"Ugh… ugh…"
Mash finally stopped hitting him, but Merlin was still sprawled out on the ground, wailing and groaning as if he were on the verge of death.
If he actually had a few injuries on him, it might have looked believable. But he was completely unhurt, making it painfully obvious that he was just insulting everyone's intelligence.
"Mash, why don't you go ahead and beat him up one more time?" Fujimaru Ritsuka said darkly.
"Ahem, please don't. It really hurts."
The moment he heard that Mash might hit him again, Merlin instantly sprang upright and put on a fawning smile.
Galahad, you bastard, do you really want to hit me that badly?
He might not die from it, but something worse than death was still worse than just dying outright.
"I'm very sorry… are you alright?" Mash apologized.
Seeing that, Merlin could not help sighing in admiration. What a well-behaved child.
"Big Brother Merlin is perfectly fine. As long as you don't hit me again, I won't say another word."
If Mash so much as looked like she wanted to attack again, he would immediately transform into a marathon runner and flee.
In truth, Merlin had celebrated too early.
"Merlin deserves it!"
Fou launched himself in a spinning attack and delivered a flying kick straight to Merlin's face. At that instant, Fou did not even make a sound. That alone showed just how deep the grudge between them ran.
After getting brutally beaten again, Merlin finally managed to catch Fou. A very obvious paw print was stamped across his face.
"Merlin, you're so lame."
Ana mercilessly commented. This useless man embarrassed himself at the slightest provocation. She truly did not want to know him.
"Ana-chan, that was just an accident. Big Brother Merlin is actually very impressive."
Merlin could feel people's trust in him plummeting at an alarming speed.
"Merlin, did you see that string of code in your head?" Koji asked.
"That? No. I don't keep Clairvoyance active every second of every day. Where would the fun in that be?" Merlin shook his head.
If he had known he was going to get beaten half to death, he definitely would have thought a lot harder about whether he should come here at all.
"Though, you all are…"
"Visitors from another world?"
Merlin swept his gaze over Koji and the others. The aura around them did not belong to this world. It was not so foreign that it clashed with everything, but it was still strange. Someone at Merlin's level could easily tell.
"You can call us that, so feel free to kneel down and worship us properly," Lumine said with her hands on her hips in a smug tone.
"Heh. How interesting," Merlin said meaningfully.
That blonde girl, Lumine, might not actually be younger than he was. There were traces of many worlds on her, and it was obvious she had been to more than one.
"So you really aren't from this world?" Fujimaru Ritsuka said in surprise.
She had thought Koji and the others were like them, people from another era. She had not expected them to be outsiders to this entire world.
Strangers from another world. The label really did fit.
"Well, you never asked." Koji shrugged.
They did not mind revealing their identities. After all, they could handle whatever came next.
"I do have to ask, though. Don't you have a few too many blessings on you?"
Merlin looked at Koji. In his eyes, Koji was practically surrounded by blessings. There were so many that even Merlin could not count them all.
He was starting to suspect these were only the blessings Koji deliberately let him see, and that there were plenty more Merlin could not perceive.
Out of everyone he knew, he had never seen anyone with this many blessings.
"It's not that bad. If I need a specific blessing, I can just add it whenever I want."
"For example, the Blessing of Drinking Water Upside Down."
Koji said it modestly. His current blessings were already enough. He could always add more when the need arose.
"I really don't think a completely pointless blessing like that is necessary," Merlin said, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Could this get any more absurd?
"That green-haired fellow must have sensed you were a threat, so he didn't come any closer and chose to leave," Merlin said with certainty.
"I noticed. He really doesn't have much courage." Koji nodded.
"So there really was an enemy earlier?" Fujimaru Ritsuka said calmly.
This was hardly the first time they had run into a situation like this. By now, she was used to it.
"Yes. If we hadn't been here, he would have attacked you," Koji said.
The current Kingu would not show mercy. When facing Chaldea's Master, he truly meant to kill.
"Then what about you, Merlin? Why did you come all the way to Uruk?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka was no longer the clueless beginner she once was. She calmly analyzed the situation.
"As for Big Brother Merlin, of course I came to help."
Even the voice in her shield seemed to confirm it: they could trust this man. For all how useless he looked right now—
"I'm very useful!" Merlin protested.
He was the Magus of Flowers. He was even quite skilled in close combat. He was absolutely a reliable companion.
No one believed him. They had all just witnessed his humiliating display. He felt about as dependable as that goddess from before.
"Little Medusa, want some candy?"
Ana's eyes instantly widened, and she stared at Koji in alarm and uncertainty.
Did I just get exposed?
As far as she knew, Merlin should have been the only one here who knew her identity.
"You know who I am?"
"Since you know who I am… don't you find me disgusting?" Ana asked softly, lowering the brim of her hood.
Medusa did not have a good reputation.
"I don't have any grudge against you. Why would I hate you?" Koji replied with a faint smile.
"You're strange. Thanks."
Ana was briefly stunned. Then she accepted the candy from Koji and popped it straight into her mouth.
The sweet taste instantly brightened her mood. Even Ana, at that moment, revealed a faint smile.
"Let's go. Time to meet King Gilgamesh," Merlin said, glancing at Ana thoughtfully.
"I'll handle it. Walking there is too slow."
Koji used the Blessing of Space and directly brought everyone into the temple within Uruk.
"How convenient. That's even faster than me running there," Merlin said with a smile.
Koji smiled too. You're the one who runs around like you're riding on light itself.
"…We meet again, traveler from another world."
When the Wise King Gilgamesh saw Koji, he was not particularly surprised.
"My King, you know them?" Merlin asked in surprise.
Koji and the others had only just arrived in this era. By all rights, they should never have met Gilgamesh before.
"We have met. That was when I was summoned during the Holy Grail War," Gilgamesh said.
Merlin immediately understood.
"So, Golden King, compared to that arrogant fool I met last time, you're a lot easier on the eyes," Koji said.
Siduri's mouth twitched. There were very few people who dared speak to the king like that. But since the king himself was not angry, she said nothing.
"Heh. There's no need to bring that up."
The Wise King shook his head. He did not particularly want to remember it either.
Those memories were nightmares.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]