"Prophecy?"
"What prophecy?"
Artoria tilted her head slightly.
"I have absolutely no idea."
"That's because it hasn't reached this village yet."
Kay, dressed in casual clothes, placed his hand on the sword at his waist.
"King Uther is getting old. The matter of choosing his successor is now on the agenda."
"The embodiment of the Red Dragon will become the new king. He will gather all the Knights of the Round Table and restore the glory of Britain."
"The White Dragon will be defeated then—"
"The Red Dragon will eventually stand tall upon the land."
"And before that, the Sword of the King will emerge from the earth to welcome its master."
The poetic tone of the words stirred Ian's curiosity.
As a descendant born of the Sea of Life, he had never heard of such things.
He really wanted to understand.
"What does that mean?"
The boy asked.
"Hm?"
Only then did Kay notice the person standing next to his adoptive sister.
"Who are you?"
"Why haven't I seen you before?"
The problem she feared finally came up.
How was Ian's identity supposed to be explained?
She couldn't just say he fell from the sky, bit her on the chest, and almost had his way with her, right?
"I'm Artoria's friend."
"Hm?"
Before Artoria could figure out how to answer, Ian spoke up.
He pointed at himself.
"I was injured."
"Artoria helped."
"She's nice."
"…"
Kay followed his gaze and quickly noticed the firewood Ian was carrying.
In an instant, he had an "answer."
"You got hurt while chopping wood, and then you met Artoria—right?"
"Yes, yes, that's it!"
Realizing this was a great explanation, Artoria quickly went along with it.
"Since he got injured, he's staying with us for now."
"Kay, I didn't get the chance to tell you yet."
"…"
Kay looked at Ian, then at Artoria, and nodded.
"I see."
"Then take your time and rest up."
He patted Ian on the shoulder.
"If you need anything, just let me know."
"Thank you."
"You're surprisingly polite."
Kay smiled.
"Alright, I've got to go help Dad unload the cargo—he brought back a ton from the city this time, and there's no way he can handle it alone."
"Okay, go on, Kay~"
Having dealt with one big problem, Artoria let out a breath of relief as she watched Kay walk away.
She turned to Ian and gave a thumbs-up.
"You're not as clueless as you seemed—'friend' was the perfect choice!"
"…"
"What is a 'friend'?"
Ian's sudden question left Artoria momentarily stunned.
"You don't know what it means?"
"No."
"Then why did you say it just now…"
"Because—"
Ian looked straight at Artoria.
"I wanted to help you, and that word came to mind."
"Eh?"
Such a simple reason.
But very convincing.
"Ahem."
Artoria cleared her throat.
"Well, a 'friend' is someone who helps you out too!"
"We…"
"Kind of fit that description, don't we?"
"…"
"What's with that look?"
"My first friend."
"Artoria, you're my first friend."
"Eh?"
Being suddenly given that title, Artoria actually felt a little embarrassed.
"Really?"
"That's… great, then."
She said softly, then noticed Ian's throat twitching.
"What are you doing!"
"Are you thinking of that kind of thing again?!"
"No."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Then…"
Artoria took half the firewood from Ian.
"Let's head home."
"Talking about this stuff out in the street just feels weird."
"Yeah. Let's go home."
As they walked along the village path, Ian looked around.
Groups of villagers stood in various spots, discussing something.
If he listened closely, he could make out that it had something to do with the prophecy from earlier.
"Artoria."
"Hmm?"
She turned her head.
"What is it?"
"Why is everyone making such a fuss about what Kay said?"
"Is it really that important?"
"Of course it is!"
Artoria answered seriously.
"The king rules all of Britain!"
"If someone dumb becomes king, wouldn't that be a disaster?"
"Hmm…"
Ian nodded.
"Then how do we make sure the person who becomes king is the right one?"
"Well…"
Artoria shook her head.
"I don't really know either."
"But—"
"There must be a way!"
"There's even a prophecy, right?"
"But it's just a so-called prophecy. Why does no one doubt if it's even true?"
"That's because—"
Artoria was just about to explain, but realized she couldn't think of a single reason.
Yeah… why?
Ian was right.
Why is everyone's first reaction to believe such a prophecy without questioning it?
It was as if… everyone had been enchanted.
"I… I don't really have an answer for you."
"If everyone thinks that way, then there must be a reason for it, right?"
Artoria tried to explain.
But as soon as the words left her mouth, even she felt they were weak and unconvincing.
It sounded more like an excuse than an explanation.
"Really?"
"So the path everyone chooses is automatically the right one—"
"Is that how I should understand it?"
"Maybe…"
Artoria felt her head getting jumbled up too.
"Alright, don't get stuck on this!"
"There's probably no real answer anyway."
"I understand."
Ian nodded.
"But—"
"Artoria, if one day you feel like that path doesn't sit right with you…"
"You can tell me."
"We'll walk the path you want instead."
"Eh?"
Her cheeks flushed slightly.
"The path I want?"
"Yeah." Ian nodded again.
"You make it sound like I've already hit a dead end…"
Though she seemed to be complaining, her tone was soft.
With a smile in her eyes, she added gently.
"But thank you."
"That sounds like a pretty meaningful promise."
"Can I exchange it for something else though?"
"For what?"
"This—"
Ian unabashedly reached out his hand, his fingers clearly heading toward Artoria's chest.
She instantly turned red.
"I knew you were going to say that!"
"Absolutely not!"
"Guess it's not valuable enough then."
"That's not the reason!"