"...It's me."
A low, slightly startled male voice came from behind the door. Hearing that familiar voice, Tia let some of the tension leave his hand.
Only when the person outside slowly pushed the door open did that somewhat nervous face finally reveal itself before Tia.
"Castor...? Why are you here?"
Tia was genuinely puzzled.
They had parted ways in the afternoon, yet now they were meeting again at night.
As for Castor, it was only after the pressure hanging over him—like the descent of a god—suddenly vanished that he finally patted his chest and felt as though he had narrowly escaped death.
Just standing outside the door moments ago, every cell in his body had sensed fatal danger.
Perhaps if he had entered without permission, he would already have died on the spot.
"Sorry for disturbing you, but..." He dragged out the last words, as though finding this difficult to say. "My sister... after running out of the palace at noon, she hasn't been seen since."
"That's impossible."
Tia said it at once.
Leaving aside the possibilities of her wandering off for fun or getting lost, not to mention her youthful body, how could a mature woman with the mental age of someone in her thirties possibly end up like that?
Castor also knew how suspicious the whole thing sounded. But the fact remained: an immortal demigod had vanished right under everyone's noses.
He also firmly believed his sister was not the sort to cause trouble for others. So even after the commotion that afternoon, when she left on her own, Castor had not paid it much mind.
"There is a connection between the two of us. It is an inborn gift."
Castor explained his request to Tia.
"So, could I ask you to help me find Pollux?"
[After hearing Castor's request, you stand there thinking for a moment.]
[Nothing in the myths matches a story like this, so you begin considering the possibility of how this could directly affect you.]
[This could be a trial laid upon you by the gods—or perhaps some ill-natured being amusing itself by using you as entertainment.]
[But you quickly cast that careful line of thought aside.]
[Though you know this is merely a simulator, a world constructed inside a virtual scenario, you can still feel the vividness of the life standing before you.]
[As a creature possessed of genuine emotions, you cannot simply cast those feelings aside.]
[So, you choose to agree.]
[Castor quickly moves to your side. He seems not to have expected that you would accept his request.]
[He points toward the distant Cithaeron mountain range and, as if deep in thought, tells you Pollux's location, saying bluntly, "She's probably there."]
[But the Cithaeron range is called an ill-omened land throughout the Kingdom of Thebes, because it is sacred to Dionysus, god of wine—a place symbolizing madness and slaughter—and at the same time is known as "the wilderness of abandoned infants."]
[It was there, in those mountain wilds, that King Laius of Thebes, trying to avoid the prophecy that his son would kill his father, had the infant Oedipus's ankles pierced and ordered him abandoned.]
[You do not voice this concern to Castor.]
[Because at heart, as a modern person, you have a very clear view of so-called cursed lands.]
[They are merely rumors and hearsay—not something worth worrying over too much.]
[Still, you remember clearly that this is the first major turning point in your life as Heracles.]
[Here, you are destined to encounter the Cithaeron Lion—a powerful foe you were only supposed to meet at eighteen, after accidentally killing the music teacher who instructed you.]
[Of course, the lion here is nowhere near comparable to the Nemean Lion you would later face as one of the Twelve Labors.]
[And so, you and Castor set out overnight on foot toward the Cithaeron range.]
[A journey that would take a normal person half a day is forcibly compressed to under two hours by your monstrous constitutions, even with the steep mountain paths slowing you down.]
[After a great deal of hardship, you finally reach the Cithaeron range. Compared with the Kingdom of Thebes, the air here feels lighter—perhaps because there is less of mankind and more of nature's fragrance. You feel every cell in your body rejoicing.]
[Unlike your increasingly invigorated constitution, Castor, who possesses only a small portion of divinity, is already exhausted.]
[Several times, gasping for breath, he wants to ask you for a short rest. But every time he thinks of his sister, whose safety is unknown, he grits his teeth and forces himself onward.]
[No wonder he is destined to become one of Gemini. Such a steadfast heart is worthy of the title hero.]
[You silently give him your approval, but the mountain range is enormous. Trying to find a single person here is incredibly difficult.]
[Even Castor, in the face of this situation, can only sense a rough direction and do nothing more.]
[At that very moment—]
The dim stars above seemed to gather and dance, then descend before them and take the shape of an angel.
A goddess descended before them in the form of winged divinity, manifesting with a staff in hand, wisdom itself made flesh.
"My, little one, we meet again."
That familiar voice, that teasing tone—Tia's face immediately darkened.
There was no mistaking that oddly familiar presence. It belonged to the goddess of war and wisdom—the one who spent her days peeping on him with nothing better to do.
"Lady Athena?!"
As for Castor beside him, his heart had already been shaken by that golden radiance.
He at once dropped to one knee, offering Athena his deepest reverence.
Though he too was a son of Zeus, a demigod hero of the twin pair, before one of Hera's faction—who had long stood in opposition to the Father of Heaven—he still had to respectfully address her as his aunt.
"Lady Athena."
Tia also gave a shallow bow for appearances' sake.
As for kneeling, that was absolutely out of the question.
"Oh my~ Little one, I came all this way to help you find that child, and you won't even thank me?"
Her tone was playful, almost coquettish, but in truth she was guiding the conversation onto another track.
"In my heart, Lady Athena, you have always been the god I respect most."
"Even more than your father?"
Tia shut his mouth.
This woman was digging another trap for him. If he really answered that question, the next moment a bolt of lightning might descend from the sky and reduce this body of his to ash.
And with that, his great simulation endeavor would come to a complete end.
Athena chuckled softly at the sight. She had no real intention of making Tia truly defect to her side.
This time, she genuinely had come to help.
After all, the child's disappearance was not entirely unrelated to her.
"Hmm... let me think. That child seems to be in the dense forest deep in the mountains, being chased by a giant lion."
[You learn Pollux's whereabouts from Athena and immediately thank her, preparing to rush off to rescue her.]
[But Athena quickly stops you. As for the reason—]
"Dear Heracles~ If you think advice has value, then do make sure to offer me the tribute I require afterward."
Tia said nothing.
After staring at her in silence for about one or two minutes—long enough for Castor's legs to start going numb—he finally answered:
"...Understood."
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