It was the end of the Age of Gods. Mystery had not yet completely faded, and the realm where mysterious creatures lived had not yet been entirely cut off from Earth.
Merlin had sent Anno there before to hone his strength.
Now Anno had decided to take Artoria there as well, to train Lia.
But unlike Merlin, he wasn't going to abandon a fourteen-year-old girl in the perilous Non-Human Realm.
Lia's circumstances were different from Anno's, too. She had her elder brother and friends by her side, with two elders there to protect her.
Rather than training, it was more like a trip to broaden her horizons.
There were many entrances to the Non-Human Realm. One lay deep in the forest where the Holy Lake was.
They could pass by the Holy Lake, too, giving Lancelot a chance to visit the Lady of the Lake, who had raised him for several years.
The Fairy treated the group to fresh fruit and fine wine brewed from dew and flowers.
Kay and Artoria, seeing mysterious creatures that few people knew of for the first time, were both stunned.
Kay in particular was flushed red. He hardly dared look at the Lady of the Lake, and kept muttering about how knights must never behave inappropriately toward ladies.
Er, that didn't seem to be a reaction of surprise.
A few days later.
The group, now in the Non-Human Realm, encountered an intelligent species for the first time—and they were old friends of Anno's: Orcs.
"Go on, Lancelot, Kay, Lia." Anno eyed the two-meter-tall Orc, its whole body green, with disgust. These creatures always made him sick.
Lancelot had at least fought alongside him and killed a few enemies. Kay and Artoria, however, were both facing a real battle for the first time, so he decided to have all three of them take on the foe together.
Kay and Lancelot had barely drawn their swords when Artoria shouted and charged at the Orc.
The two of them: ???
"Hey! Lia!" Kay shouted. Not daring to let his guard down, he quickly followed after her.
Lancelot didn't dare let Artoria charge in alone, either.
The Orc grumbled angrily and used the spear in its hands to fend off the three attackers.
Two of the three had only received knightly training, and the sole one with real combat experience, Lancelot, didn't know much about Orcs. As a result, the battle was extremely difficult.
A single Orc gave the three young people plenty of trouble. Kay even sustained a minor injury.
In the end, after nearly ten minutes of fierce fighting, the three finally managed to kill the lone Orc together. Kay had dealt the fatal blow, leaving a gaping hole in its chest.
The two watching from behind observed and commented.
"Tell me, Anno, you know what sort of creatures Orcs are, don't you?"
Anno nodded. "Of course. Orcs are man-eating creatures that live in groups."
Kay heard them talking. Panting, he stared at Anno in disbelief. "Uncle Anno, you mean..."
"There's definitely an Orc settlement nearby," Anno said firmly.
"Th-then what do we do?" Artoria looked troubled, too. One Orc had given the three of them such a hard time. What would a whole group do to them?
Lancelot, however, wasn't worried at all. "It's all right. Father will kill them all!"
He had spent years by Anno's side and knew his strength better than anyone.
Merlin smiled. Even when hundreds of Orcs appeared around them, he didn't so much as change his expression. He said lightly, "Well then, Kay, Lia. This former commander of the Britain Chalk Knights beside me will put on a display of Britain's strongest fighter for you."
The Chalk Holy Sword was already drawn in Anno's hand, and a dense aura of bloodlust spread through the air.
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