Chapter 121: As Long As This Romulus Has No Protection, He's As Good As Dead!
Noah didn't say anything about Crimson Moon.
Just as he hadn't said anything about the Titan.
Because these matters still needed further observation and study... Moreover, the distortion that brought Mary and Manaka Sajyou to this era—Noah felt it wouldn't happen just this once, its impact wouldn't be limited to this extent, and it certainly wouldn't be without reason.
But many things were like this. Since he couldn't figure it out, he could only gather as much information as possible for now.
And at this moment...
"Excalibur."
Noah gripped the hilt of Excalibur with his left hand, marked with the Gandálfr rune, and used the power of Gandálfr to sense the immense strength of this sword.
He had passed Excalibur's trial, so he had gained a general understanding of this sword's condition.
Whether it was because he passed the trial or not, the Excalibur in his hand was still vastly different from the one wielded by the old sword.
That one had thirteen restraints bound by thirteen oaths.
Hence the feeling of a Round Table liberation.
But the one in Noah's hand had nothing of the sort. Its only restraint was—Excalibur's power could only fully erupt when facing enemies of the stars.
And this single restraint was so powerful that even if Noah tried to forcefully activate it using Gandálfr's power, he couldn't.
However, this was more than enough for Noah.
After all, it would at least be useful—and highly effective—against the Titan he was about to face. Moreover, if Crimson Moon were to become an enemy in the future, this sword would also work against him.
But thinking this far, Noah grew somewhat puzzled.
Since Excalibur operated under this pattern, then in his simulated memories...
Recalling his simulated memories, Noah realized.
In all the simulations where he inherited simulated memories, he never wielded Excalibur. And in the times he did wield Excalibur, once he inherited the Left Hand of God—Gandálfr, and another time he inherited the Pirate King Constitution—in short, he never inherited memories during those instances. That's why his simulated memories lacked details about Excalibur.
Additionally, when dealing with Vortigern, Excalibur was far less effective than the Holy Lance, so when he was stuck on Vortigern, his focus remained entirely on the Holy Lance, thus overlooking matters related to the Holy Sword.
It wasn't until he reached the Titan that he remembered the issue with Excalibur.
Having figured this out, Noah put away Excalibur and, along with it, Avalon.
Calculating it this way, he now effectively possessed two Avalons.
One with Mary, and another with himself.
This greatly alleviated the issue of Avalon's activation time being insufficient. After all, with two Avalons, if used consecutively, the duration would effectively double.
And...
If there were two Avalons, then he would also have two Excaliburs, wouldn't he?
It's just a shame Manaka Sajyou hasn't been found yet.
Otherwise, he could have brushed up on his dual-wielding swordsmanship.
In the simulation where Noah obtained the "Martial Arts Prodigy" label, he had actually studied both the Dual Sword Style and the Dual Lance Style.
After all, in that simulation, he had also gone to Hibernia to acquire the Demonic Sword and the Demonic Lance. So, in that simulation, he possessed two swords and two lances.
Naturally, he had researched all kinds of combinations.
However, the prerequisite for dual Holy Swords was that he first had to find Manaka Sajyou...
Thinking of this, Noah sighed.
Mary still had no news about Manaka Sajyou, and he himself had continuously sent people to search for her. Yet, apart from learning through the princess hunting incident that Manaka Sajyou should be outside Rome, he had no other information.
But speaking of this, as Noah followed the path back to where Excalibur was placed, he turned his gaze toward Vivian.
If he wanted to find Manaka Sajyou, come to think of it...
"Vivian, how much has your prophetic ability recovered now?"
Noah had previously heard from Vivian that her prophetic ability hadn't fully recovered yet, but now he wanted to ask for more specifics.
"I can already perform general prophecies, and my predictions about the broad future are now more detailed than last night. However, foreseeing specific threads and all the details is something even at my peak was somewhat difficult. After all, we Prophets are inexplicably targeted by the future... But as long as I can recover to my peak state, I can see even particularly specific futures."
Vivian always gave Noah the impression of a subtle flower whose fragrance you only notice when you get close.
So, she usually spoke softly, and only on rare occasions when you were very close could you see her proactive side.
Yet, it was precisely this version of her who, when speaking of her prophetic ability at its peak, seemed like a blooming rose, radiating considerable confidence.
If someone is always confident, no matter how confident they are, others grow accustomed to it.
But it is precisely when someone usually as passive as Vivian shows confidence in a certain aspect that it becomes even more convincing.
"A general future is fine too, so I need you to use your prophetic ability to help me locate a person—someone named Manaka Sajyou. And right now, she should be in Rome. I hope you can help me predict her location."
Hearing Noah say this, Merlin was momentarily stunned but not particularly surprised.
After all, Noah rarely hid things from those around him.
For example, he never concealed from Merlin that he was Romulus, and Merlin also knew that Noah had been searching for someone named Manaka Sajyou.
He just hadn't expected this Manaka Sajyou to be in Rome, and that Noah's first request for Vivian to use her prophecy would be about this person...
When there had been no news before, there wasn't much to say.
But if Vivian's prophecy could actually help find her... Merlin couldn't help but feel curious about someone Noah had searched for so long and valued so highly.
Although Vivian didn't know about these matters, she couldn't refuse Noah's command, nor did she have any intention of refusing. So, after nodding, she began her prophecy.
Upon entering this state, Vivian's eyes were half-open, the starry, expansive brilliance within them becoming more restrained. At the same time, all expression vanished from her face, as if she had transformed into a higher-dimensional existence, her entire being filled with profound and unfathomable mystery.
Then, Vivian's prophecy began.
"The entity known as Manaka Sajyou is indeed in Rome."
"—I saw her enter the Roman Senate and discover that the White Knight had already searched through the Senate's records, finding the documents concerning your origins, Noah."
"She seems unaware that you are King Arthur, and believes that this Romulus will surely become a great threat to King Arthur."
"She moves in and out of the Roman imperial palace as if it were her own home, as though she herself were the emperor of Rome."
"Then, from the senators who once sent assassins to intercept you, she learned that there was no news of your death, saying the interception team was completely annihilated by the White Dragon."
"So, to be safe, Manaka Sajyou used some old belongings from your family's time in Rome to create an artifact that can lock onto members of your family. She also produced many other items, but I could not discern their purposes. Her goal is... to send assassins to Britain to kill the entity known as Romulus!"
"Her stated reason to Rome is that such a person, if stirring up trouble in Britain, would surely affect Rome. In reality, however, she seems to believe that such a significant threat to King Arthur must be eliminated early."
"She also instructed the assassins that, regardless of whether Romulus is killed, they should hunt down some princesses if given the opportunity, specifically naming one called Guinevere."
"'The other princesses can be dealt with as necessary, but Guinevere must be captured alive."
"And the timing of this future event is... two hours from now!?"
By the time she spoke the final sentence, Vivian had clearly returned from her earlier state.
This time, Noah had only asked her to prophesy about Manaka Sajyou's location, but he hadn't expected the prophecy to be so imminent.
Still, the abundance of other information made the short timeframe less of an issue. After all, they didn't need to wait for a specific time to find her—knowing her range of activities was enough. They could simply go and search.
After the prophecy ended, Manaka Sajyou, Merlin, and even Mary in Noah's mind all wore peculiar expressions. Only White remained entirely unaffected.
The reason?
—It was because Manaka Sajyou's intense affection for King Arthur could be felt even through the prophecy, yet she remained unaware that Noah, this Romulus, was King Arthur!
While they reacted this way, Noah also wore a strange expression.
He knew that Manaka Sajyou could see the future, but she chose not to look because she found it boring to have everything revealed in advance.
Otherwise, she would likely have known everything long ago.
But she was in the Roman capital...
It seems that after a while, when the assassins arrive, I should take a small group of elites and make a trip to Rome.
He wanted to find Manaka Sajyou, and at the same time, he also wanted to see why the current Hun king hadn't died yet and how he managed to bring out that White Giant, which had caused major disasters to the world multiple times during the Stone Age and the dawn of the Age of Gods.
Was all of this related to the wandering star?
And then... since he was an emperor recognized by the Roman Pantheon, shouldn't he also be able to receive the Blessings of the gods, just like the current Sword Emperor Lucius?
So if he had the chance, he also wanted to visit the Pantheon to see this so-called Blessing.
After all, after becoming a god, he was absolutely certain that he had never received any Blessing!
As for how he knew—it was because among his authorities, there was one called the Blessing of the End.
He was a god capable of bestowing Blessings upon others, so how could he not know whether he himself had received any?
However, he had never fully understood this Blessing of the End, so this time he wanted to visit the Roman Pantheon to see how others handled Blessings, preferably to learn from them.
Then, upon returning, he would bestow Blessings upon his own knights.
Noah planned to make a trip to Rome.
And just as Vivian's prophecy foretold, Manaka Sajyou soon arranged for assassins to come to Britain to assassinate Romulus while continuing their princess hunting.
She explained the target to these assassins, who were initially unwilling.
Because...
"Lord, that is an emperor who has been named by the Pantheon and recognized by the gods... Even though he has been driven out now, he must still possess the same Blessings from the gods as His Majesty the Emperor. Facing such an enemy... we are no match."
Hearing this, Manaka Sajyou, who was almost entirely hidden under a cloak, placed a ring on the table.
"Don't worry. Once you find him, show this ring—it will dispel the Blessings from the gods that only an emperor can enjoy."
"Without the Blessings of the gods, he is nothing more than an ordinary person... You have no reason to fail."
She gave away such an item without hesitation.
As for whether it would cause any trouble for the Sword Emperor...
What did that have to do with her?
Or perhaps... if it could cause some trouble for that wild monkey-like woman, that would be even better!
That would surely be more advantageous for that prince from the fairy tales.
With such thoughts, Manaka Sajyou left the item behind and departed.
The assassins who received this ring now smiled.
They were assassins trained by the Roman royal family and would certainly not use this against Sword Emperor Lucius, but they felt more confident about this mission.
As long as the target lacked the Blessings from the gods, what did it matter even if he had been granted the name of His Majesty Romulus?
Anyone who posed a threat to the current emperor must be eliminated!