[Tohsaka Rin: "I'm home, thank you so much, Ryuga-sama!"]
After returning home, Tohsaka Rin immediately reported her safe arrival.
She had no money on her, and originally thought she would have to walk for most of the day to get home. She never expected that Ryuga had already placed a delayed-trigger spatial transfer technique on her, sending her directly home and sparing her the trouble.
When she arrived home, only her mother was there.
According to Tohsaka Aoi's description, Tohsaka Tokiomi had noticed the abnormal firelight from the Matou residence and rushed over anxiously to provide aid.
It seemed he didn't truly mean what he said about not considering Sakura his own child.
Unfortunately, it was too late now to say anything.
The Matou mansion at this time had been completely burned to ruins, with no trace of life to be found.
Rin could clearly sense her mother's anxiety and could roughly guess the regret in her father's heart at this moment.
After hesitating, she still decided not to tell her parents the truth.
Setting aside whether they would believe in Ryuga-sama's existence or believe that Sakura could receive better education.
Even if they would, Ryuga-sama had no obligation to prove himself to them.
Moreover, Sakura now was completely disappointed in her parents. Once a rift is formed, it's very difficult to mend.
Sakura had finally managed to latch onto Ryuga-sama's coattails even before herself, becoming a disciple of the legendary goddess. Even considering her sister's future, there was no reason to make her give up the opportunity she had finally grasped.
As for whether their parents would be heartbroken for life over this...
Thinking of the unknown insect cellar in the Matou house and the tragic fate Sakura might have suffered if Ryuga-sama hadn't intervened, Rin felt this price wasn't excessive.
Having made her decision, she stopped worrying about this matter and turned her attention to the chat group.
[Erica: "Ryuga-sama has returned too!"]
[Erica: "But when he left, he was alone. Why are there three people returning?"]
She had seen little Sakura in the livestream, so that wasn't a problem.
But what was with this small-bodied yet incredibly imposing blonde ahoge girl beside them?
This dignified, stern, inviolable attitude...
Even though they were both blonde beauties, why did the other person look more knightly than herself?
[Tohsaka Rin: "Ah this!"]
That's what you get for not watching the livestream - you got NTR'd!
Though even if Erica had watched the livestream, she would only have been NTR'd right to her face.
Rin silently complained in her heart.
Facing Erica's confusion, Ryuga looked at Artoria with complete composure.
Artoria immediately understood and stepped forward, greeting with knightly etiquette.
"I am the Knight King Artoria Pendragon. I have now made a contract with Ryuga-sama and pledge my loyalty to Master as a knight. May I ask, are you my colleague?"
Ryuga had no intention of actively explaining, nor was there any need to.
As a lord recruiting knights, this was the most normal behavior. Let alone recruiting one Ahoge King - even recruiting a million Ahoge Kings would only require considering whether he was willing.
Only knights who couldn't properly position themselves would presume to interfere with their lord's choices.
And clearly, Erica had a very clear understanding of herself.
She had long understood that she was only lucky enough to latch onto these coattails, and there were many others who wanted to do the same.
So her earlier words were mainly just simple curiosity.
Hearing Saber reveal her identity as a fellow knight under Ryuga's command, she immediately prepared to display a senior's demeanor.
She clearly understood that her competitiveness lay not in strength, but in her flexible skills at uniting everyone.
"That's right, I'm also a knight under Ryuga-sama's command, just joined a little bit earlier than you. You just said your name was—wait! Who did you say you were?"
Halfway through her well-prepared words, Erica suddenly froze, looking at the Ahoge King before her with somewhat bewildered eyes.
"Knight King Artoria Pendragon."
Artoria patiently repeated her name, then added:
"My external name is Arthur Pendragon."
"King Arthur? Knight King? The real one?!"
Hearing this name again and confirming it, Erica's eyes suddenly lit up, looking at the petite girl before her as if seeing an idol she had worshipped since childhood.
"Of course."
Artoria nodded without the slightest hesitation.
This wasn't during the Holy Grail War, and she was facing a colleague - there was no need to hide her true name.
"I never thought the legendary Knight King would actually be female..."
Erica murmured in overwhelming shock.
"How so?"
Artoria raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking she would be criticized.
But unexpectedly, after confirming this point, the knight girl before her cheered with extreme joy, then approached with incredible enthusiasm.
"This is great! Could you please give me an autograph! An autograph from the legendary Knight King would definitely make a whole circle of people envious, especially Liliana - she'll definitely show jealous and hateful expressions!"
Erica immediately pulled out paper and pen, like a fanatical fan.
"You don't need to use honorifics. We're now colleagues of equal standing."
Faced with Erica's excessive enthusiasm, Artoria was clearly somewhat overwhelmed.
"Oh right! We're colleagues, so can I call you Artoria-senpai directly?"
Erica's eyes sparkled as she immediately tried to establish a closer relationship.
"But weren't you the first to become Master's knight? In terms of seniority as Master's knight, I should be the junior, right?"
After being stunned for a moment, the Ahoge King couldn't help but retort.
"How can you say that? You created chivalry itself! We can only be considered juniors! Also, could you sign this outfit too?"
Originally having some competitive feelings, Erica became completely enthusiastic after learning Artoria's identity.
"Master, am I this famous in this world?"
Faced with this attitude, even the battle-hardened Knight King felt somewhat overwhelmed.
Artoria couldn't help but turn back to look at Ryuga, her holy blue-green eyes seeming to ask for help.
When she learned that Ryuga came from a world completely different from the parallel Type-Moon universe, she hadn't felt as helpless as she did now.
"You are famous, but not much different from the previous world."
Ryuga explained.
The Type-Moon world and the Campione world had the same modern development and mythological systems.
The fame of stories like the Arthurian legend had no difference among ordinary people in the world.
"Then why is she...?"
Artoria looked at Erica in confusion.
"Probably because she's a member of the Templar Knights!"
Ryuga casually guessed.
"Master is exactly right!"
Seeing that Artoria seemed uncomfortable and realizing she had scared the other party, the perceptive Erica immediately tried to rein in her enthusiasm.
Seeing that Artoria didn't understand Ryuga's meaning, she immediately added:
"The origin of our Templar Knights is the Round Table Knights founded by King Arthur. For us, the Knight King is not only the goal that all of us Templar Knights chase, but also our most worthy senior to revere."
Although Arthurian legend was classified into Celtic mythology by later generations, the myth itself was filled with obvious Christian elements, and the Church generally didn't oppose this mythology.
"Is that so..."
Hearing this, Artoria's expression softened somewhat.
Looking at Erica's excited face before her, she felt somewhat comforted.
Even if Britain had fallen apart and the Celts had scattered, the chivalry she created had still been passed down.
It seemed her efforts back then weren't useless.
Following Master together, she would definitely be able to find answers.
Seeing the two getting to know each other initially, Ryuga finally spoke:
"Save getting to know each other for later. Erica, help me prepare some ritual materials. I want to test the summoning ritual I just comprehended."
He was naturally referring to the ritual for summoning gods.
To be continued…
I will prolly put 50 advanced chapters of this fic on Patreon tomorrow so stay tuned guys!