Chapter 110: The Ultimate Insult: "You're so Merlin"
The Ladies of the Lake and the Fairies are entirely different races.
Many decisions of their race are made by Prophets like Vivian, which results in these Prophets needing to be more mature, while ordinary Ladies of the Lake without prophetic abilities remain more innocent and pure.
Under such circumstances, although the strategies of the Ladies of the Lake's magical realm give a very realistic impression, when you actually interact with them, you'll find that only a very small portion of the Ladies of the Lake—those who are Prophets—possess that level of realism.
In the current generation of Ladies of the Lake, there is only Vivian.
As for the other Ladies of the Lake, while they can't exactly be called gullible, when observing their actions, one can indeed notice their slightly clumsy demeanor.
If there's one thing these Ladies of the Lake have done collectively—not decided by a Prophet but agreed upon by all—it would be blocking Merlin!
Only in their dislike of Merlin do all the Ladies of the Lake share a common ground.
Even Prophets have been deceived by Merlin before.
To the extent that Merlin has been outright rejected by the entire Ladies of the Lake race.
"That's what they say, but in reality, as long as I find the key to the Ladies of the Lake's magical realm and take it away, within a few days, a Lady of the Lake will come looking for me. At that point, as long as I can ignore their slightly piercing gazes, it'll be easy to slip in, haha."
Merlin is disliked by the Ladies of the Lake.
This is something Noah only learned last night after asking Morgan, and it seems like common knowledge—yet in Merlin's words, it sounds like a trivial matter.
But since they were about to arrive at the entrance to the Ladies of the Lake's magical realm, after briefly glossing over his own affairs, Merlin finally shared some information about the magical realm with Noah.
"Your Majesty, when you meet these Ladies of the Lake, remember to be cautious. Although most of them are indeed quite innocent, their innocence means they unconditionally trust the Prophets within their race.
"So, under this mode of operation, they differ greatly from us humans—they are indeed a race entirely distinct from Fairies, and they don't harm other races. However, because of their pure trust in Prophets, they can sometimes come across as rigid and prickly."
Morgan hadn't mentioned any of this to Noah.
So, when Noah heard Merlin say this, he nodded.
—Is it like the queen ant and the other ants in an ant colony?
Noah pondered for a moment, then nodded to Merlin.
"Don't worry, I'm not someone who loses my temper easily. Since we're entering their territory, respecting their reasonable customs is basic courtesy."
Noah had no issue with this.
As long as they weren't like the Fairies, he had no problem respecting their habits.
However, after hearing Merlin's words, Noah prepared himself for the possibility of being irritated by the rigid behavior of the Ladies of the Lake who mindlessly follow orders.
After Merlin brought Noah to the great lake where the key to the Ladies of the Lake's secret realm was located, what Noah saw was dozens of maiden-like figures already waiting for them by the lakeside.
They didn't even wait for Noah to introduce himself after seeing him.
Then these maiden-like Ladies of the Lake rushed to Noah's side, each smiling sweetly. While saying things like, "You must be Britain's Chosen King, I recognized you at a glance—you look so impressive," and "You were drawn here by Vivian's prophecy, right? Don't worry, even though Vivian said that Romulus would threaten you, after seeing you, I'm absolutely certain you're much stronger than Romulus."
Each of them was speaking sweet words.
Either praising Noah or belittling Romulus.
They even went so far as to question Vivian's prophecy.
They seemed so kind and enthusiastic.
Not at all rigid or prickly as Merlin had described.
Seeing the Ladies of the Lake like this, Merlin, who had been chattering away just moments before, was stunned.
And...
While surrounding Noah, these Ladies of the Lake did something else—they pushed Merlin aside.
Then they led Noah toward the great lake, holding the key they had already found, and directly guided him into the secret realm of the Ladies of the Lake.
Witnessing this scene, Merlin, who had just been boasting to Noah about how skilled he was at finding the key to the Ladies of the Lake's secret realm and offering to help if Noah couldn't find it, now felt somewhat awkward.
But he soon stopped feeling embarrassed about that.
Because he discovered something even more awkward.
Although the Ladies of the Lake had led Noah inside, they hadn't brought him in as well... And worst of all, he didn't know which Ladies of the Lake did it, but after opening the door, she threw the key back into the lake!
At that moment, Merlin, who had claimed to be exceptionally skilled at finding keys, stared at the suddenly quiet, empty surroundings and the great lake shimmering with gentle ripples before him, feeling utterly defeated.
"...Again, I have to find the key again——————the difference is just too great!"
Noah was well aware that Merlin had been left outside.
But he still had Mary with him, so he didn't bring it up. His main concern was to figure out what these Ladies of the Lake wanted.
After all, they were being too enthusiastic. If they didn't have something to ask of him... Noah would find it hard to believe.
It was like a joke he had heard in his previous life—if you were given a choice between eating a mouthful of feces for money or simply receiving money, a significant number of people would choose the former.
And the reason was...
—If you just give me money, I won't feel at ease. How about letting me eat a mouthful of feces instead!
Noah now felt somewhat like the person in that joke.
He couldn't shake the feeling that the Ladies of the Lake must have something to ask of him; otherwise, they wouldn't be acting this way.
After all, they kept praising him—from the moment he drew Caliburn from the stone, to the alchemical creations he crafted, then his defeat of the Picts and his entry into the Land of Shadows—
Even his casual remarks were exaggerated by them.
On the other hand, whether Romulus had desecrated the ancestral graves of these Ladies of the Lake or not, in their words, Romulus had already become a super monster with six arms, three heads, eight legs, living in the deep sea, hiding from sight, with numerous holes on his back that resembled whale blowholes!
After exhausting every malicious term they could think of for Romulus, the Ladies of the Lake even resorted to the ultimate insult of the ten clans of the Ladies of the Lake:
"Romulus is too Merlin!"
Noah had no objection to the Ladies of the Lake defining "Merlin" as an insult—in fact, he somewhat agreed. However, aside from that, their attitude toward him was absolutely abnormal!
Noah grew wary in his heart, but he showed no sign of it.
Absolutely abnormal!
Noah grew wary in his heart, but he showed no sign of it.
And ever since these Ladies of the Lake brought Noah into their hidden realm, aside from treating him to fine food and drink, they had remained like this.
Until...
"Vivian is here!"