After delivering the knight's equipment to Kay, the two began their training on the beach.
The clash of spears and swords—the pleasant sound of weapons colliding—stimulated the eardrums. Not far away, the sound of waves breaking came from the sea. Arthur raised the spear in his hand and swung it toward Artoria.
Fearing accidental injuries, he did not use his red spear. This was only training; such weapons were meant for the battlefield. After all, if that spear struck an enemy, it would not be as simple as merely causing a wound.
As Artoria dodged the attack, Arthur raised his spear again and unleashed a horizontal strike toward her head. The girl evaded Arthur's blow and retreated several steps, sword in hand.
After a fierce exchange, she was already breathing a little heavily. "Your strength keeps growing."
Artoria looked at Arthur—who was also panting—with admiration in her eyes.
The reason she had been able to defeat Arthur in the past was that both her magical power and physical strength were exceptional. However, now that three months had passed, Arthur's strength was showing signs of catching up to hers, which was truly intriguing.
"Why do you look so relieved?" Artoria suddenly noticed the look of relief on Arthur's face and asked curiously.
"I almost nicked your hair—good thing you dodged…"
Artoria simply shook her head. "Getting injured in battle is normal. There's no need to worry about that."
Arthur thought to himself, If that strike had hit her ahoge just now, it would've disappeared. But it's not a big deal…
Despite his internal complaints, he still said seriously, "Yes, but it's definitely better to avoid getting hurt if you can."
Artoria nodded lightly.
"But it's strange that I managed to beat you today. You seemed distracted and couldn't defeat me… Is something bothering you?" Arthur continued.
"You noticed?" Artoria said. "I'm sorry—being so distracted in battle is disrespectful to one's opponent. I'll take it seriously."
"What's been worrying you?" Arthur asked.
Artoria hesitated, unsure whether she should explain it to Arthur.
Over the past two months, she and Arthur had grown very close and could talk freely about almost anything. Still, this troubled her. Would sharing this concern cause problems for Arthur?
"Feel free to talk," Arthur reassured her. "Maybe I won't be able to help, and maybe I won't even be able to solve your problem—but talking about it will make you feel better."
"That's why I said before—you should change the way you comfort people." Artoria sighed softly as she gazed at the sea, her emerald eyes reflecting the light on the water.
"After I become king… will I truly be able to bring happiness to the people?"
Arthur was startled and looked at the blonde girl beside him.
Had the girl who would later become King Arthur also hesitated before pulling that sword?
Will this bring happiness to the people…? Arthur narrowed his eyes and looked out at the sea.
"Without a doubt—if it's you, there won't be any problem at all," he said. "You've been training since you were five years old, all for the day you could sit on the throne and bring happiness to the people, right?"
"That's true…" she murmured to herself, her gaze gradually hardening.
Arthur looked at the girl beside him and sighed inwardly.
Morgan did not want Artoria to become king—but could history really be changed? And… wasn't she training tirelessly every day for the moment she would become the King of Knights?
If they denied that, wouldn't it also mean denying all her past efforts?
At times, Arthur wondered whether it would really be such a problem if Morgan were the one in power.
---xXx---
After a full day of training, Arthur returned to the Land of Shadows.
The next night.
As usual, Scáthach trained with Arthur in the clearing before the forest. He gripped his spear tightly and attacked her, but Scáthach easily dodged his strike and kicked him in the stomach with her right foot.
He was sent flying backward, but immediately got back up, wiped the dust from his left cheek, his expression serious, and attacked her again.
"You've really grown a lot…"
Watching the energetic Arthur, Scáthach smiled in satisfaction.
Compared to before, Arthur now possessed far more stamina and strength.
She deserved some credit for that—but of course, that woman also deserved much of the credit.
—Morgan le Fay.
She was probably still watching closely, that goddess of death.
Most likely, only her own disciple had been kept in the dark… She and Morgan had known about each other for a long time, yet they had reached a tacit understanding without ever discussing it.
That understanding was to take good care of Arthur.
Arthur's body contained a sealed, pulsating magical power. If it were ever fully activated, it would be practically a gigantic magic extractor.
Of course, if he learned to use magic properly, he would become extremely powerful—perhaps someday strong enough to fight her on equal footing, or even surpass her.
She would teach Arthur runes and martial arts, while Morgan would teach him how to unlock the magic within his body and channel magic into him… What kind of monster would be created this way?
To be honest, Scáthach had stopped pretending some time ago and was already preparing to confront her disciple. She vaguely understood the magical structure within Arthur's body, and even she was capable of teaching it… However, that woman was willing to spend a fortune, using the essence of that dragon as nourishment for her apprentice.
So all that remained was to wait a little longer.
When the time was right, it would be time to keep her disciple in the Land of Shadows for a while.
After all, an old woman who had lived for hundreds of years thinking that way about her apprentice… That kind of joke wasn't funny at all.
Besides, he was still her daughter's fiancé. If he were ever truly led astray by Morgan, the consequences would be quite troublesome.
"Very well. That concludes today's training." Scáthach lowered her weapon.
Arthur, panting, looked at his master. She wore tight clothing that accentuated her voluptuous curves, and her crimson eyes seemed to pierce straight into his soul. Normally, she was quite gentle, but once she entered battle mode, her aura alone was overwhelmingly oppressive.
As expected, my Master is truly incredible…
Over the past three months, he had significantly improved both his physical strength and magical power, and had become far more proficient with runes. Yet even so, he still could not make Scáthach fight seriously… Well, if she truly fought in earnest, it wouldn't be a simple spear duel. With the blessing of runes, Scáthach's power would increase dramatically.
Scáthach noticed Arthur's gaze and shot him a casual look. "Do you have any questions?"
"No, no…" Arthur averted his eyes, pretending not to care.
Does Master realize how attractive she actually is?
…That doesn't make sense either. If she didn't care, why would she care about her age?
As Arthur was thinking this, Scáthach patted his head as usual. "Are you staying here again today?"
"Mm… I want to practice more."
"I see." Scáthach nodded slightly. "Be careful on your way back, and don't go into the forest."
"Yes, Master."
After Arthur finished speaking, he watched Scáthach's figure disappear, then looked at a raven perched atop a tree. The raven flapped its wings and flew down, landing on Arthur's left shoulder. After a moment, it returned to human form.
"Good evening, Morgan." Though Arthur was sitting on the grass, he greeted her very politely.
Britannia had seen a recent decrease in the number of ghosts, which seemed to have eased the pressure on Morgan. As a result, Arthur no longer needed to go to Morgan's palace every week to obtain dragon blood.
"Good evening. It seems your abilities have improved quite a lot." Morgan stretched and yawned. She wore a long black dress and black high heels, truly looking like a witch.
However, the black dress contrasted sharply with her slightly pale skin. Her entire outfit was black, and despite wearing only black and white, she was incredibly captivating.
"It's probably thanks to the training with my master that I gained so much combat experience, as well as the swordsmanship and other techniques Kay taught me," Arthur said.
"And what about me?" Morgan looked at him.
"…Of course, what you gave me was also a crucial factor," Arthur added. "And the skills you taught me, along with the method to unlock the magic within my body, were also very important."
"That's more like it." Morgan stroked Arthur's face in satisfaction—then suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
Morgan Le Fay's fingers stiffened, and the smile on her face faded slightly. She glanced behind Arthur, and soon the forced smile returned, replaced by a hint of pleasure in her eyes.
"Oh, right." Morgan sat down on the grass and sighed softly. "I've been walking all day, and my feet are a little sore."
"You usually turn into a raven and fly through the sky, don't you, Morgan?" Arthur retorted, completely unaware of what had just happened.
Morgan ignored Arthur's complaint, casually removed her black sandals, and gently placed her feet on Arthur's legs.
"Please massage my feet."
(End of Chapter)