Artoria felt a little disoriented when she saw Mordred, vaguely seeing the familiar image of the one she had known. For a moment, she even wondered if this Mordred would rush up and stab her.
However, when Mordred looked at her with curious eyes, she knew that this wasn't the same Mordred from her world, the one she had killed.
"Why did so many people suddenly show up?"
Mordred seemed to have just noticed the sudden influx of strangers. She looked around and finally stopped in front of Artoria. For some reason, she felt something strange from the girl before her, who was about the same height and also had golden hair.
"This is your father, with the wrong gender."
"Huh?"
Rin, Shirou, and the others were collectively speechless. Although Ethan was technically right, did he have to say it so directly? And what kind of description was "wrong gender"? Though, strictly speaking, it wasn't wrong.
After Galahad also appeared, Ethan didn't bother greeting anyone else. With Mordred and Galahad added to the group, he activated the plane transfer again, taking everyone with him.
Since staying at Arthur's place last time, the two had agreed on a fixed location. Arthur had set aside a special area in his palace for Ethan and stationed guards there year-round.
If Ethan wanted to visit, he could teleport directly into that room. As soon as he arrived, the guards had permission to report to King Arthur immediately under any circumstances.
Because of this arrangement, Ethan no longer needed to "land" at Merlin's place first to notify Arthur before heading to Camelot.
Watching the guard sprint off to report the news to the king, Ethan casually struck up a conversation with another knight.
Although his child-like appearance made it easy for these adults to underestimate him, due to the special nature of this place and the presence of Princess Mordred, no one dared to treat Ethan as an ordinary child.
Regarding some of Ethan's odd questions, such as what new things Britain had been developing recently, the knight answered as best he could, though he avoided mentioning the re-equipping of the army with new weapons.
Mordred, back home, was full of excitement, wandering around wanting to see how the palace had changed.
Artoria, however, was slightly agape, staring at the scene before her in disbelief.
"This... is Camelot?"
"Wow, it's amazing! The legendary Camelot is so magnificent!"
Shirou, Rin, and Sakura had all heard of the legendary capital of King Arthur, but they had never expected the real Camelot to be so luxurious, clean, and advanced.
Artoria felt a bit embarrassed. The Camelot she had ruled wasn't nearly this grand. Although it had been the largest and most spectacular city in Britain at the time, it still paled in comparison to the one before her eyes.
The group was standing on high ground within the palace complex, deliberately designed so that one could view most of the city. This was why everyone was filled with admiration.
This arrangement had been made so Arthur could show Ethan the changes in the city right away, not without a hint of wanting to show off.
However, Arthur didn't end up shocking Ethan, but rather shocking himself.
Just as Artoria was marveling at the magnificent Camelot, a middle-aged man with some wrinkles and graying temples appeared in sight.
Although no one introduced him, Artoria immediately recognized the man.
Arthur Pendragon.
Or rather, herself from another world.
Arthur stopped when he reached the group, looking around for a moment before finally focusing his gaze on Mordred.
"You came back by yourself?"
Mordred rolled her eyes. The first thing her father did wasn't to greet her, which made her very displeased.
She spread her fingers, pointing at the large group of people behind her.
"Can't Father see so many people standing here? How could I have come back by myself?"
"Haha, although I'm not sure what you've learned all these years, that spirit of yours is good." Arthur looked at Mordred's face, which had clearly matured a lot. He didn't know how long she had been gone, but several years had indeed passed on his side. After not seeing her for so long, he actually felt a bit homesick for his child. "Stay for a few more days this time, and spend some time with your mother too."
This time, Mordred didn't act silly but nodded. The biggest reason she came back this time was to see her mother.
As she grew older, she had begun to understand many things. She didn't need to worry about her own lifespan, but her mother might not have that luxury. If she stayed away for decades, she might not even get to see her mother's last moment.
Watching Mordred run off like a gust of wind and disappear from sight, Arthur wasn't in a hurry to ask about her experiences. If he really wanted details, Galahad was a better source to report everything clearly and objectively.
Turning back to the others, Arthur greeted Diana for a while. Then, his eyes landed on the small boy standing next to her.
"This... couldn't be your and Ethan's child, could it?"
No matter how he looked at him, the child seemed connected to Ethan, but he definitely hadn't expected that the one in front of him was Ethan himself.
"At our level, we don't really concern ourselves with descendants anymore."
"Ethan?"
Arthur looked him up and down in disbelief for a long time before suddenly recalling something.
"Merlin said there was something interesting to watch... so this is what he meant!"
"..."
Ethan had suspected Merlin only wanted to watch a good show, but he hadn't expected him to actually inform Arthur in advance.
The two old friends exchanged a few jabs, with Ethan teasing Arthur for aging too quickly and wondering if he'd end up like Merlin the next time they met.
Arthur retorted that Ethan had reached a new level of pretending to be young, asking what kind of quirk it was to turn himself into a child.
After that brief exchange, Ethan quietly looked at Arthur.
"You've changed a lot."
The old Arthur would occasionally joke, but never like this. Rather than saying Arthur had become cheerful, it was more accurate to say he had grown more adept at dealing with all kinds of people.
"It's unavoidable."
"Yeah, I've changed a lot too."
The two walked to the side, overlooking the magnificent Camelot, and Arthur began talking about his accomplishments over the years.
In a sense, Arthur was lonely in this world, because no one here could truly understand how great his achievements were.
As the King of Britain, Arthur had rapidly advanced technology, expanding his influence across the European continent. No matter how miraculous his achievements were, the Knights of the Round Table and the people all treated them as natural.
Even if he created something new, no one was surprised. Arthur couldn't even find someone to react appropriately if he wanted to show off.
Only Ethan could truly appreciate how incredible it was to popularize hygiene knowledge, build public hospitals, train doctors and nurses, develop animal husbandry to improve the diet of the people, and create everyday necessities that shouldn't exist for hundreds of years.
Arthur had raised the country's standard of living by several levels, and many of his plans were based on future ideals.
"Truly remarkable achievements!"
To accomplish all this, Arthur's hair had turned white while he was still in his prime. Even as a king with the resources of a nation, he had poured so much energy into developing his empire that it had taken a toll on his body.
"You've achieved everything you set out to do back then."
"No, far from it."
"You're still not satisfied? Do you want to unify the world?"
Arthur suddenly smiled.
"Why not? The research institute has already built the third generation of steam engines, and we've made breakthroughs in steel. We're currently trying to build trains and steamships. Once the trials succeed... unifying the world won't be impossible."
Arthur took a deep breath, intending to straighten his back and show his regal bearing, but then felt a wave of weakness.
"Perhaps this is the last thing I can do."
Years of government affairs had caused him to neglect martial training, and his body had deteriorated. The Sword in the Stone at his waist was now only a symbol of his authority; he hadn't used it in combat for a long time.
Ethan nodded. It seemed Arthur had set his final goal. After unifying the world, he would begin preparing for succession.
"You didn't come here just because you were bored and wanted to bring friends to visit me, did you?"
"Someone needs you to give them some guidance."
"Her?"
Although his martial arts had declined, Arthur's perception had become sharper. He had already noticed the young girl nearby.
"Who is this girl? Why does she need me to guide her?"
Ethan smiled brightly. If he weren't too short, he would have patted Arthur's shoulder a few times.
Instead, he simply smiled and said, "This girl is actually you. She's King Arthur from another parallel world."
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)