To be fair, as a subordinate, Matou Zouken was competent—certainly more so than Merlin.
But knowing the worm's true nature, Arthur found that no amount of thoughtful behavior could stop him from being irritating.
Sensing Arthur's warning glance, the old bug took the hint and withdrew.
"Alright, just as Zouken said—congratulations on passing my test. That means you're at least worth using." Arthur paused. "Don't make that face. I was being polite. I even rang the doorbell before coming in, didn't I?"
Doorbell?
Kayneth's mouth twitched.
You destroy an irreplaceable magical barrier and call it a doorbell?
"So," Arthur continued, "at the peak of magecraft, when you've reached the highest level, you gain something—an ultimate certification. You've heard of it, I assume, Kayneth? As a Clock Tower monarch?"
"…Clairvoyance."
"Correct. And the highest form of Clairvoyance is the one I possess." Arthur's lips curled faintly.
Clairvoyance—eyes with extraordinary perception—came in two kinds. Many Heroic Spirits had it, but most only possessed standard Clairvoyance, useful for seeing at long distances, sometimes even glimpsing moments into the future. But it still merely observed appearances.
Clairvoyance EX was something else entirely—eyes that could see through the truth of the world itself.
Ordinary clairvoyance was the vision of mortals. Clairvoyance EX was the vision of gods.
Arthur's could pierce past, present, and future—not as fortune-telling, but as a direct understanding of the structure and essence of reality. Any magical secret was laid bare before him in an instant.
Kayneth's elaborate hotel fortress, with hundreds of magical constructs, was useless before such vision. If Arthur had wanted to kill him, Kayneth would've been dead before they even met. Diarmuid wouldn't have been able to save him.
"I think you understand what these eyes mean," Arthur said evenly.
"The… ultimate in magecraft," Kayneth breathed, his voice trembling.
In the modern era, ordinary clairvoyance meant little—a skilled magus could create an artificial eye to mimic it. But Clairvoyance EX was the stuff of legend, acknowledged by the magical world only because a figure of immense authority had confirmed its existence.
There were two ways to obtain it:
The first—be born with it, like a certain great sage of history, whose nonhuman bloodline or fate gifted him eyes that saw through all things. The second—reach the absolute pinnacle of magical mastery through accumulated knowledge, insight, and experience, until such vision was earned.
Either way, the mind of someone with Clairvoyance EX was a treasure second only to the Root itself.
"King Arthur… your Clairvoyance—was it acquired, or innate?" Kayneth asked, his eyes alight with feverish hunger for knowledge.
Arthur thought for a moment. "Hard to say. Could be innate, could be learned. Either way, I have magical knowledge to rival any magus in history."
It was true. Even without formal study, Arthur's understanding rivaled Merlin's—thanks to a certain "gift" from a pigeon god during the Roman wars: the Holy Grail forcefully etching the principle of creation into his mind.
"So," Arthur said, "your choice: submit to me and gain some of this knowledge… or resist. I'm not cruel—I'll still let you go. The others? I can't guarantee."
It was no real choice. For a magus, knowledge was worth more than pride or even life.
"You've already decided everything," Kayneth said with a bitter smile. "No need to rub salt in the wound, Your Majesty."
"My lord!" Diarmuid burst out. "I'll protect your honor even at the cost of my life—just say the word!"
It was loyal, perhaps even sincere—but useless.
Kayneth patted his Servant's shoulder. "Stand down, Lancer. If His Majesty wanted us dead, we'd already be corpses."
"Lord—!"
Watching the excited Master and Servant—and Sola with starry eyes—Arthur could only sigh.
…Wasn't this exactly how villains looked?
"Since that's settled, let's discuss the details of our arrangement—and my payment."
-End Chapter-
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