Starting in Type-Moon, but a Mage from A Certain Magical Index

Thus, Medea, who had been watching the show, let out a scream and began begging for mercy.

Outside the room, Atalanta, whose hearing was far too sharp and who could clearly hear those sounds, could not help but blush as well. She sat on the deck, letting the sea breeze wash over her, hoping it could suppress some of her biological instincts.

Yet the way she fidgeted her legs showed that it was not working very well.

I can usually hold it back so easily. What is going on today? she wondered.

She felt that tonight would perhaps be a sleepless night.

Let us turn back time a little.

Jason was actually quite handsome. He could not be called tall and imposing, but he was at least top-tier in looks.

So when Hypsipyle, who had not seen a man in many days, saw Jason, her face flushed red and ripples stirred in her heart.

If I let him manage this country for me and make him king here, that would not be bad either. Such a thought rose in Hypsipyle's mind.

Thus, Hypsipyle said to Jason:

"Outsider, our men were unfaithful to us. They left with the concubines they had seized in war, taking their male servants and sons with them, leaving only us women here. So if you are satisfied, come and settle here permanently.

"And if you are willing, you can take my father Thoas's place and govern both your people and ours. You will be satisfied with this place; it is the most prosperous island in this region.

"You may relay my words to your friends. You can discuss it among yourselves. There is no need to answer me so quickly."

Jason stared at Hypsipyle in astonishment. He had never expected to hear such words. Looking at the beautiful queen before him, Jason could not help recalling what Mephistopheles had told him.

Could this be the opportunity Mephistopheles mentioned? This beautiful queen is willing to let me govern her people in her stead—no, to govern the people here in place of her father...

But this is not right. This would not make me king; it would only make me a regent. I would be governing for her father. If her father returned... Come to think of it, I originally guessed that her father had died, but he merely left...

If her father returns, would I not have to hand over the throne again? After all, her father is the rightful holder of that position.

At that thought, Jason's wavering heart became firm again. He shook his head and refused Hypsipyle's proposal, even politely thanking her for the help she had offered his group.

In the end, he even gave her a brilliant smile. "Thank you for your kindness, but you should keep the king's scepter and this island kingdom for yourself. It is not that I look down on it, but because arduous struggles await me in the distance!"

His words brimmed with heroism and romance, leaving Hypsipyle somewhat dazed. She only felt that the man before her perfectly matched her fantasies of a husband. Though she was unmarried and still a virgin, that did not stop her from indulging in a maiden's dreams.

So, with a faint blush, she whispered, "Then perhaps you can stay here for a few days and keep me company..."

Jason felt that he had no problem granting such a maiden's request.

Look at those fellows outside. Were they not keeping those lonely maidens company too?!

Everyone was so warmhearted!

"What a springlike atmosphere."

Pollux, the younger sister of the Gemini twins, felt the atmosphere of "love" rippling through the surroundings and sighed. As one half of an incestuous pair of twins, she had naturally long been familiar with such matters.

Her sigh was more of a jab at the current atmosphere.

Thus, Castor, who greatly disliked humans, once again offered his sharp critique. "They are mortals, after all. Even with divine blood, they cannot conceal the difference between them and us. We are gods, while they are humans. They are always so easily ruled by desire."

However, his words quickly drew a rebuttal from his sister. "Brother, by that logic, we were born under similar circumstances. And Zeus was the one who could not keep himself under control."

Castor: "..."

Seeing that her brother had gone silent, Pollux turned to look at him, only to find him deep in thought. This left her rather puzzled. "The atmosphere is so wonderful today, yet you can actually hold yourself back?"

She was protesting why her lover was not getting handsy with her.

But Castor had something more important to attend to. "I spoke with Mr. Mephistopheles for a while. He told me of a way to regain my divine status. I think now is an excellent opportunity."

"Regain your divine status?!" This news immediately sent Pollux's earlier dissatisfaction flying into the clouds. She hurriedly asked what had happened.

After Castor explained the matter, Pollux nodded. "That method really could work. Since you were affected by humanity's stories, restoring yourself through humanity's stories is also an option."

As she spoke, she blinked. "So, Brother, why do you say now is a good opportunity? Everyone is so happy right now. Even if you announce that you are a god, not many people would care."

Castor smiled, and there was something rather sinister about it. "It is precisely because everyone is applauding for love that I think this is a good opportunity. Just wait!

"Give me two or three days, and I will show you what truly unforgettable means!"

Seeing her brother say this, Pollux could not help looking forward to it. She wanted to see what he planned to pull off. Even if he could not regain his divine status, it would likely lighten the mood for everyone who had grown rather frustrated with the journey.

Mephistopheles's Promise

After a person went through an intense "battle," they always entered a peculiar state, almost as if they had attained enlightenment.

Although Mephistopheles did not experience anything of the sort and was always full of energy, the two girls who had battled him did not possess such stamina.

Mephistopheles gently caressed the girls' tender skin, enjoying this hard-won period of cohabitation.

"We should have known better than to come aboard the Argo. It feels like there is no privacy at all..." Artemis muttered unhappily.

Hearing that, Mephistopheles smiled. "It is fine. If my calculations are right, they should stay here for a while longer, around three or four days."

"Three or four days?!" Medea asked in surprise. "Were they practically planning to live here?"

"Yes, almost. They almost did settle down here." Mephistopheles nodded. If Heracles had not gone to call those fellows, they really might have continued singing and feasting every night.

"Do those people even remember that they are on an adventure? Especially Jason, can he still remember his mission?!"

Medea spoke with great dissatisfaction, looking thoroughly angry. Mephistopheles lightly traced a finger across her back, making the girl let out a soft "Ah," adorable as a kitten's cry.

Mephistopheles joked, "They are going to find your father. Would it not be better if they arrived later?"

"But seeing them like this just feels wrong. It feels like they have no resolve at all!" Medea pouted. "Still, it has nothing to do with me. I am just here to have fun!"

As she spoke, she even thought for a moment. "Besides, when the time comes, we will definitely have to find a way to give them the Golden Fleece. If we do not, there will certainly be huge trouble. Setting aside their identities, every one of them is descended from a god, and those who are not descended from gods are still connected to gods...

"If we include the twins Artemis mentioned, they were originally gods themselves. On the other hand, even if my father can protect the Golden Fleece this time, the gods will definitely find another way to take it away. They may even become dissatisfied with my father because it is too troublesome...

"So the best choice is to hand it over quickly this time!"

Medea's analysis was undeniably correct. Even if the gods themselves were the ones trying to take the Golden Fleece, repeated attempts would still become irritating. There was no reward for it; it was merely to restore one human's normal lifespan.

They could still remain amicable now, but after too many failed attempts, they might become so irritated that they wanted to throw the controller.

Just like a gamer tormented by a quest until they wanted to punch through the screen.

"It is fine. When the time comes, I can help them. After all, I am the one who ruined their original method." Medea looked at Mephistopheles curiously and asked, "What was the original method?"

Seeing Mephistopheles stare at her without speaking, Medea was first stunned. Then she blinked and pointed at herself. "Me?!"

"Yes, you."

"Wait, why would I help them?!" Medea was startled at first, then repeatedly shook her head. "No, impossible. My father has a terrible temper. He dotes on me, but he is terrifying when he gets angry. Everyone in my family is afraid of him! I would never risk being punished by my father to help them!"

"But you really did help them."

"Could it be that I saw through the gods' plan and did not want my father to keep living beyond a mortal lifespan, so I helped them?" Medea looked pleased with herself. "Hmm, that is possible. As expected of me, I am so clever!"

Mephistopheles merely smiled and did not reveal the truth.

He felt that if he told her the truth, Medea might become so angry that she would kill Jason.

To prevent Jason from losing his life over something that had not yet happened, Mephistopheles decided to keep this secret buried.

Artemis looked at Medea, then at Mephistopheles. Although she did not know exactly what would happen in the future, she still guessed something from Mephistopheles's reaction.

She was a god and knew what the gods were capable of. In particular, because of Mephistopheles's reaction, Artemis had already thought of one possibility.

Perhaps, in the future without Mephistopheles, the god who made Medea help Jason and the others obtain the Golden Fleece was Aphrodite. Her methods of manipulating the mind and such would be the most likely to make someone willingly die for another person.

And Mephistopheles clearly does not want to say much. If it were really the possibility Medea guessed herself, there would be no reason to hide it. So if he is unwilling to say it, something terrible must have happened to Medea.

She betrayed her father because of Aphrodite's control. She must have gone through a truly miserable future...

But the future has already changed now. My future must have changed too. I can tell that from Apollo's words. He must have seen another version of my future, which is why he was so satisfied with Mephistopheles's appearance.

But he definitely will not tell me what that future is like. He has always been like this, hiding anything unfavorable from us and carrying the burden alone.

Thinking this, Artemis could not help sighing.

At that moment, she heard Mephistopheles's voice. He was speaking to her.

"Artemis, are you worried about that little girl?"

"Little girl? She is older than you, is she not?" Artemis said.

Medea immediately added, "Exactly! Atalanta is older than you!"

Mephistopheles smiled without speaking. If he added together the ages of all three lives he had lived, he was probably already forty or fifty.

However, since he had transmigrated while young every time and started over from the beginning, he had always remained in the state of a young person. So mentally, he really was quite young.

Still, that did not stop him from calling Atalanta a little girl.

"You are right. That child is always praying to me, as though she wants to tell me everything she sees. It is a strange feeling, but I like listening to her. I enjoy watching her slowly grow up, slowly develop thoughts of her own, and slowly learn how to become an adult.

"And she likes children because she does not want them to experience what she experienced as a child. After all, her father abandoned her when she was young and threw her into the mountains. If I had not sent a mother bear to raise her, she would have died long ago.

"I have a feeling that although I have always watched over her, her future will not be very good. Gods cannot directly interfere with mortals; the choices mortals make are their own. I can only guide her in secret and cannot directly interfere...

"I do not know why I have this premonition, but the feeling refuses to fade. Perhaps it is information I obtained through my connection to the Root. Yet the time has not come, so the information remains vague."

Artemis said a great deal all at once, voicing all her worries about Atalanta. She was like a mother watching her child grow up, worried for that child yet unable to directly help her.

Hearing this, Mephistopheles asked, "Did you not ask your younger brother?"

Artemis shook her head. "I asked Apollo, but he would not tell me what was going on. The only thing I am sure of is that it cannot be good, because his expression did not look very good."

Mephistopheles naturally knew that Atalanta's future was indeed not very good. The girl was determined not to marry, yet she still had countless suitors. In that wild era, men were always wildly aggressive, and for Atalanta, who did not like men being so aggressive, almost no one could catch her eye.

Even Heracles only struck her as a good, powerful man. At most, she felt camaraderie toward him; there would never be any spark of romance.

When her father, who had originally abandoned her, pressured her into marriage, Atalanta proposed a life-or-death contest to reject her suitors. Whoever could defeat her in a race could marry her, but whoever lost would die.

It sounded terrifying, but it was merely a threat meant to make people retreat in the face of difficulty, a contest intended to scare people away.

Yet because many men looked down on her for being a woman and believed they could certainly win, they came to challenge her one after another and lost their lives.

According to Mephistopheles, although Atalanta's wager was indeed rather extreme, anyone who joined the contest knowing the stakes had no right to blame anyone else if they died.

After all, it was written in black and white: a duel to the death. No one forced them to participate.

Then, because one man prayed to the gods and asked for their help, he received three Golden Apples from Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. With the Golden Apples' assistance, he successfully outran Atalanta and married her through cheating.

That alone would have been one thing, but the man who married Atalanta had clearly received Aphrodite's help, yet afterward he forgot to thank the goddess, angering Aphrodite.

To punish him, Aphrodite lured the two of them to a certain god's temple, where they could not control themselves and applauded for love. The offended god turned them into lions.

As for which god had been offended, there were too many versions, and Mephistopheles did not know which god had been offended in Type-Moon's version.

Of course, which god it was did not matter. Knowing exactly what had happened, Mephistopheles gently stroked Artemis's hair and said, "Leave this to me. I will solve this problem for you!"

Hearing that, Artemis happily threw her arms around Mephistopheles. The softness against her chest pressed against him, stirring his nerves.

"Thank you, Mephistopheles!"

At that moment, Artemis's voice was filled with joy.

Heracles's Embarrassment

Jason felt that he was living very happily. Hypsipyle was beautiful and gentle, and despite being a queen, she had never shared a bed with anyone. That time with him had actually been her first!

This truly surprised Jason. If this queen had a child in the future, and the child was his, would that not mean the future king of this country would be his descendant?

However, he quickly threw the thought aside. Jason held the beautiful queen in his arms, gently caressing her fair body.

He suddenly felt that staying here seemed like a good choice too.

As he continued touching her, his hand became somewhat unruly. Hypsipyle let out a soft gasp, prompting Jason to become even more unrestrained.

Just as he was planning to have another vigorous round, the surroundings suddenly turned completely dark!

Jason was startled. He hurriedly pushed himself up from the bed and looked around, only to find that the beautiful Hypsipyle was nowhere to be seen. There was nothing else either. All he could see was the roaring sea and the endlessly howling wind!

"Th-this... where is this?! Where am I?!" Jason immediately examined his surroundings and found himself aboard a tiny boat, so small that it could only hold him alone.

The little boat was constantly tossing amid the raging wind and rain, liable to capsize at any moment and be swallowed by the ocean!

Feeling the terrifying power of heaven and earth, Jason was so frightened that he could not help praying.

"Jason, have you forgotten your mission? Do you not remember what you are meant to do?"

Suddenly, a voice reached him. Jason hurriedly raised his head and discovered that amid the storm, in that pitch-black world, a light had appeared in the distance. From within that light came a majestic voice.