C255

Morgan looked at Shirou with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty. "Are you sure you want to hand over the throne to me?"

Shirou's face remained calm and composed. "Yes, I have carefully assessed the situation and have concluded that you are the best candidate to become the provisional heir to the throne."

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Provisional?" she repeated.

He nodded. "Yes, I will be closely observing your performance and if, at any point, I feel that you are not suitable for the role, I will withdraw my decision."

Her eyes narrowed, but she did not flinch. "Hmph! There is nothing that I desire that I cannot obtain."

She looked over at Artoria, who stood calmly beside her. "Don't worry, my dear sister," Morgan said with a hint of condescension. "Despite your past threats, I promise to treat you well when I inherit the throne."

Artoria nodded graciously. "Thank you, Sister."

Morgan couldn't help but feel a sense of unease at Artoria's sudden change in behavior. 'What's wrong with her?' Morgan wondered. 'She's usually silent and reserved at a time like this. Why is she being so polite all of a sudden?'

"You may leave now," Shirou said.

The two nodded in unison and turned to leave.

As they began to walk away, Artoria paused and turned back to face Shirou. "Your Majesty," she said hesitantly, "please take care of yourself."

Shirou acknowledged her words with a nod of his head.

As the two servants left the palace, Morgan turned to Artoria and posed a question. "Do you still wish to compete with me for the throne?"

Artoria shook her head with a calm expression. "No, Sister. The throne rightfully belongs to you," she replied before walking away.

Morgan watched Artoria's retreating figure, her brow furrowed in confusion. "What's going on?" she muttered to herself. "Defeating her and inheriting the throne should have been a joyous occasion. Why does it suddenly feel so hollow? Something's not right."

Days passed, and Morgan diligently followed Guinevere to learn the intricacies of governance. The task proved to be more challenging than she had expected, as many of the practices were vastly different from what she had learned during her royal education. Despite feeling overwhelmed and struggling to understand certain concepts, Morgan persevered and remained determined to succeed.

As the inheritor of the island's power, it was her duty to rule Camelot. Failure was not an option.

With the throne destined to fall into her hands, Morgan no longer felt the need to keep an eye on the royal bloodline. Her focus now was solely on mastering the skills necessary to govern the island.

But...

Shirou held up a hand to stop Morgan from approaching any further. "Don't come any closer. We can talk from where you stand."

"Why not? I have no intention of seizing your bloodline," Morgan retorted, standing fifteen steps away from the king.

He deftly changed the topic, "Is there anything you're struggling to understand about governing the island?"

Morgan pointed to Artoria, who stood nearby. "Why is she allowed to approach you then?" she demanded.

"Artoria is my knight," Shirou explained calmly.

Morgan protested loudly. "But I'm your heir and mage! Why can't I get closer?"

He let out a deep sigh. "If you take off all your potions and promise not to do anything reckless, then you may come closer."

"Okay, I understand." Morgan nodded, a smile on her lips as she made her way towards the king.

'Yes, that's more like it!' Morgan exclaimed inwardly, eager to learn from Shirou. 'Your wisdom will be the cornerstone of the Pendragon family's glory!'

She was overwhelmed with happiness at the prospect of gaining knowledge from the king himself.

However, her elation was short-lived when she noticed Artoria standing nearby with a composed expression. Morgan couldn't shake the feeling that her sister had not given up on the throne.

Otherwise, why would she also take notes seriously when she was absorbing the king's wisdom? Morgan wondered. 'Is she still vying for the throne?'

"Hmph," Morgan sneered at the thought of her sneaky and foolish sister. She was confident that the war for the throne was already decided in her favor.

Despite her self-assured demeanor, Morgan couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss with her sister. Artoria seemed different than she had been a year ago, and Morgan couldn't quite put her finger on why.

When she returned from Cornwall, she didn't bring many people with her. But Artoria returned from Tintagel with a group of female servants and children. It's all so strange.

Morgan couldn't quite put her finger on what was bothering her. Sometimes, when Artoria looked at the king, Morgan felt a sense of unease, but she couldn't explain why.

Regardless, Morgan remained convinced that her sister was plotting something to overthrow her and claim the throne. 'Hmph, foolish sister,' Morgan thought to herself. 'Your plans have already been exposed by me. You won't succeed in your schemes!'

Morgan decided to secretly investigate her sister and see what kind of plot she was playing.

...

Six months had passed since Morgan had begun her lessons with Guinevere, and during that time, Shirou had been quietly amassing his strength. He had been seeking allies through his envoys to help him deal with the Roman Empire.

The Holy Church in the Eastern Roman Empire had already pledged their support, as had the Visigothic Kingdoms, Burgundians, Vandals, and other groups who had split from the Western Roman Empire and were forced to join forces with Shirou.

In the past few years, the Western Roman Empire's efforts to recapture lost territories had intensified. The various factions seeking independence in the region were in desperate need of consolidating their forces and forming an alliance to counterattack the Western Roman Empire and preserve their freedom.

Amidst this turmoil, the rising power of the Camelot dynasty had become a favorable option for many. Their strength and resources made them a valuable ally in the struggle against their oppressors.

However, there was one key player who had yet to respond to Shirou's calls for support: Attila. Despite his repeated attempts to establish contact, Attila had remained silent and had not even met with his envoys.

In addition to Attila, Shirou had also tried to make contact with the two Counter Force. However, they proved unresponsive. These mechanisms had no personality and served only as a defensive measure. Alaya would only appear when humanity's survival was at stake, and in recent years, he had not faced any major threats that warranted the intervention of Alaya.

Sometimes, when Shirou connected with Rhongomyniad, he would receive responses from the planet. However, these messages mostly encouraged him to merge with nature, which he had not yet agreed to.

Shirou believed that the reason the planet responded to him was likely due to their communications with Rhongomyniad. He had shared everything he knew about Crimson Moon with the planet, including Altrouge's revelation that after destroying the Sword of Promised Victory that Shirou had sent her, Crimson Moon had begun to harm the planet in preparation for creating a new order.

He believed that this information may have prompted the planet to respond to him, as it was in the planet's best interest to prevent Crimson Moon's plans from coming to fruition.

Prior to Shirou's transmission of information about Crimson Moon's new order and recent actions towards the planet, the planet may have continued to indulge in the dream woven by Crimson Moon. However, after receiving this vital information, the planet became suspicious and began to scrutinize the situation more closely.

As an entity with no discernible personality, the planet functioned like a supercomputer, automatically judging what was harmful or harmless to itself.

Rhongomyniad is like a data cable that connects Shirou and the planet, allowing Shirou to turn his language and information into code that the planet can understand, and leaving it up to the planet to judge whether it is harmful.

Undoubtedly, the planet's suspicions were aroused by Crimson Moon's actions. Is this a virus scanner or a foreign Trojan horse disguised as a virus scanner?

On this particular day, Shirou once again connected with the planet's will through Rhongomyniad, conveying his ideals to it through his consciousness. He had grown accustomed to being ignored by the planet, but this time was different. The planet posed a question to him directly, in a way that he could understand.

"Who will care for me? Who will protect me?"

Shirou realized that this was not merely a personification of the planet, but rather its instinctual desire for self-preservation that was conveyed to him through Rhongomyniad.

Without hesitation, he replied, "Humans."

"Humans only harm me. They inhabit my body and destroy it. I have already foreseen my own demise – a lifeless planet with a shattered sky. I... I want to live."

"Don't you see the essence of humans?"

"What essence?" the planet asked.

"The essence of the planet itself includes a part of humanity," Shirou replied. "Humans are creatures that can adapt and progress, evolving from a primitive state to a civilized one, from a low-level to a high-level. The planet is the home of humans, and humans will naturally defend their homes."

"But all I see is harm," the planet lamented.

Shirou responded, "Isn't what I'm doing another possibility? Humans and the environment can coexist harmoniously and achieve sustainable development. For humans, green hills and clean water are as valuable as gold and silver! Have you heard the saying, 'Man abides by the laws of the earth, the earth abides by the laws of the heavens, the heavens abides by the laws of the natural order, and the natural order abides by the flow of nature!'?"

He passed on these ideas of philosophy, which emphasize living in harmony with nature and promoting sustainable development, to the planet through the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad.

Most importantly, just like how Crimson Moon had deceived the planet, Shirou also painted a beautiful blueprint for the planet. Although he was unaware of the new order that Crimson Moon had deceived the planet with, he created a particularly compelling vision for the planet.

In Shirou's vision, humans and all things followed their natural inclinations, reaching a state of equality, harmony, and unity between heaven and man, where all things coexisted naturally and in harmony.

Whether or not this ideal state could be achieved was a question for another time. For now, he focused on tricking the planet with his vision, just as Crimson Moon had done before him.

"So, humans can coexist harmoniously with the planet," Shirou concluded with a smile.

"I see," the planet replied.

He was relieved that his efforts had finally paid off, but then the planet made an unexpected offer.

"Become my limbs and be my guardian. In exchange, I'll give you unlimited magical energy!"

Shirou's face stiffened at the proposition, and then he slowly spat out a single word: "Get lost!"