Chapter 317

People at the bottom of society need hope, even if that hope is false.

In order to temporarily quell internal conflicts, the higher-ups desperately needed someone like King Arthur wielding the true Holy Sword. And how could they not know about the Holy Sword?

Therefore, after doing their calculations, they realized that they were probably the best candidate.

If this King Arthur isn't as powerful and capable of governing as the historical King Arthur, then this would be perfect for them. Perfect, ensuring that the existing order remains unchanged.

'King Arthur...' Saber closed his eyes.

Just like when I truly intended to delve deeper into Cecilia's story, I now need to study this character further.

So what about King Arthur's past? What was King Arthur's personality? What were King Arthur's wishes?

If he only has a superficial understanding of King Arthur Li Pu in history and the Kael'thas mythology, he is quite familiar with Artoria, who is known by nicknames such as "Saber" and "Bed King".

Baidu Encyclopedia, Moe Girl Encyclopedia, Vita Girl Encyclopedia, and FGO all have very detailed descriptions of this character.

As a leading lady in FGO and even the Fate series, Artoria Pendragon is an indispensable character. In terms of personality, she is stubborn and obstinate, or to put it more politely, someone who adheres to the Knight's Code.

If you say she has a broad vision and real ability to govern the country and manage finances, Li Pu didn't see that at all.

If that were true, he wouldn't have received the assessment that "the king doesn't understand people's hearts."

But in terms of combat power, Saber is undoubtedly very strong.

Now I'm about to play the Saber... no, it shouldn't be Saber. It should be becoming the real Artoria Pendragon. To understand her deeply and unleash her true feelings.

Humphrey, sitting in the front passenger seat, didn't think anything of it at first. He just looked out the window and waited for the car to reach its final stop.

Her Majesty the Queen will certainly not go directly to the main hall after getting out of the car. She will first go to a small reception room where she will meet with Charles the Great, who has decided to abdicate, and the current Prime Minister Jim Hack.

Of course, this is just a routine procedure. Although Jim Hack has many whimsical ideas, he is still a person who depends on the occasion.

In this situation, he probably wouldn't have any brilliant ideas to share with the Queen...

Should...

As for Charles the Great: firstly, to inform the soon-to-be-crowned Britain that the old royal family had been well taken care of, and although he was no longer the king, he had been granted the title of duke. He and his family would also receive a respectable resettlement.

Of course, another aspect is to have the old king teach the new queen some royal etiquette.

They've thought a lot about this; this queen is truly King Arthur! Otto's information and conclusions are probably correct. So, the question is how to get her adapted to and learn modern etiquette.

However, Humphrey now harbors doubts about this, as the queen always seems to have a certain...

I don't know how to say it...

Was the intelligence incorrect?

This...

Humphrey was lost in thought when the car quickly came to a stop. There were no reporters here, and no one else could come over; it was just them.

"Female..."

Just as they were about to tell Saber to get off the bus, Humphrey suddenly stopped.

"What are you doing, Humphrey?" Artoria's voice became steady and powerful, and although it was not a command, it revealed a seriousness that could not be refused. "Daydreaming is not a good thing. If you continue like this, you will delay your work."

"To neglect one's duties is dereliction of duty, and that is absolutely unacceptable, Sir Humphrey Appleby!"

"Ah..." Humphrey opened his mouth, but it was unclear whether he had a lot of things to say that he couldn't get out.

If there's anything I really want to say...

That's probably what they mean by the return of a king.

Chapter 355 King of Glory

Humphrey couldn't understand what had happened.

As a senior private secretary to the prime minister, he had met many people, including members of royalty and nobility.

Humphrey had always been quite interested in the arrival of Saber. For Britain, the story of King Arthur was something he'd heard since childhood. He was very curious about what the king who had saved Britain a thousand years ago must have been like.

Perhaps because he had heard too many legends about kings, he was disappointed when he first met the real King Arthur.

This legendary queen who supposedly saved Britain doesn't seem to possess any regal bearing or elegance. One could even argue that Prince Charles, who inherited the throne simply because he had no scandals, is more like a true king.

From any perspective, the king who had always appeared in fairy tales, school textbooks, television screens, and even in his childhood hero dreams was a complete shock to him.

Is this King Arthur? Have you ever fantasized about traveling back to that era to become a knight, following a king throughout your life, and charging into battle alongside him?

She looked no different from an ordinary young girl.

She paid little attention to her image, lacked the manners and demeanor befitting royalty, and even lacked the fierce aura of a warrior charging into battle.

Although this queen was not as he had imagined, she was still King Arthur. Based on the decisions of the two councils of Britain and the sudden idea of Prime Minister Hak, he decided to bring this queen back to the throne.

If she's willing, that's fine; if not, just put the crown directly on her head.

Humphrey did not offer much of a rebuttal. The MPs and the Prime Minister were more concerned with the votes, with how much support they could gain if they could get the Saber back on the throne and promote it extensively.

As for Humphrey himself, he didn't care about these things; he was a civil servant.

The votes don't affect him; he just wants Issei the same.

He led the former and future queen to Windsor Castle with the mindset of completing a mission. He believed that he would complete his mission once he handed her over to the Prime Minister and the former King.

As they were about to reach their destination and the Queen was about to get off the train, he realized that she had changed.

If he wasn't absolutely certain that the person in front of him hadn't changed along the way, he would hardly believe that the girl in front of him was the same girl as before.

Although this young woman is not the queen I imagined or saw on screen, there is no doubt that she is the king! A ruler who has been praised by the people for thousands of years.

"Oh, yes, Your Her Majesty the Queen." After being reminded by Artoria, Humphrey finally came to his senses and got out of the carriage with an indescribable feeling.

The car door was opened for the Queen.

There were two other people standing next to the car: Prime Minister Haque and former Britain Charles the Great.

The two had been waiting for a long time. Hark was more interested in whether this legendary queen could bring him more votes, while Charles the Great was more curious about King Arthur pulled out the Sword of Kings of kings.

As soon as Humphrey got out of the car, he saw Hack's expression and immediately sensed something was wrong.

Haq is a good-natured prime minister, and he always has a slightly cynical smile on his face. Of course, it's just a hint; more of an air of nonchalance than genuine concern.

Anyway, that not-so-serious expression always made Humphrey feel like things were going to get bad.

He immediately and solemnly proclaimed. "Prime Minister, former King, let us now welcome the legendary ancient ruler."

It is necessary to remind Hack, lest Her Majesty the Queen misunderstand him.

Whether Huck understands or not depends on his comprehension ability.

Haq's comprehension is certainly not bad. In parliament and political institutions, the ability to be a good guy, remembered by everyone but offending no one, is a skill in itself. It's a skill that many people lack.

He understood Humphrey's unspoken message, quickly straightened his collar, and took a deep breath to avoid leaving a bad impression on this former and future queen.

When the car door opened, the queen stepped out of the car.

Like Humphrey, Huck's first impression of her was different from what she had imagined. She wasn't the kind of queen portrayed on screen; she wasn't as sharp and assertive as she had imagined, nor was she as old-fashioned and arrogant as the queen she had once known.

She became more reserved and more understated, but none of this could conceal the sharpness she had gained from years of fighting.

Pride and humility, composure and assertiveness. Every movement is very indirect and decisive, which may not be the same as the etiquette we usually know, but it does not seem rude.

"Hack, Jim Hack, the current Prime Minister," Humphrey introduced. "Charles..."

"Britain Empire." Charles the Great interrupted Humphrey, puffing out his chest as if trying to overwhelm the legendary king with his imposing presence.

"Artoria Pendragon".

Then Charles the Great lost, even though Charles the Great was indeed taller. But Artoria's voice was clearer and more resonant. It was an absolute confidence. She didn't need the title of king; her name spoke for itself.

"Artoria?" Hack asked in what he thought was a low voice, leaning close to Humphrey. "I don't remember Arthur Pendragon?"

"Could it be that we've got the wrong person? Or is there some problem with the report? Did we bring the king's sister back?"

"No, that's just my real name," Artoria said. "Prime Minister Hak, if you want to know about my story, and the discrepancy between the two names recorded in the records, you can ask me directly. You won't get any answers from Lord Humphrey."

Humphrey rolled his eyes at Hack, who was a legendary king and a powerful Valkyrie.

With such excellent hearing, she still did this.

"Ha~ha~" Huck tried to cover up his embarrassment with a dry laugh. But it only made things more awkward.

"I'm sorry, Your Her Majesty the Queen," Huck tried to salvage the awkward silence.

"Because of Merlin," Artoria said. "In that era, it would have been somewhat inconvenient for a woman to become a knight, inherit the throne, and fight on the battlefield. So he changed my name to 'Arthur,' and I have appeared as a man most of the time."

"Oh, right." Artoria said to Humphrey, "The SU I asked you to find actually has a name that you are more familiar with."

"The Lady of the Lake, you should call him Vivian, Nimue, or Ninianne."

"Please allow me to interrupt for a moment." As soon as Artoria finished speaking, Charles the Great seemed to be unable to hold back and said, "Your Majesty Arthur... I will call you Your Majesty Arthur for now."

Artoria nodded, indicating that it was acceptable to address him that Charles the Great and urging him to continue.

"The word you just used was 'he'?" Charles the Great asked, puzzled. "Shouldn't 'The Lady of the Lake' be 'he'?"

"Please believe me, I didn't use the wrong word." Artoria said this in a very calm way, which made the people present feel quite shocked. "It's 'he'. Although he is called the Lady of the Lake, I swear he is indeed a man."

"I know this is hard to accept, but I think you should know that there are indeed men in this world who are more attractive than women even without makeup..."

Then the atmosphere seemed to fall silent again.

An awkward silence ensued. As Britain, I grew up listening to the stories of King Arthur. Knowing that this former hero was actually a woman is already a shock to my worldview... This isn't about sexism or anything like that.

However, this great hero has always been male! He appears as a male in the story, and he is also perceived as male.

Okay, I won't deny that some works depict King Arthur as a woman, but that's based on unofficial history and the work of modern directors, not official history. Although I only now realize that those unofficial histories and the directors who stirred things up revealed the truth.

But...

The Lady of the Lake was actually a man; that really ruined things.

"Wait a minute?" After an awkward moment, Huck seemed to realize something.

"So, the legendary Lady of the Lake also lived in this era?" Hark said. "She... she also turned..."

"No," Artoria denied, "He certainly did nothing wrong in this era, but he didn't die; he lived on until this era. If I hadn't died, I would have lived on until this era just like him."

After saying that, all three of them seemed a little...

Hearing your words is like hearing a lecture; the first part was somewhat useful. But the latter part—wasn't that just correct but meaningless platitudes like "if a person is killed, they will die"?

"No, I don't mean you've misunderstood," Artoria said. "Even if I weren't killed, I would still be. Because of pulling out the Sword in the Stone, my age was forever frozen at fifteen. Except for my mind and body, I will never grow up or age."

"Eternal life and youth?" Charles the Great suddenly felt envious, his tone tinged with a hint of bitterness.

Yes, for ordinary people, and for an emperor, eternal life and youth are things that so many people dream of!

Throughout history, what has driven alchemists to keep researching and kings to keep investing has always been alchemy and the elixir of immortality.

"Speaking of which," Humphrey suddenly asked, "I remember Her Majesty the Queen has already retrieved the Holy Sword, hasn't she?"

"Yes," Aunt Altori replied, "I came to London once before to find SU and retrieve the Holy Sword."

"Can you give me the Holy Sword?" Humphrey asked again.

"?" This time, Artoria did not answer but looked at Humphrey with a scrutinizing and questioning gaze.

"Oh, dear King Arthur," Charles the Great explained for Humphrey, "It's a ceremony. You should know that. The sword-drawing ceremony is a necessary ritual for inheriting the throne."

"It's not that we want the Holy Sword, so if possible..."

"If we're really going to get to the point," Artoria interrupted before Charles the Great could finish speaking, "I'm not inheriting the throne, but returning to it. I'm not a successor waiting for the throne, nor am I a former king who has abdicated or stepped down. I'm a king who died in battle, so for me, it's not about inheriting the throne, but about reclaiming it, right?"

"Of course, to be more precise, you are just a descendant of a usurper to me," Artoria said. "Because you don't have the surname 'Pendragon,' and I am a Celt while you are an Anglo-Saxon. To me, you are not only a usurper but also a foreigner."

Artoria's words made Big Hammer very embarrassed.

His face froze.

"Yes, Your Her Majesty the Queen." Humphrey quickly intervened to salvage the situation, saying, "But all of this is the choice of history and the people, and we are merely people who follow the will of history and the people."

"Is it still the same now?" Artoria countered.

"Yes, Your Her Majesty the Queen," Humphrey said respectfully. "Just as I told you in the carriage, this is the choice of all the people of England, and the choice of history."

"..." Artoria didn't say anything more.

"I'm not particularly interested in such tedious rituals," Artoria said. "Of course, if you want to touch the Holy Sword, I'm not unwilling to grant your small, humble wish."