Excalibur had been sighted in the Outer Lands.

A platinum-blond woman had wielded Excalibur.

Merlin's gaze was fixed on those two sentences in the newspaper. She stared at it with wide eyes, only opening her mouth after a long while.

"Ha."

Even then, she did not immediately speak. She let out a breath of disbelief, paused briefly, then said,

"Which bastard is it?"

She did not fly into a rage. Her voice sounded little different from usual. But although it did not show on the surface, Najin, who shared her emotions, could feel her seething inside.

'Do you know anything about this?'

"No? I don't know anything about it. And Najin? You don't need to worry. I guarantee that's a fake. I'd stake every star I have on it."

Her answer was unequivocal.

"Excalibur is unique. There's only one in this world, and no replicas exist. There is one sword that's somewhat similar, but it already has an owner, so we can rule that out."

She was probably referring to Gram—the demonic sword possessed by the Sword Fiend of Camlann. Merlin let out a long breath and pointed at Najin.

"Since Excalibur is unique, naturally, its owner is too. As the Mage of the Lake and the Round Table's representative, who kept Excalibur for a thousand years, I can state with certainty... You're Excalibur's owner. Not some worthless woman who crawled out of who knows where."

Merlin gave a smug little hum and shrugged.

"My being here beside you is proof of that. Isn't it?"

'Well... I never doubted it.'

Najin nodded. He had never thought the Excalibur he held was a fake. If it was, how could he explain his powers of regeneration and resistance? And how would he explain Merlin, right before his eyes?

'I was just curious.'

"About what?"

'This Excalibur reportedly sighted in the Outer Lands. The sightings aren't just from the Order of the Starbody, are they?'

Najin pointed at the newspaper. It listed a string of testimonies about sightings of Excalibur in the Outer Lands, and they did not come solely from Constellations and priests belonging to the Order of the Starbody. Knights of the imperial household dispatched to the Outer Lands were giving the same accounts.

"Excalibur was sighted near the City of Eternity."

They all said the same thing: a platinum-blond woman had wielded Excalibur near a city in the Outer Lands. Pointing at that passage, Najin asked,

'What is the City of Eternity?'

"... Hmm."

For once, Merlin—who loved acting knowledgeable and found fulfillment in flaunting her knowledge—fell silent. Not because she knew nothing about the place, but as though she found it uncomfortable to discuss.

"It's a little complicated to explain."

With a strained groan, Merlin wound a lock of hair around her finger and spoke in a mutter.

"It's a stellar domain created by the Round Table."

'What?'

"Actually, Kingdom of Eternity would be more accurate than City of Eternity..."

She trailed off. After casting sidelong glances at Najin and making her reluctance to speak abundantly clear, Merlin finally sighed at length and opened her mouth.

Najin heard her mutter inwardly, 'Right. We shouldn't keep things from each other.'

"Sorry. Actually, it wasn't the Round Table. I created that stellar domain."

'Then it's your stellar domain?'

"I did create it, but to be precise, it was created by 'me with twelve stars, immediately after Arthur died,' so I can't really say I made it."

What the hell kind of nonsense was that?

Najin tilted his head.

'Merlin, you had twelve stars?'

"I originally did."

'The storybooks and records say eleven, though?'

"I gained that twelfth star the moment Arthur died. And I threw it away right after gaining it. That's probably why it wasn't recorded."

Merlin lowered her gaze and spoke while looking at the floor.

"I don't remember exactly what I did immediately after Arthur died. When I came to my senses, I was sitting at the Round Table. Apparently Bedivere had brought me there, but he absolutely refused to tell me what I'd done."

There was a gap in her memory.

"All I know is that I did 'something' right after Arthur died, that one of my stars fell as the price, and that the 'City of Eternity' was born as a result."

The City of Eternity, or the Kingdom of Eternity.

'Then what's inside that city?'

"I don't know either. Maybe Bedivere knows something? There's a barrier around the city, and no one has ever managed to break through it. It's had no visitors for a thousand years."

'But you said you made it?'

"I told you. I don't remember."

At Merlin's words, Najin's expression grew grave. What immediately came to mind was the Constellation wielding the authorities of Oblivion and erasure. But Merlin shook her head.

"It's a little different from Oblivion or erasure. Only that particular part has been cleanly cut out. There's probably only one person who could excise it that neatly."

When Najin asked who that was, Merlin smiled bitterly and pointed at herself.

"Who else? The mighty great Constellation Merlin."

'...'

"Honestly, part of me thinks it's a good thing. After Arthur died, I was a little... quite a lot unstable. I don't really know, but maybe having those memories cut out is why I'm somewhat all right now?"

Najin remained silent. It felt as though a box lay before him that should not be opened lightly. As the atmosphere grew heavy, Merlin clapped her hands and smiled.

CLAP

"Well, if you're really curious, can't we just visit sometime? You could probably get in."

Merlin pointed at Najin.

"The condition for entering that city is 'being chosen by Excalibur.' Only you would be able to enter."

2.

"Still, I don't think this is such bad news."

Having finished reading the newspaper, Najin murmured to himself.

Over the past few days, speculation that Dawnstar might be the one who had drawn Excalibur had been treated almost as established fact. There was no definitive proof, but everyone seemed to suspect Najin based on circumstantial evidence. He was glad to see attention shifting elsewhere.

'I've been getting too much attention lately, too.'

Both the media coverage and the appraisals of him had grown overheated. He had accomplished feats that warranted it, but too much of anything could be poison.

'Public attention needed redirecting.'

This incident had broken at such a convenient moment that Najin almost found it suspicious. The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence.

Sightings led primarily by the Order of the Starbody.

Najin knew little about the Order of the Starbody. The Order of Starblood was a gathering of inquisitors whose main business was hunting devils, while the Order of Star Radiance was a gathering of scum. What, then, was the Order of the Starbody?

"Idol worship."

Merlin's answer was brief.

"They're a group that creates a perfect being and worships it. The Incarnation is an example, though calling them perfect is a bit of a stretch, isn't it? They erode too, so they have to be replaced with someone new every hundred and fifty years. What they want is probably something like the Order of Starblood's murderous fiend."

A perfect being that neither eroded nor changed.

"Hmm."

Najin rubbed his chin. Something had occurred to him.

"The accounts say it was a platinum-blond woman who wielded Excalibur. Wasn't Arthur platinum-blond too?"

"He was."

"Could it be that this..."

"Stop."

Merlin cut him off.

"Let's stop talking about this. It's a fake. Okay? There's no need to worry about a fake. Right?"

She seemed openly averse to the subject. She was not trying to hide something. Merlin simply seemed unwilling to think about the City of Eternity and that platinum-blond woman.

The City of Eternity. The platinum-blond woman.

Those two subjects lingered in Najin's mind for a moment, but he shook off the thoughts and rose. In any case, it did not seem to be something he needed to worry much about right now.

More importantly, he had somewhere to go today.

When he opened the door of his lodgings and stepped outside, attendants were waiting for him. Although he found that rather overwhelming, Najin followed them to the dressing room.

"The Company Head has already prepared your clothes."

The attendants helped Najin with practiced skill. They swept his bangs neatly back and tied the rest of his hair into a ponytail. The outfit Dieta had prepared was black with white embroidery, paired with a short cape that covered one shoulder.

After changing, Najin headed to the company's headquarters. Dieta, who had been waiting for him, widened her eyes when she saw him arrive to collect her. Then she smiled warmly and took a step toward him.

"It would be nice if you dressed like this more often."

"It's uncomfortable when I'm swinging a sword."

"That's true, too."

Dieta shrugged and held out her hand. Following the etiquette she had taught him, Najin bowed slightly and took it.

3.

A banquet was being held in Camelot, the imperial capital. It was jointly hosted by Loktid and Cornelhild, the Empire's two leading trading companies, with the Dieta Trading Company also listed alongside them. Though the two companies found that galling, they could not object to Dieta's participation.

["Oh, really? Then maybe I'll go too?"]

With the Dieta Trading Company joining in, Cypria Gachevska, master of the Platinum Tower, had expressed her intention to attend. Once that news spread, the banquet had grown several times in scale.

Countless nobles, scions of distinguished houses, and high-ranking imperial officials were attending. Splendid carriages arrived in a procession outside the banquet hall. Inside, some of the continent's foremost musicians, theater troupes, and entertainers performed to enliven the atmosphere.

As befitted a banquet hosted by the Empire's leading merchant magnates, everything was extravagantly lavish.

"I hear the Empire has been rather unsettled lately?"

"The Empire's foremost warrior has taken action, after all. Don't get me started. Our department has been in absolute chaos lately, too. Suddenly we're told to reinvestigate three hundred years' worth of incidents..."

"Surely he has his reasons?"

"Of course he does. I would never doubt Sir Gerd. I merely meant it was bewildering."

"Why, hasn't House Martilda been utterly ruined this time? All because some hidden corruption came to light while the records were being reviewed. The head of House Martilda must feel hard done by. Who could possibly have imagined an incident from seventy-eight years ago would suddenly be brought back into the spotlight?"

"No secret stays secret forever, does it?"

"Oh my, why are you looking at me?"

Political maneuvering passed back and forth amid cheerful chatter and laughter. As the invited guests arrived one by one, the prominent figures only began appearing just before the banquet started, as though they considered arriving early beneath their station.

Whenever a new guest entered the hall, gazes swept toward them like the incoming tide, then receded again.

Then came the click of a heel.

CLICK

Two people appeared in the banquet hall.

One was a woman in a pure white dress, her light brown hair neatly braided. Her figure traced graceful, flawless curves, and her skin was snow-white. Bright yellow eyes glittered between thick, slightly lowered lashes.

Dieta, The Snake That Swallows Gold.

As the girl who had recently set the Empire abuzz appeared, every gaze in the hall swung toward her at once. Those gazes surged in like a rising tide but did not ebb away. Her accomplishments had drawn their attention; her beauty held it.

Any noble daughter, any young lady gathered in the hall would pale beside her. Such was her beauty.

Dieta made no effort to hide her assets. Exceptional beauty was a commodity perfectly suited to attracting attention and holding people's gazes. And a merchant was, after all, someone who always sold their wares for the highest possible price.

As those gathered in the hall swallowed hard, Dieta smiled faintly. Gazes filled with desire, fascination, interest, surprise, and countless other emotions moved past her to the person at her side.

Who was her partner?

She could sense their willingness to pay any price to claim that place, but Dieta merely pressed a little closer to the arm of the man escorting her.

As though to say: Unfortunately, the place beside me is not for sale.

The gazes directed at Dieta naturally shifted to her side, and once they recognized her partner, their eyes widened further.

"..."

Gray hair swept neatly back, and sunset-colored eyes. No one was unfamiliar with that distinctive appearance. Was he not the man who had recently set the Empire abuzz, known to be under the protection of the Empire's foremost warrior?

Najin, Dawnstar.

Rumors said he had close ties to Company Head Dieta, both professional and personal, but who would have expected them to attend the banquet together? The murmuring in the hall grew louder.

CLICK

Seemingly unconcerned by the murmurs, the two moved smoothly toward the center of the hall. Najin held people's attention just as firmly. Even standing beside Dieta, he neither paled nor seemed outshone.

Numerous nobles and high-ranking officials were gathered there, yet no one could deny that those two were the stars of the evening.

Beauty was a weapon in its own right.

As if to prove that truth, Najin and Dieta claimed the spotlight the moment they arrived.