'As for the descendant Merlin mentioned, the man who uses gemstone magecraft, could it be Tohsaka Tokiomi?'
'Transmigrators in Camelot from different eras?'
Alvin's eyes flickered, and soon an amused expression crossed his face.
'If it really isn't just Clock Tower people but also transmigrators from other eras... then this gets interesting.'
"Any other questions? If not, I must go. The queen does not fully trust me right now. If I stay out of the palace too long, she might get suspicious," Merlin's voice pulled Alvin back to reality.
"Do you have any news from Morgan's side?", Alvin asked.
Merlin showed a helpless look, "Clairvoyance is not omnipotent, and you know her level of magecraft. If she intentionally hides, no one will find her."
Morgan le Fay, the true heir of Britain's island lords and the darker side of the Lady of the Lake. In the whole Camelot Empire, regarding magecraft, Morgan le Fay stood at the very top.
Seeing Alvin fall silent, Merlin smiled, "You do not have to be too impatient. Maybe when she learns you've returned, she will come find you herself."
"Yeah... but given that woman's terrible personality, after you betrayed her for Lily, who knows what she'll do when she sees you."
Alvin rolled his eyes, "If you're not going to comfort me, don't. Now get out."
Seeing Alvin grow more troubled, Merlin's smile widened.
'This is indeed an entertaining scene.'
'This trip out of the palace was the right choice after all.'
Thinking that, Merlin waved his hand, "I'll go then. See you another day."
He turned and headed for the door.
However, just as Merlin's hand touched the doorknob, as if sensing something, his complexion changed slightly.
'Someone is at the door!'
"What's the matter? Are you planning to stay and have tea instead of leaving?", Alvin looked at Merlin at the door with curiosity and was about to continue speaking.
But in the next moment, an icy, pleasant voice detonated in both their heads like thunder, making their minds buzz and go blank.
"Aren't you going to invite me in for a cup of tea, Merlin?"
KABOOM!
The calm voice at the door thundered into Merlin's ears and made his whole body shudder.
The magus of flower's first reaction was that he had imagined it. The second was relief at Arthur's growth. The third was, 'Holy crap, should I prepare to run?'
Merlin knew Artoria well.
After all, he was her teacher, one of the people who knew her best.
Yet even Merlin did not expect the queen to track him all the way here without his knowledge. Although it was only one of his projections, the means to block senses was formidable.
Maybe at an English summon, she could even serve as an assassin class.
Merlin was thinking this when he noticed Alvin's puzzled look.
Although Alvin had been silent since earlier, his eyes seemed to say, 'Not a bro, are you kidding me?'
In Alvin's mind, Merlin often acted frivolously but was actually pretty reliable.
'So... he did not even realize he'd been followed?'
Reading Alvin's thoughts, Merlin shrugged helplessly, "See, I told you. The queen now is different from before, and my projection's perception is not great."
"But rest assured, if I wanted to, she could not detect you."
Saying this, Merlin slowly took out his staff and smiled, "Now then, question time... do you know what Brother Merlin's signature trick is?"
As if answering himself, Merlin's gentle voice echoed in the room.
"It's illusion, Alvin."
———
Artoria stood quietly at the door, looking at the closed door. She had only said one sentence earlier, but even an outsider could see the cold hardening in her heart.
From when Merlin used his clairvoyance and offered help, Artoria felt something odd.
In the past, she would have trusted her teacher unconditionally.
But after the world-shaking White Dragon battle, her trust in Merlin plummeted.
Coupled with Alvin's last words before dying, Artoria might accept Merlin's counsel on big matters, but she no longer trusted this magus of flower.
And from the results now, Artoria's initial suspicions were proven right. Merlin was untrustworthy.
Not only privately meeting transmigrators, but he was caught red-handed.
Though she hated to believe it, the blonde girl downstairs was clearly a transmigrator.
And the person inside plotting with Merlin was undoubtedly a transmigrator.
'All of this proves Merlin's treachery.'
'Well... maybe not outright treachery.'
'But still, secretly colluding with transmigrators is a grave crime in Camelot.'
Seeing no sound from inside, Artoria's expression was calm as she pushed the door open.
"I'm coming in."
Creak!
A faint door sound, and the scene inside came into view.
Merlin sat on a somewhat old wooden chair, leaning back, smiling warmly.
He raised his hand in greeting, "Your Majesty, why are you personally here? Do you not trust me?"
Artoria glanced at the empty room, then sat on the windowsill edge.
"I simply went out for a walk and stopped by."
Soon her calm pleasant voice sounded.
"I didn't expect to see an amusing scene right away... the girl downstairs is a transmigrator, yes?", When she finished speaking, Artoria lifted her eyes and stared calmly at the white-haired mage.
"Yes," Without any defense, Merlin smiled, "Her name is Reines. She is a Clock Tower student, but special. She came here by body-possession."
Artoria pursed her lips and said softly, "Were there other transmigrators in this room just now?"
"With your level of magecraft, catching a few transmigrators wouldn't be hard. So are you more leisurely today, or... do you have other motives, Merlin?"
At those words Merlin's smile seemed to shrink a little.
To be frank, the queen's perception was astonishing right now.
He had already set up barriers beforehand, yet she still detected it.
"Your Majesty, perhaps you do not believe me, but everything I have done is for Camelot."
Merlin showed a helpless look and tapped the table with his fingers, "The appearance of transmigrators is not an absolute harm to Camelot. I want to learn more about why they have appeared."
Although Merlin had not been in the public eye lately, even when he was in the Tower he had been monitoring these transmigrators.
Transmigrators from various eras... people in Camelot might see them as heresy.
But Merlin thought this might become an interesting upheaval.
"Then you should have told me first instead of acting on your own."
Artoria fixed Merlin with a dangerous gaze, "Do you have anything to explain?"
The evidence was clear. Merlin could have tried to defend himself with eloquence.
But the white-haired mage simply sighed, "There is nothing to say. As you mentioned, I did privately meet transmigrators."
"Why?"
Artoria's cold voice carried disappointment. Though she had once already been disappointed in Merlin, she still harbored a sliver of hope.
Before coming here she had thought Merlin might have his reasons.
But he simply admitted it.
"Transmigrators' appearance may be a major upheaval for Camelot's future."
Merlin said slowly, "Your Majesty, forgive my bluntness, but you should not just capture them indiscriminately."
"I am not trying to kill them. My goal is the same as yours: to find out why they have appeared," Artoria said.
Merlin sighed, "But your methods are too extreme."
"I know you consider body-possessors to be despicable desecrators of the dead."
Artoria frowned, but before she continued, Merlin slowly raised his head to look at her.
"What if among these transmigrators is the person you long for?"
'The person I long for?'
At those words, Artoria seemed to think of something. Her gaze locked onto Merlin.
Long silence.
Artoria slightly opened her mouth. After a brief pause, her cold words that could cut like ice echoed in the room.
"Impossible."
She said that, but her eyes never left Merlin.
Artoria could hardly imagine. If one day a transmigrator not only desecrated the dead but the one they desecrated was the White Dragon that had silently guarded Camelot.
How would she react upon finding out? Even she did not know.
Just the thought made a hint of anger flicker in her eyes.
"Now you bring up him again?"
Facing Artoria's question, Merlin kept smiling. His gentle and calm voice sounded in the golden-haired woman's ears.
"Your Majesty, since his death... do you hate everything, including this country?"
Artoria's brows drew together, "What are you trying to say?"
"You should know what my clairvoyant eye can do."
Merlin said slowly, "I can deduce the future from current information, so from the moment I first saw you, I knew you would be Camelot's future king."
"But at the sword-pulling ceremony, you were not the only one who could pull the sword."
This time Artoria was stunned for a long moment and did not speak.
"What do you mean?"
"Pulling the sword means your face will be frozen at that moment forever, and the one who holds the sword becomes Camelot's future Arthur. Alvin is not a person of this history, so he was not destined to pull that sword."
Merlin said quietly, "Yet back then he did cause the sword to loosen once."