After sitting together with Add and Gray in the hunting lodge for a while and finishing breakfast, Naoki was invited by Gray to tour the village.
But to say it was a tour, there wasn't much to see.
The village wasn't large, and the population wasn't big either. Aside from its remote location, there wasn't much distinctive about it—perhaps the Black Maria statue could be considered one feature. Outside the village, there was a cemetery, and further beyond, a swamp could be seen, though the swamp was separated by a fence from the cemetery.
After walking around the village with Gray, Naoki sat on the steps near the church in the center of the village and let out a soft sigh: "There's nothing strange in the village, so the problem must be in the cemetery or the swamp?"
"Problem?" Gray frowned in confusion, "Is there a problem in the village?"
"Ah... it seems the leyline is experiencing an anomaly, so the Mana in this area is also acting up—but since Gray doesn't understand, it's fine. It's not a big deal, as it's considered an incident that even a half-hearted Magus like me can solve."
Compared to his own concerns, Naoki was more curious about something else.
"By the way, Gray, the villagers earlier seemed to respect you a lot."
While touring the village earlier, although not everyone acted that way, about half of the villagers gave Gray a very respectful bow when they met her, as if they were meeting someone from a noble family.
Because of her resemblance to Artoria.
Gray nodded slightly: "Hmm... since a year ago, my appearance changed, so..."
"Because to the people here, the crybaby Gray is like a god's statue." Add laughed, "If you take off that necklace of yours, you might get the same treatment, or even more fanatical. Want to try?"
"Add!"
"Wuaa—!"
Seeing Gray start shaking cage, Naoki smiled: "Better not, I don't want that kind of situation. Besides, I don't want to get involved in something that's clearly troublesome."
"By the way, what about that windmill over there?"
Naoki changed the subject, and his gaze shifted to the other side of the village—opposite the cemetery and the swamp, there was a higher hill, and at its peak stood an old windmill cottage.
"Ah, that could also be considered a residence." Gray said, "Though I've never been there, my teacher mentioned that every few years, guests come to stay there."
"Guests, huh..."
'This place and time... could it be the headmaster of the Atlas Institute?'
Since it wasn't a particularly deep memory, Naoki couldn't recall who stayed in the windmill. He only remembered that it should be the headmaster of the Atlas Institute, one of the three major Mage Associations alongside the Clock Tower, but he had long forgotten the full name and details.
After pondering for a moment, Naoki said: "Can I go there to take a look?"
"I think it's fine, but didn't you say you wanted to go to the cemetery..."
"The cemetery can wait, I'm more interested in the windmill now—ah, but it's a bit far. Gray, if you're tired, just show me the way, I can go alone."
"No, I'm fine." Gray shook her head, "Thanks to my teacher's training, my stamina is very good, don't worry. Please follow me, I'll take you to the windmill."
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Visually, the windmill wasn't far from the village. It would only take a few minutes to walk there, and that was considering Gray's small steps. If Naoki walked at a normal pace, it might only take two minutes.
Standing at the top of the hill and looking down, the entire village could be seen clearly, including the swamp and the cemetery.
From a distance, the swamp appeared vast, seemingly capable of engulfing the cemetery. Given its muddy appearance and low clarity, if someone had accidentally fallen into it in the past and never resurfaced... it might have happened.
Naoki and Gray arrived in front of the windmill. The windmill didn't seem to be working, as even though the wind was blowing strongly, it remained motionless.
*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*
Knocking on the door twice, there was no response. Naoki frowned: "No one's here?"
"The door isn't locked." Gray reminded him.
"That means no one's here."
Opening the door, what Naoki saw was a dimly lit room filled with various tools that didn't seem to belong in a windmill. They resembled computers, but there were no mice or keyboards, just monitors.
"What... is this?"
"Tools used for research—something like that, but I've never seen anything like this before, not even in the Clock Tower."
Still, Naoki wasn't entirely clueless about the polished crystal-like cube. Although its official name wasn't clear, if he wasn't mistaken, these tools should be—
"Atlas Institute's computing devices—"
"Bingo."
Almost simultaneously with Naoki's voice, a calm voice accompanied by footsteps echoed inside the windmill. In the dim light, Gray and Naoki strained to see the figure approaching.
It was a young man around twenty-five years old, with blonde hair and a black robe covering his entire body.
"To identify the function of these tools without any information or clues, even if it's partly guesswork and luck, I must commend your observation. At the same time, I must express regret over the current situation. I didn't expect to meet you so casually like this. According to initial calculations, I should have met you at least when that thing was about to collapse."
"Who are you?"
"Zepia Eltnam Atlasia—or more precisely, the headmaster of the Atlas Institute."
The blonde Magus introduced himself to Naoki and Gray.
"It's a pleasure to meet you here, another heir of the King."
Zepia Eltnam Atlasia.
Another heir of the King.
The title spoken by Zepia left Naoki momentarily stunned—how did he know about him?
"You might be wondering how I know about you." Zepia spoke again before Naoki could, "It's actually just basic deduction based on combined information, much like what you did earlier. Additionally, the Holy Grail War that occurred in the Far East last year—or more precisely, the incidents during the Holy Grail War—I also investigated them in detail."
"So you know my situation?"
"Mostly conjecture."
"But there's one thing you've guessed wrong." Naoki raised his hand, "I'm not his heir. He only saved me, and I never intended to inherit anything from him."
"Subjective thoughts cannot alter objective facts. The reality is that your current state is indeed that of an heir. In terms of compatibility, you surpass the priestess beside you. Otherwise, that thing wouldn't have reacted."
As he said this, Zepia smiled wryly: "Honestly, your arrival is something I didn't account for, though the reason is that there are too many uncertain factors within you, making it difficult for me to calculate your presence accurately."
"Does my presence bother you?"
"You could say yes, or no. The final judgment depends on your actions. But in terms of outcome, if you leave here now and never set foot here again, that would be the choice that puts me most at ease."
"Straight up telling me to leave, huh... Well, Magus are indeed self-centered, even Waver sometimes acts like one. But allow me to hear your reason for telling me to leave." Naoki asked, "I came here after learning about myself and this village, and I've prepared beforehand. In terms of safety, I don't think there will be any issues—"
"Are you referring to that Mystic Code that conceals mysteries?" Zepia shook his head, "Unfortunately, that Mystic Code may prevent the villagers from discovering your secrets, but it's useless against that thing—or more precisely, the necklace was deliberately designed to ignore this aspect."
"Huh?"
Deliberately ignored?
Does this mean the Mystic Code created by Merlin intentionally left a loophole?
Naoki gripped his necklace: "What's your basis for saying that?"
"Based on my abilities and insight as a Magus, I conducted a simple analysis of the magical design within your necklace, and combined with the anomaly that occurred with that thing yesterday, I arrived at this conclusion."
"That thing..."
"Oh, you might not know." Zepia cleared his throat, seemingly organizing his words, "The Atlas Contract—it's one of the seven contracts distributed when the Atlas Institute was founded. By holding the Contract, you can receive full assistance from the Atlas Institute."
"This village holds one of them, and because of that, they borrowed one of the seven main weapons of the Atlas Institute—Logos React. The reason I'm here is due to concerns about its operation. You could consider it the responsibility of the headmaster of the Atlas Institute."
"And the reason I'm telling you to leave is also related to Logos React. This village borrowed it to simulate the soul of King Arthur, to fulfill one of the three conditions needed to revive King Arthur."
The three conditions to revive King Arthur.
"Body, soul, and spirit?"
Zepia nodded: "Correct. And the simulation has been progressing smoothly. Though it took hundreds of years, it's now almost complete, and the vessel prepared for King Arthur's arrival has also met the expected standards. For this village, all they need to do next is insert King Arthur's spirit and soul into the vessel, and their wish will be fulfilled."
"Soul... to make a soul from centuries ago reappear isn't easy—the Holy Grail War?"
"Though making a specific soul emerge from countless souls isn't easy, it's not impossible. Especially if you find a relic, the chances increase. Coincidentally, there's been news recently that the sheath of King Arthur's sword has been discovered."
'Could that be Avalon...'
"In a sense, the village's wish is just one step away—but your arrival has caused a slight deviation in the plan. Due to your higher compatibility compared to the priestess here, Logos React has reacted to you, and the completed simulation of King Arthur's soul has started to change."
"You came here at Bersac's request, right? To investigate the cause of the Mana anomaly?"
Naoki nodded: "Yes—wait, could the cause of the Mana anomaly be related to Logos React?"
"Indeed, and based on the data I collected last night, after your arrival, the state of the leyline has worsened. At this rate, within a week, the primary source around here might be half-depleted."
"So I suggest you leave here. If you do, I believe there's still a good chance to stop Logos React from resimulating. As for the leyline anomaly, though it won't recover, it won't continue to worsen either. At most, it'll slightly affect daily life, but it's manageable."
Zepia's explanation left Naoki silent.
He could understand Zepia's point, but there was a key phrase in his words that made him want to ask further—
"You said there's a good chance it can be stopped, right?" Naoki looked at Zepia, "Then what's the small chance?"
"Logos React will pursue you to complete the simulation fully, becoming half-out of control. Given its uniqueness, I believe the surrounding area will become a singularity and continue to expand outward."
"Meaning, the world will be destroyed?"
"You could say that."
"Then I have no reason to leave immediately." Naoki laughed, "I don't like delaying problems. If there's an issue, it's better to solve it as soon as possible, right? Besides... this might have been planned from the start."
"Right, Merlin."
Naoki touched the necklace in his hand: "I was wondering why you've been so calm this time. Now I understand—you must have predicted this might happen, so you created this Mystic Code."
It could hide him from ordinary eyes, but in reality, it left a backdoor for Logos React. This clearly showed that Merlin intended for Naoki to get involved in this matter. The person who suggested he send a request to the Clock Tower to investigate the Mana anomaly mentioned by Bersac was likely Merlin. It wasn't that he couldn't do it himself.
"Truly something that Incubus would do." Add, inside the cage held by Gray, seemed to react, his voice slightly displeased, "This is a familiar scene, being led around by that Incubus, acting according to his will—kid, you should be careful from now on."
"I think so too."
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At the same time, in an apartment in London.
*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*
"Coming!"
With the sound of the doorbell, Merlin, who was cleaning the house, quickly ran to the door and opened it. Upon seeing who was outside, the smile on her face froze slightly.
"Ah, what a special guest, what brings you here?"
"Morgan is here."