Be a Roman Emperor?

"He's lucky he ran fast..." Gareth, the sullen wolf girl, whispered on Artorius's other side after Galahad finished speaking. "If I catch him, I'll definitely give him a good beating."

The attitude of the girl represented the sentiments of Britain's natives.

They were displeased and unwilling to have any further association with the Roman Empire.

After all, it was them who had abandoned Britain. In the most difficult times, it was Uther Pendragon who stabilized the situation and repelled the barbarian invasion of the Saxons. Artoria Pendragon as Arthur Pendragon, inheriting the Pendragon Family legacy, followed suit.

Under the rule of the Pendragon Family, Britain thrived—or at least that's what they believed.

And now, the Romans wanted to come back and pick the fruits. Most knights thought they were just wasting their time.

"So, did the King refuse?" Artorius calmly inquired, casting a sidelong glance at Lancelot before speaking softly.

"The King still considering it..." Galahad replied.

"I knew it."

As staunch supporters of the native cause, they were displeased with the Roman Empire. The situation was different for knights from the other continent.

Like Lancelot, hailing from France... or Gaul, to be precise?

Well, it doesn't matter.

The country he hailed from had a somewhat passable relationship with the Roman Empire as their vassal. Therefore, he hoped to deal with the Roman envoy in a more 'diplomatic' manner.

Even if they didn't become a vassal of Rome, they could at least choose to become an ally. After all, the Saxons were also Germanic peoples which meant common enemies, weren't they? So, showcasing their strength and joining forces against them seemed like a good option.

'From a practical perspective, Sir Lancelot's proposal is more advantageous for the kingdom.' Artorius thought to himself. 'Of course, if it were up to me, I'd go a step further. If Lucius Tiberius can be the Roman Emperor, why can't Artorius Pendragon be? I have Roman blood too, after all. My grandmother was a Roman. Choosing me as emperor would be better than picking some Germanic barbarian, wouldn't it?'

Of course, this was just the realistic and shameless thinking of Artorius, not the idealistic vision of the perfect King Arthur.

"Alright." Seemingly tired of the arguments between the two knights, Artoria spoke up and put an end to them. "Refuse."

The young and petite king didn't hesitate as she commanded, "Britain is Britain, and it has no connection to Rome. I don't want my people to be enslaved by Rome again. Send away the Roman Emperor's envoy. If they dare to come again, it'll be a declaration of war against Britain."

With Artoria's proclamation, the knights of Britain origin, including Gawain, cheered loudly, as if they had won a great battle. And Lancelot, leading the others, though reluctant, chose to submit without hesitation.

At least for now, Lancelot's loyalty to the King was second to none.

With the matter settled, the Knights of the Round Table dispersed in pairs. Galahad once again invited Artorius to play chess or listen to Tristan play the harp, but after considering it, Artorius decided to stay.

"Do you need anything, Artorius?" When facing her 'son' once again, Artoria's emotions seemed a bit complicated.

Just like she couldn't explain to Artorius how he came into existence.

In the past, Artorius had asked her this question with great amusement before, pretending to be cute as he looked at Artoria which made her instantly become flustered. After a while, she replied earnestly to Artorius, "You were brought by a stork!"

Artorius struggled hard to contain his laughter when hearing that cute answer.

"It's like this, Father..." Artorius said calmly. "I heard that my grandparent was actually a Roman?"

As always, Artoria found it difficult to answer her son's question.

"Well..."

"So, Father, could you become the Roman Emperor then?" Artorius continued with his innocent remarks.

"..."

"If you were the Roman Emperor, would you be able to collect taxes from Rome and use them to help the people of Britain?" Artorius's eyes sparkled.

The pretty boy with platinum-blonde short hair ran up to his 'father' and grabbed her arm. "After all, I've seen many people starving and I couldn't help them. I heard that Rome is a very wealthy place and it's even warmer down south, right?"

"You shouldn't think like that, Artorius."

A serious-looking Artoria imparted the correct ways of being a King to Artorius. "It's wrong to plunder other countries for personal gain."

"But if you were the Roman Emperor, Rome wouldn't be 'another country', right?" Artorius happily replied. "I've studied the records, and the Roman Empire itself was like a colossal arena. Wars revolving around the emperor's throne have been a constant throughout its history. The throne of the Roman Emperor has always belonged to the most powerful. In this era, Father, you are the strongest one. The Knights of the Round Table are invincible. If you only wish it, then—"

"Enough!"

Artoria shouted, interrupting Artorius. The boy immediately made a face of grievance as if to say, "You yelled at me... I'm going to cry you know...."

It helped Artoria calm down quickly.

"I... I don't want to discuss this topic anymore." She said to her son, "Leave now, Artorius. I'm tired."

"Yes, Father."

The well-behaved boy bowed and then turned to leave.

'Let's go play chess with Galahad.' Artorius thought. And he didn't care at all about the turmoil he had caused in his mother's heart; in fact, he was a little happy about it.

That's how seeds are planted. Perhaps they will grow into towering trees in the future.

"Is this your way of saving Britain, O Prince~?" At the same time, Merlin, the mage of flowers silently appeared out of nowhere, smiling happily after observing the interesting spectacle. "Breaking free from the limitations of the island and envisioning the island and continent as a whole? Ahahaha~ How interesting~"

Merlin laughed cheerfully, "Ambitious young lad. Rather than being a protector, he wants to become a conqueror. He rather creates a new nation than maintain the old order. Ohh, human, you're truly fascinating~"

Having spoken such bizarre words silently, Merlin disappeared once again, leaving Artoria alone, with a headache.