Challenge Letter

The Green Knight had arrived.

From man to horse, from clothing to skin and even beard, he was bright green from head to toe. By all rights, he should not have been considered human, yet he held a knight's great axe and appeared at Arthur's court dressed as a knight.

He was a knight.

That was how he styled himself, and at the court of the knight-king, the Knights of the Round Table had no choice but to treat him according to knightly etiquette and customs.

To treat this uninvited guest of theirs as such.

King Arthur stepped before the Green Knight and met his gaze. In the banquet hall, only the confrontation between these two knights remained.

The Green Knight, whose body was already like that of a half-giant, sat atop his horse. To everyone watching, it looked as though an adult were meeting with a child.

Logically, such a sight should have damaged King Arthur's dignity. Yet as he stood there, King Arthur possessed a bearing all his own and did not seem inferior in the slightest.

The Green Knight took out a letter sealed with red wax. Without saying a word, he handed it over. Whether in manner or conduct, he looked exactly like a true "human" knight.

Was this monster challenging King Arthur?

The Knights of the Round Table could not help thinking so, wishing they could take his place. Yet they all knew that was impossible. Once the letter had been delivered to King Arthur, it meant this was a duel between knights.

King Arthur was both a king and a knight.

Though the Knights of the Round Table had ranks, their status among themselves was fundamentally equal.

For under the code of chivalry, the status of any knight was equal to another's.

Thus, when King Arthur and the knight before him dealt with one another as knights, they stood as equals. Even if one side was not human, the rules of knighthood still had to be followed.

"I'll do it!" Queen Guinevere came to King Arthur's side, took the letter from his hand, broke the wax seal, and prepared to read its contents aloud.

Just as King Arthur had said in his New Year address that he wished to hear poems and stories from Camelot, rather than poems from Rome, it was enough to show the distorted development of the Kingdom of Camelot at this time.

Politically, it might have been a powerful nation, and militarily, it was unmatched. Yet culturally, it was a barren wasteland.

So much so that King Arthur wanted to use Gawain's achievements in poetry and literature as grounds to confer upon him the title of literary knight.

"It's in Latin!" Queen Guinevere whispered to King Arthur.

The languages popular in this era included not only Latin, French, German, Spanish, Lombard, Greek, Norman, and Norse. Even in the remote land of Britain, there were distinctions between English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish. The Druids of the old faith even had their own scripts and languages used internally.

The vast majority of the Knights of the Round Table, whom King Arthur took such pride in, were illiterate. Naturally, Arthur himself was among the majority of those illiterate knights.

It should be said that knights in the Knights of the Round Table with even basic literary education were few and far between.

If the Green Knight had written his challenge letter in some local dialect, then a king unable to read it would become a laughingstock.

Of course, in the eyes of the knights, this was not a joke.

Of the seven knightly arts—riding, spear and swordsmanship, wrestling, swimming, poetry, music, and chess—not one besides poetry had anything to do with literacy. They could all understand that, but as the sacred embodiment of the people, a king clearly could not possess such a flaw.

This task had always been handled by the learned queen. Even if the queen could not read it, no knight would mock a woman, while a queen who could read such letters often earned even greater respect.

"Oh! Great King, please allow me to challenge you. On this joyful day of Christmas, allow me to join your celebration and partake in this Christmas game of friendship.

"Arthur's reputation has reached even me, who comes from another world. People say that the most glorious, most honored, and bravest knights in the world all reside in Arthur's court.

"Now send forth the bravest and mightiest knight under your command. Let him step forward, take up his weapon, bear his honor, and see whether he can harm me. Whoever harms me may take my weapon, and honor and wealth alike shall be his.

"The winner must also promise that if he harms me, then on Christmas one year from now, he must come seek me out. Travel north for six days, to the Green Chapel, and kneel there to find me. At that time, I will return the injury in full. Then we shall depart with trust and friendship between us.

"Now, who wishes to challenge me?"

Queen Guinevere read out the contents of the challenge letter. Yet unlike her usual sweet voice, the words now came from her mouth in a deep, hoarse man's voice. Watching this, some of the Knights of the Round Table impulsively drew their swords. Clearly, the queen had been controlled by the other party's magic.

After Queen Guinevere had read every word of the letter, she regained consciousness and looked blankly at the agitated knights, utterly confused.

"Someone, escort the queen away to rest!" King Arthur ordered the queen's attendants with a dark expression. But Guinevere shook her head in refusal and said firmly, "No. I want to watch. If the king does not leave, neither will the queen."

The nobles present cheered the queen's actions. Though she had borne the king no heir, her charm and character had still earned the respect of the people of Camelot.

"If you wish to test yourself against me in combat, then you will certainly not be disappointed. Any one of the Knights of the Round Table present will bravely accept your challenge. Even if you choose me, I can ensure you leave satisfied! Arthur and Arthur's knights fear no challenge!"

King Arthur spoke calmly, yet his words rang like iron, filled with powerful conviction.

The challenge letter read aloud by the queen had left King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table with no room to retreat.

Though they had never claimed that the bravest knights were all gathered at Arthur's court, this reputation had spread not only through Camelot and Europe, but had even reached knights from another world. Since the other party had challenged them on those grounds, he had undoubtedly placed the entire Arthurian dynasty over the fire.

They absolutely could not deny the courage of themselves and their knights. Therefore, they could only bravely accept his challenge.

"Ridiculous. You are all beardless children. I am as ancient as your ancestor Brutus. I possess eternal life, an immortal body. If I were serious, there would not be a single man here capable of fighting me.

"That is why I have come in friendship. All I ask of you is a game—a Christmas game.

"Any man with courage may take up his weapon and strike me once upon the head. You may take my weapon, that great axe, but the condition is exactly as I stated in the letter: one year and one day from now, come to the Green Chapel to find me and receive the same strike from me."

The Green Knight spoke slowly, his accent carrying the flavor of a southern English dialect. Yet through the power of magic, everyone could understand what he meant.

My God!

The women present cried out as they clutched their children. Everyone finally understood what kind of game this Christmas game proposed by the green monster truly was.

It was a game of cutting off each other's heads to test one's courage.

"I had long heard that the Arthurian dynasty's fame resounded far and wide, that Camelot was without equal, and that the Knights of the Round Table were the bravest in the world. That is why I have come from afar. I am not challenging Arthur, nor any individual knight. I am challenging your Camelot, challenging the Arthurian dynasty. Do you intend to let me leave disappointed?"

"Knights of the Round Table, where is your pride and your spirit of conquest?

"And where is your courage, your wrath, and your boasting?

"The Round Table's revelry and fame have vanished

the moment one man spoke.

Before blades have even crossed, you are so frightened

that none of you dares make a sound."

The Green Knight burst into loud laughter. He mocked not only King Arthur, but also King Arthur's supposedly brave and mighty Knights of the Round Table.

Gawain watched the unrestrained Green Knight. This monster was using his immortal body to bully the Knights of the Round Table so shamelessly. Gawain wanted to step forward and speak, but he lacked the courage.

He could not remember how Gawain had defeated the Green Knight in the original story. But even if he did defeat him, he would be doomed to die a year later. Bound by the spirit of chivalry, any knight who struck the other party once had to accept a return blow.

Gawain chickened out. He remained seated, unlike the Knights of the Round Table who had risen to their feet. His backside seemed fused to his chair.

Yet some mysterious force apparently did not want Gawain to remain a coward.

With a bang, the chair launched Gawain like a cannonball, sending him directly before King Arthur and the Green Knight.

"Gawain, you... you are truly brave!" King Arthur said with a surprised expression.

"It seems my challenger is you, boy!" The Green Knight smiled in satisfaction.