"You're saying you won't take me with you?"
"Yes. If another Master is from our school, won't they recognize you? For now, I'll take that too, so it's fine."
[How mean, Rin-san! Calling me 'that', Ruby-chan!]
"It's true that having Ruby along would be safer... but fine, I understand."
Shinji wouldn't recognize me, and I can use spiritualization plus invisibility to avoid Rider too... but during that time, I also need to roam around Fuyuki for confirmation.
As Rin goes to school, I come out wearing casual clothes. I'll stay as far away from the church as possible... Before going to the Emiya house, should I check Ryuudou Temple too? To see if Assassin is properly there. Around this time, it wouldn't be strange if he were gone. I don't think it's that route, but because of Gilgamesh, using future sight is conversely difficult...
"Certainly, it's good land. The land itself serves as a bounded field. Seeing it directly, it's quite a nice fortress."
It's an impregnable fortress that gives debuffs to evil-aligned beings, though it has no effect on humans. Does it only permit entry through the mountain gate? It's broad daylight, I wonder what Assassin is doing. I use Clairvoyance to check up the stairs. I can see Sasaki Kojirou sitting on the steps before the mountain gate, drinking tea. That man has a tragic life too...
Finally summoned to his homeland, only to be put in the role of gatekeeper, unable to even enter the building.
Then, is Medea inside too? Meeting her right now would cause troublesome things... Still, I'd like to check directly, but what to do?
"... No, given Medea's personality, she'd try to kidnap me."
She might try to kidnap me for my looks. Then it would just become needlessly troublesome. Let's go later. And... why is it? The thought that I don't want to fight Medea, for some reason.
Glancing at Ryuudou Temple, I head for the Emiya house. Emiya Shirou is of course not there, and I jump over the wall to go inside.
"So you're here? Artoria."
"... Archer."
"I came to keep my promise. Then, shall we begin? The dojo might get destroyed, so let's go to the yard."
And so, I taught Artoria how to draw out her dragon power. I'm not a dragon, and I didn't have a dragon among my disciples, but I have the Wisdom of the Land of Shadows. And I can temporarily reproduce and use the skills of Servants who have such power. That's the Wisdom of the Land of Shadows, a cheat skill like a privilege of pulling rank.
I told Artoria everything I know, mobilizing all my knowledge to teach her how to handle dragon power.
But... perhaps because she lived over 30 years as nothing but a human, she struggles to follow. That bastard Merlin, really...
"Cough cough! Ugh..."
"Phew... Let's stop here for now and rest a bit. Since your heart is a dragon, I thought you'd be able to produce dragon breath quickly... but being too human makes it difficult. Apparently, it's easier to learn languages when young; early education is important... That bastard Merlin, if the dragon heart was going to be like this, why was he making such a fuss about needing it... I don't understand. Let's stop here and just eat."
"Ah, I can still... do more..."
"Don't push yourself out of stubbornness. You don't need to learn it that urgently. Overdoing it is never good. If you fall doing that, you'll regress even further. I don't intend to allow more, so let's just eat."
"... Yes. But, isn't this Shirou's ingredients...?"
"Are you nitpicking over something so trivial? Really... Let's just eat out. Let's go."
"But I must guard the residence..."
"No one is targeting it, so it's fine. If you stay that rigid, living will be hard, you know?"
First, I take Artoria out to the streets. Servants don't get hungry and are already dead, so it doesn't matter... but she's a living spirit. She's not hungry, but still a living person. So hunger and such things are still strongly felt. To be human-like, food, clothing, and shelter are important, so she should eat well too. What on earth did that bastard Merlin feed the child? Just seeing the late-night snack I made for her yesterday made her drool like a waterfall...
You didn't raise the child properly, you Merlin bastard.
First, I take her to a family restaurant where she can eat comfortably with many options.
"Here, eat to your heart's content. I have plenty of money."
Making gems with Primordial Runes is simple, and I exchanged them for cash while walking around in the morning.
"Th, this... Really, is it okay to eat all this...?"
"Of course, I ordered it for you to eat. Your eyes sparkled when you saw the photos on the menu, didn't they? Haha. This place is pretty good. I've eaten here before."
"Certainly... it looks delicious. Just the smell alone... In Britain, food meant foul smells along with meat that looked tough to anyone, vegetables that were almost rotten, and tasteless potatoes, but this..."
"It looks incredibly delicious..."
"Don't drool and eat~"
"Ah, I didn't drool!"
"Haha."
Saying that, Artoria can't take her eyes off the food. She takes a bite of the french fries first, her eyes shining like shooting stars, and begins eating the food hurriedly. I should order more for her.
"Order here~"
"Yes~ What would you like?"
"Yes, I'll have everything from here to here."
"... Customer, no joking~"
"I'll pay upfront."
"I'll bring it right away!"
The waitress bows respectfully and runs to the kitchen when I pay upfront with cash. Money is the best.
"You can eat it all, right? Artoria."
"Gulp... If you give it, I won't refuse."
"Haha, good spirit. Ah, how are the french fries? You said potatoes were tasteless."
"... Gawain's potatoes were trash. This is, the real taste of potatoes...!"
Gawain, NTR'd by potatoes. See, you should have done better.
Artoria, who finished the entire menu of the family restaurant. A very happy expression... Has some of her obsession eased?
Having already paid, we leave the store and stroll through the streets.
"Thank you for the meal, Archer..."
"Haha, seeing you eat so happily makes me glad too... Hey, Artoria? There's something I want to ask."
"What is it?"
"Have you never thought about living an ordinary life?"
"... An ordinary life. You mean an ordinary country girl?"
"Yes. I... couldn't do that even if I wanted to. I'm secretly a commoner... haha, originally I wanted to. To dream of an ordinary life, I was the only one who could prevent Ulster's destruction."
"....."
"Artoria. I, honestly, didn't want to become king. Even so, because I was the only one, because I was the only one who could change that future, I did my best. Even if that end was a tragedy, I was prepared to accept it. But, Artoria. To you, I must look like a successful king, right? But that's not true. I... regret having become too strong as a king trying to change Ulster's fate."
"Regret...? Why? You are a hero and king who saved not just Ulster but Ériu, unlike me. Yet, you say regret?"
"As a king, I too think it was a successful life without regrets. But... as the human Fergus, it was a life full of regrets. Because I reached a realm beyond human, I had to send off my human wives. Nessa, Deirdre, Medb... Sending them off, I agonized over whether to commit suicide. But I couldn't leave while others remained. After three centuries passed, the Celtic Age of Gods completely ended, and even The Morrígan, for whom staying in the Land of Shadows became difficult, left, and after you were born, I slept along with Aífe."
"The regret is... sending off your companions."
"That's part of it... Another regret is leaving Scáthach alone. Even though I knew she would be lonely, would be sad, I couldn't kill her. That was the weakness of my heart. The point is, while I may look like a successful king to your eyes, as a human I was a failure. Artoria... Is your yearning for the Holy Grail because you are a king? Or is it the wish of the human Artoria? Are you, truly yearning for the Grail for your own sake?"
"...."
"... I brought up a dark story for no reason, I'm sorry. It's like seeing my own later years. I'm getting unnecessarily talkative. Artoria, we cannot change the past but we can change the future. Now, an opportunity has been given to you. That opportunity is given not to the Knight King, but to the human Artoria. Please, what you truly desire now... think more deeply about what you, the human, desire, not the duty of a king."
Hmm... Tch, did I speak too seriously? The mood is ruined. This is why getting old is no good... Should I change the topic?
"Ah, they're selling taiyaki over there. Want some?"
"... Yes."
Changing the topic to food for now, I buy taiyaki. Artoria ponders whether to eat the head or the tail first. She looks a little worried if it will be tasty, but soon takes a bite of the tail. Then her eyes shine and this time she eats the head..
"Haha, the bean paste is dripping. It's just bread, you know?"
"..."
"Don't think about picking it up to eat."
"Ah, yes."
She was about to pick it up and eat it... This is why Britain. Just how terrible were the food conditions?
I roughly walked around Fuyuki and taught Artoria the geography. We went to a game center in the middle and wandered around Fuyuki in various ways. It's about time for school to end.
"...."
Her eyes shine looking at the lion doll on the panel placed in front of the donut shop. Is it special because it's a lion doll not found in game centers either? Should I buy her one? But, the condition for this...
"It's not the doll but the donut you're after."
"Ah, no no!? Th, that is... Shirou would probably like the doll..."
"Artoria. If you lie, I won't buy it for you."
"I want it! N, not just as a bonus with the donut... that... the doll is a little... haha."
"... Well, let's do that."
No matter how I look at it, it seems like a bonus with the donut... So buying donuts, we head towards the school. Artoria eats a donut while walking. She eats the donut with the lion doll tucked under her arm. It's the donut mascot, Pon de Lion... Somehow it resembles Saber Lion. Perhaps that lion is the origin.
Artoria smiles, eating the donut with an innocent face, looking happy. Merlin... wasn't the face you wanted to see not the exhausted face of a child becoming worn out as a king, but this happy face? I won't specially block you... look to your heart's content. Uther, Nimue, Ector, Merlin... In the end, Artoria despaired, but it's affection of a sort. I'll help, so leave it to me.
Merlin, if you tell the story of the king, I will tell the story of the person.
"What's this, why are you two together!?"
"Huh? Saber?"
"Ah, Shirou~"
We see the two people leaving school, and Saber waves at Shirou.
"We just took a little walk."
"No matter how I look, that's not it...! Emiya-kun too, and even you, Archer...! We're supposed to be enemies, you know!?"
"You said we weren't yesterday?"
"No, that... sigh, what's the use of talking."
[Ufufu~ This is this, it's Rin-san's complete defeat!]
"You shut up! More importantly, what's with the donuts?"
"I bought some for Rin too, would you like one?"
"... I'll have it with tea at home."
Such a peaceful moment... Perhaps, both I and Artoria wished for a life like this. I too was happier living with my wives than living as a king. So, I want you to understand too. The happiness of being human, not a king.