C122

Kay frowned and expressed his concern, "Are you sure you don't want to hide first? They look arrogant, like they want to eat us."

Shirou laughed in response, undeterred as he stepped out the door, "That's perfect."

Kay furrowed his brows and turned to look at Shirou's back, perplexed. "Didn't this guy make every excuse to avoid trouble before? Why is he suddenly so proactive?"

Merlin patted his shoulder reassuringly and replied with a smile, "Because he has seen the goal."

Merlin then followed Shirou outside.

"So, does that mean we just have to walk through the rest of it?" Kay murmured to himself. "I really can't tell, was Guinevere always this confident?"

"Brother, the one chosen by Caliburn must be the ideal king." Artoria said seriously and then followed them out.

Kay was stunned for a moment, then followed them with a complicated expression on his face.

Shirou walked out of the door and headed towards the entrance of the estate. As he approached, his eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw the silver-armored knights surrounding the estate, with Ector leading the apprentice knights to stop them outside.

"Step aside! Give us the Sword in the Stone!" shouted one of the silver-armored knights.

"This must be a mistake! How could the king's sword be pulled out by a villager from the countryside? This must be a trick!" exclaimed another.

"Exactly! We're all knights, how can we submit to a person of unknown origin?" added a third.

"A king chosen by destiny? Such a thing could not possibly exist!" protested a fourth knight.

The knights roared and surged forward, their faces twisted with madness. They had been waiting for this day for too long. Since King Uther and Merlin declared ten years ago that anyone who pulled the Sword in the Stone could inherit the throne, they had been training their martial arts, either under pressure from their family elders or out of their own ambitions, eagerly anticipating this day.

The knights held the king in high regard and were more than willing to place their trust in his hands to prove their valor. However, when someone like this nobody managed to extract the sword, they were filled with dissatisfaction.

Not everyone was like Artoria, who had trained day and night for fifteen years and was able to accept the idea of becoming someone else's knight just because it seemed like the right thing to do.

It was unthinkable for them to accept the authority of a complete stranger who had appeared out of nowhere, sitting atop their heads and issuing commands. They might have been willing to accept someone like Gawain, the illustrious prince who was blessed by the sun, if he had managed to extract the sword. However, they could never concede to a nobody.

This act of someone else taking the throne felt like a blot on their honor.

"Everyone, please calm down! Please!" Ector bellowed, desperately attempting to restore order.

Attacking these knights was out of the question. Not only were they the kingdom's frontline defenders against Vortigern, but the intricate web of relationships between each knight was enough to bind his hands and feet.

"Do you see? These guys have gone completely insane!" Kay spread his arms in a gesture of helplessness as he spoke to Shirou. "That's why I advised you to hide."

"My brother is correct, my king." Artoria cast a brief glance at the knights before addressing Shirou. "Their jealousy has clouded their judgment, but they have no real power to undermine your claim to the throne. As per the agreement made by Uther and acknowledged by the Church and other kings, the one who draws the Sword is the rightful king of Britain. You needn't pay heed to their protests. Simply await the arrival of Baldwin and the others, who will oversee the proceedings and crown you accordingly."

Shirou turned around and met Artoria's gaze.

"What's wrong, my king? Did I say something that upset you?" she asked, concerned.

"No, it's not that. I understand that I'm temporarily holding the throne in your absence, but when we're in private, could you call me by my name, Fujimaru Shirou, or even Guinevere? It feels more appropriate," Shirou explained, his discomfort evident. Although it was just a formality, it was still uncomfortable for him to hear her call him 'my king'.

"How could that be? Wouldn't it violate the knight's code?" she questioned in disbelief. "I have pledged my loyalty to you, my king. It feels inappropriate to call you so informally."

Okay, although she's still very young, she is indeed the same person as the one from the Fourth Holy Grail War.

As he overheard the conversation, Merlin furrowed his brow and stroked his chin, realizing that the man's true name was Fujimaru Shirou. Despite the fact that it was not an ancient British, the language difference did not impede the great magus from pronouncing a foreign name.

"So, if I understand correctly, you're suggesting that I should disregard their criticism and simply bide my time until my coronation?"

"Yes," she nodded, affirming his understanding.

"But I disagree," Shirou countered. "A king who once conquered the world told me that a king must be more dazzling and majestic than anyone else. If one shies away from facing these minor obstacles, they are unworthy of the title 'king,' let alone participating in the grand theater of Conquerors."

Artoria was stunned.

"While I have never been a king myself, I will do my best to demonstrate the culmination of my knowledge. If you're interested in learning the ways of a king, then watch closely. I inherited this grandeur from a Conqueror King," he explained, striding past the onlookers with a composed demeanor, despite their scrutinizing glances.

The Sword in the Stone, bestowed upon Shirou by Artoria, was strapped to his waist.

"I explicitly asked Kay to stay away. Why did he come here?" Ector wondered, looking at Shirou in astonishment.

The knights' eyes were ablaze with greed as they watched Shirou approach with the sword in hand.

"Give us the Sword!"

"That sword doesn't belong to you!" one shouted.

"You must have cheated to obtain it!" they jeered, their eyes burning with desire.

...

Upon stepping forward, Shirou found himself immediately surrounded by a cacophony of questioning, suspicion, and accusations, all infused with a strong sense of malice. The intense emotions swirling around him surged through his body, converting the negativity into magical energy and storing it within him.

The knights continued to chatter, their words dripping with malice. Each new wave of hostility that washed over Shirou made him feel like a small boat adrift in a sea of negativity, one wave away from being engulfed and lost beneath the surface.

Their criticisms were so harsh that even Kay, who was notorious for his foul mouth, couldn't bear to listen any longer. Artoria, clearly displeased, was about to step forward and rebuke the knights, but Merlin intervened and stopped her.

"What are you doing, Merlin?"

Merlin remained silent, simply lifting his hand and pointing at Shirou's profile. Artoria and Kay both followed his gaze, and their faces quickly paled in shock.

The knights' words were so filled with malice that even bystanders like Artoria and Kay found them difficult to bear. They felt their own anger burning within their hearts. It was hard to imagine how furious Shirou, who was directly involved in the conflict, must be feeling.

However--

Despite the deluge of malicious words, Shirou's expression remained stoic, seemingly unmoved by the insults. To an outsider, it appeared as if the hateful words were nothing more than insignificant pebbles against towering mountains.

But in reality, Shirou could feel the sting of the mocking, questioning, and suspicious words infused with malice. Despite this, he was determined not to let these words bring him down. Having accepted All the World's Evil, he knew that the words of the knights were not even worth a single drop of rain.

The knights' shouting continued to grow louder, creating a chaotic and discordant cacophony. When the noise reached its peak, Shirou raised Caliburn high and swung it down to the ground.

Mana Burst!

"Bang--!!!"

With a powerful burst of mana, Shirou's physical strength surged, and in a mere instant, the ground cracked like a spider web, the resulting sound akin to a thunderous explosion.

In that moment, his power was like that of a divine hammer, swiftly subduing the paper tigers with their malicious intentions.

As Shirou gazed upon the knights, he recalled the grandeur of Iskandar's commanding presence. A smile spread across his face as he exclaimed loudly, "Knights, if you harbor doubts or suspicions, it is only natural. I will willingly accept them all! Yet, let it be known that I am the destined King of Britain, and this very sword I bear stands as an irrefutable testament to my rightful claim to the throne!"

Shirou lifted Caliburn high, but no one responded. The group stared at him with contempt, and an uncomfortable silence hung in the air. Despite this, Shirou's smile remained unwavering.

One of the knights spoke up, questioning, "What makes you believe that you're the destined king?"

"That's right!" another chimed in. "Just because you managed to pull the sword out, why should we believe you?"

"You only managed to pull the sword out during our competition," a third knight added. "Who's to say that you didn't do something to it beforehand?"

"How can you prove that this sword is truly the proof of your rightful kingship?" the fourth asked.

The knights' questioning voices came one after another like waves. However, Shirou simply smiled in the face of their skepticism and asked boldly, "Then, how would you have me prove that I am the rightful King of Britain?"

The knights responded, "Put the sword back and pull it out again in front of us!"

Shirou laughed and shook his head. "There's no need for all that trouble."

He confidently grasped Caliburn, raising it high as he shouted, "Listen, everyone! I am the Red Dragon of Britain, Arthur! The proof of my rightful kingship, the conflict of Heaven and Earth, resides within this very sword!"

As magical energy poured into the blade like a sea, it suddenly lit up like a star, illuminating the surroundings. Shirou then swung the sword with great force, causing an explosion of blinding light and deafening sound that shattered the earth and tore apart the sky.

"Whoosh--!! Boom--!!"

When the light finally dissipated, a massive sword mark in the shape of a dragon remained on the land, leaving the knights in stunned disbelief.

Shirou smiled confidently and asked, "Do you still doubt my claim to the throne?"

A heavy silence fell over the group as they realized that all their doubts and questioning had been thoroughly crushed with a single swing of the sword.

Artoria murmured to herself, "Is this the grandeur that a true king should possess?"