"Even though the timing of our meeting is a bit... weird, I'm still genuinely glad to finally meet you, Merlin."
Takumi smiled and extended his hand toward Merlin.
Despite his overwhelming exhaustion, the genuine, pleasant surprise of finally meeting the Magus of Flowers was conveyed flawlessly.
Seeing Takumi like this, Merlin actually froze for a moment.
Only now did Merlin truly realize that the "Flame" burning within Takumi's heart was so incredibly warm and radiant. Just by being bathed in its light, negative emotions felt as if they were being ignited and burned away, vanishing entirely within moments.
And it wasn't just that...
Being stared at by those fiery pupils, Merlin subconsciously clutched the fabric over his heart. Right there, it felt as if a phantom flame had been ignited within his own chest. An emotion that was both entirely foreign yet faintly familiar surged into his mind.
What a strange sensation. I feel like I've experienced something similar to this once before...
After a brief moment of thought, Merlin finally remembered exactly when he had felt something akin to this—it was the moment Artoria met her tragic end.
Emotions! These are actual emotions!
Sudden realization struck Merlin like a thunderbolt.
As a half-blood born from a human and an Incubus, he was fundamentally incapable of truly experiencing human emotions. However, during his time observing and guiding Artoria, he had subtly, imperceptibly changed. It wasn't until Artoria reached the tragic conclusion of her journey that Merlin, looking upon the dying girl, finally experienced an emotion he was never supposed to possess: "Regret."
But under the illumination of the [Heart of Fire], these various human emotions didn't creep in subtly. They crashed into Merlin's heart like a tidal wave, leaving the Incubus—who barely understood what emotions truly were—feeling a potent mix of intense anticipation and profound unease.
"Phew... So this is your special ability. In a certain sense, it's actually quite a 'terrifying' power."
Exhaling a long breath, Merlin spoke with genuine marvel.
"If you don't like it, you can just actively resist it."
Takumi offered a brief warning.
Unless he actively used the [Sword of the Heart], the passive aura of the [Heart of Fire] did not possess the ability to forcefully pry open someone's mind or alter their will against their resistance.
"Even if you say that, something like this isn't exactly easy to resist..."
Merlin said helplessly.
For a half-Incubus like him, being bathed in the light of the [Heart of Fire] was like putting a massive, decadent chocolate cake in front of a starving sugar addict. The sheer temptation was enough to make him drool.
However!
Don't underestimate the willpower Big Brother Merlin has cultivated over all these years!
Merlin decisively snuffed out that "insignificant" lingering desire.
"Phew~, that was close, that was close! If I absorb too many human emotions, being locked up in Avalon is going to become absolutely unbearable!"
Merlin patted his chest, looking incredibly relieved.
If this were his younger, inexperienced self, he definitely would have popped his head out like a sniper spotting a target and violently inhaled as much of it as possible, savoring the salty and sweet flavors of human emotion. But he was currently serving a life sentence in a tower! He already felt bored out of his mind just watching humanity's live stream all day; if he suddenly developed a craving for human emotions on top of that, it would be pure torture!
"Sorry for spacing out for a second there. But Big Brother Merlin is also incredibly happy to finally meet you, Takumi."
Merlin immediately broke into a wide, cheerful smile. He grabbed Takumi's hand and shook it vigorously before continuing:
"I assume I don't need to introduce myself, right? Just as I've been watching you, I imagine you already know all about Big Brother here?"
"Yeah, I know you. You're currently the Caster summoned by King Gilgamesh, serving as his Grand Magus. You're also currently utilizing your illusions to sustain Tiamat's dream state, preventing her from awakening prematurely."
Takumi nodded and listed off his resume.
Hiss!
Having his entire hand exposed and his deepest secrets casually laid bare in just a few sentences, Merlin sharply inhaled a breath of cold air.
Although he was also a "script reader" possessing Clairvoyance, Takumi's absolute refusal to play along with riddles and his casual habit of instantly dropping massive plot spoilers still sent a slight chill down the Incubus's spine.
Standing quietly to the side, Ana's face was also plastered with sheer shock.
In her absolute disbelief, she couldn't help but tilt her small face up to look at Merlin, her expression clearly saying: "You're actually that useful?"
"Hey, hey, hey, Ana-chan! Do you really think so little of Merlin? Is my reputation really that unreliable in your heart?!"
Catching Ana's look, Merlin's eyes widened dramatically, acting as if his pristine reputation had just been brutally slandered.
"...I think you know the answer to that better than anyone, Merlin."
After a brief, heavy silence, a look of profound disgust crossed Ana's face.
Takumi couldn't help but laugh helplessly.
He had to hand it to Merlin; the man possessed an absolute, unrivaled talent for implanting the worst possible stereotypical impression of himself into the subconscious of everyone he met in record time.
"I know you too, Ana. It's really nice to meet you."
Takumi crouched down slightly and offered a warm smile, extending his hand toward the young girl.
Looking into those gentle, beautiful fiery pupils, the small face hidden beneath Ana's hood instantly flushed bright red. After a moment of hesitation, she timidly placed her small hand in Takumi's.
"...Mhm..."
Ana turned her head away, her voice so soft it was practically a whisper.
"Tsk, tsk. This ability of yours is seriously too convenient! I feel like I can literally see the 'Affection +80%' text popping up over her head."
Taking in the entire scene, Merlin nodded repeatedly, his voice dripping with intense envy.
"The fact that you can casually drop dating-sim terminology in a situation like this... Yep, you're definitely Merlin."
Takumi stood back up, looking utterly speechless.
"Of course! Don't let my ancient, wise appearance fool you! I'm actually a top-tier pro at those kinds of games!"
Hearing Takumi's comment, rather than feeling any shame, Merlin actually puffed out his chest and looked incredibly smug.
Takumi: "..."
Considering you managed to catfish Romani for an entire year, you definitely have the right to say that.
"Um, by the way... Not too long ago, I kinda beat the living daylights out of Gorgon—who I guess technically counts as your alternate self? I really hope you don't mind..."
Choosing to actively ignore Merlin, Takumi scratched his head, looking a bit sheepish as he addressed Ana.
This was the one massive downside to Heroic Spirits having a million different variants. Sometimes it felt like beating up one version meant you had indirectly offended all the others.
"I don't mind at all. She is not me."
Hearing Gorgon's name, a look of intense revulsion crossed Ana's face, and her tone turned freezing cold.
Just like how many Heroic Spirits have an "edgy/dark history" phase, Ana—who was Medusa—undeniably considered the fully corrupted monster Gorgon to be her absolute darkest, most shameful history.
Not to mention, this specific Gorgon variant was so evil she couldn't even be whitewashed. Ana was probably thrilled that Takumi had beaten her to a pulp.
Why am I getting intense EMIYA vibes right now...?
A strange look crossed Takumi's eyes.
"Who is EMIYA?"
Ana tilted her head, asking curiously.
Whoops, left my internal monologue on speakerphone again...
"Oh, just a chronically overworked Guardian who is absolutely obsessed with trying to murder his past self."
Takumi offered a completely accurate, yet completely unhelpful explanation.
The three of them chatted casually for a few more minutes. Having rested enough to function, Takumi decided to continue his earth-repairing labor while they talked.
Hiss! "Wait, don't tell me you're actually planning to manually repair every single fissure you carved into the earth?!"
Realizing Takumi's intentions, Merlin looked absolutely horrified.
Having monitored the entire battle with his Clairvoyance, Merlin knew exactly how absurdly massive the scale of Takumi's destruction was. He had literally carved a jagged, continuous canyon from the northwest edge of Mesopotamia all the way down to the southeast coast!
"What else am I supposed to do? I literally cut a major river in half back there."
Takumi said helplessly.
"Oh, you sweet summer child! You clearly have no idea how to slack off properly! Aren't there still people living underground? As the Goddess of the Underworld, she naturally holds authority over the earth as well! You should obviously dump this manual labor onto her!"
Merlin slung an arm around Takumi's shoulder, speaking with the absolute confidence of a seasoned professional slacker.
"...Are you sure doing that won't result in her hunting me down to bash my skull in?"
Takumi stared at him, deadpan.
"Emmm... That is a fair point. Doing that might be slightly risky... Then let's just leave it all exactly as it is! Let's toss it all to the Quantum Time-Lock and see just how far we can push the limits of the timeline's self-correction!"
Merlin stroked his chin in deep thought before offering an even worse, completely serious suggestion.