Chapter 82: The North Is Settled
"Did we win?!"
That was the first thing King Pellinore said upon waking.
His wife was by his side, startled by his abrupt question, but she knew his character well. After calming herself slightly, she told him the outcome he was so concerned about.
"We didn't win..."
Those words made King Pellinore's heart tighten, but his wife's next sentence immediately eased his mind.
"...But we didn't lose either."
"The King fought the White Dragon for a long time—no one else could intervene in that battle. The stalemate only broke when the King's spear shattered."
"By then, Lord Merlin had arrived after hearing the news, followed by Lady Scáthach and the troops she led. Even that 'White Dragon' had no choice but to retreat under such circumstances."
King Pellinore's wife recounted the events bit by bit, while Pellinore himself fell into deep thought.
"It really was a problem with the spear. I could feel it when I fought the White Dragon—my weapon was simply no match for the dragon's scales. A skilled warrior can protect their weapon with technique, but weapons are meant to strike. In a prolonged battle like that, an inferior weapon is bound to be a disadvantage—a major one at that."
As he spoke, King Pellinore laughed.
"But the King is truly the King. Even with a poor weapon, he held out long enough. Otherwise, reinforcements would never have arrived in time."
Hearing this, his wife hesitated for a moment before asking, "So... do you still plan to challenge the King?"
When King Pellinore heard this question, he thought he would hesitate or struggle with it. But when actually faced with it, he found himself surprisingly calm in his response.
"No..."
King Pellinore had indeed harbored some selfish thoughts initially.
Though he knew that, under the pressure from Vortigern and the Saxons, as one of the Six Kings of the North, he couldn't lead the North in rebelling against Camelot.
But facing a young king like Arthur, even if he couldn't truly rebel, who wouldn't think of taking advantage of the opportunity?
But...
As King Pellinore lay on the ground, watching the god-like White Dragon struck on the head by Noah's sword, the eruption of light and heat and the splattering of dragon blood completely dispelled his earlier thoughts.
So.
"...I no longer harbor thoughts unbecoming of a knight. King Arthur is undoubtedly the true king who can lead Britain to victory. Whether it's Vortigern, the Saxon barbarians, or even Rome—none will be a match for the King. How could we not support such a king?"
When King Uther was still alive, the young Pellinore followed him into battle and held him in high esteem.
He had never seen such an ideal king before.
And now, he held King Arthur in the same regard.
"Call the other five over. After what happened this time, I originally..."
"My little schemes have been thwarted, and those five fellows must be in the same boat."
While King Pellinore was praising Noah, unbeknownst to him, Noah had already returned to Camelot and was now facing Morgan and Artoria.
Perhaps in the eyes of others in Britain, Noah's solo duel with the White Dragon and his forcing Vortigern to retreat was nothing short of heroic.
But in Morgan's view...
"It was far too dangerous!"
"Challenging Vortigern alone? Do you realize that even Uther once gathered the entire military force of Britain to subdue him, yet was still defeated single-handedly by that monstrous being!"
"You must understand—you are the king now. If you were truly slain by Vortigern on the battlefield, the repercussions and turmoil would be absolutely catastrophic!"
"And even if you didn't consider Britain's plight, have you not thought about me... or sister?!"
At this point, Morgan's face flushed, though it was unclear whether from embarrassment or anger.
As for Artoria, with each word Morgan spoke, the tongue-tied girl nodded in agreement. It wasn't until the last sentence that she finished nodding and suddenly realized what had been said. Flustered, she glanced at Morgan, then at Noah, appearing completely at a loss.
Seeing them like this, Noah could only sigh helplessly.
"I understand..."
He wanted to tell Morgan and Artoria—"I know what I'm doing, trust me, nothing will go wrong"—but he also knew the difference between male and female thinking patterns lay in women's greater emotional sensitivity. They could remember profound joy and deep-seated anger for a very long time.
So when emotions ran high, responding with pure logic might only fuel their frustration.
Especially in moments like these, it was enough to simply accept their concern with grace.
After all, he wasn't a robot—there was no need to be rational at all times.
"This time, I truly didn't think things through. I'm sorry."
"From now on, even if it's for your sake, I won't act so recklessly."
Hearing this, Artoria had already lowered her head, her face crimson, though her signature ahoge kept twitching restlessly.
Morgan, too, hadn't expected Noah to respond this way. Her face similarly flushed, and she deliberately turned her head away to avoid meeting his gaze.
"Hmph, I hope you remember what you said today."
With that, Morgan turned around and hurried off as if fleeing.
Even with her back to him, Noah could still see—through the gaps in her pale, whitish hair—that her ears had turned completely red.
Noah watched Morgan leave, then shifted his gaze to Artoria.
Only then did Artoria realize her sister had already departed. In a fluster, she quickly stood up.
"Um, well... I have guard duties to attend to. I'll head to the entrance now!"
Stammering incoherently, Artoria fumbled for a moment before hastily grabbing her helmet.
After finding an excuse, she also left.
Noah watched the two of them depart and shook his head slightly.
He then picked up the letter Merlin had sent, which was placed on the table. After reading its contents, he channeled magical energy into it, signaling for Merlin to come over.
Next, he activated the special ability granted by the Will of Britain to contact Scáthach.
During the previous assistance, Merlin had already met Scáthach. Merlin clearly recognized the Queen of the Land of Shadows and was visibly startled.
Both he and Morgan held considerable fear toward Scáthach, to the extent that even though they were both in Camelot, they hadn't argued or even met because Scáthach was also present in Camelot.
However, Merlin's letter also mentioned issues regarding Rhongomyniad, the pillar that sustains the surface of the earth.
Thus, Noah summoned both Merlin and Scáthach to come together.
As for the Holy Lance, it was time to retrieve it.
----------
For advance chapters join my Patreon.
[email protected]/Aarvan