Salisbury

Beautiful, isn't it? This is the center of the British Lostbelt.

See that super ominous castle-looking thing over there? That's Camelot.

These days, Britain is divided into north and south regions, and Camelot sits between them.

Most people live here, in the southern central area.

The four main cities in this region are Salisbury, the great cathedral; Norwich, the nearest port town...

Gloucester, the city of fashion; and Oxford, the great dining hall. Each city is run by the head of a faerie clan.

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Huh? ...I see. So there were others from Chaldea with you.

...I'm very sorry, but you were the only one I managed to find.

And as you can see, it's just me right now, so tracking you down was the best I could do.

But that leads nicely to my next point. Can you tell me what this Mash of yours looks like?

As long as I know what she looks like, I can have Blanca look for her.

Blanca...? Who's that? Didn't you just say you were alone?

Oh, right. Here, let me introduce you.

Pretty cute, right? I talk with her a lot. I guess you could call her...my friend?

Anyway, she's very neat, very smart, and above all, she's a hard worker.

If anyone can track down Mash, she can.

Okay, now that that's settled, how about we start by sharing what we all know with one another?

You tell me your story, and I'll tell you mine.

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I see... So you've conquered five Lostbelts thus far.

And while you weren't originally planning to come to Britain...

...you, Mash, Leonardo, and Tristan wound up coming here to investigate this "collapse."

But then, after the four of you landed here, you got separated in the Nameless Woods...

That's unfortunate. No... I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful. I had no idea you weren't the only one lost.

If I'd only been more attentive back then, maybe I could have tracked down Mash and Leonardo as well.

But I was so excited about finding you that I forgot all about everything else...

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...Hmm. For the time being, there's one thing we can and should check.

Mash is your contracted Servant, right? Then you should have a magical energy connection with her.

If it's still active, then we'll at least know she's alive, even if we don't yet know where she is.

How about it? Can you check on that for us?

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Great. Then all we have to do now is find her.

And Leonardo's a Servant too, right? Then I'm sure she's still alive and kicking, too.

Fortunately, the faeries here can't tell the difference between their fellow fae folk and Servants...

So as long as they're not human, they shouldn't be in too much danger, so let's just stay calm and trust them to handle themselves.

Next: Altria, is there something you'd like to say to me?

N-no...not right now, anyway.

Honestly, I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything I just heard about Chaldea, Proper Human History, the Lostbelts, and so on... Hahaha...

Although, um, getting back to...Servants? Heroic Spirits? Is that like a human turning into a faerie after they die?

And you said both you and TristramI mean, Tristan, are Servants yourselves?

That's right. If you want to know more about Heroic Spirits and Servants, I'm sure Fujimaru there will be happy to fill you in on the way.

Between a resident of this Lostbelt like you and a Master from Proper Human History who's a guest in this world, you two should be able to catch each other up on almost everything.

On the way, you said? Does that mean you have a destination in mind, Oberon?

I do indeed. When you're trying to track someone down, a big city's your best bet.

Besides, you and Fujimaru both need to get used to the way things work here in Faerie Britain.

So our next stop is Salisbury, the biggest city in the south. There, we'll find food, clothing, shelter...everything we need, really.

It's just about a full day's walk from here. I know you've been up all night, but do you think you can make the trek?

Good answer. You've definitely got spirit, but you're also tempering it with a healthy dose of coolheadedness. I like that.

Now, now, let's not be hasty. I know how you must feel, but like I said, now's the time to take it easy.

Remember, Britain's a big place. If you keep pushing yourself so hard, you'll burn out long before we find Mash.

Don't worry. You can tell she's okay because you're her Master, right?

Well, my own intuition is telling me she's perfectly safe, too. And I'm the Faerie King, so that really means something.

So let's start with Salisbury, and figure out the rest from there.

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S-Salisbury, huh...

(Nnn, what should I do... It might be kind of dangerous to go back now...)

(But I also can't leave Fujimaru to fend for himself...)

(Plus, I don't care what this Oberon guy says; he really seems a lot like Merlin...)

U-um, would it be okay if I came along, too, Fujimaru!?

I know I mistakenly went by Mash's name for a while there...

But I want to know more about you, and about...um... Oh, right! Proper Human History!

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R-r-r-right, of course not! Oh gosh, what am I even saying!?

Of course you wouldn't want a country bumpkin like me tagging aloHuh?

You're...shaking my hand again?

Does that mean...it's okay?

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Ah yes. Now that's a lovely friendship.

I was definitely on pins and needles back in Cornwall, but it seems not interfering was the right choice after all.

In theatrical terms, I believe this is the part where we say, "Now that the actors are in place, the real story can begin!"

Chaldea alone won't be enough. The Child of Prophecy alone won't get there in time.

So we'll need both to defeat the mighty Morgan!

Ahh, the prophecy was true. That girl is our star of hope.

She will be our salvation. She will be our path to forgiveness.

She's our savior, who drifted to our shores with a ship full of treasure.

She's the one who will hear the voice of paradise, and chant the promised name.

Ahh, dear Altria.

May you grow to the age of sixteen healthy and strong. May the queen's soldiers never find you.

One day, you will go on a journey to ring the six bells, and save all of Britain. A journey to welcome our true king.

Gloucester. Salisbury. Oxford. Norwich. Orkney.

We may not know where the sixth bell is, but we are confident you'll find it.

The Staff of Selection has chosen you. You are Faerie Britain's only hope.

Now, go on. Hurry. Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.

Hurry and greet your sixteenth birthday. We have complete faith in you.

...The village is done for. The executioner squads are here.

Hold your head high. Grip your staff tight. Now is the time to begin your journey, Altria.

Remember, no matter what anyone says, you are unquestionably the Child of Prophecy.

You're the spitting image of her.

...I'm sorry. I'm sorry...

I'm sorry I'm so weak... I'm sorry I can't live up to your expectations...

I'll do my best... I promise... As... As much as I can...

(Smack...smack...)

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...Huh!?

Oh no, was I asleep!? I just remember Tristan playing his harp, and then...!

Ahh, how this saddens me. I was merely trying to soothe your exhaustion...

But I cannot help but notice you don't seem to care for my music, my liegahem, I mean, Maid Altria...

Ehehe... I'm sorry. I'm just not used to hearing music.

But it really did help me fall asleep peacefully! I'd love it if you played again when it's bedtime!

Ouch. You wound me, Maid Altria... No bard wants to be told his music puts people to sleep.

Hey, you can't blame her. We've been walking nonstop nearly all day. We're all exhausted.

That's why we're camping out here tonight before making our way to Salisbury tomorrow morning.

Altria, you can put up a Bounded Field to keep wild animals away, right? I hate to ask since I know you're sleepy, but would you mind?

O-oh, yes, of course. Okay, I'll be back soon.

...Now then.

I know we told Altria that Proper Human History is like a parallel world to Britain...but of course, that's not the whole truth, is it?

The truth is, Proper Human History is the rightful historical timeline, and it's fundamentally incompatible with this world of Faerie Britain.

As Chaldea, you have to erase the Lostbelts to ensure humanity's future.

And now you're trying to come up with a way to tell Altria this without hurting her too badly.

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I see. I suppose you HAVE betrayed the people of five Lostbelts already.

...Damn. I usually pride myself on being an excellent conversationalist...

But even I'm having trouble coming up with the right words to heal the wounds in your heart.

So for now, the best I can do is offer some words of consolation.

It's okay, Fujimaru. This Lostbelt won't fall by your hand. Remember, it's falling apart on its own.

If anything, I'd say you're doing it a favor.

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Yes, indeed. Human history simply could not ever prosper in this version of Britain.

It's a flawed world that was always destined for destruction. History took a dreadfully wrong turn here.

The only problem is that it's threatening to take Proper Human History down with it when it all goes to pot.

That's why guys like us from Proper Human History have to do whatever we can to save it.

And that means defeating the one who's been ruling it from on high for two thousand years: High Queen Morgan.

...! Hold on. Did you say Morgan? As in, THAT Morgan?

Yup. That Morgan.

The same one who proved to be King Arthur's ultimate Achilles' heel in Proper Human History, even after he united all of Britain.

The extraordinary witch who lured King Arthur into countless traps so she could take Camelot for herself...

...and the mother of Mordred, the Treacherous Knight; the child of King Arthur who proved to be his downfall.

She's the one who ultimately destroyed Britain, and here, she's Faerie Britain's ruler, and she will bring it all to ruin.

Let's see... I think you Chaldeans would probably refer to her as this Lostbelt's king.

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Anyway, based on everything you've told me, it sounds like Morgan's behind the outside world abnormality.

So as long as you can defeat her, that should end the threat to Proper Human History.

After that, you can just leave this place to its fate.

Whether it falls apart or pulls itself back together, you won't need to feel bad about it.

Look, over there. What was it a Lostbelt needs to survive again? A Tree of Emptiness?

Well, I'm guessing that world treethe giant ash over there beyond the sea, is it.

And as you can see, it's been dead for a long time, so this Lostbelt definitely hasn't got long left.

Oh, yeah, now that you mention it, it was! It went up in flames not too long ago, then died out again just as quickly as it started. I wonder what that was all about.

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Anyway, I think that's enough talk for tonight. Don't want to overdo the info dump.

So, even if you don't remember anything else we talked about tonight, at least remember this:

"Defeat High Queen Morgan, ruler of Faerie Britain!"

Nice and simple, right?

As for the rest, I'll tell you once we reach Salisbury.

Once you see a fae city for yourself, I think you'll have a much better handle on what life in Britain is li

Whoops! Sorry to interrupt, but we've got monsters! Get ready to fight, Fujimaru!

I-I-I-I'm so sorryyyy! I accidentally skipped a couple steps when I was making the Bounded Field...

...and I ended up summoning a pack of wild birds by mistake! Could you help me out, please!?

...Heh. I never thought the day would come when my liege would beg me for hel

...I'm sorry. I keep forgetting she's not the King Arthur I knew. Oh, this is so embarrassing...

...Me too. It's such an honor that it actually makes me feel sorry for the other Knights of the Round Table.

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Here they come! Be careful, Fujimaru! Britain's beasts are not to be trifled with!

Yay, we won! No, we trounced them! Man, that feels good!

Ahh, this makes me happy. That was the first battle I've won handily since being summoned...

Indeed. I may not be a match for faeries, but Demonic Beasts like these are no match for the Round Table.

O-oh, no, it's nothing, really. I'm just glad I was able to contribute. Ahaha...

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...I see. So you're already strong enough to handle a murder of night crows without much trouble, hm?

Very nice. That's even better than I was expecting.

Tristan, your bow may not be particularly strong, but its range is exceptional.

You're clearly well-suited for battles against large groups. With you on our side, I bet we could win no matter how outnumbered we may be.

And as for you, Altria, you're much more of a wild card than you look. Is that strange tool of yours handmade?

A rare weapon like that'll be very effective against an opponent who's never seen it before, especially as a distraction.

And above all...

Your summons were fascinating, Fujimaru!

Temporarily summoning Heroic Spirits to aid in battle, huh... I had no idea it was such a flexible and powerful way to fight.

Human magecraft doesn't tend to work very well against faeries, but summoning Heroic Spirits is definitely an exception.

The only problem with it is how long you can last, given the incredible demands on your stamina, magical energy, and sheer luck.

Plus, it seems like the longer the battle lasts, the more of a toll it takes on you.

But, as long as you're careful about that, you should be able to handle anyone, faerie or not.

Wait a moment. Human magecraft...?

You can use magecraft, Fujimaru!?

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...

Oh, gosh, I'm sorry. I was just a little taken aback...

You see, magecraft isn't really used much in Britain...

Basically, um, faeries perform sacraments without any help from basic magecraft, spells, or Mystic Codes...

So magecraft is considered unnecessary at best and, um, only practiced by weirdos at worst...

In fact, to be totally blunt, if you tell people you use magecraft here...

...they tend to look at you all funny and ask why you'd go to all that trouble... Ahaha...

I see... You do have a point. Faeries simply have no need of magecraft.

And since this Britain is a land dominated by faeries, that would mean magecraft is effectively worthless here...

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Oh man... After everything I just said, you really went there, Fujimaru?

Now, now. It was an honest question, Altria. You know he didn't mean anything by it, right?

Anyway, you don't have to answer if you'd rather not.

As for you, Fujimaru, I'd suggest you wait for a better time before bringing this up again.

Anyway, I think we might have gotten distracted from our main purpose.

Now that we've got this nice camp set up, we should use it to get a good night's rest.

I'm sure there's more you'd like to know about Fujimaru, Altria, but why don't we save that for tomorrow?

...

Fortunately, there are none of the queen's soldiers, no mors, and no rebel army around here.

And once we wake up in the morning, it's only another hour's walk to Salisbury, where we'll be able to have a much more in-depth conversation.

After all, if you're going to have a fun discussion, you should save it for a nice and relaxing place, right?

Wow... So other worlds really do exist. England... Scotland... Ireland...

And you said there are other countries beyond the isle, too? Like, um, France? And Italy?

I can't even imagine so many different countries, and cultures, and people...

It sounds like you come from a really wonderful world.

Britain without the faeries, huh? That sounds like a nice change of pace.

Well, from where Fujimaru is sitting, I'd imagine he finds this Britain full of faeries to be quite the change of pace.

I do have to correct you on one thing, though.

It's not that there aren't any faeries at all in Proper Human History, where Fujimaru comes from.

While Mystics have definitely faded since the A.D. era began, faeries are still around.

Though of course, there are far fewer of them, and they don't reveal themselves to humans much. Heck, I'm a faerie Heroic Spirit myself.

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"A Midsummer Night's Dream," right?

Written by William Shakespeare, England's greatest playwright, it may well be one of the most famous stories about faeries.

It's basically about a love...ah, square between humans...

But two of the most important characters are Oberon, the king of the faeries, and his queen, Titania.

In the story, Oberon wants Titania to give him one of her pages...

...so he hatches a plan involving a potion that will cause the drinker to fall in love with the first living thing they see upon awakening.

But two humans end up taking it by mistake...

...causing them to forget about the person they love and mistakenly believe they're fated to be with someone else.

Well, without going into too much detail, it all wraps up nicely in the end.

It's the sort of comedy of errors focused on love and miscommunication you see everywhere...

But unfortunately for me, it became so popular that it kept being retold for generations.

Thanks to that, the word "faerie" is now synonymous with "mischievous Puck" and "narrow-minded King Oberon."

So, at least in one sense, I might be the most famous faerie in the world.

If you've never read it before, you should give it a shot once you get back to Chaldea.

It doesn't paint the most flattering picture of me, unfortunately, but never mind that.

And just to be clear, I swear I wasn't trying to make trouble, okay?

I'm just a plot device, really. Only there to get the romantic hijinks rolling.

So then, does that mean you're a fictional character, Oberon?

Is it even possible for someone as vaguely defined as that to become a Servant?

No, it isn't. While Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is indeed how he is best known...

...legends of Oberon, the Faerie King, have existed in Europe since ancient times.

Perhaps most notably, there's a poem about him from the fifteenth century, well before Shakespeare's time...

...where he is described as a king of faeries who can use magic to make any wish come true.

Really? I didn't know about that one.

The point is, the character was inspired by an existing model...and that model must have become the base for my Servant form.

Which came first? Who knows? Just another version of the chicken and egg problem.

Oh, she's all Shakespeare. There are no legends in faerie history of anyone by that name.

The name "Titania" probably came from the Titans of Greek mythology.

The Oberon in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is pretty self-centered, after all...

You could never find a lady who would tolerate him, so Shakespeare had to make one up.

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...But I digress. Sorry for wasting our time.

Salisbury is just up ahead. Don't worry about the guards; I'll handle them.

All you three have to do is stay quiet. It's okay. My face is basically a free pass into the city.

Oh, right. One more thing: do not tell them your names. If they ask, and you can't avoid answering, make something up.

We don't need anyone else finding out that you're human, and you never know who might be listening.

Hold on. Isn't it dangerous to lie to faeries? I've heard their eyes can see through falsehoods.

If so, shouldn't we try to avoid lying wherever possible?

Oh, don't worry. The faeries here don't have powers like that.

I don't know if they lost them thanks to all this prosperity, or if they threw them away in order to be prosperous, but either way, they definitely can't tell truth from lies anymore.

The only way you can tell if you're dealing with a good person or not is when everything's said and done.

How else could someone as evil as Morgan have stayed at the top of this world for so long?

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Ahh, how this gladdens me. The air here is very different from Cornwall.

There may be faeries everywhere we turn here too, but I don't sense anything dangerous about them.

They all seem happy and full of good cheer. Is there some sort of festival taking place today or something?

No, this is just life in Salisbury. It's the only free city in all of Britain.

There are about two hundred thousand people living in Salisbury. Some are Wind, Earth, and Fang faeries...

Some are faeries who emerged spontaneously from nature... And some are even independent humans.

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Humans who have won their freedom, and now belong to no one but Britain itself.

I was hoping to tell you about that aspect of life here once things had settled down, but I guess it was bound to come up sooner or later.

And since the great cathedral is here, too, this seems as good a place as any to get into it.

You Chaldeans may have thought there were no humans in this Lostbelt, but strictly speaking, that's not true.

Humans do exist here. They're just not at the top of the hierarchy.

Here, they're used as tools to enrich faerie society. In Proper Human History terms, they're essentially slaves.

Didn't you think there was something strange about this city? It's wrong. Twisted. Unseemly.

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Exactly. Faeries are supposed to live in harmony with nature.

Even when they form communities, it's always forest children and stone children gathering under the same Great Mother.

They were always just the Divided Spirits of the planet, who never possessed a culture of their own.

But as you can see, Faerie Britain has become a place where faeries imitate human society.

For about fourteen thousand years, faeries here have raised humans like cattle.

In that time, they used humans' innate creativity as entertainment, which in turn allowed them to flourish.

Faeries live long lives, and they require no sustenance whatsoever.

Since there's nothing they can't do, they never change, and they never try anything new.

In contrast, humans have countless weaknesses. They live short lives, their injuries don't heal, they need food to survive, and they can easily be killed by wild beasts.

So naturally, humans came up with all sorts of things that would allow them to survive and flourish in spite of all those weaknesses.

I'm guessing the faeries found that kind of human thinking to be absolutely fascinating. It was like finding a shiny new toy.

So they began keeping humans as livestock, followed by superficially copying their culture with cities like this one.

They completely ignored the substance behind human agriculture, architecture, and other various fields of study...

...instead only imitating it at the most basic, superficial level.

Anything they couldn't copy manually, they fudged with magical energy.

That cathedral there is the worst offender. Faeries have no gods, and no religion.

There was no actual point to making the cathedral; they just thought it was fun.

That's Faerie Britain's culture, and it's how they treat humans.

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...Ghh. W-well, yes, I guess you could put it that way.

Still, as a faerie myself, I can understand how things got to this point.

While they definitely took it too far, it makes sense they'd get like this in a world where humans are endangered.

Both in Proper Human History and in this Lostbelt, humans are faeries' favorite source of luxury entertainment.

This land came to be known as Faerie Britain when faeries began regulating humans at a societal level...

It's also the key political policy of High Queen Morgan, your enemy.

Huh? You guys are going to fight Morgan!?

Yup. Or at least, that's the current plan. Isn't that right, Fujimaru?

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Oh, right. We do, don't we? First things first and all that.

Why don't we start with the pub? There are always people coming and going in pubs, and some of them may know something useful.

...

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Um... Fujimaru, you've helped me out a lot, and I really do appreciate it, but...

(What should I do...? If he's going to fight High Queen Morgan, it'd only complicate things if I stuck around...)

(I wanted to stay with him until he found Mash, but maybe it would be better to go our separate ways here...)

Hmm. So that's how it is.

...Ahem. By the way, Altria.

Do you know what they do to humans in this city they catch without their owners?

They're captured as ranch escapees and sent up to New Darlington.

New Darlington...? As in Darlington, the National Slaughterhouse Theater!?

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Th-th-that's horrible. But, wait. Isn't Salisbury supposed to be a free city?

The head of the Wind clan runs this place, right? Surely they wouldn't do anything so horrid?

Not necessarily. Not even the head of the Wind clan can defy the high queen.

So it would definitely be to our advantage to have as many trusted collaborators with us as we can.

Fujimaru still doesn't know right from left here, and on top of that, he's human.

Without an "owner" to watch over him, it'll just be the Nameless Woods all over again.

I'd do it myself, but since I'm obviously noble, even royal...

...it would strain credulity if I tried to claim a human of unknown origins as one of my attendants.

But you, on the other hand, would be a perfect fit for Fujimaru.

And don't worry, I'm not asking you to stay with him forever. Just while we're in Salisbury.

You'd prefer that over being alone too, right, Fujimaru?

...I guess you're right. Being alone in Britain these days WOULD make you more likely to attract suspicion from the authorities.

But, what about Tristan? Couldn't he pretend to be Fujimaru's owner?

He probably could, but Tristan knows just as little about Faerie Britain as Fujimaru.

It wouldn't take much questioning from one of the clan guards to expose the façade. I wouldn't go that route unless we had no other choice.

B-b-but, if I have a human attendant, that would mean I'd have to be an upper-class faerie...

Which would also make me...Fujimaru's owner...and...

It would just be pretend. Or were you actually hoping to make him your pet?

N-n-n-no, I couldn't! Pretend is fine! I-I-I'm still much too young for that!

Great. Then it's settled.

Fujimaru, Altria is going to be your owner for a while.

It'll be the safest way to travel here. Think you can play along?

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(...Sigh) Okay, if you're sure you want me for this, then I'll do it.

Besides, we've come this far together, so I certainly don't mind traveling together a little more.

In fact, looking on the bright side, this is actually making one of my childhood dreams come true!

Oh? What dream would that be?

The same dream every faerie who grows up in the country has: joining the ranks of upper-class city folk.

...

Hey there, my good Salisburians! How are you all this fine day?

That's right, it is I, Oberon! The Faerie King of the Autumn Woods, the missionary of peace, flowers, and fairy tales, here to grace you with my boisterous presence!

Hey, Oberon! Glad to see you're doing well! Nice to have you back in Salisbury again!

Just make sure you don't put anything on your tab today, you hear!

Oberon! I knew coming to day drink was a good idea!

Oi, when you payin' back the money I lent you!?

I still have to thank you for your help the other day, Oberon! Your advice really got the trees in my backyard to settle down!

I am still waiting for you to pay me back, though!

Lovely Oberon, you have some time to spare, right? You simply must attend our tea party today!

I am still waiting for you to pay me back, though!

There's the poor little prince with the ten-thousand year tab! Don't worry, I'll cover this round!

I am still waiting for you to pay me back, though!

Hahahahaha.

Will you all cut that out!? Stop pointing out how popular I am!

I'm here with some important friends today! Save the money talk for another time, all right!?

Hahahahahahaha!

We know, we know! Don't worry, we're all just joking!

You've enriched our lives way more than the queen's bank notes ever could! We're happy to treat you!

？！

So, you're poor? Even though you call yourself a king?

Well, yes. My financials are a little lean just now. Erm, bluntly, I'm flat broke.

But what do you expect? When I was summoned to Faerie Britain, all I had on me was this cloak.

I woke up in a forest piled high with dead leaves with literally nothing to my name.

Usually, in a situation like that, I'd be too bummed to do anything but wait for help from Proper Human History...

But since I arrived first, I knew there were things I needed to take care of.

Faeries thrive on what they find interesting, so I went around putting on shows in the various cities here.

I sang songs, riled up crowds, told fairy tales, entertained housewives, and livened up the nights.

Over time, the people of Britain came to know me as the regal Faerie King of a fief nobody's heard of.

Well, at least in the major cities, anyway.

Ohh! So I didn't know about you because I'm from the countryside...

Sorry about that. I'll try to branch out more from now on.

Still, this was a hard-fought battle in its own right.

Can you imagine what it was like for me to have to act like nobility without any actual capital?

...I can. I can recall a few...dozen times I lied about my station so I could sing love songs to a beautiful woman I met at a tavern...

And indeed, there is nothing quite so excitiI mean, tense, as that...

As a fellow poet, Oberon, I have the greatest respect for what you've accomplished here.

...I don't suppose you'd be willing to give me a few in-depth lessons on how to roll faerie-style, would you?

If you'd really like to learn from me, I'd be glad to teach you what I know. Besides, with your music backing me up, I bet I'd be able to expand my clientele even more.

Now I see. You're both scoundrels who can't be trusted around women!

Anyway, where should we sit, Oberon?

My favorite table is the round one in the back, on the raised floor.

It's harder for other customers to see you there, and it gives you a full view of the whole pub.

Now, how about we start with a toast of fruit water? Excuse me, cutie, are you the new server?

Let the owner know we'll be using the table in the back, okay? Oh, and we'd also like to order four apple waters.

You got it! I'll have them ready in just a moment!

？！

...Huh?

？！

Whoa, no way! Fujimaru! It's really you!

Oh man, you'll never believe what happened to me!

So after we got separated in the fog, I let my instincts lead me, and that brought me right back to the beach!

Luckily, that beach was far enough away from the foggy woods that I was able to follow the coastline east.

Eventually, I caught sight of Salisbury here, and figured I ought to be able to learn more in a populated city.

Then, when I got here

An angel, far too good for this world, just appeared on my pub's doorstep.

She was very unsteady on her feet, but I could still see the fire in her deep blue eyes when she said:

"What a lovely place. Would you let me work here for the rest of my life?"

I never said that!

What I said was, "I'm looking for my companions, but first, could I have a glass of water?" Remember!?

Tch. Well, if you ever change your mind, you just let me know! You're welcome to work here forever!

Yes, I heard you the first hundred times, Mike. Now, back behind the counter. I'll teach you to make cocktails later.

Huhee. Huheehee. Ahh, Duhbinchi... My perfect angel...

Anyway, that's my story.

I'm glad you're okay, Fujimaru. You too, Tristan.

Although...it looks like you still haven't found Mash yet.

I see. You must be the other Servant Fujimaru told us about.

It's an honor to meet a renowned genius like yourself, Leonardo da Vinci.

Who are you? I'm guessing the fact that you know my name means you're a Servant from Proper Human History?

I'm Oberon. Oberon, the Faerie King. Though I guess here, it's more of an aspirational title.

It's nice to meet you, Da Vinci.

I'm Altria Caster. I met Fujimaru in the Nameless Woods.

To make a long story short, I'm, uh...

I'm going around with Fujimaru pretending to be his owner.

Seriously? That's hilarious!

Thanks, Altria. That must be a huge weight off Fujimaru's shoulders!

But hey, you're a British faerie too, right?

You've probably got some idea of what it is we're doing here by now...

But you're helping Fujimaru, so does that mean you're good with it?

U-uh, well, more or less...

Honestly, I didn't really get even half of what Fujimaru and Oberon told me...

But I do know that Fujimaru was telling the truth.

I wouldn't feel right about abandoning someone in trouble when it's within my ability to help them, and honestly, it kind of seemed like fun.

Gotcha. Then it should be okay to speak frankly here.

So, how did you end up here, Fujimaru?

Wow... Sounds like you guys had a hell of a time in that forest. I'm glad you made it out of there okay.

Thanks for keeping him safe, Tristan. You too, Oberon, Altria.

So, we still don't know much about Britain... We have no idea where Mash is...

But we do know that she's still alive... And Oberon is flat broke.

Okay, now that we're all on the same page, we can figure out what to do next.

You made the right call, Oberon.

We shouldn't be wandering aimlessly around Britain right now.

What we need to do is set up a base of operations here in Salisbury where we can gather information and tackle our problems one at a time.

Our top priority right now is finding Mash, so we'll need to look for info on a girl wearing iron armor.

While we do that, we should also learn more about Britain, and the lives of the faeries who live in it.

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I sure do. This pub doubles as an inn.

Well, technically, they just copied a man-made inn without knowing what it was for.

So I taught Mike about inns, and how to put all the extra rooms he's got here to good use.

And as a little reward for my services, I got to take three of the second-floor rooms for myself☆

I knew we'd eventually find each other, and that we'd need a Chaldea frontline base when we did, so that's why I went ahead and made one.

Wow. I'm impressed, Da Vinci. And I know Lancelot would be especially blown away by what you've done here.

Hm? Is this Lancelot person also a young girl?

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This is great. I can already tell this Da Vinci friend of yours will be a huge help.

All right, since it seems like you guys have things well in hand now, I think I'll take my leave. I've actually got a lot of other things I still have to do.

You're going off on your own, Oberon?

Yup. I'm going to see what I can find out about this Mash girl.

Not to mention we also need more information about Britain as a whole.

Now that you Chaldeans have come here, things are definitely going to change.

And since we still don't have many allies on our side yet, I want to make sure we know where things stand in every region.

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Of course. Especially now that I know where I can find you all.

Don't worry. The next time you see me, I'll have good news. In the meantime, I suggest you all get acclimated to Britain sooner than later.

Well damn, he sure didn't waste any time.

I'm glad he's on our side, but he definitely dances to the beat of his own drum, doesn't he?

Indeed. And that colorful outfit of his speaks to me.

It tells me he is, without a doubt, the same kind of poet as me. Ahh, how this gladdens me...

Um, so what should we do now? I could show you around Salisbury, if you like.

Thanks, but I think we should take the rest of the day off. You all walked a long way to get here, after all.

Please, go ahead and make yourselves comfy in the rooms I mentioned.

Fujimaru, you take a room for yourself. Tristan and I will share another.

And Altria, you can use the other room I set aside for Mash.

Heh, I knew I was right not settling for just two rooms.

Oh, I also put up some magecraft barriers in the rooms, so we won't have to worry about being...overheard.

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Really!? I can have a whole room all to myself? For free!?

Hooray! I've always wanted my own room! I can't wait to get all comfy!

Thank you, Da Vinci!

Gosh, you, um, Proper Human History(?) faeries are all so generous! This is great!

And now she's gone, too...

I know I didn't touch on this before, but she's pretty different from the Altria we know, isn't she?

...Yes, she is. From what I've seen so far...

We should consider her an entirely separate person from King ArthurAltria Pendragon, the king of Britain in Proper Human History.

Yup. Which is one more thing I'd like to discuss up in our room, if you two don't mind taking this there.

It's better if we discuss Proper Human History stuff just among ourselves. You really can't be too careful here.

All right, let's begin by sharing what we've learned, starting with this version of Britain.

You probably got a sense of this yourselves on your way to Salisbury...

But this Lostbelt is very different from all the others we've seen so far.

It doesn't look at all like an alternate path human history could have taken, especially since humans aren't the dominant species here.

So far as I can tell, this world consists almost entirely of faeries.

In Russia, a huge cold snap made it impossible for the human species to survive as they were, so they were forced to adapt and evolve.

In Scandinavia, the twilight of the godsaka Ragnarökhappened during the Age of Gods, and both gods and people alike were in sharp decline afterward.

China was ruled by a single Zhenren, or true human, and became the sole nation-state in the entire world.

India was converging in on itself through endless cycles of reincarnation, only for the whole world instead of individual people.

And in Greece, humankind was completely dominated by gods who never died out.

While all of them were dead ends, they were still all human worlds.

No matter how different they may have been from our timeline, they still all had human societies that suited their environments in the year 2019.

But that's not the case here. This is very much not a human world.

For one thing, there IS no world outside of Britain.

It's not like the other Lostbelts, where we just couldn't see the outside world thanks to the storm walls.

There's just nothing in this world at all besides Britain. No other continents, and definitely no other nations.

So as long as we're here, the whole planet consists of nothing but the Isle of Britain, and the sea.

And that means

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Yup. Given what we know now, that's the only way to describe it.

Over the last few days, I've been asking various faeries about what things are like between Britain and other countries, but the very idea of other countries was alien to them.

So that tells me there must be some strange circumstance that caused this place to become Faerie Britain.

Figuring out what that is will be the key to beatingno, unraveling this Lostbelt.

Hold on. If there aren't any other European countries here...

Does that mean every faerie in this land comes solely from the Isle of Britain?

That's a great question, Tristan. If there are no other lands in this world...

It follows that no faerie legends from those places would be imported here.

But luckily, there's still a little thing called "human history convergence."

What that means is, as long as a faerie once existed on earth, their existence will remain even if their form and history are different.

So even in this Faerie Britain, we have faeries from various European legends showing up in different forms.

Basically, the ecosystems are similar, even if the environments aren't.

Since this is still the same planet Earth, there are inevitably going to be similar life-forms, civilizations, and large-scale events.

Similar life-forms, huh...

Yup. Faerie Britain may be nothing like the Britain we know...

But despite that, the two Britains have a surprising number of things in common.

Things like city names, faerie names...

Even the name of this world's queen.

Remember that huge castle to the north you saw on the way here? It belongs to High Queen Morgan, ruler of Faerie Britain.

And it probably won't surprise you to learn that its name is Camelot.

That's right. Here, the same castle that symbolized British peace in Proper Human History...

...that was home to King Arthur and to the Knights of the Round Table...belongs to Morgan.

The strongest, most despised witch in British history, and the one indirectly responsible for King Arthur's death and Britain's downfall.

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Yup. As far as I've been able to find out, Morgan's ruled Faerie Britain for almost two thousand years.

There are six different faerie clans here: Wind, Earth, Fang, Mirror, Wing, and one other.

They waged war with each other constantly for thousands of years...

Until Morgan used evil magecraft to defeat them, subjugated half of the clans through force, and united all of Britain.

Afterwards, she gave the humans of this world a limited degree of freedom, made them build a foundation for civilization...

...and developed this imitation society over the course of the last two thousand years.

Morgan... So even in this Lostbelt, she's still trying to...

But no, I suppose I shouldn't say that. I'm sure this Morgan is a different person from the one we know.

So, what exactly is her reign like?

Since she calls her castle Camelot, does that mean it's fair and just, in a way King Arthur would be proud of?

No, it's pretty horrible.

She has strict limits on the number of humans that can be born each year, and she rules the faeries with an iron fist.

Every faerie that lives in an urban area is inscribed with Morgan's curseCommand Spells, as part of their civic duty.

And every year, faeries inscribed with these Command Spells are forced to "donate" some of their vitalitymagical energy, essentially.

They call it the existence tax.

And any faeries who can't pay itessentially, who can't provide enough magical energy to satisfy Morganare killed right then and there.

Apparently, when she first took the throne, Morgan told the faeries:

"I offer neither absolution nor salvation. I demand only that you obey without question or hesitation."

"Show me your fealty in word and action, and I shall keep Britain safe."

Any faeries who can't handle this state of affairs and become unable to work are either taken into Camelot and dealt with there...

...or they escape the cities and run away to lands no one else knows about.

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Such an oppressive regime is bound to spark opposition.

But even so, Morgan has maintained her iron grip on Britain for two thousand years...

Yup. Which just goes to show how powerful she must be.

She takes half the soul of every faerie in Britain each year, and there's STILL no faeries able or willing to stand up to her.

That said, there are some positive sides to Morgan's reign.

Remember those black things we fought near the shore?

The faeries call them "mors," and they're one of the calamities that have been plaguing Faerie Britain since its inception.

Occasionally, faeries that lose their purpose, or their spark...

...end up turning into these mors creatures.

Mors are essentially the faeries' natural predators.

Just touching one is enough to infect a faerie, ultimately transforming them into a mors too.

It's kind of like a disease that only affects faeries.

And the mors aren't the only calamity Britain has to regularly contend with. There are lots of others that pop up on a regular basis.

And Morgan'sthe high queen's army is constantly fending them off.

Morgan may be a cold and ruthless ruler, but she's also the sword that keeps Britain safe.

The faeries may fear and hate her, but they also depend on her.

And that's the current state of the Faerie Britain.

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Yup, that seems like a very safe assumption. Which means she'd also have to be the one who used Rhongomyniad...

That spell was so powerful it reached Olympus from here. No one else could have cast it.

Though of course, that unfortunately also means Beryl Gut is involved with Morgan somehow...

So I'd say that makes our chances of peaceful negotiation with her basically nil.

...I see. Then we have our own reasons for defeating her.

Yup! Though we might have a hard time getting into Camelot, since apparently, no one can enter it without her permission!

That said, even Morgan's reign isn't perfect. In fact, there's new hope going around Britain right now.

As luck would have it, we showed up here at the exact right time, just as things are about to change.

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The Child of Prophecy.

Specifically, a child whose existence was prophesized by the head of the now extinct Mirror clan, right before they disappeared.

From what I heard, it went something like this:

"Sixteen years from now, a savior shall appear. Guided by the Staff of Selection, the true king will take the throne."

"When the six bells ring out, the false queen will fall. Alongside fae and humans, the savior will bring an end to this false history."

So what do you think? Sounds vaguely familiar, right?

It's got credibility out the wazoo too, since the Mirror clan's prophecies have never once been wrong.

The high queen's been trying to prevent the inevitable by rounding up every faerie who turns sixteen this year...

...but the fact that this Child of Prophecy hunt is still going on proves that she still hasn't caught them.

Suffice to say, between the mors and the Child of Prophecy alone, the cracks are showing in the high queen's reign.

So if we play our cards right, we might just be able to negotiate with Morgan after all.

That said, finding Mash definitely comes first. For the time being, you should rest up and recover your strength.

Then tomorrow, we can start gathering information. Quietly and casually, of course, so as not to arouse suspicion.

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Okay, I think we could use some rest, too.

Servants might not need to sleep, but it's still tiring to be constantly watching out for threats, right?

I mean, you never took your fingers off your bow strings even once that entire time. Guess that's why you were a Knight of the Round Table, huh?

Heh. Just your noticing that suggests I must need rest as well.

But not just yet.

But please, don't refrain from resting on my account, Da Vinci.

You may be a Servant too, but you're also a being living in the here and now, just like Fujimaru.

So go on, get some sleep. Don't worry, it's my duty to protect you as well as him.

Gotcha. I guess I should have expected that kind of consideration from Tristan, the Child of Sadness, and the most handsome Knight of the Round Table.

Okay then, I think I'll take you up on that. Honestly, I WAS pretty beat.

By all means. But first, I have just one request for you.

I don't want to take too much of your time, but before you fall asleep...

I was hoping you could tell me about the Sixth Singularity.

Specifically, I would like to hear about the version of me who was summoned there...

...and what I was doing in the Holy City of Camelot.