Chapter 47: Guinevere's Knightly Pursuit
Noah had arranged everything in advance.
For instance, he had Morgan leave before Merlin's return, and when sending Morgan to the Southern Six Territories, he had her deliver a message to them:
—"The matters concerning Camelot and the Southern Six Territories are of utmost importance to Britain. Thus, I take these issues very seriously. Once the matters awaiting Lord Merlin's return are resolved, I will dispatch him to discuss the relevant matters with you all."
Just this single message.
Directly resulted in the Six Southern Kings arriving at Camelot with their respective entourages less than half a month after Merlin's return!
No matter which group Kay, who was in charge of the patrol teams, questioned, the response was the same: "Sharing the King's burdens is our duty. Since the King stated he wishes to discuss the Southern Six Territories' affairs with us, we have come voluntarily to offer our service!"
Noah stood at a high point in Camelot Castle, observing the processions of the Six Southern Kings, and then posed a question to Merlin beside him.
"What exactly did you do in the Southern Six Territories? Why did they rush over so quickly upon hearing you'd be going back?"
Hearing this, Merlin laughed.
"Your Majesty worries too much. What could I have done? I merely ate, drank, and enjoyed myself, occasionally chatting with people. Beyond that, I truly did nothing."
Seeing Merlin's demeanor, Noah didn't press further on the matter. Instead, he perfunctorily inquired about intelligence on the Six Southern Kings.
At this, Merlin straightened up, his expression turning somewhat serious.
"Although the Six Southern Kings appear equal, they are actually divided into two factions. This means only two among them truly require attention. If those two agree, the other four kings will not voice dissent."
"And the two pivotal kings are King Leodegrance and King Rience."
Upon hearing these names, Noah nodded.
He was already well-informed in this regard, and these names were far from unfamiliar to him.
In the legends of King Arthur, King Rience appeared more as a background figure, whereas King Leodegrance played a relatively significant supporting role.
The name King Leodegrance might sound unfamiliar, but his daughter's name is widely recognized—Guinevere, Queen to King Arthur.
As for King Rience... he was precisely the kind of named background character.
It's said he was driven off by King Arthur while warring with King Leodegrance, leading Arthur to meet Guinevere at the victory banquet hosted by Leodegrance.
Thus, upon hearing these two names now, Noah wore a faint smile.
In the original tale, substantial conflicts might have erupted during the Southern Six Territories' submission, given the discord between Leodegrance and Rience.
But here, that wouldn't happen.
—The root of their discord would soon become a thing of the past.
Because...
"King Leodegrance and King Rience have a very poor relationship. Since both territories border the sea, nearly all of Britain's salt is supplied through them. Under such circumstances, they have long disputed over Britain's salt prices, even resorting to armed clashes."
Merlin continued elaborating on the affairs of the Southern Six Territories.
"So when trying to win them over, Your Majesty still needs to be cautious, as it's easy for one to be swayed while the other turns hostile."
"Understood, I know."
Noah was aware that Merlin wasn't deceiving him in this regard.
Because there was no need for Merlin to lie about such matters, though of course, don't expect Merlin to offer any real assistance in this affair.
After all, in this story he himself had dubbed the 'Legend of King Arthur,' King Arthur was the protagonist, while Merlin was merely a role played by him, the spectator.
Thus, he genuinely wanted to see what this protagonist, King Arthur, would do.
That was Merlin's perspective.
As for Noah.
His view on the matter was much simpler.
The point of contention between King Leodegrance and King Rience was salt—or, to put it another way, their conflict stemmed from the wealth brought by salt.
For Noah, this matter was straightforward.
After all...
The Selkirk Territory, which would soon be attacked by the main forces of the Picts, still had several salt mountains.
At present, the land of Britain still bore the blessings of the Age of Gods, and several salt mountains blessed by that era were more than enough to shatter the existing salt industry entirely.
In this way, whether a conflict should exist between King Leodegrance and King Rience would, at least in broad terms, be up to him to decide.
...
Noah had already figured out how to handle the Six Southern Kings.
As for the Six Southern Kings themselves, upon entering Camelot, they immediately split into two factions.
In the camp led by King Leodegrance, a young woman who had been hiding among the ranks disguised as a soldier was now sneaking out of the camp, gazing curiously at Camelot—the most prosperous city in Britain.
She was Guinevere, the daughter of King Leodegrance.
Even in the south, Guinevere had heard many tales of knights.
But as the daughter of King Leodegrance, raised within the walls of his castle, she had never encountered the knights described in those stories.
All she had seen were knights loyal to King Leodegrance—and by extension, loyal to her.
Yet that was entirely different from what she had read in storybooks.
So when she learned that her father was coming to Camelot to discuss the future of the south, she found a way to follow along.
It wasn't that she was interested in the so-called Chosen King; she hadn't even paid attention to the sword-pulling ceremony and had no idea who King Arthur really was.
The future of the south was far beyond her influence.
Her purpose in secretly following them to Camelot was simple: to seek out the knights she had heard of in the bards' tales!
Of course.
She wasn't entirely without direction.
In King Leodegrance's castle, she had listened to many stories from bards, and among them, her favorite was one told by a bard who had come from Camelot—the Epic of Radiance.
It was said that the protagonist of the Epic of Radiance was based on a real knight.
And that knight was the one she wished to find.
She had even managed to gather some information about him.
His title was the Knight of the Dawn.
And his name was—Noah Blake.
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