"Merlin may be unreliable most of the time, but this time he was pretty efficient. Still, judging by this, it seems like I shouldn't have come to disturb you," As she said this, those eyes, cold as a frigid abyss, looked at him with indifference.
Artoria's expression was calm and detached as she silently gazed at Alvin.
Unexpectedly, after a brief moment of blankness, Alvin quickly regained his composure.
A helpless look appeared on his face as he said, "She and I aren't that kind of relationship. Really, if there were something confirming between us, I wouldn't have brought her to the basement."
"I was just questioning her about some things, that's all."
Thinking about it carefully, the reason he had originally been worried about Artoria and Morgan showing up at the same time was simply because he feared the two sisters would start tearing into each other again the moment they met. But judging by how things were now, after these past few days, they both seemed to have calmed down quite a bit.
'That makes things much easier."
As long as he explained everything clearly, then gradually told them about Tiamat as well, he could take Tia-mama back to the palace for now.
Morgan le Fay lightly glanced at the goddess behind him. Her delicate, pretty face carried a faint blush, a few strands of black hair sticking to her forehead, even her legs were still trembling slightly.
'Questioning?'
Although it wasn't strange for a prisoner to show such reactions after being interrogated, no matter how she thought about it, bringing such a beautiful girl to a secluded basement was still a bit odd.
As Morgan thought this, she subconsciously looked at Alvin again. He was meeting her gaze with an extremely sincere expression.
'Judging from his reaction right now, perhaps it really is just as he said, simply interrogating a prisoner.'
Maybe she should give Alvin a bit more trust sometimes. After all, it was precisely because of her distrust of him, and even jealousy, that tragedy had occurred back then.
Morgan's expression softened slightly, and the subtle tension from before faded a little.
Alvin secretly let out a breath of relief. Seeing the sisters in this "harmonious" state, he felt even more reassured.
Mm… although he didn't know what Lily and Morgan had been thinking these past few days, the fact that they didn't start fighting the moment they met was already a very good sign.
Thinking this, a faint smile appeared on Alvin's face.
However, at that moment, a warm and soft body suddenly hugged him gently from behind.
Ishtar's hands tenderly brushed across the boy's chest, her voice carrying the lazy, seductive tone that only came after things were "done."
"Darling, why did you stop the moment you saw them?"
"You seemed to be having quite a lot of fun just now, didn't you~"
Her words were filled with vengeful pleasure and delight, and as Ishtar's voice fell, the atmosphere in the basement, which had just begun to ease, seemed to freeze instantly, so quiet there wasn't a single sound.
Alvin's expression gradually became… quite something.
'ISHTAR!'
On the surface he looked calm, but inside, stormy waves were already surging, to the point that the smile on his face was becoming hard to maintain.
Ishtar's short sentence was like a bolt from the blue in the sisters' minds.
The amount of information packed into that single line was so overwhelming that just imagining it was enough to conjure up an entire drama.
Morgan's face darkened abruptly, her eyes filled with cold intent.
Artoria remained expressionless, but the anger she was suppressing was just as evident in her eyes.
Yet, under Alvin's increasingly strained gaze, Artoria slowly calmed down instead.
Then, a woman's cold and even voice suddenly sounded by his ear.
"I don't know which world you descended from, Goddess, but... you don't seriously think you can drive a wedge between him and me with a method like this, do you?"
Ishtar couldn't help narrowing her eyes as she sized up the indifferent expression on the King of Knights before her.
"Oh?"
She didn't seem to feel much of the hostility Artoria was displaying. Instead, her eyes were full of surprise.
If it were a normal person, seeing a lone man and woman together in a basement, plus what she had just done, they would have exploded on the spot.
'As expected of the King of Knights?'
Naturally, Ishtar had no idea that because there was an older sister who kept a constant eye on her husband, Artoria had long since developed an extremely strong mentality.
Seeing that the atmosphere seemed to be easing again, Alvin was just about to speak up at the right moment to wrap things up.
But in the next instant, his whole body suddenly stiffened.
His eyes stared at Artoria in shock, or more precisely, at what was behind Artoria.
"Aaa?"
At some point unknown to anyone, half a head had peeked in from outside the basement door.
A pair of bright, captivating crimson eyes was curiously peering into the basement.
Artoria felt as if countless goosebumps were erupting on her back. She instantly drew the holy sword and turned her head to look behind her.
When she saw the woman's appearance clearly, her beautiful eyes shrank sharply.
'This girl… when did she sneak up behind me?'
'A Red Dragon with extremely powerful perception actually failed to notice a complete stranger approaching?'
Morgan's expression also changed slightly as she instinctively turned her head to look at this unfamiliar visitor from beyond the stars.
As if realizing something, she subconsciously said, "A god?"
Very quickly, she shook her head and rejected the thought.
'No… this level of existence was already beyond the scope of gods.'
'Just who exactly is this girl?'
Just as Morgan and Artoria tensed up, they saw Tiamat walk in through the door as if nothing were wrong.
Then, under the sisters' fixed stares, she reached out and hugged Alvin, her soft body pressing tightly against the boy's. The dress she wore, formed purely from mana, fit her body perfectly, and Alvin could even feel that soft, wonderful sensation against his face.
So passionate that it felt like she wanted to completely knead his face into her bosom. Under normal circumstances, Alvin would have already hugged Tiamat back without hesitation.
But at this moment, he had no such mood at all. His entire body was frozen in place.
Feeling the rather piercing gazes from the side, Alvin's brain began to work at high speed.
'Holy crap, this mana-formed outfit of Tia-mama's feels like she's not wearing anything at all.'
'Spit! No! It's not the time to be thinking about that. Think about what to do right now… calm down, you're the White Dragon of Britannia. Strategizing things is supposed to be easy for you…'
Alvin launched into a mental brainstorming session, and gradually, he gave up on thinking altogether.
Only after Tiamat had enthusiastically expressed her affection did she finally release Alvin.
By this time, the sisters' eyes had completely darkened.
'Is Tia-mama really not a natural-born black-hearted type?', Alvin forced a smile and said, "It's a long story. In any case, let's head back to the palace first and talk there, alright?"
Perhaps because they sensed that there was more going on between Alvin and Tiamat, or perhaps simply because this was King Marco's manor, in the end, both of them agreed to Alvin's suggestion.
———
The black-and-gold carriage silently drove deep into the palace.
Acting as the host, Artoria first had people settle Tiamat and Ishtar, then brought Alvin into the King's Hall.
Morgan followed close behind.
After Artoria sat down in the main seat, she finally lifted her head and looked at the boy before her.
"Go on. What exactly happened over these past few days?"
Morgan was staring at him as well.
'Why does it feel like if I don't handle this properly, I'm done for,' Alvin let out a light sigh and said, "This starts from when Merlin sent me into the Imaginary World…"
As he spoke, he roughly explained the events that had happened not long ago.
Of course, when it came to certain ambiguous actions involving Tiamat, Alvin very wisely chose to skip over them.
By the time she finished listening, Artoria fell into a brief silence.
"So, that woman just now was the spiritual body of the Mother Goddess of Creation, and she was the one who brought you out of the Imaginary World?"
Looking at it this way, Tiamat could be considered Alvin's savior.
Morgan raised her right hand. In her palm, "black mud" quietly surged forth.
Her bewitching eyes calmly gazed at the "black mud" in her palm as she said softly, "Not long ago, when Merlin sent you into the Imaginary World, a portion of the 'Chaos Tide' fell into the banquet hall."
"I can feel that this thing affects people's will, and its power seems to be uncontrollable."
"The Imaginary World is filled with large amounts of the Chaos Tide. If what you said earlier is correct, then Tiamat probably can't control this thing either, and her true body will continuously generate the Chaos Tide."
"If her true body were to descend upon Britannia, heh! That would be quite a spectacle."
There was deep meaning in her words.
A being of the Mother Goddess of Creation's caliber, as a transmigrator, was already completely overpowered.
Thankfully, she was in the Imaginary World. If she appeared in Britannia, the history of this world might completely collapse.
Alvin gently shook his head, "She has no intention of destroying world peace."
After all, if Tiamat really intended to do that, there would be no need for her to seal herself. She could simply lift the seal and descend directly in her true body.
Artoria gently closed her eyes.
Even she hadn't expected that within Britannia's territory, there would be a transmigrator of this level.
Fortunately, the other party's temperament was relatively gentle. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
While feeling relieved, the woman quickly recalled Tiamat's intimate behavior toward Alvin earlier, and her heart couldn't help becoming conflicted again.
Although she knew that the Mother Goddess of Creation wouldn't easily fall in love, and that toward Alvin, it was probably just affection born from him being willing to take her out to play.
But, the moment she thought of Tiamat hugging the boy earlier, Artoria's heart was filled with complexity.
"The goddess who was with Tiamat just now seems to have been summoned by King Marco, right?"
At this moment, Morgan's voice suddenly sounded faintly, "It's only been a few years since the White Dragon War, but it looks like those great nobles still haven't learned their lesson."
Artoria said calmly, "I'll handle this matter properly. Sister doesn't need to worry."
"That's good. I don't want him to die for this country once again," Morgan spoke in a seductive tone.
"Human greed will rebound upon itself and harm others. As long as someone restrains that jealousy and greed, nothing will happen to him again," Artoria quietly stared at Morgan.
Those words referred to how Morgan, in order to steal a man from her sister back then, didn't hesitate to launch a rebellion, even triggering the White Dragon War that later shook Britannia.
The moment she heard this, Morgan's hatred seemed to be ignited instantly.
"You received Father King's favor, obtained the throne, and even gained your own happiness. Someone like you, who was born with everything, has no right to point fingers at me."
Artoria remained silent.
In Morgan's eyes, Artoria seemed to possess everything, yet from the very beginning, she had no interest in the throne at all, and even resisted it strongly.
If she could choose, she would rather not have this throne.
But even if she said such things now, Morgan would probably just think she was showing off.
Morgan stood up and left the King's Hall without looking back.
Alvin didn't say a word. He simply watched the scene in silence, then sighed softly in his heart.
Judging by this, rather than there being too much hatred between Morgan and Artoria, it was more accurate to say there was far too deep a misunderstanding between the sisters.
Besides that, the mess left behind by that old bastard Merlin and the former king Uther was also the root cause of their mutual hostility.
Whether for the sisters' CGs or for Britannia, he would have to do something about it.
———
Moonlight flowed like water.
Sheer curtains hung low, and a faint, lingering fragrance drifted from deep within the sleeping chamber.
Vaguely, one could even see a graceful, alluring body lying upon the snow-white, soft bed.
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