Chapter 19: A Mission!
Staring at Akira, who was clearly showing a sense of "wariness" toward him, Merlin's eyes narrowed slightly.
This nightmare didn't possess human emotions, yet he was extremely sensitive to them. After all, he survived by relying on such things.
And that "nameless person" was obviously not truly nameless.
A living "Chain of Heaven," with so many mysterious methods, even capable of summoning soldiers from the shadows. Every single one of those feats was far beyond what a nameless nobody could accomplish.
Ever since learning about the mystery surrounding Shin Akira, Merlin had never stopped observing him.
Over the past three days, those black shadow soldiers had been summoned continuously without pause. If this were a summoning ritual, then even if each summoning consumed only a small amount of power, maintaining it nonstop for twenty-four hours was still an unimaginable expenditure.
That meant the other party's magical power was truly immense.
"Akira-san, have we met before?"
"No. We haven't."
"Then why do you hold hostility toward me? It may not be overwhelming, but it is very real hostility."
Merlin's words immediately caused Leonidas to freeze for a moment before turning toward Akira.
"If I had to give a reason, it's probably because I don't like you."
"Eh? Why? I'm Merlin, the kind and understanding big brother loved by everyone. In Uruk, there are plenty of mature older sisters who adore me, you know."
"Heh—heh~~~"
A mocking sound slipped out without the slightest attempt to hide it.
Not a single word was spoken, yet it felt sharper than a thousand words.
Even this nightmare that lacked human emotions found his expression stiffening slightly for a brief moment.
Merlin could only think to himself, I have a certain insult I'd like to say… but I'm not sure if I should.
"Eh~ eh~, could you at least tell me why? Why do you have such hostility toward me?"
"Because I feel pity for a certain 'King.' She was a single blossom, yet you persuaded her to dedicate everything to a group of fools. In the end, she didn't receive a good ending."
The moment those words left Akira's mouth, Merlin immediately understood.
This mysterious visitor clearly wasn't from this world.
The "King" he was referring to—wasn't that King Arthur, Artoria, whom he had once guided?
And judging from the meaning behind those words, the other party knew quite a lot.
"You can't really put it that way. I did my best to guide her. From the very beginning, I told her that once she raised that sword, until the end of her life, she would no longer be human. She would be hated by all humanity, and in the end, she would meet a tragic death."
"Heh. You're really good at shirking responsibility, Merlin."
"Why would you say that?"
"From the moment she was born, her future had already been decided by you and King Uther. Everything about her was carefully arranged by the two of you. After receiving your education for over a decade, was it even possible for her to have a second choice?"
"…This…"
For once, Merlin was unable to refute him.
Because what Akira said was the truth.
King Arthur—Artoria—was an existence whose entire life had been arranged from the moment she was born.
She was a "King" who had been created.
The bloodline of the King of Britain, the consciousness of the red dragon that symbolized Britain, and the noblewoman's blood used to perfectly fuse them together—all of it was combined to form the womb from which she was born.
Under such circumstances, Artoria was "brought into this world."
From childhood to adulthood, she had never lived even a single day as an ordinary girl.
For over a decade, nearly all of her time was spent undergoing education as a King.
Even the mere three hours of sleep she had each day were still filled with lessons of kingship from Merlin.
Days of endless study and training, never ceasing for even a moment.
As a devoted admirer of that King, Akira naturally held not a shred of goodwill toward Merlin, who had been one of the masterminds behind all of this.
Especially during the Fourth Holy Grail War, when Artoria had been struck hard regarding the "Way of the King" by the King of Conquerors, Iskandar, to the point her resolve nearly wavered.
All of that could, in a sense, be considered a debt Merlin owed.
"The decline of Britain's mystery and its eventual closure were inevitable. You understood that very clearly. That's why, in the end, you vanished alone without a word, leaving all this chaos behind. You're truly trash."
"Well, that was destiny. It couldn't be changed. I didn't have any other way either."
"Hmph. I don't expect you to admit any of this. But likewise, don't expect any goodwill from me. Someone like you doesn't deserve it."
"Ah, dear me. This is really troublesome. So I'm someone who's hated."
Merlin shrugged helplessly, as though he hadn't just been ridiculed and scolded.
This was Merlin.
He couldn't understand human emotions, so naturally, no emotional turbulence arose within him.
Leonidas, standing beside them, could only feel confused. He had no idea what the two of them were talking about.
But from fragments of the conversation, it seemed Merlin had once done something not so good, and Akira happened to know about it, which was why he didn't hold a favorable impression of him.
And Merlin himself didn't seem to mind in the slightest.
"Alright~ alright~, this time I came because the King has a mission to convey."
"Hm? A mission?"
"That's right. In the Persian Gulf, there is a water level observation station. Every week, they routinely send water samples back to Uruk. However, recently, due to the attacks from Magical Beasts, it's been over half a month since any samples have been sent back."
"So, you want me to go to that observation station in the Persian Gulf and bring back the water samples?"
"Exactly."
"Fine. Since this is an order from King Gilgamesh, even if I'm only staying here temporarily, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to refuse. Besides, it's not a troublesome matter."
"Then I'll leave it to you. This is a map of the route to the Persian Gulf."
As he spoke, Merlin pulled out a clay tablet from who knew where.
Carved into it was a simple map that looked almost like a primitive treasure map.
Akira glanced at it briefly, then immediately memorized all the information inscribed on it.
"Should I depart now, or tomorrow?"
"Now would be best. This matter is rather urgent."
"Alright."
Nodding, Akira immediately shot into the air.
Then, like a bullet, he flew into the distance at high speed.
Watching that scene, Merlin smiled.
Meanwhile, Leonidas had already descended from the wall.
After Akira's departure, he didn't know whether those shadow soldiers could still remain.
So just to be safe, he planned to warn the soldiers later that afternoon.
"The Persian Gulf… the water level observation station… could this be the same place as in the original story?"
Akira murmured softly to himself.
He knew very clearly.
In the original storyline, this was the place where Gilgamesh and Kingu first met.
And also the location closest to where Tiamat—who had been "trapped" by Merlin—was hiding deep beneath the sea.
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