Chapter 647: 509 Merlin? Alberon?
"————"
In the unspeakable silence, a subtle change occurred in the atmosphere on the scene.
The change wasn’t significant, but Alberon, being in the midst of this atmosphere, knew it was by no means a good sign.
"...What do you mean by that?"
Altoria turned around, looking at Alberon. The emotion that surfaced in her eyes was quite clear.
It was displeasure.
It was irritation.
While it wasn’t to the point of anger, Alberon knew that Altoria had caught on to what he intended to say.
She knew that what Alberon was about to say, was definitely not something she would want to hear.
And indeed, it was so.
"Though you may not want to hear this, and might even think I’m deliberately causing trouble, I would prefer not to say these words just as I’ve joined the group, making you suspect that I have ulterior motives. But regrettably, the chance to discuss this matter in the absence of that person may only come this once."
Alberon seemed to have prepared himself mentally to be disliked or even distrusted by Altoria, as the resignation on his face gradually gave way to a direct gaze at the fairy girl.
"I don’t know how you perceive that person, but to me, he’s without a doubt a suspicious individual."
"He is not the Child of Prophecy, not a fairy from Paradise."
"He’s not from the Pan-Human History, not a stranger from another land."
"Of course, he isn’t born in Fairy Country Britain either, having nothing to do with this Folklore World."
"So, who exactly is he? Where does he come from? What purpose does he have in coming to Fairy Country Britain?"
These questions had crossed Alberon’s mind more than once.
Although he had only met Reiger and Altoria in the past few days, Alberon had taken notice of Reiger long before that.
After the battle at Salisbury, Reiger’s fame had spread throughout the entirety of Fairy Country Britain, drawing everyone’s attention, including Alberon’s, especially towards this so-called Child of Prophecy, who could block Lancelot, Gawain, and Woodworth all at once and even prompted Morgan to leave the crucial throne to appear personally to capture him.
Particularly after realizing that Reiger was not the Child of Prophecy, Alberon found it impossible not to harbor a doubt.
That doubt was, who exactly is the so-called Child of Prophecy, that can prompt Morgan to take matter into her own hands and result in Lancelot, Gawain, and Woodworth returning empty-handed?
Hence, Alberon began his investigation.
As a result of that investigation, Alberon could confirm that Reiger was not a fairy of Fairy Country Britain origin.
If that was the case, Reiger could only be from outside this world, which started Alberon’s suspicion whether Reiger was a person who drifted over from the Pan-Human History.
Although Fairy Country Britain is a Folklore World, it appeared on Earth, much like the Pan-Human History, so sometimes objects or beings, including humans and fairies from other locales, might drift over from the other side of the sea due to various reasons.
Alberon suspected Reiger was such a person. He even doubted whether he was a envoy from Pan-Human History’s Chaldea.
Thus, Alberon conducted another investigation, only to discover that there had been no sightings or signs of unknown drift objects along the coasts of Britain during the time Reiger appeared in Fairy Country Britain.
That meant there was a high likelihood that Reiger did not randomly drift into Fairy Country Britain from the outside world, but rather had another channel for entering this Folklore World.
This started to pique Alberon’s curiosity.
If he was neither born in Fairy Country nor drifted in from the outside world randomly, then how did Reiger come to Fairy Country Britain?
If his arrival was intentional and not by chance, then what was his purpose?
Was his encounter with Altoria and his impersonation of the Child of Prophecy truly coincidental?
Why would Morgan leave the crucial throne and personally intervene for his sake?
Just who is he, and where does he come from?
All these questions remained unresolved until now.
Realizing that his investigation could go no further and that continuing it would likely yield no significant progress, Alberon chose to meet them directly and collaborate with them after Reiger and Altoria had escaped from Camelot.
Now, Alberon was sharing the doubts in his heart with Altoria as a word of caution.
"From what I see, he knows a lot about Fairy Country Britain, even quite abit about you and Morgan. And it seems like he has some understanding of my affairs, too."
"Why is that?"
"Not being a fairy born in Fairy Country Britain and not a traveler from Pan-Human History, how does he know so many things?"
Alberon seemed determined to purge all of his internal doubts, pouring them out in a rush of words.
"So, I find him very suspicious. I’m not saying he could harm us; it’s just that not knowing his origins, not knowing his purpose, it’s something we really can’t ignore."
That was what Alberon wanted to say to Altoria.
He didn’t expect to get much information about Reiger from Altoria.
It was apparent from Altoria’s reactions that, although she unexplainably trusted and even depended on Reiger, she too didn’t understand much about him. She had showed surprise and astonishment more than once at the variety of maneuvers and performances he displayed.