Judging from the situation, it seemed Kiara hadn't recognized his identity and had simply taken him for some harmless 'child'.
That worked out perfectly. He could use this chance to test her strength and see what exactly her intentions were.
A trace of confusion appeared on Alvin's face as he hesitated, "Y-You… who are you?"
There was a hint of unease and uncertainty in his tone. Paired with his fair and rather good-looking face, he looked every bit like a boy 'lost' on the path of life.
Sessyoin Kiara paused slightly, as if she had truly been fooled by his acting. A look of pity appeared on her face as she said, "What a pitiful child. It seems you're also someone who has wandered into this world and lost your way?"
As she spoke, she once again extended her hand toward Alvin and smiled, "If you don't mind, come with me. At the very least, with me, I can guarantee your safety."
At the end of her words, she lowered her gaze slightly and quietly looked into the boy's eyes. It was as if she possessed some kind of enchanting power, drawing Alvin's gaze in without him even realizing it.
Slowly, his pupils lost focus, and he let the woman take his hand, allowing himself to be led deeper into the alley.
At the end of the alley, a carriage had already been quietly waiting.
Sessyoin Kiara led Alvin into the carriage. After nearly an hour of travel, the two soon arrived at a manor outside the city, located within a small forest to the south of the royal city.
The moment Alvin saw the manor, he couldn't help but feel a bit startled inside.
He had never been here before, but he roughly knew that this was the estate of a noble in ancient Britain. Yet in less than half a day, it had become Sessyoin Kiara's residence?
What exactly had happened during that time?
"By the way, I haven't asked your name yet."
Walking along a secluded path inside the manor, Alvin glanced around at his surroundings. At that moment, the woman's smooth, sweet voice sounded by his ear.
Sessyoin Kiara had slowed her pace at some point. She tilted her head slightly, smiling as she looked at the boy.
"Alvin."
He unconsciously lowered his voice, as if feeling a little shy under her gaze.
Sessyoin Kiara looked at him meaningfully for a moment, then smiled brightly, "You know, I actually dislike children, but you seem like a good child, so I don't mind."
Her smile was radiant, yet for a brief moment, her words carried an icy edge, even a hint of disgust.
'Is it really okay to say that right in front of me?', Alvin complained inwardly.
"My lady Sessyoin, you've finally returned. We've been waiting for you for a long time."
At that moment, a man's delighted voice suddenly came from the distance.
Alvin followed the sound and saw a man dressed in a dark red noble robe walking toward them, a flattering smile on his face.
In this era, such attire was usually worn by high-ranking nobles. Although Alvin didn't recognize him, he knew the man's identity must be anything but ordinary.
From the moment of transmigration until now, it had only been about half a day, to make a great noble become her follower in such a short time, just how had this woman managed it?
As if she had guessed what Alvin was thinking, Sessyoin Kiara spoke in an exceptionally gentle tone, "The Duke of Cornwall had been suffering from a serious illness for a long time. Not long ago, he abandoned his faith in King Arthur and turned to me. After that, his illness recovered on its own."
"There are quite a few believers in this manor now. Most of them are people lost in life, but now, they all feel fulfilled."
After saying that, she looked at the Duke of Cornwall and smiled, "You may go back and rest now. I'll take this new guest to meet his companions."
Alvin glanced at the Duke of Cornwall casually, then frowned slightly.
Although the man appeared energetic at the moment, Alvin could clearly sense that his vitality was actually extremely weak. It was only being sustained by some kind of external force.
After watching the man leave, Sessyoin Kiara spoke calmly, "The land of the Age of Gods isn't suitable for ordinary people to live in. The Duke of Cornwall's life had already reached its end, but as long as faith remains in his heart, his life can continue."
At the end of her sentence, as if recalling something interesting, she let out a soft laugh, "Of course, you're still young, you're not like him. Come with me."
Following Sessyoin Kiara, they arrived at a hall before he knew it.
Alvin instinctively glanced at the woman ahead. At some point, particles of light seemed to be gathering around her body. Soon, her nun's habit transformed into an elegant, noble dress, bright red like fire.
Inside the hall ahead, there were quite a number of believers.
They were all half-kneeling before a statue, their hands clasped together in front of their chests, looking as though they were praying devoutly.
"Praying?"
Alvin murmured subconsciously, his gaze sweeping over the statue.
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, his attention was drawn to a certain figure.
Among the crowd, there was a girl with black twin-tails, also kneeling there.
Her hands were clasped together in front of her chest, and she seemed to be softly chanting something, her expression devout.
'Why does that girl look a bit familiar?', Alvin thought to himself.
"Is this your first time transmigrating to this world?"
At that moment, Sessyoin's gentle, sweet voice sounded again by his ear.
"No… I came during the previous transmigration. I just got lucky. I heard that at the beginning, this country treated transmigrators as outsiders and tried to drive them away."
Alvin spoke in a low voice, "To be honest, I was worried at first that I'd be expelled from Britain."
Sessyoin Kiara quietly studied the boy, her gaze carrying a deeper meaning.
After a while, she reached out and tidied his hair, speaking softly, "Wait here for a bit. I'll go check on the Duke of Cornwall and come back to find you shortly."
Alvin nodded obediently.
After watching Sessyoin Kiara leave, he finally turned to look at the group of believers behind him.
They were all softly chanting, each one looking incomparably devout.
This was only the first day, yet such a small church had already formed.
'Just what does this woman want. Is she simply trying to gather followers?'
But no matter what, establishing her own force within Britain's territory was an extremely dangerous act, not to mention that most Beasts were far from harmless.
He needed to understand the situation first.
With that thought, he quietly stepped into the crowd and soon arrived beside the twin-tailed girl he had noticed earlier.
Alvin crouched down slightly, preparing to strike up a conversation.
However, the moment his gaze fell on the girl's face, he froze.
What entered his view was a girl wearing a school uniform, looking no more than seven or eight years old. Her bright blue eyes were pure, without a trace of impurity. At this moment, her soft, cute face was filled with confusion and caution.
"Who are you?"
She scrutinized Alvin warily and quickly asked.
Alvin blanked for a moment, staring at the girl in front of him, then blurted out, "Tohsaka Rin?"
Tohsaka Rin's body trembled slightly. Hearing someone call her name in a strange world, her first reaction was surprise.
Soon after, a strong sense of confusion rose within her.
'Who is this boy, and why does he know me?'
At this moment, Tohsaka Rin felt an indescribable sense of disbelief.
Most of what she knew about "transmigrators" came from her father, Tohsaka Tokiomi.
Anyone who became a transmigrator would see a deep blue box with a 'countdown' in front of them. When the countdown ended, the person would be transported to ancient Britain at the end of the Age of Gods.
At the time, her father had also said that if one wanted to obtain the White Dragon's holy relic, the fastest and most correct approach now was to go to ancient Britain.
This was an era full of both opportunity and danger, and Tokiomi had clearly been prepared to face even the possibility of "death" to meet that White Dragon.
"Y-You… who are you?"
Tohsaka Rin asked with clear caution.
Although she was still young, the girl clearly had a strong sense of awareness. At least when faced with a stranger striking up a conversation, her first reaction was vigilance.
It had to be said, for a little girl of this age to have such awareness, Tokiomi had clearly put effort into raising his daughter.
Though how she ended up being brought here by Sessyoin Kiara was another question. Alvin suddenly had an idea and said, "I heard Sakura mention you before, and I've seen your photo."
"Sakura?"
Hearing that name, Tohsaka Rin's expression changed slightly. She glanced around, confirmed that the believers were still praying seriously, then quickly grabbed Alvin's hand and led him out of the hall.
As soon as they stepped outside, the girl's face turned serious as she stared at him, "You're a transmigrator too, and you know Sakura?"
Alvin nodded lightly, "You mean the girl who was adopted into the Matou family. I met her before when I was studying in Fuyuki."
When she heard the word 'adopted,' Rin was already mostly convinced, though she still had some doubts, "Then why have I never heard her mention you before? And when you say 'before', does that mean you're not in Fuyuki anymore?"
Alvin nodded, "I met Sakura by chance back then. Not long after, I went to the Clock Tower with my teacher."
That wasn't exactly a lie, just skipping over part of how he had met Sakura.
By this point, Tohsaka Rin seemed to have completely believed him, and her earlier wariness eased.
Though she still felt a bit frustrated inside.
As Sakura's older sister, Rin had always believed they were extremely close. She hadn't expected her sister to keep such a secret.
She'd never even heard Sakura mention this guy before. Well, maybe it was because he wasn't that important to her.
'But judging from how he is acting, he seems to think he has a pretty good relationship with Sakura. Fine, no need to burst his bubble.'
Rin quickly said in a low voice, "You've been deceived. If you still have time, leave this place as soon as possible."
Alvin showed a puzzled look, "The way you say that, it doesn't sound like you're one of Kiara's followers?"
With the connection through Sakura, Rin's attitude toward Alvin became much friendlier.
The girl glanced at the group of believers still praying behind them and quickly explained what had happened to her.
Tohsaka Rin had only arrived in ancient Britain during this latest transmigration.
When she first entered this world, she had been scared. She knew how dangerous this era was, and being alone in such a place… it wouldn't be surprising if she ended up dying in the wilderness.
At that time, she happened to see a group of people in the royal city kneeling before a woman dressed as a nun, their expressions devout.
At first glance, it looked like some kind of cult.
And at that moment, Sessyoin Kiara had already noticed Rin. Thinking quickly, she joined the group of believers.
Perhaps because of her age, Sessyoin Kiara didn't suspect her and brought her to this large manor.
In a way, Rin was temporarily safe here, though it was also difficult for her to leave.
"I didn't expect you to react so quickly, that was smart."
Alvin looked at her, a bit surprised as he praised her.
After all, Rin was only six or seven years old. For someone that young to have such calm and rational thinking was already impressive.
'Though how someone this capable would grow up to mess up at critical moments,' Alvin complained inwardly.
"Do you want to leave?", he asked.
Rin paused, then waved her hand, "This manor is too big. I've been trying to find a way out during the day, but I still haven't figured out how to leave."
In this era, Britain was vast and sparsely populated. A great noble's manor could be unimaginably large. For a little girl to escape while avoiding layers of guards, it was practically impossible.
"I know where the exit is. I memorized the route on the way here," Alvin said.
Rin's eyes lit up instantly. She grabbed his arm excitedly and asked repeatedly, "You remember the way? Really?"
'If I said 'just kidding,' would she start punching me?', Alvin wanted to joke, but held back.
Right now, the priority was to get Rin out first, then have Lily send people over to surround this place.
Alvin took Rin's hand and headed outward, "Come with me."
The two quickly left the hall and made their way toward the manor's main gate.
However, they didn't seem to notice that in the darkness, a grotesque, sinister pillar slowly opened its crimson beast-like eye, silently watching them.
———
"Today's prayer ends here. You may go back and rest, Duke of Cornwall."
In a side hall within the manor, the nun, her clothes formed from condensed magical energy, spoke with a smile.
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