The Greatest Magic

Merlin's room in Camelot Castle

"Gawain, how does it feel to be knighted and made a noble?"

"Mr. Merlin, personally, I don't feel any different from before. It's just that now that people can call me Sir, it feels a little awkward. Though I've always called those noble Knights of the Round Table 'Sir,' I'm still not used to it being my turn."

"The honors of knighthood and being called Sir fit you like a colt unaccustomed to its horseshoes, or an unmarried noble lady unused to the gown she wears at court banquets. You just need time to adjust. Then you'll discover how wonderful it is. Even after gaining so much glory, the Knights of the Round Table still crave more—such as advancing their seats. Oh, right, I have wine here. Would you like a glass?"

Merlin took two glasses from his wine cabinet, then brought out a decanter and filled them with red wine.

"Thank you!"

Gawain accepted the glass and thanked the old man in white before him. After becoming a knight, he had first attended the celebration held in his honor. Then Sir Kay had dragged him around to meet the senior Knights of the Round Table and all manner of influential nobles. Just as he was preparing to go home, Merlin had forcibly pulled him over here for a drink.

Merlin's room was within the king's castle. It was spacious and bright. In a castle where lodging was scarce, a room nearly eighty square meters in size was enough to demonstrate Merlin's privileges at court.

The moment one entered the room, the first thing that caught the eye was books—books filling the entire room. There were also large quantities of brewing potions and plants whose purposes were unknown. Beyond that were all kinds of furnishings, as well as a wine cabinet packed to the brim.

In Merlin's room, Gawain saw every object a bedroom ought to have, except for the one most important thing: a bed.

But that was Merlin's secret, so Gawain could only pretend he had noticed nothing.

"What is this? Why does it taste like soda?"

Gawain clinked glasses with Merlin. As he took a small sip, he tasted a flavor from his hometown.

It was soda. What a familiar taste.

The legend of King Arthur was a tale with a tangled timeline. This world contained many things that should only have appeared in later ages, such as Merlin and the institution of knighthood.

Though the legend of King Arthur was a fictional epic, political factors had woven it into the national and ethnic history of Britain. It could not simply be regarded as a fictional story.

After the collapse of the Arthurian dynasty came the Saxon invasion, followed by the Heptarchy in England. In the end, England was unified under the Anglo-Saxon dynasty. Interwoven with this history was Knut the Great's rule over England, Denmark, and Norway, and his founding of the North Sea Empire. After Knut the Great's death came the restoration of the Anglo-Saxon dynasty and the accession of Edward the Confessor.

After Edward the Confessor came Duke William of Normandy's conquest of England. He became the Conqueror in British history, and this conquest essentially laid the foundation for later Britain.

One important institution William I the Conqueror brought to Britain was the system of knighthood. Before William I the Conqueror, Britain had not practiced knighthood at all; knights did not exist.

In other words, while The Investiture of the Gods and Water Margin ostensibly depicted the Yin dynasty and the Song dynasty, their customs, culture, and even common prices actually belonged to the Ming dynasty. For instance, the office of commander-general only appeared during the Ming dynasty. There could not actually have been a commander-general of Chentang Pass during the Yin dynasty.

"Soda? That sounds rather interesting. Swirl the glass, then take another drink," Merlin said with a smile.

"It's sparkling water!" Gawain took another sip, his face filling with surprise. "Is this magic?"

"No, it's merely an ordinary glass of water." Merlin shook his head. "It is only an illusion, Sir Gawain."

"Impossible. I clearly tasted soda and sparkling water." Gawain could not understand.

"It is simply your tongue deceiving you. Take another drink." Merlin poured the red wine from his own glass onto the floor. The crimson liquid turned white, and Gawain took another sip. "It's plain boiled water!"

"No. You didn't drink anything. You drank nothing at all!" Merlin said.

Gawain looked at his glass. Neither the wine nor the plain water he had just tasted was anywhere to be seen. The cup in his hand had vanished as well, replaced by a small white cat.

The kitten wore a baffled expression. Its neatly groomed white fur had been licked into a complete mess by this human called Gawain.

After meowing several times to express its displeasure, it jumped down from Gawain, seemingly intending to complain to its owner, Princess Anne.

I'm dirty. I'm no longer clean. A human held me, licked me, and sucked on me.

That was an illusion! Gawain thought in astonishment, instantly sensing how unfathomable Merlin was.

"What do you think magic is?" Merlin suddenly asked.

"What is magic?" Gawain froze for a moment. Seeing Merlin seated in his chair and questioning him as though testing him, he pondered briefly before choosing his words. "I think magic is a kind of craft."

"A craft?" Merlin looked intrigued.

"Yes. Just as bards sing poetry and bakers make delicious bread, it is a craft. A stone lying dormant in the mountains is worthless, but once it is quarried, it can be used to build castles and churches. Only then does it gain value. If that stone is carved by a sculptor into statues of gods or animals, it becomes an artwork that can be displayed in a royal palace for people to admire, its value increasing a hundredfold. I think magic is that sort of craft."

"You put it beautifully. You are already very close to the essence of magic. In truth, Sir Gawain, you yourself possess magic. So this old man might as well make it clearer: magic is illusion, not craft."

"Illusion? What you're saying is truly difficult to understand."

"Put it this way. We live in a world that can be heard, conceived, spoken of, and described. For example, sugar is sweet. Because you can see and taste it, you can understand it. What is sugar? Experience and craft are things that can be passed down through teaching, things everyone can learn—such as baking bread. But magic is different. What we are discussing is something that cannot be spoken, heard, conceived, or described. It is a force, once called aether. To grasp that force, we must name it, give it form, and make it controllable. That is magic."

"Mr. Merlin, it feels like I understand what you're saying, yet also like I don't."

"That's all right, because what you are trying to understand is mystery—magic. Listen. Without a beginning, there can be no end. Without water, there can be no ice. All things are universally interconnected; nothing exists in complete isolation. When I create water in my hand, you would call it magic. But I tell you, I create water because there is water in the air. In a world without water, no matter how great my magical power, I could not create water or ice. I, too, am a baker. It is only that the bread I make skips the process. Thus, when wheat becomes bread, you call it magic."

"Mr. Merlin, I barely understand what you've said, but I don't understand what meaning there is in telling me this."

"Because your body contains the potential to use magic. For example, when you shout that Arthur is your uncle, why does even Mordred kneel in fear? Haven't you ever found that strange?"

"Sir Kay seemed to tell me that descendants of the Pendragon family bloodline had always possessed strange abilities throughout history, manifested as supernatural powers. It is because our ancestor is Brutus, and Brutus's grandfather was Aeneas of Troy. The blood of Venus, goddess of love, flows through our veins."

"No. You can use this magic because of the power of your bloodline, that is true. But it does not come from Venus. And your greatest magic is actually only one thing."

"What thing?"

"Your greatest talent is being born into the right family. Your uncle is King Arthur. You borrow your uncle Arthur's reputation, status, and power. That, too, is magic."

"That counts as magic?"

"Why wouldn't it? Many people wish to bargain with witches and devils, exchanging things with them for wealth, glory, status, and territory. Ambitious men itching to make their move want even more desperately to become kings. Yet you need nothing. Simply because of your bloodline, fate has decreed that you will become king in the future. If that is not the greatest magic, then what is?"

"That does count as magic, but it's different from the magic I imagined, and from what the world believes magic to be."

"It appears different, but its essence is the same. Then you should know where King Arthur's magic comes from, shouldn't you?"

"King Arthur has magic? I never knew that! Where does his magic come from? Mr. Merlin, why are you looking at me like that? Why do you think I would know?"

"If you do not know, then why did you spread false stories about yourself, gaining false glory through them and causing those stories to be affirmed because of your bloodline?"

Gawain was stunned by Merlin's question. "King Arthur's magic couldn't possibly come from his deeds, could it?"

"Yes. Deeds. Our world is, in truth, a world within stories—like the world inside a book, a poem, or a tale. Stories are the greatest magic, Gawain. If you have no power yet casually fabricate stories and legends about yourself, it will bring danger."

Merlin spoke slowly. "Gawain, you should begin your own legend instead of basking in Arthur's glory and borrowing his power! Someone with absolutely no power cannot become king."

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