The Fantasy Tree was a special existence whose magical energy rivaled that of the Holy Grail, the King of Magecraft. In Morgan's words, the fact that this world could exist and continue at all was the result of "calculations" performed within the Fantasy Tree. The world, which should have been a Pruned Event, was recreated inside the Tree. After its internal computation reached a point equivalent to the year 2017 of Proper Human History, it was projected onto the bleached planet.
When this world was anchored to that whitened Earth, Shiomi entered Britannia. Sent 6,000 years into the past as a special observer, he became the key variable that changed the Lostbelt's trajectory.
So, when Morgan extracted all the magical energy from the Fantasy Tree and turned it into the power to resurrect the fairies who had perished in the Great Calamity, the powerless Fantasy Tree withered in her hands.
Its trunk and branches, once piercing the heavens, slowly decayed and vanished, scattering as fine, snow-like dust across the land and sea. Only its withered roots remained, buried in the far north of Britannia.
After leaving the Fantasy Tree and crossing the Lake of Mirrors once more, the oars were handled by Totorot and Melusine.
Shiomi stood at the bow, holding Baobhan Sith in his arms, watching as the southern shore came into view.
"Thus, Britannia—once lost in the Great Calamity—has now been reborn," he said, without turning his head toward Morgan, who sat in the middle of the boat.
Morgan understood exactly what those words meant. It was something they had decided together four hundred years ago, after returning to Orkney. After centuries of reflection, Morgan no longer hesitated and had accepted Shiomi's plan. Once the boat reached shore, they would part ways.
"Must you… leave so soon?"
The moment she spoke, Morgan realized she still held onto a trace of naivety she couldn't quite let go of—but she didn't regret asking.
"If we don't separate now, it's only a matter of time before we're discovered." Shiomi straightened Baobhan Sith's collar. "Besides, I'll take her with me. You should focus on your own work."
"…You don't trust me to take care of Baobhan Sith?" Morgan's tone carried a quiet loneliness.
"You've never raised a child before, have you?" Shiomi replied with a soft, wry smile.
Baobhan Sith's growth was extraordinarily slow. Even after four hundred years, she had only reached the appearance of a human child around four or five years old. Shiomi estimated it would take at least another thousand years before she returned to her former form.
"In that case, I suppose I have no choice but to rely on you," Morgan said with a faint nod.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not taking our daughter away from you," Shiomi said, shaking his head. "I promise I'll raise her to become someone you can be proud of. When that time comes, she'll return to you."
"That's not what I meant," Morgan murmured, unsure how to describe what she was feeling.
After living together as husband and wife in Britannia for 3,600 years, they had finally brought their child into the world. Though her birth had been unusual, Morgan had accepted it without hesitation.
Now, at the moment she had to part from her husband—the one she had shared life and death with—and the child who had been with them for only four hundred years, her heart was filled with a tangle of emotions she couldn't put into words.
"It's not a divorce, we're just living apart." Shiomi picked up on the subtle tension before she did, adding with a half-joking tone, "Even if you wanted a divorce, I wouldn't agree to it."
Morgan immediately caught the line, meeting his gaze with an even more mischievous look. "I could say the same thing to you, my husband."
"You two certainly don't look like you're about to divorce, so cut the flirting already. We're practically immune to it by now." Totorot, on the other hand, seemed thoroughly bored, grumbling, "What do you think, Melusine?"
"...This is a private matter between Her Majesty Morgan and... her husband. They'll handle it." Melusine's stance was decidedly neutral, clearly unwilling to offer further commentary.
"Heh heh! That's true—" Totorot flashed her usual cheerful grin.
Just then, Shiomi suddenly interjected.
"For the fairies, the Fairy Knight Totorot of Londinium is quite famous. If continuing to use your original name while acting alongside Morgan might cause trouble, you might consider changing it."
"…That's true." Totorot pondered for a moment. "How about this—from now on, when I'm acting alongside Aesc… no, alongside Morgan, I'll go by Habetrot!"
"Sounds fitting." Morgan chuckled softly, glancing at Shiomi. "And what name will you go by from now on?"
Shiomi gazed southward. "That remains confidential for now. You'll know soon enough."
The vessel soon docked at the southern shore of the Lake of Mirrors. Shiomi leapt ashore first and strode southward.
No further farewells were needed. As Morgan disembarked, she watched his departure alone, her gaze both lonely and resolute.
"Father… are we parting from Mother?" Baobhan Sith asked, her understanding hazy.
"Only temporarily. Fear not. With me by your side, you need worry about nothing. Grow strong and healthy, then, until you can stand on your own."
He gently stroked Baobhan Sith's hair, speaking to her in a tender voice.
...
[History]
In the first year of the Queen's Era, Morgan launched an offensive from Orkney, leading only two knights to begin pacifying the entire realm of Britannia. From that year onward, the Queen's Era replaced the Fairy Era, which had lasted for twelve thousand years, becoming Britannia's new calendar.
That same year, the Sage—vanished for four hundred years—ascended as the "God King" over the long-declined city of Londinium, bestowing upon it the power for humans to bear children. Londinium began to flourish anew as a human city, launching successive offensives against surrounding fairy clans. Yet this time, Londinium's armies sought not conquest.
Wherever the God King's army passed through fairy villages and cities, all fairies—regardless of race, clan, or rank—who did not immediately surrender at the onset of battle were executed without exception. The bloody extermination swept through the clan cities of southern Britannia, and the flames of war soon spread northward.
In the second year of the Queen's Calendar, the Queen's Army and the God King's Army clashed formally in what became known as the "Winter War."
The Queen of Winter, Morgan, and Mab of the King Clan joined forces. In this war, they halted the God King's Army's advance and forced its retreat. Subsequently, the Queen's Army subdued portions of the southern lands and established the capital city "Camelot" atop the Great Hollow.
The Winter War cemented the alliance between Queen Morgan and the northern fairy Mab against the God King, ushering Britannia into an era of tripartite division.
Driven to desperation by the God King's forces of Londinium, the Wings, Wind, Earth, and Fang clans successively pledged allegiance to Morgan, forming the most crucial factions under Camelot's rule.
...
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