Mélusine felt she must have woken up too suddenly.
She never would have dreamed that in her lifetime, she would actually see Artoria and Morgan discussing matters calmly.
And from the looks of their back-and-forth—
It seemed they had even temporarily reached some kind of consensus!
"This..."
Mélusine nudged Ian, who was beside her, with her elbow.
"What did you do?"
"Why do they suddenly seem to be on such good terms?"
"Is that not a good thing?" Ian asked in return.
"Mélusine, you don't think it's good?"
"Of course not!"
Mélusine immediately waved her hands, refuting Ian's suggestion.
"I couldn't wish for anything better!"
"I'm just very curious..." Mélusine continued cautiously, "about what exactly you did."
"When I was on the bed with Morgan—"
Before Ian could finish, Mélusine leaped up and covered his mouth.
"Alright, I get it!"
Mélusine's face was beet red.
"You don't need to say any more!"
"..."
Seeing Ian nod, Mélusine finally released her hand.
"Don't just bring up things like that!"
"I don't really mind, but if other people heard, things would get troublesome."
"But it is a fact."
"You can't just say it even if it's a fact!"
Mélusine put her hands on her hips.
"Do you really think achieving communication that way is something to be proud of?"
"Mhm." Ian nodded.
"Hey, you!"
Just as Mélusine was about to say something more, the sound of footsteps approached.
Barghest came pouncing from the side, throwing herself directly onto Ian.
"Ian!"
"I finally found you!"
Saying this, Barghest pressed her head against Ian's chest, took a deep, fierce sniff, and then showed an intoxicated expression, as if she were drunk.
"This is the scent."
"That's the strong stuff!"
"..."
Barghest's utterly unrestrained behavior left Mélusine stunned.
She had a feeling that, at some point she wasn't aware of, Ian had done a lot of things.
"Mélusine, you're here too!"
After getting her fill of Ian's scent, Barghest immediately noticed Mélusine.
Her previously unfriendly attitude was now completely gone.
In its place was a kind of fanatical gratitude.
"Thank you so much!"
Barghest threw her arms around Mélusine and began to spin in circles with her.
"You were right!"
"I should have done just as you said!"
"Let go of me!"
"Let go of me, you big oaf!"
Mélusine struggled in the air for a good while before Barghest finally let her go.
"What did you two do now?!"
Now back on the ground, Mélusine was even more curious.
"We..."
"Can't say—"
This time, the one covering Ian's mouth was Barghest.
She looked at her hand, her face the very picture of satisfaction.
"Anyway, you were right."
"I feel so much better now!"
"..."
"You people are so strange."
Mélusine clearly disliked being the only one who didn't know what was going on.
But right now, there was something more important.
"By the way—"
"Do you know what our King is planning to do?"
"Huh?"
Barghest crossed her arms.
Soon, she had her own answer.
"Isn't she expanding Camelot?"
"She even had Ian..." Barghest recalled the black dragon standing before the people of Camelot, "put on a show with her, right?"
"That's just on the surface."
Mélusine's expression turned serious.
"The King... wants to turn Camelot into a kingdom where humans and dragons coexist!"
"Whoa!"
This was something Barghest had never heard before.
"You mean, this plan is being pushed forward just to give dragons a place to live?"
"I'm not sure."
Mélusine turned her face away.
"But... it's very likely."
"After all, according to the King's intentions, if Camelot's territory is pushed out that much, it would actually seem quite empty."
"..."
Barghest was silent for a moment, then spoke:
"Mélusine, regardless of whether the King is thinking that or not, I support it."
"It's because she's the King of Camelot, right?"
"Since she is the King of Camelot, the decisions she makes should be supported by her knights."
Barghest said this, then placed a hand on the hilt of Excalibur Galatine at her waist.
"No matter what, my sword should always be wielded for the King."
"..."
Although she was usually quiet, Barghest was surprisingly loyal to Artoria.
No.
It shouldn't be called loyalty, but rather the kind of behavior that "prioritizes her thoughts no matter what."
Why does that feeling seem so familiar?
Wait a minute.
Mélusine's gaze subconsciously shifted to where Ian was.
Isn't that exactly the same as this guy?
Are the First Knight and the Third Knight both like this?
Mélusine had a feeling it was no coincidence.
"Indeed."
"A knight should wield their sword for their King."
Mélusine affirmed Barghest's words.
"What about you, Ian? Do you... have your own thoughts?"
"I do."
Ian nodded.
"But I want to know what you think, Mélusine."
"From the start, you've seemed to have an issue with Artoria's actions."
"Oh, that's right!"
Now that Ian had said it, Barghest quickly chimed in.
"Mélusine, shouldn't you be just like me, thinking only of drawing your sword for the King?"
"Why do you keep asking so many questions!"
"Well..."
Mélusine was at a loss for words.
Unlike Ian and Barghest, she knew the deeper meaning behind Artoria's actions.
The moment Camelot changed from a city of humans to a city of dragons, the identity of dragons would also be recognized in Britain.
In that case...
Mélusine's gaze fell on Ian.
Artoria would use all her power to marry him.
But—
She couldn't just say it outright.
After all, she couldn't just blurt out in front of the two of them, "You know Artoria just wants to get married," right?
After a moment of thought, Mélusine's little brain finally came up with a decent answer.
She opened her mouth and said:
"I just think that if things really become like that,"
"Maybe... there will be a law allowing humans and dragons to marry?"
"Don't you think that's..."
"How could something so wonderful happen!"
Barghest shouted.
"People and dragons should have been allowed to marry long ago!"
"Eh?" Barghest's reaction stunned Mélusine for a moment. "You don't think that's strange?"
"What's strange about it—"
Barghest glanced at him beside her and began to pant hotly.
"This is just great."
"No, I have to go and start helping immediately!"
"Goodbye!"
Barghest said this, and then ran off towards the front line of the construction.
Mélusine was dumbfounded.
She looked at Ian, who hadn't run off yet, and after a moment's hesitation, asked:
"So, what do you think?"
"..."
"Forget it! Don't you dare think about it! Get to work!"