Chapter 66: Summon Frenzy (2)

"... It's a good thing that I bought the land around our mansion... or else we might've gotten a lot of complaints from our neighbors"

"Why?"

Enkidu asked as she walked closer to Lucias who was watching the spectacle behind him with a strange expression on his face.

"... Do you really need to ask that?"

Lucias said with a tired voice, ignoring the small party that was occuring behind him that was held by Mysterious Heroine X, Leonidas, and Vergil as they chugged an entire bottle of sake that they stole inside the mansion.

"..."

Anastasia who couldn't stand the noise walked closer to Lucias with her usual stoic expression as she tried to get away from the loud servants.

"... She has no modesty nor manners whatsoever"

Artoria (Lancer) muttered while watching X with a displeased expression on her face.

"... well... that makes her unique from the rest of you, Art-"

"Call me Ria like you used to"

She said as she leaned closer to Lucias.

"... Ria"

"Good"

"H-How about me, Lucias?"

Artoria Lily shyly asked as she pointed at herself, wanting to have her own nickname from Lucias.

"I'll just call you... Liria, I guess?"

Lucias suggested, combining her first name and her classification together to create her new nickname.

"Mn"

She happily nodded her head before sitting down next to him with a joyful smile on her face.

"Let's get this over with... I'm feeling quite tired for some reason..."

Lucias said while glancing at his servants who were loudly cheering for X as she chug down more liquor down her throat.

"... It's going to be a pain in the neck taking care of her hangover later"

"I'll take care of it for you, Lucias"

Enkidu suggested causing Lucias to smile at her direction in gratitude.

"Thanks... but she's my responsibility so I'll take care of her after this"

Lucias said with a light smile on his face as he glanced back at the summon button in front of him.

"I heard that accidents often happen when a girl goes home drunk with a guy alone..." (Anastasia)

"... I won't do anything to her"

Lucias retorted as he pressed the summon button once again with a nervous expression on his face.

"Please don't be another Artoria"

He pleaded as he closed his eyes in anticipation. Fortunately, the magic circle released a brilliant light that illuminated the entire garden, stopping all of his servants in their tracks as they waited for their new companion in anticipation.

"Hiiii! The Goddess Quetzalcoatl arrives in the ring!"

A tall woman with long curly golden hair wearing a very colorful outfit made from various native fabrics greeted with a lively expression on her face before noticing Lucias who was standing in front of her with a relieved expression on his face.

"Huh? I expected nude priests, but you're an adorable little summoner. Heehee, I don't suppose you're interested in tall, older women?"

She said as she leaned closer to Lucias with a mischievous smile on her face, earning her a glare from the Artorias who were watching them from behind.

"I am interested in older women, Quetzalcoatl-san"

"Lucias!!"

"I was just kidding... probably..."

Lucias teased while looking at Artoria (Lancer) who was glaring at his direction with a large frown on her face.

"What? Most of my fiancées are far older than me so I didn't lie"

Lucias retorted before stretching out his arm towards Quetzalcoatl for a handshake.

"Go ahead and have fun with the others, I'm still currently busy so I'll explain the situation later"

"Sure!"

Quetzalcoatl loudly stated as she held his hand tight but to her surprise no matter how much force she placed in her grip, Lucias kept smiling, unfazed of her strength.

"Interesting"

She muttered with a large grin on her face before giving him a short peck on his cheeks, agitating the two Artorias at his side.

"Please take care of me, Master!"

She said as she smacked his back with her hand before rushing towards the pile of sake at the back of the crowd, joining Leonidas and X in their drinking competition.

"Let's drink!!!"

[Quetzalcoatl has been summoned, one servant from the quest of ??? has been deducted]

"... It looks like I need to expand the mansion by tomorrow"

Lucias whispered under his breath as he watched his lively servants behind him.

"Ignore her, and start you next summon, Lucias"

Ria advised as she forcefully turned his head towards the translucent window in front of them.

"Sure..."

He said as he pressed the summon button while Anastasia watches him from the side with her usual stoic expression.

[The player has successfully summoned Artoria Caster of the caster class]

[Artoria Pendragon has been detected among the list of servant that the player currently have]

[Would you like to merge them?

Yes or No]

"... I guess it still haunts me even now..."

Lucias muttered before choosing the [No] option out of reflex causing a bright luster of light to illuminate their location.

"Hello. I am called Caster Artoria. To be honest, I don't really understand what it means to be a Servant, but if you say I will be of help with such a thing like magecraft, then by all means, please make use of me- Eh? Lucias?"

She introduced as soon as she arrived but froze as she opened her eyes and noticed Lucias who was sitting on the ground together with Anastasia, Artoria Lily, and Artoria (Lancer) before blushing profusely as she tried to avert her eyes from Lucias.

"Hmm... Another version of me who studied magecraft... Interesting..."

Artoria (Lancer) muttered while looking at her with interest.

Like Artoria Lily, their stature and physiques were underdeveloped and gave off a very innocent vibe around them. She wore a very simple white skirt and top with a blue jacket on top of her uniform.

"Y-You can just call me Castoria like you used to, Lucias"

She shyly suggested before walking towards them with an excited expression on her face.

"Castoria-san... Sorry about the ruckus behind me"

Lucias said with an apologetic look on his face while pointing at the rowdy crowd of servants behind his back.

"I-I don't mind"

"Thanks... join the others for the meantime... I'll explain everything later"

"H-Hai!"

She nervously answered before walking to his side with a nervous expression on her face.

"Don't tell me I also have a version of myself from the archer class?"

Artoria (Lancer) asked causing Lucias to shrug his shoulders before immediately pressing the summon button once again as fatigue slowly devoured his body.

"It's seems like forcefully extracting your mana to make the magic circle is placing a large toll on your body, Lucias... You should stop after this summon or you'll suffer from mana exhaustion"

The 'creator' advised inside his mind causing him to grit his teeth with a determined expression on his face while staring at the brightly shining magic circle in front of him.

"I have no time to rest... so I won't stop until I reach my limit or I summoned each and everyone of the specified servants of my quest"

Lucias said causing the 'creator' to frown from his words.

Slowly a single man with long white hair wearing a white robe of the finest fabrics stood in front of him with a gentle smile on his face before he introduced himself to his new master.

"Greetings. I am Merlin. People call me the Mage of Flowers. Just call me Merlin. I don't care for formalities"

[Merlin has been summoned, one servant from the quest of ??? has been deducted]

He said before noticing the abnormalities within in his expression.

"What's wrong, Master?"

"Nothing... I'm fine, I just feel... tired that's all"

Lucias assured with a light smile on his face before completely concealing his expression before Artoria (Lancer) noticed it.

"Is that so... then-"

"Teacher?"

Artoria Lily muttered in surprise while looking at her mentor that taught her magic in the past while Artoria stared at Merlin without any visible expression on her face.

"... It seems like you were able to summon many version of the king... but why is this version of her staring at me like I'm a pig... Is she embarrassed?"

Merlin said with an awkward smile on his face while looking at Artoria (Lancer) who was looking at him a disgusted expression on her face.

"Yeah... she's just embarrassed to see you again..."

Lucias said before nudging for Artoria (Lancer) to stop glaring at his direction.

"... Master, how did you do it?"

Merlin suddenly asked with brightened eyes as he leaned closer to Lucias after checking his current condition after being summoned.

"What?"

"... Didn't you free me from my confinement in the Garden of Avalon?"

He asked in confusion causing Lucias to look at him with a confused expression on his face.

"... What do you mean?"

"Well... I am not a proper servant, Master since I haven't died yet so the Throne of Heroes wasn't able to turn me into an heroic spirit"

"Not a proper servant... what do you mean by that exactly?"

Lucias asked as he leaned forward with curiosity visible in his eyes.

"I am not dead but I was eternally imprisoned in the Garden of Avalon, I was able to allow myself to be summoned as a servant using a few tricks with my magecraft"

Merlin explained before pointing at the newly created command seal located on Lucias Chest with his finger.

"But... you not only summoned me but freed me from my confinement so I was a bit surprised since none of the magecraft throughout history can do such a feat"

He explained causing Lucias to snap his fingers from the sudden realization that came into his mind.

"So you were like Artoria, huh? Well... Yeah, you're free just like how I freed Artoria in the past but... you're still recorded down in my own Throne of Heroes so... you're not actually free as of yet"

Lucias said while pointing at Artoria who was talking to Jeanne behind him.

"You're own Throne of Heroes you say... that's truly fascinating, Master"

"... You actually believed me that easily?"

Lucias asked as he found it weird that a powerful caster like him would believe him that easily.

"Well... That's the only explanation that I can believe on how you freed me from the Garden of Avalon... even though it sounds ridiculous, I've wandered this world for several years and found and witnessed much more unbelievable events and things so it is not hard to accept your explanation, Master"

Merlin explained as he sat down on the ground opposite him with a soft and gentle smile on his face.

"... Go ahead and talk with your student for the meantime... I'm sure she'll want to know why you suddenly dissapeared in the past"

"Hmm? Did something happen while I was gone?"

"Lancelot took Artoria's wife Guinevere, and he along with Mordred betrayed Artoria in the past, turning the entire kingdom that she ruled into a battlefield... She didn't blame anyone but herself on that matter but... I think you owe her an explanation on why you suddenly dissapeared during that time"

"... I understand"

Merlin answered before standing from the ground causing Lucias to smile at his direction.

"She's far more lively and happy than she was in the past... You have my gratitude for that, Master and... I know it's a bit late to say this but... Congratulations"

He said causing Lucias to look at him in surprise as he didn't expect for him to know about his King's pregnancy.

"Hmm, I was just guessing who the father is but I'm glad that I was correct"

He added before leaving Lucias who was twitching his lips as he watched him walked towards his fiancée.

"... What a carefree man"

Anastasia commented while holding her precious doll in her hands, waiting for Lucias to continue his summons.

"That's true..."

Lucias muttered in agreement before placing his attention back at the summon button in front of him.

"Only a few of them are left... I hope I can finish it by today"

Lucias said as he glanced at the list of servants that was specified by his quest while casually pressing the button as he glimpsed through his remaining quests.

"I guess I'll finish Gasper's Quest by this month..."

Lucias muttered before placing his eyes back to the magic circle as soon as the light dissipated.

A woman of small stature, covered completely in thick armor that entirely wraps her small frame. Her messy blond hair was tied in a ponytail on the back of her head as her emerald colored eyes like her father stared at him directly in his eyes with an arrogant expression on her face.

"I am Saber, name's Mordred. Is my father here?"