This was a speed that surpassed light. Even though Aslan had already prepared numerous defensive measures for himself, the moment Melusine took action, he still felt as if his body was being endlessly compressed by a hydraulic press. Fortunately, it wasn't unbearable, and the sensation lasted only a brief moment before vanishing, replaced by a swelling in his head and a wave of dizziness.
He even had a heavy nosebleed. Aslan shut his eyes and rested for a while, but thankfully, they had broken through the patrol perimeter of the outer soldiers. The path ahead would be much smoother.
Wiping the blood from his face, Aslan adjusted his physical condition, using a bit of magic to remove the fresh blood clinging to his hands, making sure that the faint scent of blood wouldn't be picked up by soldiers with sharp senses. Even when using magic, he did so on a very small scale to avoid generating any magical fluctuations.
After all, Merlin was highly likely to be inside the royal capital. As a Grand Caster candidate, Merlin—regardless of how reluctant he might be to use magic—was still a legendary magus. A little caution wouldn't hurt.
Aslan took out a treasure-seeking bird he had forged and placed a fragment of the Golden Sword of Assured Victory on its forehead to ensure it would accurately locate his target. After all, there were no shortage of holy swords within the royal capital. If the bird flew straight toward King Arthur's throne, that would be quite the problem.
He was, after all, sneaking in here as a thief. If he ended up heading straight to the throne, wouldn't that be walking straight into a trap?
He gently released the magical artifact and quickly followed after it. The location of the treasury turned out to be much deeper than he had expected. Just advancing forward took a significant amount of time, and along the way, he even ran into Kay, who was coordinating palace affairs.
Even at this late hour, there was still a massive amount of work needing attention in the palace. In a way, this was proof of just how hardworking King Arthur was. Most likely, Artoria hadn't rested yet and was still working tirelessly. Meanwhile, Queen Guinevere was probably still alone in her quarters.
Watching the staff moving back and forth through the palace, Aslan took a deep breath. It would no longer be realistic for him and Melusine to keep sneaking around. It was better to impersonate someone. He could disguise himself as a palace servant, while Melusine could move freely through the shadows with her speed.
He even handed the treasure-seeking bird to Melusine, allowing her to focus on locating the treasury first.
Even if something went wrong, with one of them in the light and the other in the dark, they'd have an easier time escaping.
Emerging stealthily from the shadows, Aslan raised his forging hammer and saw an ordinary knight with a similar build wearing a standard uniform. The man looked like he had just gotten off duty—stretching, yawning. Aslan adjusted the strength in his arms, ready to let this knight enjoy an early rest.
Waking up to find oneself still in the workplace—wasn't that the peak of dedication?
In a way, he was sparing this knight the hassle of going back and forth to work. Of course, if it just so happened that tomorrow was the knight's day off, Aslan could only offer an apologetic shrug.
After knocking the knight unconscious, Aslan dragged him into an inconspicuous corner, stripped him of his uniform, and carefully stashed away his own clothes. He then found a piece of cloth nearby and covered the knight's body to prevent him from catching a chill in the night air.
Although, honestly, the whole setup looked more like a crime scene.
Now dressed in the knight's uniform, Aslan peeked out the window in the corridor. A strand of silver hair deliberately left exposed let him know that Melusine was still there, putting his mind at ease.
He tidied up his appearance, ensured the disguise on his face was still intact, then rubbed his cheeks and continued forward. Not long after, his eyes narrowed slightly as a knight clad in black armor and wearing a stern expression approached him head-on.
This knight's expression was as serious as it could get, his slicked-back black hair adding to his formidable presence. Aslan recognized him at once, even though he didn't look quite as aged as he had imagined... Fine, the truth was Aslan thought Agravain's looks ranked slightly lower than the rest of the Round Table knights.
But that stern face gave Agravain an aura that compelled people to obey him.
At the moment, Agravain was holding a tray with mashed potatoes and juice. Upon spotting Aslan, he casually handed the tray over.
"You're just in time. Go deliver this to Queen Guinevere. I have more important matters to attend to."
Yes, delivering this late-night snack to the queen was also important. Anything concerning the king was important!
He had originally come here on his mother Morgan's orders. But Morgan couldn't save this island—only the King could. So to hell with his mother's orders! From the moment he met the King, from the moment he pledged his loyalty, Agravain had become an unshakable worshipper of the King!
It was a shame that the kingdom was still rebuilding. Otherwise, he'd have liked to split himself into ten parts just to ease the King's burdens.
"Make sure you do this task well. Camelot doesn't feed the useless."
Aslan raised an eyebrow at the tray in his hands. Technically, he could just set it aside and head straight for the treasury...
As he debated whether to simply leave the food somewhere or maybe even eat it himself to destroy the evidence, Melusine suddenly popped her head out from the shadows.
"Aslan… I've found where the treasury is. But it looks like we need a key to enter. If we force it open, it'll trigger an alarm. The keys are only held by the King and the Queen."
Aslan didn't ask how Melusine got that information—most likely, she had done what he did: sneak up on a knight and beat the truth out of him. Either way, this meant he would now have to make a trip to see Guinevere.
Hopefully, the magic he learned from Morgan would come in handy. Otherwise… he might need to resort to more direct methods.