Fate/Magus Path

23 Tea Party

In the world of dreams, where illusion and reality constantly overlap, the sea of flowers in paradise extended to the sky, and the rainbow light faded in the sky.

A naturally curly-haired magus, with hair close to white and rainbow-colored, had set up this dream tea party in the sea of flowers within the dream. He spoke to the dreamer.

"...A sea of flowers?"

The once fragmented dream and memories gradually restored themselves with the swaying flowers. Roy looked at this unwelcome intruder with some surprise.

He knew who Merlin was.

The scum of scums, a crowned degenerate, one of the main culprits who had caused King Arthur's downfall.

It could be said that anything connected to Merlin was rarely a good thing. Now that this man had intruded into his dreams, Roy immediately felt something ominous, suspecting that things were not as simple as they seemed.

"So, may I ask why the esteemed Swordmaster of Britain has gone out of his way to enter my dream?"

"Ah, oh dear, I'm just an ordinary court magus. How did I suddenly become the Swordmaster of Britain?"

"Although I do occasionally find it more convenient to swing a sword than chant those long-winded spells that might make me bite my tongue."

Is that why no matter if it's a blue card or red card, you're always swinging a sword at people?

Looking at Merlin's cheeky grin, Roy started pondering Merlin's intentions. Though outwardly kind and warm, in reality, this creature was a monster...an utterly rotten one...

Not even a human being.

Glancing at the three crimson Command Seals still on the back of his hand, feeling the connection to the Count was still intact, Roy relaxed a little.

The Count possessed the ability to traverse dreams. With him around, Merlin shouldn't be able to pull any tricks on Roy. His sense of security immediately increased.

"No need to worry. Though my reputation might not be the best, I won't harm you, so please don't call that fierce guy in here, okay?"

"Hm?"

Roy was puzzled.

'You know about the Count's abilities, and you still dare to enter my dream?'

"Well, you probably noticed by now...I didn't just try to reach out to you this once. It's just that the last few times, I got chased out by that Avenger by your side. I really didn't expect to get kicked out of a dream, but..."

Merlin scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled as his gaze turned to the changing scenery of the flower sea around them. He showed a thoughtful expression, though it seemed like he enjoyed speaking in half-finished sentences.

"You really are full of surprises. This dream of yours... the scenery here is beautiful and unexpectedly suits me."

"My dream suits you? Are you saying..."

Roy frowned. "You're telling me this isn't a landscape you created?"

"That's right. The scenery here wasn't created by me. Instead, it's something you conjured up from thin air in the dream. As the master of this dream, you are the dream-builder."

"Though there are some slight differences from the real Avalon, this tower at the end and the boundless sea of flowers are extremely similar, both in color and design. So tell me, Roy, a boy who has never set foot in Avalon, how do you know its full appearance?" Merlin asked with a smile.