Upon hearing Aslan's words, Merlin's lips curled into a mischievous smile. When it came to being mischievous, Aslan couldn't compare to him. So, Merlin immediately understood what Aslan wanted to do. This also coincided with some of his own ideas. But Merlin had never expected Aslan to pull such a stunt. This was truly... too damn interesting!
"In that case, let's make the performance even more complete. I'll get rid of this mage robe! It just so happens that the Sword of Promised Victory is still in my hands."
Merlin tied up his long hair. His mage robes, under the rapid effect of illusion magic, gradually transformed into a suit of silver armor. With his silvery-white hair, coupled with his rose-colored eyes and the flowers that bloomed at his feet from time to time, even dressed as a knight, this old bastard still looked so dreamlike and special.
Nodding lightly, Merlin raised the golden holy sword in his hand. Looking at this treasured sword that once belonged to King Arthur, a rare look of nostalgia appeared in the old bastard's eyes.
Merlin, imitating the king of the past, gradually calmed the expression on his face. It had to be said that after this old bastard had put away the extra expressions on his face, that solemn look, combined with his own features, truly made him look like the prince from many children's dreams.
But Aslan would not be fooled by this old bastard's appearance. No matter how fairytale-like this old bastard's exterior was, at his core, he was still an extremely wicked fellow. So, upon seeing this extremely wicked fellow, the best way to deal with him was to admire his appearance on one hand, and directly slap him across the face on the other.
"How is it, how is it? Do I look a bit like King Arthur? Can I pass for King Arthur with this image? After all, I'm wearing silver knight's armor and holding a golden holy sword. Even if my hair color is a bit different from the records, the initial records never explicitly stated that King Arthur must have golden hair."
Merlin even nodded confidently, as if everything were in his grasp.
Looking at Merlin like this, Aslan felt a bit of reluctance to tell him that the real King Arthur had appeared in this Holy Grail War, and that his performance might become a farce. But it was hard to say. After all, if he didn't reveal the truth, and with Lancelot being in such a crazed state, who would know which one was the real King Arthur? To be honest, Aslan was already looking forward to seeing the scene of several people claiming to be the Knight of the Sword.
You must know, what Merlin held in his hand was the genuine Sword of Promised Victory, a Noble Phantasm of a sufficiently high rank. No one should doubt Merlin's identity, right? At least, before Artoria called out this old bastard's name, he probably wouldn't be suspected. What's more, with this old bastard's eloquence, it was still uncertain who would become the fake Arthur in the end. After all, the King Arthur recorded in the literature was a man. If, at that time, Aslan, Merlin, and Artoria were to stand together, it was really possible that their identities could be swapped. For example, the Servant Aslan, who also held a holy sword, could possibly become King Arthur. And Merlin, who was already handsome due to his incubus nature, could very likely take Aslan's identity. After all, the legends did leave behind descriptions of Aslan being as beautiful as an elf. As for Artoria, it was likely that no one would believe her identity. Oh, her Master, Kiritsugu, would have no choice but to believe.
Aslan had originally been worried that Merlin would refuse this suggestion, but he hadn't expected the old geezer before him to actually be enjoying it. Alright, it seemed this old bastard had also been cooped up in the Tower of Avalon for too long.
Heh, it seemed this Holy Grail War would definitely be very interesting, and at the same time, it would make it difficult for a lot of people to see the situation clearly.
"Alright, get some rest. If there are no surprises, tomorrow should be the start of this Great Grail War."
Aslan, through the hotel window, turned his gaze to the west. There should be a plane there, about to take off, right? The best way to hide is in plain sight. Aslan had no intention of making his base so special and conspicuous. As long as he disguised himself as a traveler and stayed in different hotels, that would be enough.
Just as Aslan had thought, early the next morning, a plane landed at Fuyuki's airport. For people in the Far East, traveling by plane was not a particularly special thing. Sometimes, when urgent matters arose in a company, one would naturally take a plane to another city. The Far East was an island nation. The center of the island was basically covered by mountains, and the railway basically circled the edge of the entire island. The main cities were also located on the periphery of the island. Therefore, airplanes became the best way to cross the center of the island and travel in a straight line. The different national terrains and geographical conditions also naturally affected the way people in a country traveled.
A woman in a white dress, wearing a white fleece hat, and even with pristine white hair, looking like an elf, walked down from the plane. Following behind her were two handsome young men in suits. It was just that one of the young men was a bit short, and at the same time, the short young man had long golden hair.
Many people, upon seeing this snow-elf-like young woman, couldn't help but have envious smiles on their faces. After all, the two following behind this young woman, dressed in suits like bodyguards, looked like brothers no matter how you looked at it. To meet even one such young man would normally be a fate earned by kowtowing before Buddha for five hundred years. And this beautiful, elf-like young woman, yet... The envy, jealousy, and hatred probably described the feelings in many people's hearts at this moment.
The taller young man with light-golden hair patted the "younger brother" beside him. At least in the eyes of outsiders, that's how it looked. In fact, it was Aslan patting Artoria, and at the same time, he whispered, "Artoria, from now on, let's proceed as we planned. You are the descendant of the Pendragon family, and I am the Saber of this Holy Grail War."
Kiritsugu indeed thought so. Two Heroic Spirits could give him more choices and ways to hide. At least this time, not only was the identity of the true Master hidden, but even the true participating Heroic Spirit was hidden.
You must know, Aslan, who had no lingering obsessions, normally, unless the Human Order had arranged a mission, could almost never be summoned as a Heroic Spirit. The situations where he was summoned were when Aslan was extremely bored and prepared to occasionally descend to the world for fun. After all, the Holy Grail... he belonged to the group that looked down on it.