Objectively speaking, Morgan, Gawain, Lancelot, Tristan, and the others were undoubtedly Riezel and Artoriaâs enemies.
Even if Artoria hadnât chosen the path of the savior, even if she hadnât tried to save Faerie Britain, she still wouldnât have been able to avoid being seen as a threat by Morganâs forces.
Naturally, the same was true for Riezel.
He had already crossed paths with Morgan and the others many times, clashing in battle on several occasions, as the two sides stood opposed to each other.
Yet despite all that, Riezel couldnât help but feel that these enemies were far better than the other fairies in more ways than he could count.
Morgan might have been a terrifying dictatorâcold, cruel, and treating the lives of fairies in the Fairy Kingdom like they were worthlessâbut for some reason, she valued Riezel highly, and she even went so far as to grant him divine protection and plant the âStakeâ within him.
Gawain had fought Riezel twice, both times to the brink of death, yet she was an outstanding warriorâthorough and thoughtful toward her allies, and merciless only to her enemies.
Lancelot was distant and proud, yet her personality wasnât without a pure and innocent sideâat least for now, she had treated Riezel with open, honest confrontation, never resorting to schemes, which made it hard to hate her.
Even Tristan, the brutal Fairy Knight, had a pitiful past that explained how she ended up the way she was.
Compared to these enemies, the fairies who pretended to be friendly with Riezel and Artoria mightâve been the real villains.
Take the fairies in the village of Tintagel, for example.
They had raised Artoria and, in theory, should have been the ones closest to her, but by now, there was no need to even talk about what they were really like behind the scenes.
Of course, the same went for the fairies who longed for the appearance of the Child of Prophecy, who hoped a savior would come and bring them salvation. They said all the right things and made grand speeches about welcoming the Child of Prophecy, but who knew what they were truly thinking inside?
Riezel had always believed that fairies werenât worth saving, but those who had become his enemies had each shown a side of themselves that was far better than the rest.
When he thought about it like that, it was pretty ironic.
"Then... how should we deal with Aurora?"
Artoria, starting to understand what Riezel was thinking, asked with a complicated emotion.
Hearing the question, Riezel answered without a hint of hesitation.
"Whether sheâs trustworthy or not, she does wanna overthrow Morganâs ruleâthat part must be real, right?"
Hearing this, Artoria nodded without hesitation.
"Mm, sheâs serious about that." Artoria nodded. "She really wants to bring down Morgan. She didnât lie about that."
Needless to say, that was exactly why, when Aurora showed up in front of Artoria and claimed she would help her rescue Riezel, Artoria didnât hesitate much before agreeing.
Even if Aurora was hiding something, as long as her true goal was to overthrow Morganâs rule, she wouldnât be holding back when it came to rescuing the âChild of Prophecyâ and would give it her all.
For that reason, Artoria accepted Auroraâs help.
"If that partâs true, then letâs not worry about her for now." Riezel said as he kept walking forward. "Until we reach our goal, she probably wonât do anything against us, so letâs rest up for now. If it comes to it, itâs not like we canât accept her help. At the very least, the Wind Clanâs information network is pretty useful. With them on our side, we donât need to worry about being in the dark."
Even though that was what he said, his tone made it clear he didnât care much either way.
Which made sense, didnât it?
"She got our identities wrong, and she misunderstood our goals. She thinks weâre trying to ring the six Bells of Pilgrimage and overthrow Morgan, but what she doesnât know is that Iâor rather, youâhavenât even decided to go that far yet."
"We can use that information gap to our advantage."
Aurora believed Riezel and Artoria were planning to fight Morgan and topple her rule, but she had no idea her whole premise was wrong.
Riezel and Artoria had never once thought about overthrowing Morgan, so as long as Aurora kept thinking that was what they were after, whatever plans she was making would start to drift off course.
Riezel and Artoria would always have the option to say no, and that alone gave them the upper hand.
As Riezel explained, Artoria focused on something else.
"She really got your identity wrong?" Artoria asked cautiously, watching him closely. "Youâre really not a foreign magus?"
"Nope." Riezel rolled his eyes. "I think I get what youâre thinking, but Iâve gotta say itâwho youâre talking about, that foreign magus, is someone else entirely."
"Who?" Artoria perked up. "Is it the one Morgan and Aurora mentioned from Proper Human History?"
At this, Riezel suddenly stopped walking, making Artoria quickly come to a halt as well.
"You caught that, huh?" Riezel turned to her, looking almost impressed. "Guess you are way smarter than anyone wouldâve thought."
âSo... I usually look dumb?â
Artoria barely resisted the urge to smack Riezel on the head with the Staff of Selection.
"So what exactly is this Proper Human History?"
Artoria glared at Riezel and pressed him for an answer.
"In short, itâs a world thatâs different from this one."
Riezel spoke in an offhanded tone, saying something that left Artoria stunned.
"Another... world...?" Artoriaâs mouth fell open in shock.
"Yeah, something like that." Riezel nodded.
At first glance, this world didnât seem any different from the other so-called âanother worldâ Riezel had been to, but that wasnât the case, because this world was far more special than any of the other worlds he had visited.
First of all, the Faerie Britain Riezel currently stood in was not the entirety of this world, but merely one extraordinary part within an incredibly vast world structure.
And to explain all of this, one had to first understand the meaning of the term âProper Human History.â
Proper Human History referred to the correct history.
In this world, human history wasnât fixed or unchanging.
Much like the competition for survival in nature, history followed a process of natural selection, where some histories flourished while others failed, and the way to distinguish which history was superior or inferior, successful or a failure, depended on whether a history could continue to exist.
If a timeline could keep progressing without suddenly being cut off or destroyed, then it was considered proper history. On the other hand, if a timeline gradually strayed in the wrong direction during its development and ended in destruction, then it was deemed a failed history.
The former was known as Proper Human Historyâa correct timeline, a correct foundation of humanity, while the latter was the result of a wrong choice made at a historical turning pointâa history fated to collapse and be discarded, known as a âLostbelt.â
Lostbelts were usually pruned by the world itself, denied the chance to even become parallel worlds, and inevitably headed toward extinction. Faerie Britain was one such worldâa world whose path diverged from Proper Human History and ultimately developed into a Lostbelt.
"In Proper Human History, meaning the correct version of human history, Britain did exist, but it wasnât a nation ruled by fairies."
Riezel continued his explanation.
"You and Morgan actually existed in the Proper Human History version of Britain too. Morgan aside, in Proper Human History, you were humanânot a fairy from Paradise."
Riezel was referring to the legend of King Arthur.
It was a body of stories centered around the mythical King Arthurâa legendary tale from the Middle Ages that described the life of Britainâs most mythic and heroic kingâKing Arthur.
According to the tale, King Arthur was the leader of the Knights of the Round Table, a figure almost godlike in stature, known as the Ideal King, the King of Knights, and the Eternal King.
King Arthur drew the Sword of Selection, Caliburn, and became King of Britain, and also received a holy sword from the fairy of the lakeâa weapon forged within the Inner Sea of the Planet.
Throughout his life, King Arthur fought twelve battles, each ending in a near-miraculous victory, securing Britain during a time of extreme peril.
Not only was his mentor the famous legendary magus Merlin, but every knight he encountered and brought into the Round Table was a hero of unmatched fame and inhuman strength.
Meanwhile, his elder sister was Morganâa witch who hated Arthur for becoming king and believed she was the rightful heir to Britain. Working in the shadows, she caused countless disasters, ultimately leading to his fall and the destruction of Britain.
King Arthurâs legend had already spread across Wales by the ninth century and later became widespread across Europe thanks to Geoffrey of Monmouthâs literary works.
Writers like Chretien de Troyes, Wace, Layamon, and Malory also contributed stories involving the Holy Grail, and during the Victorian era, their stories regained popularity.
Of course, that was Britain in Proper Human Historyâthe correct version of Britain.
Faerie Britain, however, was its opposite.
It was an anomalous version, a distorted history that developed from a mistake at the source.
In this Britain, the country wasnât ruled by humans but by fairies.
In this Lostbelt version of the world, Britainâor more accurately, this place resembling Britainâwas the only remaining nation.
Morgan, who had never attained the throne and eventually descended into madness in Proper Human History, ruled here as the Queen of the Fairy Kingdom for 2,000 years.
As for Gawain, Lancelot, and Tristanânames that originally belonged to the Knights of the Round Table who served King Arthur in Proper Human Historyâthose titles were now granted by Morgan to three Fairy Knights, and with those names came the identities and powers once held by the original knights.
And Artoria, who in Proper Human History was Morganâs blood relative and known as King Arthurâthe ruler of Britain who was supposed to leave behind grand legends and a thunderous reputation in Proper Human Historyâhad become a Fairy of Paradise in Faerie Britain.
Moreover, she bore the identity of the Child of Prophecy, growing up in an unnoticed rural village. It was only now that she had finally stepped onto Britainâs land and been entrusted with the mission of saving Faerie Britain itself.
"In your eyes, this might seem like a completely normal thing."
"But to those from Proper Human History, this is a strange development that has already deviated from the correct timelineâan anomalous history that wouldnât even count as a wild tale."
"So, Faerie Britain isnât a normal country or a normal world, but a Lostbelt that shouldâve been pruned long ago."
Riezel explained to Artoria, enunciating each word clearly.
"What Morgan and Aurora refer to as Proper Human History is a world completely different from this Lostbeltâor rather, that world is whatâs considered normal and correct."
Needless to say, the terms âoutside worldâ and âforeign landâ that had been mentioned several times before were actually referring to Proper Human History.
Because in this Lostbelt, there was only one country, the Faerie Kingdom of Britain, and everything beyond it was nothing but an endless ocean, there were, strictly speaking, no actual foreign lands.
Consequently, in this context, âforeign landâ and âoutside worldâ usually referred to Proper Human History.
"S-So youâre saying... youâre from Proper Human History?"
Asking this, Artoria widened her eyes, looking at Riezel in utter shock.
However, Riezel shook his head.
"No, Iâm not from Proper Human History. Iâm from another worldâone thatâs even harder for you to imagine."
Riezel had actually revealed even that much.
"A-Another world...?"
Artoriaâs eyes grew even wider and she started to feel a little dizzy.
It was clear that she was now overwhelmed with information, and her worldview had taken a serious hit.
"You think this is a lot?" Riezel said with complete calm and composure. "Honestly, this world is far bigger, far grander, and far more troublesome and dangerous than you could ever imagine. Youâll understand eventually. What Iâve told you so farâthis is just childâs play, since the truly terrifying and shocking stuff comes much later."
It went without saying that Riezelâs words struck fear into Artoriaâs heart.
At this moment, Artoria quietly swallowed, feeling like she was walking a tightrope above a bottomless chasmâone misstep and she would fall to her death, body shattered beyond recognition.
"Is... this world... that terrifying...?" Artoria muttered unconsciously. "Proper Human History... King Arthur..."
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over her, and she felt like she was seeing someone.
It was someone who looked exactly like her, yet gave off a completely different impression.
She wore armor, held a holy sword, and stood atop a castle wall, facing the wind as she gazed out over a plain bathed in the setting sun.
Her face was identical to Artoriaâs, but her expression was filled with strength and solemnity, and her eyes held a will like forged steel as if she were staring down a grand and noble goal.
Looking at this strange reflection of herself, Artoria somehow instinctively knew her name.
âArtoria Pendragon...â
She was King Arthur and Artoria of Proper Human History.
"Ugh..."
Artoriaâs dizziness worsened, and her vision began to spin wildly.
She wouldâve collapsed on the spotâif someone hadnât caught her.
"Whatâs wrong with you?"
Riezel, watching as Artoria suddenly began to sway, nearly collapsing to the ground, quickly stepped forward and caught her, his face filled with surprise as he asked.
"I..."
Artoria shook her head, and only when the dizziness had eased a bit did she speak, still sounding uncomfortable.
"I-I think I saw another version of myself... one wearing armor and holding a sword..."
Hearing this, a glint flashed through Riezelâs eyes.
In the original work, Artoria had indeed dreamed of her Proper Human History self after ringing the first Bell of Pilgrimage, and after that, every time she rang one of the Bells of Pilgrimage, she would dream of something, with most of those dreams related to King Arthur from Proper Human History.
Now that Artoria was experiencing this a month late, was it because she had known nothing about the existence of Proper Human History until now? Because she hadnât known there was another version of herself?
In the original work, Artoria had encountered the foreign magus before ringing the first Bell of Pilgrimage and then learned from the magus about Proper Human History and Lostbelt, which was probably why she immediately dreamed of her other self afterward.
Remembering that, Riezel shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside for now.
"Letâs go back to your room and rest." Riezel said when he saw how awful Artoria looked. "Get a good nightâs sleep. You might feel a lot better when you wake up."
Hearing this, Artoria really wanted to refuse since there were still so many things she didnât understand.
For example, if Riezel wasnât the foreign magus, then who was?
Someone from Proper Human History?
Would that person come to Faerie Britain to assist her?
Why?
What was their goal?
All of these were the things Artoria wanted to know, but unfortunately, Riezel didnât give her the chance to refuse.
"Forget it, Iâll stay and make sure you fall asleep."
Riezel could tell from Artoriaâs expression that she was resisting, so he spoke in a tone that left no room for argument.
"When you wake up, if thereâs anything you wanna know, just ask me then."
As Riezel said this, he picked Artoria up, but this time, it was a princess carryâcompletely different from the casual way he had picked her up before.
"Whereâs your room?" Riezel looked down and asked.
"T-That way..."
Once Artoria was in Riezelâs arms, she quieted down for a moment before pointing in a direction, her cheeks slightly red.
Without saying another word, Riezel headed that way with Artoria, but he didnât notice at all that in a nearby corner, a figure was watching them intently, lost deep in thought.