Chapter 53: This Is Quite Interesting, Isn't It?
"You must be the lords of the Southern Six Territories. It's our first meeting. I am the successor to the throne, King Arthur. Everyone, there's no need to be too tense."
Noah followed the path lined by the knights of the patrol until he reached the main seat of the banquet before stopping.
Before Noah covered this distance, five of the six kings of the Southern Six Territories felt the pressure mounting with each moment of silence—only King Leodegrance was an exception.
The reason he didn't feel this way was mainly because he recognized Noah!
After all, even if the style of the armor had changed, Noah was still Noah—his face remained the same.
For a moment, King Leodegrance didn't understand what Noah had meant yesterday. But when Noah uttered these words—or more precisely, when he said "first meeting"—King Leodegrance fully grasped what Noah was thinking.
So that's it...
He intends to treat yesterday's events as a minor episode, not mixing personal matters with official affairs...
King Leodegrance could understand Noah's intent.
However, Noah's clear and distinct way of handling everything naturally made King Leodegrance feel more favorably disposed toward him.
After all, he was the kind of person who, in Noah's simulations, would persistently cause trouble with Camelot over Guinevere's disappearance until his own death.
Thus, when it came to matters involving Guinevere, no matter how clearly he understood Noah's intentions, he couldn't help but feel grateful to Noah for not making things difficult for him.
So this is the chivalry of King Arthur... truly a noble king.
King Leodegrance thought to himself.
As for the other five kings, if they weren't already kneeling before Noah, it was only because they were barely holding themselves together.
They hadn't experienced the kind of minor episode King Leodegrance had gone through yesterday, so now they felt that the pressure from this King Arthur was even greater than that from King Uther!
This made it impossible for them to voice the arguments they had prepared earlier, all because of this overwhelming pressure.
They could only echo Noah's words, and it was only when Noah allowed them to sit that they took their seats.
Their reactions were entirely within Noah's expectations.
Noah had inherited memories from multiple simulations, and in those memories, the Twelve Kings of Britain had never been an obstacle to him. Thus, Noah knew exactly what kind of people they were.
From the moment he entered, aside from continuously exerting pressure on them, he also emitted a faint aura of dominance.
Otherwise, even if they felt immense pressure, they wouldn't have been as flustered as they were now.
In contrast, King Leodegrance, whose perception of Noah had shifted due to yesterday's events from the very beginning, could also sense that domineering aura from Noah. However, this aura only made him think more highly of Noah, nothing more.
This was a classic case of "a clear conscience fears no accusation."
Thus, after everyone was seated, he was the first to speak.
"Before coming to Camelot, I had doubts about the King due to his youth. But now, it seems I was indeed being shallow."
"During my time in Camelot, many things have made me feel as though I've fallen out of sync with this world... Truly, you are the King of the Final Selection."
As he spoke, King Leodegrance directly raised his wine cup, stood up, and bowed to Noah while offering a toast.
As for the remaining words, he left them unspoken.
He had originally intended to say outright—"If you are the king, then I have no objections"—such words.
But upon recalling that Noah hadn't used yesterday's incident as leverage, it occurred to him that this noble king might have other plans and preparations in mind.
Thus, out of respect for not disrupting the king's intentions, King Leodegrance swallowed his final remark.
While toasting Noah, he also watched Noah's eyes closely.
He had hoped to discern something from Noah's expression, but instead he found that no matter what he did, Noah's face maintained a composed and unruffled smile.
Even when responding to his toast, Noah meaningfully replied with these words:
"Thank you very much for that. I also hope you can feel more at ease and enjoy everything Camelot has to offer. After all, we all belong to Britain, don't we?"
Hearing this, King Leodegrance was somewhat surprised.
But verbally, he kept agreeing repeatedly.
Seeing him speak first, the other five kings also chimed in one after another. Even the three kings aligned with King Rience, who didn't get along with Leodegrance, expressed similar sentiments.
Clearly, they hadn't yet recovered from the earlier pressure.
And Noah had no intention of letting them recover.
While this was indeed their first time meeting Noah, Noah knew each of them.
He could roughly guess what each was thinking in any given state of mind.
He was even aware of many secrets belonging to the Six Southern Kings.
Thus, as he occasionally revealed minor but significantly pressure-inducing secrets—secrets harmless in nature but deeply unsettling to the recipients—King Leodegrance grew increasingly appreciative and respectful of Noah, while the other five kings became more and more awed and fearful.
After all, the more they conversed with Noah, the more they realized that their deepest secrets seemed to have been uncovered.
Faced with this king who always maneuvered skillfully along their bottom lines, they couldn't muster any thought of resistance. Throughout the entire banquet, not a single thought of causing trouble arose; instead, almost all their energy was spent trying to decipher Noah's intentions.
So this is what a king is like...
They thought to themselves.
Meanwhile, Merlin stood at a distance observing the situation. Unnoticed by anyone, he drank and chuckled to himself.
He had initially worried that things here might not go smoothly.
Perhaps today's banquet would end unhappily, and only after he offered advice to King Arthur could matters be properly resolved.
But he hadn't expected Noah's preparations to be so thorough!
Moreover, when Noah entered, the kingly aura emanating from him was palpable even from where Merlin stood... especially since Noah hadn't shown any intense emotions or done anything extraordinary—he simply walked to his seat.
Yet even under such circumstances, he radiated that kingly majesty, and during the banquet, he wielded it with perfect control.
So this is the Chosen King...
Throughout Noah's time as king, Merlin had witnessed everything he did.
If in the beginning, he still maintained an attitude of inspection, still considering whether to push Artoria to become king if Noah truly proved incompetent.
Then now he no longer thought this way.
He had completely transformed into a spectator, watching this Arthurian legend that differed entirely from his expectations yet remained exceptionally brilliant. Even Merlin, the half-incubus, would sincerely feel...
This is truly fascinating~
Isn't it?
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