The Platinum-Haired Woman Wields Excalibur
In the Outer Lands, a sighting of Excalibur had been reported.
A woman with platinum hair was swinging Excalibur.
Merlin's gaze stayed fixed on the two-line entry in the newspaper. With wide-open eyes, she stared hard at the article, then spoke only after a long pause.
“…Hah.”
She exhaled, still not immediately replying. As if finding it absurd, she let out a breath and, after a brief pause, continued.
“Who the hell is that?”
She wasn’t angry. Merlin’s voice differed little from its usual tone. Yet, because Najin could sense the emotions she shared, he felt her insides churning.
‘Do you know something?’
“No? It’s unknown to me. And Najin, you don’t need to worry. I’m stating this categorically—it’s fake. I’m staking everything I possess.”
She declared it sharply.
“Excalibur is unique. There is only one in this world, and no imitation exists. That said, a similar sword does exist, but since it already has a master, we can set it aside.”
She was probably referring to Gram. The demonic dragon-slaying sword wielded by the Dragon Slayer of Camlan. Merlin let out a long sigh, then pointed at Najin.
“Since Excalibur is unique, its master is likewise unique. As the mage of the lake and the representative of the Round Table who has guarded Excalibur for a thousand years, I declare… the owner of Excalibur is you. Not some unknown stray dog of a woman who rolled out somewhere.”
Merlin shrugged her shoulders with a “hmph.”
“The one standing right beside me is the proof. Right?”
‘Well, I haven’t doubted it…’
Najin nodded.
He hadn’t thought the sword in his hand was fake. If it were, how could he explain his own regeneration and resistance? And how would he explain the woman before him?
‘Just out of curiosity.’
“About what?”
‘The sighting of Excalibur in the Outer Lands. The testimonies aren’t limited to the Holy Body Church, are they?’
Najin gestured at Merlin. Testimonies of having seen Excalibur in the Outer Lands kept coming in, and they weren’t only from transcendentalists or priests of the Holy Body Church.
Imperial knights dispatched to the Outer Lands had given the same accounts.
“Near the Eternal City, Excalibur was sighted.”
All of them said the same. A platinum-haired woman had swung Excalibur near an Outer Lands city. Najin pointed to that part and asked.
‘What is the Eternal City?’
“…Um.”
The woman who liked to show off her knowledge and derive joy from it—Merlin—fell silent for some reason. Not that she lacked knowledge of the place, but rather as if it were awkward to speak.
“I’ll have to explain it, and it’s a bit complicated.”
Merlin muttered, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.
“It’s the sanctuary created by the Round Table.”
‘Eh?’
“It’s not exactly the Eternal City, but ‘Eternal Nation’ would be more accurate….”
Her words trailed off. Merlin shot Najin a sidelong glance, making it clear she didn’t want to elaborate. Eventually she sighed deeply and spoke again.
In her mind she murmured, ‘I suppose we should stop hiding from each other.’
“Apologies, actually it’s not the Round Table’s sanctuary—I created it.”
‘So it’s Merlin’s sanctuary?’
“I did create it, but to be precise, it was the ‘me who possessed twelve stars right after Arthur’s death’ who created it, so I can’t really say I created it.”
What nonsense was that.
Najin tilted his head.
‘Merlin, you had twelve stars?’
“That’s right.”
‘But in the fairy tales or records, it says eleven.’
“That twelfth star was acquired the moment Arthur died. And right after, I discarded it. So it wasn’t recorded.”
Merlin lowered her gaze.
Looking at the floor, she said.
“I don’t remember exactly what I did right after Arthur’s death. When I regained consciousness, I was sitting in the Round Table. Bedivere must have brought me there, but he didn’t tell me what I had done before I died.”
There were gaps in her memory.
“What I know is that right after Arthur’s death, I ‘did something,’ and as a result one star fell, and from that the ‘Eternal City’ was born.”
The Eternal City, or Eternal Nation.
‘Then what is inside that city?’
“I don’t know either. Does Bedivere know? There’s a boundary spell cast around the city, and no one has ever pierced it. For a thousand years, no visitors have been received.”
‘You said you created it, didn’t you?’
“I said so. I just don’t remember.”
Merlin’s words about not remembering made Najin’s expression grow serious. The first thing that came to mind was a transcendentalist wielding the powers of oblivion and erasure. But Merlin shook her head.
“It’s a bit different from oblivion or erasure. That part was cleanly excised. Probably only one person can carve out something so cleanly.”
When Najin asked who that might be, Merlin smiled bitterly and pointed at herself.
“Who else? The great Great Constellation Merlin.”
‘…’
“Honestly, I’m glad for it. After Arthur’s death, I was… quite unstable. I don’t know the details, but thanks to that cleanly excised memory, maybe I’m even somewhat sane now?”
Najin fell silent. It felt like an unopenable box had been placed before him. As the atmosphere grew heavy, Merlin clapped her hands once and smiled.
“Well, if you’re truly curious, come visit later. Probably you’ll be able to enter.”
Merlin pointed at Najin.
“The entry condition for that city is ‘to be selected by Excalibur.’ Only you can enter.”
2.
“Still, it’s not such a terrible story.”
After reading Merlin’s account, Najin muttered.
For the past few days the conjecture that the one who had drawn Excalibur was the Dawn Star had almost become the established truth. Suspicion had leaned toward Najin, but only because proof was lacking. The shift of interest to another direction was welcome to him as well.
‘Lately there’s been too much attention on me.’
The media and public opinion had grown overheated.
He had achieved great feats, but excess always turns to poison.
‘I should have let the rumors die down.’
In this situation, the incident that had erupted at just the right moment only made Najin feel more suspicious. The timing was too coincidental to be chance.
Testimonies centered on the Holy Body Church.
Najin didn’t know much about the Holy Body Church. The Holy Blood Church was where inquisitors who made demon hunting their specialty gathered, and the Holy Light Church was where the trash congregated. So what was the Holy Body Church?
“Idolatry.”
Merlin said it briefly.
“A group that creates and worships perfect beings. The Star Incarnation is an example. It’s not perfect, though—their bodies erode, so every 150 years they have to replace the vessel with a new one. What they want is probably something like the killer of the Holy Blood Church.”
A perfect being that never erodes and never changes.
“Hm.”
Najin stroked his chin.
Something came to mind.
“In the testimonies, the one swinging Excalibur was a platinum-haired woman. Didn’t Arthur have platinum hair too?”
“That’s right.”
“Speaking of which. This….”
“Stop.”
Merlin cut him off.
“Let’s drop this topic. It’s fake. Huh? There’s no need to worry about something fake. Right?”
She clearly didn’t want to discuss the topic. She wasn’t hiding anything. She simply didn’t feel like thinking about the Eternal City or the platinum-haired woman.
The Eternal City, the platinum-haired woman.
For a moment the two subjects swirled in Najin’s mind, but he brushed them aside and stood up. After all, it wasn’t a major concern right now.
Above all, he had somewhere to go today.
Opening the door of the lodging, he stepped outside. A servant was waiting for Najin. The sight was somewhat burdensome, but Najin followed them to the dress room.
“Lord has prepared your clothes in advance.”
The servants helped Najin with practiced hands.
He combed his fringe back neatly and tied the remaining hair into a single braid. The clothes Dieta had prepared were a black garment with white embroidery, consisting of a short cape that covered one shoulder and a matching set.
After changing into the formal wear, Najin headed to the headquarters of the merchant house.
Dieta, who had been waiting, widened her eyes when she saw Najin coming to greet him. Then she approached with a wide smile.
“You should dress like that more often.”
“It’s inconvenient, isn’t it. When swinging the sword.”
“True.”
Dieta shrugged and extended her hand to Najin. Najin bowed slightly at the waist in proper etiquette and took her hand.
3.
In the capital of the Empire, Camelot, a banquet was being held.
The joint banquet of the two representative merchant houses of the Empire, Rocktide and Cornehill, and the participation of Dieta Merchant House. It was an awkward situation for the two houses, but they couldn’t refuse Dieta’s attendance.
“Oh really? Then I’ll go too.”
When Dieta Merchant House announced their participation, Platinum Tower Lord Cypria Gachevska showed her willingness. The news caused the scale of the banquet to swell several times over.
Nobles of every kind, heirs of great families, and high officials of the Empire attended.
Before the banquet hall, luxurious carriages arrived one after another. Within the hall, continent-famous musicians, opera companies, and jesters performed to fill the atmosphere.
Because it was a banquet hosted by the leading tycoons of the Empire, everything was in utmost splendor.
“The Empire has been in turmoil lately, hasn’t it?”
“Because the Empire’s top brass moved. No kidding. Our department is a mess right now too. Suddenly ordering us to investigate events from 300 years ago…”
“Don’t you have any thoughts?”
“It’s just an obvious statement. We’re not at all suspecting Lord Gerd, of course. I just meant it’s confusing.”
“Well, didn’t the Martilda family collapse completely this time? Because hidden corruption surfaced during the re-investigation of the records. I feel bad for the head of the Martilda family too. Who would have thought an event from 78 years ago would suddenly be re-examined.”
“There’s no such thing as an eternal secret, right?”
“Oh, why are you looking this way?”
Laughter—hah hah hoh—filled the air as political maneuvering took place. Among those invited to the banquet, as the time for the event drew near, the greater figures began to appear one by one, as if those who arrived first were of lower status.
Every time a new guest entered the banquet hall, the gazes shifted like a rising tide, then receded like a receding tide.
And.
Clack.
Two people appeared in the banquet hall.
One was a woman with neatly braided chestnut hair and a snow-white dress. Her figure followed elegant, fluid curves, her skin was snow-white, and between her slightly lowered, thick lashes, golden eyes sparkled.
The snake that swallows gold—Dieta.
The moment the girl who had recently stirred the Empire into a frenzy appeared, the gazes in the banquet hall instantly converged on her. The tide of eyes didn’t recede; it was held fast. Her achievements had drawn the gazes, but her appearance kept them locked.
No noble lady or young lady present could hold a candle to her standing beside her. She was that beautiful.
Dieta didn’t hide her own advantages. An outstanding appearance was the perfect commodity for drawing and holding eyes. And a merchant was, after all, always a businessman who sold their own goods at the highest possible price.
As the gathered guests swallowed hard, Dieta gave a faint smile. Gaze after gaze—desire, curiosity, interest, wonder—streamed past Dieta and headed toward the empty seat beside her.
Who would her partner be?
She seemed prepared to pay any price to claim that seat, but Dieta simply pressed her body a little closer to the arm of the man escorting her.
Unfortunately, this empty seat was not for sale.
As if she were saying exactly that.
The gazes that had headed toward Dieta naturally shifted to her side, and the moment they confirmed her partner, their pupils widened slightly.
“…”
Cleanly combed gray hair and sunset eyes. The person with that distinctive appearance was known to everyone. Recently the one who had stirred the Empire into chaos and was said to be under the protection of the Empire’s top brass.
The Dawn Star—Najin.
Although rumors of a close public and private relationship between Dieta’s lord and Najin were common, to attend the banquet together? The murmurs in the banquet hall grew louder.
Clack.
Unperturbed by the commotion, the two naturally moved to the center of the banquet hall. Najin was also drawing gazes. He hadn’t faded or wilted beside Dieta.
The banquet hall was filled with countless nobles and high officials, yet no one could deny that today’s protagonists were the two of them.
Appearance itself was a weapon.
As if proving that fact, Najin and Dieta immediately claimed the lead position of the banquet the moment they appeared.