Artoria the Big Liar

"Very average. The ingredients are all leftovers from today. And the chef should have left work, and the saltiness is not well controlled. Especially the clam soup, it is completely stuffed with spices, without the umami taste of seafood at all. It's simply not up to par."

Arthur's expression changed subtly, and there was a deliberate regret in his golden eyes.

"That's it... Then next time, order dinner earlier. It's past nine o'clock now, there is really no way..."

"What does Arthur think? Are the meals provided by the hotel delicious?"

"I think it's okay... I can't feel the subtle differences in Japanese cuisine."

This answer made my mood fall to the bottom.

I'm so sorry, really sorry.Not only do I regret being so sensitive, but I also regret that I have the ability to read minds.

As Arthur answered, I subconsciously met her eyes and immediately sensed her emotion.

"……fraud."

"Uh... Jeanne?"

I pursed my lips, lowered my eyelids, clenched my fists, my eyes were sore and astringent.

After my body became weak, I would shake uncontrollably even when I clenched my fists.

I didn't answer, and Arthur wasn't born, so the huge room was silent.

After a long, really long time, Arthur finally hugged me tightly, stroking my left hand with his left hand, and stroking my right hand with his right hand, conveying that heart and emotion to my heart.

"...It's nothing, I just exchanged my sense of taste for something. As soon as the Holy Grail War is over, it will return to normal."

"Really... Will it return to normal?" My voice was hoarse and weeping.

"Of course. Didn't we agree to travel around the world? Tasting food is a very important part of traveling. How could I just give up my sense of taste casually in exchange for power? Power is such a thing , as long as it can be obtained temporarily when needed. This is the case now."

"Really?"

"Well, it's true..."

She's still lying... It's already like this, she's still lying!

I raised my head, stared at her golden eyes, and watched the panic reflected in them.

Then, I confronted her, "...so, instead of power, it's something else, right?"

Arthur pursed his lips, avoiding my sight.

As usual, she sorted out her thoughts before answering.

I didn't rush her.However, the restlessness in my heart made me speak the words I had accumulated for a long time.

"Arthur, I won't ask what you exchanged for. Because I have a hunch that I will know the truth sooner or later. I just want to tell you, stop telling such 'white lies'. If you don't want to answer, you don't have to answer. But please, please don't lie to me again, okay? Yes, I'm weak, and I'm only going to get weaker, but... but..."

After all, I still can't say it... Anything I say at this time is just to hurt each other.

My fate, her fate, have been completely intertwined, and it is impossible to separate them.

It's only been a few days, but the complementary intentions and touching emotions have brought us together to a situation where one of them dies and the other can never live alone.

There was no turning back in the rear, and she and I had no other choice but to continue walking with each other's support.

It's just that she just hid me behind her, discarded the treasure that was once more important than life, and faced the darkness and thorns alone.I watched her keep getting hurt, but kept pretending nothing happened and smiling bravely. It was really...it was really hard to bear the pain in my heart, and I couldn't help but want to cry...

"No, Jeanne...not in the future."

It seems to be comforting and crying【'

Even in the endless hell surrounded by sin and falsehood, as long as Arthur is by my side, hell is like heaven.

Whenever there is a problem, Arthur will take a long time to give an answer.

But this time it was so long that the numbers on the clock changed from 9 to 10, and the rainstorm outside finally weakened a little.

"...Jeanna, it's really nothing. I used some things as sacrifices in exchange for a treasure, and gave it to Mordred... Does Jeanna know? In the past, Mordred was My most important person. Even if there may be hostility in the future, I want her to rely on something, at least to live a life similar to the past..."

"Is it really Mordred..."

"Well. If I can't handle the relationship with Mordred well, I can't devote myself to the Holy Grail War."

"So... what do those things refer to?"

"Things that were needed in the past, but are not needed now."

"for example……?"

"Ideas, dreams, prayers, great love, beliefs, principles... There are many similar things. I thought it would not affect the body, but I didn't expect to lose my sense of taste... Is it a punishment for my behavior? "

"Then... in exchange for what?"

"It's not considered an exchange... It's just that these conceptual things have been extracted and built into a small crystal, about the size of a water drop. I will give it to Sister Wang, and let Sister Wang use it in Mordred's It is used in the servant summoning ceremony. When the summoning ceremony is completed, the summoned spirit base and consciousness will be fused with that crystal. It is both the summoning ceremony and the second coming ceremony of the spirit base."

I still remember the term "Ascension".

At that time, Merlin said three routes, one of which was to let me accept the Ascension of the Spirit Base repeatedly and become a man-made follower.

In this way I obtain a soul similar to my own body in image and power, which can prevent the body from decaying and collapsing.

The price is that I will become less and less able to maintain my current self and slowly become another person.

Arthur did not agree with this route, so he decided to participate in the Holy Grail War.

I don't know much about the Holy Grail War, so I didn't comment, just listened to Arthur explain it to me.

"So, the servant Mordred summoned must be Arturia Pendragon, and that glorious Knight King. I handed those things over to her, and she can be counted as another me, Possess the same wisdom and insight as mine, and more importantly, have similar feelings for Mordred. It’s just that she lacks memory and experience, and she occasionally feels strange—but, since she has the same wisdom, she Now you should be able to understand your identity and your responsibilities, right?"

"Don't be sad for me, Jeanne—the me now belongs to you only, completely to you. I have become a knight who belongs only to you, and a king who belongs only to you. Only by removing the obstacles in the heart Only then will I have no hesitation and confusion, and I will be able to continue fighting without reservation. If I still hesitate and look forward and backward as in the past, let alone winning the Holy Grail, I am afraid it will not even be a matter of defeating Gilgamesh. Easy stuff - not only is he very good at saving his life, but he's also very good at escaping."

In other words, she had betrayed—betrayed her own country, her own knights, her own subjects.

The life called King Arthur was just thrown away by her, and left to Mordred and those who still love her.

Therefore, when talking about Mordred in the evening, she could say such excessive words as "just when she was bitten to death by a poisonous snake when she was two years old".

Before, I thought I understood the meaning of the class "Pretender".

But it wasn't until now that I finally fully understood what it meant to Arthur.

——She is no longer King Arthur (Pendragon), she is just an Arturia (Vortigern) who actively fell into the abyss for the thing she loves.There is no country, no subjects, no armies, no lands, just a throne that is about to decay (me), and a crown that will never be taken off (love).

"Then... what about Morgan and Merlin? They... are they willing to accept such a process and result?"

"...Jeanna, it's impossible for me to divide myself into more parts." Arthur's words made my heart tremble. "And, it was Merlin who did this. She has the blood of the succubi, and can cut my spirit according to needs. When she did it, she didn't cry, she was smiling all the time, and the process went very smoothly... Presumably she also has Are you aware of this?"

I tried to recall Merlin's reaction that day - she kept laughing, and no matter what I asked, she didn't answer, or slurred, just smiled, the same as before, the same as always.No one thinks there is a problem, not even me, who can read minds, can't detect anything wrong with her.

But now... I just feel as cold as winter.

Then, anger—

"Arthur...don't you know? Merlin...she's gone crazy! It's you who drove her crazy! Don't you feel it?" The anger was burning, and I made a loud noise, Ask the broken person in front of you: "How could she accept that she turned you into two copies, or did it by herself?! How could she watch you tear your heart out and act like nothing happened?! Are you thinking What, Arthur! Don't you understand such a simple truth! You..."

"This kind of thing happened often before, and Merlin has experienced it many times, so there shouldn't be any problem, right?"

Arthur spoke quietly.In other words, there is no specific sense of reality.

It's like... those things have nothing to do with her...

The sense of shock exploded in my heart like a bomb...

"Arthur... have you treated yourself like this in the past?"

"It was at first, but it was not after being recognized by everyone." Arthur continued, calm as a pool of stagnant water. "The nature of my magic is dark, and my appearance is exactly the same as Vortigern. Between the ages of eight and 16, in order to survive, I did many, many evil things. Therefore, proving my identity and my will become It's a very troublesome thing. For example, if I walk into a village, how can I prove that I have no malicious intentions in the shortest time, and that I am completely different from my past self?"

"When I first met Merlin, the situation was similar. Although I subdued her, she still didn't want to believe me, so I let her go and told her that she could treat me anyway. She really wanted to continue strangling me , I just let her continue to do it without resistance or making a sound. When the sun rises, her arms are so tired that she can't use her strength, so she understands my heart. Even if she doesn't want to believe me, she still reluctantly agrees I have become a staff member."

"When the team was first established, there were only [-] people, and there were many rumors about me. One day, a village kindly accepted us. But the grandson of the village chief disappeared that day, and some people said that I ate it. That child—I did do similar things when I was young, and I have nothing to admit—in short, the time was very tight at that time, and I was going to raid a cottage tomorrow. Everyone was also very tired and had to rest, otherwise they would Will be defeated or disbanded."

"After thinking about it, I had no other choice, so I cut open my stomach with a sword, took it out and dumped it out, to prove that I only ate weeds and wild vegetables these days, not meat, let alone the village chief's child. Sure enough , After I stuffed my stomach back, the villagers immediately believed my words, and felt that I had really changed. After finding that playful child together, the villagers took out all their savings and let the 16 of us eat A full meal. Without that meal, my time to unify Britain may be delayed by half a year... maybe it will never be achieved?"

"It's the same situation this time, right? I want to prove that my feelings for Mordred have not disappeared, and my feelings for everyone have not disappeared. At the same time, I want to focus more on the Holy Grail War. Some of them were pulled out, turned into crystals, and turned into the glorious King Arthur to protect them."

As he said that, Arthur laughed... She actually laughed... Obviously she was talking about such a terrible thing.

Rather than explaining to me, she seemed to be talking to herself, recalling her past.

"Don't worry, the scabbard is still in my body. No one can hurt me except Saber and Mordred. Cut open the stomach, take it out and pour it out, ordinary people will definitely die, right? But I don't Yes, I'm still alive...and..."

"And I envy Saber. She grew up in Sir Hector's family and grew up with Kai. She doesn't need to prove anything, and people follow her. As long as she speaks, everyone is willing to believe. Unlike me, who needs to go Many, many detours... are not detours, right? I was really an ordinary person at the beginning, and the qualities that a king should have, such as knowledge, capacity, and responsibility, were obtained in the process of detours."

"The difference between me and her is that in a game with no happy ending, I was forced to choose Lunatic difficulty, and she was forced to choose Hard difficulty... In fact, she is harder than me, right? At least I still have a scabbard, She will definitely not die. Therefore, I believe that she will be able to protect Mordred well, and she will definitely be able to protect Sister Wang and Merlin well."

Arthur didn't go on, she had nothing more to say.

My brain is still struggling to digest what she said, and I almost lost the ability to think.

After a long, long time, I finally realized what Arthur wanted to express when he said such a long paragraph.

I think so little of myself.I really meant more to Arthur than the whole kingdom.For this dream-like love, for this bubble-like me, she can really do anything, and she can give up anything.

And she smiled--I don't think she ever laughed so much in her Arthurian days.

"Don't think too much, Jeanne...I know, waiting is a very painful thing. But it really only takes a few days. It's like being sick and being hospitalized in the hospital. Time has passed, Everything will be fine..."

Another long silence.

After a long, long time again, I finally made a request.

"Arthur... I know I'm useless. But, when you fight in the future, let me stay by your side? It's okay, I can protect myself... Didn't you say that? The dragon I summoned is still Quite powerful."

"...Okay. Then we agree."

(The following does not count the number of words.)

The Philosopher King of Dystopia / Distopia's Philosopher King (EX)

The ability possessed by Artoria (Lunatic).

After using this ability, the attack power of all allies can be increased by up to 20% (3 turns), the power of Noble Phantasms can be increased by up to 30% (3 turns), and the NP value can be increased by 20%.As a price, he gets a cursed state (1000 damage, 3 turns).

The concept of the philosopher king was proposed by the ancient Greek sage Plato in the book Utopia.

It is considered the ultimate embodiment of elite politics and the source of all modern good political ideas.

When hope is robbed, when survival becomes a luxury, the philosopher king's country will fall into reverse.

The philosopher king of Utopia governs a country that can make everyone happy with spirit, faith, morality and wisdom.

The philosopher-king of dystopia uses fear, control, violence and cunning to govern a country that makes as many people as possible happy.

Regardless of the country he rules, a philosopher-king is considered to be the source of all wisdom.

For Artoria (Lunatic), it is considered to have any ability related to the concept of "wisdom" such as "leadership", "military strategy", "true name recognition", "riding skills", etc. is A+.

Chapter 53: Yuanzang Mountain ([-] words)

(This chapter is first-person perspective by Jeanne Darc.)

Even with our laptops and the hotel's decent Internet service, Arthur and I fell asleep early.

Arthur was by my side, and I slept peacefully as a matter of course, and this time I still didn't dream.

Just close your eyes, empty your mind, feel Arthur's temperature and breathing, and the night passed like this.

When I opened my eyes again, it was morning.The same sunlight poured into the window, illuminating the entire bedroom.

Unexpectedly, such exaggerated cumulonimbus clouds stopped after only one night.

People around me have woken up.The windows were also opened, the face could feel the wind, and the nose could smell the rain.The sound of cars driving is like white noise, and the sound of ships' horns makes me wonder where reality is.

Supporting my body to get up, I walked out of the bedroom and came to the living room wearing only a shirt.

At this time, the sound of running water came from the bathroom, and Arthur was cleaning his body.

It seems that she didn't wake up for long - after knowing this fact, my heart suddenly became much more stable.Because the hands on the clock were pointing at the number 7, which meant that it was already seven o'clock, and she and I slept for more than eight hours in total, which was quite enough sleep.

Soon, Arthur came out of the bathroom.She is holding a plastic water cup in her left hand and a toothbrush in her right hand, brushing her teeth.

She was also just wearing a shirt, and she appeared in my field of vision majestically.Although she usually has a very serious and reliable appearance, her figure is that of a girl after all.Her originally coiled hair was scattered on her shoulders, and her figure was covered by a large shirt. At this time, Arthur actually had a cute feeling, as if she had really become a 16-year-old girl.

"Jeanna, how do you feel?"