Ariel asks if he is the blacksmith Muramasa.
Shirou didn't expect to hear such a question from Ariel, and hesitated for a moment.
Because he didn't know if Ariel had obtained some clear information, discovered he was the blacksmith Muramasa, or was simply testing him.
In fact, since the Great Transfer event, Shirou had revealed that he was the blacksmith Muramasa countless times.
He not only directly told Paul and Headmaster Jinas his identity, but the Dragon God Orsted also instantly saw through his true nature, and people like Nanahoshi even directly judged that he was the blacksmith Muramasa...
In short, because there were too many people who knew, Shirou was gradually giving up hiding that he was the blacksmith Muramasa.
If Ariel really knew his identity, he wouldn't panic too much. He would accept reality calmly and apologize to Ariel for hiding it in the first place.
Of course, all of this was on the premise that Ariel had confirmed that he was the blacksmith Muramasa.
If the other party hadn't actually obtained any real information, Shirou still wanted to continue hiding it.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Ariel, thinking that Ariel would expose his identity.
The reason Shirou still wanted to hide it was actually for Ariel's own sake.
Because Ariel was currently in a low state.
The more difficult the times, the more they can often train a person's abilities.
Only by overcoming such difficulties with her own strength could Ariel grow and be able to secure a place in the even more difficult battle for the Asura Kingdom throne in the future.
If Shirou directly admitted that he was Muramasa and promised to provide assistance to Ariel, it would be like opening a back door for Ariel, making her become dependent on him.
This would undoubtedly be very detrimental to Ariel's own growth.
Based on these reasons, Shirou chose to ask Ariel in vague words: "Why does Your Highness Ariel think I am Muramasa? I am far from that blacksmith, right?"
"This…"
Ariel's expression showed a hint of stiffness at Shirou's words.
From her reaction, it could be seen that Ariel didn't actually have the confidence that Shirou was Muramasa. She was purely trying to bluff.
And that was indeed the case.
Ariel wasn't sure that Shirou was Muramasa.
The reason she asked Shirou such a question was because she always felt that there was some strange connection between Shirou and Muramasa.
After all, Muramasa and Shirou had both been in the Boreas family. After the Great Transfer, the two disappeared almost at the same time, but they would occasionally make a name for themselves in the world. Shirou's establishment of a forging workshop at the Magic Academy also inexplicably made her think that Shirou was Muramasa...
But Ariel herself couldn't be sure of this.
After all, the difference between Shirou and Muramasa was too far. No matter how much she tried to force a connection, it was hard to imagine that the two would be the same person.
The reason Ariel thought of the similarities between the two, and even imagined that Shirou was Muramasa himself, was because she was currently in a dead end.
Ariel was the second princess of the Asura Kingdom, and her mother was the only legitimate queen of the Asura king.
The queen wasn't particularly blessed with children. In the end, Ariel was the only child left, and she couldn't have any more children because she didn't recover well after giving birth.
In other words, Princess Ariel was the only direct descendant born to the Asura queen.
Therefore, even though Ariel was a woman, she had the ability to compete for the throne with the other two princes of the Asura Kingdom.
However, her identity as a woman ultimately made her weak.
Compared to Ariel, both the first prince, Gravel, and the second prince, Halphas, had gathered a large number of dignitaries at the top of the Asura Kingdom under their command.
As long as the prince they supported became king, they could enjoy benefits under him, so these dignitaries desperately wanted to push their respective supported princes to the throne.
Ariel also had some supporters, but these people were generally those who didn't have the opportunity to be valued by the factions of the first and second princes, and turned to Ariel out of desperation.
However, even this group of people who formed the second princess's faction lost power as the leaders of the group were sidelined due to various disputes caused by the transfer event. The second princess herself was even forced to the point of almost being killed.
In the end, Ariel had to leave the Asura Kingdom and come to Ranoa Magic Academy for refuge.
To put it nicely, this was to be able to make a comeback in the future, so she came to a foreign land to rebuild her strength.
To put it bluntly, this was choosing to escape, running away from the battle she had to face directly.
Ariel's heart had never been at peace for a single day since leaving the Asura Kingdom. Her heart was always concerned about those subjects who fought for her but were now abandoned by her in the royal capital.
This caused Ariel to be very anxious after coming to the Magic University. She desperately showed her ability and skill, worked hard to become the student council president of the Magic University, and took the initiative to contact the powerful people of the Ranoa Kingdom, trying to gain the support of foreign forces.
But this support was just like timber without roots.
Outside the Asura Kingdom, they were naturally willing to support Princess Ariel, but whether these foreign powerful forces would be willing to provide assistance and help her ascend to the throne when Ariel returned to her country was really hard to predict.
In Ariel's own judgment, even if she socialized and charmed no matter how much, in the end, less than 10% of the powerful people would be willing to provide assistance for her to ascend to the throne.
One can imagine how powerless Ariel was right now.
Clearly, something she didn't want to see was happening inside the Asura Kingdom, but not only did she not have any hope of changing it, but she could only waste her time, seemingly working hard, but actually doing nothing, which was unspeakable torment for her.
It was in this inner torment that Ariel instinctively had a fantasy, fantasizing that Shirou was the blacksmith Muramasa, an existence that could provide her with great assistance.
But this fantasy also turned into bubbles with Shirou's attitude.
"Sorry, I said some strange things."
Ariel sighed.
She wasn't the kind of fragile person after all. After the fantasy in her heart was pierced by reality, she immediately regained her composure and realized that what she had to do was not to indulge in fantasy, but to accept reality.
Shirou also admired Ariel to some extent when he saw her attitude.
Being able to adjust her emotions so quickly and not be affected by negative emotions, Ariel was indeed someone who could achieve the throne.
What she lacked now was just accumulation and development.
So he silently said, "Leaving aside the matter of Muramasa, has Your Highness Ariel managed to win over any figures influential enough to affect the Asura Kingdom's political scene?"
"That... not yet."
Ariel said, revealing a frustrated expression, but she didn't completely collapse. Instead, she thought for a moment and said, "This is mainly because there are too few existences in foreign countries that can affect the Asura Kingdom. After all, the Asura Kingdom is the most powerful country in the world right now. I'm afraid even the leaders of the Miris Holy Kingdom and the Dragon King Kingdom can't interfere in the Asura Kingdom's politics."
"That's true."
Shirou nodded, and could be said to understand Ariel's current predicament.
Ariel herself suddenly thought of something, and hesitated to say, "However, if I could get the support of a certain existence, my chances of becoming a king would greatly increase."
"There is such a person?"
"Yes, it's Dragon King Karyū Perugius, one of the three heroes who defeated the Demon God Laplace above the Sky Fortress. As a national hero of the Asura Kingdom, he still has a very deep influence on the entire Asura Kingdom. If I could get his support..."
Ariel shook her head as she spoke.
She herself didn't seem to have much hope for this matter, and just mentioned it casually.
Shirou himself didn't know much about Dragon King either, and couldn't help Ariel much.
So the two talked briefly, and then separated.
...
Although Ariel's matter caused some waves for Shirou, he ultimately couldn't spread too much energy to the other party right now.
For him, there was something more important right now, which was to welcome his two younger sisters, Aisha and Norn.
Paul said in his letter that he had already sent the two over.
And considering that the communication system in this world was very primitive, when the letter arrived, Aisha and Norn would most likely be arriving soon.
So Shirou had to quickly solve the problem of where his two younger sisters would live.
Rudeus and Fitz had also looked at several houses in advance.
The problem was with the money to buy a house.
Shirou had saved a lot of money when he was an adventurer, but that money was basically all used up when he forged Avalon before.
Ariel said that she would provide financial support, but Shirou couldn't bring himself to ask for her money.
After all, Ariel wasn't in the Asura Kingdom right now, and her funds must be quite limited, and must be used in more important places...
After thinking about it, Shirou realized that the best way for him to earn money to buy a house was still to rely on forging.
If he could forge weapons in the name of Muramasa and then sell them, he would probably be able to get enough money to buy dozens or even hundreds of houses instantly.
Weapons sold by Muramasa are now worth that much.
But there was also a problem with this, which was that he was too close to Ariel right now. Once he sold weapons in the name of Muramasa, Ariel would almost instantly know that he was Muramasa.
In order to avoid the impact, Shirou even thought about selling weapons in other kingdoms.
But before he started planning, an unexpected event suddenly happened.
It was a peaceful morning.
Shirou was in his forging workshop thinking about the design of a new weapon and considering asking Headmaster Jinas to arrange a channel for him to sell weapons in other kingdoms in the north.
But as he was preparing his actions, a figure suddenly appeared inside the forging workshop.
The moment he saw that person, Shirou almost reflexively took out his weapon.
Because the last time he saw this person was before the Great Transfer. At that time, he was preparing to return to Buena Village, but he was attacked on the way.
The attacker was this man wearing a mask and dressed in a neat suit.
He remembered that this man seemed to call himself—
"The Radiant Almanfi, here."
As Shirou's thoughts flashed rapidly, the masked man appeared in front of him unceremoniously and introduced himself.
Shirou stared at the other party with wide eyes, and his hand was already on the long sword at his waist.
Almanfi didn't care about his attacking movements and said silently, "Don't be nervous, it's different from last time. I'm not here to be your enemy."
Almanfi seemed to remember Shirou, and directly stated that he had no hostility.
Shirou couldn't let his guard down so easily.
After all, the Great Transfer happened just after Almanfi appeared last time. Shirou was now like a retired soldier with PTSD, in a state of being easily startled.
"You say you have no hostility, then what is the purpose of you coming here...?"
As Shirou became tense, Almanfi silently observed the environment of the forging workshop, and seemed very interested in its structure.
But he did get back to business after all, and said with a serious face, "Shirou Greyrat, I am here under the orders of my master, Dragon King Perugius, to invite you to the Sky Fortress. That lord wants to see you."
"Perugius?"
He didn't expect that just after he mentioned the other party to Ariel, Perugius would send a familiar to find him.
Shirou couldn't figure out Perugius's purpose in looking for him, but he quickly realized that this was a great opportunity.
If he could introduce Ariel to Perugius, he could take a big step forward for Ariel to become king.
The only problem was whether Perugius would approve of Ariel.
After thinking about it, Shirou simply asked Almanfi, "Are you only inviting me? Can I bring other people with me?"
"It's up to you. Lord Perugius doesn't care about such trivial matters."
Almanfi said indifferently, "If you are willing, then go find Nanahoshi later. She knows how to contact me."
"Nanahoshi? Does she know Dragon King?"
"That's right."
After Almanfi finished speaking, he suddenly disappeared out of thin air, just like when he came.
Shirou knew that this was Almanfi's special ability to transform into light to move.
For him, the most important question now was whether he should tell Ariel about this.
Meeting Dragon King Karyū was indeed a very important matter, and it would be of great help to Ariel's becoming king.
But there was also a huge risk. If Dragon King Karyū rejected her, Ariel would probably fall into a state of great disappointment.
Shirou didn't know what to choose. In the end, he could only leave the choice to Ariel herself, and let the other party decide whether to seize this opportunity.
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