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“Everyone, hurry and pull all the oars back inside, then sit down in your places. As soon as we confirm the bird has passed through, we’ll start rowing immediately.”
After personally walking around and carefully checking each and every sailor to make sure they were seated and holding their oars tightly, I walked all the way to the prow, gently took a white bird out of the box Phineus had given me, and stroked it.
“[Please, just don’t die.]”
If you’re scared, you can run. If you do, all that ends is our adventure, our voyage.
I knew the future, but I couldn’t be certain. I had no idea what would happen and what would change.
The white bird answered by smoothing its wings. I see, so you too...
With earnest hope, I sent the white bird toward the rocky islets, then sat down and gripped my oar tightly.
The white bird that took flight flapped its wings with elegance and dignity, reached the space just before the rocky islets, and darted forward through the narrowing gap.
Before long, the islets obscured the bird’s form and crashed into each other with a tremendous roar.
We all steeled ourselves. Whether the bird passed through or not would determine whether we could reach the expedition’s destination. And even if the bird made it through, that didn’t mean we would necessarily get through the rocky islets as well.
Even though we had twice as many sailors as in the original tale, and even though we had no one fall behind along the way, I still couldn’t confidently promise success. The reason was the fierce headwind surging between the islets, something never mentioned in the original tale.
That headwind was also why I had ordered the sails taken down.
The white bird, hidden from view by the rocky islets, shot up into the sky, and at the same time the two tightly pressed islets began to separate again with another thunderous roar and a tremor.
“Everyone!! Row with all your strength!!”
When the two rocky islets had moved far enough apart for the ship to pass, I shouted at the top of my lungs, and everyone clenched their teeth and began rowing.
As the ship drew closer to the rocky islets, the wind and waves grew even fiercer, and by the time we passed the point where the two islands overlapped, the once-open gap had begun to narrow again.
“Row faster!!! Don’t look around and let your focus scatter; just keep your eyes on the person in front of you and row!!!”
Fearing that the sailors would panic and lose their rhythm as the gap closed even faster, I shouted louder than I ever had in my life, veins standing out in my neck as I forced faith deep into their hearts once more.
“Trust me, your captain!!! Trust the person in front of you!! Trust the person behind you!! Trust the person beside you!! Trust everyone!!”
Clenching my teeth, so hard it felt like they might shatter.
As if my throat would split open and bleed.
As if my whole body might be burned alive.
Binding the breathing of one hundred different sailors into a single breath.
Forget the honor tied to this expedition, and forget the honor to be gained at its end! Look only at the threat right in front of you! Look only at the death rushing toward us!
Defying the headwind, ignoring the sea’s current, the Argo ship surged between the rocky islets, its prow slowly slipping through the overlapping gap.
More time passed than in the original tale, because the ship was larger than before. We were escaping at a faster pace, because there were more people than in the original tale.
When two-thirds of the ship had made it through, I sensed the wind suddenly reverse direction and become a tailwind, and I bellowed at Atalanta, who was rowing from the middle of the ship.
“Atalanta!!!! Spread the sails now, quickly!!!”
Atalanta nodded and, displaying her swift legs to the fullest, climbed the mast like a flying squirrel, moving at astonishing speed as she unfurled the sails wide open.
Only the stern remained within the collision zone, and the rocky islets were left with only a distance of three fists from both sides of the ship. But the perfectly timed tailwind filled the sails and pushed our already fast-moving ship onward, and the Argo ship began to surge forward at incredible speed.
Just as in the original tale, only a wooden plank from the very end of the stern broke off; the ship itself escaped without a single problem.
“Woooo!! We made it throughhhh!!”
“Yes!!”
Everyone shouted in excitement and cheered so loudly the sea itself seemed to tremble.
“Haa... we made it...”
“Good work, Jason. Without your command, we would never have passed those rocks.”
Just as I collapsed where I stood the moment I let go of my oar, letting out a long sigh of relief, Atalanta came over.
“You too. Atalanta, if it weren’t for your swift legs, the islets would have crushed us while we were spreading the sails.”
“Hey... why are you so... out of breath...?”
Ugh, that damn Theseus...
“C-can you... try shouting until your throat tears too, while rowing with all your strength...?”
“Ah, that too, I guess.”
Soaked through with sweat as if his whole body had been drenched, Theseus lay sprawled out, his limbs trembling, and asked me in a playful voice.
Hearing that teasing remark, I still had enough strength left to be irritated, and with a voice that sounded like pure, distilled rage, I slowly ground out each word until he had nothing left to say.
“Sorry, sorry... I was joking.”
“You, little... scheming... bastard...”
“Are you all right, Jason?”
“Ah, Heracles...”
Heracles’s clothes and face were also soaked with sweat. He had accomplished more than a few inhuman feats and was called a great hero, but even he seemed to have found that ordeal exhausting.
“If you ever make me do something like that again, I’ll kill you. You bastard, Jason.”
Castor glared at me with haggard eyes and drew a thumb across his throat. Hey, like I’d known it would be this hard...? And that kind of thing... I couldn’t do it again either...
“Well... still, thanks to Jason’s proper... leadership... we did survive, didn’t we...?”
Peleus came over looking half-dead, and even while breathing hard, he brightened the mood with his usual sunny smile.
“Hah, thankfully the wind answered our wish...”
Zetes let out a sigh of relief and muttered under his breath about the reason the wind had suddenly changed direction, and hearing that mutter, I offered them my thanks.
Come to think of it, if even the demigods with inhuman strength were saying that, then the ordinary sailors and Orpheus...
“Gweeeek...”
“Haa... I can’t move my arms...”
Looking over the sailors, I saw people vomiting, people letting their arms hang limply, everyone collapsed in utter exhaustion.
Once my body had recovered somewhat, I stood at the prow at once and checked the wind direction and the strength of the waves. The wind direction was good. The waves were... hard to tell.
If we just kept going like this, we’d arrive soon.
...Then what should I do first once we reached Colchis?
“Phrixus... Helle...”
I did not know what they were wishing for now, as they looked on from the underworld. I did not know what Princess Chalciope, who had loved Phrixus, was hoping for. And I did not know what ultimate goal King Aeetes of Colchis sought when he killed Phrixus, who had devoted everything to his country and shown love to his daughters and son, all to obtain it.
If it was for the survival of the nation, then I could not understand why he had killed the man who had given everything for that nation.
If it was to protect his own life, then he was a truly selfish and despicable king.
Either way, he could only be a villain.
How should I... bring just punishment to a king who had betrayed kinship and gratitude, and preserve this country?
It must never be allowed to happen as it did in the original tale. I myself could never accept it, and if it came to that, wouldn’t it be far too cruel? The innocent Prince Absyrtus, and Medea, whose fate would be twisted because of it.
Then there would be no meaning in coming here to change fate.
I absentmindedly stroked Eremos on my back and stared blankly at the now-calm open sea.
“As always, calmly and steadily.”
I would simply do what I had to do.
After that, riding the favorable wind and moving swiftly ahead, the Argo ship eventually reached a point where Colchis could be seen faintly in the distance.
One more day. By morning, we would arrive in Colchis...!!
Now then. Aeetes, you foolish king who betrayed righteousness, kinship, and gratitude before the great destiny of prophecy.
The time for rightful revenge has come. The moment of just punishment draws near. The inevitable fate shall fall upon you.
Clenching a small wooden fragment until it shattered in my hand, I coldly stared at Colchis as it drew closer.
This punishment shall be inflicted upon you alone, and no one else.
The next dawn, before the sun had risen, I woke and quietly stepped out onto the deck so as not to disturb anyone, heading toward the prow.
With my eyes closed, I quietly let the dawn breeze wash over me, and when I felt a red glow and opened my eyes, the sun was slowly rising from the distant continent ahead.
That place was...
“Colchis. Right.”
And so, when morning came and the sun had fully risen, we were able to arrive at Colchis, the destination of our expedition.
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“...Originally, I was planning to dock at a harbor with no people after taking a long detour, but...”
“Well, it can’t be helped. Who would’ve known the people of Colchis had such good eyesight?”
I muttered my complaint about the current situation, and Meleager, standing beside me, heard it and patted my shoulder.
If everything had gone according to plan, we would have docked at a deserted harbor, unloaded all the sailors, and infiltrated this country so we could gather information and assess the situation first. Then, with a little information and a little suspicion planted deep in the crowd’s minds, we would have sparked a legitimate revolution against Aeetes alone.
After the revolution was over, I planned to ask for the Golden Fleece as payment for our help and take it away smoothly.
Yes, that was the plan.
It was just a plan.
But having a crowd packed into the harbor from first thing in the morning, and then having them become interested in the enormous Argo ship approaching from far away and follow after our vessel—that was completely unexpected...!!
I let out a sigh, ran a hand over my face once, then scratched my head and stopped thinking for a moment to give my overworked brain a rest.
What else could I do? I hadn’t wanted to use this method because it was likely to fail in more ways than one, but...
First, I went ashore with all the sailors and looked out over the harbor of Colchis. Then, together with Theseus, who was good at working small schemes, I assigned tasks to the half of the sailors who would lay the groundwork for the plan and sent them into the crowd of Colchis.
Then, with the other half of the sailors, I grabbed one of the people there and deceived them about our identity, saying, “We are travelers who came here after circling the world. Please tell us about the geography of this place,” in order to loosen their guard a little.
They were still holding on to their caution, but perhaps because they found us somewhat believable, I could feel their sharpness ease a little.
In that way, we were able to grasp the rough geography of Colchis through a fairly simple and convenient method.
“Good, now I know where the palace is. Then shall we stop here for today?”
With a sly smile in my heart, I thanked the person who had explained the geography to me and returned to the Argo ship with the sailors.
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