Now was Riezel’s second time meeting Spriggan.
The last time Riezel had seen Spriggan was back in Camelot, during the wedding with Morgan.
At that time, Spriggan had attended the wedding as well, so Riezel naturally had seen this head of the Earth Clan, though they had never actually interacted.
As a matter of course, in that situation, Riezel had not had the chance to observe Spriggan closely. It was only during this meeting that he finally took a closer look at this clan head.
Spriggan had a pair of pointed ears and a slender figure, but was not short at all. With a head of long golden hair, he looked nothing like a typical fairy of the Earth Clan, but instead looked more like a fairy of the Wind Clan without wings.
In fact, Spriggan was not a fairy of the Earth Clan at all, and the only reason he had become the head of the Earth Clan was because he had overthrown the previous clan head.
In other words, Spriggan had taken the position through usurpation and, in fact, seemed to have no real connection to the Earth Clan.
Additionally, his strength was not remarkable either.
In truth, he was so weak that even among ordinary fairies, he would have been looked down on, let alone compared with a Fairy Knight. If not for his normal-sized body, perhaps people would have mistaken him for a fairy of the Wing Clan, who were notoriously frail.
Back when Artoria had not yet rung the Bell of Pilgrimage, she had been even weaker than ordinary fairies, yet Spriggan, even compared to Artoria at that time, was likely even weaker.
From this, it was clear just how feeble and unremarkable this clan head truly was.
Mash and Da Vinci both showed surprise and doubt in their eyes upon seeing Spriggan.
Artoria and Oberon, on the other hand, kept their composure, though they kept a close watch on Spriggan.
Riezel remained expressionless, even when Spriggan addressed him respectfully as ’Your Highness,’ his attitude was neither warm nor cold.
"How should I address you? Lord Spriggan? Or Clan Head?"
Riezel’s words, spoken without the slightest respect, only brought an even more sly smile from Spriggan.
"Whatever pleases you. Even if you see me as a worm in the sewers, I’d gladly accept it, since such things are trivial." Spriggan responded casually. "More than that, I care about what your arrival will bring to me and Norwich. If possible, I hope this is something beneficial for both of us."
With just a simple sentence, this clan head already gave off the impression of being motivated only by personal gain.
This also reminded everyone of Oberon’s evaluation of Spriggan during their journey to Vault Fortress, which had begun with a question from Da Vinci.
"What kind of person is the Lord of Norwich?"
In response to Da Vinci’s question, Oberon had offered this evaluation at the time:
"Well, his stance is extremely ambiguous? He isn’t as obedient to Morgan as Woodwose, nor does he openly reject Morgan as Muryan does. He gives off the feeling that you can never predict what he’ll do."
"Aurora decided to overthrow Morgan in secret because of her tyranny, the King Clan openly declared rebellion, and the Mirror Clan had almost disappeared, so now, among the six great clans, only that guy’s stance was truly unpredictable."
"Sometimes, he follows Morgan’s orders to the letter, and sometimes he schemes against her behind the scenes. Honestly, even I have no idea what he’s thinking."
"But no matter what he does, it seems like he always ends up making a profit."
"Maybe that’s why Norwich became what it is today—a place where you can buy and do anything, as long as you have money."
Recalling Oberon’s evaluation of Spriggan, everyone’s eyes on Spriggan changed just a little, and they felt that this clan leader might not be easy to deal with.
Except for Riezel.
"Nah, that’s not something we need to worry about." Riezel said flatly, his expression nonchalant. "We’re just here to ring the Bell of Pilgrimage, not to do business with you."
Spriggan, however, shook his head at Riezel’s words.
"I believe this is a business transaction in itself." Spriggan said leisurely, his tone meaningful. "Your Highness wants to ring the bell, and the bell is in my hands, so Your Highness will need to offer something tempting enough to make me hand over the bell willingly. See? Isn’t that a business deal?"
Upon hearing this, the group’s expressions changed slightly.
They had heard it loud and clear: Spriggan intended to use the Bell of Pilgrimage as a bargaining chip to achieve some unspeakable goal.
Such a fact finally made Oberon break his silence.
"No wonder you agreed so readily to let Aurora act as a go-between and gave us the chance to meet and negotiate..." Oberon looked Spriggan in the eye and narrowed his own. "Looks like you had this schemed all along."
"No, no, how could you call it a scheme?" Spriggan shook his head, still speaking with an air of nonchalance. "You see, this is mutual benefit. I give you what you want, and you fulfill my conditions. Isn’t that perfectly reasonable?"
Indeed, mutual benefit.
It all sounded perfectly reasonable.
However, seeing that sly grin on Spriggan’s face made everyone uncomfortable.
It was because Spriggan acted just like a ruthless merchant—the kind who would force you to pay far more than the actual value of the Bell of Pilgrimage.
"What do you want... us to do?"
Artoria asked while frowning.
To her question, Spriggan’s answer exceeded everyone’s expectations.
"My request is actually very simple. Just two things."
Spriggan first raised a finger.
"First, I want Your Highness to protect me—or rather, to protect my Vault Fortress."
When Spriggan said this, the group was stunned at first, but immediately caught on.
"So that’s it, you’re worried about the Calamity, aren’t you?"
Da Vinci spoke in a low voice, expressing what everyone was thinking.
Because of the arrival of the Calamity, Norwich had already become a candle flickering in the wind, facing possible destruction at any moment. Under such circumstances, it was only natural for Spriggan to consider ways to protect himself.
Although the Vault Fortress was said to be the most heavily guarded place in all of Faerie Britain, supposedly so secure that even a Fairy Knight could not breach it, with the Great Calamity that occurred only once every thousand years about to descend, who could truly believe they would remain untouched by danger?
Needless to say, that was why Spriggan left himself a way out.
However...
"Since you’re worried about the threat of the Calamity, why not just evacuate?" Artoria questioned seriously. "And what about the residents of Norwich? Knowing the Calamity is about to erupt here, why not lead everyone out?"
Her question was something that everyone aware of Norwich’s situation, including Mash and Da Vinci, could not help but wonder.
It was true that Morgan had given up on saving Norwich, but did Norwich itself have no intention of saving itself?
Especially as the head of the Earth Clan, Spriggan called this place his domain and its people his subjects. With the Calamity about to break out, should he not have organized his people and urged everyone to evacuate Norwich and seek refuge elsewhere?
"Or do you all have some reason that keeps you from leaving Norwich?"
Oberon, as if trying to see through Spriggan’s schemes, pressed on.
"If that’s the case, then you should ask us to help repel the Calamity, not just protect you and the Vault Fortress, right?"
According to the prophecy, the Child of Prophecy was capable of repelling the Calamity.
If Spriggan believed that Riezel, as the Child of Prophecy, could protect him when the Calamity erupted, then logically, he should also believe that the Child of Prophecy could drive it away.
In that case, he should have asked Riezel to defeat the Calamity as a condition, instead of merely demanding protection for himself and the Vault Fortress.
While everyone was thinking along these lines, Spriggan’s next words left them all astonished.
"I think you’ve misunderstood here..."
Spriggan smiled calmly while shaking his head.
"I have no intention of repelling the growing Calamity."
"On the contrary, the second condition I plan to propose is for you all not to interfere with the Calamity."
"Especially you, Your Highness."
Spriggan looked at Riezel, laughing quietly.
"I don’t know whether the Mirror Clan’s prophecy is accurate or not, and honestly, I don’t care."
"But just in case, I still hope you will heed my request and turn a blind eye to the Calamity."
"If you do, once the Calamity has passed, I will hand over the Bell of Pilgrimage to you personally."
"What do you think? Can you accept this?"
At these words, shock appeared on everyone’s faces.
Did Spriggan really not want to repel the Calamity?
Did he truly intend to abandon Norwich?
"Why?" Oberon frowned deeply. "Isn’t Norwich your domain?"
"Yes, Norwich is indeed mine." Spriggan replied with a grin. "But precisely because it’s my domain, how I manage it should be my own business, shouldn’t it?"
In other words, he had his own plans and did not need others to interfere, and also did not need anyone to repel the Calamity, as he had other intentions.
For that reason, he both left himself an escape route and had Riezel promise not to fulfill the prophecy by repelling the Calamity.
"All you need to do is stay in the Vault Fortress, and when the Calamity is over, you can get whatever it is you want."
"In my opinion, that’s a deal with no downsides."
"A deal like this—there’s simply no reason to refuse, is there?"
Spriggan continued to smile insidiously as he spoke.
"What do you think, Your Highness?"
Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, each of them frowning ever so slightly.
They stared at Spriggan in confusion and suspicion, completely unsure of what he was plotting.
Only Riezel gave Spriggan a long look before turning and walking away without uttering a single word.
Clearly, he was no longer willing to continue the conversation.
Artoria and the others were startled, but said nothing as they followed.
Spriggan did not try to stop them, merely watching Riezel and his companions leave.
After a while, Spriggan’s smile faded.
"It seems things have gotten a bit troublesome..."
A faint mutter escaped Spriggan’s lips.
At the same time, the sky over Norwich gradually grew darker and even more oppressive.