King Arthur? Artoria!

It was dim.

It was blood-red.

This place.

Was a hell of slaughter.

A golden-haired maiden.

Alone.

Standing atop a hill built from corpses.

Ten years of life-and-death combat.

Twelve invitations from the Grim Reaper.

Not a single defeat.

"No matter where I am, one day I will break through the veil of time and space and return to your side."

A voice from the depths of memory echoed in her mind.

But whenever she tried to understand more, to get closer, it was always like gazing at flowers in a mirror... an illusion.

Her opened eyes revealed a hint of confusion and anger.

She shook her head, no longer dwelling on the strange memories from the depths of her mind.

She donned her silver armor, the Holy Sword hanging at her waist.

Reaching out, she lifted the tent's curtain and stepped forward with firm, stubborn steps.

From the moment the golden-haired maiden stepped out of the tent, she was no longer the being known as "Artoria."

Instead, she was...

"Glory to our King! Praise the King of Gods!"

The earth-shattering roar of a hundred thousand troops!

Voices soaring into the clouds tore through the dim sky!

An army with morale like a mountain shattered the blood-red earth!

The ferocity of the hell of slaughter was, at this moment, crushed by the appearance of that maiden!

"The reason we have survived great battles without defeat?!"

"A King like a dragon!"

"The foundation of our dominance on the battlefield?!"

"Our King, like a God of War!"

"What is our King's name?!"

"King Arthur!!"

Her green eyes, which had slowly closed, opened again.

The roar that seemed to shatter the heavens in her memory still echoed as if it were right before her eyes.

Her gaze swept across the scene.

Three kings, waiting for her answer, stood on either side, each raising a wine cup in a toast.

Only one person was an exception...

{Delac. D. Xia, remember that name! He is the man who will forever follow you!}

Upon seeing the black-haired youth sitting not far from her, those words involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

Was she afraid to face him? Or was she worried about her answer?

Though she wanted to mock him, she couldn't bring herself to laugh.

"Miracles require a price. In exchange, it must be for the thing most important to you."

Merlin's prophecy from back then still echoed in her ears.

She had thought that most important thing would be the trust of her people and the loyalty of her knights.

But...

No, that was her own forced interpretation, wasn't it?

She had forced herself to adopt a proper attitude because she didn't want to lose the reliance of those before her.

She had strived this far because she didn't want to lose the sight of the youth standing before her.

The trust of her people, and the loyalty of her knights.

Perhaps it was just an excuse to escape reality.

I didn't want to face it, I didn't dare to face it.

I understood that this was fitting for a King's status, and even more so, it was not something a King's successor should be doing.

But...

"Artoria wants it! So I am willing to dedicate everything for it!"

The boy's stubborn and unwavering voice echoed in my mind once more, lingering for a long time...

Then, what about me?

The smile that bloomed was like a fruit that had shed its ugly exterior.

Revealing the pure and clean fruit within.

"My wish is to return to the past using the power of the Holy Grail, to atone for my mistakes! To have Britannia elect a true successor to the throne!"

"This is my sole aspiration, as the King of Britannia."

The words tumbled out, without even a second thought.

Looking at the Hero King's mocking smirk, listening to the Conqueror King's half-hearted sigh.

And the boy's face, which instantly turned pale as if he had been sentenced to death...

I couldn't find the book by searching the title, maybe try searching for the author, perhaps the title was just changed!

The starlight in the night sky had dimmed, losing its brilliance at some point.

The floating clouds and immortal mountains in the sky also began to tremble, as if they could collapse at any moment.

Crack.

Crack...

Sounds like glass about to shatter echoed throughout the world.

"This guy... is he about to break down?" the Hero King and Conqueror King thought simultaneously, a vein throbbing on their foreheads. So fragile.

"But that is the aspiration of the King of Britannia! Not the wish of the existence known as Artoria!"

The girl's subsequent words brought a little color back to the boy's pale face, which had been ashen as if awaiting death.

The starlight in the night sky began to twinkle again, slowly.

The immortal mountains floating in the sky once again began to drift upwards, trembling.

The boy raised his head, heavy as a thousand pounds, and looked at the girl's green eyes with a gaze filled with anticipation and a hint of worry.

The girl slowly walked to the boy's side, knelt before him, and gently placed her hands on his slightly pale face.

"In the past, I cursed the world I was born into many times."

"Why was I born into a race of slaves? Why did my parents heartlessly abandon their child without a second thought? I never received an answer.

I, as merely one of the possessions of the nobility, could neither resist nor be redeemed.

Every day was spent in numbness and under the lash, every day was lived in curses and resentment.

Cursing the unfairness of this world, and at the same time cursing my father and mother whom I had never met.

But..."

Saying this, the girl straightened up, opened her arms, and slowly embraced the boy's body, resting her head on his shoulder.

Feeling the boy's warmth, smelling his familiar scent, and at the same time sensing his accelerating heartbeat.

"Now, I am grateful for this world, and I am also grateful for the parents who heartlessly abandoned me.

Thanks to them, you were sent to my side.

Thank you too, Xia.

Thank you for saving me..."

The girl's words ignited a fire within the boy's heart.

The boy's eyes, which had been filled with worry, now shone with a brilliant light!

The starlight in the night sky had become so bright that it could replace the darkness with daylight!

The trembling immortal mountains had settled steadily in the sky.

And at some point, they began to emit earth-shattering, clear celestial music~!

Cranes flying through the clouds, rainbow bridges connecting island after island~!

This was the true realm of the immortals.

And as the girl's words fell, a cage deep within her memory, sealed by several broken chains, also opened with a "creak."

All the memories of the past flashed through her mind one by one.

The face of the boy, whom she could see, feel, and hear everything about in the past, but could never quite glimpse, finally appeared before her.

"It really is you..., Xia~"

He looked at the face that had kept him from sleeping soundly multiple times, reaching out to caress the face that had caused him so much pain in his "life."

The sigh he let out was not just one of relief, but more so the satisfaction of receiving the highest affirmation for something he had trusted.

"Xia, there's one more thing I want to tell you, but! It's not about King Arthur, but rather about the maiden named Artoria wanting to tell Xia."

"What?" Xia, who was feeling happy, replied cheerfully.

Her cherry lips moved closer to Xia's ear.

The whisper, like that of lovers, instantly stiffened Xia's previously blissful expression.

Then, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted onto his seat, foaming at the mouth...

And he continued to spew while saying, "Too... too... cough... sti... cough... mulating... gurgle!"

Seeing Xia suddenly turn like this, the Hero King and the Conqueror King were startled.

What words could have caused the man who was just overflowing with joy to instantly become like someone on the verge of death?

With suspicious gazes, the two kings looked at the Knight King standing to the side, her face flushed red.

"I don't know!"

The Knight King's answer caused the two kings to exchange a helpless glance.

Then they continued their feasting, ignoring the troublesome royal "lovers."

Only Artoria knelt down beside Xia, cradling his head onto her lap and gently wiping his face with a damp tissue.

As Artoria looked at Xia's face, which was still rolling its eyes and foaming at the mouth, She couldn't help but smile.

"Idiot..."

Hero King: Hey, hey! Why am I and the Conqueror King barely in this chapter?!

Conqueror King: Exactly!

Nine Heavens Palace: Shut up! You cannon fodder who will be dealt with by Xia sooner or later, stop spouting nonsense! If you want trouble, go find "Mirror Flowers, Water Moon"! It was that guy who said he couldn't feel love, so I specifically wrote this chapter!

Mirror Flowers, Water Moon: My post! My words! My freedom!

Gates of Babylon!

Army of the King!

The group beatdown begins...~~

{Serves you right for making me put in so much effort...}

Next Chapter! Prelude to the Melee!

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