Chapter 55: Your Work For The Next Ten Years Has Already Been Scheduled!
King Leodegrance couldn't quite grasp Noah's intentions, and neither could the other five kings.
After all, they had all been feasting together happily just yesterday, yet today Noah was using "no time" as an excuse to avoid meeting with any of them.
Initially, both King Leodegrance and King Rience thought this might indicate Noah was leaning more toward the opposing faction.
But they soon discovered that Noah wasn't just avoiding them—he wasn't meeting with the other side either.
This once again plunged them into speculation about the king's intentions.
Leaving was out of the question.
Since no serious matters had been discussed yesterday, if they were to leave now, their trip would have been for nothing!
Just come for a free meal and then leave?
What if Noah sent Merlin over again~ ah!
As for blaming Noah... they really couldn't. After all, they had rushed over in a group as soon as they heard Noah was planning to send Merlin over.
The fact that Noah even received them was already giving them plenty of face.
Noah genuinely had no idea why they had come!
They were the ones who forgot to mention it yesterday due to nervousness—who could they blame?
So all five kings, including King Rience except for King Leodegrance, were just stewing in frustration.
King Leodegrance should have been among them.
But because of Guinevere, his thoughts were completely elsewhere now.
When he first brought Guinevere to meet Noah, he had been worried about what to do if Noah took a liking to Guinevere while she remained unwilling.
"But now..."
"Father, even before becoming king, King Arthur was famous throughout Camelot's sphere of influence under the title Knight of the Dawn."
"King Arthur is different from other knights—he is a true knight!"
"King Arthur is also different from all the kings I've met before—he is a true king too!"
"They say King Arthur pulled Caliburn from the stone, and even Merlin declared him Britain's Chosen King!"
"King Arthur he..."
Since returning with Guinevere, King Leodegrance had lost count of how many times he'd heard the words "King Arthur," all coming from his daughter who usually maintained a certain distance when facing other knights...
Love at first sight... King Leodegrance didn't believe in such things.
After all, they were all adults—would you fall in love at first sight with someone unattractive?
This had always been his philosophy when rejecting those who claimed to have fallen for his daughter at first sight.
But...
He never imagined the situation would be reversed.
This time, it wasn't someone else falling for Guinevere at first sight, but Guinevere falling for someone else at first sight... and that someone happened to be a king!
It wasn't that King Leodegrance was dissatisfied with this potential marriage.
If it actually happened, he'd probably laugh himself awake from his dreams.
After all, he simply cared deeply for his daughter without being pathological about it. His daughter marrying someone she loved, and that someone being an exceptional man like King Arthur—what was there to be dissatisfied about?
But...
Not to mention the fact that the Southern Six Territories' renewed allegiance to the new king hasn't even been settled yet, even if it were, as one of the Twelve Kings, what right does he have to meddle in whom a powerful ruler like Arthur marries?
Is this something he's qualified to oversee?
Hadn't he seen how the other five kings weigh their words carefully before King Arthur, not daring to utter even one extra syllable?
Previously, when he felt guiltless in his heart, he wasn't so afraid.
But now that he harbors ulterior motives, he's terrified!
However, upon seeing Guinevere's expression, King Leodegrance found himself unable to speak to her.
So he hesitated and agonized.
It wasn't until Guinevere noticed his state that the situation finally ended.
Guinevere was indeed the kind of princess who knew nothing of the world, living in a realm filled with sunshine and flowers—to put it bluntly, she was like a beautiful vase.
But she wasn't entirely without merit.
If she were a piece of decor, she wasn't gaudy or ostentatious, but possessed a classic, understated elegance.
Though she was completely infatuated, she still noticed her father seemed troubled by the matter. Though she couldn't understand why, she buried her admiration for the Dawn Knight and said to King Leodegrance with a smile:
"Father, King Arthur is truly remarkable, so you must be extra careful when discussing official matters with him later. But don't worry too much—the King isn't a bad person."
"You still have important matters to consider, so I won't disturb you any further."
After leaving these two remarks, Guinevere departed.
She thought she had concealed her feelings rather well.
But how could a sheltered princess like her, who'd never seen the world, deceive someone like King Leodegrance?
King Leodegrance saw through her pretense at a glance.
And this solidified his previously wavering resolve.
—Even if he failed, he wanted to try!
He would help Guinevere propose marriage to the King!
...
While the Six Southern Kings were all anxious, Noah was in the courtyard of Camelot Castle sparring with Artoria.
Since the day he called out Artoria's name, their relationship had visibly progressed by leaps and bounds.
Then, on Noah's suggestion, Artoria no longer appeared as Arthur but directly took on the identity of Artoria, becoming Noah's knight.
After all, she wasn't the king now, so there was no need to hide her gender.
Actually, from this perspective, Noah didn't understand why Merlin in the original story had Artoria conceal her gender... If Artoria hadn't become king and Morgan hadn't been exiled, would the knights of Camelot have thought Morgan was a man?
It's just... probably more due to Merlin's peculiar whims.
Noah knew full well that Merlin was such a character, so he didn't dwell on it further.
Instead, after finishing his spar with Artoria, he sought out Merlin himself.
Now Kay wasn't in Camelot—he had taken part of the patrol to deal with those magical beasts.
Scáthach wasn't here either—she was also with Kay's group. This was precisely why Noah could afford to leave part of the already understaffed patrol team behind. The reason was that the person currently leading the patrols to subjugate the magical beasts wasn't Kay, but Scáthach.
And as long as she was there, no problems would arise.
That situation was settled, and the arrangements for the Southern Six Territories were nearly complete as well. The Picts' movements were fully monitored by Mary's Clairvoyance, so Noah wouldn't miss anything on this front either.
In that case...
It was time to find an excuse to send Merlin away!
After all, Morgan would be returning the day after tomorrow, and no matter what, he couldn't let the two of them meet right now.
As for the reason to send Merlin away...
He already knew the location of the Holy Lance, so next would be the Holy Sword. This would also be a good opportunity for him to see what exactly this world's Holy Sword of the Stars was all about.
And once the matter of the Holy Sword was settled... he would dispatch Merlin to the Northern Six Territories!
He had performed excellently in handling the Southern Six Territories' issues, and Noah hoped he could maintain that performance in the Northern Six Territories!
For now, Noah had no intention of letting Morgan and Merlin meet.
And since he wasn't going to let them meet...
When it came to deciding whether to keep a thoroughly detestable old swindler or Morgan here in Camelot, there was really no need for hesitation.
So, just as Merlin was thinking that since his trip to the Southern Six Territories had ended up drawing all Six Southern Kings there, Noah probably wouldn't assign him any more troublesome tasks...
He had no idea that Noah had already planned out his work for the next ten years!
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