Chapter 504: Artoria’s Change
A whole night passed quickly.
Meanwhile, in Faerie Britain, just one day and night had been enough for the events in Camelot to spread to the ears of every fairy.
Thanks to that, at dawn the next day, fairies all across Britain—whether in other cities or the still-rebuilding Salisbury—were already buzzing with heated discussions about what had happened the day before.
"I heard the Child of Prophecy got rescued before the wedding even ended?"
"Yeah, they say it was done by that foreign traveler mentioned in the prophecy. I heard she’s a magus."
"Huh, so there really is a magus from the outside world in the Fairy Kingdom?"
"Not too shocking, right? I mean, the Child of Prophecy came from Paradise too, not here."
"So... the Child of Prophecy and the foreign traveler are together now?"
"By the way, the Bell of Pilgrimage—the one in Salisbury’s already been rung. Once all five bells are rung, the Child of Prophecy can overthrow the Queen, right?"
"Man, that’d be amazing. I’m so done with paying that existence tax. Seriously, the command spells carved on our hands are such an eyesore. I really hope the Child of Prophecy and the foreign traveler take the Queen down."
"I think they’ve got a shot. I mean, when they escaped from Camelot, the Child of Prophecy managed to beat Fairy Knight Gawain."
"Wait, seriously?"
"He took down a Fairy Knight after just ringing one bell?"
"Oh man, now that’s something to be excited about!"
Fairies everywhere were fired up, chatting passionately about the hot topic—even the fairies in Salisbury were swept up in it, slowing down the day’s reconstruction work quite a bit.
Especially those fairies who thrived on chaos—after hearing that the Child of Prophecy had escaped and even defeated a Fairy Knight, they were practically itching for war to break out, hoping for some long-awaited excitement to stir up all of Faerie Britain.
Of course, news of the Child of Prophecy’s escape also sparked scheming among those with their own agendas.
Like the Round Table Army holed up in Londinium.
Like the rebel forces occupying Sheffield.
Or like the King Clan up north.
All these resistance groups, who had all been pinned down by Morgan and unable to move, finally saw their chance to act.
Naturally, over in Camelot, once the royal palace had been stabilized, they began to take action as well.
Morgan personally gave the order to dispatch the Fairy Knights, fairy soldiers, and the elites of the Fang Clan to search for the whereabouts of the Child of Prophecy and the foreign traveler, and to bring the prince back to the palace.
Among the Fairy Knights, the main ones sent out were Lancelot and Tristan.
Gawain, who had been seriously wounded and whose true name had been revealed, was currently in an unstable condition and wouldn’t be able to move anytime soon.
Tristan had also been severely injured but had reportedly recovered.
She had shown up at the palace at dawn and received Morgan’s orders, setting out immediately with a large force of fairy soldiers.
Lancelot was the only Fairy Knight still in perfect condition, but she had said that teaming up with others would just slow her down, so she left Camelot alone, flew high into the sky, and prepared to act solo.
As for the Fang Clan, it was naturally Woodwose who led the charge, taking a group of skilled and battle-hardened elites to go after the Child of Prophecy.
Naturally, they weren’t searching blindly.
They knew that the Child of Prophecy would continue the pilgrimage, looking for a chance to ring the remaining five Bells of Pilgrimage, so they split up into three groups—one headed to Oxford, another to Gloucester, and the last to the northern region of Orkney, ready to lie in wait.
Woodwose led the Fang Clan to Oxford, which was originally his territory anyway.
Tristan took the fairy army to Gloucester to meet with Muryan, who had been stationed there, to negotiate with the Wing Clan and plan a joint operation to capture the Child of Prophecy.
Lancelot flew solo to the northern Orkney, not bringing a single person along.
As a result, the only place left was Norwich.
Norwich was the Earth Clan’s territory—Spriggan’s domain.
By all rights, someone should’ve been sent there as well, but Norwich had finally reached the breaking point of the ’Calamity’ that had been building up over the past month, where the city was in chaos and could fall at any moment.
In other words, Norwich was in no shape to take care of itself. If the Queen’s Army sent troops there carelessly, not only would they likely fail their mission, but they might even get dragged into the Calamity.
Because of that, Morgan didn’t send anyone to Norwich and also didn’t even intend to offer any help. She seemed perfectly content to watch Norwich fall and let the Earth Clan’s territory get swallowed by the Calamity.
With all that happening, the escape of a single prince had indeed stirred up quite a bit of unrest across Faerie Britain.
Some acted out of good intentions.
Some acted out of malice.
Some stayed uninvolved.
Some watched with cold eyes.
Good people.
Bad people.
All kinds of figures began to move, creating a clear sense that war was brewing in Faerie Britain, causing the air to grow heavy with tension, and even the twilight sky seemed redder than usual as if it had been stained by spreading blood.
And through all of this, Riezel remained unaware.
===
After sunrise, Riezel left the room Coral had prepared for him under Aurora’s orders and headed over to check on Artoria’s condition.
When Riezel entered Artoria’s room, he found that she was already awake.
For some reason, the fairy girl was sitting on the bed, staring off into space, not even noticing when he knocked or opened the door.
"Finally gone stupid, huh?"
Riezel muttered, but thanks to this one mutter, Artoria finally responded.
"You’re the one who’s stupid!" Artoria’s pupils began to focus as she looked at Riezel and snapped. "You walk in and say something that’s insulting right off the bat? Don’t you think that’s a bit much?!"
"Then who told you to sit there looking like your soul already left your body? I knocked on the door loud enough, and you didn’t even notice." Riezel replied with a calm expression. "What were you thinking about so seriously anyway?"
Artoria instantly fell slightly silent.
Seeing this, Riezel acted as if he hadn’t noticed and stepped up beside her, then crouched in front of her.
"As I thought. You dreamed about your Proper Human History self, didn’t you?" Riezel stated without hesitation.
"You know...?" Artoria froze for a second, then looked directly at Riezel. "How do you know everything?"
"Can’t help it. You’re just that easy to read." Riezel shrugged. "It’s probably because you rang the Bell of Pilgrimage and learned about the existence of Proper Human History. While gaining power, you also started getting memories that don’t belong to the current you."
Indeed, those memories belonged to King Arthur, Artoria of Proper Human History, who was her counterpart, essentially another her.
Now that Artoria had begun to unseal her power as the Fairy of Paradise, it wasn’t surprising that, after learning about Proper Human History, she would start to glimpse the history of her other self.
Although Riezel didn’t know the exact reason behind it, and the original work never explained it either, since the Fairy Eyes of the Fairy of Paradise could even see through lies, it didn’t seem all that strange that Artoria, as the savior, might start seeing strange things as her powers grew.
"What are you feeling right now?" Riezel asked, looking straight into Artoria’s eyes.
Artoria, surprisingly, didn’t look away.
If it were someone else, she might’ve brushed it off with a fake smile and acted like nothing was wrong, but this was Riezel, so her instincts made her want to trust him, rely on him, and open up to him.
As a result, Artoria spoke her mind from the bottom of her heart.
"I could never become someone that incredible..."
Artoria’s tone was incredibly complicated, and Riezel could understand what she was feeling at this moment.
Anyone who didn’t know her well—if they heard what she had gone through and what she just said—would probably assume this fairy girl was just being self-deprecating.
Needless to say, the legendary King Arthur was so strong, so noble, so perfect, so awe-inspiring, that it was only natural that Artoria felt she couldn’t compare.
However, Riezel understood—Artoria didn’t say that because King Arthur was so great, but said that because King Arthur had suffered so much.
Before King Arthur even pulled the Sword of Selection and became the King of Britain, she already knew her fate, thanks to the prophecy of the great magus, Merlin.
And yet, she still chose to become king for the sake of the people.
Even though she was a woman, she had to disguise herself as a man and mold herself into the perfect ruler for Britain. Even after bringing near-miraculous victories and being worshiped like a god, she ended up being feared—because she was too perfect, too rational.
In the end, she was betrayed by the very Knights of the Round Table she led and died a tragic death on a mountain of corpses.
When Artoria said she couldn’t become someone that incredible, what she really meant was that she couldn’t be that strong, that dedicated, that selfless.
But...
"Even if you say that, you’re still Artoria."
Riezel gave Artoria a slight smile as he said this.
"If you grow into the true king that the prophecy spoke of, strong enough to defeat Morgan... then don’t you think, by that point, you won’t be any less than the Proper Human History version of yourself?"
Upon hearing this, Artoria really wanted to laugh and say that was impossible. At least, the old her definitely would’ve reacted like that—shaking her head, flustered and full of self-doubt.
However, this time, she just opened her mouth slightly, like she had no idea what to say.
Seeing Artoria like this, Riezel felt certain about something in his heart.
’She’s changed a little.’
After witnessing the life of her Proper Human History self, some kind of invisible shift had obviously taken place in Artoria’s mindset.
Besides that, ever since she rang the Bell of Pilgrimage, Artoria might’ve already started to realize what her true mission really was.
’That’s why I said, this is just the beginning...’
Riezel couldn’t help but quietly let out a sigh.
He knew there were still many secrets in this world, many truths, and many unresolved questions.
At first glance, it seemed like Artoria and Morgan were merely rivals vying for the position of ruler of Britain, but in reality, the events unfolding in this Lostbelt were far more serious, far heavier.
Otherwise, Proper Human History wouldn’t have intervened.
With that thought, Riezel suddenly reached out and ruffled Artoria’s hair.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
Artoria’s expression was no longer heavy as she flailed her arms and legs, returning to her usual self.
"Nothing. Just cutting off some pointless thinking."
Ignoring Artoria’s protests, Riezel spoke matter-of-factly.
"If you can’t find an answer, just stop thinking about it and focus on what needs to be done right now."
"What needs to be done right now?" Artoria stopped struggling.
"Let’s go." Riezel straightened up. "Let’s see what that clan head has to say."
Hearing this, Artoria lowered her head and fell silent in thought.
"Um!"
After a moment, Artoria looked up, as if she had pulled herself together, and gave a firm nod.
Only then did Riezel smile slightly and, together with Artoria, walk out of the room.
===
Cathedral of the Ash Tree, Lord’s Chambers.
When Riezel and Artoria came here again, this time, Coral, who was standing guard at the door, didn’t stop them—she only glanced at the two of them, and then let them through.
Riezel and Artoria walked into the lord’s chambers together, where they saw two people.
One of them, naturally, was Aurora, and the other was someone Riezel had already met yesterday.
"Yo, been waiting for you guys forever, y’know?"
With a smile that practically sparkled, Oberon greeted the two as they stepped inside.
Oberon, the so-called fairy king whom Riezel had only met briefly the day before, was now sitting next to Aurora, and it seemed the two had been in the middle of a conversation.
"Eh?"
Artoria, on the other hand, froze upon seeing Oberon before an expression of disbelief appeared on her face.
"...Merlin?"
"Merlin?" Oberon was stunned for a moment, then pointed at his own face with a puzzled expression. "You talking to me?"
"He’s Oberon, the King of the Autumn Forest." Aurora chimed in, introducing Oberon to Artoria. "He’s pretty well-known across many cities, especially around Salisbury. If you’ve been traveling for a while, you should’ve at least heard of him, right?"
What Aurora meant by Autumn Forest was a fairy forest located in a remote region.
It was a place where weak little fairies—the ones not needed by the Fairy Kingdom—had gathered, and also a place where Oberon called himself its king.
Because the fairies of the Fairy Kingdom loved lively and entertaining things, Oberon had moved around various cities—sometimes singing, sometimes stirring up trouble, sometimes telling fairy tales, sometimes chanting ballads—doing whatever he could to survive.
As a result, Oberon became the famous fairy king known throughout Faerie Britain, gradually making a name for himself even as he racked up debts everywhere he went.
Aurora figured that Riezel and Artoria should have at least heard of Oberon, but unfortunately, Riezel aside, Artoria clearly didn’t know anything about him.
She was a countryside fairy, and the tales from big cities were a bit too far removed from her world. Even if someone in the village of Tintagel had heard of him, they wouldn’t necessarily have told Artoria, who was treated as nothing more than a tool to be sold.
For that reason, Artoria really had no idea who Oberon was—though at this moment, she stared straight at him, as if trying to see through something.
"Umm..."
Being stared at intensely by Artoria, Oberon looked a bit awkward.
"I mean, I get that I’m popular and all, but hey, I’ve got a lover, you know? So could you not keep staring at me like that?"
In fact, the lover he referred to was actually a fictional character from ’A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’
In that story, Oberon had a queen named Titania.
Even though she was fictional, whenever someone mentioned Oberon’s lover, she was the first to come to mind.
Naturally, Oberon knew that his so-called lover was fictional, and he only said it to ease the awkwardness.
In response, Artoria frowned and stared at Oberon seriously for a moment, then muttered under her breath.
"...You’re not Merlin?"
Artoria’s mutter was something that perhaps only Riezel could hear, but he did not react or speak, just watched quietly.
"Sorry, I think I mistook you for someone else."
Artoria had no choice but to apologize to Oberon, although she still kept sneaking glances at him, as if trying to confirm something.
"Well, I don’t really mind a little drama like this." Oberon shrugged and spoke with a carefree smile. "An interesting encounter like this feels like the prologue to a good story. I’ll just look forward to this as a fun memory down the line."
"You always say these pretty-sounding things, Oberon." Aurora chuckled gently from the side. "If this wasn’t the wrong setting, I’d want to hear you tell a story right here and now."
"Well, there’ll be plenty of chances to hear stories later." Oberon smiled at Aurora. "Once we defeat Morgan, I’ll turn this whole journey into a tale and share it across all of Britain."
"I’ll be looking forward to that." Aurora nodded, then turned to Riezel and Artoria. "But before that, let me hear your answer. Will the two of you accept our help and stand with us against Queen Morgan? I personally think it’s a win-win situation for both sides, so there shouldn’t be any reason to turn it down."
Upon hearing this, Riezel stayed silent and glanced at Artoria.
He wanted to hear what she thought—what she was feeling now.