"..."
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere instantly became delicate.
The meeting between Morgan and Mélusine was already quite a coincidence.
Now, with Ian taking the initiative to appear, the already terrible situation naturally grew a few shades more awkward.
Mélusine felt that today was definitely not her lucky day.
Her toes curled slightly, a clear sign of her desire to flee.
"Um, if there's nothing else, I'll just—"
"Come on in, both of you."
Before Mélusine could finish, Ian spoke first.
"As it happens, I wanted to see you both as well."
"..."
"..."
Morgan and Mélusine glanced at each other.
They could feel that neither had any intention of giving up this opportunity.
Click.
The door to Ian's room opened, and then closed.
Morgan and Mélusine entered.
However, what surprised the two of them was—
The room that was rumored to belong to Ian did not have the decorations of a normal room.
On the contrary.
It was full of books.
That's right.
Morgan almost doubted her own eyes.
In the room Ian had come out of, there wasn't even a bed, only books from who-knows-where, lying there quietly.
"Ian, what is all this...?"
"Studying."
"I am studying."
Ian picked up a book from the table that was already more than halfway open.
As a dragon, his strength was immense.
So on the book's surface, one could see the traces he had left behind. The page-turns were forceful, yet one could also see a great deal of earnestness in them.
"But, there are many parts I don't understand."
"Come and help me."
"..."
"..."
Ian's answers were always so unexpected.
But hearing this answer, Mélusine felt her heart calm down considerably.
"You should have said so sooner."
"I was wondering what you were trying to do."
As Mélusine said this, she walked over to Ian's side.
"Here, what do you want to know? I'll teach you!"
"This one—"
"And this one—"
"These are all simple."
Mélusine's "tutoring" began quickly.
The questions Ian asked weren't complicated—at least, they didn't seem complicated on the surface.
As a dragon whose evolutionary path was completely different from his, Mélusine felt she was more than qualified to act as his teacher for a bit.
She was even a little proud of it.
However...
Unlike Mélusine, who was focused wholeheartedly on teaching, Morgan was secretly observing their surroundings.
Her intuition told her that Artoria couldn't have created such a room for Ian for no reason. There was definitely something going on that she didn't know about.
And soon, the facts began to develop in the direction Morgan had guessed.
Mélusine had answered Ian's earlier questions without any pressure at all.
So much so that when she heard his next question, she was completely stunned.
"You're asking..."
"How to make the entirety of Camelot float?"
"Ian, why do you want to ask a question like that?"
"..."
Faced with Mélusine's confusion, Ian simply shook his head.
"I don't know."
"I just want to understand the answer."
"I have a premonition. This is something that must be done in the future."
"This..."
Now Mélusine was at a loss.
She could fly, it was true.
But that didn't mean she knew how to make Camelot fly.
After all, no matter how you thought about it, this went far beyond a simple "question."
"Such a possibility does exist."
Morgan, who had been completely silent until now, joined the conversation.
"With enough magical energy, not just Camelot, but all of Britain could fly into the sky in a way that surpasses imagination."
"But, what is the point?"
"We... are people who live by the sea. What necessary reward could we possibly gain from flying into the sky?"
Morgan still had great faith in Ian's intuition.
After all, when you got right down to it, this fellow had countless ties to that mother named Tiamat.
A dragon that could cross the boundaries of time and space would not have simple thoughts, no matter how you looked at it.
"To save."
"I feel this can save everyone."
"That way, Artoria won't be sad."
"This..."
Even Morgan, upon hearing Ian's answer, couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.
Trying to find a way to make Camelot fly, and the purpose is to save the people here?
Morgan opened a few of the books lying around and soon confirmed that Ian was not joking.
Aside from the questions Mélusine had casually answered, the books here were, in fact, all about how to achieve such a feat.
Although...
The methods described in some of the books were filled with absurdity.
But Morgan knew this was likely the reason Artoria had turned this place into what it was.
"What strange things are you talking about?"
Mélusine crossed her arms.
"This is Camelot, with you in it."
"Instead of 'save,' shouldn't it be 'protect'?"
"But I feel it's not something I can protect against..."
Ian covered his forehead with his hand.
"So no matter what, I have to do it."
"This..."
This was the first time Mélusine had seen Ian react like this.
She wanted to say that it might just be something Ian was worried about, but she soon found she couldn't get the words out.
"It's alright."
Morgan took Ian's other hand.
"I'm here."
"Whatever you want to do, I will be with you."
"Even things Artoria has not promised you, I can do."
"Just making Camelot float... there must be a way to do it."
"..."
Mélusine's eyes widened.
Ian's prophetic words had almost made her forget why she and Morgan had taken this opportunity to come before him in the first place.
And that was...
To "steal" him!
"Me, me too!"
Realizing she couldn't fall behind Morgan, Mélusine also hurried to express her sincerity.
"Ian, whatever you want to do, I'll be with you!"
"I..."
"I can also help you do things Artoria can't!"
"Yes! I can!"
Saying this, Mélusine tried to copy Morgan and claim Ian's other hand for herself.
But limited by the difference in their sizes, she could only symbolically tug on the corner of his sleeve in the end.
"I understand."
"That's... wonderful."
"In that case—"
Ian put an arm around Morgan and Mélusine, one on each side.
"Then, I'll be counting on you."
"Wait here with me for Artoria to come back!"