"The meaning of the king's existence is to shoulder the hopes of the entire country and people and sacrifice to satisfy their wishes. This is an unshirkable responsibility and an obligation."
Artoria lowered his head and expressed his truest thoughts in a slightly low tone.
Although she knew very well that the other two tyrants here today would never agree with her.
Especially King of Heroes, who is almost laughing to the point of laughter, will definitely treat himself as a fool.
As for Allen, who always had a smile on his face but did not speak, Saber had no idea what the other party was thinking.
When Rider heard these words, pity and sympathy suddenly appeared on his face, and he commented in a low voice. "This is not the way a person should live."
"If you want to be a king and rule the country, you can't expect to be like ordinary people."
Artoria raised his head and stared into the other person's eyes, and his attitude became extremely aggressive for some reason.
"King of Conquerors, you who only want to get a body and pursue Holy Grail, who only want to satisfy your endless desires and become a tyrant, are absolutely incomprehensible and incomprehensible to you!"
"The desireless king is worse than a vase!"
Rider obviously became a little angry and counterattacked unceremoniously.
"Saber!
Did you just say sacrifice for your ideals?
You must have been an honest and upright saint, right?
He must have a noble and inviolable appearance, right?
But who would yearn for the bumpy and thorny road of martyrdom?
Who else would desire it?
The so-called king...
He should be the one with the strongest greed, the happiest laugh, and the most anger!
Both the clear and the turbid sides should reach the ultimate level of human beings!
Because of this, the ministers would envy and be fascinated by the king, and the fire of longing to become a king would be ignited in the hearts of every people.
As the representative of chivalry, the king!
The justice and ideals you uphold may indeed have saved the country and its people.
But...
What happens to those who are merely saved?
You don't know it! "
Following a series of questions, Saber showed a panicked and frightened expression on his face.
Because in a way, her efforts didn't pay off in the end, but everything came to nothing.
The country is destroyed!
The ministers rebelled!
The people suffered heavy casualties!
It can be said that Saber was unable to save anyone in the end, so he pursued Holy Grail in the hope of changing the desperate ending.
It was obvious that the "kingly way" she adhered to had begun to waver in her heart.
Along with this comes intense self-doubt and self-denial.
But Rider did not let go of the King of Knights in front of him, and continued to accuse, "You have been saving without guidance. You have never shown the desire of the king and ignored the confused ministers. You just maintained a noble attitude alone and indulged in the seemingly beautiful ideal. Therefore, you are not a real king, you are just a little girl who exists for others and is bound by the title of king."
"Hahahaha!"
Just as the tragic battlefield scenes kept appearing in Artoria's mind, a joyful laughter attracted her attention.
"What's so funny? Archer!" Saber turned around and stared at Gilgamesh.
"Nothing." Golden Flash put down the wine glass, his eyes flashing with amusement. "I just think your troubled expression is very interesting, just like a virgin who has lost her virginity in bed. I like it very much!"
"Asshole!"
Saber undoubtedly felt the humiliation and immediately raised his sword in a posture ready to attack.
I have to say that even though Allen has heard these "tiger and wolf words" more than once in anime, he still couldn't help but hold his forehead and complain, "You should consider this sexual harassment, right?"
"No! I just made an apt metaphor. Berserker, don't you think Saber's current appearance is as coveted as a forbidden fruit?"
At this moment, the expression on Golden Flash's face was like a complete pervert, and his naked gaze seemed to strip Artoria of all his armor and clothes.
Of course, he was actually just appreciating the other person's soul, and he didn't really have any dirty thoughts.
"Sorry, I'm a normal person, completely different from a guy like you who doesn't even have the most basic moral values and doesn't understand what respect is." Allen turned over Byakugan angrily.
"Berserker! Do you also think that the views expressed by King of Conquerors are worth fighting for?"
Saber set his sights on Allen, trying to find a like-minded person at this king's banquet to prove that the kingly way he insisted on was not wrong. What was wrong was tyrants like King of Conquerors and King of Heroes.
"Hmm - how should I put it?"
Allen tapped the table lightly to organize his words.
"First of all, I don't agree with Rider's statement that a king should be loyal to his own desires.
Because that will cultivate too many careerists, which will eventually lead to chaos and division in a country.
And his ending also proves this very well.
But at the same time, he also clearly stated a truth.
That is, everyone has selfish motives and desires. Not everyone can step on thorns and rely on the power of faith to keep moving forward like you.
One of the king's responsibilities is to manage the desires of his subjects.
Let it be satisfied to some extent, but never allow it to cross the red line.
If the former is not handled well, your subjects will resent you and be eager to overthrow your rule.
If the latter is not handled well, it will lead to the loss of the moral bottom line of the entire society, and eventually it will decline and perish under the atmosphere of money supremacy and extreme luxury.
Obviously, Saber, you just failed to handle the former well, so you experienced an unprecedented failure.
Rider failed to deal with the latter, so eventually Empire split, and even his wife and son died of murder.
One last thing to mention, the sentence King of Conquerors is not about the king sacrificing himself, but the country and the people sacrificing themselves for the king. In fact, it is the way of thinking shared by most dynasty rulers throughout the feudal era.
In their eyes, the interests of themselves and their family are the most important, while the country and the people are tools that can be used for trade and sacrifice at any time.
On the contrary, kings like you who are willing to sacrifice yourself to the country belong to the minority among the minority. "
"You mean... I'm too selfless, so I can't be approached and understood by my subjects?" Saber frowned subconsciously.
"That's right!" Allen nodded seriously. "You must know that before you are crowned with the title of king, you are first of all a person, a living individual with independent thoughts, consciousness, emotions and desires. Tell me, Saber, after you become the king, will the girl Artoria Pendragon still exist? If it does not exist, then how can your subjects believe and follow a king who is so ruthless that he can even obliterate himself?"
"I..."
After hearing this explanation, Saber finally realized how serious the mistake he had made, and sweat dripped down his forehead.
Because when she ruled Britain Kingdom, she completely abandoned the identity of Artoria Pendragon as an individual and elevated herself to the embodiment of the will of the entire country, thereby ignoring that the country is composed of living people.
When these living people no longer believe in and follow themselves, then this so-called embodiment of the national will naturally becomes a joke.
Bang bang bang bang...
Golden Flash and Rider applauded in unison.
The latter praised loudly, "Well said! The king is also a human being! And people have desires! If you are too noble, you will inevitably be alienated by your subjects, and finally embark on the path of betrayal and alienation."
"Don't be complacent yet, I haven't finished speaking yet."
Allen interrupted Rider's idea of continuing to promote his theory.
"Although Saber's approach is a bit too naive, she at least understands the responsibilities of a king and is willing to work hard in a good direction. But what about you? You have never taken responsibility from the beginning to the end, and you have not even been able to truly bring the conquered land under your rule. As a civilian, I would rather live in a country ruled by Saber than in your Empire, which is full of holes and chaos."
"Hmph! Maybe. So Berserker, one last question, since you understand the king so deeply, why don't you want to be an example of a virtuous king, but choose to escape?" Rider asked meaningfully.
Allen replied casually, "The reason is very simple! Because it is a backward and stupid system for one person or one family to rule the entire country. I despise this model of relying on blood relations to inherit rights, and rights are not what I pursue. The only thing I pursue is the same from beginning to end, and that is power, which is extremely powerful and sufficient for Slaying Gods."
"Hahahaha! This answer is really in line with your style." Golden Flash laughed excitedly and happily again.
Although at the beginning, he did not have high expectations for this so-called King's Banquet.
But now, he suddenly discovered that this Holy Grail War is far more interesting than he imagined.
Whether it is Saber with a pure soul, Rider who is always loyal to his desires, or Berserker who gives people a very mysterious feeling, they are all worthy opponents of First Shinobi World War.
"No way! Who told me to be a crazy Warrior." Allen pursed his lips and showed an expression that was half-smiling.
Rider picked up the cup and drank all the wine in one gulp, and said in a tone full of regret, "What a disappointment! Such a good banquet was actually disturbed by a group of annoying rats in the end."
"No! My opinion is exactly the opposite of yours. Aren't these mice just suitable for exercise after meals?"
With that said, Allen slowly stood up and cast his gaze at several corners in the courtyard.
The next second...
Countless black shadows emerged from the darkness and surrounded the courtyard in the castle at extremely fast speeds.
You don't need to ask to know that these Black-Clad Man are the Servant summoned by Kotomine Kirei - Assassin.
Tohsaka Tokiomi finally couldn't help but take action...