Artoria's Royal Path

Tohsaka Estate.

Everyone gathered inside. Fortunately, the Tohsaka Estate was spacious enough that they weren't too cramped.

"Alright, let me recap. As far as we know, the Masters in this Holy Grail War include two Saber Masters—one is me, the other is Emiya. As for Archer, that's you, Rin. Lancer's Master was originally Bazett, but now it's Kirei Kotomine. Rider's Master is Sakura. Caster, Assassin, and Berserker—those three Servants are still unknown, and their Masters are unknown too."

"The Einzbern are definitely participating in this Holy Grail War, so that leaves only two Servants who might not have been summoned yet, or could be hiding in the shadows without showing themselves."

Yu Feng spoke. In truth, he already knew exactly who all the Servants in this Holy Grail War were, but to avoid drawing strange looks from the others, he figured it was fine to just lay out the current situation for now.

Rin Tohsaka said helplessly, "Setting aside the weird part—two of the same class appearing in one Holy Grail War—I just want to know why all the Masters are people I know!"

"Saber's Master is my classmate! Rider's Master is my sister! Lancer's Master is that old priest! I just want to know who else isn't someone I recognize!"

Caster's Master is still your teacher, too.

Yu Feng silently complained in his mind.

Tell me a joke: all six Masters in this Holy Grail War are close acquaintances—so close they couldn't be closer.

You could even eat them up. Lol, jpg.

"You guys keep chatting. I need some quiet."

Yu Feng asked at just the right moment, "Who's Quiet?"

Rin Tohsaka shot Yu Feng a fierce glare. "I said I need some quiet!"

With that, Rin Tohsaka turned and headed straight to her room without looking back.

Seeing this, Sakura Matou spoke weakly, "It's getting late, so I'll go to bed now. Senior Yu, you should get some rest too."

A gentle smile curled at the corner of Yu Feng's mouth. "Alright, Sakura. Go get some sleep."

Once Sakura had left, Yu Feng instantly reverted to his previous expression.

Yu Feng: Why do I feel like I've got a creepy uncle vibe?

No, you don't. That's just your imagination.

Shirou Emiya dematerialized and vanished from the spot.

Yu Feng, along with Artoria and Little Mo, all silently turned their gazes to the last person left in the room—Shirou Emiya.

Shirou Emiya, sensing the awkward situation, gave an embarrassed smile. "Well then, I'll be heading back first."

With that, Shirou Emiya wasted no time slipping out of the place, not even managing to ask the many questions he'd had about the Holy Grail War.

After Shirou Emiya left, only Yu Feng and the other three remained in the room, and the atmosphere fell into an awkward silence.

It was Artoria who finally broke the silence first. "Feng, what you told me before..."

Before she could finish, Yu Feng quickly stopped her. "Stop! I don't really know much about the Holy Grail War from ten years ago, because the me right now hasn't experienced it yet. It must have been a future version of me who got summoned there. First, tell me what I said to you before, so I can get a clearer picture."

Hearing this, Artoria glanced at Little Mo, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly began, "It was like this..."

Artoria roughly summarized the question Yu Feng had posed to her during the Fourth Holy Grail War.

It turned out that during the Fourth Holy Grail War, Yu Feng had given Artoria a question about ruling a nation.

She didn't go into full detail, as if she didn't want to reveal everything.

As for the question Yu Feng had given her, Artoria had thought it over for a long time before arriving at what she believed to be the correct answer.

"I suppose I was a failed king. My reason for wanting the Holy Grail is still the same as in the Fourth Holy Grail War. But I've found an answer to the question you gave me."

"A king should work for the people's welfare and be revered by them."

"That is my answer."

Yu Feng shook his head slightly. In his view, Artoria's King's Path wasn't wrong.

It was just that Artoria's endpoint was mistaken—trying to correct her own mistakes by denying everything she had done.

Giving everything to the nation and the people wasn't wrong either.

But a king without desire is by no means a true king.

A king should bear the burdens of the people, clearly see their needs, and take them as his own desires. A king should also have a desire of his own—not be a king without wants or needs.

If a king has no desires, what difference is there between being a king and being a puppet?

None at all!

Just a puppet with consciousness!

Back then, at the so-called Banquet of Kings, Iskandar disagreed with Artoria's King's Path. But every king has their own path.

Still, Iskandar's disagreement was also valid.

It's just that within Artoria's King's Path, there were things that were right and things that were wrong.

After Britain fell, Artoria's King's Path strayed from its original course.

Why was Artoria called the King of Knights?

It was because before she became a king, she was still a knight. And sometimes, Artoria would view matters through a knight's perspective rather than a king's.

Moreover, Artoria was worthy of being followed and recognized by all the knights of Britain, which is why she was called the King of Knights.

During the era of Britain, Artoria had set aside her womanly heart to become a king, but in doing so, she also lost her understanding of people's hearts.

Note that this "not understanding people's hearts" does not mean Artoria was truly ignorant of human emotions, but rather that her perception of things had become shackled by outdated thinking.

Otherwise, the incident involving Lancelot would never have been triggered.

In the end, it was all a conflict sparked by the so-called "King Arthur's failure to understand people's hearts."

But in truth, Artoria's path of kingship was not entirely wrong—at the very least, her actions themselves were not mistaken.