Mother's Blessing

"A blessing?"

Scathach's gaze was profound as she looked at Leon.

It was rare for Leon to speak of his past, let alone his family, so Merlin immediately grew interested: "Who is the King's mother?"

At the mention of his mother, Leon's expression softened considerably: "My mother was a lioness, though she was likely a spirit, a fairy, or some sort of phantasmal beast. When she found me in the forest, I was still an infant. She raised me, taught me how to hunt, and enabled me to survive on my own in this world."

Lancelot, reflecting on Leon's earlier mention of her "leaving," felt a surge of anxiety: "I wonder, where is the King's mother now?"

"The year I turned eight, she left me and went underground."

Leon's tone was matter-of-fact, yet it made the earnest Lancelot shudder; he realized he had spoken out of turn and touched upon a painful memory.

"...I beg my King to accept my condolences."

Merlin also put on a sorrowful expression, his tone gentle: "Alas, my King, please accept my condolences..."

"What are you two talking about?"

Leon was stunned, as if he had suddenly awakened The Almighty, momentarily unable to grasp what kind of madness had gripped the two of them.

Recalling what he had just said, he immediately realized that the two of them had clearly misinterpreted his words.

"I think you two have misunderstood. When I said my mother went underground, I meant she went beneath the crust, into what is known as the Reverse Side of the World, the Inner Sea of the Planet."

Since they were currently in an echo of the Age of Gods, "underground" almost always referred to the Underworld. Both Merlin and Lancelot had immediately assumed that Leon's mother was dead.

But the "underground" Leon spoke of was the literal space beneath the earth. He still remembered that there was a dragon in Britain that intended to tunnel through the crust to reach the Inner Sea of the Planet. That dragon had also given birth to a female fairy, named, let's see... Melusine...

Leon looked at the Knight of the Lake before him and suddenly recalled that the female fairy's name was also [Lancelot]!

Lancelot, realizing he had just assumed the King's mother had passed away, immediately knelt on one knee, his heart filled with remorse: "I beg my King to punish me. It was I who misunderstood your words and uttered such rebellious nonsense."

"Why go so far, my beloved? This was my fault for not being clear."

Leon helped Lancelot up, offering words of comfort.

Lancelot was perfect in every way, except for being so sincere that it almost seemed fake to others. It was a case of great virtue appearing as hypocrisy, and great loyalty appearing as treachery—much like Elysia.

Merlin chimed in from the side: "Exactly, exactly. It is the King's fault for not being clear."

Although Leon knew Merlin was trying to help, hearing him say that still left him feeling inexplicably annoyed, and he glared at him fiercely.

"Merlin, if only you had one-tenth of the sincerity of Knight Lancelot."

"Haha, haha."

Merlin scratched his head and gave a dry laugh.

Meanwhile, the silent Scathach, after scrutinizing Leon for a long while, said with a strange expression: "Strange. I do not see any blessing upon you, Leon."

"?"

Leon looked at himself. Although he lacked the magecraft to see such things, he still questioned Scathach with a tone of certainty.

"Teacher, abilities like Clairvoyance shouldn't be able to see my past or future. You shouldn't be able to see anything at all."

Leon remembered that Scathach possessed the Wisdom of the Abyss, an ability similar to Clairvoyance. Even Merlin's top-tier Clairvoyance couldn't see him, so Scathach shouldn't be able to either.

Scathach shook her head: "That is one thing, and this is another. Clairvoyance merely fails to observe your existence, but since you are standing right before my eyes, that is a different matter. While I still cannot observe your future, my naked eye can see your present."

Leon looked at Merlin, who nodded.

"That is correct."

When Leon stood before them, Merlin could see his appearance, the style of his clothes, his hair, his eyes, and his posture with perfect clarity.

He was a magus; the first thing he looked for in a person was always their state—whether they were cursed or blessed, whether they were haunted by phantasms... their physical appearance was secondary. This was the instinct of any magus.

When he heard Leon's words earlier, Merlin had noticed this anomaly but hadn't mentioned it. Now that Scathach had brought it up, he could only nod and admit it in the face of Leon's questioning.

"But this shouldn't be. I saw my mother bless me with my own eyes. She would not lie to me. How could it have vanished now?"

The scene of his mother radiating golden light as she blessed him remained vivid in Leon's mind.

Before meeting Artoria, he had assumed he was in the Warhammer world. Although he was only a casual fan, who else but a lioness that could speak, glow with golden light, and feed him could exist in the Warhammer world?

After meeting Artoria, Leon realized he was in the Type-Moon world. Though he couldn't shake that lingering doubt, he largely believed it.

If he were in Type-Moon, his mother was likely a fairy, spirit, or phantasmal beast of the forest. Leon could deduce that her departure wasn't due to the fading of the Age of Gods, but a choice to go to the Inner Sea of the Planet for the sake of survival.

"My King, it is likely because your mother went to the Inner Sea of the Planet. While the physical world and that realm exist on the same planet, they are two separate worlds. Although the present is an echo of the Age of Gods, mystery is ultimately in decline, causing the blessing upon you to fade away as well."

"Oh."

Leon nodded, lost in thought.

It wasn't a matter of life and death, but his mother had left him, and that blessing had become his way of pinning his longing upon her.

Now that the blessing was gone, he felt a hollow emptiness in his heart.

"I suppose that is all there is to it."

He had lived with his mother in the forest for eight years, and for those eight years, he had remained within that forest.

Leon didn't consider himself directionally challenged; even in a deep, dangerous forest, he shouldn't have been lost for eight years.

The moment his mother left, he walked out of the forest and immediately encountered his father, Luther.

Luther was good; he was a qualified father who treated him well, raised him, and ensured he studied both literature and martial arts.

His elder brother Joe was also good; he looked after him well and truly treated him like his own flesh and blood.

His current wife Morgan was good, as was Merlin who assisted him, the sincere Lancelot, and even his newly met teacher Scathach, and his unborn child...

Drawing the Sword in the Stone, sweeping across Britain... everything was good, perfectly aligned with his wishes.

It was just like a puppet show that had been rehearsed in advance.

...Unsatisfied!

...Kill!

Leon felt a restless urge to destroy everything before his eyes, to kill everyone on the planet—father, brother, wife, ministers, soldiers, everyone.

Leave no one behind.

But... his mother had raised him after all.

Although his father and brother used him to seize wealth and status, the upbringing and care they showed him could not be fake.

His wife had thoughts of killing him to control Britain, but he also coveted Morgan's beauty; it was a political marriage where both sides took what they needed, and besides, his wife was pregnant.

Merlin was wary of him and kept him under surveillance, yet he also loyally assisted him; Lancelot was bound by gratitude and loyalty, and Scathach taught him while chasing her own desires...

This was the human world, where interests and genuine feelings were intertwined, impossible to distinguish.

"I suppose it is just like this."

Because Leon understood that what they made him do was also what he himself wanted to do.

After this battle, Ireland no longer had any power to resist, and Leon's forces now completely controlled the three lands of Britain.

Before returning to his country, Leon met with the fishermen who had been conscripted and rewarded them generously.

When crossing the sea, the British fishermen had fought bravely, thwarting Ireland's interception and achieving the first victory in the reconquest of Ireland.

Taking this opportunity, Leon officially established the British Navy, separating it from the army. At its inception, he temporarily set up two chiliarchies, appointing the fishermen with the greatest contributions as officers and drafting the young and strong from among them to fill the ranks.

After completing all this, Leon did not linger any longer and returned to his loyal Camelot.