"That… that British Isles Grand Magus, the half-breed of nightmares and humans, the one who crowned Artoria Pendragon as king, then became the Court Magus—one of the world's rare 'kingmakers'… and also the top-tier useless piece of trash?!"
"Mm-hm."
Even though a few very questionable labels had clearly been mixed in, Merlin still nodded confidently, puffing out his chest as if he were proudly showing off his achievements.
As for the "useless trash" part…
Anna, the Tarnished, and Quetzalcoatl all silently agreed.
Only… the person on the other end of the wrist communicator seemed to have a rather long reaction time.
Merlin's name had been shouted several times before it finally truly sank in.
"And you're also a Servant—an immortal Grand Caster who won't die until the end of the world?!"
"Mm-hm."
Merlin nodded again and again, even casting quick glances toward the Tarnished, Quetzalcoatl, and Anna, as if to say:
Look at me. Behold my greatness.
"Doctor…"
"You said… a whole lot in one breath…"
Seeing Dr. Roman blurt out such an unusually long string of words, Mash and Ritsuka exchanged looks, both seeing the same shock and confusion in each other's eyes.
So that lively—slightly perverted—white-robed young man… was actually some legendary figure?
Then they shifted their gaze to the Tarnished standing nearby with an expression like a dead fish.
If that white-robed man was such a big deal…
Did that mean Mr. Tarnished was also some kind of big deal?
"Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm not like Merlin with a whole paragraph of titles. I'm just an unknown Tarnished."
"Huh? Really?"
Clearly, neither of them believed it.
With strength like that… and he was unknown?
"Yeah. Really."
He shrugged helplessly.
It wasn't that he didn't want to share his titles.
It was that no one would believe him even if he did.
Elden Lord.
Lord of the Stars.
Ranni's husband.
Demigod hunter…
Saying any of that out loud would sound insane—whether here or even back in the Lands Between.
And it would probably invite a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Still…
Miss Anna looked strangely familiar.
In his pitifully sparse memories from his previous life, one name surfaced to match her appearance.
Medusa.
This Anna resembled the "R" in his memory.
And Quetzalcoatl had mentioned the Three Goddess Alliance before—one of its pillars being Gorgon.
So… did Anna have some connection to Gorgon?
Curious, and with Dr. Roman and Merlin still going back and forth, he walked over to Anna, who stood silently by a tree.
"Hello. I'm the Tarnished. Just call me Tarnished."
"…Ah?"
Anna, who had been looking down and counting stones, suddenly noticed a hand extended toward her and let out a small startled sound. Then she lifted her head to look at him.
Her pink eyes, clear and glossy like polished agate, reflected his figure—surprise flickering inside them—before she quickly lowered her head again and tugged at her hood.
"Anna. Just call me Anna. There's no need to shake hands… please don't come too close to me… and earlier… thank you…"
Her voice grew smaller and smaller until it was almost like she was speaking into her own chest—yet it still reached his ears clearly.
"It's fine. We're partners for now, at least. But I'm curious… why are you contracted with Merlin?"
"…"
Anna hesitated.
A moment passed before she spoke again.
"I was tricked."
"Hm?"
"…About a week ago, I met Merlin. We formed a cooperative contract for our own purposes… and then I was tricked."
"That actually happened?"
He was genuinely surprised.
So this thick-browed, bright-eyed bastard hadn't just spent the last few days dragging him around sightseeing for no reason—
He'd already been out here committing crimes against innocent girls before that?!
But then…
Shouldn't he learn this technique properly?
It might save his life someday.
Imagining the chaos that might erupt if Ranni and Melina ever met and actually started fighting, he quietly filed the idea away.
Meanwhile, the more Anna spoke, the angrier she seemed to become.
Slowly, she lifted her head and looked toward Merlin, who was currently chatting cheerfully with the people of Chaldea like they were one big happy family.
"Putting it politely… that magician Merlin is the embodiment of everything dishonest in this world."
"Yes. I agree."
The Tarnished rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"But you're being too polite, Anna. That guy is addicted to lying. Not a single word out of his mouth is trustworthy."
He wasn't exaggerating.
The last person who toyed with him like that had already been turned into runes.
If it weren't for Gilgamesh's sake, Merlin would've been reduced to a neat little pile of remembrance and absorbed already.
"Mm."
As if she'd finally found someone who understood, Anna nodded hard—like a tiny piece of her guard had lowered.
"Fou… fou!"
Just as their conversation warmed up, a sound came from near his feet.
He looked down.
The small white creature was sitting by his boots, blinking up at him with round, vacant eyes.
"Fou… fou!"
"Hm? Little guy, what do you want?"
He bent down slowly to meet its gaze, a faint smile forming.
Honestly, if he ignored that unsettling aura, it was pretty cute.
Especially for someone who spent every day in the Lands Between staring at monsters with faces only a curse could love.
But the moment he reached out to pet it, Fou immediately climbed up his arm and hopped onto his shoulder.
Then it nuzzled him with its fluffy little head, like it had decided it liked him.
"Fou?"
Mash realized her companion had disappeared and hurried to look around—only to relax when she spotted Fou affectionately perched on the Tarnished's shoulder.
"Um… Mr. Tarnished, I'm sorry. Fou didn't cause you any trouble, did it?"
Even though she felt relieved, she couldn't help being a little uneasy.
After all, this Mr. Tarnished had been staring at Fou earlier.
"No. Not at all. I actually like this little thing."
As he spoke, he teased the creature gently with a finger.
Fou cooperated enthusiastically, sticking out its tongue and licking his fingertip.
Huh.
Pretty fun.
But the name "Fou"…
He lifted his head to look at Mash, his expression turning slightly strange.
She really was… a genius at naming things.
"Alright, everyone. It's gotten this late. Let's rest here for the night, and head to Uruk tomorrow."
Merlin, having finished negotiating with Chaldea, made the suggestion.
The Tarnished glanced up at the sky—now filled with brilliant stars, and that enormous hollow void hanging overhead—and nodded in agreement.
Only…
That damned Merlin had delayed him by another full day.
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