Within his tiny body, Arthur could feel every jolt from the steps of the old man carrying him. Grandpa Jack slowly turned toward the basket, realizing that the baby inside had now opened his eyes.
"Oh, you're awake, huh? Sorry if this old grandpa was too rough while carrying you," Grandpa Jack said softly.
However, the old man's smile slowly faded as he looked closer at the baby's face. He paused for a moment. "What are you thinking about, kid? Your expression... looks just like an adult's," he murmured in astonishment.
Under the faint moonlight, the baby showed an expression completely unnatural for his age—a look of deep sorrow, regret, and profound guilt.
"Hey, kid... are you okay?" Grandpa Jack asked, his tone turning panicked and worried.
Realizing that he was being observed, Arthur's instinct immediately reacted. He instantly cast off his look of sadness and forced an expression of innocence and confusion like a normal baby.
Seeing that change, Grandpa Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, apparently you were just uncomfortable making that face earlier, huh? Don't worry, our journey won't be long now. The village is already close."
The old man resumed his limping steps. Inside the basket, Arthur slightly moved his head, observing the silhouette of the man who was carrying him.
'He looks older and more fragile than Sir Ector...' Arthur thought.
"Kid, you might face a little difficulty living in my village later," Grandpa Jack spoke again, breaking the silence of the night. "But you don't need to worry, the people there are all kind-hearted."
'So, he really intends to take me to his home?' Arthur thought. He fell silent for a moment, carefully observing the wrinkled face that radiated such extraordinary sincerity.
'He is a good man. His warmth... reminds me of Sir Ector. It's just that this old man possesses absolutely no combat or magical power,' the Holy Knight concluded in silence. After the old man was no longer paying attention to him, Arthur's mind began to wander again.
'What should I do... I have done something that violates the code of a knight. This deeply tarnishes my honor. I... have taken the right to life from an innocent baby,' Arthur thought, his heart feeling crushed by regret.
'But I cannot continue to wallow like this. I must investigate the true identity of this body's owner and find out who his parents are. Someday, when I manage to meet them, I will explain everything honestly, and after that...' Arthur's thoughts suddenly stopped as his mind turned to the figure of the baby's parents.
'Wait a minute... Was the blue-haired woman crying in my dream earlier the mother of this child? Was she crying because she knew her son's soul had been replaced by mine?'
Amidst that agonizing inner turmoil, the swing of Grandpa Jack's steps suddenly halted.
The hoarse yet warm voice of the old man broke his reverie. "Well, Kid. Here is your new home. Welcome to Holy Spirit Village."
Through the gaps in his baby basket, Arthur peeked forward. He saw a village gate that looked rickety, made only from an arrangement of old wood beginning to rot with age. However, it wasn't the physical appearance of that dilapidated gate that caught the King of Knights' attention.
'Holy Spirit? Does this place have a connection with the Holy Church or perhaps the Holy Grail?' Arthur thought to himself, his brow furrowing slightly. 'If it is related to the Holy Church, I hope they are not part of an extreme Templar faction or corrupt Executors.'
As a king, Arthur did not hate the Church, but his past experiences had taught him to always be wary of the rot that frequently hid behind holy banners.
However, as he tried to think about the second possibility, the Holy Grail, his tiny face suddenly hardened. His combat instincts caught a massive anomaly in his surroundings.
'Wait! What energy is this—?!'
Arthur's thoughts were instantly cut off. His consciousness slowly became aware of energy particles flowing through the air. Before his mind could analyze the strange phenomenon further, the sound of a voice suddenly diverted his attention.
"Grandpa Jack, you're finally back!"
A shout calling the old man's name suddenly broke the silence, diverting Arthur's attention. Grandpa Jack stopped walking and turned around. From inside the village, two young men were seen rushing towards him.
"Oh, Tie Zhu, Da Shan. What is it this late at night? It's rare for you to welcome me at the gate," Grandpa Jack greeted with an astonished expression.
"It's nothing, Grandpa," replied the sturdily-built young man named Da Shan, his voice sounding relieved. "We only saw that the lights in your house weren't on yet. Thinking that you hadn't returned and worrying that something had happened to you, we decided to wait for you at the gate. The plan was, if you still hadn't appeared, we were going to go into the forest to look for you."
Grandpa Jack smiled faintly, feeling touched. "It seems this old grandpa has made you worry. I apologize."
"Ah, it's nothing, Grandpa. You are our Village Chief, it's only natural for us to look for you," Tie Zhu chimed in.
Da Shan nodded in agreement, then asked again, "But, why are you coming home this late? Did something happen on the way?"
"Ah, about that... take a look at this."
Grandpa Jack slowly lowered the woven basket in his hand and held it out toward the two young men. "I found this poor child alone in the middle of the forest on my way back earlier. It seems his parents intentionally left him behind."
Tie Zhu and Da Shan immediately leaned down, peeking into the basket under the dim moonlight. As their gazes met the pair of emerald green eyes belonging to the golden-haired baby, both of them suddenly froze in silence.
There was something strange. Even though the baby was just lying there calmly, there was a kind of natural attraction—a pure charisma and faint authority radiating from his presence. That made the two village youths unconsciously mesmerized, as if enchanted for a split second.
"Hey, you two. Why are you spacing out?"
Grandpa Jack's bewildered reprimand instantly broke their reverie. Tie Zhu and Da Shan blinked slowly, slightly startled as if they had just been pulled back to reality.
"A-ah, i-it's nothing, Grandpa. It's just... his eyes are very beautiful," Tie Zhu muttered in a slightly awkward tone.
Grandpa Jack chuckled softly and pulled the basket back into his embrace full of affection. "From now on, this poor child will live with me."
"Ah, is that so? So this baby will be our village's new resident, huh?" Da Shan said with a warm smile.
"By the way, what is his name, Grandpa? Have you given him a name?" Tie Zhu asked curiously, trying to peek back into the basket.
"His name is Arthur Pendragon. This is the name given by his parents," Grandpa Jack answered while showing a piece of parchment from under the baby's blanket to the two of them.
"Ya-Yase... Pān-dé-lā-gòng? What kind of name is that?!" Da Shan complained, his tongue nearly twisting as he tried to string together the foreign syllables.
Grandpa Jack could only shake his head slowly. He raised the letter a little higher, showing the meaning of Arthur's name that was also written there. "His name has its own meaning. If translated directly into our language, his name is Xióngwáng Lóngshǒu."
"Bear King, Dragon Head?!" Tie Zhu shrieked in shock, his eyes wide open. "Grandpa, that name is clearly not for a human! It sounds more like a title for a ferocious Spirit Beast ruling the forest!"
Da Shan nodded in agreement with an expression of horror mixed with amusement. "Besides, his real name is too long and complicated. Our tongues could cramp if we had to call him by such a long name every day."
"Hm... That's true," muttered Grandpa Jack while stroking his white beard, agreeing with the two young men's complaints. "In that case, for everyday use, you guys just call him Ah-Long (Little Dragon) for short."
"Now, that fits much better in the ears," Tie Zhu said radiantly. He then leaned down closer to the basket and waved his hand cheerfully. "Hello, Ah-Long! Welcome to our humble village!"
Inside the basket, the legendary King of Knights from Camelot could only hold his breath. 'Ah-Long?' Arthur thought resignedly.
However, to maintain his disguise as a normal baby, he forced his tiny lips to carve a sweet smile toward Tie Zhu.
Seeing that response, Da Shan's eyes immediately sparkled with joy. "Wow! Look at that, he returned your greeting with a smile! He must be a very smart child. A baby his size would usually cry when seeing strangers, but he is actually very calm!"
"Alright, I'm going home now. This baby seems to need some rest," Grandpa Jack said, concluding that night's conversation. "You two also go back to your respective homes. The night is getting late."
"Be careful on the way, Grandpa," they replied in unison.
After saying their goodbyes, Grandpa Jack turned around and walked away along the village's dirt road. However, instead of going straight home, Tie Zhu and Da Shan stood frozen in place. Their gazes could not break away, continuing to follow the baby basket that was slowly moving away in the village chief's arms.
"Hey... do you think that baby is actually the son of a great noble?" Da Shan muttered, breaking the silence, his eyes still staring at Grandpa Jack's shadow.
"I don't know for sure," Tie Zhu replied quietly. "But what's clear is, he doesn't look like an ordinary person's child at all. And... for some reason, when I looked at him earlier, my heart suddenly felt very comfortable and peaceful. Even though I was just standing next to him. You felt the same thing, right?"
Da Shan nodded firmly with a confused expression. "Yes, it's very strange. Besides that calm feeling, deep down in my heart, I suddenly felt a sense of reverence... as if there was a strong urge telling me to respect him. But, why is that? He is just a baby."
Under the night sky of Holy Spirit Village, the two village youths could only exchange questioning glances. They were completely confused, trying to process the strange sensation from earlier.
.
.
.
.
On the other hand, Arthur, who was still lying in the basket, seemed to be deep in thought.
'Those people earlier... They have names deeply rooted in Eastern culture, specifically Chinese naming conventions. So, is it possible that I am currently on the Chinese mainland? But, in what era?' Arthur thought to himself, trying to piece together the information he had.
He tried to establish mental contact once again, but to no avail. 'Merlin is still not answering my call. And my connection with Alaya... is it severed? No, it's not severed, but rather drastically weakened. But who could possibly do this? This phenomenon would require at least the intervention of a True Magic user or an equivalent existence.'
While his head was filled with various theories and speculations, Arthur felt the swaying of his basket come to a halt. Grandpa Jack's footsteps stopped in front of a building.
"Well, Kid. This is my home, and your future home," Grandpa Jack said softly, his voice lowering slightly. "I apologize if this place looks a bit weathered and old."
Arthur was snapped out of his reverie. Those emerald-green eyes glanced at the building in front of him. A house that looked incredibly simple, far from being luxurious.
However, instead of showing a disappointed or disgusted expression, the baby's face actually softened, radiating a profound gleam of nostalgia.
For some reason, looking at this unassuming old house, Arthur's heart felt warm. This sight seemed to bring him back to the past, reminding him of Sir Ector and Sir Kay—the adoptive family who had raised him with so much love in a similar kind of simplicity.
However, that warmth instantly vanished the moment his mind recalled the figure of that prankster wizard in Avalon.
'Merlin... if you are truly messing with me this time using this ridiculous illusion of yours, hanging won't be enough of a punishment,' Arthur threatened in silence, a sense of fury beginning to creep into his chest. 'I swear I will come to Avalon no matter what happens, break down your tower, and hunt you down next. And my target will no longer be the evils of the world, but you yourself.'