To be able to casually state that my current appearance differs from what is in your memory, to know that my companion is Lancelot.. it is evident that you are indeed my King Arthur! Even having lost your past memories, you still remember my face and Lancelot's name.
Merlin said excitedly, rubbing his face with both hands, "—Changing one's appearance is a basic skill for a mage."
“..”
Wood was speechless.
He pointed out that the other's appearance did not match the photo of Merlin provided by his companion from England, hoping to make the man believe that he was not the Arthur he was looking for, but he never expected this freak before him—
Do I match the appearance in your memories?
.. I am not Arthur Pendragon.
Wood said, caught between laughter and tears.
But your appearance is almost identical to Arthur's, your body is steadily emitting the unique energy and spiritual fluctuations of Avalon.
I have no connection to Avalon!
Impossible.
Merlin insisted stubbornly, "Without a doubt, you are Arthur."
King Arthur was a heterosexual who liked women; his queen was Guinevere, he once had a complicated romantic entanglement with his sister Morgan, but I—I don't like women, I only like men! I could never be the King Arthur you are looking for! Let me go!
You really only like men?
Yes, I only like men!
Wood emphasized.
Hearing this, Merlin placed his fingers against his chest and said solemnly, "I am now even more certain that you are Arthur."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to readers "Qing Tang", "A Bai", "Qing Yun", "Liu Yi Si", "Lan Wu", "Ruo Yue Liang Mei Lai", "..", "kiki", "Ba Yi Ba", "Er Jiao", "Li Yu", "Gu Lu Gu Lu", "Yang Yi Zhi Fei ing.", "Yue Xia Yin Cha", "Lan Mei Xiao Yang", "Yuan Zhong Ren De Yi Yu Zhong Li", "Qian Duo", "Hei Bai Nuo Mi Tuan", "Lei Zhuang.", "Min", "a", "Ye Yuan", "Suisui Wei Jun Ge", "Xing Ye" for providing Irrigation Nutrient Solution.
Please provide the Chinese paragraph you would like me to translate.
Chapter 34 True and False Arthur (4)
—Wh-why?
Wood was dumbfounded.
The True Arthur loves men more than women.
Wait! Wait a minute!
Wood stammered incoherently, "Master Merlin, Arthur is a great monarch from mythology, it is quite normal for his feelings for his Round Table Knights to exceed his feelings for his wife, but—the kind of love I am talking about is the kind where two people lie in the same bed and engage in a physical relationship, not the pure, noble love and trust between a monarch and his knights!"
I did not misunderstand your meaning. I know that the 'affection' you speak of refers to a love that transcends the level of spiritual romance, a desire for a physical relationship—in fact, Arthur did indeed engage in behavior between him and his most beloved Round Table Knight that violates the moral standards of modern mainstream Christianity, but in that era, it was quite normal for men to have connections that went beyond the spiritual realm.
Merlin said solemnly, "Therefore, when Queen Guinevere learned of the immoral relationship between Arthur and Morgan, Lancelot took the initiative to comfort the weeping Queen, furthermore, when Arthur learned of the affair between Lancelot and his Queen, he did not show intense anger."
.. Stop!
Merlin's words gave Wood a splitting headache, making him feel as if his brain were about to burst: "You mean King Arthur and the Lake Knight Lancelot.. So when the Queen wept because of the immoral relationship between King Arthur and Morgan, Lancelot comforted her, King Arthur, because of this connection, knew full well that the Queen had an affair with Lancelot, yet.."
Yes.
Merlin said with a smile, "Arthur feels intense apology and respect toward the Queen, but at the same time, he is deeply in love with Lancelot. He does not want either of them to be harmed."
What does that have to do with me?
Wood looked at Merlin speechlessly: "I am not Arthur! I just happen to look very much like the Arthur in your memory, like.."
In an instant, a flash of lightning streaked through his mind.
The face of the blond man who called himself Arthur Pendragon surfaced before Wood's eyes!
(His appearance bears a certain resemblance to mine.. He said he likes triangular relationships and loathes traditional married life.. His arm strength is astonishing.. He and the Boss have been friends for many years, he exudes a powerful monarchical aura.. Could it be—)
(Arthur Pendragon! That man who calls himself Arthur Pendragon is the true King Arthur!)
(He shook my hand and even showed me favors.. Perhaps it was that contact that caused me to be tainted with the aura of Avalon..)
Thinking of this, Wood said without hesitation, "Master Merlin, I am not the true Arthur King, but I know where the Arthur King you are looking for is!"
Where?
New York.
New York? What is New York? I only know York.
The mage Merlin looked at Wood with confusion.
Seeing this, Wood was about to explain the relationship between York and New York to the mage when suddenly—
His head felt heavy and fuzzy like cotton, his body felt inexplicably weak. He leaned forward, ignoring the barrier of the dining table, collapsed into the strong arms of the mage, which were entirely inconsistent with his white-haired, elderly appearance.
Oh, my precious King, who would be unable to survive without my care.. This time, I will surely bring you happiness..
..
..
Mm..
Wood slowly woke from a long dream, feeling parched and exhausted—it was as if he had experienced an extraordinarily long and intense saga of love and hate within the dream, even recovering all his lost memories, yet the moment he opened his eyes, the precious memories he had finally recalled were lost once again!
“So I.. I..”
He opened his eyes and looked around, finding himself lying on a creaking wooden bed, with damp wallpaper peeling off in large patches to reveal the mottled walls.
The room was both narrow and simple. A small window was set into the wall, aside from the old wooden bed he lay upon, the only pieces of furniture were a table and a chair, a young man dozing on the table while sitting in a chair.
(What on earth happened? Why was I brought here?)
(Merlin.. King Arthur.. Oh.. I remember now.. I met a mad sorcerer calling himself Merlin at the Green Leaf Inn. He said I was his King Arthur and forcibly brought me here..)
(This young man sleeping face down on the table.. Could he be that Lancelot, the one who refuses to admit he is the Knight of the Lake Lancelot, mentioned in the documents provided by my English colleagues?)
Thinking of this, Wood couldn't help but cast a sympathetic glance at the sleeping young man.
(How tragic.. to run into a madman like this..)
(Hopefully, he is a guy who can communicate normally..)
While feeling sentimental, Wood carefully shifted his body, attempting to find his phone—in this era of mobile payments, a phone was not only used to stay in contact with the outside world, but was also the most important wallet.
Suddenly—
Clatter!
The precarious picture frame on the wall fell to the ground, the young man napping on the table slowly raised his head—
Wood was startled and quickly put on a groggy, dazed expression: "W-where is this? Why am I here? W-who are you? Could you give me a glass of water?"
Wait a moment, I'll go get you some water.
The young man stood up and walked straight toward the door.
Wood froze: "Aren't you afraid I'll take the opportunity to run away?"
It's a full twenty meters from the ground.
Lan Siteluo said helplessly, "Without ropes and protective gear, trying to escape by climbing out the window is nothing short of suicide."
“..”
By the way, the cell signal here is very poor, there is no electricity in the building.
What!
Wood screamed, "It's already the twenty-first century! How can there still be—"
Because Master Merlin, who brought us here, still has a perception of the world that remains stuck in the fifth century, or even more ancient eras.
Lancelot expressed his helplessness with a wry smile, then opened the wooden door and walked out of the room.
Wood immediately jumped off the bed.
The previous conversation had convinced him that this Lancelot, whom Merlin identified as the Knight of the Lake, also harbored strong dissatisfaction toward Merlin, making it highly probable that he could be converted into one of his companions. Meanwhile, his phone—the most important and valuable item on his person—was currently lying on the wooden table.
(Fortunately, the mage Merlin has just awakened and knows almost nothing about the twenty-first-century world..)
Thinking this, Wood held the phone, which had already shut down automatically, in both hands.
(The battery is dead and it shut down automatically.. This means I've been away with Merlin for more than twenty-four hours. There's a high probability that Boss has already arrived in England..)
(The Boss said he had placed some tracking methods on me.. So even if my phone won't turn on and there is no signal, as long as I step out of Merlin's Barrier, he will definitely be able to sense me!)
(But.. what must I do to leave Merlin's Barrier? Is the Boss.. worried about me at this moment, or is he..)
Without realizing it, Wood fell into an internal struggle.
..
At the same time—
Inside a luxury apartment in downtown London, Master put down his phone and said to the still-smirking Arthur, "Two days ago, Merlin left the temporary accommodation arranged by the Special Events Investigation Department in Avalon, taking with him Lancelot, the folklorist who is not the Round Table Knight Lancelot. Three hours later, Wood, who was temporarily staying at the Green Leaf Inn, mysteriously disappeared and has yet to be found."
What does that have to do with me?
Arthur nonchalantly used a dagger to trim his nails.
Is it really okay?
Ah—!
The dagger used for trimming nails suddenly escaped his palm, controlled by an irresistible force, and—the blade flipped, pressing directly against his throat!
Realizing he had angered Master, Arthur suppressed his smile and tensed his body, saying placatingly, "Fine, I admit I played a few tricks after discovering that Wood's appearance actually bears some resemblance to mine."
What specifically did you do?
The moment Merlin woke up, I sensed his aura. I don't want to have any further connection with that control freak, so—I intentionally had physical contact with Wood, taking the opportunity to transfer the energy fluctuations of Avalon to him. If he had slept with me, the energy of Avalon he obtained would have been even greater and more intense, to the point that even the Lady of the Lake's nymphs wouldn't be able to tell truth from falsehood.
You want to mislead Merlin?
Yes.
However, Wood is not—