My Mom is King Arthur Chapter 22

At this thought, she thought of her beloved son—the eldest son who had achieved such brilliant military exploits in Europa. Her mood grew even worse.

Over these past few years, relying on agricultural knowledge a thousand and five hundred years ahead of its time, iron-fisted rule, and invincible military achievements, Arthur's reputation in Europa had already surpassed hers. Even in Britannia, the name of the Evil Dragon Prince could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Knight King.

However, this reputation was mixed.

The people ruled by the Dragon Prince adored him, revered him, and feared him. Because of the series of agricultural reforms he proposed—crop rotation systems, water conservancy facilities, silage methods, intercropping methods, and the promotion of cold- and drought-resistant crops—the people under his rule had no worries about food or clothing.

The Meritocracy System, Medal System, and strict military law he implemented drove the army to strive for excellence. By combining Germanic Customary Law with Roman Law, revising and compiling the Artorius Code, implementing a relatively universal Official Selection System, establishing schools, and promoting education, he made the Germanic War Zone under his rule increasingly prosperous.

But at the same time, his ruthless slaughter and suppression of political enemies, enemy forces, and rebellious nobles inspired immense terror.

The people not ruled by the Dragon Prince regarded him with suspicion, anticipation, and fear.

The Germanic tribes hoped for his protection while dreading his military might. On one hand, they envied the good life of the Germanic tribes under his rule; on the other, they were terrified by the crushing defeat his armies inflicted on Germanic forces in battle.

From the Roman perspective, General Artorius was the empire's jade pillar holding up the sky, the golden beam bridging the sea. It was Artorius who held back the relentless invasions of the Burgundians, Vandals, Goths, Franks, Saracens—those mad Germanic peoples—and maintained the empire's stability.

But at the same time, only the most foolish and ignorant would regard Arthur as the empire's loyal minister, rather than a figure like Grand Tutor Dong or Chancellor Cao. In every Roman city, one of the classic daily topics among idle gossips was:

"When will General Artorius become emperor?"

"Today, today."

Even the most destitute beggars fantasized that when Artorius marched on Rome, the world would be shaken and transformed. The noble and the base would be redefined. The old order would collapse, and a new order would be reshaped.

This was the greatest and final "opportunity" of this era. No ambitious man could afford to miss it.

This was how outsiders viewed Arthur.

But not Artoria.

In Mom's eyes, no matter how much Arthur accomplished or how many feats he achieved, he was still that adorable child who would grab her cloak and look up at her with admiration. He was the one in this world who most needed her care.

She had poured into Arthur a "care" second only to that for her "country."

Yet the final result was that her beloved son had become a terrifying, evil dragon devouring human lives.

Author's Notes:

Updated, lalala.

Chapter 37: Unable to Meet for Now (Third Update!)

Mom's "not.jpg"

Artorius's actions are highly controversial in the eyes of the world. Perspectives on him vary greatly.

Arthur himself can take these debates lightly. But Artoria cannot.

As a king who has "guardianship" engraved in her bones, she is very displeased with Arthur's behavior. She believes that attacking other countries for personal ambition, crushing tribes and kingdoms, bringing nations under his control, and even rebelling against the Roman Emperor who is his liege—all of this is evil.

But at the same time, as "Artoria," the "Knight King," she does not place the blame on Arthur. Instead, she blames herself.

She is exactly the kind of person who is lenient with others but strict with herself. Her integrity and uprightness are no joke, nor are they said ironically.

If only I could have found a better way.

If only I had found the Holy Grail sooner.

If only I had paid more attention to Arthur's education earlier...

In short, she takes all the slaughter and chaos as her own fault, feeling intense pain and remorse.

What pains her even more—and will surely bring her future regret—is another thing: right now, she cannot stop Arthur.

She has no reason or position to intervene in this continental war. And at present, Britannia needs the Germanic War Zone.

In this era of steadily dropping temperatures, recorded in history as the "Little Ice Age," all of Europa—no, all of Eurasia—is shrouded in hunger and cold.

The fading Divine Era Magic cannot resist the cold from the Will of the Planet. And human civilization, built upon Divine Era Magic, is naturally helpless against this natural disaster.

Unsurprisingly, this became an era of survival of the fittest. The "New Humans," more adapted to the times, cleanly devoured the "Old Humans," using their flesh and blood to survive the harshest times, eventually building a dark and ignorant medieval world on the ruins of Rome.

Political systems, thought, technology, medicine—everything regressed drastically. It became a living garbage heap.

This chaotic and wretched order lasted for several centuries. Only when another remnant of Rome was swallowed by the Star-Moon Cult nation rising on the Asia Minor peninsula, drawing nourishment from ancient Greece and Rome and fueled by plundering the wealth of the New World, did all of Europa finally find its path again and enter a new era.

This period of decline was far too long. Almost unbearable.

But this time, the appearance of Artorius, the efforts of the Evil Dragon Prince, alleviated the dire situation.

Food.

Arthur held the greatest hard currency in this age of hunger. With farming technology advanced by 1,500 years and iron-fisted rule, even during the Little Ice Age, relying on the power of "technology," Artorius ensured one of the most basic living conditions for the people under his rule: food and warmth.

He now possessed the largest grain reserves in all of Europa. This was a strategic weapon even more terrifying than his five legions and tens of thousands of elite troops.

To keep their armies, officials, families, and even themselves from starving, they had to rely on Artorius.

They had to cooperate with him. Let him incite, persuade, and integrate the population under their command—and the knights who were the foundation of national military power—into his own ranks.

At first, it was only the disgruntled and unsuccessful. But soon, with Arthur's immense success, more and more knights gathered under his banner.

The Germanic War Zone and the kingdoms of Britannia had become bound together.

So even if Artoria hardened her heart, she could not move against her beloved son. Because that would be tantamount to suicide.

"So, that child has already landed in Britannia."

Of course, the King of Kings knew that Arthur had landed in Lundenia.

"But he hasn't come to see me."

This filled Artoria with disappointment.

"He must be so disappointed in me. Such a useless father."

Though she was actually his mother... well, not necessarily.

"But..."

On this lonely night, Artoria gazed intently out the window into the distance, at the starry sky of Britannia in the Age of Gods.

At this moment, she was not the King of Knights revered by the Knights of the Round Table. She was not the sovereign of all Britannian kingdoms. She was merely a mother missing her child.

"Artorius..."

The next morning.

"I had a good dream."

Artorius murmured as he opened his eyes, then turned sideways to look at Mordred, who was hugging him and sleeping soundly.

"How adorable."

Such an innocent, carefree little sister. On any other day, Arthur would have watched her for a while before waking her up.

But not today.

Not because of last night's dual exercise with Morgan, but for another reason.

It was the dream.

A truly beautiful, pure and romantic dream, like a lily flower.

Because it was too pure-hearted, it had temporarily sealed Arthur's kingly power.

"Is it because this is Britannia? Because of Father King?"

Probably due to historical inertia. Though he'd long known that Father King was Father King, Arthur still used that title when no one was around.

"For now, I just can't come to your side yet..."

Was it the nervousness of approaching home, or something else?

In any case, Arthur, who understood Artoria's personality well, didn't want to see her right now. Because they were walking different paths. Meeting Artoria before his own cause reached its limit would only make things worse.

So...

"Bear with it a little longer, Father King."

Arthur thought: "Soon, I'll save you."

With that thought, his mood lifted. The pure-hearted feeling from waking had also dissipated.

His gaze toward his sister Mordred shifted slightly.

Well, as expected of his sister, she was truly "adorable."

With that in mind, Arthur reached out and pulled his sister over: "Mordred!" Calling her name, he began their morning sword training.

The dragon never bows its head!

Author's Notes:

??Arthur, who treats his sister as a multi-functional tool, is trash.

Keep asking for votes!

Chapter 38 is a little exciting.

In the morning, under the cool breeze of Britannia, Arthur's group set off again. The party crossed Britannia, heading toward Wales.

Arthur would board a ship there to travel to Ireland, seeking the woman his dear aunt had mentioned—the one who could help Arthur usurp fate.

The Queen of the Shadow Country, Scathach.

The woman who wielded the original runes.

"On the way, I'll stop by Avalon. If I can convince Vivian, that would be ideal." Arthur thought as he observed his surroundings.

Though it was May, the weather felt like early spring. Occasionally, he saw thinly dressed pedestrians shivering. One after another, they looked listless.

This wasn't just due to poverty, hunger, and cold. More importantly, it was the fading of the Age of Gods' True Aether.

The people of Britannia, children of the Age of Gods, depended on these divine factors like fish needed water... As the Age of Gods gradually dissipated, their physical condition naturally deteriorated.

In contrast, the Saxons had a noticeably better spirit. Even in the same cold and hunger, these fellows carried an inexplicable, thriving energy. As if they were chosen...

Well, actually, they were indeed chosen.

"The work on racial integration needs to speed up."

Artorius thought to himself.

In the Germanic War Zone under his control, the policies promoting intermarriage among Celts, Germans, Romans, and Gauls had been going fairly well. With the personal efforts of his knights from Britannia, they married noblewomen from Germanic, Roman, and Gallic families. Leading by example, the pace of ethnic integration was gratifying.

Artorius had already conducted experiments: these children of mixed Germanic blood showed almost no physiological issues in the absence of True Aether. He believed that after just a few more generations of integration, the elements of the Age of Gods would completely fade away. The Celts of Britannia would become members of this human era, ruling the Earth as primates.

But in Britannia, without a strong government to promote such policies, the pace of integration was very slow, relying only on the people's spontaneous efforts.

"This won't do," Arthur thought. "The Age of Gods is almost gone. We don't have that much Germanic time for you to take it slow."

"To solve this, I need to implement the same policies in Britannia as in the Germanic War Zone. And to implement policies, I need to seize power...

No, even so, the speed is still too slow. So... should I adopt some better tactics?"

After thinking for a few seconds, Arthur still felt that leadership by example was essential... As the Dragon Prince destined to rule Britannia, he should lead from the front, charging ahead to set a model.

"It's just that the Germans of this era... no wonder they became the Dragon Riders of later ages..."

If it were a Roman noblewoman, he could barely stomach it. But those Germans were a bit: "No, look on the bright side—maybe I just haven't found the right one? Look at Brynhildr in Fate/Grand Order, she's not bad, is she?

She counts as a German, doesn't she?

So, for the sake of This Prince's grand plan, could I..."

Arthur then began seriously considering a plan to seduce ten or eight Valkyries from somewhere. As for whether that might derail her tragic love story with Sigurd, he couldn't care less about that.

Such a trivial matter would at most create a Parallel World. There's no way it would cause human civilization to stagnate and then be subject to Human Order Determination, right?

"Then let's do it. I'll do it when I have time... No, better send spies to gather intelligence first. After I get back, I need to discuss it with Agravain."

As the spymaster under Arthur's command, Agravain was one of the few people Arthur could fully trust.

Although in some future timelines, this guy showed an abnormal devotion to King Arthur, at least for now, he was still someone who prioritized "national interests" above all else—a character who would stop at nothing to protect his country.

For an excellent monarch, such a man was just as indispensable as famous ministers and capable generals.