Not long after, in Miyama District.
"What do you think, Lia? How much can you trust Morgan?"
Naoki asked Artoria, who was walking beside him.
Artoria paused for a moment.
"I believe what Sister said can be fully trusted, Master."
Fully.
"Although I previously said Morgan hated everything related to me, in reality, she probably only hated me. Hated me for taking the throne that should've been hers… Though in the end, it was an accident caused by Father and Merlin."
King Uther and Merlin wanted Artoria born because the mysterious protection over the Isle of Britannia would end with Uther. To oppose the White Dragon Vortigern and save a weakening Britannia, Artoria's birth was essential.
At that time, Morgan hadn't been born yet, so Uther and Merlin didn't know that the protection of Britannia, meant to end with Uther, would instead pass to Morgan—and with even greater power than Uther's.
That was the one unforeseen factor. The unexpected event with Morgan created a flaw in Uther and Merlin's plan, leading to the series of events in Camelot that followed.
"Brother Kay once told me that before I took the throne, Sister was actually a very gentle woman, like the one we see now. She only started hating me after I became king… If not for my birth, she would've been the one to inherit the throne."
Thus, Morgan hated Artoria. Hated Artoria for taking Britannia from her, the true "Ruler of the Isle." Yet, for Britannia itself, Morgan likely held the same level of love as Artoria.
That's why she felt regret. Regret for her actions that led Britannia to its worst end.
"I'll talk to Sister properly later. Back then, we didn't communicate much. Now that I think about it, many of our conflicts were mostly due to misunderstandings. If we could sit and talk calmly, with Sister's abilities, she could've made Britannia back then much better—I'm rambling."
Artoria gave a wry smile. "By the way, where are we going now, Master?"
A few minutes ago, after Morgan revealed her goal, Naoki, who had hurriedly eaten lunch, asked Aoko and Scathach to temporarily watch Merry and Morgan. Then he left Aoko's place with Artoria.
"To Gray and the others' place." Naoki said.
"Last night, Mordred actually wanted to take me there right away. Rei seems to have some business with me, but since I passed out immediately, we're only going now. We've got the address."
"Master, do you want Gray to meet Sister?" Artoria suddenly suggested.
"We'll ask Gray about that later. If she doesn't want to meet, forcing her wouldn't be good—we're here."
Stopping in front of an unassuming small house in the residential area, Naoki pressed the doorbell.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
In the Living Room.
"I'm truly sorry, Master, for troubling you to come here. There are some matters you need to handle."
Sitting on the sofa, Rei spoke to Naoki with an apologetic tone.
Naoki waved it off. "It's fine. I don't have anything to do during the day anyway. The Holy Grail War happens at night. By the way, I caused you a lot of worry last night, Rei. Sorry for the trouble."
"Oh, you mean Ata and Momo." Rei smiled. "That's our duty. Of course, the best outcome is being able to help you, Master. I was actually worried that our rash actions might've inconvenienced you."
"Acting separately from you all was meant to get support when needed. You guys did great last night—there's no reason to call it trouble."
"Master's right. I also want to thank you, Rei, Atalanta, and Sir Mordred." Artoria said to the three. "Due to my negligence, I couldn't accompany Master in time. Thank you for your timely help."
At Artoria's thanks, Rei and Atalanta were fine, but Mordred immediately got goosebumps.
"Father praised me, Father praised me, Father praised me…"
(This kid is so predictable!)
Seeing Mordred completely fail to control her expression, Naoki and the others could only smile helplessly.
"So, Rei, what exactly did you want me to come here for?"
"It's upstairs, but before that… Master, please come here first."
Rei beckoned Naoki, as if asking him to sit beside her.
Moving to sit next to her, Naoki was about to ask something when Rei suddenly leaned in, pressing her lips to his.
Artoria: "!"
Mordred: "!"
Atalanta: "!"
Manaka: "!!"
The sudden attack shocked everyone present. No one expected Rei to do something like that. And the next moment, something even more shocking happened to Naoki.
"Ugh… Ugh…"
The sudden soft sensation in his mouth made Naoki stiffen—she put it in?
(No… Wait, this is… Mana Transfer?)
As Rei continued, Naoki could feel Mana flowing from her into his body. Could it be that her Mana was insufficient, requiring a large transfer all at once?
(If that's the case, nothing I can do.)
Understanding the situation, Naoki didn't resist and instead proactively began channeling Mana to Rei. The next second, Rei felt an uncontrollable flood of Mana pouring into her, so vast that she struggled to handle it for a moment.
"Ugh ugh ugh… Haah… Ha… Ugh…"
After about a minute of transfer, feeling slight resistance from Rei, Naoki stopped. "Enough? The Mana?"
"Ugh… too much…"
Rei clutched her mouth, as if trying to contain the overflowing Mana. Combined with her slightly flushed cheeks, she looked somewhat alluring for a moment.
After calming down, Rei returned to normal. "Sorry, Master, for taking Mana from you so suddenly. I've been using too much Magecraft lately, and the Mana transfer through the circuit last night was interrupted, so I was a bit low."
"It's fine. If you're short, just tell me anytime. I don't have much else, but my Mana's abundant."
"So… I can ask for a Mana Transfer anytime?" Rei smiled meaningfully. "Got it. I won't hold back from now on."
"Now, follow me. What I wanted to discuss is on the second floor."