[18] Uncontainable Happiness

A pot of clear stew could never satisfy the abyss-like stomach of the King's stomach.

Alvin, attempting to corrode Artoria with sugar-coated bullets, opened up his food supply. Various carefully collected wild ingredients emerged from the shadows, appearing like a miraculous bounty. The girl's eyes sparkled at the sight.

"I can afford to treat you to a meal, these ingredients are all gathered from the forest, so no need to worry about the cost."

"I... how can this be a kind gesture..."

Half an hour later.

"Burp~"

The golden-haired girl, after enjoying the meal and berries, finally lay back on the haystack, contentedly letting out a satisfied burp.

"Ah... I've never been this satisfied in my whole life. Even if I were to die now, I'd have no regrets."

"Is that so..."

Alvin looked at the depleted inventory in his storage shadow, which was enough to feed three adult men for half a month.

Well, the truth behind the fall of Britain has been found.

"What an enviable appetite you have."

Indeed, being able to eat is a blessing.

However... looking at Artoria's figure, which was as lean as a man's, where did all these fats go?

A mystery of Britain that remains unsolved.

But as the saying goes, without a flat chest, how can one support the world below?

Perhaps it's because she harbors a vision of world peace...

Sitting by the girl's side, Alvin lightly wiped the notches on the sword.

While broken wooden swords were scattered everywhere, the one he picked up had been used from start to finish, without a visible crack.

Mastering enhancement magecraft could turn anything into a weapon. Alvin's shadow attribute could add characteristics like 'concealment,' 'silence,' and 'visual distortion' to it. Although it didn't match the unmatched sharpness of a Noble Phantasm, it could be considered a masterful weapon.

Altogether, Artoria fell into a disadvantage in this aspect... during the collision of the sword bodies, Alvin's magical power eroded hers, leading to a deterioration of the sword when the battle was prolonged.

"I believe you've noticed it yourself. The gap between us is not as exaggerated as it seems. Although my swordsmanship is more advanced than yours, the reason you lose is that you are too conservative, Artorius, you always focus on defense and rarely use aggressive moves."

The girl tilted her head.

"But you're not my enemy, Alvin. If you accidentally get hurt, I'll be troubled in dealing with it."

"What about you getting hurt?" Alvin questioned, "It's okay if others get hurt, but it doesn't matter if you get hurt yourself?"

"I can recover. Let me tell you a secret: I'm naturally resilient to beatings~"

Wiping the bloodstains off her face with rough burlap, her words were carefree yet filled with joy, as if she had no regrets about being defeated.

Alvin fell silent for a moment.

It's this kind of personality, not considering oneself, that leads to your tragedy...

"Being so happy after being beaten, do you have any peculiar hobbies?"

"Of course."

The girl naturally didn't understand Alvin's teasing, smiling and saying, "Because it's really happy to make friends... not to mention you treated me to a meal."

Hearing this, Alvin couldn't help but pause.

"Friends..."

"Even though I mercilessly beat you so miserably, do you think I'm your friend?"

"You obviously held back in taking care of me, even I, as dull as I am, can see that~"

Looking at her radiant smile.

Alvin shifted his gaze away.

...Held back?

No, it's more like discovering an interesting toy and wanting to break it...

Faced with the girl's answer, he couldn't bear to look directly into those clear, jewel-like eyes.

"Considering the situation here, you've been training alone for a long time, haven't you..."

The silver-haired youth lowered his eyelids, attempting to change the topic.

"Artorius, don't tell me you don't have any friends?"

"It's a bit embarrassing to say, but unlike you, Sir... I don't have any attractive qualities to be popular."

It sounded like humble words.

To some extent, it was the truth.

Excessive beauty only brought about jealousy among peers.

Moreover, because of her special status, she was well aware that she couldn't flaunt it.

As she described herself...

"I don't have any attractive qualities."

Plain and low-key, these were the qualities that allowed the girl to live each day peacefully.

...Her origin is both complex and unique.

Why did she live her life disguised as a man? Why did she start practicing swordsmanship, learning state affairs, and being advised to abandon human emotions since childhood?

Because... the girl was expected to become Britain's ideal king.

Weak humans have limits.

Uther, defeated by Vortigern, understood this.

So, if it wasn't human, perhaps it could surpass the limitations of being human, discard the troubles of being human.

Thus, following this train of thought, Uther and Merlin attempted to create an ideal king to rule Britain perfectly.

She was created for this purpose, a vessel belonging to the king...

For this reason, the girl never saw the true faces of her parents.

In fact, she couldn't insert any emotions regarding the hopes or desires of the late King Uther.

For the daily teachings from her teacher Merlin, she didn't feel any special duty or moved.

Over these eleven years, the only thing that constantly motivated her was her foster father and foster brother, the ordinary days they spent together, and the joyful laughter of the people living in the town.

...But that wasn't admiration or love.

It was just because she wanted to protect this peace, something she considered a good deed.

Without indignation, without questioning, and without any resentment...

The girl calmly accepted her heritage.

Sometimes, she would think that if she became a member of the town, spending her life in peace with her family, how nice it would be, but she didn't dare to have such a luxurious wish.

Even if she occasionally imagined such a happy scene in her mind, she immediately sobered up and dispelled those thoughts.

Because the girl knew from the bottom of her heart that if she made such a choice, she would only lose everything.

The girl named Artoria exists to become a king.

The vast Britain cannot contain the happiness of this lone existence.

But at least, friend...

She would occasionally fantasize about having a close friend to talk to...