Chapter 648: 509 Merlin? Alberon? _2
But when dealing with a person of unknown origin, Alberon felt that Altoria still needed to be somewhat guarded.
From his point of view, this was necessary, and his various suspicions were also justified; after all, Reiger’s background was indeed mysterious and certainly suspect.
However...
"...That being said, aren’t you just as suspicious, Alberon?"
The look Altoria gave Alberon was as if she was staring at a grand swindler.
There was no helping it.
"Although your position seems to be the same as ours, and what you say is mostly true, you’ve also not spoken the whole truth, concealing many things from us, haven’t you?"
Altoria’s candid accusation made Alberon show an expression of helplessness once again.
"This is your Fairy Eye, right?" Alberon, scratching his head, said, "Worthy of the savior from paradise, you possess this unique ability that has disappeared from the Fairy Country of Britain. You were born with it."
The ability to see through lies with the Fairy Eye was not exclusive to Altoria.
In fact, at the beginning, all fairies possessed the Fairy Eye, which could see through others’ lies and discern the true thoughts in their hearts.
The fairies of Fairy Country Britain were the same, at least the original six Alarings who first emerged from the Inner Sea of the Star onto the surface were equipped with the Fairy Eye.
But as times changed and the Fairy Country’s population grew, at some unknown point, the fairies of Britain began to lose their Fairy Eyes, becoming incapable of discerning truth from lies.
Thus, fairies could only rely on magic power, scent, and appearance to differentiate fairies from humans. If they still had the Fairy Eye, Reiger wouldn’t have been able to conceal his human identity from them.
It was only fairies like Altoria, who were not born in Fairy Country Britain but came from the paradise, who still retained this eye that the fairies of the Fairy Country had lost.
This also proved Altoria’s authenticity as a fairy.
Knowing this, Alberon had not thought from the beginning that he could easily earn Altoria’s trust.
As Altoria mentioned, he had never spoken falsehoods before them, but he also had basically not spoken the entire truth.
Or rather, whatever he did disclose was certainly true, but some truths, he had not chosen to reveal.
For example, Alberon had told Reiger that his combat abilities were weak, and not to expect much from him.
This was true.
At least, in his current state, his combat abilities were indeed negligible.
However, if he were to regain his true form, that would be a different matter.
Alberon operated in this way, half-revealing and half-concealing, creating this strange state where he had essentially not said any lies, yet had also not completely told the truth.
To Altoria, this naturally seemed highly suspicious.
"I don’t deny this," Alberon made a gesture of surrender and said, "But it’s not that I don’t want to tell, it’s just that the timing isn’t right, so I can’t just say it as I please."
This too was true.
But, as always, Altoria thought of Alberon as a grand swindler.
The reason was simple: although both spoke the truth, unlike Reiger, who never thought to hide anything, Alberon was different, intentionally concealing some matters and speaking half-truths.
The former was forthright and honest, while the latter truly appeared suspicious wherever he went.
This was why Altoria was more willing to lower her guard around Reiger rather than Alberon, who had not lied.
In light of this, Altoria spoke up.
"Since you feel the timing isn’t right, that you can’t casually speak, how do you know Reiger isn’t the same?" Altoria countered, "Perhaps he also feels the timing isn’t right and isn’t intentionally concealing anything?"
"...If you put it that way, then I have nothing to say," Alberon sighed and said, "I was just reminding you, just casually asking how well you knew him, no other implications. You should be able to see that, right?"
In the presence of the Fairy Eye, whether what Alberon said was true or false could easily be discerned.
Unfortunately for Altoria, she had already understood that speaking the truth did not mean it wasn’t a falsehood.
Even if Alberon had no other implications, it didn’t signify anything.
Maybe he just wanted to see how much Altoria understood Reiger, then decide what to do next?
Having no ulterior motive didn’t mean he wanted to do nothing.
If Alberon hadn’t been a Servant from Proper Human History, an entity undoubtedly opposed to Morgan, his previous remarks about the crisis of Proper Human History and his wish to assist them, to become their partner—all that would have been truly genuine, and Altoria wouldn’t even want to deal much with him.
Compared to those fairies who were one way on the surface, another way underneath, yet could be clearly seen through by her, Altoria found people like Alberon, who were consistent on the inside and outside but still secretive, making it hard to grasp their true intentions, to be more apprehensive.
For Altoria, the world was just a storm of malice.
And Reiger was the sun in that storm, providing light and warmth to her.
Alberon, in Altoria’s eyes, was like the shadow hidden behind the storm and the sun, with no clear indication whether the shadow would envelop the storm or eclipse the sun.
This made Altoria somewhat inclined to keep Alberon at a respectful distance.
On the other hand, Altoria did not want to be completely at odds with Alberon.
As for why...
"You, are you really not Merlin?"
After much hesitation, Altoria finally asked this question.
In response, Alberon frowned.
"The Merlin you speak of should be the legendary magician who guided King Arthur and nurtured Arthur’s abilities, correct?"
Alberon said so.
The great magician, Merlin.
He too was a character out of the legends surrounding King Arthur.
Legend had it that he was a magician hailing from paradise, a dream demon who lived in an idyllic realm.
He was Arthur’s teacher and the mastermind who subtly orchestrated the birth and rise of Altoria Pendragon, the girl who would draw the sword of selection and become the legendary King of Britain.
Some regarded him as Sage.
Others saw him as a disaster.
But it was undeniable that he had always played a vital role in Arthur’s life; without him, there would have been no King Arthur in this world.
And the legendary King Arthur was Altoria’s counterpart from Proper Human History.
Now, the fact that Altoria kept bringing up the name Merlin in front of Alberon inevitably led to some fanciful thoughts.
"Could it be that your magic was also taught to you by someone? That person is Merlin?" Alberon half-realized and half-smiled as he said, "Then I’m sorry, as you can see, I am not Merlin."
He was Alberon, and that was an undeniable truth.
Real or fake, Altoria, who possessed the Fairy Eye, naturally had the answer in her heart.
"...Then I’ll assume you are not Merlin."
Altoria lowered her eyelids as if to confirm something, then turned and left.
"Wait! Help me move these people out!"
Alberon glanced at the three people lying on the beach whom he had rescued, and quickly called out to Altoria.
Altoria stopped in her tracks, then picked up the smallest person, who was childlike in stature, and departed from there.
"...You’re kidding? I’m left with the rest?"
Looking at the remaining two people, adult-sized, Alberon wore a troubled expression.
"It seems our Child of Prophecy has a temper, too."
Having said that, Alberon could only carry the two people with a sour face and head outside.
"Buzz!"
Blanca followed close by Alberon’s side, her wings vibrating as she fluttered leisurely.