Artoria had no hesitation left.
"My apologies, Sir, but I must head to town at once."
In her urgency, she didn't even seek Ector's permission, merely informing him before leaping onto her horse and galloping toward the town.
"Oh, this is rare. She didn't even bid us farewell." Sir Ector muttered softly, though he wasn't angry.
He stood outside the doorway, watching the girl's figure fade into the distance. Then, he turned his head to glance at the magus with a half-smile.
He knew that after this departure, the girl named Artoria would never return.
The one who would come back could only be Arthur Pendragon, the destined King of Britain.
"So eager?" He grumbled with mild dissatisfaction. Despite having prepared himself mentally, when the day finally arrived, the aging knight still felt it was all too sudden.
He still had so many life-saving battlefield tricks he hadn't passed on to the girl!
"It's not that urgent, really. By all accounts, there should still be two or three months left." The magus remarked, watching the girl's departing figure. Unlike the old knight, the Magus of Flowers's face bore an entirely different expression... one of anticipation, approval, and the eager look of someone awaiting a grand spectacle.
"It's just… how should I put it? It's too perfect an opportunity. So perfect that even a lazy fellow like me feels it would be a shame not to seize it."
The girl galloped down the road to the town.
At that moment, her mind was consumed with thoughts of the lively, spirited young dragon.
Of course, she wasn't truly worried about the dragon's safety.
She knew its strength well, just as she understood the capabilities of her sworn brother. Without exaggeration, those two could move freely through a thousand-strong army, unscathed by any ordinary human formation.
That was the nature of the "transcendent"... beings revered as honored guests in any land.
Yet, even such powerful beings had their own inescapable dilemmas.
"The tavern!"
Even with the single strand of hair atop her head, Artoria could guess where her unreliable sworn brother would take her adorable young dragon.
A tavern... dancers, a den of vice… Heavens, was there anything more terrifying in this world?
"He'll be corrupted, won't he? He's definitely going to be corrupted!" She thought.
In her eyes, Kay bore the primary responsibility for this, but the young dragon wasn't blameless either. At the very least, it shouldn't have listened to the dubious persuasions of some shady figure and willingly gone to such a "dangerous" And "wicked" place.
"When I get back, I'll teach them a lesson… They're getting a thorough scolding!" She vowed, gritting her teeth, determined to set both the man and the dragon straight.
But when the furious Artoria reached the outskirts of the town, intent on charging straight toward the tavern, she was stopped.
"Wait a moment... "
Unexpectedly, the town, usually unguarded, had two sentries today.
Indeed, two grizzled old men tasked with collecting an "entrance fee."
"You're here for that young dragon too, aren't you?"
"Right, hand over one gold coin, then go line up over there!"
"Charlie, are you daft? That's Arthur, Sir Kay's brother!"
"Exactly, that's why it's one gold coin. Everyone else pays a copper... this is Sir Kay's special instruction."
"!!!"
This was deliberate obstruction, plain and simple!
That cunning knight had clearly anticipated his sister would come to confront him. So, he'd arranged for two old men to block Artoria at the town's edge.
Under normal circumstances, Artoria would have been powerless against these two. Bound by the code of chivalry, she would never raise a hand against unarmed civilians, let alone two elderly men... such an act would be unthinkable.
So, typically, even knowing she was at a disadvantage, Artoria would have dutifully turned her horse around, ridden home to borrow a gold coin from her foster father, and returned to pay the fee.
That round trip would cost her half a day.
"No, I can't afford the delay."
"The longer I wait, the more likely something will go wrong!"
Artoria gazed anxiously into the distance, hearing the raucous noise from the town. She looked at the two old men barring her way, refusing to let her pass.
Snap... it was as if a string had broken.
The usually calm and courteous "Arthur." Always polite and humble to everyone, transformed in an instant.
Without a word, she fixed her face into a stern expression and glared.
The two old men blocking her path froze as if under a spell, utterly immobilized by her presence.
"My apologies." She said, her voice barely falling before her body blurred into an afterimage.
"But this time, I'm truly in a hurry."
Having bypassed the guards, the girl continued toward the town center.
But she hadn't gone far before she could no longer proceed.
To her shock, Artoria discovered that this ordinarily quiet village had somehow become overrun with people... five times, no, ten times the usual crowd! The narrow streets were so packed there was barely room to squeeze through.
"Where did all these people come from?!"
Artoria surveyed the excited, almost frenzied crowd. Some waved banners, which she recognized as belonging to nobles from other kingdoms.
"Why are even other kingdoms involved?"
She couldn't comprehend it. Was a single young dragon really worth such madness?
Well, perhaps it was.
On reflection, those so-called heroes might indeed travel thousands of miles to this obscure village just to catch a glimpse of a true dragon's majesty.
But that alone couldn't explain their fervor, bordering on irrationality.
There had to be something else at play… No, it reeked of a trap. Someone had orchestrated this, using the young dragon as bait to draw warriors from across the kingdoms.
And the identity and purpose of this schemer...
"Hey, Arthur, are you here to pull the sword too?"
Sword? What sword?
"A legendary magus once said that only the destined King of Britain can pull the holy sword from the stone. And only the one who wields that sword can earn the young dragon's approval, becoming its true companion to save Britain."
"…"
Damn you, Merlin!
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