"Fou!?"
Mash was utterly shocked.
And not just Mash—Rozen was startled as well, and the rest of the Chaldeans stood there, dumbfounded.
"Fou! Fou! Fouuu!"
Fou had knocked Merlin flat, stomped on his face, and was furiously scratching at him. In between, it would turn toward the others, bouncing and hopping around, displaying an unusually excited mood.
Watching this scene, everyone was left puzzled.
Only Mash seemed to grasp Fou's intent.
"Are you saying... Merlin can't be trusted?"
Mash asked uncertainly.
"Fou! Fou!"
Fou nodded wildly, even putting on a look like it had suffered grievously in the past, leaving everyone speechless.
And in the very next moment, Fou was harshly grabbed by a hand.
"You damn beast! How dare you slander me like this? After all I did for you!"
Merlin, with his face covered in scratches, clung to Fou angrily, tugging harshly at its fur.
"Fou! Fou!"
Fou struggled fiercely, mercilessly clawing at Merlin's hands, causing him to cry out in pain.
The man and beast scuffled like this, leaving the rest of the party dumbfounded.
Rozen, too, stared blankly at the scene, only regaining his composure after a long moment.
"Merlin," Rozen asked in surprise, "do you and Fou... know each other?"
The way they fought didn't look like two strangers at all. If anything, it seemed like two who had known each other for years, deeply familiar with each other.
"Fou! Fou! I don't know this good-for-nothing!"
Fou suddenly let out a series of cries, as if rejecting Rozen's speculation.
And Rozen wasn't sure if he was just hearing things—but within those cries, there almost seemed to be human speech.
Of course, that only made Merlin even more enraged.
"Cath Palug! You little fiend! You damned beast! I should've never taken you in! Should've just left you to rot in the human world!"
Merlin shouted as he tried to subdue Fou—only to get bitten, making him cry out in agony.
"Cath Palug?"
Rozen finally understood.
Even Mash gasped.
"That name... Isn't it from the legend of King Arthur? The magical cat?"
In the Arthurian legends, there existed a three-eyed magical cat born of a boar demon. It once appeared before Artoria and her foster brother, Kay, and engaged them in battle.
That three-eyed cat was called Cath Palug.
Could it be...?
"Fou is the magical cat from the legend of King Arthur?"
Mash voiced her disbelief.
"Haha, finally figured it out?"
Merlin said while pinning Fou down, his body battered and bruised. "That foul beast was technically my familiar. We used to live together in the Tower of Seclusion in Avalon. After the decline of mystery, I thought about releasing it into the Reverse Side of the World where the Phantasmal Species dwell. So I threw it out of the tower—and somehow it wandered into Chaldea. Well, I suppose even that disaster beast found itself a good home."
He muttered that last part under his breath, so no one else really heard.
But even the parts they could hear were already enough to make jaws drop.
"So Fou's true identity... is a magical cat from Arthurian legend, a Phantasmal Species that's survived for over a thousand years?"
Mash looked at Fou with awe and disbelief.
A being from over a millennium ago... Even an ordinary magical beast surviving that long would eventually ascend into a Phantasmal Species—or even a Divine Beast—approaching the level of true magic itself.
To think that this carefree white creature had such an incredible origin. It was only natural for Mash to be astonished.
In fact, everyone in Chaldea was in awe.
"So this little guy's not simple at all, huh?"
Da Vinci's curiosity toward Fou was instantly piqued.
"...A magical cat from Arthurian legend is living in Chaldea?"
Roman seemed to be developing a headache.
"How did such a dangerous thing even get into Chaldea?"
Even Olga Marie was trembling.
Sure, beings of that level of mystery were every magus's dream research subject—a perfect specimen—but one mustn't forget: that magical cat once gave even King Arthur and Sir Kay a hard time.
It was no wonder everyone felt a chill at the thought of such a beast freely wandering Chaldea.
Only Rozen finally came to terms with it.
"No wonder Fou can perform Rayshift and exhibit those strange powers."
Rayshifting wasn't something just anyone could do—you needed compatibility.
Even Olga Marie hadn't qualified for Rayshift compatibility before becoming a wraith. That alone proved how rare such individuals were.
And yet, Fou, this small creature, could Rayshift. That was already a massive anomaly.
Back when Rozen first Rayshifted into the Singularity, he was nearly torn apart by the light bands in the sky. But Fou had intervened and blocked the interference—Rozen had always felt this creature wasn't just some pet.
No ordinary pet could vanish and reappear on a whim, seemingly appearing at Rozen and the others' sides out of nowhere.
All signs had already pointed to Fou being far from ordinary.
And now, Rozen finally understood what kind of existence Fou truly was.
Still, watching Fou fume at Merlin with such grudge-filled eyes, everyone could only smile wryly.
"Come here, little guy."
Rozen beckoned.
"Fou!"
Without hesitation, Fou abandoned Merlin, hopping up onto Rozen's shoulder and glaring at Merlin like he was the enemy of all life.
It was obvious that, as Merlin's former familiar, Fou had suffered plenty under his care.
Rozen gently stroked Fou's fur as he looked toward Merlin—who was muttering things like "you ungrateful beast" and "raising you was a complete waste" as he shakily got to his feet.
"Just take us to Uruk," Rozen said. "Whatever the case, we need to meet Gilgamesh first."
On that point, Merlin was clearly the best guide they could have.
Otherwise, meeting the Hero King might not be impossible—but it would definitely be a serious challenge.
"Yeah, yeah, who told you to be my king's master?"
Merlin sighed like an overworked laborer.
"Let's head out, then. We'll rendezvous with my companion first, then go to Uruk."
Saying that, Merlin rubbed his bruises as he started walking.
Rozen and Mash exchanged a glance, then followed.
As for Altera—she had already vanished into spirit form.
By the way, the unconscious Ishtar still lay on the ground—until Mash picked her up and carried her.
To quote Rozen...
"This goddess is a rare prize. We're taking her with us."
And so, the mighty goddess of Mesopotamia—capable of commanding storms and tempests—was carried off like a sack of goods.
This black mark in her record would no doubt be engraved into her memories of this manifestation, a true stain on her pride.