Chapter 7: The Golden Sword of Assured Victory

Merlin rubbed his head and got up again. Looking at the two people tangled together in front of him, he wanted to say something but ended up keeping it to himself. After all, he didn't understand the kind of love that involved mutual confession between two people, nor did he understand familial bonds, and perhaps not even friendship. All he could do was imitate what he had observed.

The Great Flower Deceiver—truly worthy of the name.

"Since you're both ready, let's hurry and leave. Any later and we'll miss the moment when the winds rise."

Melusine shot Merlin a glare, her eyes filled with blame and annoyance sharp as knives. If those eyes could manifest into physical blades, then Merlin's body would already be riddled with gaping wounds—each one lethal.

Aslan didn't notice the look Melusine had secretly thrown at Merlin. He simply turned and picked up the luggage Melusine had tossed to the ground.

There wasn't much luggage. After all, Aslan's forging techniques were learned from the fairies, combined with the forging methods of the human world. Most items could be temporarily forged with magic alone, though their durability wouldn't last long.

The luggage mainly consisted of rare materials and a change of clothes for the two of them, along with a variety of valuable items gifted by the fairies that could be exchanged for money—ranging from jewelry to gems and even some materials Aslan wouldn't be using.

Aslan had long made plans for his future. He knew that he would eventually return to the human world. Though he had built good relationships with the fairies over the years, aside from learning their techniques and language, he hadn't done much else.

It didn't matter in this forested realm, but once he entered the human world, money would become an essential possession.

The gifts from the fairies could be exchanged for gold coins in the human world. Of course, some important items must never be sold—such as the tokens symbolizing his close ties with the fairies. If trouble arose in the human world, these tokens could be used to request temporary protection from the fairies.

At the very least, they would allow safe passage through fairy territory without being attacked or obstructed.

As for whether bringing these items into the human world would attract unwanted attention—Aslan's stance was simple: anyone who came for him would die. One person, he'd kill one. Two, he'd feed them both to Melusine.

If ordinary people wanted to cause trouble, they wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between Melusine's teeth. Not that she ate people, of course.

Merlin used his staff to draw a circle around the area where they stood. From the circle, a flurry of petals erupted, obscuring everyone's vision.

It felt as though they were falling from the sky. A faint sense of weightlessness swept over their feet, and an upward current of air gently lifted their bodies. It was like drifting downward while seated in the wind.

Pink petals danced on the breeze, fluttering alongside their descent. These petals resembled butterflies slowly soaring toward the sky. It was a wondrous sensation—one Aslan had never experienced before.

To keep Melusine from becoming a dragon with no perch to land on, Aslan had, the moment they signed their contract, asked her to take on her current human form.

In other words, Aslan had yet to experience what it felt like to be a dragon rider, or the carefree thrill of flying through the skies.

Still, Aslan believed that once the ring symbolizing their contract was fully complete, that would be the moment Melusine could soar freely in her true form.

A dragon bound by love and devotion would no longer fly off to some faraway shore.

The sensation of slowly descending through the air didn't last long. Aslan quickly felt solid ground beneath his feet again. He adjusted his posture in time to avoid stumbling from the weightlessness he had just experienced.

It wouldn't have mattered if Melusine were still by his side—but unfortunately, there was still a certain scumbag of a man nearby.

At the very least, he couldn't afford to do anything embarrassing in front of that half-human disgrace.

They had arrived at a church. Because of the knight's tournament taking place nearby, the area around the church was currently deserted. In front of the church, a brilliantly shining holy sword stood embedded in a large stone. It was the Sword of Selection—the Sword in the Stone, also known as the Golden Sword of Assured Victory.

Naturally, there had to have been some interference from Merlin to arrange for the church to be empty and for the knight's tournament to be held at a distance. There was no way this holy sword would be left unguarded. Even if no one had yet drawn it, there should still be guards posted nearby.

Aslan gazed at the sword before him, a somewhat complicated expression on his face. After all, this was a legendary blade with an unknown final fate. In the original legends, this sword—symbol of kingly virtue—was broken due to one of King Arthur's failings. But in the world of Fate, the blade was lost due to something Merlin had done.

Though, perhaps Morgan had a hand in it too.

Regardless, in Aslan's eyes, when the fate of this sword reached its end—whether it remained intact or was broken—it would make for an exceptional forging material.

Merlin, having seen the look in Aslan's eyes, clearly misunderstood his intent.

"What do you say? Want to give it a try before your cousin arrives and see if you can draw the sword?"

After all, just trying wouldn't cost anything. Besides, Merlin didn't believe Aslan could pull the sword free—this blade that symbolized the kingship of Britain. According to his prophecies and the future he'd seen, only Artoria had successfully drawn the sword from the stone.

Aslan raised an eyebrow. Coincidentally, he didn't think he could draw it either. But this was a rare chance to observe the sword up close, to study its forging technique and power. Who knew when he'd get another chance like this?

"Sure. I am a bit curious about the Golden Sword of Assured Victory."

Melusine merely poked her head out curiously to look at the sword embedded in the stone. She didn't have much interest in holy swords. Perhaps if she saw something like Artemis's orbital cannon, she might show a strong desire to install it on herself.

Aslan stepped up to the Golden Sword of Assured Victory, then took a deep breath and gripped the hilt.

What a subtle experience—an entire nation's fate, the selection of a king, all resting on this single sword.