Ch. 106 Why do we look alike?!

Artoria nearly fell to the ground.

“Brother Kay?!” She exclaimed, subconsciously turning her head.

She thought Kay had pushed her.

But to her surprise, Kay had also just recovered from his own stumble.

Further back, Merlin had fallen face-first.

His legs were still in the bushes, and standing on his back was a white, glowing, ghost-like Spirit Wolf.

That obviously couldn’t be a ghost; the wolf clearly had weight.

Red pinned Merlin under its paws, and the latter kept slapping the ground, begging for mercy.

Artoria and Kay were a bit bewildered.

There was more than one wolf?

The one seen on the dirt road earlier was just one of them!

The rest…

Aside from the one wagging its tail and tilting its head while standing in the middle of the road, and the one pinning Merlin down, there was another one standing beside the three travelers not far away!

“Damn it!” Kay muttered angrily and drew his longsword, intending to slash at the Spirit Wolf pinning Merlin down.

“Wait, Brother Kay,” Artoria suddenly stopped Kay, who was preparing to fight. “They don’t seem to have any ill intent!”

“Huh?” Kay, who was about to step forward and swing his sword, stopped abruptly.

Now that Artoria mentioned it, it did seem to be the case…

The wolf pressing down on Merlin was just pressing on him.

If it were a hungry beast or a phantasmagorical creature hostile to humans, it would surely have bitten him the moment it tackled him, right?

After Kay drew his sword, the Spirit Wolf looked at the descending blade and nimbly jumped to the side, moving off of Merlin.

And because Red’s entire body had been pressing down on Merlin, when the Spirit Wolf exerted force to jump, the power was fully absorbed by Merlin, who served as a cushion.

The mage let out a “Gah—” sound, a wail that couldn’t help but make people laugh.

After jumping off Merlin, Red turned back and glanced at Mia and the others not far away, clearly seeking instructions.

Kay and Artoria also turned their gazes in that direction.

Clearly, after that sudden ambush, Merlin’s plan to hide and peek had failed.

Seeing three people scrambling out of the dense vegetation by the roadside ahead, Mia stopped immediately.

Let’s take a look at these three people.

The first was a handsome young man with white hair and white robes, holding a long staff.

The second was a tall knight wearing armor, whose attire had some similarities to Wilden’s.

The third was a young girl wearing a white dress, whose physical age was similar to Mia’s current one.

Hmm, this combination doesn’t look like bad guys.

Wait a second…

Look at their attire.

No, to be precise, the attire of two of them.

The man in armor had such a generic face that Mia skipped over him immediately.

The blonde girl in the white dress looked quite familiar; she must have seen such an outfit before.

But she couldn’t recall it within those few short seconds.

As for the other one, the young man wearing white clothes with flowers pinned to them, holding a long staff, dressed like a mage.

“Merlin?” Mia opened her lips slightly, her mouth already forming an ‘O’ shape.

“Oh my, I’ve been recognized—” Merlin, who was still lying on the ground, heard Mia’s exclamation and smiled awkwardly.

If he is Merlin, then who is the one with him…

Mia stared at the girl beside Merlin again.

Blonde hair, with an ahoge proudly sticking up on top of her head.

Then, her identity was naturally self-evident!

Wait…

This white Artoria Lily.

Not only is she similar in build to her…

Even her face…

Mia looked in disbelief at the girl in front of her, whose appearance was quite similar to her own after transmigrating.

Why do we look alike?!

Artoria was also looking at the girl in front of her who looked quite similar to herself.

She blinked blankly.

Before, the distance was greater and there was vegetation blocking the view, so it wasn’t very clear.

But now, she could see her clearly without obstruction.

Although Mia’s face was covered with a cloth strip and she didn’t have an ahoge…

the blonde hair was the same.

Even the lower half of her face, exposed outside the blindfold, seemed to be cast from the same mold.

“Who on earth are you…” Artoria inexplicably felt a sense of crisis.

“Don’t look!” Kay suddenly stepped between Mia and Artoria.

“Eh?”

“It is said that seeing someone exactly like yourself means your death is approaching!”

“!!” Artoria was shocked, then said: “I see! Is this also part of the trial? If that’s the case…”

“Ah, no… that was just a legend Merlin told me before…”

Seeing Artoria’s serious expression, Kay, who originally wanted to take the opportunity to protect his little sister, immediately felt guilty.

“It was actually Merlin’s claim? Then it must be true.” Artoria nodded solemnly.

“Which eye of yours saw that guy as reliable…”

Kay was in the middle of complaining when he heard Artoria shout.

“Then, my other self! Even though you had the advantage, you didn’t launch an attack. Is it because you are following the principles of chivalry?!”

“In that case, I must announce my name too!”

“I am Ar… um… please just call me Artoria. Although I am only a trainee knight, I will also give it my all!”

So.

Looking at the plot developing in such an absurd direction before her, what were Mia’s thoughts?

She was looking at Artoria and her group with the expression of the ‘old man looking at phone on subway.jpg’ meme.

As expected of Artoria, who hadn’t yet become King.

Unexpectedly simple.

“Ahem—”

Mia cleared her throat forcefully.

If she didn’t speak now, a misunderstanding would arise.

No, no, no, the misunderstanding had already arisen, and now she was trying to salvage it.

“Um, Miss Artoria~” she said patiently.

Although the character she was very familiar with and liked very much was right in front of her, by the same token, she was also a living, breathing person in front of them.

As a human with normal emotional and intellectual intelligence, she should display the proper rationality.

“My name is Mia, I’m not your mirror image.”

She shook the staff in her hand.

Although she also carried a magnificent sword at her waist.

But if she had to make a comparison…

And she shares quite a few similarities with Merlin, who also holds a staff, doesn’t she?

“Isn’t it…?”

Artoria looked at Mia.

In fact, there was no need to look closely at all.

Except for their faces and builds.

There was absolutely no similarity whatsoever.

Mia was wearing black traveling clothes, while Artoria was wearing a white dress.

“My name is Mia, and like you, I am a traveler.” Mia smiled kindly. “This is Meli…na.”

“And this is Wilden.”

Coincidentally.

Even the number of traveling companions is the same: three.

“…Ah, um, Artoria.” Merlin climbed up from the ground, brushing off his robes. “I can confirm that she is not lying.”

“Hmm…” The fledgling girl knight blushed. “But Brother Kay said…”

“Artoria, you’re far too trusting of what others say.” Merlin sighed.

“Brother Kay doesn’t count as ‘others,’ does he?”

Artoria retorted.