Chapter 30: Naturally From The Beginning
Chapter 30: Naturally From The Beginning
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"Hmm... How did you know that?"
The girl—no, Mellie Ambrosius—immediately abandoned the aristocratic facade of an innocent noblewoman.
Her demeanor shifted entirely, her lavender eyes now brimming with cold calculation as she examined Elric. Her previously lively expression vanished, replaced with a mechanical detachment, as if she were a finely-tuned automaton analyzing a curious anomaly.
Mellie prided herself on her impeccable acting skills. As the Nightmare, a legend whose name echoed through Avalon and Type-Moon lore, her mastery of deception was unparalleled. Mellie Ambrosius was an enigma, wielding both charm and ruthlessness. Her talent, combined with her nature as a nightmare and her formidable mental fortitude, made her believe no one could pierce through her intricate performances.
She was wrong.
Her confidence had been absolute. Mellie had anticipated uncovering everything about Elric, just as she had with countless others. Equipped with EX-rank Clairvoyance, Mellie had an intimate understanding of the flow of Camelot's history and the distortions it would undergo. She viewed history not as a solemn chronicle but as an endless source of amusement.
Her detached nature allowed her to treat humanity as a collective spectacle. Yet, Elric's arrival in Britain had thrown her into turmoil. This mysterious existence defied all her expectations. The usual clarity provided by her Clairvoyance was obscured; she could sense Elric's presence but couldn't see through him. This tantalizing mystery gnawed at her.
Driven by a lust for intrigue, Mellie had devised this elaborate scheme to uncover the truth. She had detected Elric the instant he entered Camelot—her territory. Without revealing her findings to anyone else, she had taken it upon herself to engage him. Confident in her disguise, she had hoped to unravel the enigma he represented.
Yet, now she stood, feeling exposed—like a performer whose act had been derided as farce. The realization dawned on her: Elric had likely seen through her from the beginning. Every indifferent glance he'd given her along the way now felt like mocking laughter.
Her puzzled expression returned to Elric, but this time, it carried a darker weight. The cute and innocent demeanor she had adopted earlier had vanished, replaced with a chilling intensity. It was as though the lighthearted comedy had twisted into a macabre horror.
But to Elric, Mellie's shift was meaningless.
"Wondering where I saw through it?" he said with a casual air, his gaze steady. "No, it's better to say... I saw through you from the beginning."
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Fraudster (A): Lies are like a prison, laughing at the present.
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As Elric's initial profession granted by the novice gift package, the Fraudster didn't enhance combat abilities much. Instead, its primary strength lay in its capacity to discern lies.
From the very moment Mellie touched him, Elric had seen her entire presence glow crimson. While most people's words were three-tenths lies and seven-tenths truth, Mellie's proportions were extraordinary: eleven-tenths falsehoods and zero-truth. It was as if the world itself owed her an extra measure of deceit.
Initially, Elric had only noted her penchant for dishonesty. But considering that no one should have known of his journey to Camelot and factoring in Camelot's unique traits—along with Morgan's unclear knowledge of Camelot's national teacher and Mellie's Clairvoyance—Elric had pieced together her identity with little effort.
Still, Elric found himself slightly surprised. Where the famed Merlin should have been, there stood Mellie.
Unlike Merlin, who still has a little bit of conscience, his otherworldly counterpart, Mellie, is purely a fun-loving person. She has no heart!
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"My name."
Looking at Mellie, Elric explained, "I said it at the beginning—my name is Rhine."
"As far as I know, the name Rhine isn't popular. The first reaction to hearing it should be glory, but you don't show any expression, which is a bit strange."
"I acted like an innocent and beautiful girl who didn't know much about other kings. It's right to lack common sense."
Pouting her lips, Mellie felt confident her homework on the name should have been enough. After all, it would be odd for a noble lady, who never ventured out, to know the name of another king.
"As a woman, you don't know my name?"
Smiling, Elric displayed a mocking expression on his face.
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This is about Elric as the third reward of the novice gift package.
Beauty is a Disaster!
Beauty is a Disaster (SS+): Your charm is unique. What you say and do can influence the perceptions of those around you, greatly improving the initial favorability of any creature toward you.
Under the influence of the emperor's privileges and the natural destiny of the savior beast, Elric's appearance had been off the charts for a long time.
Back in the Roman Empire, even though the Emperor of the Night, Reinhard, was infamous, countless girls were still drawn to his appearance. Some noble ladies even exposed all the evidence of corruption in their families just for a chance to meet him.
How filial!
In Britain today, Elric's existence had risen by more than one level. If someone claimed not to know the name of the King of Glory, Elric might believe it.
But that person must be a man. No woman could escape Elric's charm.
Not even Mellie.
Otherwise, even as a carefree, fun-loving young lady, she wouldn't have held hands with someone for the first time. Meilli's closeness to Elric was undoubtedly influenced by his talent for beauty.
"Your expression… you deserve a beating."
For the first time, she found someone in the world who deserved a beating more than herself. Even Mellie felt like she had lost.
She couldn't help but have a few blue veins pop on her head. She didn't realize she had been led by Elric without even knowing it.
"Heh..."
Sighing inwardly, Elric thought nightmares were truly fascinating creatures. He recalled Mellie's earlier expressions—cute, shy, and pure—but the moment he addressed her by name, the playful façade of the legendary British wizard disappeared completely.
In fact, his first impression of Mellie had been wrong. Elric had seen the long silver hair, delicate features, and the cute, pure temperament of a girl next door. But then she grabbed his hand and acted coquettishly… Please, this is not a love story!
Thinking over everything he knew about Britain, he quickly confirmed who the silver-haired girl in front of him was.
Mellie Ambrosius, the one who created Artoria's nightmare, was known as the first auxiliary in history.
Mellie's reputation depended largely on Merlin's. From the Absolute Demonic Front to numerous Type-Moon works, Elric was aware that Mellie was an alternate version of Merlin from another world. One helped bring about the birth of Artoria, while the other contributed to Arthur's rise.
But regardless of the differences, it didn't change her unpredictable inner world or her nature as a troublemaker.