Ch.24The Staff of Selection (3)

Najin blinked blankly.

What entered his vision was not the forest landscape from moments ago, but the vast night sky. Looking at the night sky, Najin blinked several times.

‘…Am I back?’

Had he returned? Or was it just a dream?

Slowly rising, Najin suddenly lifted his hand. The hand with which he had shaken Merlin’s hand at the end. He thought a constellation had been engraved on the back of his hand, but now it was nowhere to be seen.

‘Was it really a dream?’

Something felt strange for it to be just a dream.

‘Well, whatever…’

Najin slowly got to his feet.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he couldn’t afford to be careless. His pursuers might follow the river current he had drifted down.

While erasing traces of his presence, Najin suddenly looked at the city visible in the distance.

Probably the city built above the underground city.

Looking at the large city, he felt surprised thinking, ‘So that’s what was above,’ but he couldn’t view it with a favorable eye.

Najin knew well how much filth filled that place. He glared at the city’s spire visible even from this distance.

A spire with the symbol of the Order hanging on it. Could that be the Order’s lighthouse he had only heard rumors about? Engraving the appearance of that lighthouse in his mind and vowing to someday destroy it, Najin turned away.

There was no time to dwell on the past.

Now he had to move forward.

‘But where should I go?’

Najin had just emerged into the outside world.

He had no knowledge of the outside. He didn’t know where to go or how far to flee. The boy’s world had suddenly expanded… but in this expanded world, the boy felt like a lost child.

The vast world.

The sprawling fields.

Where should he head, where should he walk? Feeling overwhelmed, he was about to take his first step with the thought of getting away from the city.

Flash.

The back of Najin’s hand glowed. The constellation that hadn’t been visible moments ago was now appearing on the back of his hand.

2.

“You called, Merlin.”

Shortly after the boy disappeared from Merlin’s domain.

A new guest set foot in her domain. The one who entered was a constellation who had placed his star in the same realm as Merlin, and a knight who had never left the Round Table until the end.

The oldest knight.

Bedivere with one arm.

A knight who still guarded the shattered Round Table out of loyalty to Arthur. Looking at this most trustworthy knight, Merlin smiled.

“I have something urgent to discuss.”

“Is it about Excalibur? I’ve found out a few things about that.”

Bedivere sat down on a stump near the lake.

“My information is limited since it’s difficult to intervene inland, but it seems the Blood Star Order doesn’t have any information about it.”

“The Order?”

“Yes. The worst-case scenario of the Order’s executioner drawing Excalibur doesn’t seem to have happened. Since their deity directly denied it… it’s probably correct.”

I tried contacting other sources too, but.

Muttering that, Bedivere sighed.

“Frankly speaking, the information I can obtain is too limited. If I had known it would be like this, we should have created an order of our own.”

The inland—neither the land of stars, nor the battlefield of stars, nor even near Camlann. It was extremely difficult for constellations who had already ascended to intervene in that land where humans lived.

That’s why some constellations created orders for intervention, and some created armed groups that fought only for themselves and deployed them inland. However, knights related to the Round Table, including Merlin and Bedivere, did not do so.

More precisely…

“It’s not that we didn’t create one, but that we couldn’t.”

Merlin sighed.

Her gaze turned toward the horizon. She frowned at the movement of a dragon writhing there. With a flick of her finger, the star net that had been cast ensnared the dragon and slammed it to the ground.

Boom…

Turning her gaze away from the dust rising beyond the horizon, Merlin continued.

“I’m already busy enough keeping those cursed things in Camlann in check, how could I pay attention to inland too?”

“For someone saying that, you seem to be paying a lot of attention lately. Something about hearing voices?”

“…That was an anomaly.”

Merlin slightly averted her gaze.

Bedivere smiled bitterly and shrugged.

“So what information did you find?”

“I found the owner of Excalibur.”

“I see. You found the own— What? What did you say?”

Bedivere’s eyes widened.

“Who is it? The Empire’s Sword Master? The Star of Sword from the Sword Order? Or perhaps their disciple?”

“None of them. It was a youngster I’ve never seen before.”

Just about twenty years old.

Or perhaps even younger. Merlin explained that this youngster who had achieved nothing yet had drawn the sword.

“Anyway, he was a cheeky youngster? Speaking back so clearly with those wide eyes…”

Listening to her story, Bedivere suddenly glanced at Merlin’s face. He felt something was off.

‘Her voice sounds grumbling, but…’

That voice was full of amusement.

As if finding it interesting. Bedivere also noticed that the corners of Merlin’s mouth were turned up. He thought this was strange.

Normally, Merlin would be the one most averse to the appearance of a new candidate.

She had witnessed Arthur’s death up close and had directly heard the prophecy of the Knight of Betrayal. Hadn’t she been wary of potential candidates who might draw Excalibur, hoping that prophecy would not come true?

‘But now…’

She’s smiling. Merlin was smiling just like in the distant past when she traveled with the king. Bedivere couldn’t quite understand this, but…

“He said the exact same thing.”

Soon he could understand.

“He gave me the same answer as Arthur did.”

Even he found himself smiling like Merlin now. The story of “the boy who drew Excalibur” that he heard through her lips was interesting to Bedivere as well.

Enough to recall memories of being with the king in the past.

“That’s impressive. Didn’t you say he was just a youngster without even a single star?”

“That’s right. No stars, nothing at all. Really, just an ordinary youngster.”

“And yet he endured that scenery… just like our king did?”

Merlin nodded.

Bedivere smiled.

“I’d like to see him too.”

“About that.”

Merlin grinned. The smile of a strategist and guide who had formed brilliant plans beside Arthur. Though he might have been happy to see Merlin’s smile after so long, Bedivere felt a chill down his spine instead.

Because whenever Merlin smiled like that, she always caused trouble. Though things worked out well in the end, Bedivere remembered how arduous the process had been.

“Wait…”

Before Bedivere could interrupt.

Merlin spoke with a mischievous smile.

“I’m going to bring him here myself.”

“…What?”

“We can’t interfere where that youngster is. He needs to come at least to the battlefield of stars for us to have a proper conversation, give him trials, and so on…”

How long should I wait until then?

How do I know someone else won’t snatch him away in the meantime?

“So, I’m going to transfer my consciousness down there.”

“Wait, wait a moment. What are you—”

“If I transfer my consciousness to that youngster using Excalibur as a medium, I can see and hear the same things as him.”

In other words.

“I’ll guide him directly. He said with his own mouth that he’s determined, that he’ll aim for the highest place. Then there’s only one path he should walk.”

It was like saying Merlin would become that boy’s guide.

“The same path our king walked.”

The path of kings.

Or, the path of heroes.

“I’ll make him walk that path.”

Bedivere silently glanced at Merlin as she spoke. Transferring consciousness. He knew what that meant.

A constellation’s power comes from where their constellation is placed.

That is, from their domain.

Transferring one’s consciousness somewhere other than their domain meant leaving behind all their power, status, and strength as a constellation. It meant becoming an entity that could only intervene in reality through voice.

‘Certainly, that’s the only way to intervene inland, but…’

It’s not an easy task and it’s dangerous. If something happens to the boy containing her consciousness, Merlin’s consciousness could be in danger too.

You should choose carefully.

Bedivere was about to advise that, but upon seeing Merlin’s face, he closed his mouth. It was the face of someone who had already made a decision.

“…I don’t think you’ll listen even if I say more.”

Bedivere sighed and shook his head.

“I understand why you called me. You want me to take over your duties while you’re away, don’t you?”

“It’s nothing difficult. Just press down on the dragon whenever it stirs. I’ll leave some stars behind, so it won’t be too hard.”

“It seems like the most difficult task to me.”

Though Bedivere’s brow furrowed at suddenly being given this chore, he soon rose from his seat with a sigh.

“I can’t do it for long.”

“It won’t take long either.”

It might be a long time for humans.

But for constellations who have guarded this place for hundreds of years, it would be just a moment. With those final words, Merlin closed her eyes, and her body scattered into starlight.

At the lakeside where Merlin had disappeared.

Left alone, Bedivere touched his armor. Engraved on it was the emblem of the Round Table. It had been hundreds of years since the Round Table lost its master and shattered. The knight who had been guarding the Round Table alone for those hundreds of years exhaled a long breath.

After waiting hundreds of years, what’s a dozen more? Though he thought so inwardly, Bedivere couldn’t suppress his curiosity either.

The boy who might become his master.

Imagining that boy in his mind, Bedivere grasped the air. What he caught was a snow-white spear, the weapon bestowed upon him by Arthur. Gripping the spear, Bedivere left the domain.

He didn’t know when that boy would reach this place, but until then, he would have to guard his post.

Bedivere moved to deal with the cursed things of Camlann trying to escape through the cracks in the seal.

3.

After the constellation on the back of his hand flickered for a moment.

Najin narrowed his eyes as he looked at the back of his hand. The constellation that had flickered was now gone again, as if it had never glowed.

‘What is this?’

While Najin was rubbing the back of his hand in confusion.

-It won’t appear no matter how much you rub it. I’ve hidden it so other constellations can’t see it either.

A voice echoed in his ear.

Startled, Najin turned toward the source of the voice. But there was nothing in his sight.

-You won’t see anything even if you turn your head, so don’t waste your energy.

A snickering voice.

Since it was the voice he had been hearing just moments ago, Najin realized who it was.

“…Merlin?”

-You seem quite surprised?

“What is this? Your voice is echoing in my ears.”

-What else could it be?

A snorting sound was heard.

-I told you. That I’d watch over you.

Najin blinked, and the voice continued.

-And, if you’re going to compete with Arthur… shouldn’t you at least have the same conditions? That would make it a fair competition.

The same conditions as King Arthur.

Not immediately understanding what that meant, Najin was about to ask what she meant when Merlin answered.

-You need a guide too.

Someone to point out the path a hero should walk.

Najin finally understood what Merlin was talking about. In Arthur’s journey, there was always an advisor and guide by his side. Though numerous knights followed Arthur, the place beside Arthur always belonged to one person.

The guide, Merlin.

A guide who always showed the right path.

That was how fairy tales described Merlin. However, Najin muttered with a somewhat disgruntled expression.

“So… you’re saying you’ll be my guide?”

-That’s what I’m thinking?

“I thought you disliked me?”

-Yes. I do dislike you.

“And still?”

-Dislike is dislike, but I must acknowledge what deserves acknowledgment. You proved your qualification by breaking through the trial I gave you.

Merlin said calmly.

-Those who are qualified deserve proper opportunities.

“To those who are qualified, proper opportunities.”

It was a phrase he had seen in Arthur’s chronicles.

Najin slowly nodded. Regardless of whether he accepted it or not, there was no reason to refuse such an offer.

‘Honestly, I was feeling lost.’

He had escaped the underground city for now.

But Najin was ignorant about the outside world. He knew nothing, so naturally, he didn’t know where to go either.

“That’s quite helpful.”

-No need to thank me. It’s only natural.

“Then let me ask for advice right away.”

He had no intention of refusing the help.

Use whatever you can use. That’s what Ivan had taught him. Najin exhaled briefly and said.

“First, I’m being pursued. If I’m caught, I’ll probably die. I’ll explain the details as we move, so just listen for now.”

Najin pointed at the city behind him.

“Second, it’s best to get as far away from that city as possible. The pursuers were sent from that city, and my appearance and characteristics seem to have been exposed already.”

-…Did you commit some crime?

“Well. Since I’ve been a criminal from birth, it’s a bit difficult to explain.”

I’ll explain everything later.

“For these reasons, I need to flee somewhere immediately. Do you know a good path?”

* * *

After following Merlin’s guidance for quite some time.

Only after entering a dense forest did Najin catch his breath. The distance from the city was considerable, and the tall trees provided good cover for hiding. Though he had only received guidance for a short time, he had to admit it.

Merlin was quite excellent as a guide.

She instantly found a place suitable for hiding and optimal for catching one’s breath.

‘This is convenient.’

Though he was using a person, or rather a constellation, like a tool, Najin didn’t feel particularly guilty. Why refuse when someone offers help? Thinking this, Najin looked up at the dense trees.

‘So this is what trees look like.’

There were trees in the underground city too, but he had never seen trees this big. Looking at trees that seemed three or four times his height, Najin marveled anew. Everything was new to him.

-So.

Seeing that Najin had caught his breath, Merlin spoke.

-What’s this about being a criminal and having pursuers?

“Well…”

Just as Najin was about to answer Merlin’s question after catching his breath. Suddenly, Najin stopped speaking. The sky visible through the dense trees was different from before. The pitch-black night sky was gradually brightening.

“Why is the sky that color?”

-What? Why is the sky?

“The color is strange.”

-Strange… you say?

Merlin replied, seemingly not understanding.

Najin tilted his head and climbed up a nearby tree. Sitting high on the tree, Najin looked at the sky.

An unobstructed view.

A corner of the sky was tinged with the color of the mineral lamps he had always seen in the underground city. The darkness that had dyed the sky black was receding, and twilight was taking its place. Soon, something round rose from beyond the horizon, trailing light.

Something bright and warm.

After pondering its identity for a while, a word flashed through Najin’s mind. The sun. What the inhabitants of the underground city had tried to imitate with the twilight of mineral lamps, but could never truly replicate.

“That’s…”

Najin unconsciously muttered.

“That’s the sun.”

Najin witnessed a sunrise for the first time.

The rising sun. Najin stared in awe as the sky brightened, the twilight receded, and the sky turned blue. It was such a mysterious sight.

-“That’s the sun,” you say.

Merlin said incredulously.

-You’re talking like someone seeing the sun for the first time.

“I am seeing it for the first time. Today.”

-What?

Najin smiled bitterly.

“Seeing the sun, seeing the blue sky, it’s all for the first time today. Where I lived, neither the sun nor the sky was visible.”

-Did you live in some kind of burrow?

“I lived in something similar.”

Where should I start explaining this?

Najin’s mouth didn’t open easily. The place where he had spent 18 years of his life. It wasn’t easy to summarize that. As Najin was choosing his words.

-If it’s difficult to explain, do it while we move. I don’t mind listening slowly.

“Should I?”

-Yes. Well, it wasn’t my intention, but.

Merlin said.

-The conditions you want seem to align with the destination I had in mind.

Needing to get away from this city.

Having to flee from pursuers. A place where he could change his exposed identity and start anew. Coincidentally, the destination Merlin had in mind met all these criteria.

-Cambria, the City of Opportunity.

Do you know that city?

At that question, Najin’s eyes widened. Cambria, he had heard of that name before.

‘Well, I saw it in a fairy tale book, but still.’

The story after the prologue where King Arthur draws Excalibur. Cambria was the setting for Chapter 1 where the story truly begins.

‘The place where Arthur and Merlin met.’

And the city where Arthur began to stand out in earnest. The city’s other name was…

“The place where two dragons are buried. The Dragon’s Tomb.”

-You know it well. Do you also know who did that?

Of course I know.

“You and King Arthur, right?”

It was the beginning of King Arthur and Merlin’s fame. Their story began with the legend of a swordsman and a magician defeating two dragons.

Though it wasn’t the time for it, Najin felt his heart racing. The fairy tale story he had only read about was unfolding before him.

-Before heading to Cambria, just one thing.

Merlin said.

-Let me check your abilities. I need to know your level to make an estimate.

“My abilities?”

-Well, nothing much. Can you handle mana? Just seeing that would give me a rough estimate…

After pondering for a moment, Najin drew the sword from his waist. It was Old Man Hogel’s sword, which had been quite helpful in escaping the underground city. Holding the sword, Najin drew out its aura.

Swoosh.

A white radiance appeared over the sword, followed by golden particles.

“Is this enough? This is about all I can show you right now.”

-…

“Hello?”

Merlin was silent.

As if she was at a loss for words.