Such a Young Mother

Merry tilted her head, then produced a cup of floral tea from behind her and handed it to Rovey.

"A mysterious king? Who is he? My summoning slots are already full! Scáthach, Gilgamesh, Artoria, there are too many people who have reserved... I don't even know who I should summon if I really have to participate. And now there's another one..."

Rovey taking a sip of the flower tea that Merry had conjured up from who-knows-where, Rowe spat it out expressionlessly.

Because computer parts were added inside...

Seeing that Rovey had vomited, Merry looked regretful and wanted to say something, but seeing his almost murderous gaze, she obediently shut her mouth and could only continue talking about that magical king.

"What is that king's real name?"

"Hehe, although I'd love to reveal the answer, it's a secret~"

Hearing this, Merry blinked and continued with a smile, "But you and him are very destined for each other, you'll definitely meet formally someday, so don't worry. As for Alpha and Gilgamesh... well, please rest assured, you're connected by fate and destiny, so you'll surely meet again in the future~"

"Shall we meet again? Don't come... I think it's fine for everyone to live their own lives..."

Upon hearing this, Rovey covered his forehead in great distress.

"Oh dear, are you having a headache? But you're starting to feel it a little too early."

As she spoke, suddenly, Merry tilted her head and looked at Rovey seriously, saying:

"Actually, it's not just them, I also really want to be your partner. I wonder if I have the chance to become your partner, Mr. Rovey?"

"You...? Partner?"

Hearing Merry's sudden words, Rovey's eyes widened. He then looked at her expression carefully, but because of the nature of the Nightmare, he couldn't be sure whether the expression she showed was real or fake. Nevertheless, he still made a comment.

"Aren't you supposed to be an observer? Just watching the drama unfolding on this world stage and then expressing your feelings? Why are you thinking of getting involved yourself?"

"And if I really summon you, let's not even talk about how you can be summoned while you're still alive. Even if you are summoned, you'll just hide behind me, cheer me on, and give me a buff so I can fight. It's completely useless because you're almost impossible to fight seriously."

Because he knew Merry too well, Rovey didn't hold back in his criticism.

"Hehe~ We've been found out."

Realizing she had been found out, Merry stuck her tongue out at him.

"However, Mr. Rovey, there's something you're wrong about me..."

"What?"

Rovey looked at Merry in front of him with some surprise.

Because her previous irresponsible, frivolous, and annoying expressions had completely disappeared from her face, leaving only helplessness.

"Hey, Rovey, how long do you think I've actually lived?"

"I don't know, but it must have been a long time ago." Rovey shook his head.

"Actually, I don't know either," Merry said, then gently bent down and picked a flower. "I'll probably live for a very, very long time, so long that... I'm afraid of myself, so I always try to find something to make me forget about it for a while."

"I really like humans. Their lives are so short, yet they are as glorious and great as an epic. I envy them. I always think, how wonderful it is to be able to immerse oneself in those emotions and die happily before time erases them."

"If you're so envious, why not get involved?"

Rovey shrugged.

"I've already participated..."

Merry looked up at the pink sky above her dream, and the petals in her hand began to sway like a gentle breeze, as if trying to resist something, but in the end, unable to resist, they drifted away with the wind.

"King Uther, King Arthur... and so many other stories, haven't I been involved in them all? Actually, I've been passionate too, I've been a hero under a pseudonym... I kept moving forward for justice, fighting for a ridiculous reason, but..."

With a bitter smile, Merry loosened her arms and looked up at the sky. The flowers in her hands had long since lost their petals due to the breeze, leaving only bare petals in her grasp. All their beauty was gone.

"But... the stories I led all ended badly... no matter how I acted, how I directed, it all felt fake. I couldn't feel any joy or happiness; all I got in the end was tragedy. The one that moved me the most was Artoria. That time, I witnessed her despair and the pain of losing everything... and I truly empathized with her. That was the first time I experienced human emotions. It's just that the feeling wasn't very comfortable..."

"So that's why you've been wanting me to help save Artoria?" Rovey sighed deeply.

"It's to make up for the regrets you made, right?"

"Yes... After all, that was the first time I regretted something, and the first time I genuinely wanted to save someone or something. And the final result..."

As she spoke, Merry performed her Magecraft again, and soon the bare flowers in her hands were covered with petals once more.

"I am really satisfied. I really felt happy and wonderful. Not only Artoria, but also the endings of those heroes made me feel beautiful and pure. I will always remember everything about them. Whenever I think back, I can say that they are truly a beautiful story."

"And what I know... this beauty comes from your efforts, which is why I am so curious about you, like you, and can't help but want to be like Gilgamesh, to have you, to possess you, to grasp that beauty... and to obtain happiness and joy forever."

"So... Rovey Crowley, would you mind having a close older sister in your dreams who can always talk to you, have heart-to-heart talks with you, and even warm your bed?"

"..."

"Hey, what are you doing?"

As Merry spoke, Rovey summoned several invisible arms that lifted her body up.

"You pervert! Isn't this just pure lust for my body? Gilgamesh or Scáthach, you're just as despicable. This kind of personality and behavior is really bad. My conscience is too strong to stand idly by, so I've decided to personally correct your twisted mind!!"

"Help what... Hey, what are you doing... Wait! You can't do that!!!"

Ignoring Merry's feigned wails, Rovey smiled, turned around, dragged Merry into a corner, and then, accompanied by a series of clanging sounds and Merry's screams, he dragged Merry and casually threw her onto the flower bushes in no time.

"I think you're just bored!!"

Rovey snorted coldly, "Have you finished talking about all the useless things? Do you have anything else to say? If not, let's start today's lesson. After you've kept me up like this, I won't be able to sleep when I get back."

"Yes... yes..."

After being beaten up, Merry pulled out the sword Projection by Rovey from her body and shakily raised her hand.

"Speak up. If you dare to say anything off-topic again, I won't let you off the hook."

"Well, firstly... Morgan is also very interested in you, and because what we did was a case of cause and effect, she was also fooled at the time... This caused all the backup plans she had prepared in England for countless years to be negated by you and me. After realizing the truth, she was almost driven crazy by us... You have to be careful of her, she should be causing you trouble soon."

"Then what?"

"Zelretch wants you to come over sometime... He has something good for you, but he doesn't need to say anything, I already know what his so-called good thing is..."

"Oh, it's gone now, right?"

"It's gone."

"Well, if there's nothing else, get up quickly."

Ignoring the dramatic Merry, Rovey pulled her up and said, "Although you are indeed quite perverted, thank you for relaying the message, Merry. While we still have some time, let's get straight to today's lesson, after all... time waits for no one."

"Okay, I got it. You want to have a private lesson with me, right? Don't be shy, just say it out loud..."

In less than two minutes, Merry had already forgotten the lesson she had just learned. Once her true nature was revealed, her groping hands started wandering around uncontrollably again, causing Rovey's initial gratitude to turn into speechlessness and anger.

Immediately afterwards...

This dreamlike space once again became a place for the two of them to bicker and tease each other.

However, unlike Rovey, Merry had a happy smile on her face throughout the playful fight.

'That's it, that's the feeling... You really are the most special one~'

'However, there's no need to refuse, and you can't refuse anyway. The invitation from the Nightmare is destined. Soon, we will definitely become partners in different times and spaces...'

She continued to murmur softly amidst the flowers.

Chapter 110 A Very Young Mother

Sometimes I really want to call the police, and my thoughts are actually quite complicated.

Despite Rovey's constant air of having everything under control, things can change in ways that are hard to predict, which is why there's a saying that things always change faster than plans.

Rovey is the type who constantly considers various developments and the feelings of others. Therefore, his friends and partners usually feel very comfortable. However, although Rovey considers many things and, with a certain degree of Prophet, can do most things perfectly, the limited information he knows in advance is still insufficient to cover the whole picture.

... That's understandable.

After all, the world I live in is never like the one in my previous life, where the development of the world was fixed in a game. The World Line and the plot line are not fixed Issei. After all, everyone is a real person. They are not some kind of AI or simulation. So it is normal for there to be new stories or changes in places that I cannot predict.

But...

"No matter how things change, is this thing really meant to be here?"

Looking at the gold ring that the butler had brought over early that morning on the table, Rovey's eyelids involuntarily began to twitch.

Although the ring looked ordinary, and was just a regular gold ring no matter how you looked at it, even the butler in charge of delivering it didn't notice anything unusual about it when he saw it.

But upon seeing the ring, especially when he held it in his hand, the magic power in Rovey's body, as well as the simulated angelic power, began to tremble involuntarily, and resonated with this power in the same way.

This made him realize that something was wrong.

So Rovey quickly opened the letter that Lev had also received from the caretaker. The contents of the letter were roughly as follows:

My friend, I should have already left by the time you see this ring. I found this ring a few years ago in Israel; at first, I thought it was just an old gold ring and didn't pay much attention to it. But as my research has progressed over the years, I've gradually discovered that this ring has an extremely good compatibility with summoning and Magecraft. Especially demon summoning; this ring can even resonate with, amplify Magecraft, or suppress demons.

So I did some research and finally came to a definitive conclusion: this thing is a ring left behind by Solomon, the Magic King, and one of the Ten Commandments given to him by God in legend.

I know you must be very surprised and excited right now, my friend. When I learned the truth, I was just as thrilled, believing it was fate, and I really wanted to share this joy with you. But unfortunately, you had already been gone for a week at that time. However, it's not too late now. So, consider this my gift to you.

Even if you don't want to become the Magic King, that's fine, but it would be a shame to keep this treasure sealed away, so I'll leave it to you. Since you want to become a Holy Son, something imbued with the Holy Spirit can't be wrong. As for me, I've realized I've been really too tired lately, to the point of hallucinations. I'm going to Wales to take a look around; I've heard there's a very magical village of Gravekeeper there. I'm going to do some archaeological digging underground, just to relax. So don't worry about me, my friend, I'll be back after I've rested. Your best partner— Lev Walter.

"Lev... you've really delivered something extraordinary to us..."

His fingers trembled slightly as he gripped the Gilgamesh ring tightly. At that moment, Rovey's heart was filled with... extreme...

Testicular pain?

No, or rather, speechless.

I thought Kenneth's idea of using a furnace with power comparable to the Holy Grail, built from materials dug from the Albion Spirit Tomb, to fight the Holy Grail War was abstract enough, but I never imagined I'd be even more abstract...

He tried every means to find suitable top-tier Sacred Relic to participate in the battle. In the end, if he hadn't drawn Scáthach, he might have easily lost to the all-powerful King of Heroes. As a result, when he returned with a pyrrhic victory, Lev gave him such a big gift.

One of Solomon's Ten Rings.

The Summoning Sacred Relic of the Magic King.

Looking at this thing, Rovey's eyelids twitched violently. He even wanted to stand up and slap himself twice, and then ask himself why he didn't think to look for the Sacred Relic at Lev's place when he left.

After all, this guy is from the Archaeology Department and has that kind of relationship with the demon god, so he must have a lot more good stuff than I do.

Isn't this the thing right in front of you?

If I had used this in the Holy Grail War back then, I wouldn't have needed to go through all the trouble of scheming Baal the King of Heroes and setting up plans. I could have just experienced the exhilarating situation of Marisbury Animusphere ahead of time and simply pushed my way through with Solomon.

However, it's a bit abstract to only hand it over to me now that it's all finished...

But abstract as it may be, Rovey was still very grateful to Lev for giving him this thing.

After all, with Artoria's Avalon, Gilgamesh's clay tablet, and Scáthach's short magic spear, this addition is equivalent to him having another extremely top-tier Sacred Relic in his possession.

It's not just top-tier, it's absolutely top-tier, the kind of film that can decide the outcome of a match simply by being shot.

I don't know what happened to Lev this time. How did he manage to get this thing before Marisbury Animusphere?

However, considering the other party's identity, Rovey Wei felt relieved.

As one of the Demon God Pillars, its own mystery is extremely powerful, naturally attracting mystery. Even it can attract mystery, so it's not so hard to understand why it would go on a business trip to Israel and find Solomon's Ring.

Only...

Recalling last night's dream, during the playful fight with Merry, he remembered the few words of advice she gave him:

"After succeeding as King of Heroes King Arthur, the King of Heroes, and Queen of the Land of Shadows, another extraordinary king has been attracted to you. He longs to meet you in the future."

"Because he also wants to understand how you managed to make me, a heartless Nightmare, feel happy and truly want to stay by your side, and be devoted to you."

"That king is very curious, after all, he has similar questions to mine. Anyway, let's look forward to it!"

Recalling what Merry had said last night, Rovey glanced at the gold ring on his hand and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

He suddenly understood who the magical king that Merry had been talking about was.

He had indeed considered this possibility—could it be the Magic King? But then he realized that since he lacked a catalyst and had rejected the Demon God Pillars system, he shouldn't be able to meet Solomon. After all, regarding the Ten Commandments Department of Astromancy, he had arranged for his family to monitor the Animusphere family's collection activities in the Middle East, hoping to find an opportunity to intercept the Ten Commandments.

However, the people he sent out never made a move, and in the end, Rovey could only assume that the other party had already acquired it, and had no choice but to give up.

But he never expected that... the person who possessed the Ten Commandments wasn't Marisbury Animusphere, but rather someone close to him. And the night before it was given to him, Merry had told him that a wondrous king wished to see him.

Based on this ring analysis, Rovey knew without a doubt who that mysterious king was...

Solomon the Magic King.

The so-called difficulty he faces, similar to Merlin's, should be the predicament he encountered after receiving divine wisdom, the Ten Commandments, and the 72 Demons, where his life was like a machine, devoid of his own true life and emotions.

After all, it's normal for others to think of Solomon as high above and omnipotent, but for Rovey, the mention of Solomon reminds him of Romani Archaman, an ordinary doctor in the Temple of Time who gave up everything.