Looking Forward to Another World

At this moment, Artoria was indeed giving it serious thought.

Before this, she hadn’t had much motivation to save the Fairy Kingdom, to save Britain, to overthrow Morgan’s rule, or to become the savior of this world.

If not for that inexplicable mission from the Fairy of Paradise, Artoria wouldn’t have even considered it, let alone gone on some pilgrimage.

In the first place, this world was nothing but a storm of malice to her, and she was supposed to save this world filled with nothing but hate?

Even the nicest person probably wouldn’t come up with that kind of idea.

For this reason, after leaving the village of Tintagel, Artoria had been lost for a while, unsure of what she should do.

If Riezel hadn’t appeared, then after seeing the villagers of Tintagel slaughtering each other and hearing Ector’s advice, Artoria definitely would’ve gone on the pilgrimage, even if she had absolutely no drive to do so.

However, Riezel’s appearance had given Artoria another option.

She didn’t have to save the Fairy Kingdom.

She didn’t have to redeem Britain.

She didn’t have to become a savior.

All she needed was to grow stronger—to gain the power to decide her own future.

With that goal in mind, Artoria had temporarily broken free from her confusion and followed Riezel to Salisbury.

But now, reality had made it clear—even if she wanted to turn her back on her mission, others weren’t going to leave her alone.

Morgan’s loyalists, led by Woodwose, saw the Child of Prophecy as a thorn in their side and were determined to eliminate her.

Morgan also viewed her as a sworn enemy.

Whether it was because of the karmic ties from Proper Human History or the antagonism between them in this world, she was bound to become a target.

Moreover, since the forces opposing Morgan already knew the Child of Prophecy had appeared, even if they didn’t yet realize the true Child of Prophecy was Artoria, it was only a matter of time before they came knocking.

Aurora and Oberon were proof of that.

Both of them had gone to Riezel, intending to support and assist him, pushing both him and Artoria down the path of opposing Morgan.

With all these forces moving, Artoria had come to understand that no matter what she chose, she was going to end up on the opposite side of Morgan.

Knowing this, even if it was just for her own survival, Artoria had no choice but to fight Morgan.

If that was the case, then Artoria had to seriously consider whether she could still afford to keep stumbling forward without a plan, like before. And clearly, with reality bearing down on her, she would eventually have to face her mission head-on.

Needless to say, this was the change in mindset that had taken root after ringing the Bell of Pilgrimage and glimpsing memories from her Proper Human History self.

Simply put, Artoria wasn’t planning to run away anymore.

Whether she wanted to save the world or overthrow Morgan, before any of that, she had to move forward.

In the end, Artoria turned to look at Riezel.

Right then, Riezel happened to be looking at her too, causing their eyes to meet.

In that instant, they both understood what the other was thinking.

—Do whatever you think is right.

Riezel’s eyes conveyed this simple, reassuring message, and this made Artoria realize—this man standing before her was now in the same situation as she was.

He didn’t want to save the world.

He didn’t want to overthrow Morgan’s rule either.

But whether it was his past desire to fight Morgan’s people or his current entanglement with Morgan, conflict between him and her faction was already unavoidable.

It was just how it was.

Riezel had no idea why Morgan was so intent on marrying him or why she had placed the so-called ’Stake’ on him. He only knew there were probably still a lot of things to happen between them—a lot of karma to unravel and problems to solve.

Not to mention Gawain, Lancelot, Tristan, and Woodwose—people who were either completely hostile to him or had murky, half-enemy, half-ally ties. No matter what, there were bound to be many more confrontations, conflicts, and even battles ahead.

In short, he was now fully at odds with Morgan’s faction.

Maybe not to the point of being irreconcilable, but at least to the extent that a final showdown was inevitable.

In other words, no matter what choice Artoria made, he was going to end up clashing with Morgan’s side.

Realizing this, Artoria felt both guilt and relief.

Guilt—because she felt that if it weren’t for her, Riezel wouldn’t have been mistaken for the Child of Prophecy, and Morgan’s people wouldn’t be after him.

Relief—because even if it wasn’t a good thing, the fact that she wasn’t alone, that Riezel would be walking this path alongside her, fighting on the same side... made her feel genuinely happy, almost instinctively so.

And with this feeling, Artoria made up her mind.

’Even if it’s just for Riezel, I have to move forward for him.’

With this thought in mind, Artoria looked toward Aurora.

”I’m really honored by the Wind Clan’s willingness to help us.”

Artoria truly meant it.

Just like she had said earlier, even if Aurora wasn’t entirely trustworthy, at the very least, she genuinely wanted to overthrow Morgan.

It could be said that with that as the foundation, accepting Aurora’s help might not be a bad thing.

Even though Artoria still hadn’t made up her mind about overthrowing Morgan’s rule, under the current circumstances where they stood in opposition, gaining any assistance or power was undeniably a valuable thing.

Understanding this, Artoria had already made her decision.

”I’ll leave the matter of the Bell of Pilgrimage to you, Aurora.”

Artoria ultimately accepted Aurora’s offer to help.

”Don’t worry.”

Aurora smiled brightly and spoke with clear delight.

”I’ve already contacted Spriggan. He’s willing to meet you when you head to Norwich. I believe you’ll make the most of that chance to enter the bell tower.”

”I’ll also send people to northern Orkney and have my clan’s fairies scattered across the cities gather intel to track down Orkney and the two missing Bells of Pilgrimage.”

”As for Woodwose and Muryan... things are getting a little tricky on that end, but I’ll try to find a way in for you.”

Because Woodwose had accepted Morgan’s orders and already taken the elite warriors of the Fang Clan back to Oxford to guard the Bell of Pilgrimage, it probably wouldn’t be as easy to draw him away as Aurora had originally thought.

As for the head of the Wing Clan, Muryan, stationed at Gloucester, she was even more troublesome, and Aurora hadn’t found an opening to intervene just yet.

Still, with Aurora’s connections and charisma, even if things couldn’t be resolved right away, she could at least test the waters and scout ahead for Artoria’s pilgrimage journey.

Naturally, the Wind Clan’s exceptional information network would also become a valuable source of intelligence for Artoria—an advantage that was visible to the naked eye.

On this matter, Riezel did not comment.

Since this was Artoria’s choice, the choice of the true Child of Prophecy, it was a decision only she could make.

As for him, all he wanted now was to figure out what exactly would happen between him and Morgan and to settle things with the Fairy Knights, so sticking with Artoria was clearly the way to make all of that happen.

After all, Artoria was the original main character—at least in Faerie Britain, this alternate version of the world. With her around, even if Riezel did absolutely nothing, the story would still move forward on its own.

Just then, Aurora turned to Oberon.

”As you can see, I’ve officially joined forces with these two, which should be a situation you’re pretty happy to see, right? Oberon?”

Aurora’s words drew everyone’s attention to Oberon.

”Yeah...” Oberon met their gaze with a smile and a sigh. ”I really didn’t think things would go this smoothly. I thought finding people willing to stand against Morgan here in Faerie Britain would be a lot harder.”

”Nope, that’s where you’re wrong, you know?” Aurora shook her head. ”Londinium’s Round Table Army, the rebels in Sheffield, and the King Clan in the north—aren’t those your allies too?”

”Sure, but it also means those might be the only ones I could’ve hoped to get.” Oberon gave her a soft smile. ”But now, we’ve added you, and more importantly, the legendary Child of Prophecy. It’s starting to feel like Morgan’s rule isn’t as solid as I thought.”

”Well, the Queen’s reign has never been stable to begin with. If nothing else, just the fact that there’s a tax system makes a lot of fairies hate her.” Aurora let out a sigh. ”But still, she’s ruled Britain for more than two thousand years. Not because her rule is solid, but simply because her power is too overwhelming, so no one dares to oppose her.”

Indeed, that was the true reason Morgan had been able to rule Faerie Britain for over two thousand years.

To put it plainly, even those who were fed up with Morgan didn’t dare take action because they feared her power. If she weren’t so powerful and terrifying, with how brutal the fairies were, they probably would’ve stormed the throne and torn her to pieces a long time ago.

”A witch who rules Britain through sheer force, huh? Yeah, that’s seriously terrifying...”

As Oberon remarked this with a mix of emotion, Artoria suddenly spoke up.

”Um... Oberon, right?” Artoria turned to him. ”You want to overthrow Morgan too?”

”Isn’t that obvious?” Oberon blinked, then smiled. ”I’m on your side, no question about that.”

At this, Artoria just kept staring straight at him.

”Why?” Artoria asked, her expression completely serious. ”Aurora thinks there’s no future for Britain under Morgan’s rule, but what about you? Is that why you’re going against Morgan too?”

For some reason, she couldn’t help but pay close attention to Oberon’s presence—his thoughts and feelings in particular.

Oberon noticed this as well and gave Artoria a deep look.

Riezel, on the other hand, was watching Oberon with a faint curl at the corner of his lips.

He was curious to see what kind of answer this man would give when faced with Artoria’s Fairy Eyes.

In the end, Oberon’s reply came without the slightest hesitation.

”Guess I can tell you...” Oberon said after a brief pause. ”I can tell you two reasons why I want to overthrow Morgan.”

”First, my current domain—the Autumn Forest of Wales.”

”It has been abandoned by both fairies and humans. It’s where all the weak little fairies, the ones nobody needs, have gathered.”

Morgan had engraved command spells on every fairy across Britain, draining their magical energy every year, which led to the death of many weak fairies, either because all their magical energy was taken or because they weren’t even worth draining in the first place.

Meanwhile, the Autumn Forest became a refuge for those kinds of fairies, cast out of cities and villages for being too weak, with nowhere else to go.

”Morgan’s a cold-hearted witch. Even if she doesn’t bother wiping out those worthless fairies herself, she’ll still stand by and let them die off.”

”I can’t turn a blind eye to that, and that’s my first reason for opposing her.”

”As for the second one...”

Oberon put away his usual smile and turned serious.

”You already know about Proper Human History, right?”

Artoria nodded heavily in response to his question.

”Mm, then this’ll be easier to explain...” Oberon said, dropping a bombshell. ”Actually, Proper Human History is about to collapse, and it’s all because of Faerie Britain.”

As soon as these words left Oberon’s mouth, it wasn’t just Artoria—even Aurora was visibly shocked.

”Proper Human History is collapsing?” Aurora muttered in surprise, clearly having not heard about it.

”Sorry, I didn’t tell you before.”

Oberon spoke with an apologetic smile toward Aurora, then continued.

”Soon, Britain will face complete destruction, and that destruction will sweep across the entire world like a tsunami. It won’t just take out this Lostbelt—Proper Human History is going down with it.”

”When that happens, the planet’s lifespan will come to an end, which means this will be the planet’s true downfall—a cataclysm that wipes out all life and all things.”

”And the one behind it all is Queen Morgan.”

According to Oberon, the reason Morgan placed command spells on every fairy and extracted such vast amounts of magical energy under the name of taxation wasn’t just to reign over the Fairy Kingdom, but also a move to launch an attack on Proper Human History.

”By harvesting magical energy across all of Faerie Britain for over two thousand years, she plans to expand the Fairy Kingdom until it covers the outside world, which is none other than Proper Human History—that’s what Morgan’s trying to do.”

”She wants to turn Earth into a planet that only holds Faerie Britain.”

”She wants revenge.”

”She’s trying to strike back at Proper Human History.”

In Proper Human History, Morgan had never become the king of Britain, which was why she resented Arthur, who did.

In other words, for the Morgan of Proper Human History, ascending the throne and becoming king of Britain was a wish that had never come true.

Proper Human History chose King Arthur, not Morgan, so that part of history, to Morgan, was unbearably glaring and painful.

Not to mention, Proper Human History was the correct history—the one that won, which meant the history where Morgan didn’t become king was the right one—that was the message Proper Human History constantly sent.

Given Morgan’s tyrannical and domineering nature, it was easy to imagine the terrifying lengths she would go to after knowing all that.

”She doesn’t need a Proper Human History that won’t choose her as king.”

”What she needs to protect is just this Faerie Britain.”

”For that reason, she chose to strike at Proper Human History, hoping to let Faerie Britain take over the whole world.”

Oberon ignored everyone’s shock and said something astonishing.

”I was summoned as a Servant of Proper Human History to stop her madness.”

Servant.

A shadow on earth, born from a hero who had transcended human understanding.

On the Reverse Side of the World, there existed a ’throne’ that recorded all the heroes in history who had achieved great deeds, known as the ’Throne of Heroes.’

Countless heroes who had made names for themselves throughout human history were recorded by this throne after their deaths, becoming objects of human faith, existences similar to spirits.

And these spirits of heroes, from the past, present, and future, recorded by the throne, were what people called Heroic Spirits.

When Heroic Spirits from the throne were summoned to the present world, whether through human rituals or mechanisms of the world itself, and became beings that could be commanded, they became ’Servants.’

Oberon was a Servant born of Proper Human History, none other than the Fairy King Oberon described in ’A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and many other literary works and traditions.

”Because Morgan’s actions caused irreparable damage and posed an unimaginable threat to Proper Human History, I was summoned to this land to stop her.” Oberon explained slowly. ”That’s why I oppose Morgan, and also why I’m your ally.”

It went without saying that Oberon’s words carried a massive amount of information and revealed shocking truths.

Upon hearing something so unbelievable, the first thing Artoria did was look at Riezel.

She couldn’t help it.

In her eyes, Riezel seemed to know far more than she had ever imagined.

And because she trusted him, it was only natural that she wanted confirmation from him, to know whether Oberon was telling the truth.

In response, Artoria saw Riezel nod calmly.

”Setting aside Oberon’s personal take on Morgan, Proper Human History really is collapsing, and Morgan has either turned a blind eye or actively helped it along.”

Riezel’s words meant Oberon was telling the truth.

Proper Human History was, in fact, slowly heading toward destruction, which was already in motion.

Artoria instantly fell silent.

Meanwhile, Oberon suddenly smiled and spoke again.

”From here on, I’ll be acting together with you two.”

”I’m not much of a fighter, but gathering intel and supporting from the rear—that’s what I’m good at.”

”Feel free to use me however you need.”

”Our... Child of Prophecy...”

Oberon’s words echoed throughout the lord’s chambers, refusing to fade for a long, long time.