Najin blinked blankly.

What filled his vision was not the forest he had occupied moments ago, but the vast night sky. He blinked repeatedly as he gazed up at it.

'... Am I back?'

Had he returned? Or had it all been a dream?

Slowly sitting up, Najin raised his hand—the one he had shaken Merlin's hand with at the end. He thought a constellation had been inscribed on its back, but there was no trace of it now.

'Was it really a dream?'

Something about it felt too strange to have been a dream.

'Whatever it was...'

Najin slowly got to his feet. He had no idea how much time had passed, but he could not let his guard down. Pursuers might follow the river that had carried him here.

While erasing the traces he had left, Najin glanced at the city visible far in the distance. It was probably the city built above the underground one.

Looking at its enormous size, he felt some surprise at the thought that something like that had been overhead all along. But he could not regard it favorably. He knew all too well how much filth filled that place. He glared at the city's spire, visible even from this far away.

The spire bore an emblem resembling the Order's symbol. Was that the Order's lighthouse he had only heard rumors about? Najin etched its appearance into his mind and turned away, vowing that he would bring it down someday.

He had no time to look back at what was behind him. Now he had to move forward.

'But where do I go?'

Najin had only just emerged into the outside world. He knew nothing about it. He had no idea where to go or how far he would have to flee. His world had expanded in an instant... but in that expanded world, the boy felt like a lost child.

A vast world. Fields stretching far and wide.

Where should he head? Which way should he walk? Feeling utterly at a loss, Najin decided to get farther from the city for now. Just as he was about to take his first step, a glimmer appeared.

The back of his hand shone. The constellation that had been invisible moments ago was rising into view upon it.

2.

"You called, Merlin?"

A short while after the boy vanished from Merlin's stellar domain, a new guest set foot within it. He was a Constellation who had hung his stars in the same region as Merlin, and a knight who had remained at the Round Table to the very end.

The oldest knight. Bedivere the One-Armed.

Loyalty to Arthur alone kept him guarding the shattered Round Table even now. Merlin smiled at the knight she could therefore trust more than anyone.

"There's something urgent I need to tell you."

"Does it concern Excalibur? I've done some investigating myself, if so."

Bedivere sat down on a stump near the lakeshore.

"It is difficult to intervene inland, so what I've learned is limited. But to begin with, the Order of Starblood seems to know nothing."

"The Order?"

"Yes. It appears the worst-case scenario—their executioner drawing Excalibur—has not come to pass. Their patron deity denied it personally... so it is probably true."

"I tried making contact elsewhere as well, but..."

Bedivere sighed as he murmured this.

"To be honest, the information available to us is far too limited. Had I known this would happen, we should have established an order of our own."

The inland region was neither the Land of Stars nor the Battlefield of Stars, nor even the vicinity of Camlann. It was exceedingly difficult for Constellations who had already ascended to intervene in that land where humans lived.

That was why some Constellations founded religious orders to intervene on their behalf, while others created armed groups that fought solely for them and stationed those groups inland. But Merlin, Bedivere, and the knights associated with the Round Table had not done so.

More precisely...

"It wasn't that we chose not to. We couldn't."

Merlin sighed. Her gaze turned beyond the horizon, and she frowned at the dragon stirring there. At a flick of her finger, the net of stars hanging over it tightened around the dragon and slammed it into the ground.

BOOM...

Turning away from the dust rising beyond the horizon, Merlin continued.

"Keeping those cursed things in Camlann in check already keeps us busy enough to kill us. How are we supposed to worry about the inland region too?"

"For someone who says that, you've been paying it quite a bit of attention lately. Something about hearing a voice."

"... That was an anomaly."

Merlin averted her eyes. Bedivere shrugged with a wry smile.

"So, what have you learned?"

"I found Excalibur's master."

"I see. You found its mas—what? What did you say?"

Bedivere's eyes widened.

"Who is it? The empire's Sword Master? The Sword Saint of the Order of the Sword? Or one of their disciples?"

"None of them. It was some youngster I'd never seen before."

A youngster who looked barely twenty, or perhaps a little younger. Merlin explained that a boy who had yet to accomplish anything had drawn the sword.

"An insolent little brat, too, let me tell you. He stared at me with his eyes wide like this and talked back, clear as you please..."

Listening to her, Bedivere glanced at Merlin's face. Something felt out of place.

'She sounds like she's complaining, but...'

Her voice was full of laughter, as though she found it fascinating. The corners of her mouth were lifted too. Bedivere thought it strange.

Normally, Merlin would have been more reluctant than anyone to welcome a new candidate. She had witnessed Arthur's death at his side and heard the Knight of Betrayal's prophecy firsthand. Hadn't she shunned candidates who might draw Excalibur precisely because she wished that prophecy would never come true?

'But now...'

She was smiling. Merlin smiled just as she had in the distant past, when they traveled with their king. Bedivere could scarcely understand it, but...

"He said the very same thing."

Before long, he understood.

"Would you believe it? He gave me the same answer Arthur did."

As he listened, Bedivere found himself smiling just like Merlin. The story she told of the boy who had drawn Excalibur fascinated him too—enough to bring back memories of his time with their king.

"That is remarkable. Didn't you say he was a youngster without a single star?"

"That's right. Forget stars—he has nothing at all. Truly, he's just an ordinary youngster."

"And yet he endured those sights... just as our king did?"

Merlin nodded, and Bedivere smiled.

"I'd like to meet him myself."

"About that."

Merlin grinned. It was the smile of the strategist and guide who had devised ingenious plans at Arthur's side. Bedivere might have been glad to see that smile again after so long, but instead, a chill ran down his spine.

Whenever Merlin smiled like that, she caused trouble. Things had worked out in the end, but Bedivere remembered how grueling the process had been.

"Wait..."

Before Bedivere could stop her, Merlin spoke with a mischievous smile.

"I'm going to bring him here myself."

"... Pardon?"

"We can't intervene where that youngster is now. He'd have to reach at least the Battlefield of Stars before we could really talk with him and set him trials..."

"Who wants to wait that long? And who knows whether some other bastards will snatch him up along the way?"

"So I'm going to transfer my consciousness down there."

"Wait. Please, wait a moment. What do you—"

"If I use Excalibur as a medium to transfer my consciousness to him, I'll be able to see what he sees and hear what he hears."

In other words...

"I'll guide him myself. He told me, in his own words, that he'd made up his mind and would aim for the highest point. Then there's only one path for him to walk."

Merlin was saying she would become the boy's guide.

"The same path walked by the king we served."

The king's path. Or the path of a hero.

"I'll make him walk it."

Bedivere looked at Merlin in silence. Transferring her consciousness. He knew what that meant.

A Constellation's authority came from the place where its constellation hung—its stellar domain. Moving its consciousness elsewhere meant leaving behind all the authority, stature, and might it possessed as a Constellation. It would become a being that could influence reality only through its voice.

'It certainly is the only way to intervene inland, but...'

It was difficult, and dangerous. If anything happened to the boy housing her consciousness, Merlin's consciousness could be endangered as well.

This is a decision you must weigh carefully.

Bedivere intended to offer that advice, but the moment he saw Merlin's face, he closed his mouth. It was the face of someone who had already decided.

"... I doubt you'll listen, no matter what else I say."

Bedivere sighed and shook his head.

"I understand why you called me, too. You want me to take over your duties while you're away. Isn't that it?"

"There's nothing difficult about it. Just press the dragon down whenever it stirs. I'll leave my stars behind, so it shouldn't be too hard."

"That sounds like the most difficult task of all."

Another crease appeared between Bedivere's brows at having her work suddenly dumped on him, but he soon rose with a sigh.

"I can't do it for long."

"It won't take long, either."

It might be a long time for a human, but for the constellations that had guarded this place for centuries, it would be no more than an instant. With those words, Merlin closed her eyes, and her body scattered into starlight.

Alone on the lakeshore where Merlin had vanished, Bedivere ran his hand over his armor. The emblem of the Round Table was engraved upon it. Hundreds of years had passed since the Round Table lost its master and was shattered. The knight who had guarded it alone throughout those centuries let out a long breath.

He had waited hundreds of years already. What was another ten or twenty? That was what he told himself, but even Bedivere could not put aside his curiosity.

The boy who might become his master.

Imagining what that boy might look like, Bedivere grasped at empty air. A pure-white spear—the weapon Arthur had bestowed upon him—settled into his hand. With the spear in his grasp, he left the stellar domain.

He did not know when the boy would reach this place, but until then, he would have to hold his post. Bedivere set out to deal with Camlann's cursed beings trying to escape through gaps in the seal.

3.

The constellation on the back of Najin's hand flickered briefly.

He narrowed his eyes at it. The flickering constellation had vanished again, as though it had never shone at all.

'What in the world is this?'

He was rubbing the back of his hand in bewilderment when a voice spoke.

"You won't see it no matter how much you rub. I've hidden it so the other constellations can't see it either."

The voice rang in his ears. Najin's shoulders jolted, and he turned toward its source. But there was nothing in sight.

"Turning your head won't help either, so don't waste your energy."

The voice had a grin in it. He had been hearing it just moments ago, so he recognized its owner.

"... Merlin?"

"You seem rather startled."

"What's going on? Your voice is ringing in my ears."

"What do you think?"

He heard her snort.

"I told you I'd be watching."

Najin blinked, and the voice continued.

"Besides, if you're going to compete with Arthur... shouldn't you at least have the same conditions? That would make it a fair competition."

The same conditions as King Arthur.

Najin did not immediately understand. Before he could ask what she meant, Merlin answered.

"You need a guide too."

Someone to point out the path a hero must walk.

Only then did Najin realize what she meant. Arthur had always had an adviser and guide on his journey. Countless knights had followed behind him, but the place at his side had always belonged to one person.

Merlin, the guide. The guide who always showed the right path.

That was how the storybook introduced her. Yet Najin murmured with a somewhat dubious expression.

"So... you're offering to be my guide?"

"That's the plan."

"Didn't you dislike me?"

"Yes. I do."

"Even so?"

"Dislike is one thing. Giving credit where it's due is another. You proved yourself worthy by breaking through the trial I set you."

Merlin spoke matter-of-factly.

"Those who are worthy deserve a chance."

「A fitting chance for those who are worthy.」

He had seen that sentence in The Life of Arthur.

Najin nodded slowly. Quite apart from whether he accepted it, there was no reason to refuse the offer.

'Honestly, I had no idea what to do.'

He had escaped the underground city, but he knew nothing about the outside world. Naturally, with no knowledge of it, he had no idea where to head either.

"I'm grateful for that."

"No need to thank me. It's only right."

"Then let me ask for some advice right away."

He had no particular intention of turning down help. Use everything you can—that was what Ivan had taught him. Najin let out a short breath and spoke.

"First, I'm being pursued. If I'm caught, I'll probably die. I'll explain the details as we move, so please just hear me out for now."

Najin pointed at the city behind him.

"Second, I need to get as far from that city as possible. It's the city that sent my pursuers, and it seems they already know exactly what I look like and all my identifying features."

"... Did you commit some crime?"

"Well, I've been a criminal since birth, so that's a little difficult to answer. I'll explain all that later too."

"For those reasons, I need to flee somewhere right now. Do you know a good route?"

* * *

Najin traveled for some time along the route Merlin showed him. Only after entering a thick forest did he catch his breath. He was a fair distance from the city, and the towering trees concealed him well, making it a suitable hiding place.

She had only guided him briefly, but he had to admit that Merlin was quite an excellent guide. In moments, she had found an ideal spot to hide and take a short breather.

'This is convenient.'

He was treating a person—no, a Constellation—like a tool, but he felt little guilt about it. Why refuse when she offered to help? Thinking that, Najin raised his head to look at the thick trees.

'So this is what trees look like.'

The underground city wasn't entirely without trees, but he had never seen any this large. Looking at trees that seemed three or four times his height, Najin marveled anew. Everything was new to him.

"So."

Once she saw that Najin had caught his breath, Merlin spoke.

"What's all this about being a criminal and having pursuers?"

"Well..."

Najin was about to answer her question when he stopped. The sky he could see through the thick trees was different from before. The pitch-black night sky was gradually brightening.

"Why is the sky that color?"

"What? What's wrong with the sky?"

"The color is strange."

"Strange... you say?"

Merlin sounded baffled.

Tilting his head, Najin climbed a nearby tree. Perched high in its branches, he looked up at the sky.

His view was unobstructed. One corner of the sky had taken on the color of the ore lamps he had always seen in the underground city. The darkness that had stained the sky black retreated, replaced by a sunset-colored glow. Before long, something round rose beyond the horizon, drawing light along with it.

Something shining bright and warm.

Najin pondered its identity for a long time before a word crossed his mind. The sun. What the underground city's residents had tried to imitate with the sunset glow of their ore lamps, but had never managed to reproduce.

"That..."

Najin murmured without thinking.

"So that's the sun."

For the first time, Najin witnessed a sunrise. He stared, spellbound, at the rising sun, at the sky brightening as the sunset hues receded and blue spread across it. It was such a wondrous sight.

"'So that's the sun'?"

Merlin sounded incredulous.

"You talk as though you've never seen the sun before."

"I haven't. Not until today."

"What?"

Najin smiled bitterly.

"Today is my first time seeing the sun or a blue sky. Where I lived, I couldn't see either."

"Did you live in a tunnel or something?"

"Somewhere similar."

Where should he even begin? The words did not come easily. He had spent eighteen years of his life there. Summing up that place was not easy. As Najin searched for the right words, Merlin spoke.

"If it's difficult to explain, tell me as we move. I don't mind hearing it a little at a time."

"Shall we?"

"Yes. Well, I didn't plan it this way, but..."

Merlin continued.

"The conditions you want seem to fit the destination I already had in mind."

Somewhere far from this city. Somewhere he could escape his pursuers, discard his exposed identity, and start over. By chance, the destination Merlin had already chosen met every one of those requirements.

"Cambria, the City of Opportunity. Do you know it?"

Najin's eyes widened at the question. Cambria—he had heard that name too.

'To be precise, I read it in a storybook.'

After the prologue in which King Arthur drew Excalibur, Cambria was the setting of the first chapter, where the story truly began.

'The place where Arthur and Merlin met.'

It was also the city where Arthur first began to distinguish himself in earnest. The city's other name was...

"The place where two dragons lie buried. The Dragons' Grave."

"You know it well. You know who did that too, don't you?"

Of course he did.

"You and King Arthur."

That was how King Arthur and Merlin had first made their names. Their tale began with the legend of a swordsman and a mage bringing down two dragons.

This was hardly the time for it, but Najin felt his heart race. A story he had known only through words on a page was unfolding before him.

"Before we head to Cambria, just one thing."

Merlin spoke.

"Let's check your abilities. I need to know your level before I can work out a plan."

"My abilities?"

"Nothing much. Can you use mana? That alone should give me a rough idea..."

After a moment's thought, Najin drew the sword at his waist. It was old Hogel's sword, which had served him well in his escape from the underground city. Holding it, he released his sword aura.

It swept out over the blade. A white radiance rose, followed by particles of gold.

"Will this do? I think this is about all I can show you right now."

"..."

"Hello?"

Merlin said nothing.

It was as though she had been struck speechless.