Chapter 109: Since You Chose Noah, Don't Be Afraid Of Offending Anything...
Merlin's proposal to attack the Fairy Forest was not without reason.
Because if one wanted a large amount of life force, it could almost only be obtained from the Fairy Forest.
However, Merlin was well aware that those fairies fed on life force. So, if you wanted to trade in small quantities, they might still agree.
But the amount needed to alleviate Vivian's condition was so great that the fairies would never starve themselves to sell it.
Otherwise, the Ladies of the Lake would have long ago gone to trade with the fairies—why wait until now?
In that case, if they wanted to alleviate Vivian's condition, they would have to resort to more forceful means.
That meant conquering the Fairy Forest, after which all that life force would naturally be theirs.
Although this approach did not align with the ideals of knighthood, Merlin also believed that Noah was not a rigid knight—he might actually agree to it.
All for the sake of that slogan he and those knights chanted—the greater good.
So, when Merlin saw that Noah remained silent after he finished speaking, he simply waited quietly.
But Noah... was not struggling with a dilemma.
He had initially thought that Merlin's deliberate pause before getting to the point meant some profound insight was coming, but... it turned out he still didn't know that the fairies were already done for!
Hmm... Come to think of it, it wasn't surprising.
After all, this was Merlin.
The Fairy Forest had always blocked his Clairvoyance, and unlike the Ladies of the Lake, who at least allowed Merlin into their magical realms, the Fairy Forest absolutely forbade his entry.
Under such circumstances, it was not at all strange that Merlin didn't know the Fairy Forest was finished.
In fact, this kind of thing could be summed up like this in the future...
Completely cut off from the latest news in the mystical world due to being blocked everywhere.
This was just so Merlin!
Even earlier, when he was in the magical realm of the Ladies of the Lake, they must have known about the fairies' situation—they should have even known about the fairies being wiped out—but they... never told Merlin!
So, after hearing Merlin say this, Noah paused for a moment, gathered his thoughts, and then slowly revealed the truth.
"Well... Sir Merlin, is it possible that there is no Fairy Forest anymore?"
Huh!?
Originally, when Merlin saw Noah deep in thought, he thought Noah was struggling over whether to send troops against the Fairy Forest.
But after hearing Noah's words, he was visibly stunned.
No Fairy Forest anymore?
Huh...
"Is this the latest joke?"
Although Merlin could tell that Noah wasn't lying to him, he still instinctively felt this couldn't be true...
But Noah really wasn't lying.
"Of course not, I'm completely serious. The Fairy Forest is gone, the World Tree has been moved, and the fairies have been wiped out... Compared to all that, what surprises me more is that you didn't know about such a huge event at all. The Ladies of the Lake should have known—didn't they tell you anything?"
...
At this, Merlin felt somewhat awkward.
He confirmed that Noah wasn't lying, and he knew that the Ladies of the Lake must have been aware of such a major event.
But—no one had actually told him!
"I have no idea at all..."
Merlin said this first, then he also became serious.
"Then, Your Majesty, do you know exactly who destroyed the Fairy Forest and took the World Tree?"
Noah blinked.
"Then guess why I know about this so clearly. Do you think it's because those Ladies of the Lake, after learning the situation, didn't tell you but instead came to tell me? Or is it because the Land of Shadows, a realm of death that usually doesn't interact with other forces, suddenly became well-informed this time?"
"Hmm... Was it you?"
Merlin was even more surprised, while Noah nodded.
"Yes... The World Tree was dying, and those fairies planned to trick us under the guise of seeking help. Since they did that, I naturally retaliated."
Noah had nothing to hide about this matter. Apart from the details concerning Mary, he told Merlin everything.
After hearing Noah's account, Merlin gained a deeper understanding of Noah's moral boundaries. Using this as a premise, he began to reconsider things.
The Ladies of the Lake are the most well-informed faction.
They must have known about the fairies' situation and must have known that the fairies were destroyed by Noah... Good grief, he had been wondering why Vivian, in that state, insisted on prophesying about Romulus, and after prophesying, even told him about it!
It turns out those Ladies of the Lake knew Noah had taken the World Tree and intended to use this gesture of goodwill to exchange for vitality from Noah!
The role I played in this was merely that of a messenger!
No wonder when I asked those Ladies of the Lake to let me into the magical realm this time, although they resisted at first, they suddenly changed their minds!
When they told me the prophecy, they were even extremely kind, even personally sending someone to escort me out of the magical realm!
So I was tricked by them!
I, who have been deceiving people for years, was actually deceived by these guys!
The clown turned out to be me!
After learning all this, Merlin completely gave up. There was nothing more to say about this matter. It was getting late today, so tomorrow Merlin planned to take Noah to the magical realm of the Ladies of the Lake.
Merlin and Noah finalized this plan, and Merlin also set up a remote spell to inform the Ladies of the Lake.
And so, in Camelot, this matter was temporarily settled.
In the magical realm of the Ladies of the Lake, they had been anxiously waiting ever since sending Merlin away. Only after receiving the message did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Regarding Noah's intention to come and talk with them, they were quite happy. If they could trade for vitality from Noah, then Vivian could be saved!
But at the same time, they were somewhat worried about letting Noah, the butcher who destroyed the fairy race, into their magical realm.
After all, the Ladies of the Lake aren't much stronger than the fairies.
Although individually they are stronger, the number of Ladies of the Lake is very small—less than fifty. If calculated properly, they might even be weaker than the fairies.
Noah could kill all the Fairies, so killing them shouldn't be a problem either.
However, this was also Vivian's decision, so although the other Ladies of the Lake were worried, they still agreed.
After all, Vivian possessed prophetic abilities and was highly respected among the Ladies of the Lake. Her words carried considerable weight.
Now, having lost the use of both legs and one arm, and relying entirely on the other Ladies of the Lake to sustain her mobility through spells, Vivian saw their expressions and let out a weak laugh.
"Don't worry... If I was still hesitant before performing the final prophecy, now there's nothing left to hesitate about."
"Previously, we were sheltered by the Otherworld, living in a separate world from humans, so we could rest easy. But now that humans can annihilate the Fairies, it's clear the Otherworld is no longer an absolutely safe refuge—Britain has its Chosen King, and Rome has that Romulus."
"Conflict is inevitable between the destined king and the emperor. When that time comes, the Otherworld won't be able to protect us, and we'll inevitably be dragged into it... Perhaps this is part of our inevitable fate."
At this point, Vivian sighed.
"So rather than passively awaiting all this, it's better for us to take the initiative from the start."
"We are closer to Britain. This prophecy can clearly serve as our pledge of allegiance to Britain, but it won't bring us greater significance than that with Rome. Moreover, we don't know enough about Rome's situation. So, we can only use this opportunity to join Britain."
Hearing Vivian's words, the other Ladies of the Lake nodded, though a few remained particularly worried and timidly asked Vivian:
"Vivian... but doesn't this also mean we'll completely offend Rome and that Romulus?"
Vivian shook her head.
"There's no other choice, and this is something I must tell you in advance—without the Otherworld, we are extremely weak compared to either of them. In such a situation, we don't have the luxury of offending neither."
"So we must actively choose. And having chosen Britain, we must not fear offending Rome. When that Chosen King arrives, remember to clearly state your stance. Since we've decided to choose, we must choose more firmly. We absolutely cannot afford to please neither side."
Vivian spoke, and seeing the other Fairies nod, she finally smiled.
"Remember to be firm. It's best to speak well of that Chosen King in his presence, and even speak ill of Romulus if necessary. Just don't appear indecisive... As for me, I suspect that Chosen King will want to find Romulus. For this, he'll likely use the life force taken from the Fairies to heal me..."
"But for the emperor bestowed with the name Romulus by the Pantheon, merely prophesying his existence is an achievement in itself—let alone this possibly being part of an inevitable fate—"
"Having delved into the prophecy to uncover the other party's information, I'm not entirely certain if this will work. In that case, I might have to make a trip to Rome sometime soon... After all, even if I can't dig it out through prophecy, once the prophecy has succeeded once, I will definitely recognize the other party as soon as I see them."
I may end up dying in Rome, but even so, you must stand firmly on the side of Britain.
"Remember all of this—the future of the Ladies of the Lake depends on you."