Chapter 1: The Baby Picked Up by the Gods

I have four fathers and mothers.

They are my benefactors who found me abandoned and raised me.

More than a decade ago, when I was still an infant, I was abandoned on a mountain said to be the dwelling place of the gods.

I do not know the reason.

Apparently, that year was struck by famine, and wars were breaking out frequently in nearby regions.

Perhaps the famine made it impossible to spare food for a child, or perhaps the wars had driven people into extreme poverty, or maybe it was both, but I was abandoned as a baby, and it was the gods who picked me up.

The one who found me was the Almighty God, Reus.

It seems he had disguised himself as a farmer and was returning from inspecting the town at the foot of the mountain when he found me.

While walking along the riverbank in a pleasant half-drunken state, he noticed me drifting down from upstream.

I had been placed in a small boat, and apparently I was crying softly.

According to Reus, my crying sounded so natural that he almost let me drift by as it was.

However, I did not continue floating downstream and fall into the basin of a waterfall.

That was because Reus saved me.

Reus transformed into a great eagle, seized me in his talons, and soared into the vast sky.

He then carried me to the mountain where the gods reside, Table Mountain, and showed me to his companions.

The Sword God, Ronin, peered at my face and said,

“What’s this, a human baby? I thought for sure it was a snack to go with my drinks.”

He stroked his unshaven beard and sighed, a bottle of liquor clutched in his hand.

The Goddess of Healing, Miria, said,

“Honestly, men are all the same. Just look at this adorable baby, like a little marshmallow.”

Miria held me in her arms and smiled as she soothed me.

Watching the scene with a bored expression was the God of Magic, Vandal.

He let out a hoarse voice.

“…I do not care for children. They are noisy and selfish.”

After glancing at my face, he returned his gaze to his spellbook.

Though the three each reacted differently, the Almighty God Reus knew.

He knew that they had taken a liking to me, the infant.

In fact, when Reus declared that he would raise this baby, they showed reluctance, but none of them opposed him.

On the contrary, they began finding excuses to come visit me.

After completing his daily routine of ten thousand practice swings, the Sword God Ronin would come to me and whisper,

“Such tiny hands. Well, that’s fine. When you grow a little bigger, I’ll make you hold a sword and take you as my disciple. I’ll have you extinguishing candles with sword pressure in no time.”

After finishing her communion with the earth, the Goddess of Healing Miria would come to me and hold me close.

“What an adorable baby. Ah, my maternal instincts are stirring.”

As she said this, she would slip her chest out and try to nurse me, but a goddess who had never been pregnant could not produce milk.

When she gave up, she tucked her chest away and kissed my cheek instead.

“This child will become the kindest person in the world. One day, we shall make him the greatest healer.”

When Miria placed me back in the cradle, the God of Magic Vandal would approach.

The white-haired old man wore a bored expression.

He stared at me with a scowl, then suddenly broke into a ridiculous face.

Seeing that face, I burst into cheerful laughter.

The old man’s eyebrows drooped.

“…Surprisingly, this infant understands humor.”

After muttering that, the old man made up his mind.

“Very well. I shall take this brat as my disciple.”

Vandal gazed at me and murmured,

“This child will one day become the strongest mage. He shall be my successor.”

Thus, I was favored by three gods.

Including the Almighty God who picked me up, that makes four.

They became my fathers, my mothers, and my masters.

They are selfish and self-centered people, but they became strict yet kind mentors.

And they even gave me a name, though the four who argue about everything were unusually united when it came to naming me.

Without any dispute, they decided on my name in a single discussion.

And so, I survived and received a name.

The name the gods gave me was,

“Will.”

However, it would take a little more time before I could recognize myself as Will.

After all, I was still a newborn infant.

If I had any special skills, they were crying and rolling over.

There was nothing else I could do.