After a moment of disorientation, the scene before Shirou Emiya changed once more.
It was still the cemetery, but it was no longer the same.
Anno and Merlin still stood behind someone, but the person before them was no longer the tall, gaunt King Uther.
Instead, it was a girl who looked to be only in her teens.
Dressed simply, the girl stood before the sword.
Shirou Emiya's eyes widened.
"Lia, are you prepared?"
Merlin raised his head, looked at the girl, and asked with a smile.
The girl stood with her back to the crowd—not only Anno and Merlin, but also the knight named Lamorak, along with countless others.
Many people had gathered in the cemetery. Perhaps they had come to witness the birth of a new king, or perhaps they had simply come to watch a joke unfold.
Anno looked at the girl, then at the sword.
"The moment you draw it, you will no longer have any connection to the girl named Artoria."
"You will become king, ruling and governing a nation."
His tone remained as usual, devoid of any excess emotion.
"You still have a chance to regret this." As Merlin spoke those words, his eyes were directed toward Anno.
Anno did not even shift his gaze. He merely looked hopefully at the girl upon whom such great expectations had been placed, the girl who would ultimately bear the burden of a nation.
"I will not regret it. This is my destiny!"
Artoria stepped forward and grasped the hilt of the Sword of Promised Victory.
And then—
The sword was drawn just like that.
Everyone erupted into an uproar.
Yet Shirou Emiya did not feel happy in the slightest.
Not at all.
Leaving aside the ordinary people who had died amid the chaos during that year