As Morgan spoke, Ian, in his dragon form, let out a roar.
Seeing him like this, Morgan wasn't angry. On the contrary, she looked quite pleased.
Because—
This meant he had heard her words.
"Don't be in such a hurry."
"Change back."
"I have some things I want to ask you."
As Morgan spoke, she extended her hand towards Ian.
Soon, a faint magical energy overflowed from her fingertips.
It was a blue light, like that of the stars, that drifted with the wind to the side of the dragon's sharp fangs.
A gust of wind blew.
After everything had calmed down, the dragon gradually returned to his original form.
"..."
"What is this?"
Ian asked, looking at Morgan's finger.
Clearly, the dragon was extremely fond of what she had produced.
"Want to know?"
Morgan wiggled her finger.
"Then how about you come and have a taste?"
The magus of Britain said this, then touched the dragon's lips with her finger.
The gesture was both seductive and probing.
"..."
There was no hesitation.
Or perhaps, he had intended to do so all along. Ian directly took Morgan's finger into his mouth.
She showed a slight blush, but more than that, it was an approval of his action.
"How is it?"
"Not bad, right?"
"..."
Ian released Morgan's finger, then nodded.
"Mhm."
"It's indeed not bad."
"A very rich taste."
"Is it familiar?"
"A little."
"..."
As if she had gotten the answer she wanted, Morgan took Ian's hand.
"Come, follow me."
"..."
And so—
As if caught by his wife, Ian was led back to a certain place by Morgan.
To be precise, it was the location of the "Tree."
But unlike before, at this moment, many strange symbols had appeared in front of the "Tree."
They were not part of the "Tree" itself, but had been drawn by Morgan and her students.
The wisdom of Britain's magus was highly concentrated in this moment.
"You still remember this thing, don't you, Ian?"
Morgan looked at the "Tree" before her, which stretched up to the sky, its height impossible to judge.
"You shouldn't have forgotten it, although it has indeed been a long time since we were here."
"I remember."
Ian replied without hesitation.
His gaze joined Morgan's, looking up at the distant sky.
"Back then, you wouldn't let me burn it."
"Have you changed your mind now?"
"I never change my mind, Ian."
Under the cover of night, Morgan quietly took Ian's hand.
It was a bold act she only dared to do when all her other apprentices had been sent away.
After all, if she did this for no reason, it would inevitably stir up some gossip for her dear sister.
It didn't matter before, but it wouldn't do now.
"Don't you think... that the thing you just tasted has some connection to this?"
"..."
Ian didn't answer Morgan's question.
He chose a simpler, cruder method of verification: he took her finger and did it again.
Morgan didn't mind him doing so.
Soon, the dragon proved Morgan's words using his preferred method of verification.
"They are indeed the same."
"What did you do?"
"It's what you did, Ian." Morgan's expression grew serious. "This is something that was 'excavated' with you as the foundation."
"I don't understand."
The dragon expressed his thoughts very directly.
"I... shouldn't have been near you during this time."
"So, why is it related to me?"
"Just because you weren't here doesn't mean I don't have information about you, Ian."
Morgan's fingers twitched slightly, and a large blue circle of light appeared at her feet, eventually enveloping her entire body.
"Ian, did you know?"
"This 'Tree' never had the potential to grow so lushly on its own."
"It was you who brought all this about."
"..."
Ian tilted his head slightly, clearly still in a state of confusion about everything Morgan was saying.
Perhaps for a dragon, this kind of riddle-like speech was still a bit too difficult to understand.
However, Morgan didn't seem to mind.
She looked up at the starry sky above and asked softly:
"Ian, do you remember how you came to Britain?"
"..."
Following Morgan's words, Ian recalled the day he fled from his mother, Tiamat's, side.
Soon, he had an answer.
"My mother wished for me to remain in the Sea of Life."
"But—"
"For me, that was unacceptable."
"So."
Ian held up his hand, and dense black scales gathered upon it.
It was an existence that even swords would fear to behold.
"Using everything my mother taught me, I broke free from those shackles, and finally came to Britain and met Artoria."
"..."
Although the final mention of Artoria made Morgan a little unhappy, she quickly reined in her emotions.
"Then Ian, have you ever considered if those shackles could really be broken by ordinary means?"
"..."
"Are you trying to say..." Ian looked at his hand, "...that something happened back then?"
"Yes."
Morgan nodded.
"Although I wasn't there, and I can't understand what it was that bound you."
"But—"
"If your appearance at that time brought a terrifyingly large change to Britain, then everything can be explained, can't it?"
"My appearance...?"
"Yes."
Morgan nodded.
"You didn't just arrive in Britain alone and meet Artoria."
"The seed of this 'Tree' was planted in Britain from the day you appeared."
"No, that might not be quite right."
Morgan took a deep breath, then squeezed Ian's hand.
She could now understand why Tiamat had been able to find her back then.
It wasn't a coincidence.
It was an absolute certainty.
Because Ian was Tiamat's offspring, his arrival became the cornerstone for Tiamat to come here.
And the seed of the "Tree" was also planted at that time.
"Ian."
"I think—"
"The secret to truly controlling all of this... lies within you."