Next, Shen Er, what's your business?

Chapter 109 Saber's Wish

silence.

long silence.

The three kings, Archer, Rider, and Saber sat motionless in their original positions, not even drinking wine.

Scathach, who caused this silence, silently poured himself a glass of wine and took a sip.

Finally, Rider let out a long breath and broke the silence.

"Honestly, Assassin, I have only lived 33 years in my life, and I still have many dreams that have not been realized, and many landscapes that I have not seen. I can't understand your thoughts at all. Archer, what about you? I remember you seem to have I have pursued eternity, at least I should be able to understand it."

"Stupid question, Rider." Archer narrowed his slender eyes, "If I got eternity, I wouldn't appear here. I don't comment on Assassin's wish, I'm only interested in the Things, things outside the world I don't care about, much less interested in."

Rider turned his head the other way.

"Then what about you, Saber?"

"No. Although my body stopped growing after pulling out the sword in the stone, I didn't get eternity. Perhaps Merlin can understand."

"The sage of Britain, the great magician Merlin?"

Hearing Saber's answer, Scathach nodded, then shook his head again.

"He is in a similar situation to me, but there are fundamental differences. He is a hybrid of humans and nightmares. Although he looks human, his mental structure and characteristics are closer to nightmares. The characteristics of immortality are also derived from this. He may not I can understand, no, it should be said that I have no interest in this aspect. This one, how should I describe—”

"—an old rascal."

"Yes, an old—er, Master!"

When Scathach was considering his choice of words, Shen Er blurted out, almost leading Scathach astray, and Scathach couldn't help but glared at Shen Er.

"Don't stare at me, Merlin is just an old rascal." Shen Er rubbed his nose and bowed to the other three kings, "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend the kings, I really can't help it."

"It doesn't matter." Rider waved his hand proudly and without losing majesty, "The king's words should be listened to by the people, and the king should also listen to the words of Wanming. Master of Assassin, remember that you call yourself Saiki Kusuo, express your opinion .”

"I also want to hear modern people's evaluation of Merlin, please tell me, Mr. Saiki Kusuo." Saber also agreed.

"Thank you for your generosity."

Shinji bowed again.Doing enough superficial etiquette can save a lot of trouble. He never insists on such insignificant details, and he doesn't have any self-contained secondary thoughts.

"Relying on my clairvoyance and nightmare characteristics, I am looking at other people's privacy all day long. Is it an old hooligan or something? Maybe he is staring at this place with clairvoyance right now, secretly having fun by himself."

When clairvoyance is used as a skill or talent, it is manifested as an overall improvement of vision, including field of vision, dynamic vision, and high-level clairvoyance can even see through the special effects derived from future vision or seeing through other people's thoughts.

And Merlin has the three highest-level clairvoyance, one of the EX-level clairvoyance-"the eye that sees through the world", which is specifically manifested as being able to see through everything in the contemporary era without going anywhere, and is also called the "eye of the present".

According to a dead house who once also held EX clairvoyance, Merlin's eyes are like sitting at home browsing all the information circulating on this network called "The World", and they are the most useless of the three EX-level clairvoyance .

Of course, when the nerd said this, he didn't know that Merlin was his spiritual sustenance, the online idol "Magical Girl Meili" himself.

"Uh, the more I think about it, the more I think it's possible." Saying so, Shinji began to look around, looking for the sight cast from nowhere.

His weird behavior made both Weber and Irisviel nervous. The former looked around like Shinji, while the latter focused on the king who had the closest relationship with Merlin.

"Saber."

"Well, Merlin is indeed someone who can do such things. He has been punished by the knights for similar incidents many times before. But don't worry, Merlin can't leave Utopia, nor can he affect the present world."

"What a wicked guy, the Master of Assassin is right, he is indeed an old hooligan." Rider laughed loudly, "You can tolerate such a person, Saber, you are not as boring as I thought, I am getting more and more Curious about your wish."

After being led astray by Shinji, Rider finally brought the topic to Saber again.

Saber's wish is her kingly way, and even more her pride.She admits that Archer, Rider, and Assassin are rivals, but their ideas are far from her own.

Archer's words made no sense at all.As for Rider and Assassin, she admits that both of them have the nobility of warriors, but after all, it is only out of personal desire.Compared with them, Saber thinks her wish is more noble.

The King of Knights firmly raised his head, looked directly at the three kings, and spoke.

"My wish is to save my hometown, and I want to use the universal wishing machine to change the fate of Britain's destruction.

Silence fell again on this outdoor courtyard,

The reason for the silence was similar to a few minutes ago, but it was subtly different.

"King of Knights, I must have heard wrong."

It was Rider who spoke first, with a puzzled expression on his face.

"You just said you want to 'change destiny'? That is to overturn history?"

"That's right, even if this wish cannot be fulfilled even by a miracle, but if the Holy Grail is truly omnipotent, then it must be..."

The scene turned cold because of Saber's firm words, Assassin sighed, Rider and Archer looked disappointed.

"Saber, let me make sure that the country called Britain perished in your era, that is, when you ruled."

"That's right! So I can't forgive myself."

Saber felt a little angry at the reaction of the three of them, and her tone of voice couldn't help becoming irritable.

"That's why I feel regretful and want to change that ending! It's because of me that I caused that ending..."

There was a sudden burst of laughter from the side.

It was a presumptuous, disrespectful, even vulgar laugh, and it came from Archer's twisted mouth.

The unbearable humiliation stained Saber's expression with anger. Archer trampled upon the most noble realms of her soul.

"...Archer, what's so funny about this?"

Archer completely ignored Saber's anger, was out of breath from laughing, and spoke intermittently.

"...The self-proclaimed king...the king who is praised by all people...a person like this actually feels 'regret'? Ha! How can this make people not laugh? A masterpiece! Saber, you are the best clown!"

Archer laughed so hard that he couldn't help himself.Rider beside him frowned, with an expression of displeasure that he didn't usually see, staring at Saber.

"Wait...you wait first, King of Knights, do you want to deny the history you created?"

Saber has never had any doubts about her ideals, and of course she did not expect that someone would question her like this now.

"Exactly! What's the surprise? What's the joke? Is there anything wrong with being sad that the country I gave my life for has perished?"

"There's nothing wrong with feeling sorry for your country's death, but—"

Scathach's sigh hadn't stopped yet, and Archer's laughter rang out again.

"Hey, did you hear what she said, Rider? This little girl who claims to be the King of Knights... actually said 'dedicate her life to the country'?"

Rider remained silent for a while, ignoring Archer who kept laughing wildly, the melancholy expression on his face became more and more serious. To Saber, Rider's silence was as humiliating as being ridiculed.

"What's so funny about this? Since you are a king, of course you should hope that the country you rule will prosper forever!"

"No, you are wrong."

Rider firmly and solemnly denied her words.

"It is not the king who dedicates himself to the country, but the country and the people dedicate everything to the king. It should never be the other way around."

"What did you say……"

The uncontrollable anger made Saber's voice hoarse.

"Isn't that a tyrant?"

"Exactly. We are heroes because we are tyrants."

Rider didn't change his face, and responded calmly.

"But Saber, if there is any king who regrets the ending of his own rule of the country, it is just a foolish king, worse than a tyrant."

Unlike Archer who kept laughing at Saber, Rider fundamentally denied her. Saber frowned and retorted in a sharp tone:

"Iskandar, isn't it the same for you... The heir was killed, and the empire that was built so hard was finally split into four pieces. Don't you feel regretful about this ending? If you have the opportunity to do it again now , don't you think there are other ways to save the motherland?"

"will not."

Rider answered immediately, he straightened his chest, staring straight into the serious eyes of the Knight King.

"If it was the king's decision or the way of life of the subjects who followed the king led to that ending, then death is inevitable. The king will mourn and shed tears for this, but he will never regret it."

"how come?"

"Not to mention overthrowing all of this! This stupid behavior is an insult to all those who have co-created the era with this king."

Saber denied Rider's arrogant declaration.

"Only warriors will regard death as glory, and the people will not think so. What they need is salvation."

"You mean they want the king's salvation?"

Rider shrugged and laughed.

"I don't understand! What's the point of such a thing?"

"This is the duty of a king!"

This time it was Saber's turn to speak loudly.

"Correct governance and correct order are the expectations of all subjects."

"Then you are the 'correct' slave?"

"That's okay, you are worthy of being a king if you sacrifice for your ideals."

The young Knight King nodded and said without any hesitation in his tone.

"The people pass law and order through the king. The king embodies not some phantom that will die with the king, but something higher and eternal."

Looking at the still resolute Saber, Rider shook his head as if pitying her.

"That's not the way 'people' live at all."

"Of course not. Since you are a king, you can't expect the lifestyle of ordinary people."

To be a perfect monarch, to be a man who realizes his ideals.The body gives up the mortal nature to obtain immortality, and the mind gives up personal feelings to become a perfect person.The life of the young girl Artoria was over the moment she pulled the sword of the king's election from the rock, and after that she was a legend called invincible, a hymn, and a phantom.

She has had pain and troubles, but her pride is far greater than that.That uncompromising faith still gives him the strength to support her sword-bearing hands.

"King of Conquest, a self-absorbed person like you won't understand. You who became the overlord to satisfy your endless desires!"

Saber yelled loudly, as if he had dealt a fatal blow to the enemy.

Rider's eyes opened suddenly upon hearing these words.

"A king who has no desires and desires is not even as good as an ornament!"

Rider shouted loudly, the ferocity in his words made his already huge body look twice as big.

"Saber, you said "sacrifice for the ideal". So, you should be a clean and flawless saint in your lifetime. Presumably your image must be lofty and inviolable. But who would say that you are full of suffering? Do you have visions and dreams? A sage can appease the people, but he can never lead them. Only by showing specific desires and respecting the limit of glory can he lead the people and the country!"

After pouring a glass of wine into the glass and drinking it down, Rider continued to correct.

"The so-called king is to have more desires than others, to laugh wildly than others, to be more angry than others, to be both pure and turbid, and to be more real than anyone else. It is precisely because of this that the officials will look up to them and be fascinated by the king. In every Only when the people’s hearts are lit with the fire of the vision of ‘I want to be a king too’.”

"This kind of governance...what justice is there?"

"There is no justice, there is no justice in kingly way, so there is no remorse."

Rider's words were too arbitrary, making Saber tremble with anger.

What is the happiness of the people.On this basic concept, the gap between the two is too great.

One side is to pray for safety.

On the one hand, there is the desire for prosperity.

The king who hopes to put down the troubled times and the king who caused the troubled times by himself cannot have the same philosophy.

Rider smiled fearlessly and continued.

"King of knights, perhaps the banner of justice and ideals you held high once saved your country and subjects. It must be a great cause enough to leave your name in the legend. But you should also It is very clear, what will happen to those people who 'only know to be saved'?"

"You... what did you say?"

At dusk, the blood-stained hills.

That scene flashed in Saber's mind again.

"You always 'rescue' your subjects, but you don't 'lead' them. You don't show the 'king's desire', leave the lost subjects, but a person with a holy gesture, eager to realize those small ideals. So you Not a real king, just a little girl bound by the image of a king who lives not for herself but for others."

"I……"

She had a thousand words to refute, but every time she opened her mouth, the landscape from the hills of Camran that she used to overlook came back to her eyes.

The endless mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.The lives that ended there were formerly her courtiers, friends, and kin.

Thinking about it carefully, she had heard the prophecy when she drew the sword from the stone.Foretelling that the future will be a sign of destruction, and I should have already been mentally prepared.

But even with awareness.

Once she witnessed that scene with her own eyes, she couldn't help thinking about it, and couldn't help but have the idea of ​​praying.

A completely different possibility, even capable of overturning the prophecy of the magician.She thought to herself that if there was such a possibility....

A dangerous imagination emerged as if seeping into the void in Saber's heart.

If I am not protecting Britain as a savior, but coercing Britain as an overlord...

Troubled times will only become more chaotic because of war disasters.Moreover, this is not the kingly way she respects.No matter what angle you stand at, this is impossible for the girl Altelia to choose.

However, if I really did this, compared with that Kamran Hill, which side is the real tragedy...

"...!"

At this moment, Saber suddenly heard the sound of something falling to the ground, pulling her consciousness back from the entanglement in her heart.

Looking back, Irisviel was found limp on the ground, trembling all over.

(End of this chapter)