Chapter 90: Meal Ticket -3-
Despite exhaustive searches over several days, the whereabouts of Excalibur and Avalon remained a mystery.
The faint residual traces left by the riverbank vanished like snow melting in spring as soon as they crossed Camelot’s borders, leaving even Tamamo and Caster unable to pursue them.
“So, this is how it's going to be.”
Kay returned to his temporary office, barred the door, and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
The suspicion was certain. There were very few people with both the motive to throw Camelot into turmoil and the ability to steal Artoria’s holy sword.
Exactly three.
Merlin, Morgan, and Vortigern.
Of course, there were many who envied Artoria, but only these three possessed the power to pull off such a feat.
But even Merlin knew exactly what the loss of the holy sword and its scabbard implied. He had gone through all the trouble of building a kingdom and installing a king; why would he suddenly seek to collapse it?
No matter how much Merlin might annoy him, completely overturning the kingdom was too extreme a move.
Vortigern? He was a strong possibility. But that old man stayed in Londinium. If he had suddenly arrived in Camelot in person, he wouldn't have stopped at theft—he would have tried to assassinate Artoria outright.
That left only one certain candidate.
“Whether it was really Morgan's doing or not, I can just ask her directly.”
Kay looked down at the red Command Spell of the Magic Mirror engraved on the back of his right hand—the pact path he had forcibly linked to her heart in the Valley of Despair.
Without hesitation, Kay poured mana into the spell and issued his command.
“By my Command Spell, I order you. Morgan, get your ass in front of me this instant.”
Kiiiiiing!!
As the Command Spell blazed crimson and one stroke vanished, a massive spatial-distortion magic circle unfolded in the center of Kay’s office.
“Alright, now I'll just grab her by the scruff of the neck and—”
Just as Kay crossed his arms and prepared a menacing smile—
“…Huh?”
As the magic circle dissipated, the figure that appeared was not the usual Morgan.
The room was suddenly filled with thick, rose-scented steam. And there, amidst the mist, stood a woman frozen in place, droplets of water trailing down her radiant, naked body.
She held a bath sponge in her hand, and her wet silver hair clung to her shoulders.
“…”
“…”
A horrific silence lasted for about three seconds.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
Morgan turned pale and screamed, frantically hurling the sponge and soap at Kay’s face.
She hurriedly covered her ample chest and lower abdomen with her arms, her face flushing deep red with shame and fury.
“You… you beastly, lecherous dog!! Close your eyes this instant!! What kind of despicable trick is this?! D-do you finally intend to ravish me?!”
“No! Did you think I knew you were bathing?! The Command Spell doesn't calculate your bath time before summoning you!! And what do you mean ‘finally’?! Is that the right word to use?!”
Having taken a bar of soap directly to the face, Kay was equally flustered, coughing repeatedly.
He whipped his head away and grabbed a towel hanging from a nearby chair, tossing it over Morgan’s head.
“Just wrap yourself in that for now! You’ll catch a cold.”
“This humiliation… I will surely kill you…! I will gouge out your eyes and throw them into a lake!”
Morgan trembled as she barely managed to wrap the towel around herself. The dignity of the great witch who sought to rule Camelot had vanished, leaving behind only a pitiful victim of forced summoning.
“Now, have you calmed down?”
Morgan continued to glare at him, but Kay remained undeterred and cut straight to the chase.
“Spill it. You stole Artoria’s holy sword, didn’t you?”
“…Hmph. Do you have any proof?”
Morgan averted her gaze and snorted.
“Proof? I see three possibilities.”
“…What?”
“First, you stole it. Second, you stole it. Third, Morgan stole it!!!”
“You lunatic! What kind of logic is that?!”
“Don’t even think about lying. You’re still bound to me by a forced contract. Tell me while I’m being nice, before I use another Command Spell to make you confess. Your residual mana was left on the scabbard anyway.”
As Kay threatened her while fiddling with the last remaining Command Spell on his right hand, Morgan flinched and then bit her lip in irritation.
“…Fine. I took it. I didn't intend to hide it forever anyway.”
She swept back her wet hair and declared arrogantly.
“To drag that brat down from the throne, I reclaimed the holy sword and gave it to another. To Akolon, a true knight of Britain who loves me and will fulfill my will.”
“Akolon? Which corner of the world did this chivalry-obsessed psycho crawl out of?”
“He is a powerful knight who has sworn absolute loyalty to me. Excalibur is currently in his hands. I am keeping the scabbard separately.”
“Give it back right now. Otherwise, I’ll sear that womb tattoo on your belly.”
Kay issued a vicious threat.
However, Morgan shook her head with a sneer.
“No, that is impossible. Even if you use a Command Spell to force me, it cannot be done. I have already entered into a contract with the fairies of the lake regarding Excalibur.”
“What contract?”
Morgan’s eyes gleamed.
“That Artoria must prove her qualifications as a king.”
“Without the holy sword or the scabbard, on a stage watched by countless human subjects, using only her pure swordsmanship… she must defeat Akolon, who wields Excalibur. I have bound it so that only when this condition is met will the fairies recognize her again and return the sword.”
Kay pressed his hand to his forehead. A covenant involving fairies was like a law of nature; it couldn't be broken by force.
“…You really go through a lot of trouble. Well, in terms of pure swordsmanship, Artoria won’t lose. But you said you have the scabbard separately, right?”
Kay felt a sudden sense of incongruity.
“Then what about Avalon? Is that also bound by a contract with the lake fairies?”
“…”
Suddenly, Morgan’s mouth snapped shut. Seeing her eyes waver and her answer falter, Kay instinctively spotted the loophole.
“Ha! You brat, you haven’t made a contract for Avalon yet, have you?! Only Excalibur is bound by the covenant, and you’re just hoarding the scabbard as a hostage?!”
Kay leaped up from his seat and raised the Command Spell on his right hand.
“Fine. I don’t know about the holy sword, but I’m recovering Avalon right now. I command you, Morgan! Hand over Avalon this instant──!!”
“Kh…! I can’t let you take it like this──!”
Morgan erupted with immense mana, desperately resisting the compulsory force of the Command Spell.
The towel fluttered as her magic circuits and fairy patterns screamed. She could not allow it to be taken so helplessly.
Just as the tense tug-of-war of mana reached its peak—
Creeeeak~
“Dadda? Who are you fighting?”
With a half-asleep face, dragging a doll behind her, Mordred peeked her head through the door.
“Mordred? It’s dangerous, don’t come in!”
Kay shouted urgently, but upon spotting Mordred, Morgan’s eyes flashed with a bizarre madness.
Now!
Morgan instantly released her resistance to the Command Spell, using the resulting recoil of mana to twist and open a rift in space.
From her hand appeared Avalon, the holy relic of absolute defense, emitting a dazzling golden light.
“What the…!”
Morgan hurled Avalon with all her might toward Mordred.
The golden scabbard dealt no physical impact; the moment it touched Mordred’s small chest, it turned into brilliant particles of light and was absorbed directly into her body.
“Whoa? It’s warm!”
Mordred touched her chest, looking fascinated.
“You… you crazy…! What did you do to the child!!”
Kay tried to reach for his axe, but Morgan was one step faster. She pulled out an old parchment inscribed with strange runes—a fairy contract—and tore it in half in one motion.
Fwaaaaah!!
The moment the scroll was torn, a massive fairy-patterned magic circle unfolded beneath Mordred’s feet, enveloping her in divine light.
“Hahahahahaha!!”
Morgan, her face drenched in sweat, burst into a triumphant roar of laughter.
“This is the end, Kay! The Geass guaranteed by the lake fairies has been activated! From this moment on, that child… Mordred is the sole guardian and owner of Avalon!!”
“…What?”
Kay stared blankly, looking back and forth between Mordred and Morgan.
“This was my true plan. I knew you would summon me to ask about the holy sword, and I intended to make contact with Mordred then. I don’t care if Akolon wins or loses. No matter how powerful Excalibur is, it is nothing more than a twig before the protection of Avalon!”
Morgan had completely severed the ultimate trump card, Avalon, from Artoria and bound it to Mordred.
From her perspective, this was the masterstroke that would accelerate Artoria’s downfall.
However.
Contrary to her grand declaration, Kay’s reaction was surprisingly calm.
He picked up the torn fragments of the scroll from the floor and began to carefully examine the fairy language and runes written there.
“…Let’s see. Binding of Avalon. Transfer of ownership. Fairy’s protection… Huh? Hey, Morgan.”
“What is it? Are you speechless with despair?”
Morgan tilted her chin up provocatively.
“There aren’t any clauses here forcing Mordred to do anything, nor any curses using her life as collateral. You said this was a Geass scroll, so why are the terms completely empty?”
At Kay’s blunt question, Morgan’s expression twitched slightly.
“…Ahem.”
Morgan cleared her throat and looked away.
“That is… because to bind an ultimate holy relic like Avalon while simultaneously adding forced clauses like mind control, the mutual consent of the contract target is required. How could I possibly get consent from a snot-nosed brat? So… I had no choice but to only set the transfer of ownership.”
“What? So you basically just gave our kid an amazing defensive item for free?”
Kay snorted and tossed the torn scroll into the trash can.
“No, no! That’s not it! Artoria’s armor is gone forever, which means my—!”
“Daddy, who is that pretty lady?”
Mordred, unaware that Avalon had entered her body, tugged on Kay’s pant leg.
Kay stroked Mordred’s head and pointed to the witch of Britain, who was looking aggrieved while wrapped in a single towel.
“Uh… just think of her as one of your many mothers. A mother with a nasty temper and a habit of giving huge presents.”
“Why am I one of her many mothers…! No, I mean, I am the mother since I cultured her with my blood, but what do you mean ‘one of many’—!”
“Enough. If you’re done, go back and finish your bath before you catch a cold. I’ll send the date and location for the duel with that Akolon fellow by letter later.”
Kay waved his hand dismissively, signaling her to leave.
“—This humiliation, I shall never forget!! I will notify you of the duel date soon! Just you wait, Kay!”
Morgan exploded in rage, drew a spatial-leap magic circle on the floor, and vanished from the office once more amidst a cloud of black mist.
“Sigh…”
In the empty room where Morgan had been.
Kay sighed and touched the cheek of Mordred, who was emitting a faint golden warmth from the power of Avalon within her.
Things have become far more complicated than I expected. She probably intends to make Mordred her pawn exactly as planned. After all, she can’t create another child of Pendragon like Mordred right now.
It was a reckless way of handling things, but since it ensured Mordred was thoroughly protected, it was the best Morgan could do.
Mordred was, from the start, a weapon designed to bring down Artoria and the Pendragon sisters. That was why she chose her.
Of course, that was all based on the assumption that she could gaslight and brainwash Mordred into becoming a tool. At the very least, there was value in completely stripping the scabbard from Artoria.
“For now, let’s go back to sleep, Mordred.”
“Mm.”
“—I wanted to be the first to give you a birthday present. I got beaten to the punch.”
Kay pouted and fiddled with the rings in his pocket—the rings he had received from Laodin in the forest of Brocéliande.
He had been keeping them, not wearing them, specifically to give to Mordred as a birthday gift.
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