Chapter 95: Artoria, You Need to Pull Yourself Together!
After returning to Camelot this time, Merlin had been hiding in his room drinking.
Although he saw that Morgan had also returned and still had some things he wanted to say to her, with the Queen of the Land of Shadows now also in Camelot, Merlin had no choice but to reluctantly abandon this plan.
Otherwise, if things got out of hand and Noah had her intervene to break it up, that wouldn't be fun at all.
He was even well aware that the lightest outcome of meeting Morgan would be an argument, so to prevent such a thing from happening, he simply hid in his room drinking.
As long as he didn't see Morgan, no conflict would erupt.
He believed Noah must be thinking the same.
Moreover, lying around in his room every day with good food and drink, while secretly observing the current situation... for someone with a spectator's mindset like him, nothing could be more comfortable than this.
If there were stories to watch, he could lie like this forever.
But...
"What a pity such good days are about to end~"
Saying this, Merlin looked out the window at the sky where the sun had already risen and shook his head slightly.
"Earlier, I heard Morgan was going to the Fairy Forest... I wonder what exactly happened over there."
Merlin was still quite curious about the matter.
But while curious, Merlin also had a strong sense of self-awareness.
He knew full well that the Fairy Forest was not welcoming to him. If he followed, the fairies in the Fairy Forest would likely directly attack him.
So, although curious, Merlin had no intention of going along at all.
And...
"After Morgan goes to the Fairy Forest, before she returns, Noah will definitely assign me some other task to make me leave... Hey, maybe I should just find a leisurely job and volunteer to go out."
Merlin also knew that the reason Noah kept assigning him work was precisely to prevent him from meeting Morgan.
But even knowing the reason, Merlin still didn't want to work...
However, just as he was lying there alone looking for excuses, his door was knocked.
————Someone actually took the initiative to come find me?
With some curiosity, Merlin opened the door and saw Artoria standing at his doorway.
It was still early morning, and Merlin could tell that Artoria clearly hadn't slept all night.
"What's wrong? Is there something you need from me?"
Strictly speaking, Artoria could be considered Merlin's disciple, so seeing her like this, Merlin let her into the room and then inquired.
Although he appeared concerned about Artoria, in reality, Merlin was laughing heartily inside.
Nothing had happened these past few days. For him, positioned as a spectator, the story known as the Legend of King Arthur seemed to have stalled, entering a transitional period.
So, seeing Artoria clearly troubled, he intended to listen to his disciple's worries and then amuse himself.
Artoria didn't know Merlin was thinking this.
So now she nodded, and after organizing her thoughts, she began to speak.
"Merlin, I'd like to ask—if you fight someone in an area you're not good at, and you get defeated by the enemy before you even understand what's happening, in such a situation..."
"Is it better to just give up?"
Hearing Artoria say this, Merlin was taken aback.
His Clairvoyance couldn't explore within Camelot Castle, so Merlin had no knowledge of the recent events happening there.
But if Artoria was fighting someone in an area she wasn't good at...
Ah, he remembered!
Wasn't this the story from the original script of the King Arthur legend he had written, where Artoria fought King Pellinore with a spear, resulting in three draws and one loss, followed by Caliburn breaking?
Hmm... King Pellinore was indeed in Camelot during this period due to the Northern Agreement negotiations.
So, Artoria went to fight King Pellinore with a spear, lost, and is now feeling discouraged about using spears?
Thinking this, Merlin genuinely felt that such matters were trivial and utterly boring...
Precisely because he found it uninteresting, he ended up giving Artoria some serious advice.
"That's just how battles are. Some people excel in one area, others in another. It's normal to encounter areas you're not skilled in, but as for giving up, there's no need for that."
Huh?
Artoria had initially thought Merlin would advise her to give up, but she didn't expect him to suddenly shift his tone and continue like this.
Seeing Artoria's surprised expression, Merlin snorted lightly to himself.
Others might not know, but he certainly did—Artoria was half-human, half-dragon! How could King Pellinore even compare to that?
Right now, Artoria couldn't defeat King Pellinore with a spear, but that was entirely because she was still too young. Her combat experience, martial skills—none had reached their peak, and even her physical abilities hadn't fully developed yet.
Under such circumstances, of course King Pellinore could win.
But just wait—it wouldn't take long, at most three years. By the time Artoria turned twenty, King Pellinore would be out of her league!
Even with a spear, you, King Pellinore, wouldn't be able to defeat her!
So, Merlin now looked at Artoria with an encouraging gaze.
"Temporary victories or defeats rarely decide everything at once. You're still young, you have time, and you can still improve. I suppose the one who made you face defeat is older than you, right?"
Hearing Merlin say this, Artoria nodded.
Her elder sister was indeed older than her!
Seeing Artoria's reaction, Merlin was now certain that she was referring to King Pellinore, so he decided to lay it all out at once.
"In that case, even if you can't win now, you might be able to in the future."
"Believe in yourself—believe that you can overcome any enemy. Keep going."
Merlin encouraged Artoria a few more words, revitalizing the somewhat dejected girl who had entered earlier.
Afterward, Merlin sent her on her way.
Then he himself returned to his original lying position, continuing to drink while thinking of excuses.
The recent incident was just a trivial interlude to him, so boring that he didn't even want to understand what had happened behind the scenes.
After all, Noah is now King Arthur, so the protagonist of the Arthurian legend has also become Noah.
Artoria is now a supporting character, and the story of a supporting character—well, it doesn't really matter.
That's what Merlin thought.
As for Artoria, after leaving Merlin, she kept thinking about what he had said.
"Indeed, my elder sister is more skilled at taking the initiative than I am. She was even so... so intimate with the King last night!"
Recalling how she had originally intended to ask her elder sister about some things, only to hear the sounds coming from inside upon reaching the door, and the scene she secretly glimpsed through the crack after concealing her presence, Artoria blushed, and the ahoge on her head swayed wildly.
However, she quickly adjusted her mindset and mustered her determination.
"But as Merlin said, I'm just too young. There's still room for improvement!"
Regarding the things that Morgan had mentioned earlier, Artoria was completely unaware. Even though Morgan had given her many professional books, aside from gaining a basic understanding of some knowledge, Artoria hadn't grasped most of the content.
Previously, she had been in a hurry, so she hadn't studied them in detail.
But now, Artoria was starting to feel a bit anxious...
"In that case, I'll ask the King for some time off. Then, I'll make good use of this period to thoroughly master everything in those books!"
And then...
At this thought, Artoria's face flushed red again.
"If my elder sister can do it, I can definitely do it too! I won't lose!!"
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