Londinium.
It was a city—or more accurately, a castle, a fortress—located at the southeastern tip of the Isle of Britain.
Of course, it was still too early to call it that. For now, it was just a camp. Though there were walls made of piled stones, everything was still in its early stages.
Amid the escalating war between humans and fairies, Londinium was one of the few human groups capable of facing fairies head-on.
People who wanted to fight the fairies' long oppression of humans.
People who wanted to live peacefully alongside fairies.
People who sought revenge after their lives were toyed with by fairies.
All sorts of humans gathered here, united by the idea of resisting fairies, defeating them, and changing humanity's status quo.
And among these many people was a rather special young man.
"Nine hundred ninety-six… nine hundred ninety-six…"
In the open field inside Londinium, a boy with hair as bright as the sun gripped a wooden sword with both hands, swinging relentlessly.
The boy's name was Uther. In Londinium, he was known to all as the Disciple of the Savior.
Aesc had saved Britain countless times. Unlike the ungrateful fairies, humans remembered her kindness. Moreover, in recent years since awakening from her slumber, she had repeatedly aided humans. Everyone here was deeply grateful to Aesc from the bottom of their hearts.
Thus, Aesc was beloved in Londinium. As her disciple, Uther was seen by the people as the Savior's heir. They looked forward to him growing up and leading them to defeat the fairies.
"Nine hundred ninety-nine… one thousand—!"
After completing a thousand swings, Uther—drenched in sweat—couldn't help but gasp for breath.
He was only twelve. Still a child. Training at this level was quite a heavy burden for him. He'd only managed because he was used to it; otherwise, he'd have collapsed by now.
"Good work, Uther." A man in armor approached and handed him a waterskin. "Drink some water and rest."
"Thank you, Uncle Ector."
Taking the waterskin and sipping, Uther glanced toward the city gate.
The knight called Ector laughed and asked, "What's wrong? You seem a bit distracted today. No—you've been distracted for the past two days… Thinking about the Savior?"
"Yes. Master's been gone for days. I'm worried something happened to her." Uther admitted openly.
True, Aesc was the Savior who had rescued Britain countless times—her power immense—but even so, Uther still worried slightly about his teacher.
Ector ruffled the boy's head. "The Savior will be fine. Her level is beyond our concern. Besides, aren't the Fairy Knight and Black Knight with her? They'll surely help the Savior."
"You're right."
With that thought, Uther's worry eased.
And just as he was about to raise his sword and resume training—
"Hey! Uther!"
A young man suddenly burst into the training ground, shouting with a wide grin. "The Savior and the others are back!"
(Master!)
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
At the same time, at Londinium's entrance.
"You've finally returned, Savior!"
"Here are freshly baked potatoes. Please try them!"
"Here's a stack of paperwork. If possible, please review it!"
"…"
Upon seeing Aesc return in the horse-drawn carriage, many humans who had been scattered around immediately gathered. There were ordinary civilians and armored guards. Each welcomed her return with genuine smiles and enthusiasm.
Aesc was clearly used to this. She skillfully spoke and responded to them one by one. Her adept handling made Naoki wonder: How many times has she gone through this?
"Aesc is amazing, huh?"
Totorot hopped beside Naoki, laughing.
"Don't let her looks fool you—she was super awkward at first. For thousands of years, she was almost never greeted with this kind of enthusiasm."
"I know."
Aesc had fought relentlessly for thousands of years to save Britain, but the fairies never welcomed her. One could imagine her reaction to human enthusiasm.
(The issue is… it's fine now, but situations like this can easily turn—Well, I don't need to worry about that yet, right? Aesc has Fairy Eyes. She'll sense changes before I do.)
Fairy Eyes were the fairies' outward eyes, capable of seeing through all lies and reflecting truth.
Disguises were useless before Aesc. The humans crowding her now might be cursing her inwardly.
But since Aesc showed no rejection, at least for now, the humans genuinely loved her, right?
"Alright, that's enough for now. I'm truly grateful for your welcome, but I have matters to attend to. Let's hold a feast tonight instead."
Ending with that, Aesc slipped out of the crowd and stood with Naoki, Totorot, and Hector, then walked deeper into Londinium.
The Savior must be tired from the long carriage journey. She needs rest now—such thoughts crossed people's minds, and they quickly dispersed.
Watching them scatter, Aesc—now farther away—let out a soft sigh. "Phew~~~~ Finally handled for now."
"Not used to it?" Naoki asked. "Totorot said you were."
"Still a little. Habits from thousands of years aren't easy to break." Aesc gave a wry smile. "Anyway, I'll take you to your resting place first. I think there are still empty rooms—"
"Master!"
As Aesc spoke, a shout from nearby drew everyone's eyes. On the other side of the street, Uther ran toward them, waving. He stopped right in front of Aesc.
"Long time no see, Master! You're finally back!"
"Long time no see, Uther." Aesc said, patting his head. "There was more to handle this time, and some unexpected things happened. Sorry for the delay."
Uther shook his head vigorously. "It's fine—as long as Master's back. Big Sister Totorot and Uncle Hector, long time no see—welcome back!"
"Yes." Hector nodded briefly.
"Still as energetic as ever, Uther." Totorot said, clearly fond of him.
Finally, Uther looked at Naoki standing beside them.
Seeing the man who looked almost exactly like an adult version of himself, Uther hesitated, unsure how to start. "Master, who's this big brother?"
"I'll introduce you, Uther. He is—"
"Merlin."
Naoki crouched with a laugh.
"Nice to meet you, Uther. I'm Merlin. I've just joined Aesc's team as a comrade. From now on, I'll be your teacher alongside Aesc, teaching you how to become a great knight."
"Please take care of me."