As the famous feast was solemnly brought to the table, Mari took one look at it, and the eager expression on her face froze.
Before her was a golden-brown pie with seven kinds of fish stuck into it, sardines, tuna, sand eels, herring, dogfish, cod, and more. Their heads protruded from the crust, their pale, horrifying eyes staring straight up at the sky, looking as though they had died with their eyes wide open. The visual impact was overwhelming.
The strange mixture of sweet and salty smells made Mari's nose itch, and she immediately wanted to sneeze.
When the pastry was torn open, the marinated, baked fish inside appeared in all their glory. Some had sharp teeth and seemed to show signs of becoming demonic. Some were charred black and swollen, like pitted crocodile skin. Some were red mixed with white, clearly half-raw.
In short, the ingredients were doing everything in their power to prove they were not edible.
Tsk. After parting in Uruk, that bastard Merlin had actually gone and developed the famous dish Samael had mentioned offhand back then.
The spreading burnt smell and fishy stench immediately stirred Samael's old memories.
Amid nostalgia and mockery, the Ancient Serpent's lips curled upward.
"I ordered this especially for you. Eat up, don't be shy."
Back then, he and Ana had been traumatized by Merlin's cooking on the Reed Plain.
Now, through karmic justice, it was time for another [King's Mentor] to have a taste.
"I think I'll pass. Big sister here is a dream demon. I eat dreams, so human food isn't very beneficial if I have too much."
Mari blinked, her tone sincere, and quietly pushed aside the thing that made one's sanity plummet.
That excuse was exactly the same as that rotten Merlin's back then...
The strange feeling of time, space, and people overlapping in the wrong way left Samael briefly dazed.
"Now that we've reached Cornwall, what's your next plan?"
Mari's eyes rolled, and she finally became a little more serious, skillfully changing the subject to get herself off the hook.
That was right. The two of them had not been chasing each other without purpose. The place they were in now was the birthplace of that King Arthur.
That was why the tavern had Stargazy pie, this national specialty.
Samael could not be bothered to expose what this rotten woman was thinking and simply looked at the ally before him.
"You came from Paradise. This is your mission. Tell me your idea first."
"First, we find something related to her birth, or one of her weaknesses. Then we cast a curse and command her to shut down Britannia's Age of Gods. Simple, right?"
Mari blinked and made the suggestion casually.
Samael answered with a smile that did not reach his eyes, repeating the same line as before.
"You go. I'll cover you."
The white-haired big sister's gaze immediately drifted away as she changed the subject.
That said, after the King of Knights defeated Vortigern, the incarnation of the island, and unified all of Britannia, the protection of Mystery on her had already reached its peak.
Trying to control a Divine Spirit through curses had an obvious success rate.
Besides, he did not remember dream demons being fairies particularly skilled at curses.
"This is her birthplace. Her adoptive family, Sir Ector's family, seems to live in Cornwall. Maybe that's an opening. Or maybe..."
"If you think you aren't dying fast enough, I can send you straight to the King of Knights."
"Then how about joining forces with Vortigern, raising an army, and seizing power? Once you become the lord of Britannia, replace that King of Knights, and take control of the land's Mystery, you can converge this Age of Gods yourself."
As the discussion went deeper, Mari was rarely stirred into some real interest. She finally became a little serious and offered something reasonably practical.
"To be honest, big sister here is very good at serving kings. I guarantee I can guide you into becoming a wise ruler!"
Mari blinked, speaking with complete confidence.
Like hell I believe you.
Samael laughed softly, openly dismissive.
In another world line, you successfully guided one king into becoming terrified of women and led him toward his final ruin, all while watching the show with a grin.
Still, seeing that Mari had finally remembered the actual matter at hand, Samael's attitude softened slightly. He frowned a little and shook his head.
"Vortigern has accumulated far too many negative emotions from this island. Besides, there's no clearing him of the charge of colluding with foreign tribes. Add the twelve dynastic wars on top of that, and his potential has basically been drained dry. There's no real value in keeping him around."
It was not that he had never considered winning a clean military victory through open strategy. Going to Mount Badon to investigate had also been meant to estimate their strength.
But he had awakened too late. Britannia's situation had basically taken shape, and Vortigern had lost his value as a piece on the board.
"The strongest fortress is often breached from within."
Samael tapped the table with a bent finger and gave a quiet reminder.
"I get it!"
Mari clapped her hands in realization, her eyes lighting with the joy of seeing the clouds part.
"You want to infiltrate the Knights of the Round Table and split them apart?"
Samael nodded slightly. The collapse of the Round Table carried a kind of fated momentum. If one stood in the right position and pushed with the flow, perhaps even doing nothing at all would be enough to witness Britannia's fall.
Then the Ancient Serpent glanced at Mari and gave a soft snort, his meaning clear.
"Originally, Mount Badon was an excellent opportunity..."
"A story where you can guess the ending right away is far too boring. A journey always needs a little surprise."
The culprit answered with a smile, showing no remorse at all for disrupting the King of Knights' chance to slay her archenemy and conveniently screwing Samael over in the process.
"Forget it. It's getting late. We'll rest for the night first. Once we reach the Holy City of Camelot tomorrow, we can make a longer plan."
Knowing this rotten woman's nature, Samael could not be bothered to pursue the matter. He stood, paid the bill, and left.
Before he went, to keep himself from being annoyed by the sight of her, Samael directly refused to let Mari follow.
"I paid for the meal. Find your own place to stay."
Under the night sky, the white-haired big sister stopped at the tavern entrance and tactfully waved goodbye, smiling as she watched the partner she still needed to adjust to gradually disappear into the distance.
That woman actually didn't follow?
Half an hour later, Samael stepped out from a quiet alley and glanced at the Sword of Promised Victory in his hand, rather disappointed.
Forget it. After running around for so long, he could finally relax and sleep properly.
The man gathered his thoughts, found a decent-looking inn, and checked in.
A proper hot bath opened his clogged pores and left him comfortable all over.
In a good mood, Samael slipped onto the bed and burrowed into the warm blankets.
The night deepened. The Ancient Serpent's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and his drifting consciousness sank through the chaos, falling, falling.
Until a pair of pale arms drew him into an embrace and offered him a soft hug.
Samael...
The full figure, the unobstructed curves, the shimmering cross-star pupils. Everything about the goddess holding him drew the Divine Child deeper in.
Mother Goddess...
The Ancient Serpent murmured in reply, his eyes burning.
After repeated indulgence, the goddess could no longer withstand the assault. She let out a high cry and fainted.
But soon, the beauties beneath him, sharing deep intimacy to make up for their longing, began changing one after another.
Ishtar and Ereshkigal intertwined their fingers. Athena and Themis bickered with each other. The three Medusa sisters laughed and played. Tamao launched a wild assault. The planks of the Argo shook violently.
A beautiful spring dream brought almost endless enchantment.
The scattered specks of light around him also lit the darkness near Samael.
At last, the shifting face in his arms settled into a beauty with blinking violet eyes, hugging his neck and giggling.
What the hell!
Samael woke with a start. A spring dream had turned into a nightmare.
Smack!
But as he abruptly sat up, a pale arm fell from his shoulder. The Ancient Serpent stiffly turned his head.
The white-haired big sister lying beside him fully clothed yawned, her face flushed and satisfied, like a cat that had just eaten its fill.
Her pale fingers propped up her chin, and her dreamlike violet eyes looked at the stiff-faced victim with a smile as she teased him.
"I told you, big sister is very good at serving. In every sense..."
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