[Altria's trial begins. During the trial, she will review her past memories, and you will face the obstacles reflected by those memories.]
[Since you and Altria are currently teamed up, you can simultaneously access the memories of this special trial.]
[Do you wish to synchronize and share Altria's trial scenes?]
"Is there really such a special function?"
Guinevere hesitated for a moment, then clicked "Confirm" without any doubt.
There was no reason to refuse—once, he had an easy opportunity to learn everything about that girl, but he hadn't cherished it. Only after rushing through that portal and seeing the fleeting sorrow on her face did he regret his haste.
Now that the chance lay before him again, he had to consider whether this might be his only opportunity in life.
He had to see it—he must see it!
While swinging his sword to drive back the approaching shadow-beast, Guinevere confirmed in his mind.
Then, the light-screen shifted; the lighting dimmed slightly, as if an old photograph tinted with yellow:
[You see the story belonging to that girl.]
…
Drifting onto the shore in a small boat, loaded with many treasures and a newborn fairy girl. At that time, the fairies in the village who discovered her existence quickly gathered to discuss what to do with this tiny fairy.
—"This is a blessing from the heavens; this girl is obviously the 'Child of Prophecy' bringing hope."
—"This is an ominous sign; if Her Majesty the Queen finds out, we're doomed."
Although opinions in the village split into two camps, they reached the same conclusion:
"No matter what, the 'Child of Prophecy' must be useful; let's raise her until she's sixteen."
"But she's one of those annoying 'Paradise Fairies'—it's wasteful to give her a proper house. Let's treat her like livestock."
"Then we'll build a stable. If we say it's for horses, other villages won't notice. The 'Child of Prophecy' will be ours alone!"
—"..."
Though these images flashed by quickly, the malicious words echoed in Guinevere's mind, delaying his reaction just enough that he nearly took damage from the memory's shadows during the fight in the realm of Paradise.
What's going on?
Surely Altria's description of her own village upbringing should have been that everyone cared for her and she grew up peacefully?
"My magic is very weak; the villagers all worry about me."
With her voice, the scene shifted to a new memory before Guinevere:
"It's been four years, and she still has only this tiny bit of magic… How pathetic; she's almost no different from a human, right?"
"We must train her harder, be stricter—even her sleep time can't be spared; all for her own good."
"If we don't do this, the idea of being the 'Child of Prophecy' is a pipe dream. If at sixteen she's still like this, no one will believe she's the Prophecy Child."
"That would be bad. Whether she can overthrow the queen or not doesn't matter; what matters is that she has 'value', looks the part of the 'Child of Prophecy'."
"That way we can make a fortune. Who'd hide some 'Paradise Fairy' otherwise? As long as she doesn't die, it's fine. She's so fragile she can't escape anyway."
"..."
Guinevere's grip on his sword tightened, and his strike grew sharper, cleaving the approaching shadow in two. Yet this was only the beginning of her memories.
The girl's inner voice sounded in Guinevere's ears:
"But the villagers didn't know that my eyes have the 'Fairy Sight' ability: even unwillingly, I can perceive unspoken truths."
"So I understood."
"Deep down, everyone feared me and hated me."
"The fairies who feared me truly believed in the Prophecy Child, so they forced me mercilessly."
"The fairies who hated me despised any 'Paradise Fairy', so of course they abused me."
"Others were mostly indifferent."
"I was treated as important in the village, yet also as something 'neither here nor there'."
"...But I suppose that was unavoidable; I vaguely sensed my mission: \[To save the fairies of Britain, to grant them true redemption from suffering]."
"But those voices were unbearable."
Though the girl's words stopped, Guinevere quickly realized what those voices referred to.
A ceaseless windstorm of voices rushed into his ears: deceit, self-preservation, selfish desire, jealousy…
As if trapped in an endless storm, these chaotic voices, laced with malicious intent, nearly robbed Guinevere of his situational awareness; when the shadow's attack arrived, he struggled to react in time and was heavily struck, tumbling across a garden filled with birdsong and blossoms.
Though surrounded by beauty, hearing those voices made him feel as if he were in a raging tempest, his mind in turmoil.
Then the girl's voice returned:
"Whether I close my eyes or sleep, I still hear them."
"I can hear every fairy's heart-voice,"
"In the storm of their inner voices, I gradually lost myself, not knowing where I was or where to go."
"A bell tolled in my ears, telling me: to save the fairies, I must go on a pilgrimage."
Only when that bell sounded did the maddening wind of voices cease, but his mood did not lighten—it grew heavier.
—"Has she been pursued by those voices all along?"
Just after listening for a short while, he felt nauseating agitation; yet those clamor and chaos had accompanied Altria since birth.
What is this?
Even if she is the savior, there was no need to torment her from such a young age.
The winter memory continued.
He saw the young Altria in the village fields, wearing tattered clothes, using the chosen staff as a cudgel to strike the air in rigorous training. But magic doesn't just appear because you do sword drills; the fairy realm wouldn't work differently.
Seeing the holes in her ragged clothes, Guinevere felt a pang of sadness. He wanted to hug the poor child, but his outstretched hand passed right through her.
Then a somewhat familiar voice rang out:
"Ah, aahhh! Disgusting! You fairies here are truly vile!"
"The staff, the staff talked?" Altria startled, almost jumping.
"No, I'm not the Chosen Staff. I just couldn't stand the filth of Tintagel and your obedient attitude, so I blurted out, 'Good-for-nothing boon-seeker'."
Complaining loudly, the voice continued:
"Listen carefully: I am Merlin, Merlin the Flower Magician, and from now on I'll be your master. Remember that."
…Merlin? The voice and tone are completely different.
Guinevere couldn't help but scoff inwardly.
"Magic! I know, the technique said to be used by Queen Morgan!"
Altria's voice sounded excited:
"…But what exactly is it? What will you teach me?"
"What to teach you… of course magic—Merlin's magic, it's powerful."
"I want to fly in the sky like a bird, swoosh\~ flying."
The fake Merlin's voice sounded awkward:
"…Fly in the sky, fly in the sky… starting with such a difficult request?"
"Can't do it? Are you useless?"
"Ahem, no, it can be done, of course it can—this is easy, because I'm the legendary Merlin… But flying in the sky, let's discuss that later. At first, you should learn something more grounded, something that makes daily life easier, right?"
The fake Merlin awkwardly shifted the topic:
"Is there anything you'd be happy to have right now? Tell me."
After thinking seriously for a moment, young Altria said:
"In that case, if nights could be warmer, I'd be very happy."
"Because my home is very cold; in winter it even freezes. Last year I froze off two toes… hehe, it's embarrassing, so I hid it from everyone!"
"——"
"——"
Both the fake Merlin in the memory and Guinevere, still battling in Paradise, froze.
—So that's why.
No wonder she always resisted letting me see her feet in our travels… How did I never notice such an important detail?
"Wow, scary—why does your expression suddenly look so fierce?"
Merlin backed two steps, awkwardly asking:
"Don't tell me you've changed your mind and decided to come chop me up?"
"That depends on your next answer." Guinevere suddenly looked at Merlin. "Merlin, do you know a magic that can warm someone?"
"Hm? That's just conjuring a ball of fire, right?" Merlin blinked. "How about it—shall I describe verbally how to do it now?"
"…Yes."
Guinevere nodded lightly, while his attention also sank elsewhere. On the other side, the fake Merlin hurriedly said:
"I understand. I'll learn it right away—ahem, prepare… Three days? No, wait two days. I'll have the teaching materials ready soon."
Then the scene Guinevere saw shifted again, and Altria's voice rang in his ears:
"I learned many magics from Merlin: heating, detection, healing, rhetoric, mimicry, unlocking, ambush, explosives, barriers."
"But whenever I wanted to master a new spell, he would say it wasn't convenient today; teach it next lesson. Then we'd make magic tools together, which became the foundation of Merlin's magic."
"He must have put great effort so that someone as magic-starved as me could use those spells."
"Not only magic; Merlin taught me many, many things."
"He said, as the Child of Prophecy, no matter how much the surrounding fairies fear me, someday I will become a king."
"He said, above all, he hopes I won't become a paranoid king."
"He seemed to know two such rulers: one became a celebrated legend because of obsession, the other became reviled as a demon for the same. The similarity: both were forever trapped by the past, unable to rest because of what they missed."
"He hoped I could become a nameless king—not at the world's end, but at its edge."
"Like a lighthouse at the brink: just by existing there, becoming a harbinger of hope."
"No matter what foreign land or what end of time, inspiring everyone, symbolizing the possibility of hope, a star-like king."
"In any case, he was a glib talker, very good at making people laugh."
"But that period lasted only a year."
"Because a fairy girl saw me laughing in the fields and reported it to the village chief, the Chosen Staff was confiscated."
"Until the day I set out on my journey at sixteen, every day thereafter was more—"
At this point, the images on the light-screen vanished.
[Winter's memories end here.]
Then Altria's figure reappeared before Guinevere:
"Oh! You were here? You disappeared without a word; I was worried."
"But from our perspective, you were the one who vanished."
Merlin laughed softly:
"No matter; this is to cleanse you so you can enter the Chosen Realm. There will be three more times; it will end soon—ah."
Seeing Guinevere tightly embracing Altria, Merlin raised an eyebrow, then whistled:
"You two get along even better than expected."
"Eh, eh, eh—?!"
Suddenly held tightly by Guinevere, Altria panicked on the spot:
"What's happening? I stepped away for just a moment! What happened while I was gone?"