Chapter 106: Merlin Taught Me All Of This
After learning the truth from Morgan, Noah intended to return and explain the situation to Artoria. So when Artoria woke up, Noah was sitting nearby in the sunlight, reading a document.
"You're awake."
Noticing Artoria had woken up, Noah smiled as he looked over. Artoria, still lying in bed, tilted her head slightly toward Noah, showing a hint of morning drowsiness as she nodded at him and softly responded with an "Mm."
In the warm afternoon sunlight and the clean-scented breeze, the entire world seemed to glow with a golden radiance. If possible, one would wish time could forever remain in such an atmosphere.
But reality would not allow it.
So when Noah saw Artoria sit up, he comforted her briefly before explaining his situation and everything about his relationship with Morgan.
Previously, when discussing these matters with Morgan, Noah had been conflicted and nervous, appearing unprepared before even speaking. In the end, the words "I want it all," which he had intended to say, were uttered by Morgan after she had gotten drunk...
But this time was different.
Before Artoria woke up, Noah had mentally prepared himself. This time, he spoke without any hesitation, explaining everything clearly and smoothly.
Noah was that kind of person.
He was not an infallible sage, so when facing problems, the first attempt would always come with various issues. He always considered himself an ordinary person, and it was normal to struggle with certain things the first time. But the second time, the third time... even an ordinary person could gain some experience.
Practice makes perfect.
So this time, Noah intended to proceed with this rhythm and continue speaking directly.
But what he never expected was that as soon as he showed any intention of explaining to Artoria, she gently shook her head at him, signaling for him not to explain.
Seeing Artoria like this, Noah was visibly taken aback.
He even felt somewhat nervous.
Because Artoria's expression was too calm, Noah had no idea what she was about to say.
At this moment, while maintaining eye contact with Artoria, Noah kept questioning Mary in his mind.
Meanwhile, Mary, who had transformed into Fou, watched the situation from the side while continuously explaining things to Noah in her mind.
"Don't be too nervous... Besides, it's normal for her to react this way."
"I think she's about to bring up some opinions or conditions. Don't worry, things haven't reached the worst point yet."
"Moreover, is your resolve only this much? If you're determined to be a scoundrel to the end, then be prepared for her to leave—even if you have to chain her up, you must keep her!"
"Absolutely do not let go, understand!?"
At first, Mary was just discussing matters with Noah normally, but as the conversation progressed, for some reason, Noah felt that Mary was displaying a very rare and obvious personal emotion.
The last time he saw Mary like this was when she wanted to kill Merlin.
Generally, as long as the matter had nothing to do with Mary, she remained calm, at most frowning a bit and becoming slightly more serious—nothing more.
So, was this matter related to Mary?
Noah couldn't quite understand.
And Mary herself felt she had overreacted.
But there was no helping it. Due to the twisted affection for King Arthur she had inherited from Manaka Sajyou, whenever Mary discussed such topics with Noah, she easily projected herself into the situation and imagined whether she, too, would join in after Artoria...
With such deeply personal thoughts, her words naturally became less objective.
Rather than wanting Noah to treat Artoria that way, it was more that she hoped Noah would treat her like that in the future...
Noah didn't realize this, but Mary quickly understood it herself.
So she adjusted her mindset slightly and returned to normal.
While Mary and Noah were silently debating in their hearts, Artoria, after stopping Noah from further explanations, finally spoke.
But it wasn't as Mary had imagined—proposing conditions or showing resistance.
Instead, her words carried a hint of confusion, yet were remarkably calm.
"Why does the King need to explain these things to me... These matters should be between me and my elder sister, right? Just as we both joined the King's knight order as knights, then we would fairly compete to become the first seat of the knight order. Such things don't seem to require the King's special attention, do they?"
"I remember Merlin telling me that the King should focus on major affairs. Some minor matters require attention, while others should be left for others to handle."
"Isn't this something that should be handled by me and my elder sister?"
Huh!?
Hearing Artoria say this, both Noah and Mary fell silent...
Noah's silence was because... compared to him, Artoria's mindset had progressed a bit too quickly. Or rather, from the very beginning, Artoria's awareness was completely different from his!
After taking the initiative to attack last night, Artoria had automatically placed herself among the King's consorts... or as a candidate for the consort.
In her view, all that remained was to compete fairly with Morgan to determine who would become the consort—this matter had nothing to do with Noah, the King!
In her eyes, this was merely a contest of seniority—the matter was already unrelated to Noah.
Before Artoria woke up, Noah had already felt quite scummy. But since things had happened, and he was neither a master of Tai Chi nor a child, rather than creating an outcome where everyone was uncomfortable, it was better to embrace the scumminess to the end.
If nothing had happened, pure love would have been wonderful.
But once it happened, one must have the resolve that "a harem is the only ending where everyone can find happiness."
Otherwise, a tragic ending might await.
Either don't be scummy, or embrace the scumminess with resolve to the end.
There's no turning back on this path.
Noah originally thought that he was already scummy enough and had enough resolve.
But it turned out that Artoria's resolve was even stronger!
So, every time Noah opened his mouth, he had no idea what to say. In the end, he could only squeeze out one sentence...
"Was... was it Merlin who taught you this?"
Hearing Noah say this, Artoria smiled and nodded at him.
"Mhm! It was Merlin who taught me. And it was also Merlin who told me to compete with my elder sister. It was Merlin who said I would definitely surpass my elder sister in the future. And it was Merlin who made me think I should learn more from my elder sister... If it weren't for Merlin, I might still be hesitating now, completely unaware of what it means to take the initiative, and my resolve would be far from enough."
As Artoria said this, she smiled brightly, while Noah's smile gradually stiffened. She then concluded the conversation.
"Merlin really is a great teacher and a wise man worthy of respect."
She truly thought so.
But Noah, who knew Merlin's mentality of enjoying the chaos without fear of trouble, and Mary, who was Merlin from a parallel world, shared an astonishingly similar thought in their minds at that moment.
That was...
That was...
—Merlin, it was you again, wasn't it!