Fate: The Forged Arthur Pendragon

Admittedly, the cavalry outside, in Lucan's words, had become a potential source of leaked information—the risk of revealing that Suya, who was definitely not a kingdom heir, was indeed a kingdom heir.

But they had already pledged allegiance to him.

Regardless of whether this loyalty from deserters was reliable, this group was the only power Suya could try to control within this small group, apart from the sword at his waist.

So, without a second's hesitation,

Suya, fearing being killed by his own people more than by outsiders, broke the silence in the stone room. He looked at the two people in front of him and asked,

"So, can someone explain,"

"Why do we have to gather scattered soldiers using my identity to reach the capital?"

Merlin, who had already accepted Suya's illiteracy, turned to explain.

"Because of Anti-Magic."

"An organized army can spontaneously form Anti-Magic, counteracting the detection eyes densely spread by mages in the sky."

"It might sound a bit abstract, but the more people we have, the more hidden we'll be."

"Without Anti-Magic, isolated practitioners marked by the detection network will be immediately located and hunted down by the mages of Lyceum."

"Lyceum?"

Suya scratched his head, racking his brain but failing to understand what that was.

Lucan took over the explanation. "Lyceum, full name the Lyceum Philosophical School of Magic, is a magic academy founded by the legendary philosopher-mage, Aristotle."

"Initially, it was indeed a legitimate academy for training mages. However, now, you can think of it as a mental asylum, filled with a bunch of lunatics trying to reach the 'Root' through the philosophical side."

"To study 'philosophical principles,' they are extensively capturing isolated practitioners from enemy nations."

Merlin continued, "If we disguise ourselves as an army, then we'll only encounter armies."

"But if we're alone, then what we encounter in this land might not just be armies: mage killers, philosophical mages of the逍遥 (Free and Easy) school, Church Enforcers, ancient magical beasts resurrected by the magical tide, and the most dangerous of all..."

"The Crusader Knights belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Duke of Cornwall."

"So, we practitioners either follow high-ranking nobles or blend into organized armies. And right now, Britannia's organized armies are being cornered and slaughtered by the Macedonian forces before the Golden Iron Curtain, forcing us to rally small groups under the name of nobles and flee."

Suya nodded.

He hadn't really absorbed or understood that long string of settings, but he did understand one thing:

Right now, in this place, his role was indispensable.

And the reason Lucan had sought them out, besides the 'Ector' identity no longer being usable and needing to leverage Suya's identity, was that he was eager to eliminate the knights who had been so close during the day.

As for why?

Suya didn't need to understand; he just needed to know that, for now, it seemed like Merlin and Lucan, two 'powerhouses,' were discussing the next course of action, but in reality, he was the one in control.

Eliminating those knights outside would seemingly benefit him, but in reality, the one who would truly benefit was...

Suya shifted his gaze to the con artist, who was about to continue running his mouth.

Lucan felt his gaze, turned, and offered him a highly infectious, intellectual smile.

Then, he turned back to Merlin, his expression serious, and gravely advised her.

"He who hesitates is lost, Miss Merlin. You wouldn't want to be killed by the Crusader Knights before even making it back to the capital, would you?"

Merlin immediately hesitated. "This..."

Although she might engage in banditry when short on money, that didn't mean Merlin was an utterly cold and selfish, unblinking killer of a legitimate mage. Rather than pursuing the Root of her school of magic as a mage, Merlin preferred to shake a few dice now and then.

Her motivations, and the motivations behind her banditry, were always to get some money to shake those dice.

Forcing a young mage, whose logic of action was built on "the meaning of life = shaking dice at the casino," to suddenly commit such vile acts of violence against innocent people for such a cold-blooded reason...

Merlin felt an indescribable shudder.

She had initially gambled on Suya becoming king. After witnessing Suya's abilities during their journey, she gambled on Suya helping her win against that hateful princess. After learning Suya couldn't become king, her hopes for him were solely focused on card games.

Saying it was for a card partner was a bit too grand; Merlin simply wanted to win, to rely on Suya to win back what she had lost.

But ultimately, it was all for herself.

So, now,

To act 'for herself,' but to go against her own thoughts and what little conscience she had left, to do something even dirtier than banditry...

Was it right?

Merlin couldn't help but turn to look at Suya, her small hands clasped tightly around the broom handle behind her back.

Silence once again fell over the room.

And at that very moment,

Suya spoke. He looked at Lucan and asked indifferently,

"Are you done talking?"

Lucan's expression stiffened. The moment he saw Merlin turn to look at Suya, his heart skipped a beat.

The most crucial part of negotiation isn't how many chips you lay down; it's choosing the right person to negotiate with.

He had assumed that between these two, Merlin, who was stronger, had more trump cards, and was easier to charm and manipulate, would be the one in charge.

But the one making the final decision was actually this fake kid?

"This isn't just for you, Miss Merlin, Mr. Suya, I must say, this concerns you greatly as well—"

Lucan immediately changed his tone, looking at Suya, and continued with great sincerity,

"So..."

However,

"Are you done talking?"

Suya repeated the question, staring intently at Lucan.

Lucan gave a stiff smile. "Wh-what?"

"You've been mistaken from the start."

Suya looked at him coldly.

"You think I'm just a fake."

"But what if—"

Suya suddenly curved his lips into a smile, gazing playfully at Lucan as he asked, word by word,

"What if I'm the real one?"

"Th-this—"

Lucan's pupils abruptly constricted. The words he was about to blurt out were abruptly swallowed back into his throat the moment Suya suddenly raised his hand, revealing the scarlet dragon-shaped crest on the back of his hand.

"Is that... the Royal Family's Magic Crest!?"

Lucan stared at Suya in disbelief. Before he could finish spitting out the rest of his "You're actually..."

A rough, loud voice suddenly rang out excitedly from outside the door.

"You, you really are—"

The three people in the room were startled by the sudden loud voice.

Immediately after, they saw—

Beyond the arched wooden door, a figure in white plate armor rushed into the room.

This knight, who seemed somewhat familiar to Suya, slid forward in a near-slide, kneeling before Suya and grasping his shoe. He held it as if it were a treasure, shouting excitedly,

"My King!"

"Your loyal knight, Sir Dagonet, reports to you!"