"Have you come, my reincarnation?"
King Arthur spoke, and her gaze fell on Artoria. In those identical eyes, Artoria saw a spirit and composure she herself had never possessed.
The bearing of a born ruler, and of a natural superior.
Artoria had seen it only in her beloved elder sister, Morgan, and in her father, the emperor. She couldn't help feeling nervous.
"Ah, y-yes. H-hello. Um... what should I call you?"
King Arthur smiled warmly. "You don't have to be so nervous. As I said, I'm your past life, and you're my present life. We're the same person. If you have to distinguish between us, just call me Arthur."
After a pause, she added, "In truth, I'm not even a complete soul. I'm merely a remnant of thought left behind from your past life. When my mission ends, I'll disappear completely."
Artoria stared at her in surprise, then asked uncertainly, "Arthur... are you saying that my past life—you—really were the Holy King? The ancestor of our Pendragon Family? B-but wasn't the Holy King a man?"
King Arthur nodded. "The historical records do describe me as male, and back then, I did appear before the people as a man. That was because in those days, a male ruler commanded more respect than a female one."
"So I asked Merlin to cast an illusion on me, making everyone see me as a man."
Artoria looked astonished. "Merlin? The legendary magician? So... even something like that really existed? Does that mean all those legendary stories were true?"
The clouds of history seemed to part in that moment, only for new questions to take their place. The girl's expression grew complicated. "Then... the descendants of King Arthur, the bloodline of our Pendragon Family..."
King Arthur replied calmly, "You are indeed my descendants, and there's nothing wrong with your bloodline. If you want to know the truth, keep watching the images on the Light Screen. You'll find the answers you're looking for there."
At that, Artoria couldn't help asking, "What exactly is that Light Screen?"
King Arthur's voice grew solemn. "Haven't you already seen what the Light Screen showed at the beginning? That was history that had been erased and forgotten. Humanity has completely lost all records of it, but the world hasn't. The world itself records everything."
"Normally, those records would never be shown. The world has better things to do. But this world has been assailed by Mystery! To this planet, Mystery is an alien calamity invading from outside. And the supernatural beings who once had the power to fight it have all disappeared because of humanity's own foolish actions."
"The world is simply telling humanity about what it has lost, hoping humanity will reclaim its lost supernatural powers and use them to fight the invasion of Mystery."
Artoria looked thoughtful. "You mean... the world itself is conscious?"
King Arthur nodded. "You could put it that way. You should be familiar with the concept of World Consciousness, living in Yingzhou for so long."
Artoria nodded. After all, the concept of World Consciousness had been used to death in the various anime and light novels produced in Yingzhou. Even though she'd never gone out of her way to learn about it, she knew it existed. People around her were always discussing things like that; even someone as indifferent as her couldn't help hearing about it.
For a moment, Artoria was dazed. "I never thought World Consciousness really existed... Then... are all those things in anime real, too?"
King Arthur: "..."
That question left her at a loss for an answer, because she didn't know what a certain mastermind might do.
Instead, King Arthur said, "You don't need to worry too much about these things. Once the world reveals more of the truth about history, you can observe and judge for yourself. More importantly, you should pay attention to yourself right now."
"Me? Huh?" Artoria tilted her head adorably, her big eyes filled with confusion.
King Arthur said, "Look at what you're holding!"
Only then did Artoria suddenly realize there was something in her right hand. She had no idea when it had appeared.
She picked it up. It had some weight to it, and when she looked closer, she saw it was a solid wooden practice sword.
That wasn't all. Artoria was surprised to discover that her clothes had changed, too. She was now wearing coarse gray linen and simple trousers.
The material was awful. Artoria had grown up in luxury, wearing designer clothes at the very least, and she found it terribly uncomfortable.
"Um... what is this...?"
King Arthur answered, "These are the clothes I wore when I was a knight's squire. This is also the best way to hone your fundamentals. Now, pick up your sword and begin training!"
Artoria said, "Huh? Wh-what? Training?"
King Arthur stared at Artoria. "I can feel it. You want to obtain my power—that is, the power of your past life."
"I have to say, you're far too weak. You've never had systematic training. You've held a sword before, but only the delicate modern fencing kind. That sort of thing is completely useless in a real battle."
"So you have to start from the very beginning. I'll teach you from scratch how to become a true knight."
Artoria's heart raced when she heard that, and she began to feel a headache coming on. She couldn't help muttering, "Um... can't you just give me your power directly? Like when you controlled my body and fought today... Isn't that how it always works in anime?"
As if!
King Arthur gave Artoria a deadpan look but didn't say the character-destroying words aloud. Instead, she said sternly, "Don't say such defeatist things! Nothing in this world can be gained without paying a price! I can only remain here until tonight. So in this dream, you must learn as much as you can from me!"
"Huh? Just one night? In a dream? N-no, I can't do it. It's impossible. That's far too little time. How could I possibly manage?" Artoria protested that the demand was too much for her.
King Arthur smiled. "Don't worry. It may be one night, but time flows differently in dreams and in the real world. You have nine hours before you wake up. In the dream, every hour in the outside world will feel like three days here."
"Training in dreams is different from training in the real world, too. Here, your training speed will receive a tenfold boost. In other words, one hour you spend here is equivalent to a month of training."
"I've already planned it out. You'll train for eight of your nine hours of sleep, then rest for the remaining hour to recover from your mental exhaustion. That will give you the equivalent of 240 days of training."
"You are me, and your talent is already there. Training is simply a matter of reclaiming the power that belongs to you! So 240 days will be enough to master the fundamentals of swordsmanship, and after that, I'll teach you the skills I've mastered."
"When you wake up, you'll have mastered the fundamentals of supernatural power and gained the strength to protect what you cherish. You won't have to helplessly endure another attack by Mystery as you do now."
"Or would you rather, the next time you encounter Mystery or some other danger, watch helplessly as those evil creatures run amok, or even take someone important to you away?"
At her words, the scene from that night flashed through Artoria's mind.
The Songstress's attack. The way she'd killed the people protecting Artoria as easily as stepping on ants.
Then she imagined another possibility: the young man she cared about being killed mercilessly by Mystery in front of her as he tried to protect her.
Why would he protect her instead of running away? It was all a girl's fantasy, of course. Naturally she imagined the happy version.
She even vividly imagined the young man telling her to run just before he died.
Yes, it was a classic scene, the kind that appeared all the time in movies, TV shows, and anime.
She had spent so long in Yingzhou, deeply influenced by its popular culture. And how could a young girl not have a vivid imagination?
Though she found the fantasy ridiculous, and even felt a little moved by her own imagination, the chill that followed made her shiver from head to toe.
Then the girl's expression turned resolute, and for a moment she even seemed to embody the Divine Essence of King Arthur. "I don't want that! I don't want to watch someone I cherish come to harm right in front of me while I'm powerless to do anything! I want to be strong! Please, help me, my past self!"
Her words rang out, expressing her heartfelt resolve.
King Arthur smiled with relief at her answer, then grew solemn again. "Good. I can feel your determination! Now, let's begin! Pick up your sword and start training!"
Artoria said, "Yes!"
And so the training began.
Even though it was only dream training, exhaustion still set in, and the rough clothes made the girl deeply uncomfortable.
But this pampered princess had surprisingly strong willpower.
Once she'd made up her mind, no matter how hard or exhausting the training became, she gritted her teeth and endured.
Of course, there was fatigue and pain, and she instinctively wanted to give up. But whenever that happened, without needing King Arthur to urge her on, Artoria would picture the horrifying sight of losing someone important to her and force herself to keep going.
Her determination, and her will to protect, surprised even King Arthur.
Time passed quietly, and it passed slowly.
There was no need to sleep in the dream as there was in the real world. She only had to keep training; everything depended on willpower.
Clearly, the girl's willpower was far stronger than her delicate appearance suggested.
At last, when eight hours had passed in the real world and only one hour remained, the girl's consciousness had grown hazy from her long hours of training.
King Arthur came to stand before her and said gently, "Congratulations. You've completed your basic training. Now you can get some rest."
At those words, the girl swayed, then her body went limp and her eyes slowly closed. She collapsed.
In that instant, the dreamscape crumbled. King Arthur closed her eyes, too, and turned into specks of light that merged with Artoria.
The two became one completely, and Artoria inherited the legacy of King Arthur.
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