The barkeep's words didn't really surprise them, after all, Jason hadn't tasted dishes like these anywhere else.
Only the "learning magic" part caught his attention.
So Jason took out a small piece of gold and slipped it into the barkeep's hand.
"Could you explain it to us in detail?" Jason asked with a smile, watching the barkeep's face bloom with delight. "This is your payment."
"Of course, of course."
With such a tip, the barkeep couldn't help grinning ear to ear.
His attitude toward the group instantly became far more respectful, after all, anyone who tossed out gold as casual payment had to be rich.
Next, he carefully introduced to Jason and the others the methods used to prepare each dish. Judging from how practiced he was, he had clearly given this explanation many times before.
"In fact," the barkeep revealed, "the rumor is that these new ways of cooking also came from those mages. In the past, we only had two ways to prepare food, roasting with fire or boiling with water. That's what my grandfather told me. And I'll say this: those mages are indeed clever. Even when it comes to eating, they invent all sorts of tricks. For example, this dish here, it's called stir-fry."
As he spoke, he pointed at a plate of stir-fried onions with egg.
"Stir-fry?"
Jason had just lifted another bite to his mouth, and even he was a little stunned.
"Barkeep, what exactly is stir-fry?" Telamon asked curiously from beside him.
"Well… it's a little hard to explain quickly. Simply put, you use a large iron wok, strong fire, plenty of oil, spices, and a special tool, a spatula, to flip the ingredients until they're cooked."
Although he worked in a tavern, the barkeep wasn't a professional chef, so he could only explain it in the simplest terms.
He then went on to explain steaming and deep-frying, along with various unfamiliar seasonings and spices the heroes had never encountered before, leaving them all astonished.
Finally, Jason asked what "learning magic" actually meant.
"Aren't you all here to learn magic?"
The barkeep seemed surprised by the question, after all, every outsider who came here did so for magic. But given the gold, he still explained patiently.
"Well, according to the mage lords, there's a small town near our Kingdom of Colchis where only mages are allowed.
There's even a castle that only mages may enter. It's said that the strongest mages in all of Greece gather there.
Every mage in Greece wants to go there to study magic, which is why they travel all the way to Colchis.
Outsiders like you, who didn't come here for magic, are actually quite rare."
"No wonder there are so many magic tools for sale. No wonder so many people are wearing robes." Jason suddenly understood.
"Exactly," the barkeep continued.
"The mages influence much more than that. My grandfather told me that long ago, Colchis had no king and not nearly this many mages.
This island was just a cluster of villages, our ancestors drifted here from the mainland.
But once King Aeetes founded the Kingdom of Colchis, everything changed. Everyone obeyed the king, and the mages appeared afterward."
"Why is that?" Jason asked curiously. "Do the mages obey King Aeetes?"
That thought worried him. If the king really commanded mages, then his power was far too great.
Jason had seen Alaric's power firsthand, thanks to magic, Alaric subdued Hippolyta within seconds in the midst of an entire army.
Hippolyta was a warrior who could hold her own against multiple Argonauts, someone who could even stand toe-to-toe with Heracles.
To capture her so quickly proved just how terrifying Alaric's abilities were as a mage.
Even if other mages weren't on Alaric's level, they wouldn't be far behind.
If King Aeetes truly commanded many of them, then what chance did they have of taking the Golden Fleece? They may as well run for their lives.
But the barkeep's next words eased his worry.
"Not at all." The barkeep shook his head.
"King Aeetes certainly can't command mages. His Majesty is the son of the great god Helios, while the mages worship the Goddess of Magic, Hecate."
"Hecate? What kind of deity is that?" Jason had never heard the name.
"I don't really know," the barkeep admitted.
"But I once heard a mage lord eating here say that a very, very long time ago, before my grandfather was even born, the Goddess Hecate used to be a mage on this very island.
But she was the strongest of all mages.
One day, she mastered the highest realm of magic and instantly became a deity more powerful than Zeus himself."
"A mortal becoming a god?"
"You must be joking."
"That mage was exaggerating!"
"How could any deity be stronger than mighty Zeus?"
The heroes scoffed one after another.
"It's true!" The barkeep thought they suspected him of lying, so he quickly defended himself. "All the mages say so. Every single one."
Afraid they still doubted him, the barkeep lowered his voice.
"I also heard them say that the Goddess Hecate still lives on this island, right inside that castle where the mages gather."
That was even more shocking.
A deity living on this island?
But if so many mages worshipped the Goddess of Magic, then perhaps such a deity really did exist.
Only… the claims about "a mortal becoming a god" and "stronger than Zeus" were obviously lies, boastful exaggerations by mages worshipping their own goddess.
Still, even if their goddess wasn't stronger than Zeus, she probably wasn't much weaker either.
As for the rumor that Hecate resided on the island, that part might be true. At the very least, the number of mages gathered here was undeniable.
Jason mentally sorted through the information the barkeep had provided.
But he never imagined that the "ridiculous lies" he dismissed were actually completely and utterly true.
Suddenly, a detail mentioned by the barkeep resurfaced in his mind.
"You said the Goddess Hecate was a mage here on Colchis before your grandfather was born?" He still didn't believe it, but he caught the hidden implication instantly.
"There were mages on this island even back then?"
King Aeetes hadn't founded Colchis that long ago.
"Yes," the barkeep nodded. "Legend says that long before King Aeetes arrived, this island was already a sacred place for mages. They just hid from ordinary people back then."
"Then why was King Aeetes able to build a kingdom here?
Weren't the mages afraid he would disturb them? And why did they stop hiding only after he founded the Kingdom of Colchis?"
"That I don't know," the barkeep said, shaking his head. "Maybe King Aeetes had a good relationship with the mages?
Or maybe the great god Helios had a good relationship with the Goddess Hecate?"
To Jason, both explanations were plausible, but he still had no idea what the real truth was.
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