Chapter 75: Ulster-style Family Reunion -4-
“This child isn’t fit to be a king.”
Kay’s voice wasn’t a blazing fire, but carried a cold, biting fury that threatened to freeze everything in its path.
“She loves to eat, she laughs and chatters cheerfully, and she craves adventure… she is my precious little sister.”
Even if it were the world's Counter Force acting to preserve human history, even if she were a mere pawn to be sacrificed for the greater good—Kay could not abide his family being offered up for such grandiose reasons.
“Merlin. You’ve really hit a nerve. Where are you right now?”
[Ahaha~ Why would I tell you that? Besides, Kay, I might not even be on British soil at the moment. My true nature isn’t human, but that of a incubus. I could be watching everything from the boundary between dreams and reality, or perhaps from the flip side of the world.]
Merlin, speaking through the beak of a parrot, let out an irritating laugh.
[I understand why you're angry. But it can't be helped. This is fate—the destiny of the Pendragons. You should stop being so stubborn and—]
Squelch!!
Before Merlin could finish his sentence, the demon sword Crudin sliced through the air.
It was a clean, single strike; not a drop of blood was spilled. The old parrot perched on the back of the throne was severed exactly in two, falling limply to the floor.
“Wait for me, you incubus. Whether you hide on the flip side of the world or flee into a dream… I will find you with my own hands and tear you to shreds.”
It was a cruel death sentence, spat out by the warrior of the demon realm, and it was irrevocable.
“Ugh… mm…”
Not long after the parrot died and silence settled over the room, Artoria, who had been slumped on the throne, let out a faint groan and opened her eyes.
Whether it was the lingering pain in her solar plexus from the knee strike or the drug wearing off, she clutched her throbbing head and looked around frantically.
“The medicine… where is the medicine? My head feels like it’s splitting… the powder, the smoke…”
Just as she reached out to fumble through the shards of medicine bottles scattered on the floor,
a large, rough, and scarred hand gripped her thin wrist tightly.
“That’s enough.”
“…Huh?”
“Stop relying on this garbage.”
Artoria’s clouded green eyes trembled. It was the face of the brother she had missed so desperately, a face she had seen only in her hallucinations.
But the warmth of the hand gripping her wrist and the metallic scent of fresh blood seeping from his chest proved that this was no illusion.
“I’m sorry I’m late. I’m so sorry for leaving you alone until you broke like this.”
It was a sincere apology from Kay.
Artoria stared at him in disbelief, her eyes wide. With a trembling hand, she reached up to gently stroke Kay’s cheek.
“Is it… really you, Brother? You were dead—this isn’t a hallucination… is it?”
“It’s not a hallucination.”
Only then did the gray mist in Artoria’s eyes clear, and the suppressed tears began to pour out like a bursting dam.
“Waaaaah…! Brother!! BROTHER!!!”
The great King of Prophecy buried her face in Kay’s blood-stained chest and wailed like a small child.
The guilt over the countless lives she had cut down while fighting the Saxons, the crushing loneliness when her siblings left her behind.
And the sorrow of those five hellish years, where she had to survive by forcing down potatoes mixed with stone dust, all erupted along with her tears.
Kay said nothing. He simply held her, patting her frail back until she fell asleep from exhaustion.
A long time passed, and once Artoria’s sobbing had subsided,
Kay gripped her shoulders and asked with a deadly serious expression.
“Artoria. Stop being a king.”
“…What?”
“Quit being that bastard Merlin’s puppet, and stop carrying the burden of Britain all by yourself. Throw it all away. I’ll feed you and take care of you, so just live as an ordinary girl now.”
Artoria sniffling, shook her head.
“I… I can’t do that. I still have subjects I must be responsible for, and foreign enemies that must be repelled. If I let go of the holy sword, Britain will…”
“So you’re telling me that living and dying as a puppet in Merlin’s fancy script for ruin is what you truly want?!”
Kay shouted in frustration.
“Responsibility? Duty? Forget those shackles! Tell me what you actually want! Tell me you want to throw away the crown and run away! Tell me you just want to live while eating the food your brother makes for you!!”
At Kay’s roar, Artoria’s eyes reddened once more.
“Tell me you hate it!”
To a girl who had always been forced to be the ideal king, he was the only person who ever allowed her to be honest. She bit her lip hard, and finally, her suppressed true feelings burst forth.
“…I hate it! I don’t want to be a king!! I hate killing people every day, and eating that tasteless food is like hell! I… I wanted to run away just like Lily!!”
Kay gave a satisfied smile and ruffled her hair roughly.
“Good. Decision made. If you’re quitting as king, the country has to go too. I’ll tear down this damn castle that reeks of hallucinations with my axe right now, so start packing.”
“W-wait, Brother!!”
Artoria grabbed Kay’s arm in a panic.
“You can’t do that! I know you’re angry, but the people who shed blood and sweat to build this castle, and the innocent citizens inside, have done nothing wrong!”
“…Well, that’s true. It would be a waste of a good castle.”
Kay lowered his axe and scratched his chin, conceding to her plea.
“Then what now? Are you going to keep the throne of Logres?”
“Um… well…”
Artoria hesitated, avoiding his gaze, before her face flushed slightly and she proposed an absurd compromise.
“I’ll… keep the title of king for now. B-but! From now on, every single state affair of this country will be decided entirely according to your wishes, Brother!”
“What?”
Artoria’s eyes suddenly took on a strange, shimmering glint. It was that twisted, obsessive look he had seen so often in his other sisters.
“You can use the national treasury however you like! You can use the knights as your kitchen assistants! Policies, politics—everything will be done according to your will! Please think of the entire great Kingdom of Logres… as a gift from me to you♡”
“…You crazy brat! What am I, some corrupt official or a Dark Templar leeching off the state?! You’re trying to turn me into Dong Zhuo! At this rate, wouldn’t it be better to just sell the country off to someone else?!”
Kay recoiled in disgust, but Artoria just giggled and clung tightly to his arm.
“I was so foolish after I lost you. No, even before that, I couldn’t repay any of the love you gave me. I want to make it up to you now, no matter what. I’ll give you everything I have.”
“Sigh…”
Kay let out a deep sigh.
It seemed Artoria’s mental state had recovered to some extent, but in exchange, she had fully awakened the same severe, obsessive brother-complex as her other sisters.
Well, she has countless soldiers and ministers under her, so let’s think more calmly about dismantling or transferring Logres. I also need to clean up Merlin’s remnants.
Kay decided to push the complicated thoughts aside for now. He had a far more urgent and important task at hand.
“We’ll think about selling the country later. First, we fix the most pressing issue.”
“The pressing issue?”
“Yeah. The normalization of the rotten food culture in this capital.”
Kay rolled up his sleeves with grim determination.
“That idiot Gawain has been feeding you dust-covered potatoes, so of course everyone’s turning to drugs and going insane! Gather every knight and citizen in the castle in the central plaza immediately. Tonight, I’m feeding everyone in this castle.”
“O-oh, Brother! What on earth are you going to cook…?!”
Artoria’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Kay drew the spatula he had used since his time in the demon realm from his waist and declared majestically:
“The true cuisine of the battlefield. The ultimate dish to fill the stomach and wash away fatigue with a spicy kick. Budae-jjigae!!”
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