FATE: The Man with Divine Keys

To be safe, Arkhan decided to proceed with caution.

"Madam, could you please tell me your name?" While speaking, he discreetly traced a mysterious rune in the air behind him.

[Rune - Truth]

If she dared to lie, Arkhan would immediately sense it!

"Oh, I'm really sorry, I forgot to introduce myself."

The woman stood up somewhat flustered and bowed to Arkhan.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Guinevere."

The Rune didn't respond.

'Is she really Guinevere?' A hint of surprise crossed Arkhan's eyes.

Like Morgan le Fay, Guinevere was a pivotal figure in the Arthurian legend. She served as King Arthur's queen but later became entangled in a romantic affair with the Knight of the Lake—Lancelot, igniting a 'platonic' love affair.

Discovered by King Arthur, Lancelot fled Britain with Guinevere and sought refuge in Gaul, which is modern-day France.

His betrayal led to the discord of the Knights of the Round Table and was one of the crucial reasons for Camelot's downfall.

And now, the person involved was standing right in front of Arkhan, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Artoria.

He suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, by the way, you mentioned earlier that you have a sister?"

Guinevere shrank back slightly, her eyes showing a hint of fear as she nodded gently.

She seemed to be quite afraid of her so-called 'sister.'

Arkhan, noticing this, narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Is your sister named Morgan le Fay?"

Guinevere widened her eyes slightly.

"You know my sister?"

A barely noticeable panic flickered in her pale golden eyes.

Morgan le Fay was indeed Guinevere's sister, strange considering there were no statements of Uther having other offspring.

But thinking of Artoria, Arkhan shook his head inwardly. With Uther's abilities, if he could hide one, he could certainly hide another.

A sudden thought crossed Arkhan's mind, and his expression became somewhat peculiar.

Morgan was Guinevere's sister, and she was also Artoria's sister. Did that mean Artoria and Guinevere were sisters too? Could it be that this world was some kind of parallel world with a different setting?

Arkhan pondered while gazing at Guinevere's face.

'All three of them look exactly alike...'

Arkhan really wanted to know how Artoria dealt with someone with the same face as her.

"Mister Mage...?" Guinevere looked at Arkhan timidly.

Whether it was her imagination or not, she seemed to detect a hint of turmoil about this young man.

Her sister had said that mages were all extreme lunatics who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals, and their minds were very dark. Some even enjoyed imprisoning women in dungeons and using various twisted methods to torture and defile them to satisfy their own perverse desires.

Guinevere almost started crying. Could it be that she had encountered such a person? Did he save her just to capture her and slowly torment her?

'So scary, really scary! Sister, please come and save me!' Guinevere screamed in fear inside her mind.

Arkhan snapped out of his reverie and then looked at Guinevere who was on the verge of tears. He felt a bit puzzled, and after thinking for a moment, he suddenly realized.

"Are you worried that your sister won't find you?" He reassured her. "Don't worry, I'll help you find her."

He reached out to pat Guinevere on the shoulder but then abruptly realized that the person in front of him was not Artoria. He cleared his throat and smiled.

"Coincidentally, the place where I'm staying is not far ahead. Let's go there and take a break."

'It's true! It's true! It's true!' Guinevere couldn't hold back any longer, her eyes filled with moisture, and she forced a faint smile. "N-No... it's alright... I-I can find her myself."

"How can that be?" Arkhan promptly rejected Guinevere's idea. "There are many outsiders in Tintagel now, all sorts of people. What if you accidentally encounter bad people or perverts and find yourself in danger? Then my rescue would have been in vain."

'Clearly, you're the most dangerous pervert!' Guinevere retorted inwardly, trying to contain her inner fear and dread. She then forced a smile and replied, "Well, if that's the case, then I appreciate your help, Mister Mage."

She couldn't refuse any longer; otherwise, this mage would surely become angry. Now she had to find a way to stall for time until her sister came to rescue her.

'Stay calm... stay calm... Guinevere, you can do it, you must...'

'I wonder how Lily will react when she sees Guinevere...' Arkhan said inwardly while thinking of that amusing scene, a wicked smile crept onto his lips.

Guinevere: "..."

'That creepy smile is so scary! Sister, please come and save me!'

===

"Has Teacher gone back?" Artoria looked at Karl and asked, her face full of confusion.

Karl, as if he had just experienced something incredible, his eyes unfocused while pointing outside with his hand, "Lord God... left ten minutes ago."

Artoria nodded and turned to walk away. "Thank you, Uncle Karl."

After a moment, Karl regained his composure slightly after daydreaming about his discussion with Arkhan. He looked at the empty doorway, scratching his head in a puzzled manner.

"Who was that?"

Meanwhile, Artoria hurriedly ran along the main streets of Tintagel.

She had no idea that Arkhan had taken a different route and silently scolded herself for her lack of concentration, as she had barely noticed her teacher passing by.

She suddenly noticed a large crowd gathering up ahead, and faintly, there seemed to be the sound of a woman crying.

Furrowing her brows slightly, Artoria pushed through the crowd and made her way inside.

"Please, give it back to me... that really is mine! I didn't steal it!"

A modestly dressed woman with her stomach slightly swollen, knelt on the ground with a pleading expression on her face.

A slender man clad in silver armor stood in front of the woman, holding a jar in his hand, his murky eyes filled with a mocking smile.

"Who would believe that? A mere peasant and you have such a large jar of dragon blood. Do you expect me to believe you slayed a dragon yourself? This is clearly stolen!"

Dragon blood!?

The crowd erupted in murmurs, their eyes gleaming with intense greed as they stared at the jar in the man's hand.

Everyone knew how precious dragon blood was. Even the blood of subspecies dragons like wyverns was worth a fortune. How could an ordinary peasant possess such a thing?

"That is wyvern blood, not dragon blood! My husband traded his life for that. I really didn't steal it..."

The woman let out a despairing sob.

The jar of wyvern blood was meant for her unborn child. Her husband had always dreamed of their child becoming a powerful and respected knight.

It was initially an act of goodwill. Since all the inns in town were full, she had offered her spare wooden cottage for the young man to stay in temporarily. Little did she know that he would discover her jar of wyvern blood and immediately accuse her of theft.

"Please, give it back to me! My husband gave his life for this! I swear, I didn't steal it..."

She cried, clutching the leg of the silver-armored knight, pleading incessantly.

"Don't touch me with your filthy hands you bitch!"

Seeing the stains on his leg armor, a hint of cruelty flashed in the slender man's eyes. He lifted his right foot and planned to viciously kick the woman in the abdomen, but...

*Bang!*

A loud bang echoed, and the slender man was sent flying, crashing into a nearby rock. His armor shattered, and blood poured from his body. Only the faint rise and fall of his chest proved that he was still alive.

Everyone stared in shock at the sudden appearance of a golden-haired figure in the center of the scene.

Artoria held the jar containing the wyvern blood in her hand, her azure eyes as calm as a tranquil lake.

"I can vouch for her. This jar of wyvern blood belongs to her."