Chapter 13 - The End of Audience

Author's Note:

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As Merlin expected, the reactions of these women were telling. They were watching him with gazed eyes and blush on her face. Even the woman in nun's habit opened her eyes, showing her deep blue eyes.

The charm of Merlin after he evolved was ridiculous. It surpassed his previous charm!

That was why he had been hiding his face. He didn't want to accidentally charm random people when he arrived in the city.

That would have surely been troublesome.

Queen Sophie, Princess Marie, the High Priestess, and Leonora were staring for a while. They were utterly charmed by Merlin. Meanwhile, Merlin couldn't help but feel good because he had successfully wow them.

They stopped staring when Filia cleared her throat, getting their attention.

"Um... My apologies for staring, Sir Hero." Queen Sophie stammered, feeling embarrassed because she had lost her composure. She even apologized to Merlin, and it was a big deal because she was the ruler of this land.

"Ah... No harm was done, Your Majesty. No need to apologize," Merlin replied hurriedly. But inwardly, he grinned victoriously because he had thrown off the Queen's composure.

The High Priestess and Leonora were also embarrassed. But, they schooled their expression quickly and acted as if nothing happened.

Meanwhile, Marie had a troubled expression. However, she masked her troubled feelings quickly. Still, she wasn't quick enough to hide it from Merlin.

"Very well. Then, I shall explain the matter regarding your summoning," Queen Sophie changed the topic abruptly. "You might have heard this from Filia and the rest, but the Dark Lord has been revived. Because of Dark Lord's revival, monsters became more active. They are a threat to this land, no this world! And you shall defeat the Dark Lord to save this world!"

Queen Sophie paused momentarily to breathe. She continued, "In order to save this world, we shall assist you by any means necessary, Sir Hero. For the time being, you can stay in this castle. Please feel free to treat this castle as if it's your own home."

"I understand. I appreciate this favor," Merlin replied Sophia's generous offer without hesitation.

"But of course!" Marie suddenly interjected, catching the attention of everyone.

She stood up and had an enthusiastic expression. She spoke, "You're the hero that will save the world, Sir Hero! The tales of Hero's epic deeds have been passed on in this land for generations! I read the stories countless times as a child!"

Maria clasped her hands together and closed her eyes as if she was immersing herself in the tale. She continued spiritedly, "A once feeble and meek nation that was sudden visited by the hero, almost like a blessing from Heaven! And by his mysterious power, a grand army of female warriors was born! And thus, the almighty Dark Lord was finally vanquished! The exploits of which were depicted in epic poem number one! Really, I just can't believe that the very hero of legend is standing right before my eyes!"

She stopped and was taken aback when she saw the reactions of Merlin and his girls. Merlin was giving her a deadpan. Meanwhile, his girls had a weird expression as if they couldn't believe the Princess of their land acted like that.

Behind his deadpan, Merlin thought, (If I don't know any better, I would believe in your act like Naoki. But alas, I know that you are scheming and wanting to use me. Unfortunately, I can't accuse you without proof, so I'm going to play along for now.)

What's more, Merlin's new ability, Empathy, told him that Marie was only acting so far. She was inwardly calculating her moves with cold precision. There was even a hint of fear and other complex emotions directed at him.

Marie returned to her throne with a blushing face. She had one hand covering her face and her other hand on the armrest of her throne. "I just met the Hero I've looked up to for so long, I couldn't help it! Forgive me for my impertinence!"

Sophia was giggling in amusement. She then spoke to Merlin, "Please forgive this child, Sir Hero. Marie has been like this ever since... Regardless, it's true that many tales of the Hero have been shared with the populace. But, as I said, do forgive us for entrusting you with such a task on such short notice."

Sophia had a genuine apologetic expression. Her emotions Merlin sensed using his Empathy were the same. She was different from her troublemaker of a daughter.

"As a recompense, do feel free to take up lodging here in the castle until you are ready to continue your journey!" Sophia ended her words.

Merlin had expected that, but his girls were taken aback. They wore their surprise on their faces, except for Mila who had a calm mask as always.

Marie immediately agreed spiritedly, "An excellent proposition, mother! It has only been so long since the Dark Lord resurrected, so he can stay here to his heart's content!"

Merlin schooled his expression when he sensed the eagerness and other alarming emotions of Marie.

Sophia turned her head to her daughter and said with her eyes closed, "Indeed."

However, her innermost feeling was cold and calculating. There was also wonderment directed to her daughter.

It looks like, behind their friendly masks, this mother-daughter pair were maneuvering against each other. Merlin was feeling amazed.

"Mila," Sophia called Mila suddenly, "Kindly escort Sir Hero to his chamber."

Flustered, Mila stood up and bowed. She voiced her acknowledgment for her task, "As you wish, Your Majesty!"

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After the audience ended, Merlin and his girls exited the throne room. They walked a little bit before stopping to converse.

"It looks like I was invited to stay the night here." (Merlin)

"The Queen insisted, so it can't be helped," Filia remarked.

"What about you, girls?" He swept the girls, bar Mila, who was standing behind him, with his curious gaze.

"We'll head back home to rest as well," Filia answered.

"Finally, we get to relax for a change~♪!" Llusse seemed happy.

"So, do you girls have a place here?" Merlin inquired.

"I do." (Filia)

"Yes. I was born and grew up here, after all." (Tianne)

"I have one, but I won't invite you there. If you want to visit someone's place, you should visit Tianne's. Her family has a big home here." (Llusse)

"I don't have a place to stay the night. Should I rent a room in an inn?" (Aina)

"You can stay in my place, Aina!" (Tianne)

Merlin accepted their answers. He was glad that his girls had places to stay.

He suddenly remembered something and turned his attention to Tianne. "By the way, is that woman in a nun's habit your relative, Tianne?"

"Yes! She's my mother! She's also the Head Priestess of the Church! I will introduce you to her another time. I'm sure my mother will be pleased!" Tianne answered eagerly.

"Wow! So, you're actually a noble lady, Tianne!" Merlin was surprised that the High Priestess was Tianne's mother. (I wonder if she will mind sharing a bed with me. If she doesn't mind, I want to have a Sacred Oyakodon set with her and Tianne. Whatever, let's focus on that troublemaker princess and the MILF first.)

"That is surprising," Aina remarked with an amazed expression.

"Right? Tianne is a genuine blueblood. Are you surprised?" Llusse couldn't stop herself from sending a jab.

Fortunately for her, Merlin would stay in the castle tonight. If not, she would get punished.

"Please, don't treat me differently. Treat me like usual. Besides, my family is different from the normal noble because we are tasked to maintain the Church by the crown. We don't have lands to rule like other nobles," Tianne said, flustered.

"Okay! For me, Tianne is Tianne. Whether you're a noble birth or not, you're still my girl! That won't ever change!" Merlin unashamedly used the words of typical harem protagonists from the novels he'd read.

"Lord Merlin..." Tianne seemed to be moved by his words. She was staring at him dreamily, blushing red.

"All right. Enough with your flirting, you two!" Filia interrupted the sweet moment of Merlin and Tianne.

"What? Are you feeling jealous? Do you want to hear that, too?" Merlin teased Filia to get back on her. Meanwhile, Tianne pouted at her.

"Don't tease me, milord. Anyway, we should go. We can't treat the castle as our own home because it's impolite." Filia reminded the others who couldn't stay in the castle, which meant almost everyone but Merlin and Mila.

They nodded, agreeing. Filia then bid her farewell to Merlin. "We will try to stop by when we have time, milord!"

"I'll anticipate your next visit, girls!" Merlin sent them off.

Filia, Tianne, and Aina began walking off, but Llusse stayed behind for some reason.

She approached Merlin and whispered to his ears. "Hey, Merlin, this is just between you and me, okay! Be careful around that princess, you hear!"

Merlin raised his brows. He forgot that Llusse had a sharp intuition, and she also felt suspicion to the Princess in the Doujinshi.