As time flowed on, I turned fifteen.
In Britain, one was usually treated as a proper adult after undergoing a coming-of-age ceremony at twelve, but around fifteen, when the body fully matured, was generally considered true adulthood.
My body, bearing a dragon's heart, had completed itself at that age into the form of a perfect warrior.
I stood 181 centimeters tall, a little taller than Gawain. The ten-year-old boy who had been all wiry, lean muscle was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a solid, powerfully built young man.
Of course, my outward appearance was not that different from the original Arthur's. Most likely because Medea disliked hulking muscleheads, and Merlin had said her type was pretty boys, the two of them had adjusted my body so I would not grow into some massively muscular brute, leaving me with compressed muscle instead.
Well, if I had grown naturally, I probably would have ended up even bulkier than Gawain.
Maybe I would have practically transformed from Alexander into Iskandar.
Wait, then was Gawain a pretty boy when he was young too? I should ask my sister when I see her later.
And today, to commemorate becoming an adult, I had a spar with my knight and prospective harem member, Barghest.
"Haaah!"
"Ngh...! Fast!"
Bang!
Craaack!
It was a deafening roar that shook the forest clearing, impossible to believe it came from wooden swords colliding with wooden swords.
For the moment, at least the durability of the wooden swords had been reinforced to the level of a Noble Phantasm.
After deflecting Barghest's absurdly heavy slash, I unfolded the Tengu footwork Ushiwakamaru had taught me and slipped into her blind spot in an instant.
At the same time, I focused the basic body-enhancement Magecraft Medea had taught me into my leg muscles and, with explosive acceleration, kicked the back of Barghest's knee.
"Tch!"
Barghest's massive frame lost its balance and lurched.
As a Fairy Knight, her power and durability were second to none, but her fatal weakness was her lack of speed and technique.
Though she had amassed countless experiences as a Fairy Knight, she had extremely little combat experience against humans who had honed their skills.
That was why, despite the enormous gap in raw power between them, she had still struggled in her own way against Tristan.
To begin with, in Fairy Britain, all the humans were weak except for Percival. The fairies themselves did not particularly train and refine combat techniques either.
Maybe that was the difference between fairies and humans.
At heart, Barghest was a power-type warrior.
If she were a monster like Woodwose, absurdly fast on top of everything else, then of course I would lose. But against a power type like Barghest, I could force the pace with speed.
Maybe it was something like the feel of a battle between Saber Alter and Medusa.
I did not miss her opening. Twisting my waist, I aimed the tip of my wooden sword precisely at the nape of her neck.
"Whew. My win, Barghest."
At my voice, Barghest drew in a deep breath and smacked her lips in frustration.
"Haa... I admit it. Your skill has now grown to the point that I find it difficult to handle you head-on, Master."
But soon, as if her pride had been stung, she lifted the corners of her eyes and shot back.
"But remember this. That spar was, in the end, nothing more than a contest of pure strength and skill. I did not use my personal skills like [Wild Rule] or [Foul Weather]. The only thing active was [Numeral of the Saint], because the sun is up."
She brushed the dirt from herself and rose, looking down at me. At over 190 centimeters, she was still a full handspan taller than I was.
"Besides, I am summoned in a Servant vessel, so I have more restrictions than I did in life. If I were in my complete Fairy Britain state, I would have overwhelmed you with ease."
I let out a short laugh at her excuse and slung the wooden sword over my shoulder.
"That goes for me too. I didn't even use Mana Burst, the Pendragon trademark."
"What...! That is deception!"
"Deception, my ass. It just means neither of us fought at full strength. But don't worry."
I walked up to Barghest and lightly flicked her forehead.
"Later, I'll crush and beat the full-power you with my own full power. I'll make you admit defeat and fall for me for real, so badly you can't stand it. Look forward to it."
At my provocative, arrogant declaration, Barghest's cheeks flushed red in an instant. She forced a dry cough and averted her gaze.
"Ahem... pointless nonsense. Worry first about whether you can even survive against me at full strength."
Even as she said that, a faint joy and yearning for a strong male burned in her eyes.
Well, honestly, full-power Barghest would be rough.
Not that I couldn't win, but at the very least I would have to be prepared to end up crippled. The odds of mutual destruction were extremely high. I might even lose.
Even after all that effort, I was still young.
And as Barghest said, that was only because she was a Servant. If it were Barghest as she had been in life, in a one-on-one fight, the only outcome would be my death.
To begin with, Barghest was also a Beast candidate.
After finishing my spar with Barghest and washing up, I wandered through the forest, lost in deep thought.
Fifteen.
The time was right before me now. Soon I would draw the Sword of Selection from the stone and begin my blood-soaked journey as the true king of Britain.
Once the war began, I would have to run battlefields where lives were on the line, and any time to leisurely enjoy ordinary life would disappear.
Well, not completely disappear, but I'd have to live like Liu Bei from the Three Kingdoms, wandering from place to place.
Even if I was Uther's heir, that was a title in name only, and Uther's power base had been completely destroyed.
I could understand it if I were like Liu Bei, some distant collateral imperial relative selling straw mats, but me? I'm the child of the king who led the British confederation, more or less, so what the hell is this?
This is seriously brutal. It's not enough that I have to become king and found a nation. I also have to unify Britain and drive back those barbarian bastards.
On top of that, I have to unify the southern half of this island where the Britons live, conquer Pictland in the north, land of the Picts and their phantasmal species, and even conquer Dál Riata, the Gaelic territory from Ireland occupying the west of Pictland.
And then I also have to deal with an invasion by Rome's allied forces.
Looking at it that way, the difficulty is fucked. Iskandar, could you even do this? Even Genghis Khan would probably find this brutal.
You fake old-man King of Conquerors. Come try it yourself. Vortigern would blast you with a breath attack and kill you.
You were just some ordinary fool lucky enough to be born well, who never even met a god-class monster. If I ever meet you later, I'll beat you senseless with facts and physically too, on Artoria's behalf.
Anyway, before all that, I had to calm this damned age of chaos.
Which meant that before becoming king, I had to set the first piece of my grand plan in place.
That plan was none other than graduating from virginity.
Honestly, saying it like that sounds kind of lame, but shouldn't I relieve some stress by satisfying my urges?
A man needs to share love too if he wants to keep his strength up.
Before becoming king, I wanted to gain experience as a proper man. A man who intended to keep a harem could not be good only at fighting and then act awkward in bed.
And for that historic first partner, one woman came to mind without the slightest hesitation.
"Merlin."
In the shade of a tree near the cabin.
The white-haired succubus, dozing off while leaning against a rock, drowsily opened her eyes at my call.
"Mm~? What is it, my handsome little king? Do you need this big sister's lap pillow, maybe?"
Merlin laughed playfully and patted her thigh.
Normally, I would have tossed the joke right back and enjoyed some light skinship, but my gaze today was different from usual.
I strode straight toward Merlin.
And before she had any chance to avoid it, I planted one hand against the tree trunk she was leaning on and roughly pinned her in place.
"W-Wait, huh? Arthur?"
At the sudden closeness and the thick scent of a young man's masculinity, Merlin's eyes shook with flustered surprise. The distance between our faces was less than a handspan.
"Merlin. In a few days, I'm going to draw the Sword of Selection."
"...I know. At last, the time has come for our king to write the first page of his legend."
"Before that, there's something I need to say to you."
I did not avoid her eyes. I stared straight into them.
"Do it with me. I want you to be my first."
"......!"
Merlin's eyes widened round as a rabbit's.
"You're not my mage or my teacher anymore. Be my first woman, Merlin."
My confession was blunt and unhesitating.
She had always teasingly tried to steer things in that direction, but now that I had come at her seriously and all at once, she looked more than a little flustered.
Merlin stared blankly for a moment, then soon nodded, her cheeks reddening.
"...Yes♡"
It was not her usual smug older-sister voice, but a low, shy reply. Smiling inwardly at that adorable reaction, I whispered by her ear.
"Tonight, you know that small hunting cabin deeper in the forest, right? Come there. I'll be waiting."
"Mm... all right."
I lightly kissed her cheek, then left first, my chest swelling with anticipation.
Once Arthur had completely disappeared from sight.
Merlin, who had been leaning against the tree with shyly flushed cheeks, slowly curled her lips into a grin.
"Hehehe..."
A deep, meaningful smile spread across her lips.
She sensually stuck out her tongue and licked her lips, her emerald eyes flashing.
"At last... my brother is saying he wants to hold me first."
Her true identity was not Merlin.
With Merlin's cooperation and under her illusion, the one perfectly wearing the succubus's shell was Arthur's twin younger sister, Artoria.
Artoria had steadily nurtured a twisted obsession and love toward Arthur, while Merlin, watching over her, had devised a wicked plan to bring Artoria and Arthur together.
The secret conspiracy of the two women was finally about to dig into Arthur's most vulnerable desire.
"Wait for me, Brother. Tonight... your first time will be mine forever."
Within the forest's deep green shade, a sweet and dangerous trap waited with its jaws open for the innocent tyrant.
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