Chapter 27: The Beginning of the Royal Capital -8-

The next morning.

When the door to my room in Totnes Castle opened, I stepped out into the corridor with a refreshed stretch.

Even though I had fought a fierce all-night battle(?) against four women last night—Artoria, Merlin, Ushiwakamaru, and even Caenis—my complexion was clearer and more vibrant than ever.

Artoria, Merlin, and Ushiwakamaru, who came out behind me, showed no trace at all of the night's fatigue either.

Rather, their skin was glowing, their cheeks were warmly flushed, and the way they clung to my arm and whispered sweetly into my ear from early morning gave off an intensely lovey-dovey atmosphere.

I supposed that even if the physical exertion had been severe, we had replenished that much Mana in return. Love truly was amazing.

Otherwise, would Lancelot have killed his comrades, betrayed his king, and run the hell back home over that damned love of his? That too was the power of love.

Meanwhile, Caenis stood leaning against the wall with a sullen expression, keeping a strangely deliberate distance from us.

"Hey, Caenis."

At that moment, Penthesilea, who had been standing at the end of the corridor with her arms crossed, strode over to Caenis with heavy footsteps.

The Queen of the Amazons sharply observed Caenis's languid eyes and faintly unsettled breathing, then asked in a low voice.

"How was it?"

Caenis flinched and glared at Penthesilea.

"W-what do you mean?"

"What happened last night. I too was defeated as a warrior and acknowledged that man as my Master, but you went so far as to mix bodies with him, didn't you? Yes... I'm asking what the tyrant tasted like."

At Penthesilea's blunt question, Caenis bit her lip, her face turning red.

After furtively checking the people around her, she finally muttered in a small voice as if giving up.

"...Honestly, it felt disgustingly good. Good enough to piss me off."

"Hoh."

"No, I hate admitting it too... but that brat, when it comes to sheer masculinity, was seriously on Poseidon's level. His strength, his Mana... it felt like I was being completely overwhelmed."

At Caenis's frank confession, Penthesilea's eyes sank deep.

She glanced at me in the distance, where I was smiling as I stroked Artoria's head.

"The seed of a strong and excellent male. With that power and masculinity... when the day comes that I incarnate and rebuild the Amazons, it would not be a bad idea to take that man's seed and conceive. As I am currently the only Amazon, there is no other way."

Since she had not lost her reason to Madness Enhancement, she was drawing a rather calculating and instinctive future in her mind as the queen of her tribe.

Meanwhile, in the opposite corner of the guest corridor.

Barghest had hidden herself behind a pillar, stealing glances in my direction while sinking into deep anguish.

"Why... why won't Master make the first move on me? He touched Caenis first, even though she came later than I did...."

She clenched and unclenched her large hand, then let out a gloomy sigh.

"As I thought... am I too big and too muscular to have any charm as a woman? Am I the kind of beast who simply isn't to Master's taste...?"

In truth, it was Barghest's misunderstanding.

I knew she had a nature that was instinctively drawn to the strong. It was my own consideration and plan to properly take her once I had become a perfect superior strong enough to surpass even her overwhelming physical power and Mana.

But Barghest, who had no way of knowing my true thoughts, was agonizing over it alone.

"Hehe... whatever could make such an adorable knight, big as a mountain, sigh like that?"

At that moment, Stheno descended lightly from the air and approached Barghest with a seductive smile.

The beautiful goddess greatly enjoyed observing the tangled, sticky love affairs of humans and fairies alike.

"S-Stheno...."

"Don't stew all by yourself. Why not tell your troubles to your big sister here? When it comes to beauty and allure, I'm an expert, you know. Shall I give you a little consultation on what kind of tastes our dear tyrant has?"

At Stheno's tempting offer, Barghest blushed and carefully nodded.

Her desperate love consultation was quietly beginning in a secluded corner of Totnes.

After finishing our preparations and gathering in the open space before the castle gate, the attendants sent by King Idris appeared with the promised supplies and funds loaded onto carts.

"Oh, this is pretty hefty."

Kay whistled as he lifted a sack full of gold and silver coins.

As befitted a trading nation, the amount of money was substantial enough to be a major help to our faction's finances right now.

From King Idris's perspective, it was probably no more than pocket change to keep Vortigern in check—in other words, a kind of investment, or perhaps a payoff to get rid of a nuisance.

To begin with, for a trading state like this, it probably was not even that much money.

But the real problem was the food.

"What the hell is this? It's all slippery eels. I do like eel, but isn't this a bit much? Even eating Uzumaru—grilled chunks—would get old if you had it every day."

Nobunaga flipped back the cover on the food cart and immediately frowned hard.

Inside the cart were hundreds of freshly caught eels, along with hagfish—grotesque things that squirted slime—wriggling around in a heap.

In Britain of this era, eel was nothing more than a common ingredient with such poor taste that impoverished commoners caught and forced themselves to eat it just to fill their stomachs.

The famous eel jelly did not exist in this era, but the way of eating it was similar. Like eel jelly, they boiled it and ate it right away, or grilled it. Of course, prepared plainly like that, it tasted awful.

Hagfish in particular, with the disgusting slime they spewed, were creatures even commoners avoided eating. It was the sort of thing people would refuse even if they had nothing else to eat.

By contrast, lampreys that sucked blood were treated as a luxury ingredient enjoyed by royalty and nobles.

In other words, instead of meat or flour, King Idris had ostentatiously dumped off the cheap, hated food overflowing in his territory.

"What a pack of barbarians. We're royalty, and they gave us a pile of bug-like things nobody can even eat!"

Kay exploded in outrage, but as I looked into the cart, my eyes sparkled instead.

"No, we can eat them deliciously, can't we?"

"Arthur, that's only because it's you. We're the unusual ones. Normally, this means they supported royalty with food for commoners—or food even commoners won't eat! This is an insult! If Father were here, he'd have smashed those bastards' skulls in with a hammer on the spot."

"What does it matter? Thanks to that, we got this much. At this rate, it'll last us a long time."

I closed the cart with a satisfied smile.

"These things are nourishing food that's insanely good for a man's virility."

At my words, the women's faces, including Artoria and Caenis, all flushed red at once.

"Honestly... the people of Britain have no taste. To practically throw away ingredients this good. Tell King Idris I'm grateful."

After cheerfully waving to the attendants, I climbed into Llamrei's saddle.

"All right, then let's really head for Wales now. Where's our next destination, Merlin?"

At my question, Merlin folded up the parchment map and smiled.

"There's a large lake on the way out of Cornwall toward the border of Wales. According to rumor, a very savage and bizarre cat monster lives in that lake. Before crossing into Wales, how about we subjugate that monster and make it our first great deed?"

"A cat monster..."

I stroked my chin and murmured with interest.

A monster in the shape of a cat.

Could this be [Cath Palug] that Merlin set up? Though isn't that a bit early? Well, whatever. If I get to meet a cute Fou, that works for me.

"Good. Sounds fun. We head for that lake!"

Dragging the rattling eel cart behind us, we left Totnes in high spirits.

At that same time.

Tintagel Castle, the ancient great fortress of the Duchy of Cornwall.

In the audience chamber of that grand castle, now ruled by King Mark, the present ruler of Cornwall, a heavy silence had settled.

"What did you say...?"

King Mark, reclining sideways on his splendid throne, heard the spy's report and violently hurled the silver goblet in his hand to the floor.

Crash!

"Uther Pendragon's legitimate heir has raised an army after drawing the Sword of Selection? And he's been hiding for over a decade right under my nose in the forests of Tintagel?!"

King Mark's face twisted with fury and displeasure.

The fact that Uther's child had secretly grown up within his territory was bad enough, but above all, the fact that the brat had raised an army and marched off as he pleased without so much as paying his respects to him, the true ruler of Cornwall, had deeply scratched at his authority and pride.

After Gorlois died, Mark absorbed even his lands and became the true ruler of Cornwall.

Having ruled Cornwall for decades and indulged in luxury and pleasure as king, he took deep offense at Arthur, who had secretly lived in his territory and then raised an army without even greeting him.

"That insolent little runt. He pulls one sword from a rock and thinks he's the king of Britain now."

King Mark bit at his nails irritably, then called out to the red-haired knight standing silently in the corner of the audience chamber.

"Tristan!"

At the king's summons, the young knight with beautiful yet sorrowful eyes stepped forward and dropped to one knee.

Tristan, King Mark's nephew and the knight called the finest in Cornwall.

"Yes, Uncle."

"Take the elite knights at once and head north. Step on that insolent brat's tail and bring him beneath my feet. I'll teach him clearly who the master of Cornwall is."

"Your command will be obeyed."

Tristan answered in a cold, emotionless voice and rose from his place.

Behind Arthur's march toward the unification of Britain, another legendary knight was already sharpening the cold blade of pursuit.

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