Bai Ming: Wait, if you say that now, then wouldn't I know? Even if it's a simulation...
Bai Ming: In reality, you just made a fake body of mine in Chaldea and tossed it onto a bed, then sent me to fifth-century Britain, right?
Bai Ming: After all, in the simulation, a lot of absurd things happened the moment I thought of them. In other words, this simulation is really just letting my consciousness pilot my own body...
Bai Ming: Ah, no, that's still not quite right. It should be that you simply threw me into the past, but to keep me from being affected by time, you chose a method that let me operate it like an EVA. Then when I die, you send that fake body over there, right?
The simulator system froze for several seconds after Bai Ming's remarks.
System: That description is inaccurate, but close enough. Anyway, onegai! Just pretend you don't know!
Bai Ming: Okay... I guess?
The subtitles continued appearing, while memories and images kept flooding into Bai Ming's mind.
You beat up Mordred, giving her a perfect childhood and teaching her firsthand what it meant for a father's love to be as crushing as a landslide.
System: ...
Bai Ming: Hehe?
Mordred still refused to accept it. Since she could not beat you physically, she wanted to argue with you instead. Gawain tried to stop Mordred, but his younger brother—your other son, Gaheris Jo Brando—stopped him.
It seemed that every Second Jo had some kind of problem, no matter the world.
Your argument with Mordred began.
Bai Ming could not help but marvel at the strength of Morgan's mother Igraine's genes.
Even with Mordred, that face was still unmistakably a Takeuchi-face. Together with that head of blond hair, if she did not tie it up, she looked exactly like Morgan before she began studying magecraft—though Morgan and Artoria had the same face as well.
Bai Ming said, "You look very unconvinced, my daughter."
"Of course I am!"
Mordred's tone was far from pleasant. After all, Bai Ming had just pinned her down and beaten her.
"Father, you were already king. Why did you give the throne to that wet-behind-the-ears brat? Giving it to her would be worse than giving it to me!"
In her view, her eldest brother Gawain had no interest in inheriting the throne. Her second brother Gaheris was far too flighty, while her third brother Agravain was too rigid and only suited to being a steward.
There were five children in the family. The first three were all unfit for the position, leaving only her, the fourth child, qualified to inherit.
Yet her father had handed the enormous Kingdom of Camelot to some stranger who looked somewhat like her and was only a little older.
How could that not infuriate her?
What angered Mordred even more was that her father had beaten her up for an outsider.
Bai Ming spoke calmly. "My daughter, you should mind your tone a little."
The fuming Mordred covered her still-aching backside. She thought Bai Ming kept calling her his daughter to use his status against her, so she shouted, "Duke Joslin Brando, call me Sir Mordred!"
The moment she said it, Mordred regretted it. Speaking to her father like that would definitely earn her a beating. Earlier, Brother Gaheris had provoked their father in just this manner and been punished on the spot.
"Are you shouting at me, Mordred... Sir?"
The moment the word "Sir" left Bai Ming's mouth, Mordred knew she was in trouble.
A sense of danger engulfed Mordred. She abruptly twisted aside, only for Bai Ming's palm to land squarely on her backside.
Then Bai Ming grabbed her by the back of her neck, the nape of fate.
Mordred shouted, "Father, I was wrong!"
"Sir Mordred, you have no father here. There is only me, Bai Ming—Count Joslin Brando!"
The sound of an Ansai waist drum accompanied Mordred's cries of pain. After Bai Ming finally let her go, Gaheris mocked Mordred for bringing it upon herself.
Mordred was taught another lesson for yelling at you. Afterward, you brought her into the court to help you handle the governmental affairs Artoria did not want to deal with.
One week later.
Mordred's rebellious spirit had been completely broken.
"Father, I was wrong."
Inside the magecraft study you had built with Morgan, Mordred came to find you herself.
It was rare for the girl to apologize of her own accord. Though there was still a trace of displeasure on her face, she fidgeted beside Bai Ming for a long while before finally asking, "But I don't understand. Does being king really have to be this exhausting? Then why do so many nobles want to seize King Arthur's position? And why do those arrogant nobles all become quiet after you enter the court? No matter how you look at it... Father, you're better suited to be..."
"Enough, Mordred."
Bai Ming's tone turned sharp and grave. "You said it yourself. What they desire is status, and status often represents power. But because you have never sat in that position, you do not know that it carries more than status and power. It also carries responsibility."
Mordred still wanted to argue. Even if she did not become king, no matter how she looked at it, her father was more suited to rule than the current Artoria.
"Be quiet and listen to me. The war between the White Dragon and the Red Dragon has never ceased. Sitting in that position means constantly fighting that ambitious White Dragon... I began resisting the White Dragon back when King Uther was alive. In that position, you have to balance the military, the economy, your reputation. You sleep late and rise early, and you must deal with those nobles. It is endlessly troublesome.
"Those nobles fear me because I truly would confiscate their homes and exterminate their families. Even though they have considerable forces of their own, they do not dare act too wildly, because I really might decide on a whim to drag them down with me."
Even after more than ten years, your eldest son Gawain, who possessed the blessing of the sun and had inherited your Unyielding Bravery talent, was still no match for you beneath sunlight. You remained the most valiant warrior in the Kingdom of Camelot.
Mordred understood that clearly, but she also knew that you would gradually grow old. In terms of Unyielding Bravery, she was no weaker than Gawain, so she made a request of you.
Mordred fell silent. Then she asked, "Father, please train me as a knight, like you—a valiant warrior capable of conquering in battle."
"If that is what you want."
"And, Father, why did you call yourself 'Bai Ming' when you spanked me a week ago?"
"If you want to know, I will tell you that too."
You agreed to teach Mordred and told her that Bai Ming was your true name, while Joslin Brando was only the name you used here. Mordred did not fully understand and did not take it to heart.
You threw the position of Secretary of State to Kay, Sir Ector's son.
But Artoria was unwilling to simply let you leave the court, so she appointed you Palace Guard Captain—originally, another knight who had followed King Uther held that post, but Artoria transferred him under Sir Blastus, who was in charge of border military affairs.
Expedition
The first thing you taught Mordred was chivalry, though you did not possess the slightest bit of it yourself. So you told Mordred that she could consider chivalry only in one-on-one duels. On the battlefield, no one cared whether she had principles or not. As long as she could kill the enemy and ensure her own survival, any move was acceptable.
When Morgan heard that you intended to personally teach Mordred, she deliberately watched from the side. But when she saw you teaching Mordred about chivalry, she laughed so hard she nearly doubled over and viciously mocked you. You bore a grudge over it.
Mordred awakened a talent.
Then you taught Mordred how to use a sword.
That night, you entered Morgan fiercely as punishment. Afterward, you discovered that Morgan had deliberately mocked you just to trick you into sleeping with her. You felt deeply annoyed and became even rougher.
Then you taught Mordred unarmed combat and mounted slashing, before arranging daily physical training and practical combat training for her.
During the years you trained Mordred, Artoria began mobilizing troops to conquer the other regions of Britain. She quickly conquered the entire northern region. Whenever Artoria went out on campaign, she entrusted the entire country to you once more.
Morgan was dissatisfied with this, because whenever you began managing the Kingdom of Camelot, the time you spent sleeping with her at night decreased. Morgan believed Artoria relied on you too heavily. She thought Artoria should cultivate her own faction instead of using King Uther's old knights to death.
Not long afterward, King Arthur returned from her expedition and planned to hold a banquet in Camelot on Pentecost. She invited King Lot of Lothian and Orkney, King Urien of Gore, King Nantres of Garlot, King Carados, and the young King of Scotland.
After you had more or less finished training Mordred, Artoria transferred you from Palace Guard Captain to Minister of War. Though you were called the Minister of War, you still frequently had to deal with state affairs. Your third son Agravain took over your former position as Palace Guard Captain.
Pentecost, also known as Whitsun, was the fiftieth day after Easter.
On Pentecost, the invited kings brought many knights with them.
King Lot brought five hundred knights, King Urien brought four hundred, King Nantres brought seven hundred, the King of Scotland brought six hundred, King Carados brought five hundred, and an uninvited "King of a Hundred Knights" brought only one hundred elite knights.
That made a total of two thousand eight hundred knights.
You believed they had come with ill intent, but Artoria believed they had come to attend the banquet out of love and admiration for her. Excitedly, she ordered Lord Chamberlain Ulfius, who managed court etiquette, to send messengers bearing gifts to the kings and knights before they reached Camelot.
However, not only did those kings and knights refuse the gifts, they humiliated the messengers Artoria had sent.
They said Arthur was lowborn and wet behind the ears. Not only did they refuse Arthur's gifts, they said they would return a sword at Arthur's throat instead. They lamented that Arthur ruled such magnificent lands and considered it an insult to themselves that Arthur occupied such territory.
The words the messengers brought back were so ugly and vicious that Artoria nearly broke down on the spot upon hearing them.
She summoned you, Ulfius, Brastias, Merlin, and Morgan.
Morgan was her elder half-sister on her mother's side, while you and Merlin were family who had watched her grow up and guided her to this day. Moreover, you, Merlin, Ulfius, and Brastias were the ministers King Uther had entrusted with his daughter.
After briefly giving instructions to Ulfius and Brastias, Artoria dismissed them, leaving only you, Merlin, and Morgan behind. Then she began to sob quietly.
"Your Majesty... you should not cry."
As Merlin spoke, he glanced at Bai Ming twice, clearly meaning: You should never have allowed Artoria to retain such girlish feelings. You should have forged her under pressure into a qualified candidate for kingship.
Bai Ming glared at Merlin as well. Something that barely counted as human had the nerve to criticize others over teaching people. So Bai Ming said, "If Lily wants to cry, let her cry. There are no outsiders here."
Merlin and Bai Ming had been contradicting each other for ages, so Morgan did not care in the slightest.
Morgan's hair had long turned silver-white while studying magecraft, making her entire temperament far colder than when she had blond hair.
Morgan said, "Crying will solve nothing. Arthur, once you sit in that position, you must be prepared to face everything."
"In my opinion..." Merlin drawled before saying, "Duke Joslin has not been especially active outside in recent years. In addition, Duke Joslin's eldest son, Gawain Jo Brando, has gained great fame in recent years and earned the title of Camelot's foremost knight. Those kings likely mistook that for Duke Joslin's death, which is why they have begun to stir."
"You're trying to put my husband back on the throne again."
Morgan narrowed her eyes at Merlin. "Do not think I don't know it was you who kept proclaiming that Arthur would eventually unite Wales, England, and Scotland. Otherwise, those people would not be so arrogant."
"Oh my, oh my."
Merlin remained smiling, which only made Morgan even more furious.
The two immediately began arguing.
Perhaps because of Bai Ming, Morgan launched personal attacks against Merlin from the perspectives of his race, parents, and more. Her words were so venomous that even the crying Artoria stopped sobbing for a moment and stared blankly at Morgan.
"Enough. Stop arguing!"
Bai Ming's emotionless words made the entire court's atmosphere turn oppressive.
You comforted Artoria and said everything would be handled, but made her promise to become stronger and stop calling for you, Morgan, and Merlin whenever something happened.
At the same time, you wondered whether it was because of you that Artoria, who could independently lead troops to pacify the northern regions, still retained some fragility deep down.
Artoria agreed.
You set out with Morgan, Gawain, Gaheris, Mordred, and numerous knights and soldiers.
Before setting out, you instructed your close friend Ulfius to keep watch over the other nobles in the city. If you never returned, or if you sent word that military intelligence had been leaked, he was to immediately slaughter the entire families of the nobles in Camelot who had long harbored dissatisfaction, then hand their wealth, provisions, and lands to Artoria.
You divided your forces into two routes. You, Morgan, and Mordred took one route, while Gawain and Gaheris took the other, launching an attack against the kings.
Vortigern: English profanity Are You Insane?!
You divided your forces into two routes.
Gawain had inherited your martial prowess, and with quick-witted Gaheris beside him, Gawain's forces soon smashed the kings' armies into disarray, driving them back again and again.
Your side also routed the enemy. In the blink of an eye, the kings had been defeated, leaving only the King of a Hundred Knights and the young King of England.
You and Morgan led your troops against the King of a Hundred Knights and the King of England on a plain.
The moment you saw the young king, you sensed something was wrong.
"The King of England should not be him. I fought alongside King Uther against Vortigern for many years, and I know well that all of England is under Vortigern's control. This young man is a trap. No, it would be more accurate to say that I fell into the trap the moment I led my troops out."
Bai Ming said, "Morgan, return to Camelot immediately. Tell Merlin. Tell King Arthur to prepare herself. Vortigern is about to attack."
Morgan did not care. "If it is a trap, then I am stronger than you. I should be the one to stay."
"No, Morgan. It is precisely because you are strong that I am making you leave."
Bai Ming's tone was resolute. "I fought Vortigern beside the king for many years. I know how he deploys his troops, and I know how he would set this up. You are strong, so you can survive. You can bring me hope of living."
Morgan said worriedly, "You have never had a suitable weapon. Your weapons are not advantageous against the King of a Hundred Knights and the King of England."
"Then they are not advantageous." Bai Ming said, "I entrust my life to you."
Morgan took two deep breaths and said, "You have secrets from me. You have hidden them from me for more than ten years... Mordred said Joslin is only your name here, and that your original name is Bai Ming. I thought your black hair and black eyes meant you were Roman, but it seems that is not the case."
"Do you have to bring this up now?" Bai Ming said helplessly. "I'll tell you after I return."
At your repeated insistence, Morgan finally ran toward Camelot.
Mordred asked why you would not withdraw your troops. If you withdrew, then whatever scheme Vortigern had prepared would become useless.
You told Mordred that once the troops had been deployed, only victory remained. It was not something you pursued, but something necessary to protect King Arthur's throne and reputation. Defeat, or retreating without fighting, would severely shake King Arthur's position after she had already faced one attempt to force her from the throne. Therefore, you could not retreat.
Mordred could not understand this at all.
"Father, are you really that loyal to that little girl?"
Before you continue