Seeing the Magus of Flowers of Great Britain sweat under his intimidation, Rozen couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
Still, there was no helping it. Whether based on legend or from firsthand experience, this magus was just too unreliable. Even if it had been confirmed that he wasn't an enemy, a little intimidation was necessary.
The very thought that he had successfully frightened a Grand-eligible magus made even Rozen find the situation a bit amusing.
But with the goal achieved, Rozen didn't push further.
"We've understood the reason you're able to appear in this era as a Servant," Rozen said directly. "However, since you weren't summoned by the Holy Grail as a neutral Servant, what exactly is your allegiance, Merlin?"
"Me?" Merlin gave a wry smile, exhaling like he'd been freed from pressure, then spread his arms in a complex gesture. "I've been summoned as the court mage serving the King of Uruk."
"I see..." Rozen murmured thoughtfully. "So Gilgamesh really did summon Servants using the Holy Grail, huh?"
That much could be deduced from the intel Enkidu had provided, and from the reaction of the Servants who had appeared on the frontlines of the monster war.
However, it turned out that both Rozen and Chaldea had guessed incorrectly this time.
"No, no, no. King Gilgamesh didn't use the Holy Grail to summon Servants," Merlin declared dramatically. "The King performed the miracle of Heroic Spirit Summoning using his own mana. Not through the downgraded magecraft like the Holy Grail War ritual or Chaldea's Fate system, but the real deal—true Heroic Spirit Summoning."
That declaration left everyone present stunned.
Even Rozen.
"You're saying King Gilgamesh performed the miracle of Heroic Spirit Summoning himself?"
This time, Rozen was genuinely shocked.
Because true Heroic Spirit Summoning is an ultimate form of magecraft designed to save the world of mankind. The Holy Grail War and systems like Fate are just derivatives—downgraded versions of that original miracle.
In other words, both the ritual of the Holy Grail War and Chaldea's Fate system are mere imitations—substandard shadows of the real thing.
That's why, when Rozen once accomplished the miracle of Heroic Spirit Summoning, even great heroes like Scathach had been stunned.
Yet now Gilgamesh had done the same? Even Rozen hadn't expected that.
Even Merlin wore an expression full of admiration.
"Though that King ruled as a tyrant with cruelty and severity, don't be fooled. His status as a mage is also extremely high. After all, he collected all the treasures of the world—meaning all the mysteries of this era have been gathered into his hands. On top of that, he's a demigod, possessing incredible natural talent as a magus. He even has Clairvoyance on par with myself and the Mage King Solomon, capable of perceiving the future. If he chose the path of magecraft, he would undoubtedly qualify as a Grand Caster."
Merlin's words left everyone silent.
Rozen secretly clicked his tongue.
He knew Gilgamesh possessed a supremely elevated spiritual foundation—as the oldest human hero, the apex of all kings in human history. But he hadn't imagined that even as a magus, his capabilities were that formidable.
"So King Gilgamesh used the miracle of Heroic Spirit Summoning to call you forth—and summoned multiple Servants who've been resisting the invasion of the Three Goddess Alliance, correct?"
Rozen sought confirmation.
"That's right." Merlin gave a helpless smile. "Including myself, the King summoned a total of seven Servants. The mana for forming our Saint Graphs was all provided by him personally."
"That... really is astonishing," Mash murmured in awe. "Aside from Senpai, I can't believe there's anyone else who can supply enough mana to sustain multiple Servants on their own."
"Haha, for us, it's your senpai's accomplishments that are truly astonishing."
Merlin chuckled, then added meaningfully, "After all, your senpai is just an ordinary human. Gilgamesh, at least, is half-divine. Even so, he nearly died from mana depletion after summoning the seven Servants. All the mana needed to maintain us afterward had to be provided by us individually—by eating, sleeping, or absorbing the souls and life of magical beasts to generate mana and keep our Saint Graphs intact. Otherwise, even the King of Hero would've dropped dead long ago."
In other words, even the most ancient hero of humanity nearly collapsed after invoking the miracle of Heroic Spirit Summoning, and he still hadn't recovered enough to appear on the frontlines. Meanwhile, Rozen was freely invoking the miracle without issue—that was what truly defied belief.
Moreover, while both Rozen and Gilgamesh had achieved Heroic Spirit Summoning, the difficulty of doing so for each of them was on entirely different levels.
Gilgamesh had the advantage of being in the Age of Gods, when mystery had not yet faded. The conditions for performing the miracle were far more favorable.
Rozen, on the other hand, was a modern magus, living in an age where mystery was all but extinct—yet he still pulled off the miracle. And did so effortlessly. Such a feat was unheard of.
Still, Merlin knew that Rozen was far from ordinary.
As he thought this, he subtly glanced at the ring on Rozen's right finger.
(Now that you've entrusted everything to this child... just how do you expect him to face the future, Romani Archaman?)
While this thought flickered through his mind, Merlin remained outwardly lighthearted.
"Anyway, let's head to Uruk. From Chaldea's perspective, if you wish to repair this Singularity and retrieve the Holy Grail, negotiation with King Gilgamesh is unavoidable."
After all, the Holy Grail was in that king's possession. He was the center of this era. To resolve the Singularity and erase the distortion in this timeline, a meeting with Gilgamesh was essential.
"Allow me to escort you all to Uruk for an audience with the King!"
Merlin tapped his chest with confidence and declared proudly.
"With me, the court magus, leading the way, you'll have no problem meeting the King. One of my companions is waiting up ahead as well—how about we all travel together?"
However, it was not Rozen or the others who rebuked Merlin at that moment.
It was an entirely unexpected voice from the scene.
"Fou! Fou-FOU!"
Fou suddenly became agitated for some reason and leapt directly at Merlin.
Bang!
"Oof!"
With a loud impact, Merlin let out a pained cry as Fou headbutted him to the ground.