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[foundfate]

["I want to be free of the ghosts to see. That is my wish: to not be burdened by them anymore."

"Unfortunately, I cannot grant that wish. But I can send you to someone who can grant it."

That answer gave Watanuki jack-all to go off of, though, and he was left standing in a field of pink flowers looking absolutely befuddled. How had he gotten there? Where was he in the first place? The flowers seemed to go on forever, and all that was around besides them was a floating tower in the sky.

Well, that seemed like Watanuki's best chance at getting an answer, so he tried to step in that direction, but found that his legs were tangled up in the flowers. He fount this out by tripping, somehow, and ending up face-first in the flowers with a yelp.]

What- why are they-

[Oh, to be tangled up in the Garden of Avalon. His sins weighed him down, and he didn't even know it.]

Comments

[foundfate]

Ah. So you're in magic-prison.

[Not wrong, technically, but it was an oversimplification of the situation.]

[myrdd]

For all intents and purposes, yes.

So unless the Dimension Witch arranged for you to have a two-way ticket, the only way to physically return to your world is by using your own power.

[foundfate]

...

[She had not given him a way back, no.]

That probably was her intention. "Learn to use your powers, or never go home again."

[myrdd]

[And probably 'stay out of trouble.

Merlin clapped Watanuki's shoulder.]

There you have it.

In the meantime, this is your room.

[He stopped at a plain-looking wooden door between an ink painting and a portrait of a nymph. Merlin gestured at the handle: the room was enchanted to fit whatever Watanuki thought of as "modest comfort," and it would retain that look for however long Merlin's guest stayed in the tower]

Why don't you have a look?

[foundfate]

[Stay out of trouble, while having Merlin as a teacher. Yuuko really was asking a lot.

At Merlin's insistence, Watanuki put his hand on the handle, turned it, and opened the door. He had no idea of the magic that was changing its appearance, and he would just assume that the room was made as he saw it.

The room itself was about what you would expect for a small Japanese apartment, with one large living area, a tiny kitchen, and a tiny bathroom. It wasn't too far off from what Watanuki had lived in before, if he was being honest. But it didn't look exactly like his apartment in Tokyo, because he was expecting to stay somewhere else instead of at home.]

...huh. I didn't know you had an eastern-style room here.

[myrdd]

Not until a very short while ago.

[And you bet Merlin looked interested - this was his first time to physically step into anything modern, instead of just walking it in his dreams.]

It's more organized than an ordinary hut, I'll give you that.

What does the outside usually look like? Do you have your own vegetable patch? Or do you have to contend with more neighbors?

[foundfate]

Outside?

[Watanuki's mind immediately filled in the blanks: a busy apartment building, a small porch barely big enough to hang the wash up, and a loud street below.]

There's no room for a vegetable patch, no. But the neighbors are nice.

[myrdd]

Exactly the opposite of our present situation, then.

[All veg plants, no neighbors.

Or, at least, no neighbors within the garden. Avalon was but an island in the Reverse Side of the World: were Watanuki able to stray beyond its borders, he'd find an assortment of fairies, dragons, spirits, and other phantasmals that had taken refuge after the Age of the Gods ended and its influence faded away.]

Would you like to take an hour to settle in? Or shall we continue in our tour of the Tower?

[If Watanuki agreed to taking a break, Merlin would go on a very brief trip to dreamland and make arrangements: the mention of vegetables did remind him that Watanuki had a functioning human body, and he wasn't quite built or even trained to subsist on magical energy. And while Merlin could techincally conjure food, he'd pass: should Watanuki's idle dreams become snack material, Merlin would rather not have his own magic somehow influence that.

Of course, if Watanuki would rather explore the tower more, Merlin could postpone that other talk to later.]

[foundfate]

[It was best not to tell Watanuki about that until he was a bit more into the whole 'magic' thing. He was liable to get upset at being in a world of spirits when he had been trying to avoid them his whole life.]

I did come her suddenly, didn't I? I can wait here until later, if you need time to prepare for me being here.

[And then, after he remembered he should be polite:]

Sorry for imposing on you.

[myrdd]

[Not to worry. After all, Merlin made it a point to avoid certain spoilers, in the interest of seeing how certain individuals handled the truth when the time came.]

Sure, but why are you the one apologizing? It's not as if you chose to come here specifically.

[He tapped the doorframe with his staff. A tiny glow rippled outward, sinking into the wood.]

I'll take my leave now. Once you're ready, open this door again - this should take you to the room I'll meet you at.

[Any questions? If not, Merlin would close the door behind him and head to a different end of the tower.

Yuuko, by the way, was in his 'to contact' list, because what the hell. Send food over if the other fae don't want to be nice neighbors.

While that was going on, what was Watanuki going to do to pass the time?]

[foundfate]

Alright.

[Merlin wasn't wrong, he hadn't been the one to choose to come to Avalon. But it was a result of his wish, so he did feel partially responsible. Even if the result was something out of an isekai novel, he hadn't just been whisked away because a truck hit him or something. He had chosen this.

And he intended to make the best of his choices.

Watanuki did take nearly an hour to get settled. He took a stock of everything in the small apartment, seeing exactly what cooking utensils he had and what other furniture there was. He was delighted to find a kotatsu up in the crawl space, that would be useful in the winter. And the futon seemed comfortable enough. He situated that on the edge of the crawl space though, so he could get it down easily when it was bedtime.

Everything else seemed pretty bare, though. No real decorations, and nothing really for entertainment. The kitchen area had plenty to work with, but that was about it. He would have to find other things to put in here later.

(He didn't realize it at the time, but it was a reflection of how many memories he had lost. His cooking was the only part of himself he could recall with clarity, so it was like a 'default character trait', so to speak. As he grew that would change, though.)

In the meantime, when Merlin contacted Yuuko, Yuuko was happy to explain that Merlin was better suited for Watanuki's needs. She did intend to pay for his expenses, though, and sent plenty of raw ingredients for Watanuki to cook with, as well as the promise of 'just call for more when it's needed, and be sure to try his cooking too.'

Eventually Watanuki did have to open the door though, because as time passed he did think of questions to ask Merlin. Would Merlin be in that room when Watanuki went looking for him?]

[myrdd]

[That 'nothing really for entertainment' bit, perhaps, might change soon enough, even if half of that entertainment was listening to Merlin laugh his ass off at Romani's reliance on Magi☆Mari and the other half was Merlin taking him along during his dream-people-watching habits. Basically, magic reality TV without the contrived drama.

Also much thanks, Yuuko. Merlin knew better than to ask for certain pieces of information because of the toll involved, although he'd ask if he should expect other surprise guests from her side of the world now that Watanuki was in Avalon.

And you bet he'd try Watanuki's cooking once he smelled it. Believe it or not, the terrible taste of Gawain's mashed potatoes still scarred him a thousand years later, and this was a delightful upgrade.

The ingredients, incidentally, would appear in Watanuki's kitchen as soon as Merlin got them.

As for the room Merlin himself was in - it was in a circular study with a large, open window. The walls were lined with tomes: the vellum and bindings were perfectly preserved, although the language they were written in would make the dates of their creation noticeable. There was no desk, but a reclining sofa was next to the window. When the door opened to reveal Watanuki, Merlin would be sitting upright, his staff cradled in the crook of his arm.]

How good of a cook are you?

[foundfate]

[Watanuki's first thought was that this was a library of some sort. It fit his mental image of a mage, so he didn't question it too much.

The question was very out of the blue, though. Was Merlin hungry?]

Decent enough, I would say. Why?

[myrdd]

Your cooking is highly recommended.

[He won't say by whom, and he has his own suspicions on how Yuuko knew that.]

Although I will say this: the passage of time isn't as pressing in Avalon. There is little to distinguish day and night, and peeking into other realms is the best way to ascertain how much of the day has passed.

[There were plenty of ways to remedy this to track meal times, of course, though he was curious to hear what solutions Watanuki might come up with.]

[foundfate]

Eh? By who? I don't really cook for other people.

[He paused there, but he was quick to speak up again once he realized he had been a bit rude. Sorry Merlin, your new apprentice was a bit of a worrywart.]

Not that I won't cook! It's the least I can do for you, considering you're teaching me magic.

And...don't you have a clock in here?

[myrdd]

[Boring but practical. Ah, well.]

As long as it's anything but mashed potatoes, by all means.

[He tapped his staff on the ground. A clock no bigger than the palm of a hand would materialize before Watanuki - catch!

It was ornate, of course, because Merlin liked beautiful things, but if Watanuki looked at the back he'd notice something odd: it was completely smooth with no allowances for screws or even batteries. Yet the clock itself still worked with its tiny pendulum swings, showing that it was 3:58 - synced to GMT +13, Antartica's timezone. Not that Watanuki knew that.

(His Item Construction rank was C. He knew how towers worked because he was around when Artoria built a few, but cogs? Unnecessary details - he'd leave those to the inventors to obsess over.

Whether this miniature would still work outside Avalon remained to be seen.)]

[foundfate]

[That sure was a clock! And it looked like there was no way to set it. But he could make use of it, at least. Adjusting to that clock's time wouldn't take too long, hopefully. Assuming it worked properly.

Regardless, he would keep it in his room eventually, leaving it on the counter or table to easily refer to. That would help keep him from going crazy due to losing track of time.]

Why are mashed potatoes your first thought? Had too many of them?

[myrdd]

['Worked properly,' it would. Too well, perhaps, in the sense that it would keep resetting itself - assuming Watanuki managed to pry off the self-repairing face glass - back to that timezone, since Merlin would often end up observing Chaldea when he was in a dreamlike state.

Perhaps his preoccupation leaked out a little more than he'd intended.]

One of the Knights of the Round Table prided himself in making that dish. Unfortunately, his cooking isn't all it's made out to be. Even Artoria, that glutton, made sure to excuse herself fast when she saw that man approaching with a bowl of the stuff onhand.

[Merlin sounded fond, too - those were bright days, even if Artoria had to go out to deal with one war or the other. Really, that child was nothing but determined to be the perfect king, even if it backfired spectacularly towards the end.

By the way - if Watanuki had other questions, now was his chance to ask them. Because Merlin had a ton of stories, and he was the sort who liked regaling them when he actually had an audience.]

[foundfate]

[Merlin stop spying on people.

And today was indeed a good day for stories, because Watanuki was Japanese and knew jack-all about English legends. The confusion on his face invited explanations.]

Er...Knights of the Round Table? Artoria? Are those people I'm going to meet here?

[Please, explain. He would listen to stories about Merlin's former friends.]

[myrdd]

[And remain bored until the world ended? No thanks!]

No. Their age is long over.

[He couldn't quite say 'they're dead' because Bedivere was out there, as was the Lion King.]

I'm surprised you haven't heard of them, to be honest. Their Legend, or so I've observed, has already reached past the British Isles.

[He tapped his staff on the ground again, showing a few illusions: a cover of T.H. White's book, a part from Disney's The Sword in the Stone, scenes from this series.]

But what is there to say about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table... yes.

[He braced his chin on the palm of his hand.]

Britain, you must understand, used to have a lot of domestic wars: if they weren't fighting local tribes and other lords, they were fending off invaders.

Uther Pendragon, the previous king, was usurped from the throne and killed. It was prophesized that only his rightful heir would be able to draw the sword from the stone and set the kingdom to rights.

Indeed, his child had been raised away from the court in secret. When the time came she drew Caliburn, the sword of selection, and proved herself worthy of being king. With the Round Table she established, she brought peace back to the kingdom, bringing in a golden age for England that lasted until her own death in battle.

Mind, I can tell you know that Artoria was a girl, but at the time it was a huge secret. Only me and a few others knew she wasn't born male, and so she is known as King Arthur in history and myth.

[foundfate]

[Seeing those images, and hearing 'King Arthur', that was what finally got Watanuki to understand. He was far removed from the actual legends, but the idea of 'King Arthur' had permeated into some Japanese media, as Merlin had been able to show him. It had just taken Watanuki a moment to connect the dots.

And when he finally did-]

Whaaaaat?! You're THAT Merlin?!

[Somehow he was shocked by this revelation. And a little embarrassed, because why had Yuuko sent him to Merlin of all people? A mage like him was going to help W atanuki with his ghost problems? Watanuki wasn't that important, he was imposing!]

[myrdd]

[Oho. So Artoria's legend did reach this boy. And his own, apparently.

Merlin laughed and, curling his hand in a loose fist, thumped his thumb on his chest.]

Yep, that's me. Merlin, the Magus of Flowers and former court mage for King Arthur, at your service.

[Then he stood up spread his arms out with a delighted flourish, staff held upright in one hand.]

And this is Avalon, Land of the Eternal Spring.

That you're even able to move and breathe properly here's a sign of your potential, you know. The magical energy's so dense that any normal human would physically rupture and die on arrival.

[foundfate]

[Well. That explained all the flowers. And the fact that this place was so weird and full of magic.

Watanuki really was in over his head.]

It did feel different here, but I didn't think- I really could have died?

[He was very concerned over that possibility in particular.]

[myrdd]

Yes.

Even King Arthur [and he said that to include both her and her male counterpart] can only find their rest here after fulfilling special conditions, though I'm sure you'll get to meet them if you stay around long enough.

[He wasn't about to mention anything about Artoria's FSN route contract, proto Arthur's quest, or the special circumstances of their birth.]

You're fortunate, too, that it was the Dimension Witch who sent you. Otherwise, you'd be in for a long trip. Avalon is situated where the British Isles would be on regular Earth: this is, as they would say, the other side of the veil.

[foundfate]

[Honestly, keeping those details quiet for the moment was best. No need to confuse Watanuki further.

And when he heard that it could have been a long trip, he grimaced. Yeah, he had no desire to tromp tens of thousands of kilometers through another world full of spirits in order to get to Merlin. Fast travel was appreciated.]

Well, that's one thing to be thankful for.

What kinds of food should I cook for you?

[Since Merlin was very obviously not Japanese, and Watanuki didn't know if he would like Japanese food or not. And since Merlin was hosting him, he could at least be nice and make what Merlin wanted. Or try to, his foreign cooking wasn't as strong as his traditional food.]