A Blushing Saber / A Barely Useful Reward

"Really?" Saber looked at him with a skeptical gaze.

"Of course!" Arthur stared at Saber without batting an eye, his serious expression full of certainty.

Gilgamesh's use of the title "false king" to mock him was indeed accurate.

"That's not right!" Saber suddenly realized, and asked in a deep voice, "You didn't pull the Caliburn, so how could you have obtained the Holy Sword Excalibur?"

"Merlin gave it to me!" Arthur said earnestly.

"... You're lying!"

Chapter 318 Blushing Saber

In the Legend of King Arthur, Arthur, who pulled the Caliburn and ascended the throne, broke the Caliburn during a battle with King Pellinore. This battle began when Arthur visited a castle, where the castle's owner, Anurue, saw Sir Pellinore approaching and requested King Arthur's protection. In reality, Sir Pellinore was being tricked by Anurue into engaging King Arthur in battle. This fight was considered a violation of chivalry and the cause of the Caliburn breaking.

After the Caliburn broke, King Arthur, guided by Merlin, later obtained the King's Sword, Holy Sword Excalibur, from the Lady of the Lake!

King Arthur failed to live up to God's expectations, causing the Caliburn to break. Even so, God still gave King Arthur a chance.

The above is the original story of the Legend of King Arthur.

Saber only obtained the Holy Sword Excalibur after the Caliburn broke; she wasn't paying attention just now and almost got tricked by Arthur into giving it to her.

Now that she had woken up, her eyes were filled with disbelief as she looked at Arthur.

"I'm not lying to you..." Arthur gave a faint smile and said, "Didn't I tell you? My experiences are completely different from yours! Don't you know Merlin's abilities?"

Upon hearing this, Saber was slightly taken aback and said, "You mean..."

"Ah... Merlin foresaw my future, knew I would go to another world, and specially prepared this capital for me." Arthur cleverly covered up the lie.

"I see..." After dragging Merlin out, Saber finally accepted Arthur's explanation.

"That's wonderful..."

For some reason, she suddenly felt even more envious.

If only I hadn't pulled the Caliburn and had instead followed the path of 'Lancer'.

"Are you envious of me?" Arthur slightly withdrew his power, looked down at the somewhat dazed Saber, and said with amusement.

"N-no... no...¨..." Saber snapped out of her daze, her face flushing red with embarrassment as she stammered in panic.

"You're jealous of me!" Arthur continued.

"No!!" Saber's cheeks flushed red, and she angrily tried to hide her embarrassment, loudly retorting, "I'm not jealous of you!"

"Hey..."

At this moment, Arthur suddenly withdrew his attack, reached out to Saber, and smiled, "Would you like to come with me and see the wonders of another world?"

"..."

Saber paused slightly, watching Arthur's face, which was filled with genuine sorrow, quickly harden into a serious expression. Though touched, she firmly stated, "No, I refuse!"

After saying this, Saber's mind conjured up an image of Camlann Hill.

On her deathbed, she made a pact with 'the world' Alaya, hoping to obtain the Holy Grail and make a wish to 'return to the chosen day' so that she could choose someone more suitable to be king than herself and become the queen of Britain, even at the cost of Britain reincarnation.

If she hadn't had that experience, she might have accepted Arthur's invitation.

But Saber, filled with regret and wanting to save her country, was more determined than anything else.

Therefore, she declined Arthur's invitation without hesitation.

Therefore, she declined Arthur's invitation without hesitation.

"Really? That's a shame. I really admire you, Saber." Arthur looked at Saber with a slightly regretful expression and smiled.

"Me too, Lancer!" A smile appeared on Saber's beautiful yet spirited face. She looked up at the man, a head taller than her, and chuckled, "Perhaps it's because we are versions of ourselves from different worlds."

"Yes! To be honest, I was already suspicious when I first saw your armor, but I was still quite surprised when you said you were the King of Britain." Perhaps this girl was too easy to deceive, because Arthur had become adept at lying.

Upon hearing this, Saber rolled her eyes, a rare occurrence for her, and said coquettishly, "Then why did you hide your identity? Even at the banquet, it was completely unbecoming of a king."

"I've been called 'King of Knights' in another world too," Arthur shrugged, saying helplessly, "But I'm not a true king, and I've never ruled a country."

"I really envy... your carefree attitude!" Looking at Arthur, who seemed to have no burdens, Saber gradually fell silent, letting out a soft murmur that she could only hear.

"Slap—Go!"

At that moment, a hand rested on Saber's head, gently stroking her golden hair as it would Nami's, and Arthur's gentle voice rang in her ear.

"Hmm?" Saber looked up, staring at Arthur with a somewhat bewildered expression.

"The Holy Grail has appeared. Go and make your wish!" Arthur said, pointing behind him with his thumb.

"Why?" Saber looked at Arthur with even more confusion. "Don't you want to make a wish on the Holy Grail?"

"I'll tell you a secret..." Arthur lowered his head slightly and whispered in Saber's ear, "Actually, I'm not dead yet!"

"..." Saber stared wide-eyed at Arthur in disbelief.

After a long silence, Saber finally gave a wry smile, "No wonder you're not obsessed with the Holy Grail. That thing, possessing power similar to Second Magic, is simply incredible!"

Arthur's words are easy to understand!

He didn't die, so he had no regrets or wishes.

His participation in the Holy Grail War was definitely brought to this world by something that brought him to another world, whether intentionally or accidentally.

"Go ahead, kill another 'self,' I (Wang Zhao) still find it a little difficult." Arthur pressed Saber's shoulder and pushed her towards the church.

"Thank you, Lancer... no, Arthur!" Saber started running, half-turned to wave at Arthur, and a stunningly beautiful smile appeared on her face, "My name is Artoria Pendragon, nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you!" Arthur waved with a faint smile.

Watching Saber's disappearing figure, Arthur's smile gradually faded, and he said with interest, "This time I changed the course for you. Can you persevere through those choices that lead to darkness?"

Both Kiritsugu Emiya and Kirei Kotomine were still emerging from the Black Mud, their Observation Haki constantly being released.

Without Gilgamesh's obstruction, Saber should also be able to reach the Holy Grail.

However, Arthur didn't tell her that the Holy Grail had been corrupted.

Chapter 319 A Useless Reward

'Boom--!'

The deafening roar echoed throughout almost the entire Fuyuki City.

A sound like thunder erupted from the sky.

The infrasound waves spread invisibly, passing through the Archibald Family mansion.

Arthur, who had already returned to the Archibald Family, was on his balcony, holding the expressionless Sakura Matou, gazing up at the distant sky that looked like a black hole.

"Sakura, it looks like you'll have to live with your brother forever." Suddenly, Arthur turned to look at Sakura Matou, who remained expressionless even after witnessing this apocalyptic scene, and said with a smile.

"Is... is that okay?"

Upon hearing this, a hint of 'expectation' flashed across Sakura Matou's dim eyes, and her voice gained a little life.

Although she was on the verge of collapse a year before the Holy Grail began.

But compared to the Fifth Holy Grail War, she is not broken yet.

Despite being a 'Arthur' who saved her, Sakura Matou still relies on him a lot.

The reason she was like this was entirely because she was lost and confused.

Because she had heard what Uncle Kariya said before.

If Uncle Kariya hadn't died, he would have come to take her back.

Compared to Kariya Matou, Matou Sakura still values 'Arthur' who saved her more.

Now, upon hearing Arthur's words, a rare hint of joy welled up in Sakura Matou's young heart.

Just like in the original story, she had unknowingly come to rely on Arthur.

I believe that before long, or as time goes by, Arthur will be able to see Sakura's radiant smile.

"Of course!" Arthur replied with a smile.

Under his Observation Haki, Kariya Matou had already disappeared without a trace in the 'pouring downpour' of Black Mud.

This scene surprised him, but it wasn't entirely unexpected.

Kariya Matou, this person, is destined to be cruel and ruthless.

It's so tragic that even Arthur secretly hoped he would die unexpectedly.

This way, he would no longer have to endure that life of being a loser and suffering both physically and mentally.

Even if he doesn't die this time, he won't last more than a few years.

With only a few years left, he simply couldn't raise Sakura Matou to adulthood.

Therefore, Arthur plans to take Sakura Matou with him.

"Brother might leave this city tomorrow. Would Sakura like to go with him?" Arthur asked with a smile, gazing into Sakura Matou's dull and lifeless eyes.

"..."

Sakura Matou didn't answer, but instead hugged Arthur tightly around the neck, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Ding! Congratulations on becoming the victor of the Fourth Holy Grail War!"

"Ding! Congratulations! You have completed the 'World Quest - Victor: Participate in the Fourth Holy Grail War as the 'Lancer' class and achieve victory!' System rating: S-rank!"

"Ding! Rewards are being tallied, please wait..."

As Arthur gazed at the burning distance, a system notification suddenly sounded in his mind.

This notification confirmed Arthur's guess.

Sure enough, even if it's not an [Achievement Quest], the tasks issued by the system still require careful reading.

Sure enough, even if it's not an [Achievement Quest], the tasks issued by the system still require careful reading.

Arthur's performance in this war was not perfect.

The one who took the first kill was not him, but the King of Conquerors.

Caster's departure was not his doing.

And then there's Saber, who only defeated three Servants.

If it weren't for these three Servants, including Gilgamesh is considered the pinnacle of Servants, and the King of Conquerors, Arthur's evaluation would probably be even lower.

"Did we fail? Or were we liberated?!"

Arthur didn't seem to care about the assessment, but instead gazed at the burning distance and murmured softly.

"Ding! You have received a reward..."

(daei) At this moment, the system notification sounded in Arthur's mind again.

The message from this notification tone startled Arthur slightly.

Soon, a smile of interest appeared on his face, and he muttered to himself, "Interesting... such a useless reward?"

Even though the reward was so insignificant, Arthur showed no anger whatsoever.

Because with the appearance of this reward, Arthur subconsciously thought of something.

Then, Arthur gently stroked Sakura Matou's delicate back and whispered, "Sakura, I have some things to attend to. I'll take you somewhere first, where you'll meet three beautiful and charming older sisters. Remember to tell them what happened."

Avalon--

After saying that, without waiting for Sakura Matou's reply, Arthur created a transparent white light shield around himself, causing Sakura Matou, who was leaning on his shoulder, to disappear into thin air.

'Call out--'

The next moment, Arthur transformed into a bolt of Inazuma and vanished from the balcony.

The burning zone plunged the world into darkness.