'That was close. I almost thought I was going to turn the King into a cuckold.'
At first Merlin had been looking forward to the sparks that would fly when Sajyou Manaka and Alvin met, but judging from what just happened, sparks did fly, only they felt a bit like romantic sparks.
If Artoria found out about this today, his wise reputation as the court magus would be completely ruined.
Thinking of that, Merlin could not help secretly feeling relieved.
———
[Outside the Radiant Tower]
"Why aren't they out yet?", Galahad stood by his father's side, staring straight at the Radiant Tower that symbolized the "Holy Lance."
From just now until now, the two of them had already waited here for nearly an hour.
If he could set foot in the Radiant Tower, Galahad would have wanted to go in himself and check the situation by now.
Lancelot did not speak, but his gaze was also fixed tightly on the tower's exit.
The news that Alvin was still alive had made him extremely happy at first, but after he calmed down, that happiness turned into confusion, and also anger.
Right now he could not wait to question Alvin.
Buzz!
Right then, under the father and son's expectant gazes, the exit of the Radiant Tower flashed with light, and a boy's figure quietly appeared in view.
Behind him followed a gray-haired girl, holding a birdcage in her hands.
Although she had obtained the Holy Lance, just as Add had said before, Gray was still far too weak. She could not maintain the Holy Lance's full state all the time, so in daily life it still appeared in its half-sealed "birdcage" form.
First, it would not draw as much attention. Second, it could save magical energy.
The moment the two of them stepped out of the tower, a knight came striding toward them with fierce aura.
He was tall and straight, his facial lines sharp, holding a keen longsword. Under the sunlight, his distinctive purple hair seemed to be dyed with a layer of warm luster.
Sensing the man approaching, Gray's heart tightened slightly.
Alvin took a step forward, blocking Gray behind him, and looked up at the oppressive man in front of him.
Lancelot.
"Gray, go back and rest first. He's probably just here to ask about what happened in the Radiant Tower today," Alvin said.
Gray instinctively looked at Alvin, her eyes full of worry, "But…"
Alvin leaned close to the girl's ear and lowered his voice, "Don't worry. Cooperation is the general trend now. They aren't going to do anything to a transmigrator personally invited by King Arthur at a time like this."
As he spoke, he glanced at Galahad, "Could I trouble you to escort her back to rest?"
Galahad instinctively looked at Lancelot. Only after seeing the latter give a small nod did he place a hand over his chest and give a standard knight's bow, "Please come with me."
Seeing this, Gray still had a trace of worry in her eyes, but when she looked back at Alvin again, the boy had already turned and was walking toward the nearby grove.
Lancelot followed right after him.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen to him."
Galahad seemed to notice Gray's concern and smiled, "There are so many people here today. My father won't attack him in front of everyone. Besides, it wouldn't fit a knight's morals."
For Britain's knights, especially most of the Knights of the Round Table, chivalry was like their second life.
Unless under special circumstances, in most cases they would abide by this fair knightly spirit.
Hearing this, Gray finally relaxed a little, though as she watched Alvin's back as he walked away, something complicated flashed in the depths of her eyes.
Alvin had always been her fellow student at the Clock Tower, and yet ever since the last time they traveled, she had felt like he had suddenly become somewhat mysterious.
'What exactly happened to him?'
———
The old European-style buildings were gradually hidden by the trees, with only a little sunlight filtering through the leaves.
Silence hung between the two of them.
"I thought you'd ask me how I'm still alive," Alvin opened his mouth first.
"I never thought you'd die. Not even when you took the King's Holy Sword head-on back then."
Lancelot stared coldly at Alvin, his voice icy, "But what I can't understand is why you stood by and watched this time."
The "them" he meant, of course, was Morgan le Fay and Artoria.
"Morgan broke into the royal palace openly. Forget everyone else, but you once swore to protect the King forever. So why, this time…"
Facing Lancelot's questioning, Alvin calmly countered, "If the two married women you like one day started fighting in the street, would you choose to help one of them?"
"Alvin, don't slander me like that!", Lancelot flared up, "The women I pursue are all on their own. They're nothing like married women!"
"I get it, no need to get worked up. I was just giving a hypothetical."
Alvin patiently explained, "Now think about it. If it were you, and you had to choose one out of the two, would you help one of them, or try to find a better way to break the deadlock?"
The other meaning was basically: easy to talk big from the sidelines. If you're so capable, you do it.
Just imagine it: one side is Morgan le Fay, who holds the authority of "Lady of the Lake," and the other is King Arthur, who wields the Holy Sword, and both of them have a close relationship with Alvin.
Whichever side he chose to help, the other would inevitably be disappointed and hurt, maybe even fall completely into darkness because of it.
From Alvin's point of view, it really had been difficult to act at the time.
Lancelot was momentarily at a loss for words.
When he had first learned Alvin was still alive, he had built up quite a lot of resentment in his heart, just waiting to settle accounts with him when they met.
But after hearing this, he suddenly could not find a reason to refute.
Most of Britain's Knights of the Round Table vaguely knew about the relationship between Morgan and Alvin, as well as King Arthur.
If Lancelot imagined himself in the same situation, he would probably struggle to choose too.
More importantly, Morgan possessed the special authority of "Lady of the Lake." If a world-shaking battle had really broken out in Britain back then, it would also have been a huge loss for Britain.
Lancelot finally broke the silence, "But things can't go on like this either."
"Relax. I'll take care of it."
Alvin smiled, "After the banquet is over, I'll convince Morgan."
Morgan le Fay. In the eyes of outsiders, this woman was extremely dangerous and cold-hearted, but if you could get close to her inner self, you would discover there was a softness there too.
And she was filled with jealousy and resentment toward Artoria, but that also came from love turning into hate.
In other words, as long as that hatred could be turned back into love, things would be much easier.
Lancelot let out a cold snort, "I hope so."
No matter how much he believed in Alvin, getting that witch to feel love and warmth and let go of her hatred because of it, that was basically a pipe dream.
But now things had already reached this point, all he could do was trust Alvin.
After the two of them talked a while longer, Lancelot suddenly remembered something and looked Alvin over a few times, asking suspiciously, "What's the relationship between you and that girl who was with you just now?"
The way it sounded was pretty much, 'Why are you out there picking up girls again?'
Alvin had always been popular with the opposite sex. Before the White Dragon war incident, there had already been quite a few noble young ladies who secretly admired him.
Lancelot's question was really because he was worried about Alvin's "safety" in every sense.
Alvin sighed helplessly, "Don't look at me like that. Gray is indeed someone I know, but it's not the kind of relationship you're thinking of."
Clearly, Lancelot did not believe him. He just let out a "heh!", "Alvin, I won't interfere with your personal affairs, but don't say I didn't warn you. You know what Morgan le Fay is like. If you don't want to die, you'd better be a little more careful."
"Otherwise, even I won't be able to save you."
Lancelot turned and left the grove.
"Seriously, nobody believes the truth these days."
Watching Lancelot's retreating back, Alvin could not help shrugging helplessly.
'Mm, but Lancelot is right. No matter what, it is better to be careful while in Britain. If possible, I really don't want to trigger some kind of "defeat CG."'
Thinking about all this nonsense, Alvin was just about to walk out of the grove when he suddenly stopped.
"Come to think of it, you've been secretly watching me this whole time. Your tastes are pretty weird, you know."
His voice echoed in the empty grove.
He waited for a moment, and when there was still no response, Alvin quietly closed his eyes.
Every trace of residual magical energy left behind by magecraft, every fallen leaf, even the tiniest speck of dust was fully drawn into his perception at this moment.
The next instant, he slowly opened his eyes and locked onto a certain spot deep within the grove.
"Do I need to come in there and invite you out?"
The grove remained dead silent.
But just as Alvin was about to move, a rich, velvety female voice rang out first.
"Oh!"
"Even though I went out of my way to hide my presence, the White Dragon's perception really is far beyond what I imagined."
High-heeled boots stepped onto the ground, and a woman's figure walked out from the depths of the grove.
Alvin's gaze narrowed slightly.
When he saw the intruder's appearance clearly, his pupils suddenly shrank.
"It's you?"
———
With Galahad escorting her, Gray absentmindedly returned to her room.
The moment she stepped inside, she saw Reines already sitting in a chair, waiting for her.
Wearing a dark blue short dress full of noble young lady vibes, her long, slender legs were wrapped in pure black stockings, and under the sunlight her fair skin seemed to faintly show through.
"Gray, I've been waiting for you for ages. Did you go out for a walk to clear your head or something?", Reines looked up at her and soon spoke in a teasing tone with a bright smile.
Gray set the "birdcage" in her hands on the table beside her and said softly, "A lot of things happened after we traveled, but everything's been resolved now."
Even with her closest friend, the girl did not want to talk about the Holy Lance.
First, that secret involved Alvin as well. Second, once someone knew about the Holy Lance, if some ill-intentioned person set their sights on it, even Reines might end up in danger.
And besides, this could be considered a secret just between her and him.
"What are you secretly smiling about? Did you run into some romance or something?", Seeing the faint smile unwittingly appearing on the gray-haired girl's face, a hint of confusion flashed in Reines's eyes.
'Is some boy chasing after Gray?'
'But with her innocent personality, if she runs into a bad guy she'll definitely be fooled,' Thinking of that, the noble young lady could not help feeling a bit worried.
"No, why would you think that?", Gray brushed it off casually, then changed the subject, "Anyway, you must have come to me for a reason, right?"
'Looks like there really is something going on. I wonder which guy is secretly chasing after Gray,' Reines narrowed her eyes slightly, gossip burning in her heart, though her face stayed calm as she said, "Have you heard the news coming out of the royal palace today?"
"What news?", Gray froze for a moment.
"After King Arthur went missing, everyone originally thought cooperation between the transmigrators and Britain would be put on hold. But today Morgan has decided to temporarily stand in for King Arthur to push this cooperation forward, and she plans to hold a banquet."
Reines said quietly, "If nothing unexpected happens, transmigrators from every era will be coming."
Magi from the modern world cooperating with ancient Britain, no matter how you looked at it, it would be an unprecedented golden age.
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