"Ah? Excuse me, although having children is very important in this day and age... but this gentleman, how should I put it... surprisingly, he's not my type."
Couronne froze for a moment, then waved her hand awkwardly, declining with clear embarrassment.
Arthur and the others immediately exchanged odd looks.
How should one put it? At first, it had been Merlin who took the initiative, abrupt as it was. But on reflection, offering up Merlin in exchange for even a small degree of trust from humanity wasn't such a bad bargain. Judging by the girl's bearing, she seemed to be of fairly high status—likely someone capable of influencing Riku's decisions. But now—
Merlin, you really are worthless. You don't even have that much value.
Arthur, Skadi, and Artoria glanced at one another, their eyes filled with the kind of contempt reserved for garbage.
"...Oh... ah, even I would feel sad if I were rejected that bluntly." Merlin forced a pained smile, glaring at Merry, who was beaming with triumph.
This guy is really always—
In truth, Merlin had entertained a similar idea from the beginning. He had wanted to push Merry into a relationship with Riku—or any man other than the King, even in name alone—so that the King would subconsciously form a certain impression. Even if it amounted to nothing, that seed of doubt would create distance. Or better yet, Merlin could spin rumors and have Merry destroyed completely.
If he could succeed, it would be his greatest victory.
But unexpectedly, Merry had beaten him to it.
Damn half-blood. Do you have no sense of shame?!
Merlin and Merry understood one another far better than Arthur and Riku did. With just a glance, they instantly grasped each other's intent.
Oh no, Mr. Merlin, the useless hybrid~☆. Merry smiled faintly. No words were needed.
The disguises of Arthur's group—two of them illusions that hardly passed for human—only gave Riku more headaches when trying to explain their presence. In the end, he had to rely on sheer authority to force others to accept them.
Even then, their treatment was far from good.
First, in this chaotic era, humans had grown exceedingly wary and would not easily trust strangers.
Second, their own conditions were poor. Resources were scarce, and they were constantly forced to hide.
As a result, Arthur and his five companions were given only a shabby, temporary hut as their base.
Men and women alike were crammed into a space barely large enough to curl up in, with no privacy and no comfort. Food was the most pressing concern. Arthur stared at the wooden bowl in the center of the room—a slop-like mixture of unidentifiable ingredients—and fell into a long silence.
"Merlin, eat it."
After a long, tortured internal struggle, Arthur finally made his decision.
Rather than putting himself in an awkward position, he might as well shove the responsibility onto Merlin, the man who couldn't even manage to marry into a household.
Yes, if Merlin had managed to marry in, perhaps their treatment would have been slightly better.
"Eh? My king, is this... really edible? Why don't we just forget about it? Don't worry, no one can see through big brother's magic—absolutely no one! We won't be found out, definitely not!" Merlin said firmly, though his eyes betrayed him.
Of course he understood what Arthur meant.
If you're pretending to be "human," then you need to live like one.
But not a single person present was willing to eat that questionable sludge.
Could that really be called food?
"Oh my, this is a reward from our king. In other words, it's an honor bestowed by our king. Anyone who refuses it must be tortured to death. Mr. Merlin, you're not planning to reject our king's reward, are you?" Merry appeared behind Merlin, pinning him in place. "If that's the case, I'd be heartbroken. But even if I am heartbroken, I could never forgive you for defiling our king's honor."
At that moment, something sharp flickered in Merry's eyes, and she looked ready to kill Merlin outright.
Why would a single meal be twisted into an offense as grave as defiling the King's glory?
It was too blatant a distortion.
A baseless charge, an outright slander. How could his king possibly—
Merlin looked at Arthur and swallowed back the protest rising in his throat.
If you don't eat, you'll die. You'll really die.
Tears of despair welled up as Merry forced Merlin's mouth open. His disciple, Artoria, dutifully shoved the entire contents of the bowl inside. She swung the bowl with such force that she nearly brought down the flimsy hut.
For a moment, Merlin sat frozen in silence.
Without waiting for Arthur's order, Merry cheerfully hurled him out of the cabin, leaving more space inside.
"Oh my, even if he's a loser, he's still surprisingly greedy. He even ate the bowl. Honestly, he's never hungry, yet he eats like a beast. Who does that child take after?" Merry rested her cheek on one hand, smiling sweetly as she closed the door.
"Alright, my king, the garbage has been taken out. Let's move on to business."
"...Ah. Yes, let's begin." Arthur hesitated. He hadn't expected it to go that far.
But ultimately... Merlin was just that useless.
"Though many misunderstandings were inevitable, we did gain some useful information. This world is divided into fifteen races, all essentially the creations of the foremost Old Deus. Most of these races support their creator, joining the war and striving for victory."
Riku had finally shared this information—not out of trust, but because it was common knowledge within his tribe.
Still, judging by Riku's expression at the time, he probably thought Arthur was trying to deceive him.
In any case, the fifteen races were as follows: Old Deus, Phantasm, Elf, Dragon, Giant, Flügel, Elves, Dwarves, Fairies, Ex-Machina, Demons, Vampires, Tsukuyon, Werebeasts, and Sea People.
Humans, by contrast, were natural-born beings, not divine creations.
At least for now, the creator of mankind remained unknown. The only conclusion was that humans were not the handiwork of any God Race.
And so began a war that seemed endless, gradually reducing the planet to ruin.
Yet the cause of the war and the ultimate goal of each faction remained a mystery.
Arthur couldn't believe that the world had been driven to such ruin merely for glory, pride, or any similar reason.
No—there had to be a greater prize.
Something so precious that even the annihilation of the very land that birthed it was a price worth paying.
A treasure beyond imagination.
"They must be fighting for something," Arthur said quietly. "And that may well be the key to our conquest of this world."
-End Chapter-
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