— — — — — —
"Was that weird?"
About ten minutes later, Merlin wrapped up the lesson she was giving Artoria.
After assigning some homework, she casually dismissed the consciousness projection she had yanked straight out of Artoria's dream.
When Veyron gave her a puzzled look and asked, "Are you sure this is the kind of thing you should be teaching her?" —Merlin looked genuinely confused.
"Isn't this just a standard course on how to be a proper king? If she wants to be a ruler who's truly loved and respected by her people, she can't just rely on brute strength."
"...…You're sure this is what a 'standard' king's education looks like?"
"???"
"...."
From the way her eyes blinked in confusion, Veyron could tell Merlin was 100% serious—she honestly believed what she was teaching was perfectly normal.
And honestly… it's not like Veyron thought there was anything wrong with preparing someone to be a beloved and respected ruler in the truest sense.
It's just… considering the era they're dealing with…
Yeah, it's a bit off.
How does that saying go?
Being half a step ahead of the times makes you a genius. A full step ahead, and you're just a lunatic.
If Artoria actually manages to fully absorb the stuff Merlin's teaching her, she's going to end up either as "The Mad Cruel Queen of Britain"… or "The Holy Saint of Britain." No in-between.
…Or maybe it's more like she's gonna be stuck choosing between becoming a Singularity or a Lostbelt?
---
『Lady Avalon』: Hey, can I ask you guys something real quick~?
『Lady Avalon』: So, when I'm teaching Lily—that's Artoria, the one some of your worlds probably know as King Arthur—I'm not just teaching her swordsmanship. I'm also covering stuff a ruler should know.
『Lady Avalon』: That's not weird, right?
『Ghost Spider』: Sounds fine to me?
『Earth's Cancer』: Honestly, if your world has actual supernatural powers, then sure. But if it didn't, I'd say that stuff is more important than sword fighting.
『Lady Avalon』: Then why did Veyron make that face when he overheard part of my lesson?
『Lady Avalon』:(Photo.jpg)
『Ordinary Human』: You didn't tell them what kind of "stuff a ruler should know" you were teaching… (facepalm.jpg)
『Earth's Cancer』: Wait—so what did Miss Merlin teach future King Arthur?
『Ordinary Human』: Das Kapital.
『Earth's Cancer』: ...Huh?
『Earth's Cancer』: Wait, which Das Kapital?
『Ordinary Human』: How many Karl Marxes do you think exist across worlds?
『Earth's Cancer』: .....
---
Fujiwara Chika, who was soaking in a private hot spring with her older sister Toyomi and younger sister Moeha, slowly sank until only her eyes were above the water's surface, silently blowing bubbles.
Yeah… maybe we can't blame Mr. Veyron for reacting like that.
Das Kapital was basically a deep dive into capitalism—showing how wealth comes from exploiting workers and how that leads to inequality and class conflict.
Karl Marx wrote it as a critical analysis of capitalism…Which kinda sounds like straight-up anti-Empire talk.
---
『Catwoman』: Not to be that person, but… isn't your timeline still in the fifth century? Like, Roman Empire-falling-era fifth century? Are you sure she can even understand that stuff?
『Lady Avalon』: That's why I gave her a crash course in European history first!
『Catwoman』: ...
『Snake Empress』: Um… can I just ask real quick...
『Hellish Blizzard』: Yeah, same question here.
『Lady Avalon』: Hold on, I'll send you both the files.
Blizzard's world had civilian technology that was roughly equivalent to Earth's 21st century, but its history, geopolitics, and even the arrangement of continents and oceans were totally different from Chika's world.
As for Hancock? She didn't even live on Earth.
So before they could even finish asking, Merlin already knew what they were about to say and sent each of them a special packet—the exact learning materials Artoria had been using lately.
After receiving the files, the two promptly went into "lurker" mode.
The rest of the group? Still happily chatting away.
『Earth's Cancer』: Socialist King Arthur... why am I dreaming about this?! (blank stare.jpg)
『Lady Avalon』: Oh please, that's not gonna happen.
『Lady Avalon』: Lily's a smart girl. I drilled it into her from day one—focus on facts, analyze problems case by case.
『Ghost Spider』: Speaking of which… considering how you explained those two Counter Forces before, I gotta ask: The stuff you're teaching her—don't you think the Counter Force knows what you're doing? Are they really just letting this slide?
『Lady Avalon』: You remember when you got dropped into this world by that thing that might've been the Will of the World?
『Lady Avalon』: Back then, I mentioned it in the group—since joining this chat, the Root's restrictions on me have gotten a lot looser.
『Lady Avalon』: At least for now, I haven't felt like anything I'm doing is crossing a line.
...
"Did this start after we came back from that world corrupted by the Evil God?"
Veyron suddenly asked.
"Huh?"
Merlin blinked, a little caught off guard.
"I mean," Veyron continued, "the stuff you've been teaching the future King of Knights—these ridiculously ahead-of-their-time lessons—did you only start after we returned from that world?"
He'd used the absurd Fate boost granted by the Will of the Kuroinu World to unlock the Fourth-Stage Gene Lock.
As for what Merlin had done with her share of Fate… he never asked. Out of respect for her privacy. But he had noticed she'd been in an unusually good mood ever since.
Now, though… he had a pretty good idea what she'd used it for.
"Bingo~" Merlin grinned and nodded.
"When I first arrived in this world, the question you asked me back then…"
She had gone from being someone who had no real concern for humanity—just a casual observer curious to see how things played out, even going so far as to shut off her clairvoyance so she wouldn't "spoil the plot"—to someone who was now actively teaching Artoria knowledge far beyond her time.
Yeah. Veyron was starting to think the Succubi (dream demon) standing before him might actually have developed a little… humanity.
"So when you asked me 'wanna eat me first'... you were serious?" he muttered, half in disbelief.
"Maybe," Merlin teased, winking.
In the blink of an eye, her normal adult form shrank to just half a meter tall and floated midair.
Veyron: ...
Who told you being loli meant I wouldn't think of any bad things?
He grabbed Mini-Merlin and gave her cheeks a merciless squish.
"...???"
Just as she wriggled free, her outfit suddenly morphed from a mage's robe into a very revealing swimsuit.
Veyron's eyebrow twitched. "Are you trying to provoke me?"
"Why don't you guess?" Merlin said again, still smiling sweetly like nothing was out of the ordinary.
.
.
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