A Certain Magical Index Mage from the Start, but in Type-Moon

But Artemis was clearly no longer a virgin goddess. She had given up that identity for this man!

"You are still too young. You were not called back for that dangerous war, but it is fine to tell you now. This Mephistopheles took part in the Gigantomachy and slew numerous giants with his own strength alone!"

"He took part in the Gigantomachy?!"

"And he killed numerous giants by himself?!"

The siblings both cried out in shock. If there had truly been anyone else around, they would certainly have been overheard.

The two of them awkwardly lowered their voices, but even so, they remained utterly stunned as they looked at the figure in the distance, whose body was clearly thinner and weaker-looking than everyone around him.

This man had slain numerous giants with his own strength alone?! And those giants had not been ordinary giants. They were terrifying monsters said to have grown from the body of Sephar, who had nearly destroyed this world and slaughtered the gods in the distant past!

Only then did they finally understand what kind of terrifying monster that young man, who barely seemed to possess any power, truly was. At that moment, Artemis continued:

"He received the blessings of the gods. Every chief god bestowed a blessing upon him. Because of his exceptional accomplishments, the Father of the Gods even granted him the right to become a god, but he refused."

"Accomplishments worthy of godhood?!" The two cried out again. They were shocked that Zeus had wanted to elevate a mere mortal into a god, to the point that their minds could barely process it.

Even if he had participated in the Gigantomachy and slain quite a few giants, that should not have been enough to make him a god, right? If it were truly that easy, then would Heracles over there not have been able to become a god directly as well?

At the very least, Heracles was Zeus's son. He had also taken part in the Gigantomachy, so his qualifications should have been even more sufficient.

"He killed the Father of Monsters sealed away by the Father of the Gods—the Primordial Dragon Typhon—and completely resolved an existence that even the gods found difficult to deal with."

When Artemis revealed Mephistopheles's second accomplishment, and his greatest one, Castor and Pollux stopped speaking. They had fallen completely silent.

To put it plainly, their minds had gone numb.

What kind of monstrous accomplishments were those?!

He killed Typhon?

Was this guy really just a human? If he really was human, then how had he killed Typhon, the Father of Monsters?!

That was no ordinary monster. It was Typhon, who could chase the gods into flight and even force them to flee to Egypt!

The Primordial Dragon Typhon!

Yet they had no way to refute it. Not long ago, the volcano suppressing Typhon had indeed roared, and its roar had been even more violent than usual. Strangely enough, though, no lava had flowed out.

At the time, they had thought Typhon was merely venting his temper as usual. Thinking about it now, however, those had likely been traces of the battle between the human called Mephistopheles and Typhon.

As for why there had been no volcanic eruption?

Typhon, the very source of the lava, was dead. Was it not perfectly normal for no lava to erupt?

But even after realizing all that and linking everything together, the siblings remained silent for a long time. The strength of that human called Mephistopheles had already surpassed their understanding.

The only thing they could think was, "No wonder the Father of the Gods wanted him to become a god. With that strength, continuing to be human would either be a waste of talent, or his existence would simply put far too much pressure on every other human."

Artemis finally said, "You do not need to worry about us. We will not intervene easily. You will still have to rely on yourselves along this journey."

Having said that, she happily left and headed toward Mephistopheles.

Castor quietly said to his sister, "Sister, I think the three of them came here to have fun, didn't they?"

Pollux also said, "Brother, I think they came here to have fun—to travel. What kind of crisis would have to appear along the way to make all three of them act?"

At the thought of a crisis terrifying enough to force those three to take action, the two could not help shaking their heads and throwing the idea out of their minds.

Sure enough, it would be better not to encounter such a crisis. If they really did encounter one, it would be far too terrifying!

When Mephistopheles saw Artemis return, he asked, "How did it go?"

"Do not worry. They will not reveal our identities. I made sure to explain that we are only here for fun and will not interfere too much!" Artemis said. Seeing that Mephistopheles seemed to be thinking about something, she asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"

"I was wondering why Castor, the older brother, has no divinity. Is it because he is the son of the king of Sparta?"

"That is right, though there are still some differences." Artemis revealed a smug smile, as though she were about to share an earth-shattering secret.

"Although there is a claim that he is the son of the king of Sparta, that is actually only one version of the legend. The two of them here are gods who descended into the human world and joined people in their adventures.

"The legend changed. People came to believe that one of them was the child of the king of Sparta. That idea and understanding spread far too widely, and it affected the gods as well—affecting Castor, the older brother."

Hearing this explanation, Mephistopheles finally understood what had happened.

"Though they were said to have been born from humans, they truly are both sons of Zeus. Yet because of human imagination alone, one of them lost the power of his bloodline and changed from a god into a human. No wonder he dislikes humans so much."

"What? Do you want to think of a solution for him?" Artemis asked.

"What solution could I possibly have?" Mephistopheles shook his head. "I do not even know how to become a god myself, let alone help someone else become one."

However, Mephistopheles smiled again, as though he had thought of something amusing.

"For his situation, the simplest method would be to write a story himself and spread it everywhere, saying that he is Zeus's son and possesses Zeus's bloodline. As long as it spreads widely enough, he can recover.

"He could even spread the story across the sea and let sailors carry it to every place. As long as the story is written to be somewhat engaging and distinctive, it will definitely spread far and wide.

"Since his fall was caused by the interference of human awareness, he only needs to start from there. It was the simplest solution to begin with."

"Then are you not going to tell him?"

Mephistopheles grinned. "I will tell him whenever I am in a good mood."

At that moment, cheers sounded from nearby. Mephistopheles looked over and saw everyone celebrating Heracles's arrival. The most famous hero, Heracles, who had already completed many dangerous commissions—his reputation had long spread throughout Greece. With him joining them, everyone felt that this adventure was secure.

Mephistopheles's Suggestion

On the day the Argo was set to depart, many people came to the port to watch the excitement. Naturally, aside from the spectators, there were also those who had come to see them off.

The one standing on the dock, talking with many people, his eyes full of reluctance as he repeatedly reminded them of one thing after another—or rather, that centaur—had come to see the crew of this ship off.

That was Chiron, the teacher of the vast majority of those present. If they had to be singled out, perhaps only Mephistopheles and his two companions belonged to the small minority who were not his students.

Standing aboard the ship and watching the youthful-looking centaur repeatedly instruct his students as though he were reminding his own children, Mephistopheles said to Medea and Artemis beside him, "I have to say, Chiron is an oddity among centaurs. He has the best temperament. The others are either raping people or fighting."

"His origins are different. Centaurs were born from Ixion, who was utterly hypocritical, full of desire, and incapable of keeping promises, and from a cloud. Thus, they were filled with their father's flaws. As for Chiron, he was the descendant of Cronus and Philyra. He took the form of a centaur because Cronus transformed into a horse, which caused Philyra to give birth to Chiron in the form of a centaur."

Artemis's explanation was always perfectly timed, though Mephistopheles naturally knew all this as well. After all, he knew Greek mythology very well. His earlier remark had merely been a complaint meant to determine whether Chiron of this world was the same as in the myths he knew, or whether there were any differences.

It seemed there truly were no differences. Chiron's origins were the same as in the myths. When Cronus was having an affair with Philyra, his wife Rhea happened to pass by. Cronus transformed into a horse to avoid Rhea, but because he and Philyra had made love under those circumstances, the Chiron who was born became a centaur.

It had to be said that Chiron's birth was simply the greatest tragedy!

Furthermore, because of his centaur form, Chiron had never been loved by his mother. He was abandoned the moment he was born.

And if Mephistopheles's memories were not mistaken, this god who had taught countless heroes would soon meet the end of his life. The one responsible for his death would be his student, Heracles.

Like a passerby, Mephistopheles watched it all. He had no intention of changing Chiron's death. There was no need to do so, and it was connected to Heracles's own adventure—the Twelve Trials. Chiron would also receive the glory corresponding to his death, which was Zeus's compensation to him.

Finally, after everyone returned to the ship, they began rowing. Every one of these heroes was immensely strong. As all fifty oars moved together, the Argo split the waves and sailed into the distance at tremendous speed. Port of Iolcus was quickly left behind and vanished from sight entirely.

But even though they were fast, the land during the Age of Gods was extraordinarily vast due to the blessing of myths—or rather, the blessing of Mystery. The entire planet displayed a size utterly disproportionate to itself, as though it had expanded severalfold.

Thus, even after they rowed from daylight until nightfall, they still did not see any place where they could dock.

Night was the time to rest. Although the Argo was an enormous ship, it was impossible to provide everyone with separate quarters. In the end, the spaces were divided into one area for men—the largest area—and another for women.

In truth, there were only four girls aboard the entire ship: Pollux and Atalanta, who had originally been crew members, along with Medea and Artemis.

Thus, the four girls stayed in one cabin, while Mephistopheles stayed in another with the men.

The cabin was bustling and noisy. Everyone held delicious wine and chatted with one another.

Mephistopheles sat quietly off to one side without joining the discussions. He merely listened in silence, committing everything they said—the adventure stories they considered interesting—to memory as he wondered whether to write them all into his book.

At that moment, someone came over to Mephistopheles. It was Castor, the older brother of the twin gods.

He looked somewhat awkward and unwilling as he said, "Um... sorry. My attitude yesterday was a little bad. Please do not take it to heart."

"It is fine. I can understand. You changed from a god into a human, and humans were the reason for that change. It is only natural that you would be displeased with humans." Mephistopheles smiled and shook his head, indicating that he did not mind.

Castor froze. Looking at Mephistopheles, he was surprised that Mephistopheles knew such things. But then he thought of how intimate the other man was with Artemis, completely like husband and wife, and he understood.

Artemis must have told him. Naturally, he would know about it.

"Then, do you want to regain your power?" Mephistopheles suddenly asked.

Castor froze again. His eyes widened as he stared fixedly at Mephistopheles. He opened his mouth, but it took a long while before he squeezed out a few words. "Y-You mean that?!"

Castor could not believe Mephistopheles's words. Changing from a god into a human was such a tragic thing. He had done nothing wrong and had even always helped humans, yet he had been demoted into a mortal.

But he also knew how difficult it was to change from a human into a god. Therefore, he had never hoped to become a god again. He had only hoped to remain by his sister's side forever.

Yet having lost his divinity, he had also lost the power of immortality. His wish to stay by his sister's side had long since become impossible.

His sister was a god. She was immortal!

If he could truly regain the power of a god, then would he not be able to remain with his sister forever?!

"It is actually very simple. I do not know why you did not think of it." Mephistopheles spoke, then shook his head. "However, it will be somewhat difficult for you to fully become the god you once were. You will likely exist in a superimposed state between human and god. Not a demigod, but a state of overlap—both human and divine. You need to keep that in mind."

Mephistopheles's description left Castor unable to understand. He could tell that the other man was speaking of a very special state, but could such a state truly exist?

"Of course it can. If you ask your father, he should be able to give you some examples. After all, he is somewhat different from you. Due to his special nature, he knows things that the native gods born upon this planet do not." Mephistopheles continued.

Castor could not help beginning to believe Mephistopheles's words. Though he could also be considered an outsider god, he was in fact a descendant born to Zeus, an outsider god, in this world. Strictly speaking, Castor was no different from a native god.

But Castor knew that Greece's chief gods were all outsiders. In the past, they had been existences far stronger than Earth's gods. It was only to protect Earth and humanity that they lost their immense power and became roughly equivalent to the gods of Earth today.

Though they had lost their power, their knowledge remained. Therefore, when Mephistopheles said he could ask Zeus, Castor could not help believing Mephistopheles—believing this human.

"This man took part in the Gigantomachy, killed Typhon, and was even offered godhood by Father. Even the moon goddess likes him so much. What he says must be of immense value. I should treat him with even greater respect, as though he were my teacher!"

Thinking this, Castor became increasingly respectful. He said quietly, "Mr. Mephistopheles, please teach me how I can restore my divinity.

"If I can truly restore my divinity, then if there is ever anything you need my help with in the future, please do not hesitate to ask. I will never refuse!"

"I will remember those words, though only for now, because I do not currently know what I might need your help with." Mephistopheles smiled, then said, "As for the method of becoming a god, I can tell you directly. It is simply too easy."

Castor did not understand. If becoming a god were truly easy, why would he have grieved over himself like this?

Yet once Mephistopheles spoke those words, Castor was completely stunned. He stared wide-eyed, unable to think of anything to say.

"Why do you not write a biography? Or a novel, a tale—anything will do. Even poetry. The important thing is to describe how both you and your sister possess Zeus's bloodline, that you are gods rather than mortals.

"You should also refute the legend you dislike. You could even create a story where you appear before a mortal and point out his path of navigation, then solemnly tell him that you are a god, not a mortal, and command him to remember it and never make that mistake again.

"Hmm, it would be best if that mortal forgot, so you sent down divine punishment and made him suffer. In the end, once the mortal sincerely repented, you forgave him."

The method was so simple that the first thought that sprang into Castor's mind was, Are you fucking kidding me?

But as Zeus's son, he knew things ordinary people did not. In that instant, another thought arose in his mind: This can work. This will definitely work.

He finally understood Mephistopheles's words. He would exist in a special superimposed state, not half-god and half-human, but a special state where he was both human and god.

An Island Full of Women

Due to the effects brought about by mythological stories intertwining with one another, people would hold two different ideas in their minds: "Castor is a mortal without Zeus's bloodline," and "Castor is a god who possesses Zeus's bloodline."

There was no concept of "half-human, half-god" within those ideas. Precisely because of that, he would become as Mephistopheles described.

But at the very least, this would allow him to regain the immortality that had originally belonged to him. All he wanted was immortality. As long as he possessed it, he could stay beside his sister forever.

Thus, this young god who had once hated humanity bowed to Mephistopheles, expressing his gratitude.

"Thank you, Mr. Mephistopheles. I will never forget your kindness!"

Mephistopheles smiled and shook his head. "All right, I am going back to listening to them tell stories. You can also think about how to write your own story. Perhaps this voyage of the Argo can become a point from which your story spreads."

Castor considered it carefully for a moment, then nodded slightly. "I understand. I will not simply create a story. I will make it real and spread it on the foundation of fact!"

"That would be best." Mephistopheles nodded, then silently mocked in his heart, This is the Type-Moon world anyway. What difference is there between truth and fiction? As long as people believe it, that is enough.

Still, thoughts were only thoughts. He let Castor leave and continued listening to the others boast.

"You are both that Mephistopheles's lovers?"

Atalanta looked at Medea and Artemis in surprise. When the two nodded, she smiled and said:

"That is not bad. At least he does look young and handsome. I just do not know how strong he is. If it were me, I definitely would not marry someone weaker than myself."

Medea smiled at that. "Mephistopheles is very strong. Extremely strong. In any case, he is stronger than I am."

"Is that so? I can sense a god's blessing on you. Though it is difficult to determine exactly whose, it is indeed the blessing of some god." Atalanta spoke, then shook her head. "But I cannot sense any power from him. From what you are saying, did he deliberately hide it?"

Medea stuck out her tongue. Artemis said at that moment, "Rather than hiding it, it is more like his own method of training. He suppresses his strength and constantly faces crises. But no matter what, we are not as strong as you. We are ultimately just a few ordinary people."

"Is that so? I think anyone can become strong through diligent training. You have talent too, so you will definitely become stronger." Atalanta said this without looking down on others because of her own strength.