Like an Angel

"Whew, we finally made it out of the tiger's jaws."

Petals filled the sky, drifting on the wind. They flew an unknown distance before falling to the ground in a curtain. As it faded away, two figures appeared in an empty meadow.

"Teacher, is that Lion King really so terrifying?"

The young, golden-haired knight had never seen her teacher so flustered before. Usually, no matter how urgent the situation, Merlin had a maddening air of nonchalance about him.

"It's not a matter of being terrifying. It's that I can't understand him..."

Remembering how he had felt when facing that lion, Merlin held his forehead, his small head full of enormous confusion.

What in the world was that lion?

From Merlin's perspective, Leon was an utterly uncanny existence.

His extraordinary size was one thing, but where had that inexplicable strength come from?

There was no magical energy supporting him, no Magecraft at work, no divine blessing or Fairy's gift... For a lion of that size, without magical energy, mere mortal flesh and blood couldn't possibly possess such strength.

Merlin couldn't make sense of it.

He would have found it easier to accept if Leon El'Jonson had drawn the sword because he was worthy of kingship.

What discouraged him most was that even his own highest-grade Clairvoyance couldn't see the other man.

Nothing in the world could escape his sight unless it was deliberately concealed by something of equal rank. But that lion had no magical barrier protecting him, nor any blessing or curse from a god or spirit. And yet Merlin still couldn't observe him!

It made no sense.

Which meant...

'Leon El'Jonson isn't of this world... He's an outsider, an [Angel] descended from beyond the world!'

He couldn't observe him precisely because he came from beyond the world.

To a mage, gods and angels were subjects of study and familiar presences in everyday life... Merlin himself knew many beings ordinary people called gods and angels.

So what did [Angels] mean to mages like them?

They were letting something so dangerous run free?

Where was the Counter Force?

Not only had it failed to eliminate him, it had actually allowed this thing to grow?

At the thought, Merlin's eye twitched, and a guess surfaced in his mind.

'Could the Counter Force have acknowledged his existence?'

The more Merlin thought about it, the more likely it seemed. If the Counter Force hadn't acknowledged him, it would have simply erased him. That lion would never have survived, much less been found and raised by humans.

Both Counter Forces must have judged him no threat to their existence, and so accepted his presence. But that was all: they neither punished nor helped him. They simply ignored him.

"Artoria, what do you think of Leon El'Jonson?"

Artoria thought for a while before answering slowly. "I think he's a man of great dignity and bearing, but he gives me a strangely ungrounded, ethereal feeling. I really dislike his gaze. It's as if he can see right through me."

She remembered how the knights had knelt and sworn their loyalty after Leon drew the sword. He truly had the bearing of a king.

Far more than she did, an immature half-baked pretender.

But then she remembered the way he had looked at her and her brother: that lofty gaze, as if he could see through everything, and the malice he had shown her now and then. Disgust rose in her heart.

"Artoria, remember this: Leon El'Jonson is dangerous. Avoid meeting him whenever you can. And if you do have to meet him, don't go alone!" Merlin warned her.

For now, it seemed that he and Artoria would neither support nor oppose Leon. They would wait and see how he did. If he failed, they could send Artoria in.

For the time being, they would simply watch from the sidelines.

After Leon finished speaking with Merlin, his party didn't immediately occupy Camelot. On the one hand, they were waiting for the troops, provisions, armor, and weapons of their allies to arrive. On the other, they were waiting to see how Camelot would respond.

After discussing the general plan for taking over the royal city with his father and the others, Leon suddenly asked Kay, "You somehow ended up serving a stranger. Don't you have anything to say about Merlin and me, the ones responsible?"

"It would be impossible for me to feel no resentment, but that feeling isn't directed at you, my king. You are my liege... I only resent Merlin."

Kay had become a knight under Leon. Faced with his liege's searching question, he was remarkably calm.

"I've disliked Merlin for a long time. I've disliked him enough to want to run him through with a spear."

"You seem to respect him," Leon said, curious.

"I respect Merlin, but that doesn't stop me from resenting him."

Kay recalled the life he and Artoria had led as children. To make ends meet, even a knight's household had to work the fields.

Artoria had to endure grueling labor as well as their father's swordsmanship training, and could sleep only two or three hours a day... When Kay learned that even during those few hours of sleep, the incubus had harassed his sister, teaching her the knowledge of an emperor and robbing her of what little rest she had left, he had lost every bit of goodwill toward Merlin.

As for becoming Leon's knight, that had been a bargain from the start: Leon would spare Artoria, and Kay would swear loyalty to him as a knight. The two parties to the bargain were Kay and Leon. Merlin had only witnessed it and passed the message along.

"Merlin really is a rotten person. Even his disciple's brother hates him this much."

Hearing Kay's answer, Leon chuckled and made a promise. "Don't worry. As long as you remain loyal to me, I won't hurt Arthur."

In Leon's eyes, the grown-up Kay was far more important than Artoria.

Artoria was still too immature.

"You really do know about Arthur."

"Of course I do." Leon went on, "I took Arthur's throne. You don't resent me for it?"

"I've always hoped Arthur could escape the responsibilities laid upon her. From that point of view, I should be thanking you, my king."

She was only a girl in her early teens, at an age when she had barely had a chance to admire flowers. Yet under the expectations and pressure of others, she had to shoulder the responsibility of an entire country. It was far too much for a young girl.

If he could, Kay wanted his sister to be more rebellious, more self-absorbed—to cast off all the responsibilities others had forced upon her, stop suppressing herself, and experience a different kind of life.

"I hope Arthur can live a happy, carefree life. That is my wish."

"Kay, you really are a sister-con."

Kay's answers to both questions pleased Leon.

Rational, courageous, and devoted to someone—he was practically the ideal minister of Leon's dreams.

As Leon and Kay were having a heart-to-heart, Luther came in.

"My king, the troops have assembled."

At that, Leon smiled. With the Sword in the Stone at his waist, he left the church amid the priest's blessing.

"May the Lord protect you."

Outside, the footsteps grew heavier and more numerous, and the clank of armor rang out ever more clearly.

When Leon stepped outside, a wall of iron met his eyes.

"Joe, commander of the bodyguard, leads all 54 men in paying homage to Your Highness."

"Carlo, commander of the First Century, leads all 56 men in paying homage to Your Highness."

"Canning, commander of the Second Century, leads all 74 men in paying homage to Your Highness."

"Leish, commander of the Third Century, leads all 65 men in paying homage to Your Highness."

"Luther, commander of the logistics battalion, leads all 363 men in paying homage to Your Highness."

Over this period, Leon had reorganized the army, dividing those who had come to join him into two groups: combat troops and logistical support.

He had put his father, Luther, in charge of managing the most important supplies, and appointed his elder brother commander of his personal guard to protect him.

His father's three friends—Carlo, Canning, and Leish—had each been appointed a centurion. Leon had also selected the sons and nephews of these three uncles to join his personal guard, both to show them favor and to keep them in check.

Looking at the rows of knights kneeling before him on one knee, Leon was filled with grand ambition.

"I will give my whole body and soul to fulfilling the mission entrusted to me by the Lord."