[Your adoptive brother, Kay, returns home in a fury. He seems to have known about the mission Artoria shouldered all along, but he does not wish for his adoptive sister to bear the burden of the British throne.]
[This conviction is strengthened when he sees the Sword in the Stone in Artoria's arms. He shouts loudly, "That dog Merlin must have tricked you again!", sounding utterly furious.]
[Helpless, your sister once again reaffirms her resolve to inherit the throne, which silences your brother Kay.]
[You then choose this moment to tell them about the one-year journey Merlin has planned, starting the day after tomorrow.]
[To your surprise, your brother Kay has the exact same reaction as Artoria did initially. He firmly objects to you joining the journey on the grounds that you are too young.]
[He declares that he will join the traveling party to look after your sister, telling you not to worry.]
[But having lived together for so many years, you are all too familiar with your brother Kay's sharp-tongued habits. If you truly let just your brother Kay, your sister Artoria, and the magus Merlin travel together, the likely result would be...]
[Your sister Artoria would get involved and try to reason with people out of a sense of justice, Merlin would then mock them and escalate the situation, and finally, your brother Kay would either join in with his own sharp tongue and make the trouble even worse, or he'd be left to clean up the mess the other two made all by himself.]
[To prevent this worrying nightmare scenario from appearing in your dreams, you adamantly insist that you must accompany them.]
[However, you seem to have underestimated your brother Kay's determination. With no other choice, as neither of you can persuade the other, you resort to the most common method of this era.]
[You decide the final outcome with a knight's duel.]
[Your adoptive brother, Kay, is defeated by you with a wooden practice sword.]
[Though reluctant, your brother Kay can only agree to let you join the traveling party in the end.]
[That night, when you tell your foster father, Ector, about the journey, you expect to have to persuade him with your sword as well. To your surprise, your foster father does not object.]
[Instead, before you go to sleep, your foster father calls you and your brother Kay into his room. He gives each of you a fine knight's sword and instructs you thusly:]
["If you encounter an enemy who wishes to harm you, do not hesitate. Draw your sword and strike."]
["If you ever want to come home, just come back."]
[With that, your foster father tells you to return to your rooms and rest well for the journey.]
[For the first time, you sense the weariness of old age from this strict yet gentle man, and an impulse to stay home surges within you.]
[But you understand that your sister needs you more than your foster father does.]
[And so, the appointed day arrives.]
[You wake up early and get ready, but Merlin is late. Just as your brother Kay can no longer stop himself from muttering, "That bastard didn't die in some woman's bed, did he?", the carefree magus finally appears.]
[However, Merlin explains that the only reason he was so late was that he was preparing something.]
[A gift for your sister, Artoria.]
"We're... we're just going on a journey. Do I really need to wear this?"
Artoria emerged from the room, flustered. Her gaze darted about as if she had nowhere to put it, and her expression was tense.
At this moment, her previous simple, rustic farmer boy's attire had been replaced by the garb of a pure knight-princess, clad in pure white skirted armor.
The only thing that remained unchanged was the blue ribbon tying back her hair, which was as brilliant as the sun.
"Of course! The news that the Sword of Selection has been drawn is already spreading. It won't be long before Vortigern finds out. So, to prevent him from discovering you before you officially inherit the throne, having you switch back to your identity as a girl is the perfect way to confuse him."
"Besides, isn't it natural for a girl like you to wear a skirt?"
Merlin explained with a grin. His reasoning for having Artoria change back into women's clothing was indeed to avoid Vortigern's spies. Since they had decided to travel the entire country, it was inevitable that they would have to enter Vortigern's territory at some point.
"That may be true, but..."
Artoria hesitated. It wasn't out of shame, but simply because she wasn't used to it.
For as long as she could remember, she had always presented herself as male and had even come to see herself as male. To suddenly switch back to her identity as a girl left her at a loss.
At the same time, she was a little afraid. Afraid that the joy and desire that were faintly stirring in her heart would shake her will.
"It looks fine. Since it's for the plan, just wear it. I'd rather not be chased by Vortigern's army halfway through our trip."
Kay, wearing a set of lighter armor, sized up the girl. Seeing that his sister still had her reservations, he offered his advice in his own unique style.
"But, I just feel like it's not quite appropriate..."
Artoria subconsciously glanced down at the skirted armor she was wearing, unable to shake the feeling that a king shouldn't be so indulgent.
"It's fine. I can't see it, but I'm sure you look beautiful in a skirt, Sister. Besides, as Merlin said, you only need to inherit the throne after a year."
"So, right now, you're just my sister, not the King of Britain. You don't need to restrain yourself so much."
Aozaki Rin took a step forward and took the girl's hand. Though he wore a smile, his tone was exceptionally serious.
His sister finally had a chance to break free from the shackles of the past and return to her true appearance. Even if it was only for a year, Aozaki Rin wanted to sincerely thank Merlin for this plan.
For this one year, at least, his sister was free.
"If En says so... I understand. This is to confuse the enemy's spies. I will do my best."
Convincing herself with this pretext, Artoria relaxed and accepted the arrangement.
What she didn't realize, however, was that from the moment she had put on the skirt, the corners of her lips had been carrying a faint hint of a smile, proving that her heart as a young woman had not been completely erased.
And under the boy's praise, that smile became just a little more pronounced.
"That's the spirit! Now this feels like an adventure! Well then, let's not delay any longer and set off, or we'll have to wait until tomorrow."
Merlin chuckled and raised his staff, pointing forward as if to rally them.
"And whose fault do you think it is that we've been delayed until noon!?"
Kay shot the carefree man an irritated glare and shouldered his pack.
"Now, you can't say that, Kay. I was doing all this to prepare Lily's clothes. And don't be fooled by my appearance, I'm a very busy man, you know? You have no idea how much trouble I went through to get this skirted armor..."
"How much trouble? Busy sleeping in various women's beds and whispering sweet nothings in their ears?"
"Oh dear, you found me out?"
...
Listening to the increasingly outrageous conversation between Kay and Merlin, Aozaki Rin blinked in confusion, not quite understanding the principle behind Merlin's magical method of being able to solve all sorts of problems by sleeping with women.
Before he could listen any further, however, Artoria leaned in and whispered to him, exasperated.
"En, don't listen to the dirty things those two are saying."
Then, the girl gently covered the boy's ears with her hands.
Though he didn't know why, Aozaki Rin nodded obediently and replied softly.
"Mhm."
[Amidst the ruckus, you embark on your journey.]
[As Merlin has not made any specific plans, you decide to follow the principle of proximity and head toward the nearest noble's territory.]
[Day 1: You make good time, covering a quarter of the distance.]
[Day 2: You happen to encounter a group of bandits, whom you promptly dispatch, acquiring some ill-gotten gains.]
[Day 3: Your dry rations have been eaten...]