click my tongue. The wind direction was poor, and the waves were rough.
We’d have to row a lot for the time being.
Then I needed to raise the sailors’ morale, but what method would be best suited to the current situation?
Striking at their honor had been done a few days ago on Lemnos Island, so using that again would be a bit much. I suppose there was only one method left. The story of Jason, and the story of the Golden Fleece.
“I, Jason, have something I must say to you as your captain. We are indeed on a journey to seize the Golden Fleece. However.”
I had not told them the full story behind the Golden Fleece. If hearing this made you doubt the expedition and want to give up, that was fine! But I ask that you not hinder those who still intend to continue this expedition.
I steadied my breathing and told the sailors the hidden story behind the Golden Fleece, then opened my mouth to explain the legitimacy of our going to claim it.
“And the poor Prince Phrixus was slain by the foolish king of Colchis, who did not understand how prophecy works!”
How foolish was that! The god had sent Prince Phrixus, and the king had bound him to his eldest daughter in marriage, yet because of nothing more than an oracle saying, ‘You will die at the hands of a Greek man,’ he killed the poor prince, who knew nothing and only wished for peace in that country!
What a shameless king, one who knew nothing of honor. What filial impiety!
“Would it not be right to bring just punishment upon this foolish king, who repaid kindness with death, by proper means!!”
For the honor we expect from this expedition! For the honor we have built as heroes until now!
“And I, Jason, as Phrixus’s close friend! As the friend who used to roam the forest with Phrixus when we were children!!”
Should we not avenge that friend’s grievance!!!
As I finished speaking, I drove the spear shaft of Eremos, which I held in my left hand, down so hard that its tip sank deep into the deck.
This was no lie. In this world, Phrixus and Jason were indeed close friends. Jason looked up to Phrixus, who was far more suited than he to the position of “king,” and Phrixus found Jason, who followed him so faithfully, adorable.
“I did not come here simply!! to pursue honor on this expedition, nor only to reclaim my rightful kingship!”
I came to expose the unjust death of my dear friend Phrixus, and the vile deeds of a foolish king who cared only for his own interests!
“Do I not have more than enough legitimacy to claim ownership of the Golden Fleece!!”
The sailors, moved by this sight of me—usually so quiet—shouting with all my heart, let out a powerful cheer full of renewed spirit the moment I finished speaking.
Yes. Come now, then! Let us row with renewed strength once more!
Gods, I do not know what fate you are weaving. But if you fix my fate, and the fate of my friends, as tragedy, then I will swallow the very power that fixes fate itself and ensure that these people reach a happy ending.
That is my new wish.
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