In that instant, an indescribable oppressive feeling spread through her chest, as if suppressed by some innate bloodline, making her tremble instinctively, every hair on her body standing up like a startled cat.
"Don't be nervous. I just went out for a walk. The knights will handle the arrest of the transmigrators," The woman spoke again, calm as ever.
Though her voice remained placid, Reines did not relax at all. She felt that pressure behind her, forced down a certain dread in her heart, and slowly turned to look back.
There stood a noble and beautiful woman, a heavy cloak covering a luxuriously stunning figure. Her golden hair was simply pinned at the back of her head, and a pair of saintly teal eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
Within seconds of seeing the woman, Reines's expression first showed confusion, then, as if she had suddenly realized something, her features stiffened little by little until her face froze completely.
Afternoon sunlight dappled the room. A golden-haired girl from the Clock Tower met Camelot's Arthur for the first time; this clash across time created a remarkably beautiful tableau.
Then, in the next moment, Reines felt her heart stop.
She stared blankly at the woman before her. Her pink lips trembled as she struggled to say a single name.
'Arthur?', Reines was completely stunned.
As a Clock Tower student and Kenneth's sister, this noble girl had attended many high-society banquets and had seen many top magi.
Yet in less than half a day she had experienced a transmigration, met the legendary Magus of Flowers Merlin, and now even Arthur had appeared.
'Is this good luck or bad luck?'
Reines did not know, but at this moment her mind had shut down. Her usually clear eyes were a little hollow.
Her mouth hung slightly open, but she could not get a word out for a long time.
After a long daze, Reines finally managed in a very awkward voice, "Arthur?"
That supremely noble and beautiful face, the crown and cloak that symbolize the king, and the faint pressure emanating from her... there was no doubt. This could only be Arthur.
"Have you seen me before?", The woman's voice, full of calm and dignity, sounded and in a way confirmed her identity.
At that moment Reines was utterly flustered.
"I-I read descriptions of you in old books in the library, and given your attire, I…", Reines's brain turned into mush. She stammered and could not form a coherent sentence.
Seeing Merlin earlier had already made Reines feel unreal, but with Artoria's appearance she was completely bewildered.
In a single day she had been transmigrated, chased by the knights, and then met both Merlin and the legendary king of Arthurian legend.
Reines felt she could write a short autobiography about this one day.
Artoria tilted her head slightly, her saintly teal eyes quietly watching the blonde girl's flustered face.
Afternoon light streamed through the window, bathing her face in a warm glow that made her appear particularly holy.
Then she spoke, "Am I frightening?"
At the sound of the woman's voice, Reines finally snapped out of her daze.
'Calm down, Reines. You are a genius of the El-Melloi family, an elite among elites. Losing your composure is hardly befitting of a noble, especially when you now represent the transmigrators.'
Reines forcibly regulated her breathing and gave herself a mental pep talk. Her racing pulse slowly eased.
She placed a hand on her chest and gave a proper noble bow, "Sorry, I lost my composure just now, Your Majesty."
"Nice to meet you. I am Reines El-Melloi Archisorte. You may call me Reines."
Artoria replied calmly, "It's all right. I said, I'm not here for you."
Reines paused, then felt a small shock inside.
When she first saw Arthur, she had lost her composure and overlooked one extremely important thing, 'What sort of existence is the woman before me? She is the one who slew the dragon, wielded Age of Gods magecraft, and commanded the Knights of the Round Table.'
'As the ruler of Camelot, she should be directing affairs from within the palace. So why is Arthur here?'
"I came to find someone," As if guessing Reines's thoughts, Artoria's pleasant voice came again.
From beginning to end her tone showed no emotion. Ever since she personally killed the White Dragon, the girl named Artoria had sealed her heart, and what remained in this world was less Artoria and more a shell. A shell called the Arthur.
"Who are you looking for?", Reines asked cautiously.
She felt an unexplainable nervousness. If Arthur personally came, the matter must be of importance that even she would take action over.
'Could a lord from the Clock Tower really have arrived?'
'Or perhaps a magus from another age?'
"You should have met him. His name is Merlin."
Artoria looked toward the staircase and said quietly, "He should be in that room, right?"
Merlin does not act on Camelot's affairs on a whim. He never volunteers to interfere.
Yet this time he not only offered to see how many transmigrators there were, he personally took action to capture them.
Aside from him, Artoria knew Merlin best.
She understood that Merlin would never volunteer to help unless something caught his attention.
'Is it the royal sister?'
'Or is there something in that room that Merlin cares about?'
Artoria's eyes flickered and she walked step by step toward the stairwell.
Sensing this, Reines had a bad premonition and tried to step forward to stop her.
Remember, they had intended to use Merlin to negotiate with Arthur and perhaps make her accept the transmigrators gradually. Who would have expected the principal herself to show up so soon?
Before Reines could speak, Artoria casually glanced back.
At the moment their eyes met, Reines felt an ice-cold chill crawl into her bones, as if some magic had frozen her. Just the eye contact put an oppressive restraint on her body, and a primal sense of danger seeped out from within.
Her back was already clammy with cold sweat and she could no longer move, forced to watch Arthur walk toward the door at the end of the staircase.
———
Downstairs, Merlin and Alvin were naturally unaware of what was happening.
In fact, Alvin had no headspace to care about other things at that time.
When Merlin mentioned a "basement" that could be dangerous, Alvin had actually become a little anxious.
No wonder. When he played the game he only needed to think about speedruns, unlocking hidden achievements, and maxing heroines' favorability. Reality required him to consider many more things.
Although Alvin thought he understood Artoria well, according to Merlin and Agravain, Lily's personality had certainly changed. No one could predict how she would react upon seeing Alvin.
Question: What happens after favorability maxes out?
Even Alvin himself did not know.
'But whatever it would be, it would not be good.'
Seeing the boy's absent look, Merlin revealed a delighted smile.
'Ah... this feeling is so satisfying.' [T/N: Sadist]
In Merlin's view, the old Alvin had rarely encountered troubles. In the past Alvin had made Merlin suffer some defeats.
Now seeing him so flustered was a rare pleasure for Merlin.
This time Merlin concealed the news of Alvin's return and came secretly to find him simply to enjoy this spectacle up close... and to feast on it as spiritual sustenance.
"Anything else I can help with?", Soon Merlin asked with a smile.
"The capture of transmigrators is a command the queen issued personally. No one can stop it. If you truly want to stop it, find a time to meet her yourself."
"Provided you are psychologically prepared."
"You know she has held a grudge over your death," Merlin added.
Though he lacked human emotion, Alvin could clearly detect schadenfreude in Merlin's tone.
"You're a worm of a character, Merlin," Alvin looked at the smiling Merlin and said flatly, "I'll return to the palace sooner or later, but not now. I need to prepare myself."
Returning to the palace would mean declaring Alvin's return to Camelot's leadership.
At that point the empire's upper echelon would likely be shaken.
Before finding Morgan le Fay and confirming what the countdown will trigger when it ends, Alvin did not plan to make a big fuss.
"By the way, aren't you afraid of being punished later for hiding my return?", Alvin suddenly asked.
"Do you know who I am, Alvin?", Merlin smiled calmly, "The title 'Magus of Flowers' didn't come to me for nothing."
After all, he was her teacher. Hiding something from her was not so easy.
Alvin shrugged off Merlin's boasting and continued, "I have something I need your help with."
"We have a relationship. Just say what you want," Merlin smiled, "If it's not too troublesome, I can help."
"Just a few questions," Alvin said, "Since you came to find me, you must have used your clairvoyance. Besides me and Reines, how many transmigrators from the Clock Tower are there?"
Merlin pondered, then said, "I'm not certain precisely, but there are roughly two to three hundred people in the palace."
'Two or three hundred... that number sounds moderate, but considering how many students the Clock Tower has in total, this is already a huge number of transmigrators.'
"Are there transmigrators from other factions?", Alvin asked.
"Yes, but I don't know exactly where they came from."
Merlin recalled what he had seen with his clairvoyant eye and said, "One man used gemstone magecraft. I've seen something similar from a very powerful magus."
If Merlin calls someone impressive, then that person truly is formidable. Alvin asked, "Who?"
"That person you probably don't know. His name is Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the founder of gemstone magecraft."
Merlin smiled, "The transmigrator who used gemstone magecraft is probably one of his descendants."
Alvin was stunned for a while. After digesting Merlin's words, his expression turned strange.
Before transmigrating to the Type-Moon world, Alvin's first reaction to the name Kischur was: +80 NP.
Yes. In Alvin's previous life that old man Kischur had a familiar nickname: Diamond Elder.
Although Alvin did not know much about him, he roughly knew the man was terrifyingly skilled.
But the more specific details about the Diamond Elder were unclear to him.
As for the descendant Merlin mentioned, the man who uses gemstone magecraft...
[🎉 Shoutout to Avish, Gaster, Manuel, Rohan & Baron for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]