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

The man turned to look at her and smiled. "The timing is perfect. Lunch is just about ready."

More than half a year had passed since he last saw Hecate. During that time, aside from wandering around nearby, Mephistopheles had tidied up the place where he lived a little. At the very least, he wanted it to be more comfortable.

Watching Medea stare fixedly at the roast meat before her, Mephistopheles secretly found it amusing. As he continued preparing the meat, he asked, "How is your magic training going?"

Medea immediately replied, "No problems at all. After all, I'm a genius!"

As she spoke, she puffed out her chest, looking extremely proud.

Half a year had not brought any obvious development to the girl's chest. It was still just as small and delicate.

She casually carried a wooden stool out from the house, placed it beside Mephistopheles, and naturally sat down. She had long since lost the initial reserve she once had.

Breathing in the sweet fragrance in the air, Medea asked, "Mephistopheles, why don't you come learn magic with me? Aren't you pursuing the true essence of magic?"

Medea knew that Mephistopheles was very interested in magic. Yet instead of studying under Hecate, the goddess of magic, he was exploring on his own. She found that difficult to understand.

Mephistopheles simply continued roasting the meat and sprinkling spices over it as he casually said, "Because everyone has their own path."

"I don't really understand that. You make it sound as if fate is predetermined."

"Fate is not predetermined. It is only that I have already chosen my own path. The magic I chose is not your magic, so I will not study under Lady Hecate."

Mephistopheles shook his head, then tore off a piece of meat with his other hand and put it into his mouth. Feeling the crisp, fragrant skin that had been seared by the flames, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Perfect flavor!"

Then he tore off a leg and handed it to the already impatient Medea. Watching the girl eagerly take it, open her mouth to bite into it, then hesitate out of fear of being burned, he smiled and put a piece of meat into his own mouth.

"If I keep eating here with you, I feel like I'll get fat very soon!" Medea said as she ate.

Upon hearing that, Mephistopheles looked her up and down, making Medea puzzled. "What? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just looking to see where exactly you had gotten fat. Unfortunately, I couldn't see it at all. It is as though time has stopped for you over the past half year."

Medea's expression changed. She tried hard to swallow the meat in her mouth, then fiercely glared at Mephistopheles.

Just then, she had clearly felt his gaze linger for quite a while on her hips and chest!

Although she was happy that he looked at her like that, his words made her feel extremely displeased.

"I-I'm still young. I'll definitely grow more! My mother is very sexy!" the rather unyielding girl said to Mephistopheles.

Mephistopheles merely smiled without saying anything. As he ate, he considered what he should do next.

Just then, Medea said, "Oh, right, Mephistopheles. I heard someone has become rather famous lately."

"Who?"

"Heracles."

The name Medea spoke made Mephistopheles pause. Medea asked curiously, "You know him?"

Mephistopheles nodded. "Yes, I know of him, though only roughly. Tell me, how did he become famous?"

Of course he knew Heracles. Whether in Greek mythology itself or in the Type-Moon World, Heracles was extremely famous. And Heracles' appearance might indicate that certain events were about to happen.

"I heard he possesses immense strength and can easily kill ferocious lions, boars, and the like. He is incredibly powerful!

"And he led a group of Thebans to defeat Erginus' well-equipped army. He even charged into Orchomenus, burned down the royal palace, and destroyed the city. Because of that, the king of Thebes even married his daughter Megara to him.

"People are talking about it everywhere. They say the gods gave him gifts too. For example, Apollo gave him a bow, while Athena gave him a shield."

As Medea spoke of the rumors circulating outside, Mephistopheles fell into thought upon hearing them.

"Heracles has already married Megara. That means the War of the Giants will happen soon. Originally, the War of the Giants began because the giants born from Gaia and Uranus were imprisoned in hell by Zeus, then broke out to take revenge on him. So how does that work in this world?

"There is no Greek goddess Gaia in this world, only Gaia of the Counter Force. And the Greek gods are all Machine Gods. The giants can't be Machine Gods too, can they?"

While Mephistopheles pondered just what the giant race known as the Gigantes truly was, the girl beside him began acting a little bashfully.

"T-There's more. I heard Heracles has forty-nine lovers!"

"Oh, I know. You mean the fifty daughters of Cycnus, king of Thespiae. I remember one of them was somewhat shy, so Heracles passed her over." Mephistopheles spoke casually as he continued considering the question in his heart.

"And if this has already begun, then the other matter should begin too. Soon, that very famous event from Greek mythology—the great expedition of heroes, the search for the Golden Fleece..."

Thinking of that, Mephistopheles could not help looking at the girl beside him. Medea was one of the main characters in the Golden Fleece story. It could even be said that Medea was the true heroine of that tale!

Unfortunately, that heroine's story was filled with betrayal and tragedy.

"Yes, those daughters of King Cycnus. Forty-nine of them were Heracles' lovers, and I heard they have all already borne children! Mephistopheles, y-you... haven't you ever thought about having a child or something?"

As Medea spoke, she cautiously looked toward the man beside her, only to find him staring at her. The emotions in his eyes made her tense up involuntarily.

"W-What is it? Why is he looking at me so seriously?!" Medea secretly thought, unable to stop herself from feeling a little pleased. As expected, telling him something like this was useful!

Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she stubbornly held her head high and refused to turn away. "Of course, considering you are unfamiliar with this place, if you want a child, I-I could also..."

Just as she was about to speak her true feelings, Mephistopheles suddenly stood up. "Let's make preparations. We will leave this place in a few days."

"Huh?! Leave? Leave here? Why?" Medea looked at Mephistopheles in confusion, unable to understand why he suddenly wanted to take her away.

Her thoughts quickly began to race, and she soon came up with her own guess.

"Could it be that he feels embarrassed to ask my father because he is just an ordinary person with no status, so he plans to take me away directly? Th-That isn't impossible, but he has my teacher's approval. That status is already enough!"

While the girl's imagination ran wild, Mephistopheles was thinking about something else.

"If I take Medea away now and completely leave the area controlled by the Greek gods, I can definitely prevent her tragedy. But is that really right?

"It probably does not matter. Jason wants to obtain the Golden Fleece, and without Medea to exploit, they will find some other target to help Jason.

"Still, running away like this is rather unpleasant. Or perhaps I can think of another way. For example, I could join the journey for the Golden Fleece myself. I should encounter quite a few things along the way and gain plenty of information."

Having thought that far, Mephistopheles spoke to Medea again. "Yes, we're leaving. Let's go traveling!"

"Traveling?!" Medea was no longer sure what Mephistopheles wanted to do. "You suddenly want to travel? I-I need to speak with Teacher first..."

Mephistopheles immediately nodded. "Of course. You can tell Lady Hecate that you are going traveling with me. I believe the goddess will agree."

Seeing that Mephistopheles had no hesitation at all and did not seem to be planning any of the things she had imagined, Medea felt confused and somewhat disappointed. Still, after finishing the food in her hands, she headed for Hecate's temple.

"Great goddess, mistress of the dark moon, ruler of magic, Hecate, my respected teacher, I wish to leave this place with Mephistopheles and travel elsewhere for a while. I ask for your permission."

She was Hecate's priestess. If she wished to take leave and go out traveling, she naturally had to ask Hecate first.

Then, she heard the god's oracle.

Medea blinked in surprise. She had not expected Hecate to agree so quickly, without any additional conditions.

Hecate was usually very strict. Medea was not even allowed to secretly rest during magic lessons, yet today she had agreed with unusual speed.

"C-Could it be that Teacher Hecate knows what I am thinking too? So she is supporting me?!"

After receiving permission, Medea happily rose and walked out of the temple. She wanted to tell Mephistopheles the good news, tell him that she was ready and could leave with him on their journey.

"Where are you planning to take my student?" Hecate came to Mephistopheles' side and asked him.

"Of course, to take part in the various events that follow. Staying cooped up in one place all the time has its problems. There, she can meet many people and experience many things. It should help her grow faster."

As Mephistopheles spoke, he gently raised his hand. In his right hand was a two-handed sword condensed from starlight. Holding it, he casually swung it once, and when he released it, the sword dispersed.

Seeing that sword and sensing the immense power contained within it, Hecate froze for a moment. The sword's shape and strength both felt extremely familiar, as though she had encountered them many years ago.

"This sword is?"

"Didn't I say so? I intended to use the things you told me to construct a magical formula. I have been trying to do that for the past half year, and now I have achieved a small result."

"This is the Star Sword, the holy sword forged by the planet itself!!"

"Something like that. Actually, I merely used that mythological legend—or perhaps history—extracted it, and then constructed a magical formula from it. If it is fully stabilized, it should be possible to create a two-handed sword containing that power, but it will take a long time."

Mephistopheles explained the secret of the light sword he had just created, then helplessly shook his head. "Unfortunately, it can only be considered an unfinished product now. If I want it to reach the level of the real thing, I will need to make further adjustments."

Mephistopheles' helpless appearance nearly made Hecate roll her eyes. Even as the goddess of magic, she had been shocked by his achievement, yet he still seemed dissatisfied.

"The power inside that light sword just now would be tremendously destructive if you threw it. You are still not satisfied?"

"If I cannot reproduce its original power, I will not be satisfied. Still, I was only trying it out, to verify some of my guesses." Mephistopheles looked at the girl's figure appearing in the distance and smiled. "She is back."

"I should leave." As Hecate spoke, her figure gradually faded, but she left behind a sentence by Mephistopheles' ear.

"Medea is my student. Do not bully her!"

"Do I look like the kind of person who casually bullies girls?" Mephistopheles shook his head and gave a short laugh. "Right now, it is more like she is coveting my body. Mm, perhaps I should say she is always ready to bully me."

Mephistopheles spoke those words with complete righteousness. Even though she had already faded away, Hecate, who saw this scene in the final moment before returning to the divine realm, could not help being stunned by his shamelessness.

He clearly had no scruples about admiring her student's petite and adorable figure, yet he could still say something like that!

But what could she do? Medea clearly liked that fellow!

Artemis

Walking along the forest path, Mephistopheles looked utterly relaxed. Of course, aside from his calmness, the other person appeared extremely excited.

Medea was like a little bird freed from its cage, brimming with energy along the way. She gave Mephistopheles a perfect understanding of what birdlike steps truly meant.

At least, Mephistopheles felt that he absolutely could not imitate her way of taking three steps forward, two steps back, and hopping around.

"Mephistopheles, look! There's a wild boar over there!" Medea excitedly grabbed the corner of Mephistopheles' clothes and pointed ahead with her right hand.

It was indeed a wild boar. At least, its shape showed that it resembled the boars of later times. But the tusks on its head were around two or three times larger than those of an ordinary boar, and its body was covered in an obviously hard shell. In an instant, the creature had gone from realism to fantasy.

Although Mystery was fading, this was still the Age of Gods, an era where Mystery flourished. The beasts of this era all possessed some degree of mysterious inclination.

This made it genuinely difficult for ordinary humans to deal with such fierce beasts. Forget arrows—even striking one directly with an axe might not break through its defenses.

It was precisely for this reason that those who could hunt such beasts were called heroes.

"Mephistopheles, how about we eat this tonight?!" Medea was like a child at that moment, and her words made the already irritable boar even more enraged. Snorting repeatedly, it charged straight at the two of them.

"That works. We can sell the extra meat for some money." As Mephistopheles spoke, a longsword radiating starlight formed in his hand. Then he casually swung it, and the light sword flew out like a throwing knife, smashing heavily into the boar.

In an instant, the sword tip struck the shell. The seemingly incomparably sturdy shell was sliced through as easily as tofu by the light sword, and the entire blade sank into the boar's body.

The boar did not even have time to let out a scream, because at that instant, the air was already filled with the charred fragrance of roasted meat.

The sliced wound clearly bore scorched marks!

Mephistopheles pulled out the light sword and fell silent for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Medea asked curiously, only to see Mephistopheles cut a piece of meat from the boar's corpse on the spot. He then pressed the meat against the light sword. The meat immediately began to sizzle and steam, with grease constantly flowing from it.

"I feel like this magical formula can be used to make teppanyaki."

Medea froze for a moment. Listening to Mephistopheles' words, especially when paired with what he was doing, she felt as though her mind nearly crashed.

Magic based on the powerful weapon that had destroyed the white giant in ancient times was being used as a cooking tool?

If the white giant knew that the weapon which had killed it was being used this way, it would probably be so angry that it came back to life on the spot!

Yet after smelling that charred fragrance, Medea could not help nodding. "I think it can!"

She blinked. "How about we try that teppanyaki you mentioned later?"

The greatness of magic? The dignity of the Star Sword? Could either compare to delicious food?!

At that moment, the girl was becoming more and more assimilated by Mephistopheles.

Thus, in the dense forest, the widened Star Sword floated at about knee height, with marinated pork placed atop it. Grease and fragrance continuously sizzled forth.

At that moment, Medea suddenly raised her staff. The staff, condensed with magical power, aimed toward a spot in the forest.

The bushes there were shaking, as though something was hidden within them.

Mephistopheles was not tense at all. He continued working on his teppanyaki as though nothing could disturb him at that moment.

"Don't be nervous. I'm just a passing hunter." Along with a lively voice, the figure of a girl appeared not far away. She stepped out from the bushes, her eyes fixed on the wild boar that had already been cleaned and set aside.

Then her gaze swiftly shifted to the pork that was sizzling with grease.

The girl had long silver-white hair, fair skin, and pale blue eyes filled with curiosity.

Perhaps there was some other desire within them as well.

Seeing the girl's simple clothes seemingly made from animal fur and the white longbow on her back, Mephistopheles recognized her identity using his meager Fate/Grand Order knowledge.

This girl pretending to be passing by was Artemis, the moon goddess among the Greek gods. Seeing the desire hidden in her eyes, Mephistopheles pointed to an empty spot beside them. "Would you like to try some?"

"Can I?!" Artemis, who had still not introduced herself, asked happily. Only after Mephistopheles nodded did she sit down nearby.

"What kind of magic is this? Was it specifically made to prepare this kind of food?" Artemis asked. Mephistopheles resisted the urge to roll his eyes.