In Greek mythology, there existed creatures with the heads of won and bodies of birds. They were called the Sirens, daughters of a river god.
Beautiful and alluring, they once possessed wings and enchanting voices.
However, after losing a contest to the Muses, goddesses of the arts, they were stripped of their wings and imprisoned on an island.
So, from then on, filled with resentnt, they lured passing ships with their hypnotic songs, leading sailors to crash upon the rocks or transford into rmaid to lure them, dragging them into the depths of the sea.
The Greek hero Odysseus had famously encountered the Sirens but, with the help of the witch Circe, successfully sailed past them.
The heroes on the Argo had encountered them as well.
In the original myth, it was Orpheus who suppressed their singing with the sound of his lyre.
This ti, however, it was Promise who arrived on the Sirens' island, descending from the sky on Pegasus.
Just like in his usual travels, it was a god who had summoned him.
The heroes who knew about this did not leave, because they were not far from the island, so they asked Poseidon, the god of the sea, to change the direction of their sailing and prepared to join in the "fun" on the island.
Even before Pegasus landed, Promise spotted the radiant figure of Apollo waiting below, confirming who had called for him.
"It's been a while, Promise," Apollo, the god of light, looked at the young man brought by Pegasus with a smile on his face.
Beside Apollo stood a goddess with a crown of flowers and short, orangish hair, who looked sweetly charming.
"Pegasus, long ti no see!" When Promise got off the Pegasus, she couldn't wait and imdiately ca over and hugged the Pegasus.
Noticing Promise's curious look, Apollo explained with a smile, "This is Erato, one of the nine Muses."
The Muses were the goddesses of the arts in Greek mythology.
There were nine of them and each governed different aspects of creative inspiration.
Erato presided over love poetry, her symbols being the seven-stringed lyre and the harp. "I get along well with Pegasus, you know. Back ho, I'm usually the one who helps clean him up, so I've wanted to et you for a long ti," Erato said, her head tilted as she smiled at Promise in a delightfully sweet way, much like her na, which in Greek ans "lovely" (and can also an "lover").
Hearing her words and seeing how close she was to Pegasus, Promise's impression of her imdiately improved, shifting from re acquaintance to friendliness as he smiled and nodded. "Hello, Goddess Erato."
Erato nodded, then let go of Pegasus and circled Promise a couple of tis before clapping her hands happily. "Great! I approve of you, kid!"
"No wonder the esteed goddess of wisdom entrusted Pegasus to you. You two make such a perfect match. And those clear green eyes of yours-so beautiful!"
After speaking all this, she did not even wait for Promise's reaction, and suddenly hugged
him, rubbing her cheek against his as if he were an adorable kitten.
Before Promise could push her away or Apollo could step in, Erato was struck by a sudden chill that made her shiver in fright.
She quickly released him and looked around in bewildernt.
"What... just happened? I felt like I was about to be killed..."
Erato looked puzzled, while Apollo coughed lightly beside her to change the topic. Turning to Promise, he said, "Promise, Erato is here because she wants to challenge you to a
competition."
"A competition?" Promise looked at Apollo who was smiling at him in confusion.
"Yes." The latter nodded. "Erato is the goddess of love poetry.
Ever since she heard about your performance on the seven-stringed lyre in the underworld, she's been very interested in eting you."
"Yes, very interested!" Erato chid in, pouting slightly, her gaze holding a hint of longing as she looked at Promise. "But it's been impossible to catch you alone."
You really do have quite the crowd of gods around you!
"If it hadn't been for this situation with the Sirens, I might never have gotten the chance." "Sirens?" Promise blinked at her in surprise.
Apollo gave a quick explanation. "The Sirens were once a group of fairies known for their enchanting singing, but over ti..."
Erato proudly lifted her head, cutting in, "And I defeated them! It's impressive, right? I even used their wings to make this flower crown. Isn't it pretty?"
As she spoke, Erato grabbed the wreath on her head and shook her crown towards Promise with a smile as the latter looked at her with subtle eyes.
Using soone else's wings as an accessory and then coming here to flaunt it—are you really not afraid those Sirens will co back, furious, to beat you?
"Hmm... so, to put it simply, if I compete against Goddess Erato and win, I can lead the Argo past the trial of the Sirens, right?"
Promise quickly grasped the situation, thinking it over.
After two years of taking on trials, completing them, and steadily building his reputation, he was used to it by now.
Sure, his reputation might be stuck at a certain point for now, and IR was quite difficult to raise it, but each place he passed left a mark.
Once the adventure for the Golden Fleece was over, he could settle it all in one go.
"It's a trial, but it's more like an assessnt," Erato said, tilting her head thoughtfully and said subconsciously. "Even if your lyre playing doesn't surpass mine, just based on your paintings, we'd have to grant you part of our divine domain anywa-mmpf!"
Her words were cut off Apollo clamped a hand over her mouth.
Looking at the struggling goddess in front of him, and then looking at Apollo, who gave him a friendly smile, Promise couldn't help but blink.
Divine... domain?
"Ahem," Apollo cleared his throat. "In short, Erato wants to have a competition with you. If you win, the Muses will formally recognize you, and Erato will give you a special gift."
Hearing his words, Erato's eyes widened as she looked at Apollo.
'When did I ever say I'd give a gift!'
Apollo shot her a look.
With the way you just couldn't resist sticking to Promise, if you don't leave sothing behind, do you believe that you will be shot by a goddess as soon as you leave him? Not to ntion, that you talk too much, and I'm sure many guys will want to have a "chat" with you latter!
Then Apollo let go of Erato, who imdiately fell to the ground, wiping the nonexistent tears from her face as she said. "So unfair. So unfair! Everyone's so stingy. All I did was touch him for a little while, and you want to give a golden apple as a greeting gift and a reward!"
"Um, Goddess Erato, I actually don't need a gift..." Promise began speaking, but before he could finish his words, Erato stood up in a flash.
Pointing at the young man, she said unhappily: "Well, I, a goddess, gave you a gift and you still don't want it. Do you look down on , the goddess of art? Sure, your paintings are amazing, and apparently, your lyre skills are impressive too, but are you saying you're too
good for my gift?"
Do you look down on ?"
With that, she threw her arms around Pegasus, dramatically "crying" her frustrations.
Pegasus even gave her a comforting pat with its wing.
"Then... I accept?" As soon as he finished speaking, Erato imdiately let go of Pegasus, put
his hands on his hips and said to Promise, "So that's how it is! You're confident you'll win and
get my gift, huh? You think you can beat , don't you?
"I'm a Muse, a goddess of the arts, and I defeated the Sirens. I'm amazing!"
...Ugh, this goddess is so noisy.
Just when Nuoyan subconsciously had this thought, he saw Apollo giving him a slightly
apologetic smile.
Then-
"Oh, I don't care! I have to give you the golden apple and the gift? It's too much!"
After speaking these words, without waiting for a response, Erato threw her arms around Promise again.
"Let just snuggle a little! Mmm... as I thought, you sll so nice, Promise. I almost want to take you ho as a pet and keep you."
Erato grinned mischievously, then glanced around and said, "Alright, alright, I won't 'steal' him-please stop glaring at like you're ready to kill! Just a little hug, is that too much to
ask? So stingy!"
She muttered under her breath, finally letting him go with a pout, looking as if she'd just been
abandoned.
"Ahem, let's stop ssing around and get started with the competition," Apollo, who was watching from the side, finally intervened, shaking his head with a sigh.
Clearly, he thought this goddess had nerves of steel, after all, even he wouldn't dare to do
what she'd just done.
"Yes, let's start," Promise agreed quickly.
This goddess was a bit too lively, and for once, he found himself struggling to keep up.
So much for being experienced in handling goddesses!
Promise had initially assud Apollo would be the referee for the match, but instead...
"Then let's get started."
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