"That would be me," he replied to the earlier question of his ident.i.ty.

The man's expression lightened moments after, breaking out into a small smile that revealed the laugh lines by his cheeks, and similarly revealing that he was actually a fairly open individual.

"My name is Bedivere," the man introduced. Judging from the way the man carried himself, and the light-heartedness of his tone, the man was actually a youth of similar age to Kay. "I know it's probably a bit awkward to be called out by stranger in the town, but I couldn't help but praise your skill. It might be a bit insensitive, but may I ask who trained you?"

Ah, he remembered now about something he had learned about Bedivere from Saber's memories.

Bedivere had first begun serving under Saber do to his admiration for her which later budded into unshakable loyalty. Because of this, he couldn't help but speculate that perhaps he had done something wrong by putting himself out in the open since by doing so, wasn't he taking away Arturia's possibilities?

This thought gave him pause, and Bedivere ended up taking this pause as an answer.

"A secret then," Bedivere said a tad disheartened, but coming to his own conclusions. "I suppose it's only natural to keep the ident.i.ty of your master a secret. He must be a man of high standing and experience to have trained a student to beat others with a stick. Truly impressive."

He could only laugh awkwardly. Bedivere was one of Arturia's most loyal followers, and with the direction the conversation was heading, he didn't want to earn Bedivere's admiration instead. Because of this, he did not deny Bedivere's a.s.sumption that he was taught by someone. After all, there was some truth in it due to Saber's teachings. It was just that it would be too hard to believe.

"Then if there's nothing else, there's a few things I have to do today," he said.

Bedivere nodded with a quick look of acknowledgment. "Then I thank you for allowing me to take up some of your time," he then said.

Moments later, Bedivere ended up walking off and disappearing into the crowd.

His eyes were on Bedivere the entire time, thinking to himself just what it was he had to do now, and how many things he should really change.

LINE BREAK

It was night now, and the distant stars above were the only constants in this new life.

A girl he wished to protect and nurture with all of his being.

And the situations that would follow.

Similarly, a past he did not know, but was surely getting drawn into.

It was enough to cause any to question whether or not they had the ability or qualifications to follow through with them all. Even more so when more variables and factors continued to be added into the mix.

An a.s.sociation of magi.

The fight for an empty throne.

And the machinations of a jealous sister.

All were enough to bring along a headache, yet despite that, he had already decided on what he would do.

s.h.i.+rou sat up from his position looking up at the sky, a breeze blowing by and tussling his bangs. More than that, the wind came in the direction of an approaching individual.

"A brat so young should not have that kind of complicated look on their face, Red," Gerrard slurred, walking in a tipsy before collapsing into a heap beside where s.h.i.+rou was sitting. "Care for a drink instead?"

Gerrard held a small water skin bag filled with liquid that he swished around before taking a swig and once again holding it out beneath s.h.i.+rou's nose.

s.h.i.+rou snorted, taking the bag from Gerrard's hand and staring absently at it.

When was the last time he had taken a drink?

It wasn't exactly something he indulged in in his previous life; more of a means to appease his a.s.sociates really.

Yet for one reason or another, he found himself taking an even bigger swig than what Gerrard had taken.

He really did have too many things to think about. Whether it be his training with Merlin, or the establishment of the Mages a.s.sociation, what he realized after taking a drink was to focus only on a single matter at a time.

He was the boy, who for a single dream and ideal, had disregarded everything else, following in the sole path that he believed in. And in the end, he met her again. The one thing he cherished the most.

As the burning feeling of consuming alcohol travelled down his throat, his doubts cleared, and his thoughts were finally back onto what he should do. The future he would lead her towards was important, and the only thing he needed to do was to stop those that would harm her.

Even if it meant harming himself.

In this regard, both his unknown background and the forming of the Mages a.s.sociation was irrelevant. However, he could not say the same for the jealous sister, the Witch Morgan Le Fay, and he knew that she would involve herself somehow with the Mages a.s.sociation. How could she not when the opportunity was before her?

He was never a cautious individual.

Yet he was not stupid either.

The events that were happening now were completely out of his control, as he knew for sure that he had altered one thing or another in this timeline. What guarantee did he have that Morgan Le Fay would not involve herself in the matter and change things somehow to fit her agenda?

He subconsciously took another swig from the water skin bag, eliciting a surprised grunt of admiration from Gerrard before the grunt turned into full blown laughter.

After all, s.h.i.+rou had begun choking.

"Easy there, Red, it takes skill to build one's tolerance," Gerrard consoled snickering. "I myself have built it up over the years."

s.h.i.+rou wiped the alcohol off of his mouth before letting out a small laugh. His body now was different to what it was before. Because of this, the amount of alcohol he could consume at a time seems to have had decreased, but then again, he was not much of a drinker anyway.

Gerrard took the water skin bag and swished it around absently seeming to think about other matters.

In this way, the two sat in relative silence.

In a world without electricity to generate light, only the moon above was their companion.

The sound of nature and crickets setting a calming sort of mood that complimented nicely with fine drink.

"I say lad," Gerrard said a moment before his features broke out into a grin. "If you wanted to join in, why be like a coward and hide in the corner. Here under the open sky is where real men bask in their glory."

s.h.i.+rou opened his eyes and raised a brow, thinking that Gerrard was referring to him as he sat resting his back against a tree outside of the tavern.

Clearly, he was wrong.

Gerrard's eyes were focused on an area beside him. Namely, just around the corner of the tavern where Arturia soon stepped out from.

Hair set freely down her shoulders, and teal eyes slightly drooped, she was the picture of an innocent beauty.

Gerrard had to wipe his eyes before muttering quietly to himself about not being misled.

He was in a slightly similar state, but perhaps it was only due to the alcohol. But for a moment, he thought that he had seen her again.

Her image.

Her outline.

The woman she would become.

Saber.

The tall reeds in the distance danced in the night as a calm breeze once again settled down in the area.

"s.h.i.+rou," she called, a hand brus.h.i.+ng back the hair that had fallen over her eyes behind her ears. "It's getting late, and we have practice tomorrow morning."

"Y-Yeah," he stuttered in his stupor, drawing a smile from Arturia.

Thinking about it, it probably was late to the point where the others had already fallen asleep. Then the question was, why wasn't Arturia?

Noticing his gaze, the weariness in Arturia's tired eyes disappeared, her gaze s.h.i.+fting slightly to the left in an unspoken act of bashfulness that she had no idea she was displaying.

If she were wearing a dress rather than the white tunic, the effect would have had been even more apparent.

A twitch formed over Gerrard's brow before he pinched himself lest his thoughts wander, and spoke up moments later.

"Late?" Gerrard's voice ruined the moment. "It's never too late to drink," he said, holding up and shaking the half-empty water skin bag.

"Drinking?" Arturia's expression became conflicted as s.h.i.+rou's hardened, and Gerrard's became befuddled.

"For crying out lad, have you never been drinking?" Gerrard pressed, an air of seriousness around him.

What was drinking if not a man's pleasure?

To take away the weariness of battle, and the stress of a hard day.

Even to rid one's self of sorrow, if but only for a fleeting moment.

Arturia's nose scrunched up as she smelt the scent of the alcohol. "Oh, course not," she ended up saying. "Sir Ector said to always stay away from that stuff, and Kay never shared any of his."

A look of understanding appeared over Gerrard's face before he nodded solemnly. "Sounds about right for a stuck-up knight of principle."

Arturia glared, realizing that Gerrard may be insulting Sir Ector. Still, she couldn't but be curious when Gerrard held up the water skin bag for her to drink from.

Her own hands stretched out to take the bag from Gerrard's hand as inwardly she felt conflicted. On one hand, she wanted to experience what s.h.i.+rou and everyone else had, but on the other, she had been warned vehemently by Sir Ector to never drink the stuff.

In the end though, her curiosity was winning and she had completely forgotten why it was she had come outside in the first place.

Slowly, she placed the opening of the bag near her lips, and already she felt somewhat dizzy from the strong aroma alone.

The gra.s.s beneath rustled.

A hand then appeared in front of Arturia's mouth before she could take any form of drink.

"No," s.h.i.+rou spoke resolutely, taking away the water skin bag before Arturia could even realize it.

Gerrard clicked his tongue. "You're no fun, Red. At least let the lad have a taste."

With Gerrard's comment, Arturia couldn't help but nod, her determination to try the drink increasing the more s.h.i.+rou kept it away from her.

In the end though, the matter was settled when s.h.i.+rou, with a straight face, tipped over the water skin bag and spilled the entirety of its contents.

"NNOOOOO!"

A heartbroken wail echoed out in the middle of the night, but at least s.h.i.+rou had now decided on a course of action.

LINE BREAK

The next morning, s.h.i.+rou was up the earliest in order to train alone out in the woods.

It had been a long time since he had done so in the last couple of weeks; the last time he could recall was when he was still in Bristol within the Ashton manor.

It wasn't that he had gotten lazy and had been neglecting his training, but the situation just didn't allow him time to do so. During the march to intervene in the battle against the Saxons, vigilance was a must, and thus, a twenty-four-hour surveillance system was implemented; making it difficult to sneak out of the encampment without suspicion. He then went on to meet Merlin, and was promptly placed under his tutelage.

Even now, he still had to meet the man at the crack of dawn, four hours before high noon.

In the meantime, he finally had an opportunity to himself.

He breathed in and out, the morning muskiness of the air uplifting his spirits.

"Trace, on," his magic flared to life along with his magic circuits.

He closed his eyes and began to think. It wasn't long before a design appeared in his head, and all he would do from there was to actualize it.

Avalon once again appeared within his hands.

It was the n.o.ble Phantasm that had been with him the longest.

It was also the one he knew the most, able to replicate it within seconds.

His eyes once again took note of the surroundings before he pulled out a rugged cloth in which he used to wrap the sheath within, making it appear less than ordinary. No one would so much as give it a second glance, but that was perfect for what he intended.

He slung Avalon over his back before going over his other practices.

Reaction speed.

Tracing ability.

He further familiarized himself with them all to increase his proficiency.

When he was done, only then did he return quietly to the tavern where the majority of everyone was still sleeping. Only Merlin and Sir Ector appeared to have had gone somewhere earlier in the morning. As for the rest, they were all sprawled out in the room sleeping.

Kay was in the corner near Bors and Gerrard where the both of them released loud snores. Charles who was near the two had an irritated expression on his face, but he was still asleep nonetheless.

As for Palamid, for some reason, he was sleeping with his helmet and armour on, facing directly towards where Merlin had been sleeping. It was evident that Palamid seemed completely on edge around Merlin due to reasons even he did not know. Regardless, it wasn't his business to meddle in.

Arturia, having fallen asleep fairly late the previous evening, had her legs sprawled over Emily as her arms were rested randomly over top her head. She had admittedly rolled her legs on top of Emily during the night. She was snoring softly, her breaths pus.h.i.+ng aside her messy hair which had become disheveled in her sleep. He smiled softly before taking a moment to drape the blanket she had discarded in her sleep back over top of her. Stirring, she subconsciously pulled at the blanket and tucked it just under her neck, nestling back into her pillow moments later.

Still, she was not the person he had come here for, but rather, the one that was clinging onto Emily opposite from Arturia in his sleep.

The Son of Wolfred.

Having aided Arturia, and shown that he had grown up from his past actions, the Son of Wolfred had earned his respect.

It was just that, the Son of Wolfred being disabled in his actions to help Arturia left a bitter taste in his mouth. Even more so when he saw first-hand the effect it was having on him,

With that in mind, he carefully positioned himself by the Son of Wolfred's side and took out the wrapped sheath.

There was a reason why he didn't just trace Avalon now that he was beside the Son of Wolfred. Part of it was to continue watching for any effects the world may have on the construct, but the other reason was far more important.

As the sheath was unveiled, he could detect fluctuations in the energy within the sheath. Most importantly, he noted the direction.

Arturia.

It had always been her sheath, and he, a second owner of sorts that had possession of it for an extended period of time.

Regardless, Avalon only showed its true abilities when Arturia was present. This meant that even if some other individual acquired the sheath, they would not necessarily be able to utilize it. However, because he had possessed it for so long within his body, he was the only exception, the energy inside still healing him.

This was evident after the lingering energy from within the sheath from the Fourth Holy Grail War managed to heal him before the start of the Fifth.

It a physical sign of his connection with Saber, and something he cherished dearly after her pa.s.sing.

He spent a moment in silence, feeling as the energy within the sheath danced wildly in reaction to Arturia's presence.

She may nat have had come in contact with Avalon in her current life, but that did not mean that Avalon could not recognize its owner.

With a internal thrum of energy, Avalon shone with a dim radiance as he slowly lowered it down onto the Son of Wolfred.

The scabbard seamed to fade into particles of glowing yellow dots that fell seamlessly into the Son of Wolfred's body ending with a brilliant flash that caused the Son of Wolfred to glow.

That which should not be.

And that which has been altered and damaged.

Let it return to what it once was.

Avalon of the Ever-Distant Utopia.

Under its potent healing properties, the Son of Wolfred's wounds, past and present all began healing at a visible rate. Even the expression of discomfort previously on the Son of Wolfred's face had disappeared to be replaced with a tranquil calm.

This was one of the abilities of the Ever-Distant Utopia.

Let none damage the wielder, and with it, triumph over thousands of battles.

For sometimes the sheath is more important than the sword.

The wounded hand released a soft light at the area of the wound. And almost as if it was some joke by a court jester, the wound was gone, sealed by the light of a means beyond mortal comprehension.

He stood there for a minute longer before he raised his hand out, and the particles of light that had entered the Son of Wolfred's body began their exit. From there, Avalon was formed once more, floating just above his palm as it formed from the coalition of light particles.

Making sure that everyone was still asleep, he then rewrapped Avalon within the sheets of cloth to avoid any suspicion of his next actions before he dismissed it. After all, Merlin and Sir Ector were still awake somewhere, and of the two, Merlin may have some idea of what Avalon was. In which case, he wouldn't have much of a reasonable explanation as to why he had it. Thus, it was better to conceal it first before dismissing it as dismissing his projections wasn't instant. Secondly, the power Avalon had been exuding should have been more than enough to alert Merlin that he had done something.

In the end, it was still better to be cautious.

His job done, he then quietly made his exit.

As he left the room, he didn't pay much attention to the stiff movement of a fully armored Palamid. Not realizing that behind the armoured helm of Palamid's visor, a pair of eyes had lost all sense of drowsiness and had instead been replaced by wonder.

LINE BREAK

When noon arrived, and when everyone had all woken up, the Son of Wolfred had nearly thrown himself out the window thinking that he was in some sort of dream and needed to wake up.

"What were you thinking, you fool of a Baron's son," Bors reprimanded the Son of Wolfred with a heavy stare.

The Son of Wolfred quailed under Bors's scrutiny, laughing nervously before stuttering. "I-I thought I was dreaming," he said, looking at his uninjured arm. "So, I had to wake up somehow."

"By trying to jump out the window?" Bors asked skeptically.

"If you put it that way, it sounds way worse than it is," the Son of Woflred scoffed, but then grew exasperated from the looks everyone was giving him. "Look alright. In dreams, you obviously wake up when you die don't you?"

"Obviously there's no reasoning with, idiots," Bors sighed as Kay snorted a distance away. "I just wonder how I'll have to report this to your father."

"Don't then," the Son of Wolfred spoke, finally growing embarra.s.sed. "What he doesn't know, he won't get angry for."

Saying that, the Son of Wolfred then went on to stare at his once wounded hand once more, moving the fingers and wrist in testing motions.

"I-Its actually real," the Son of Wolfred couldn't help but mutter again, his legs growing weak as he used the window frame for support.

"Get away from that window, kid," Kay joked. "Men don't fly."

Amused laughs echoed out through the room, Kay himself was laughing until Arturia spoke.

"Except when kicked," Arturia spoke offhandedly. "You do a good impression, Kay."

Kay stiffened before his face grew increasingly cold. "f.u.c.k that horse," his body involuntarily shuddered. "I don't know where Merlin got that thing, but surely the pet reflects its owner."

"Agreed, curse that man to the very pits of h.e.l.l to suffer eternal d.a.m.nation where even seeing the light of day would become a mercy," Palamid spoke, his tone clipped.

Everyone raised a brow and stared questioningly at Palamid who merely crossed his arms and ignored them all. Out of everyone this morning, he was the only one who remained quiet as the proceedings went on, lost in his own thoughts. Which was why his statement had as big of an effect as it did.

"I don't care how this is possible, but perhaps there is a G.o.d out there," the Son of Wolfred spoke while opening and closing his hand. "Either way, I'm cured," he finished, drawing forth his sword and giving it a few test swings.

"Then I've a different question to ask this morning," Kay said. "Where's my old man and Merlin?"

Indeed.

Since the start of the morning when s.h.i.+rou had first gotten up until everyone else had, neither Sir Ector or Merlin had returned.

s.h.i.+rou could hazard a guess as to what Merlin was doing, but he drew a blank thinking about where Sir Ector would be. From the memoires he had with Saber, Sir Ector was a straightforward and earnest man who followed his principles to the letter. He normally would not leave by himself without any notice. This was why both Kay and Arturia had a troubled look on their faces.

As expected, no one in the room had any answers to Kay's question.

All things considered, s.h.i.+rou had thought that after using Avalon earlier in the morning that Merlin would quickly return after sensing its power. It was why he had been so cautious, but apparently there were other matters more important to attend to. Or perhaps he was held up?

Unsure of where the two missing people were, they all decided that it was best to just wait it out and act like normal. No matter where those two went, they should eventually return.

With this mindset, Emily began to do ch.o.r.es within the tavern, while asking around from the other customers about any information of Sir Ector and Merlin. She was a clever girl that way.

Meanwhile the others aside from the Son of Wolfred and Palamid, who resolved himself to help the Son of Wolfred readjust his swordsmans.h.i.+p after his injury, decided to just walk around the Town of Roan in hopes of running into the other two.

This was the case for Arturia and s.h.i.+rou.

It was just that they had unexpectedly run into some unforeseen situation in the trading area of the town locally known as the market.

"That would be a lion cub," s.h.i.+rou spoke to Arturia who was staring at the lion cub kept by one of the merchant's wares.

The owner himself appeared troubled that the cub was disturbing his business, and upon seeing its fondness for Arturia pressed her to take it off his hands for a while. Although it was only until the merchant had finished selling all of his wares.

Taken aback by the merchant's persistency, could only stare dumbly at s.h.i.+rou as the little lion cub pawed lightly at her legs.

"D-did I do something wrong?" She asked befuddled. "How did this happen to me?"

"It would have had helped your case more if you had outright refused," s.h.i.+rou put in without much thought.

Truthfully, as s.h.i.+rou was with her the entire time, he could have easily refused in her stead. Yet, how could he when Arturia's refusals seemed to melt every time the cub attempted to roar at her in protest? Even more so, he vaguely recalled a similar event happening in Saber's memories. It was why she was fond of lions in the first place.

Glancing at Arturia, and the cub who had clung itself to her leg as she walked, he nearly ran into wooden post after getting so distracted. It didn't help that others were staring at the cub on Arturia's leg as well. It wasn't very often that the locals could ever see an actual lion.

Still, based off Arturia carefree expression, she didn't seem to mind the cub clinging onto her leg. Because of this, s.h.i.+rou ended up stopping her and pulling the cub off of her her leg before depositing it directly into a confused Arturia's arms.

Her eyebrows quirked up, but she didn't pursue the matter in favour of keeping the lion cub at arm's reach to prevent it from licking her face. Her efforts however only proved futile as the cub then decided to attempt to crawl up her arms; it then climbing up to her shoulders before she even realized it and planting itself firmly on top of her head where it let out a yawn and then promptly closed its eyes.

Her lip twitched.

This unruly animal.

She didn't mind it much before when it was stuck onto her leg, treating it more like a decoration, but on top of her head?

That was an entirely different matter.

Attempting to pull it off her head, her actions proved ineffective as the cub used its paws to firmly latch onto her temples. She grew increasingly ashen faced as time went on; finally, she remembered something vital.

"s.h.i.+rou," she called uncertainly, recalling that he had been the one to know what this animal was called. Surely, he would know of a way to tame it.

Silence was her answer from the companion standing by her side, making her grow impatient as she could literally feel a trail of s...o...b..r begin to work down from her forehead where the cub began napping.

She stared at s.h.i.+rou's face, and in turn, he scratched at his cheek before glancing away.

T-This traitor! She nearly bl.u.s.tered out at him as he was the exact cause of this new problem, but then she realized it would be inappropriate of her.

A Knight should deal with their own troubles.

So, with that determination, she crossed her arms and pretended that there wasn't a trail of drool sliding down just between her eyes… for but a moment. Yes, for but a single moment before she again began to attempt to pry the animal off of her.

After all, how could she not feel ashamed when even s.h.i.+rou refused to look at her let alone anyone else they may meet?

In fact, they still had to find Sir Ector and Merlin.

"Get off!" She seethed, but the cub only ignored her.

"Well uhm," s.h.i.+rou scratched his head, feeling a tad guilty, but not doing anything regardless. "We better get going, and ugh, you got something there."

Saying that, s.h.i.+rou stretched out his hand and wiped away some of the drool that had made its way to Arturia's cheek.

Immediately, Arturia was taken aback from the contact, her mind going blank before she just stood there as s.h.i.+rou began to walk back onto the streets.

Oddly enough, as soon as s.h.i.+rou did walk back onto the streets, his eyes immediately narrowed.

There were no longer any signs of people.

A distortion of s.p.a.ce that affects a limited area,

Giving rise to a form of subtle persuasion that directly influences the minds of the common folk.

Bounded field.

He was familiar with it, as he was able to use one himself.

Yet this field was different. It didn't seem to have existed before and there were no set foundations to its creation that he could perceive.

It was perhaps a more advanced form that was lost in the modern times due to the regression of the age of magic and Gaia's growing influence.

Regardless, it was where he and Arturia found themselves in right now.

The only explanation s.h.i.+rou could think of was that both he and Arturia had stumbled directly onto the path of one of the mage families on their way to the meeting for the formation of the Mages a.s.sociation.

He clicked his tongue as he watched Arturia approach behind him slowly. The lion was still stuck to her head, but its eyes were now wide open and alert.

An animal's senses were far better than humans in picking up danger as it would seem.

Yet what truly troubled him about the situation was that Arturia was now involved in this mess. This was completely different from what he knew should have had happened. In Saber's timeline, she knew of the Mages a.s.sociation due to Merlin, but she had never been truly involved in it.

However, this time, she may very well be dragged into it. Especially should another magus discover her unique const.i.tution. In which case, he just wouldn't let that happen.

"s.h.i.+rou?" Arturia called uncertainly.

"Arturia," he replied back, his eyes darting to the surroundings. "Keep close to me."

From the general idea of a bounded field, its function and sensory information was directly linked with the owner. In which case, s.h.i.+rou had no doubts that whoever casted this bounded field already knew of their location and would soon arrive.

Noticing the tenseness in s.h.i.+rou's voice, Arturia didn't voice a complaint as she pressed herself near him, heeding s.h.i.+rou's words and revealing the amount of trust she had in him to follow through with them.

She breathed out a breath, and laid a hand down to rest upon the hilt of her sword, ready for anything.

The nature of this bounded field appeared to only be to ward others away and alert the caster of anyone who entered it. And exactly as s.h.i.+rou had thought, this was the exact case.

Footsteps could be heard from within the streets as man appeared dressed in a regal looking attire with an outfit that resembled a modern tuxedo; something like formal wear, with long tail coats split to the side. On the man's shoulder was a black mantle adorned with fur of some kind near the edges.

The face of the man was set into a business like calm, as if he couldn't be bothered by anything that didn't interest him or wasn't important in the least. It was a square face with stern frown lines on his cheeks, and creases on his forehead. Admittedly, he was middle aged already, with thin grey short hair cropped neatly above his head.

The man paused as he regarded both s.h.i.+rou and Arturia, seeming to come to some conclusion based on their age.

However, the man's eyes lingered longer on Arturia before he then turned his attention on s.h.i.+rou.

"No need to be so tense," the man's voice was like his appearance. Neutral.

And this unnerved Arturia who had never met a man so strange. Yet, her stance didn't falter from her position beside s.h.i.+rou.

It was then that she realized something. Since a young age, she had known that s.h.i.+rou was a Wizard of some kind similar to Merlin, but she also knew that there were perhaps more like him. From the general feel she could get from this man, he was probably a wizard of some kind as well.

Remembering s.h.i.+rou's abilities he had displayed against the beast, it wasn't hard for her to imagine the kind of strength other Wizards had. In which case, she grew increasingly frustrated at herself, knowing that she wasn't strong enough to do anything at this moment. How could she when she was still having trouble utilizing her own magic and was left hanging by the leg the last few training sessions with Merlin? She voed at this moment that she would put in far more effort to become stronger.

How else could she remain by s.h.i.+rou's side to protect him as equals?

"And you would be?" s.h.i.+rou questioned.

The man didn't answer. Instead, he stopped walking forward and a.s.sessed s.h.i.+rou up and down.

"You're young for a magus," the man spoke. "An heir perhaps? Either way, you've probably come here for the gathering as well."

"Gathering?" Arturia asked quizzically from s.h.i.+rou's side, furrowing her brows in thought, but remaining silent nonetheless.

s.h.i.+rou did not answer, nor give any indication of a response to the man's answer.

"You needn't speak," the man said shrugging his shoulders. "I was just curious was all. Most families like ours tend to stay hidden away from sight, and will probably still continue to do so for the most part even after this meeting unless anything substantial occurs. This is why it is pointless for you to know my name, and pointless for me to know of yours. This may be the first, and last time we will ever meet."

As the man continued talking, more and more s.h.i.+rou found it peculiar as the man's eyes drifted away from him and towards Arturia.

All traditional magi were natural researchers in the field of magic. What Arturia had because of her const.i.tution, it was definitely something worth researching to most magi.

And somehow, s.h.i.+rou was getting an increasingly bad feeling the longer the man stared at Arturia.

The said person in question subconsciously s.h.i.+elded herself from the man's gaze by hiding and pressing her body closer to s.h.i.+rou's; the lion above her head giving a low roar as it was clear that it felt threatened.

"If that is all that you have to say, then we'll be leaving," s.h.i.+rou spoke, turning around and pulling Arturia along with him.

He really didn't want to involve himself in this kind of situation right now. If possible, he wanted to get Arturia out of the situation first, and then deal with things regarding the Mages a.s.sociation by himself.

Agreeing to let her fight alongside him against common enemies was one thing, but letting her fight alongside him against a magus was another. Not until she could at least understand how to use mana burst to help her get out of dangerous situations.

Mana Burst was on of Sabers abilities that allowed the user to infuse their weapon and body with magic and instantly expelling it. Recreating the effect of a jet burst and catching enemies by surprise with instantaneous speed and power.

With the way Merlin was training Arturia at the moment, it was clear that he was training her to utilize mana burst to cut apart the vines suspending her in a spurt of power. Yet it was a fact that she had not learned it yet.

s.h.i.+rou did not make it more than a couple steps with Arturia until the man raised his voice.

"Wait," the man said, his expression s.h.i.+fting from one of calm to one of interest. "That person beside you…"

Hearing the man's inquiry, s.h.i.+rou's expression immediately turned cold. His intuition was right. Some way or another, the man had been able to discern something unique about Arturia. And from what it appeared like, he wasn't entirely sure, but was willing to act upon a moment's curisoty.

"It's none of your concern," s.h.i.+rou said quickly. "And should you inquire further, I'm sure you know what it means to fight another magus."

For a moment, s.h.i.+rou no longer looked like a child in the man's eyes. Instead, he appeared as a st.u.r.dy youth clad in a tight form fitting armour that revealed the taught and rippling muscles beneath.

A body riddled with scars.

This was the image of a warrior.

One who had roamed countless battlefields.

And yet most importantly, it screamed of danger. Like a sleeping dragon just waiting to unleash its strength.

The Magus Killer.

The man didn't know why, but his heart beat quickened to the point where he could feel the blood throbbing through his head. However, a magus's curiosity was hard to quell. Even though he felt intimidated for one reason or another, it still didn't completely dissuade him from taking action. It only caused him to be far more cautious in his approach even after the image of the warrior faded and the youth resembled a boy once again.

The man shut his mouth, a contemplative look in his eyes as his hands went down into his pockets.

"I suggest you do not do anything rash," a voice suddenly spoke from out of nowhere startling those present, but giving a sense of relief towards s.h.i.+rou and Arturia.

After all, one of the most reliable supports had arrived.

"Those are my students after all."

It was the Wizard Merlin.