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"Master, you flatter me too much. Even I can't claim I could defeat every Servant out there. There are plenty who are far stronger than I am."
Merlin looked a little embarrassed by Alex's praise.
Of course, she didn't realize Alex wasn't expecting her to fight in the first place.
To him, she was a top-tier support unit—nothing more, nothing less.
The real firepower for this Holy Grail War would still come from Luo Hao and Hestia.
But since she'd misunderstood, Alex saw no reason to correct her. He smiled and went along with it.
"Come on, Merlin, your name's every bit as famous as King Arthur's. Whether it's among humans or magi, you're one of the greatest magicians alive."
"Hahaha! To think I've earned such a reputation… I'm just a mere candidate for the Grand title. I'm nowhere near Solomon or Jiang Ziya."
Despite her modest words, Merlin's grin gave her away completely.
Humble? Maybe.
But her tone was pure Versailles-level humblebrag.
Meanwhile, in the group chat—
Misaka Mikoto: "Wait, it's Merlin? Alex's luck is insane!"
Yotsuya Miko: "Right? That's King Arthur's teacher!"
Erza: "Is this Merlin person really that famous?"
Tsunade: "She looks great, but I wonder how strong she is."
Busujima Saeko: "She should be really powerful—'the Magician among Magicians,' right? But isn't Merlin supposed to be a guy? Why's she a woman here?"
Misaka Mikoto: "Ugh, don't remind me! Now I can't unsee it!"
Yotsuya Miko: "Wait… if Arthur had such a beautiful teacher, did he never get any weird ideas?"
Busujima Saeko: "Didn't expect you to be that kind of girl, Miko."
Yotsuya Miko: "…"
Misaka Mikoto: "Hey, but think about it—what if King Arthur was a girl, too?"
Busujima Saeko: "Okay, now I really can't unsee it!"
The group chat was in chaos.
And back on Alex's side, things were just as lively.
Merlin had only just been summoned.
Apart from her own Master, she hadn't really paid much attention to anyone else yet.
But when Alex introduced her to Luo Hao and Hestia, she froze.
"That divine aura… you two—are you gods?"
Her eyes went wide in shock.
That shouldn't even be possible.
After the Age of Gods ended, true deities weren't supposed to exist in the modern era.
The only way gods could appear now was by lowering their divinity and descending as Servants.
But that meant their Saint Graphs—the vessels that gave them form—limited their strength.
No matter how powerful a god was, once summoned as a Servant, they couldn't reach their full power.
Yet these two—Luo Hao and Hestia—their divine energy, the sheer mystery rolling off them…
There was no way they were just Servants.
These were actual deities!
Wait—no. Luo Hao's aura was divine, sure, but there was something else in her, something opposite to divinity…
"Oh, shit! She's a god-slayer!?"
Merlin couldn't help blurting out.
That was terrifying—on the level of someone from the Land of Shadows!
With these two around, what use did Alex even have for her?
They could steamroll the whole war!
Alex couldn't help laughing at her expression.
Ah, that delicious sense of satisfaction!
He cleared his throat. "Ahem, Merlin, don't be so shocked. These two are good friends of mine. I've got two others too—Esdeath and Roxy."
"Ah… hello," Merlin managed weakly.
They didn't radiate the same godlike terror as the first two, but they weren't weak either.
Esdeath felt like a mythical beast wrapped in human skin,
while Roxy's magic—different from anything of this world—was vast and suffocating.
Was her Master seriously the only weakling here? Everyone else was a monster!
Esdeath gave Merlin a polite nod.
Roxy smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you, Merlin. I'm a mage too. Let's share notes sometime."
Merlin blinked.
Mage? Did she just say mage?
As if magic still existed in this era!
She had no idea Roxy's "magic" wasn't the same kind of magic Merlin knew.
"Sure… let's," Merlin said finally, returning the nod. Then she turned to Alex. "Master, who exactly are you?"
Alex waved it off like he'd expected the question. "That's something I can't tell you just yet. What I can tell you is—I want you to teach me magic."
Because he knew about one of her unique skills—Hero Creation.
That was the very ability that had allowed her to raise a King like Arthur.
Its essence: The art of making kings and heroes.
In other words, anyone who received Merlin's full guidance could become a ruler—or a legend.
Alex didn't care about being a "hero."
But he did want the power and presence of a king.
And with Merlin's help, his growth would skyrocket.
"Just teach you magic?" Merlin asked, uncertain.
"Exactly. Leave the Holy Grail War to them." He gestured at Luo Hao and Hestia.
"…Alright then," she said, nodding.
In the chat group again—
Misaka Mikoto: "Merlin's face just now—priceless!"
Busujima Saeko: "Can't blame her. Even the greatest magician in legend would back down in front of gods and a god-slayer."
Yotsuya Miko: "My image of Merlin is completely ruined!"
Erza: "I'm curious—what's Merlin's legend like in your world?"
Tsunade: "Yeah, someone explain?"
[User Misaka Mikoto uploaded files: "The Legend of King Arthur," "The Death of Arthur," "The Avalon Chronicles," "The History of the Kings of Britain."]
Misaka Mikoto: "Here, read these. They're classics back home."
Erza: "Judging by the titles, the main character's Arthur, right?"
Yotsuya Miko: "Yup. Merlin's Arthur's mentor."
Tsunade: "Interesting. Guess I've got some bedtime reading now."
Back in the real world, Alex and the others returned to their hotel.
He ended the livestream, and once night fell, he slipped out again with Hestia.
Summoning Merlin had given him a big clue: he'd basically taken someone else's place.
Merlin's class was Caster.
In the original Fourth Holy Grail War, that spot belonged to Gilles de Rais, whose Master was Ryunosuke Uryuu.
Just thinking about that psychopathic murderer made Alex's blood boil.
He was going to kill that guy.
Partly to prevent trouble—
and partly because someone like that didn't deserve to live anyway.
If he didn't, there was always the risk that the "original" Ryunosuke might somehow take his place back through some twisted magecraft.
Better to make sure that never happened.
And if doing so wiped out a scumbag in the process?
Well, that just made it a good deed.
"..."
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