Chapter 94

I ran through the forest. Selena occasionally looked back.

"Are you worried? About those two?"

"…Miss Nimue won't die, will she? At the hands of Mr. Merlin?"

Ha ha.

I laughed inwardly.

Merlin cannot kill Nimue. Well, he could, but he won't do it.

Rustle—

At that moment, the sound of branches brushing against each other was heard.

Someone appeared before me. It was Merlin.

He walked out from behind a tree, just as he did the first time we met.

'Hmm.'

Merlin had no intention of attacking me.

I dismounted from Cassian and approached Merlin slowly.

"Mr. Frontier, may I ask one last question?"

"What is it?"

I had a feeling I could guess what Merlin's question would be. As expected, he asked:

"Why didn't King Arthur receive the second sword? Why didn't he come to the lake?"

The fact that Merlin is still here, and Nimue has Excalibur, means that King Arthur did not receive the second sword.

This is the part of the Arthurian legend here that differs the most from reality.

"I don't know."

Unfortunately, even gamers are in the dark about this part.

No matter how much you explore the game, the Arthurian legend is in the realm of 'history.' Gamers couldn't travel to the past.

"I see."

Merlin nodded. He didn't seem disappointed. It wouldn't make sense for someone living in this era to know such things. In fact, it would be surprising for Merlin to know this much.

"What should I do?"

This time, it was a rather difficult question. The tone of his voice, which seemed to mix with a sigh, was the most emotional I had heard from Merlin.

I asked:

"Is it about Nimue?"

"Yes."

"Are you resenting her?"

Merlin, upon hearing my question, finally lifted his head as if to confirm his own feelings.

"I don't even know. Is it right for me to resent her?"

I don't know.

Even though Merlin said he didn't know, I somehow felt that this answer was fitting for the wise Merlin.

"What I can say is,"

Therefore, I gave them a bit of advice that might help.

Even if they both know this fact, Merlin needs to be reassured.

"If it weren't for Nimue, you would have died a long time ago."

"…?"

Selena, standing beside me, tilted her head in confusion. She didn't understand what I meant.

"You said it yourself. How could a 'human' maintain this illusionary world for so long?"

"Oh, so that's it."

That's right.

Merlin might have set up the dream initially.

But it was the fairy Nimue's power that has maintained it until today.

"Yes."

Merlin knew. Nimue had used all her magic to maintain Merlin's dream.

To be with him. Even if it was an 'illusion.'

"Miss Nimue could have erased you at any time. Or used it to threaten you. But it doesn't seem like she did that when she saw you."

Ultimately, I found myself defending Nimue. It was inevitable. I also hoped Merlin wouldn't disappear.

"And personally, I hope Mr. Merlin stays here."

"Why? Your business is done, isn't it?"

I can now replicate Excalibur. This alone is enough to consider my purpose here achieved.

So, it's not for my business.

"Someone will come here someday."

I told Merlin about 'Aster Evans.'

"That man is far more suited to Excalibur than I am. He's the right match for it."

"Are you telling me to give the sword to him?"

"You can judge for yourself."

"Are you saying I should know who he is?"

I laughed.

"You'll know when you see him."

I have King Arthur's first sword. The second sword is with Nimue now.

I wanted to know how the two swords differ visually, but I figured I would face Aster with the sword someday, even if not now.

"…You might know, then."

"Know what?"

Merlin suddenly said. From this point on, it was completely unexpected.

"King Arthur once gave me this sentence."

He waved his hand, and a sentence was etched into the ground between Merlin and me.

"I couldn't understand it, so I just memorized it as an image."

The sentence slowly etched itself. When it was complete, I opened my eyes wide.

"Can you read it?"

"…"

I stared at the sentence with wide eyes. I had no time to manage my expression.

The sentence was written in 'Ancient Language.' I don't know how King Arthur knew this sentence or how he gave it to Merlin, but it was definitely in Ancient Language.

The content alone made my heart race.

Merlin's sentence was just one line:

─For the giant who will overthrow the gods.

…That's what it said.

* * *

Nimue stood there, looking in the direction Merlin had gone.

She felt that if she turned her gaze away, Merlin might never come back.

Even though she didn't know if standing there would bring him back, still.

Merlin was waiting by the lake for King Arthur. She, too, was waiting by the lake for Merlin.

"…Ah."

And from a distance, Merlin slowly walked back.

"Merlin."

" Nimue."

Merlin looked straight at Nimue.

She found it hard to meet his direct gaze but managed to look into his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I lied to you because—"

"Nimue, I have a question. Will you answer honestly?"

Nimue nodded deeply.

"I understand. I won't lie anymore."

"Good, then."

Merlin paused, looking into Nimue's eyes. His gaze seemed to pierce through her.

"Can you kill me at any time?"

Merlin asked. Nimue, startled, opened her mouth but soon bit her lip.

"What do you mean? I won't lie, but still—"

"I've been told that I've survived this long thanks to you. So, if you cut off your magic, I'll disappear, right?"

Merlin remained inscrutable. Nimue clenched her fists and trembled. She regretted her promise not to lie.

"…Yes."

Nimue kept her promise.

"The original magic Merlin used to design the dream ran out a long time ago. It's my magic that maintains this forest and you. I'm a fairy, and I can receive magic from this lake alone."

Nimue didn't want to say this.

It sounded like a threat, as if she held the power over Merlin's life and death. Such a threat wouldn't work on Merlin, and Nimue didn't want it to.

So, she had hidden it, but now it was futile.

"Then, I have a request."

"…What is it?"

"I felt my own ignorance and mistakes through this incident."

Merlin smiled. The wrinkles around his eyes slightly deepened.

"When I make a wrong choice, when I take the wrong path—"

It seemed like a self-deprecating smile, or perhaps a smile of relief.

"Will you kill me?"

"…"

Nimue blinked in a daze at his words.

The idea of Merlin asking her to kill him didn't register. She couldn't make such a choice.

But one clear fact resonated in Nimue's heart.

"…Will you stay?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you stay by my side?"

"…"

"Will you not leave?"

Merlin's words were as good as a promise.

Nimue's mind was filled with this fact.

Merlin said:

"I'll make mistakes, and you'll see them."

He nodded.

"Yes."

Hearing this clear confirmation,

Nimue, after hesitating, nodded.

"…I understand. I'll do it. When you're wrong, when you make a mistake, I'll—"

She didn't finish the sentence.

But for Nimue, this answer was now a lie she would never break, even to the end.

* * *

"…Selena."

Frontier called Selena in a cold tone.

"What are you doing?"

A sharp needle was pressed against his throat.

Selena glared at Frontier as if she had suddenly changed. The needle in her hand trembled.

"What was that just now?"

"What do you mean?"

"That sentence just now, it was in 'Ancient Language,' wasn't it?"

Selena saw that Frontier's face was not normal when Merlin showed the sentence.

Despite this, Frontier said, "I don't know."

Even as they rode Cassian and sped away after parting with Merlin, Frontier remained silent.

'It's certain.'

Selena thought.

She didn't know how to interpret Ancient Language, but she knew what it looked like.

And the sentence Merlin just showed was very similar to Ancient Language.

"What was written there?"

"I couldn't interpret it."

"Lie."

The needle pierced Frontier's throat. Blood seeped out and trickled down his neck.

Frontier's eyes turned cold.

"…Selena."

"I was sent to Manaw because of your ability to interpret."

Selena glared at Frontier with clenched teeth.

"Don't delude yourself into thinking you're important just because of that."