Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

The three present all fell into silence.

Jeanne d'Arc's expression grew increasingly stiff as an indescribable sense of irritation violently assaulted her entire being.

So irritated that she desperately wanted to fight.

The youth had nothing to do with her—he was purely being used by King Arthur to provoke her.

How had things come to this?

Jeanne couldn't quite understand. Her pupils dilated momentarily, filled with both anger and confusion.

At this moment.

She seemed to hear a revelation from the beyond, urging her to stop him.

Was this—

A revelation from the Lord?

Jeanne wondered if she was hallucinating.

Having long been abandoned by the Lord, how could she possibly hear His voice?

But it didn't matter.

She was the Dark Saint now—she could do whatever she wanted!

Souma, too, felt even more helpless.

So, what was he supposed to do, caught in the middle like this?

Could Lily be bluffing maliciously, just like the King of Heroes?

If she really had evidence, this was clearly meant to provoke Jeanne.

Who knew what the Dark Saint might do!

Souma pretended to be utterly terrified, trembling with fear and shock, his hand shaking slightly as he reached out to grasp hers.

Mentally, he was crying—this was really the end!

Their hands met.

However.

To his utter bewilderment, he realized he had grabbed someone else's hand instead.

The hand of the Emperor of France!

What the hell?

Seriously, you want to stir up trouble too?

Artoria gazed coldly at her. "What do you mean by this?"

"A mere ordinary boy cannot bear the weight of your knighthood, not even as a squire. Are you trying to kill him?"

Jeanne's thoughts raced, effortlessly coming up with a justification.

Annoying!

It was just so damn annoying!

Coupled with that strange revelation from the beyond, she didn't hesitate to interrupt this squire initiation ceremony.

"Since when does the Dark Saint have such kindness?"

Artoria's voice was icy.

Earlier, when the little girl Roya had accidentally removed her hat, Artoria had recognized it as Hades's Cap of Invisibility, given to her by Gilgamesh.

Even among the [Gate of Babylon], which boasted treasures from all of human history, this divine construct ranked among the very pinnacle.

Second only to the King of Heroes' Ea, her own Excalibur, and other such formidable Noble Phantasms.

A divine construct of this caliber wasn't something the King of Heroes would casually give away.

Moreover, Merlin had used the essence of Avalon to recharge [Avalon], yet its effects manifested on Roya.

This meant the little one was connected to Nameless!

Artoria casually glanced through the records and easily deduced that Roya lived with an ordinary high school student, who had become her guardian.

Namely, the youth before her.

A completely unremarkable boy with no magical circuits whatsoever.

Even she couldn't detect anything special about him.

But the fact that he lived with Roya proved he couldn't possibly be so ordinary.

Then, she noticed that Gilgamesh had acted somewhat strangely during their conversation.

All these factors combined led Artoria to conclude that even if this boy wasn't Nameless, he was definitely connected to him!

There was another possibility—

That the King of Heroes had created a false body to protect his dearest friend. That guy was also trying to take Nameless from her!

But Artoria wouldn't forcefully expose him or reveal his identity.

The silly country girl before him hadn't noticed at all—how could she possibly provide clues to her opponent?

"Forget it then."

Artoria sheathed her holy sword and turned to leave without hesitation.

Her cloak billowed behind her as everything about her departure seemed clean and decisive.

"Huh, did I just get played by her again?"

Jeanne d'Arc frowned slightly.

The opponent's departure was too abrupt, as if it were a pre-dug trap just waiting for her to step into it!

Damn King Arthur—one day I'll make you pay back every last bit with interest!

Hmph, anyway your Britain has already left the EU, so don't even think about coming back!

A timid voice came from beside her: "Um, could you let go of me now?"

The boy looked shocked and terrified, his whole body shrinking into a pitiful ball.

"Don't tell anyone."

Jeanne smiled even more kindly and amiably, reaching out to pat the boy's head again.

The unspoken threat was clear—one wrong word and she'd crack open his skull!

"I understand! I understand!"

Souma immediately straightened up, standing even more rigidly than during military training.

Then.

He watched as the two top-tier Heroic Spirits departed one after another, finally able to relax slightly.

"At this rate, I'll develop heart disease while still young! I'm just an ordinary high school student!"

Souma wept silently in his heart.

There are always villains trying to harm me!

Well then, I can't just passively take hits—it's time to take the initiative.

Did they really think he'd walked through human history and safeguarded human order by talking rather than fighting?

Countless battles against Heroic Spirits, gods, and Evils of Humanity had tempered him into someone far stronger through endless combat.

So Merlin, you bastard, where exactly are you hiding?

If he didn't deal with this scheming Child of Nightmares behind the scenes, he'd be completely exposed sooner or later, inviting endless trouble.

By then, his so-called happy retired Master's daily life would completely collapse!

At his current strength, trying to solo a candidate for Grand status was clearly delusional.

So—time to call for backup!

During his evening break.

While out for a walk, Souma coincidentally ran into an old acquaintance.

Under the streetlight ahead stood a golden, glittering figure looking down at him with visible amusement.

"No need to look up. I'm currently invisible—no one can see me except you."

Gilgamesh offered this reminder.

Aside from [Hades' Cap of Invisibility], he possessed all sorts of concealment Noble Phantasms to perfectly hide all traces of himself.

As Fuyuki City's enthusiastic citizen Goldie, wasn't it only natural to strike up a conversation with a youth wandering late at night, showing concern for their physical and mental safety?

After all, he was just a helpful foreigner contributing to Fuyuki's peace!

"Well then, come, follow me inside."

Souma muttered as if talking to himself.

Then he stopped his stroll and turned back toward the hotel.

The hotel room was naturally provided by the school, part of the perks of being a student representative.

"I live alone, and the room's pretty big. Feel free to visit, and if you get tired, just find a spot to rest."

Souma casually invited.

In this entire world, he had to hide things from everyone else—only this bastard of a best friend could he speak freely with.

Once Alaya exposed the video of Caster Gilgamesh, the guy would probably take even better care of him.

For now though, it was still slightly lacking.

"Tch, my dear best friend, how is it that you haven't been carved up by those two yet?"

Gilgamesh suddenly sighed.

I came here expecting a good show, but it turned out to be nothing like the grand spectacle I imagined.

What a pity! What a shame!

I shouldn't have given Roya that hat earlier!

"Tch, you're just itching for me to die, aren't you?"

Souma really wanted to have another heart-to-heart with the guy.

Too bad his power had plummeted, leaving him with little confidence.

No more beating around the bush—he cut straight to the point. "Gilgamesh, for the sake of our friendship, tell me—what will it take for you to help me deal with Merlin?"

The other man raised a single finger.

"Ten… a million?" Souma ventured cautiously.

"Nope. One billion!"

Gilgamesh grinned, not even bothering to hide his predatory delight.

"Holy shit! Are you throwing gold around, or is Merlin made of the stuff?" Souma stared at him wide-eyed.

***

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