This was a stretch of wilderness far removed from the monster frontlines—a desolate place so barren that even the legions of magical beasts wouldn't bother to pass through.
Only exposed rock and withered, lifeless trees remained here, making it look like a remote mountain area—a rather well-hidden location.
At one point, petals began to swirl and rise into the air, spinning and spiraling in a beautiful display.
And when the dance of petals ended and all the blossoms had scattered, several figures stood at the center of the floral formation.
"Where… is this?"
Rozen, Mash, and Altera had their vision suddenly obscured by a flurry of petals. By the time the petals cleared, the three of them found themselves in this strange place, visibly surprised.
"Guh... Ugh...!"
Nearby, Ishtar—her body covered in glowing talismans—crashed down to the ground, face-first again, a muffled whimper slipping from her lips.
"Fou!"
Fou came tumbling down from above, landing right on the back of Ishtar's head.
Just like that, the group had escaped the battlefield and arrived at this place.
"Alright. We should be safe now,"
At that moment, the Magus of Flowers struck a proud pose, as if his work were complete.
"Well? That was one of my proudest illusions! Pretty entertaining, right?"
Well, if nothing else—it was certainly interesting.
At the very least, Rozen could tell that the reason they suddenly appeared in this place wasn't due to the Magus of Flowers casting some grand Space Manipulation Magic like teleportation or spatial jump, but rather—as he claimed—it was a form of illusion.
Using his Heaven's Eye and Mind's Eye, Rozen had discerned that the flower formation was actually a spell targeting the mind. It gave the illusion of instantaneous teleportation, but in reality, it simply dulled their perception of time, making them feel as though they had jumped to another place in an instant.
In other words, while it seemed like they were instantly relocated, the journey from the battlefield to here had still taken a fair bit of time.
The Magus of Flowers had used illusion magic to deceive Kingu—and even his own allies—guiding the group to this location and enabling a safe escape from the magical beasts' encirclement.
It was indeed a trick.
However, the people he fooled weren't ordinary. That alone spoke volumes about his skills as a magus.
(Could he be…?)
Taking into account Artoria [Alter]'s earlier reaction and the nature of the illusion, Rozen had formed a theory about the Magus's identity.
Unfortunately, not everyone was as quick on the uptake as Rozen.
Mash, for instance, was still on alert.
"You're a Servant, aren't you?"
Mash raised her shield, her expression wary as she stared at the figure.
Strangely, though, Mash found that she couldn't muster any hostility toward him.
More than that—she even felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if she were facing someone she knew. The urge to lower her shield was strong.
Had she not been concerned for Rozen's safety, she might very well have lowered it.
That contradiction made Mash outwardly wary but inwardly confused.
The Magus also turned to Mash. Seeing her face and the shield in her hands, a nostalgic look surfaced on his own.
"Never thought I'd see that Round Table again. Living long does have its perks."
The Magus of Flowers seemed to fall into quiet reminiscence.
That prompted Altera to furrow her brow. She raised her Sword of the War God silently and pointed it at the Magus, destructive energy gathering at its edge.
Unlike Rozen and Mash, Altera felt no particular emotion toward the Magus—only that he was suspicious. And so, she prepared to attack.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm not suspicious at all! Please, calm down! White swordswoman! Being struck by that sword of yours isn't something I can laugh off!"
The Magus of Flowers quickly raised both hands in surrender.
Just then, Chaldea's communication link reconnected.
"Looks like everyone's safe. Thank goodness,"
Olga Marie let out a massive sigh of relief.
"A retreat, huh? A wise call. In Rozen's current condition, he isn't suited to fight Enkidu—no, we should say Kingu. It's best to avoid enemies of that level for now,"
Da Vinci added.
"Anyway, as long as you're safe. Now, let's deal with the Servant reaction near you,"
Roman went straight to the point.
From their words, the group could finally confirm—the Magus of Flowers was indeed a Servant.
And not a neutral, unaffiliated one. He already belonged to a specific faction.
"Thank you for being so reasonable. Speaking of which—I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?"
The Magus of Flowers dramatically patted his chest, then flashed a meaningful smile.
"Ordinarily, a Servant is supposed to hide their true name, but given the circumstances—and since that Master over there seems to have figured me out—I'll just say it outright."
Clearing his throat, he spread his arms and declared:
"My true name is Merlin. I trust that clears everything up?"
—Merlin.
As the name passed his lips, silence fell over the group.
"Wha… What?" Mash gasped.
"...Merlin?"
Olga Marie, Da Vinci, and Roman all drew a sharp breath.
"..."
Even Altera raised an eyebrow and fell silent.
As for Rozen, he simply sighed. In his heart, only two words remained.
"Of course."
The Magus's identity was exactly as Rozen had guessed.
And truly, no one could hear that name without reacting.
For this man was the legendary great sage of Arthurian lore—the one who guided the king to maturity, the one Arthur trusted as a right hand, and a well-known wanderer of the ideal land.
He had once assisted Uther Pendragon, King of Britain, using conceptual impregnation to conceive the red dragon of Britain—the future Arthur.
He had also presented the Sword of Selection to young Arthur, foretelling her tragic fate just before she drew the sword from the stone.
He was Artoria's mentor, instructor, and advisor—the one who guided her to kingship, and served beside her for ten years after the founding of Camelot. Only before Britain's final battle did he leave the palace and journey to Avalon, becoming a resident of that paradise.
That was why Artoria [Alter] had reacted so strongly.
Because the Magus before them was her teacher, helper, strategist—even the one who had a hand in her very creation.
The man named Merlin—the Magus of Flowers—grinned with satisfaction at the group's stunned reactions.
"That's right. I'm Merlin—the Merlin you all know. The magus among magi… Grand Caster."
"We'll be spending some time together, so I look forward to working with you all."