Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King [208] 

Credits: Jesper Taus Pedersen

Casual words even tinged with a faint sense of pride.

But this pride was so subtle that no one could notice it. Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash Kyrielight, the Chaldea duo, were already stunned by the revelations regarding the Holy Lance.

The adjustments to the Holy Lance, the limitations placed on its authority, and the abilities akin to the [Self-Verification] performed by the Spiritron Calculation Device, Trismegistus.

All these seemingly outlandish uses of the Holy Lance had become reality.

Far away in Chaldea, Da Vinci was momentarily taken aback after hearing Alaric's explanation. Then, she revealed an "Ah, so that's it" expression.

If the wielder of the Holy Lance, Artoria, had adjusted it to suit Alaric, such a miracle could indeed occur.

But the fact that anchoring Alaric alone caused the Holy Lance's authority to fall silent, its mystery to vanish, and turned it into an empty shell—wasn't that too strange?

From Da Vinci's perspective, even if the Lion King had adjusted the Holy Lance and concentrated all its authority on Alaric, there should have been some surplus power left over.

Was the cost of such a miracle far too great?

Or was it that there was no surplus at all, and merely maintaining Alaric alone had exhausted the Holy Lance's full potential—

At this thought, Da Vinci gave a meaningful glance at the young man on the screen and slowly stood up.

But Romani Archaman could no longer stay calm. The moment Da Vinci let go of her control, Romani filled the screen, shouting:

["Are you serious? The Holy Lance's authority—modified and limited—and now all its planetary anchoring power is focused on you alone???

 Do you think you're some kind of entity equal to the planet itself?! That's impossible!

 And what's more, the Lion King doing this has already stripped the Holy Lance from human history—it's practically rewriting history! This is a fundamental alteration of the past!"]

The more he spoke, the more agitated Romani became. His entire face pressed against the screen as if he was trying to stare Alaric down through it.

["In other words—your very existence is a singularity! A walking, human-shaped singularity!"]

Romani's voice, filled with shock and disbelief, echoed in Alaric, Fujimaru Ritsuka, and Mash's ears. It was as if Romani were grabbing Alaric by the shoulders and furiously shaking him while yelling.

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash, meanwhile, finally grasped the significance of Alaric's presence here, as well as the changes and potential dangers brought about by the Holy Lance.

"That's... pretty serious, huh—"

Fujimaru Ritsuka rubbed her chin thoughtfully, then said, "Doctor, can you check Sir Alaric's Human Order Foundation Value?"

If Alaric truly was, as the doctor suggested, a walking singularity, then Sheba should be able to detect changes in the Human Order Foundation Value or other anomalies.

Moreover, if the Holy Lance had truly lost its authority, it meant that Alaric couldn't accomplish the Lion King's unfulfilled grand design and wouldn't pose a threat to the Human Order.

Alaric must be someone who could become their ally, right?

["Oh, right, there's that too!"]

Reminded by Fujimaru Ritsuka, Romani immediately used [Chaldea's Near-Future Observation Lens: Sheba] to observe Alaric.

Sheba, which could predict the appearance of Singularities, also could measure the Human Order Foundation Value—

["What... is this?"]

Romani and Da Vinci stared at the screen displaying the value [EX], and they both fell into deep thought.

The same immeasurable status that appeared in the Sixth Singularity had once again presented itself before Romani.

But this was to be expected. Even if the Holy Lance's authority had fallen silent and its mystery had vanished, it was still the Tower at the Ends—a pinnacle of mystery.

When Romani shared the observation results with Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash, he sank into contemplation.

Romani suddenly realized that every time he encountered something related to Alaric, he always ended up shocked—

He needed to calm his nerves. Once Fujimaru and Mash returned, he should probably go visit Merlin for some relaxation.

Even though this wasn't the right time for him to unwind, Romani felt that once the two returned, he might finally get a chance to rest.

When that time came, he was going to sneak off and slack as much as he could!

Having sorted out his emotions, Romani returned to his work. Behind him, Da Vinci sipped her coffee leisurely, her gaze never leaving Alaric's face.

Meanwhile, Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had just received Romani's report, broke into a smile: "Sir Alaric is amazing, isn't he!"

Alaric had the potential to become a threat, but Fujimaru Ritsuka firmly believed that he wouldn't choose that path.

If he had that kind of intention, there would have been no need to fight the Lion King. He could have simply helped the Lion King wipe out Chaldea.

But Alaric didn't do that. He had already made his choice when he pledged loyalty to the Lion King, and that choice wouldn't change now.

Fujimaru Ritsuka was convinced of this.

"Y-Yeah! Sir Alaric is incredible right now!"

Unlike Fujimaru's reaction, Mash appeared serious, nodding earnestly. "Right now, Sir Alaric could be considered... Super Sir Alaric, couldn't he?"

Alaric, holding the Holy Lance and standing in the Age of Gods, must have surpassed the Alaric they were familiar with. He deserved the "Super" title!

"Ohhh, Super Sir Alaric! That's SS Card Alaric!"

Hearing Mash's surprisingly creative remark, Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately gave a thumbs-up and laughed: "He's rare now!"

Seeing the two girls show no trace of hostility toward him, Alaric smiled and raised his thumb as well. "You're right—this is the super version of me."

Faced with Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash's trust, Alaric decided that he absolutely couldn't let them down.

Just as Alaric was about to put away the Holy Lance, a sharp cry interrupted his actions.

"Fou! Fou fou!!"

"Fou Fou?"

Mash, also startled by the sudden cry, turned to look at the pure-white creature on her shoulder.

"This little guy—"

When Alaric saw the pure-white beast perched on Mash's shoulder, his eyebrow twitched.

He had met this creature, known as Fou, during his first encounter with Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash in Ozymandias' domain.

But after that, Fou had mysteriously disappeared, and Alaric hadn't seen it again—until now, their first meeting since that time.

Yet, Alaric was surprised to see an intelligent gleam in Fou's eyes.

For this little white beast, Alaric felt an odd sense of familiarity.

It had accompanied Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash on countless adventures. If it possessed intelligence, it wouldn't be strange.

However, what puzzled Alaric was the faint hostility in Fou's gaze toward him.

Unable to understand this, Alaric could only chuckle and ask, "Hmm, Fou? Is there something you need?"

If it was an intelligent being, then communication should be possible.

Even though Alaric had no idea how Mash had mastered Beast Speech Level 10, perhaps he, too, could communicate with Fou?

But instead of receiving an intelligent reply, Alaric was greeted by Fou's sudden, fierce flying kick.

"Fou fou!"

Mash's startled cry accompanied the pure-white beast's charge, as it delivered a swift kick directly to Alaric's forehead.