"With that, today's training comes to an end."
Scáthach maintained her usual demeanor, gazing at Arthur with a distant posture. "You're much stronger now, so I expect you to train even harder—at the very least, enough to ensure you can surpass yourself tomorrow."
"Yes." Arthur wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Now that he had resolved his problem of physical weakness and his endurance had improved significantly, Scáthach had also become far more serious than before.
Because of this, Arthur's daily physical exertion was practically the same as it had been in the past.
As a result, Arthur inevitably grew somewhat frustrated.
How long will it take before I reach my master's level?
"What are you thinking about?"
When Arthur came back to his senses, he realized Scáthach was calmly staring at him.
"It's nothing…" Arthur shook his head.
Scáthach was probably taking this more seriously than before to tell him one thing: he still had a long way to go.
Her goal was obvious—she wanted Arthur to remain serious and never relax.
If he said something discouraging now, it would only disappoint Scáthach.
Scáthach looked at Arthur, set her spear aside, and asked casually, "Are you staying here today?"
"Yes, it's still early. After resting a bit, I want to continue training," Arthur replied.
He needed to meet Morgan again.
Scáthach nodded slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then looked at Arthur. "By the way, there's something I need to tell you in advance."
Arthur raised his head, puzzled.
Scáthach said calmly, "You bear a Geis, so you cannot betray the Land of Shadows. However, there are all kinds of temptations in this world. When faced with temptation, humans often lose themselves, so you must know how to remain vigilant."
"Yes." Arthur was somewhat confused by Scáthach's sudden words, but he still nodded in agreement.
Although Arthur didn't understand what Scáthach was trying to say.
"Be especially careful around certain goddesses." After finishing, she cast one last glance at the stunned Arthur, pulled her spear from the ground, turned around, and left.
Only after Scáthach had gone did Arthur snap back to his senses.
Wait! What's going on?!
Master doesn't know… right?!
Arthur practically screamed in his heart. Although he had vaguely sensed that his master might have already noticed something, the moment she uttered the word "goddess," his heart clenched violently.
After calming down, Arthur suddenly realized something.
According to Master, she knows I'm having an affair—no, she knows that I've been communicating privately with Morgan, and she allows me to see her, but I must be careful of her temptations and not betray the Land of Shadows?
Thinking about it carefully, that was exactly what she meant.
Now that he had obtained his master's approval, he no longer needed to hide anything… at least, he wouldn't be so anxious anymore and could speak openly with Morgan.
As long as he didn't betray the Land of Shadows, everything would be fine.
With that thought, Arthur felt much more relaxed.
It was only when he recalled his battle with Scáthach that this sense of calm became somewhat oppressive.
Even with the blessings of two gods and the strengthening granted by a black dragon and another unknown dragon, he still hadn't been able to reach his master's level.
Thinking about it, Arthur inevitably felt discouraged, and his mood soured abruptly.
But no matter what happened, he had to keep moving forward.
He had just used that vial of essence, so he still needed to go meet Morgan.
Why do I suddenly feel like I'm being controlled?
Arthur couldn't help but smile bitterly at the thought.
Morgan had given him dragon essence, which needed to be collected weekly, as it wasn't sufficient to strengthen his body all at once—it required gradual nourishment. As for why it couldn't be administered all at once, Morgan explained that the essence had a limited shelf life; in other words, it wouldn't work if it wasn't fresh.
Whether that was true or a lie, only Morgan herself knew for sure.
In short, he now needed to find Morgan to obtain the dragon blood essence.
After spending quite some time, Arthur finally arrived at Morgan's castle. As he passed the island where Artoria lived, Arthur was extremely cautious, fearing that the ahoge queen might surprise him again.
Last time, Kay hadn't blamed him, but if he were to "kidnap" Artoria again this time… it probably wouldn't be so simple.
Because Morgan had previously established some kind of rule among the Knights, Arthur was able to enter the palace without any obstruction.
"How strange—Morgan isn't in the palace?"
Arthur looked at the empty throne before him and muttered to himself. Morgan usually sat there, thinking about things, and she always liked to tease him whenever she saw him.
Arthur looked around and had to admit that the palace was truly magnificent and incredibly vast, with imposing knights passing by from time to time.
Come to think of it, is no one actually living in this palace?
Arthur suddenly felt that the entire palace was silent, except for the footsteps of the patrolling knights.
Let's take a look around. Maybe Morgan will be back soon?
With that thought in mind, Arthur stopped hesitating and walked forward along the corridor.
He didn't know where the corridor led; he simply wanted to wander and wait for Morgan to return.
As Arthur walked, he occasionally glanced at the palace's outer courtyard. The sun shone brightly over it, and butterflies fluttered among the flowers. The sunlight was so intense that it was hard to keep his eyes open.
Squinting slightly, he continued walking, and before he realized it, a large door appeared in front of him.
Arthur took a step forward, only to discover that the knights who hadn't stopped him along the way suddenly moved, their bodies creaking.
This wasn't because the machines were old, but because they were thinking—probably confirming whether the individual was qualified to enter.
Arthur didn't dare move, nervously staring at the automatons, and took two steps back.
He might be able to deal with one or two of these knights, but there were far more than that in this palace. If all these puppets attacked him together, he would be crushed to death.
After some time, the creaking of the Knights ceased, and they resumed their patrols, apparently agreeing to Arthur's entry through the door.
Arthur took a few steps forward, and after confirming that the surrounding knights were truly ignoring him and had adopted a "do whatever you want" attitude, he felt relieved. He stepped forward and pushed the door open.
A faint white mist, mixed with humid heat, enveloped him, and everything around was a vast expanse of white.
Where am I…? Arthur looked confused and took a few steps forward.
Suddenly, the sound of water reached his ears, along with a vaguely visible figure within the white mist.
"…"
Arthur's pupils slowly dilated.
This is a bathhouse?!
Considering the reaction of the Knights earlier, there was no doubt that someone was bathing here.
As for who it was… that was obvious.
Arthur silently took two steps back, intending to leave, when he heard a light, gentle voice coming from ahead:
"Why are you just standing there? Bring me a bath towel."
(End of Chapter)