Guided by Artoria, the two walked down a long corridor toward a room.
"King Arthur."
At that moment, a respectful voice came from ahead, and a man in full armor bowed slightly in greeting.
Arthur looked at the man before him. He had a very serious expression, yet at first glance, he exuded an inexplicable sense of pressure.
Who is this guy?
Seeing the confusion in Arthur's eyes, the man explained, "My name is Agravain."
This person is Agravain—one of Morgan's "children"?
Looking at Agravain's serious expression, Arthur quickly formed a general understanding of the situation. He nodded slightly and extended his hand.
"As king, I will need all of your help in the future. Please bear with me."
Agravain hesitated for a moment, then extended his hand and shook Arthur's. After letting go, he glanced at Artoria, who stood silently beside him, and said, "Then I will not disturb Your Majesty any further. If you need me, you may ask a servant to inform me."
With that, he continued walking down the corridor.
"He seems like quite a serious person," Arthur couldn't help but murmur.
Besides… he had noticed that this man seemed to harbor a considerable amount of hostility toward him.
Maybe it's just my imagination.
"Come with me." Artoria's voice brought him back to reality.
"This will be your room from now on." After walking a bit further, Artoria led Arthur into a room.
In truth, she was not particularly familiar with the palace layout. It just so happened that her older sister had anticipated this situation and had informed her of Arthur's room in advance.
Arthur immediately lay down on the soft bed, feeling as if all the fatigue of the day had melted away.
And the blankets are so soft, just like the pillows…
He rolled over, clutching the blanket, when he suddenly noticed that the girl beside him hadn't left and was quietly watching him. Arthur coughed lightly twice.
"Is there anything else, Lily?"
"It's nothing," Artoria shook her head. "I am responsible for taking care of you, so it's only natural that I stay here and help resolve any problems you may have."
That sounds quite professional…
"You'll help me resolve any difficulties?" Arthur asked.
"Mm, that is my duty as—"
"Then will you cook?" Arthur said.
Artoria: "..."
"You can't, can you?" Arthur looked at her. "In that case, you should go rest. You've been busy all day, and now you don't need to train so intensely every day anymore. So go get some rest."
Hearing this, she did not hesitate and nodded.
"Then, thank you, King—"
Her voice suddenly stopped, and noticing the displeasure in the boy's gaze, Artoria smiled gently and said:
"Thank you."
...
Only after Artoria left the room did Arthur finally get some peace and quiet. He raised his hand, and the power of runes manifested, a faint green light wrapping around one of his arms, slowly healing it.
After a brief period of recovery, Arthur felt the pain in his arm finally lessen.
He sat on the edge of the bed, looking around, and suddenly felt a sense of unreality.
How did I suddenly pull the sword from the stone and become the King of Britain…?
However, since he was already here, he might as well make the most of it. There was no point dwelling on such thoughts now. What he needed to do was unite the people as quickly as possible and then completely drive out the Saxons.
Before that, I still need to improve my abilities.
Speaking of which, I don't have a proper sword… so Caliburn will suit me perfectly.
Arthur picked up Caliburn, which was beside him. The sword looked slender and magnificent, and just holding it gave him a very special sensation.
But—
The blade was covered in fragments of stone and looked somewhat dirty.
"I need to find some time to clean it…" Arthur murmured to himself.
"Maybe now I can finally use some kind of cool finishing move?" he suddenly thought.
Think about it—everyone else has a signature move.
It feels like I'm the only one who's always relied on brute force.
If I had a stronger finishing move, maybe even Master would be surprised in the future?
Besides…
Can Caliburn be enhanced with runes?
If possible, this sword could probably become even stronger, right?
As Arthur pondered these thoughts, he swung his sword again and suddenly felt something strange.
For some reason, he felt as if something was driving him forward when he wielded the sword.
Can I actually use this sword?
He tried channeling magic into it, and the previously unremarkable blade suddenly shone with a golden light.
Arthur quickly withdrew his magic, and the glow of the chosen sword vanished.
That surprised me—it actually works!
Arthur looked at Caliburn and pondered for a moment.
Let's try going to the courtyard.
With that thought, he stood up and was about to leave the room.
But the moment he did, that sensation suddenly disappeared.
"Why?" Arthur looked at the chosen sword in his hand, confusion written all over his face.
He realized that even when channeling more magic into the sword, it could no longer shine.
"Are you trying to understand why you can't use Caliburn's power?" a voice came from behind him.
"Yes, I felt something strange, but it's already gone…" Arthur replied, staring at the sword in his hand.
"Caliburn can only release its true power when its wielder acts righteously—or is a perfect king… Using it just to test and confirm its power is meaningless," the voice behind him continued.
"So its power can only be unleashed during real combat?" Arthur nodded thoughtfully, then paused.
He suddenly turned his head and saw a woman lying on the bed, waving at him with a smile.
"Good evening."
"When did you get here?!" Arthur looked as if he had just seen a ghost.
He had no idea when someone had appeared behind him.
"Hmm… if I had to say, probably a few minutes ago?" Morgan replied lazily, sitting on the edge of the bed.
She clearly looked like a very mature woman, but the way she casually played with her hair gave her an unexpectedly cute air.
"Next time, please use the front entrance…" Arthur complained. "Have you already notified the Saxons?"
"Yes, I released Vortigern." Morgan wrapped her arms around his neck. "I also sent a message to the kings of all the tribes of Britain, inviting them to the capital in three days to discuss how to defeat the Saxons."
"Seeing how hard I worked, don't I deserve a reward?" Morgan said softly.
"A reward…?"
"After all, I worked so hard—shouldn't I be rewarded?" Morgan said slowly, placing a finger under Arthur's chin.
---
(End of Chapter)