MTLNOVEL Chapter 18: Chapter 18: I Can’t Accept You
"Um… You…"
Moran paused, sizing up the person who had arrived.
Information from his past life resurfaced in his mind, and he gradually remembered the identity of the person before him.
"Oh, come on, looking at me like I'm a stranger is so mean~! I'm Artemis~ Ar.te.mis! You often look at me when you look up at the sky, don't you!"
Artemis blinked cheerfully, like a bride on her wedding day.
Artemis, the moon goddess and one of the twelve Olympian gods, had descended here with supreme authority.
"Why are you here?"
Moran didn't doubt Artemis's identity. He was just curious as to why she was here.
As one of the twelve Olympian gods, why would she descend to the human world and speak to him in such an intimate tone?
"Eh? I thought you'd question my identity first. Could it be, darling, that your love for me is so deep that you saw right through me? Ah~! Is this the magic of love? Unbelievable!"
Artemis covered her cheeks shyly.
Moran didn't know what to say.
She didn't act like one of the twelve Olympian gods at all, but rather like a scatterbrained girl in love.
"Hehe, the process doesn't matter! This appearance of mine was specially created to meet you. In other words, you've been noticed by a god, which means~ I fell in love with you at first sight."
Artemis placed a hand on her chest.
[Thinking back to when she first cast a glance at Moran out of curiosity]
[As a result, she was gradually drawn in]
[Every day, she looked forward to seeing more of this man, admiring and longing for his bravery and gentleness]
[Her heart felt as if it had been struck]
[Now, she was no longer satisfied with just being an observer; she even created a human form specifically to meet Moran]
"Huh? Are you serious?"
Moran was a little shocked.
[Having lived in Greece for over twenty years, he deeply understood how much the people around him worshiped the gods]
[And now, one of them was pursuing him?]
[If he told anyone, they'd probably be scared to death]
[Their own god had fallen in love with a human]
[For a god, this was almost a forbidden act, a disgraceful deed akin to falling from grace]
"I'm serious, what can I do! You know how I feel every night when you look at me like that? I've been waiting for this day for so long! It was love at first sight!"
"This is a bit…"
Moran understood what Artemis was saying.
[Every night in the past, when you had free time, you would look at the sea and the moon]
[But you weren't looking at the moon goddess]
[You were just entrusting your longing for the Shapeless Isle to the round moon, never expecting that the moon goddess was actually watching you]
"So, from now on, whether you're sick or healthy, you'll take responsibility for me, right?"
Artemis asked with a sweet smile, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
[She never even considered that you might refuse]
[How could anyone in the world refuse the love of a god? It was absolutely impossible, and you would certainly accept it as a matter of course—]
"I'm sorry, I can't answer you right now."
Moran sighed, feeling exhausted.
His main task right now was to return to the Shapeless Isle.
The gods were just too self-willed.
"Eh? How could this be…"
[Artemis hadn't anticipated this]
[She thought it was impossible for a human to reject a god]
[It should be like this, it must be like this]
[But why wasn't this man happily accepting her, even though she had expressed her love so clearly?]
"Then… do you hate me…?"
"Artemis, I can't respond to you right now. I need to help my family. So, I don't have time to think about other things, even if you're expressing your love for me like this."
Moran really didn't have the heart to think about anything else right now.
He was more worried than anyone about the safety of the Gorgon sisters, and although he was surprised by Artemis's confession, he didn't actually dislike her.
It was just that the timing wasn't right for Moran to be in a relationship.
"Hmph, whatever. If you want to know, I can tell you. It's already too late for you to go back. Medusa has already fallen into demonization, and it's only a matter of time before she turns into a Gorgon."
[Artemis had been watching you all along]
[Out of curiosity, she even tried to use her Mech God privileges to peer at the Shapeless Isle from the stratosphere outside Earth]
[There, she saw the situation on the Shapeless Isle]
[Of course, she had no intention of helping]
[This goddess only cared about you; she didn't care about the Gorgon sisters at all. She only spied on them because of you]
"Moran, there's nothing you can do! So why not be with me? It'll be much easier that way. The Gorgons are just forgotten goddesses who will eventually turn into monsters. You only need me~!"
[Artemis had been watching you]
[She knew that the source of your efforts was your family, and that the Gorgon sisters had made you a hero]
[But they had also caused you all sorts of hardships]
[Artemis, who loved you, couldn't bear to see this. She thought that freeing her beloved from suffering was the right thing to do]
[In her eyes, the Gorgon sisters were a disaster]
[There was absolutely no need to save them]
"…"
Moran silently walked towards the ship that was about to set sail.
He already had an answer in his heart.
It wasn't based on so-called social ethics, but on a simple emotion as a man.
In this simulation, he was a failed magician.
At the beginning of the simulation, he was just an orphan who had lost his parents and drifted on the sea, an insignificant person.
But someone had taken in that lonely person.
Someone had praised him, saying, "You've already done your best."
Someone had told him, "We just need to live together on the island; you don't need to have any other burdens."
["I'll block anyone who interferes. Hehe, Moran, I'm your sister too."]
["Sisters are supposed to protect their younger brothers, right?"]
[Beautiful and enchanting figures lingered in his mind]
[Even though she knew it was just a lie, knowing that she would eventually turn into a monster in the slaughter]
[He could see through this illusory and beautiful lie]
[But he still loved it immensely]
[Right now, you have people who are more important than yourself]
[At this moment, the Gorgon sisters were everything you wanted to protect; nothing was more real than that]
To Artemis's words, Moran could only give one answer at this moment.
"Artemis, I can't accept you."