C114

Old knight Ector looked bewildered as he stared at Kay, who had a serious expression on his face. "What did you say? Merlin pulled you into a dream to simulate a kingdom, but you and Guinevere easily defeated him?"

Ector had been sound asleep when Kay abruptly woke him up. Initially, he had been quite angry, but after hearing Kay's story, his anger gave way to confusion. "I can't believe it," was written all over his weathered face.

"Kay, have I ever taught you to lie?" Ector couldn't help but ask.

He was utterly flabbergasted. Even though it was only a fantastical game conjured up by Merlin and it felt so far removed from reality. Yet the fact remained that Merlin and Artoria, working in tandem, had been defeated by Kay and the boy they had taken in just a year ago.

He wondered if what Kay had told him was even possible.

As Artoria's mentor, Ector was keenly aware of just how formidable the fifteen-year-old had become. When it came to swordsmanship, she was every bit his equal, and even managed to surpass him, a once-renowned knight.

Moreover, thanks to the Dragon Factor, Artoria's body possessed an endless source of strength. Even during his prime, Ector wouldn't dare to assert that he could defeat Artoria in combat at this very moment.

As for Kay, Ector was also keenly aware of Kay's strengths and weaknesses. While Kay was every bit Artoria's equal in terms of swordsmanship, without the Dragon Factor, he couldn't match her strength, agility, and other physical abilities.

As for military strategy...

Merlin was a wise man whose eyes had seen much of the world. It seems unlikely that he would take on a student who was lacking in military strategy. However, Kay claimed that he not only defeated Artoria but also outwitted Merlin and trapped them both in a prison. This seemed highly improbable.

The notion that the ideal vessel for the king, accompanied by the wise Merlin, could be defeated by his own son and a seemingly ordinary boy of unknown origin was difficult to believe.

"I'm not lying, Father. I know it's hard to believe, which is why I came to report it to you," Kay said.

In truth, Kay was grappling with doubts about the situation himself. It all seemed too fantastical.

Could it be that, with Shirou's aid, he truly had overcome Merlin and Artoria and united Britain?

Was the ambition Kay held in his heart actually realized in a dream?

It all felt so surreal, almost as if it couldn't possibly be real.

Kay found himself questioning how they could possibly gather so much food in the dream realm.

Despite his doubts, Ector approached Artoria to inquire about the truth of the matter after she had woken up from the dream.

Before he could even speak, however, he saw the devastated expression on her small face and the hollow, self-doubting look in her eyes. Ector knew that it was real and there was no need to doubt it.

He understood Artoria's temperament all too well.

Short of being utterly defeated and crushed, there was no way that Artoria, who was always so serious and strong, would doubt her very existence to such an extent.

With a resolute voice, Ector made a decision: "Artoria, your lessons in swordsmanship and horsemanship are on hold for now. You must go and recruit Guinevere as your knight. This is the only task you must accomplish."

"Ah--?" Artoria looked up at Ector with vacant eyes, still struggling to recover from the beating she had received at the hands of Shirou.

Ector spoke with patience, "If you wish to become the king and defeat Vortigern, the usurper, you cannot do it alone. You must recruit him!"

As a loyal knight of King Uther, his allegiance was unquestionable. It was Uther himself who had entrusted Artoria to his care. Ector was well aware of the mission that Artoria was undertaking and was determined to help her defeat Vortigern and unify Britain.

But now, he found himself standing before a great sage, and he hadn't even known it!

Furthermore, why had he not signed a master-servant agreement with Shirou upon finding him?

As a result, Shirou was now a free man, able to leave or stay as he pleased.

Ector was all but certain that this person was the key to unifying Britain, and thus reiterated, "You must recruit him, Artoria! He is an indispensable force for you!"

Artoria nodded solemnly, "I understand."

In fact, she had already resolved to recruit Shirou without Ector's repeated reminders.

She was serious, but not naive.

If she had not realized the importance of Shirou's presence after being beaten and strung up by him in the dream, then she would not be worthy of being the vessel for the "Ideal King."

Most importantly, Shirou's kingly demeanor in the dream had left a lasting impression on her. Upon his appearance, everyone rallied around him, drawn to his charisma and leadership, and their morale skyrocketed.

In contrast, her own morale had been low, and she had felt isolated and despised. To make matters worse, the people had even rebelled against her and bound her as a surrender gift to Shirou.

The stark contrast between the two made Artoria realize just how much she still had to learn before she could truly become a king. She couldn't help but feel a sense of inadequacy and a burning desire to improve.

Most crucially, Shirou undeniably possessed the wisdom and qualities of an "Ideal King," and Artoria knew she needed to learn from him in earnest. She felt a deep yearning to gain his knowledge and experience, to improve herself and become a better ruler for her people.

After discussing the matter among themselves, they all set their sights on Shirou.

This made Shirou, who was still sound asleep, instinctively shudder. He shifted his body, muttered a few words, rolled over, covered himself with a blanket, and continued sleeping.

But the chill that had come over him had yet to fade, and it lingered throughout the night.

By morning, the chill had become apparent.

Upon opening his door, Shirou found two servants standing on either side, waiting respectfully for him to emerge. He was confused and couldn't help but ask, "What are you guys doing?"

Kay approached him with a creepy grin, his eyes gleaming with an intensity that made Shirou's skin crawl.

"Kay, what's going on?" Shirou asked.

Grinning widely, Kay replied, "You're our honored guest. This is how we treat our honored guests!"

Honored guest my as*!

Shirou shook his head and went to weed the hill, beginning his daily work.

However, the others followed him like an entourage, staring at his back intently, making Shirou feel uneasy.

He couldn't help but ask, "What are you trying to do, Kay?"

Kay simply continued to grin without giving an answer.

Shirou began to feel increasingly uneasy and crouched down to start weeding the garden. But before he could even begin, the others rushed over and took over the task for him.

When he asked them what they were doing, they simply replied that he was their honored guest.

At lunchtime, they served him an array of exquisite dishes, including several pieces of grilled meat. However, the most significant detail was that Artoria pushed half of her own food towards him and stared intently at him!

Shirou hesitated, picking up the food only to set it back down again. He felt like he was under a microscope and couldn't bear the thought of being watched while he ate.

To make matters worse, he had learned from experience that flattery often had an ulterior motive!

Kay and Artoria remained silent, their unwavering gazes fixed on Shirou.

Overcome with anxiety and fear, Shirou finally spoke up. "What's going on here? Can you please just act normal? You're really scaring me!"

Kay simply grinned in response, but Artoria spoke with a serious tone. "Guinevere, I implore you to become my knight and teach me the wisdom of being a king."

Huh? What was going on? Kay's smile disappeared. How could her impulsive younger sister be making a recruitment offer so soon? They had planned to show Shirou their sincerity and the benefits of joining them before extending the offer.

This sudden offer was not part of the plan. Wouldn't this ruin everything?

"Oh, is that all?" Shirou breathed a sigh of relief. He had been afraid that he was being followed by people with questionable intentions, but it seemed he was mistaken.

She asked eagerly, "Have you accepted my offer, Guinevere?"

Shirou shook his head firmly. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to become anyone's knight," he replied. "And as for the wisdom of a King, I have no idea what that even means. I'm just an ordinary person who's always been led by others."

All he wanted was to go back home to his family. He had no interest in the life of a knight, and he certainly didn't possess the wisdom of a king.

In his dream, he defeated both Merlin and Artoria effortlessly. But that was only because the dream world was vastly different from reality and resembled a paradise.

In the real world, there were issues like land salinization and conflicts that arose from the implementation of the "Laws," which would inevitably clash with the interests of the nobles and lead to further disputes.

Moreover, the decree from the previous game, which offered generous treatment to surrendering enemies, was only possible due to the development of productive forces, but it would still create new problems and contradictions.

In reality, defeating opponents as easily as in his dreams was impossible. If they had no food and were forced to continue fighting, they would likely collapse even faster. The soldiers might even rebel before the peasant uprising began. Without a clear vision for the future, a rebellion was almost inevitable.

"Don't underestimate yourself, Guinevere!" Artoria exclaimed with excitement. She believed that Shirou was undervaluing himself. Having experienced the gap between her own wisdom and that of Shirou's, she felt that it represented the true nature of an ideal king.

The true nature of a king was to provide a good life for the common people and wield the power to command. This was the path that Artoria was determined to follow – the path of an ideal king.

As the vessel for Uther's "Ideal King" plan, Artoria had been educated by Ector and Merlin to become the perfect ruler. Before the Kingdom Simulation, she had no clear concept of what an "ideal king" should be.

However, after seeing the way that Shirou was celebrated and loved by the people, while she was hated and offered to him like a prisoner, she had a newfound understanding of what an ideal king should be.

Having gained a deeper understanding of what it truly meant to be a king, Artoria believed that being loved by the people was the ultimate ideal. She now saw everything she had learned about ruling as false.

With this newfound perspective, she made a serious request of Shirou: "Please become my knight!"

As Shirou met the intense gazes of Artoria and Kay, who looked at him as if he were some great sage, he began to regret his decision to plant that field.

...

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