Arthur walked down the street, staring at the ten thousand yen in his hand, lost in thought.
This wasn't the first time he'd forgotten money. After all, he'd been a king—never worried about food or clothing. Even if he had forgotten, he could simply make a note, and a knight would come and pay for it later. Arthur had never made a habit of carrying money with him, and when he was first summoned, it was common for him to find himself penniless after leaving the house.
During that period, at the instigation of Matou Kariya, Arthur would go to the Tōsaka mansion whenever he was short on money, and his funds would be replenished instantly.
As everyone knows, a magician's residence is generally devoid of surveillance systems. For example, Tōsaka Tokiomi, confident in his magical ability, had set up numerous barriers and defensive spells around his home.
Unfortunately, most magic tricks were useless under Arthur's highest level of clairvoyance.
So to this day, Tōsaka Tokiomi still hadn't figured out how his house had been robbed.
Ahem, it's not theft! I'm not that contemptible!
Can visiting the residence of a minister be called stealing?
That's a privilege—it's Tōsaka Tokiomi's honor!
Huh? Tōsaka Tokiomi isn't Arthur's vassal? Fuyuki isn't British territory? Just kidding. Wherever Arthur goes is Britain. If that's the case, the Tōsaka family is naturally Arthur's wealthy merchant class. So, Arthur was merely collecting taxes.
But—
I just took a lot of money from the Tōsaka mansion not long ago, and now someone from the Tōsaka family is offering me money again?
I feel a little sorry... Kariya.
Although he sensed something was off, Arthur still accepted the money and entered the arcade.
Of course, a mere ten thousand yen in game currency wasn't enough to cover his expenses. However, there were many ways to make money purely through entertainment. Even without gambling, Arthur's luck in the arcade was enough to let him live lavishly for several days.
For example, at this very moment, a game coin was tossed into the coin pusher. With the sound of metal colliding, the mountain of coins that had sat still for two days suddenly collapsed, and a large number of game coins poured out.
Very good. Let's take the first city.
Arthur smiled.
This type of game, which required little skill, wasn't really entertaining to him. However, after arriving in this world, it was through this that he came to understand his A+ Luck firsthand.
Though not as convenient as something like Golden Rule, A+ Luck was enough to trigger events that would seem miraculous to ordinary people.
And for Arthur, such "miracles" were commonplace.
But today—
Clatter—
The sound of a large number of coins falling echoed from the adjacent machine.
At the same time, the two blond men locked eyes in the air.
"Wow~ I didn't expect to meet such a miscellaneous cultivator here."
"…King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. The greatest miscellaneous cultivator I know has appeared," Arthur muttered. He didn't even need to sense the other's mana. Just hearing that infuriating catchphrase was enough to confirm his identity. "The Holy Grail truly is amazing. It can do anything—even summon a miscellaneous cultivator who loves calling others miscellaneous cultivators."
This guy!
Bastard! Can't you even hear that I'm praising you?! I even gave you the title of Miscellaneous Cultivator and you're still not grateful—you curse me instead?!
Damn it!
Gilgamesh raised a brow and glanced at the crowd around them. Even though he wanted to kill Arthur, he disdained the idea of implicating foolish commoners in a moment of anger. Gods have their ways, kings have their laws, and commoners have their own lives.
Suppressing his fury, Gilgamesh gritted his teeth and growled, "Don't get carried away, miscellaneous cultivator!"
"You are the one. Don't take my kindness for indulgence, miscellaneous cultivator."
You—!
After a brief silence, the two spoke in perfect synchronization.
"Miscellaneous cultivator, state your name!"
"Don't you have the courage to introduce yourself, you cultivator?!"
"..."
I should kill this arrogant bastard.
They both thought the same thing.
"You... bastard, you already recognized me, didn't you?" Gilgamesh frowned. "You really want to play dumb with me, you... ahem, self-proclaimed king?"
"Oh my. It's basic etiquette to state your name before asking for someone else's. Don't even know that? Truly befitting of a bastard from a primitive society... no, the Savage King. Are you unable to adapt to modern civilization? Then don't respond to the Holy Grail's call in the first place." Arthur sneered.
Indeed, in close combat, with his current abilities, Arthur stood no chance of winning.
In terms of skills and Noble Phantasms, Arthur was far better suited for defense than offense.
It was safe to say that if they were to fight now, Arthur would likely be overwhelmed by Gilgamesh. However, as a king, Arthur couldn't afford to be inferior—nor could he remain silent after being insulted. That would be admitting that Britain was inferior to Uruk.
And that was the one thing Arthur could not accept.
Gilgamesh, of course, understood that as well.
After a pause, Gilgamesh finally spoke. "ARCHER, King of Heroes, Gilgamesh."
"If you want to fight, then fight." Arthur smiled, and before Gilgamesh could flare up, he declared, "CASTER class, Arthur Pendragon, King of Britain."
Of course, etiquette fulfilled or not, the grudge was far from over.
The two of them silently picked up a game coin.
They would wager their pride as kings and settle it here!
So, two minutes later, both coin pushers spewed out a mountain of game coins.
The game hall manager nearly burst into tears. He looked at Arthur in grievance, wondering who had provoked this old man.
Arthur was quite famous among the arcade staff in Xindu. Normally, he'd only use one coin per machine before leaving. He was cautious, drew in customers, and was therefore welcomed. But today, he was clearly not holding back—and he'd brought someone just as destructive.
Never mind the manager's sorrow—
In this battle of A+ Luck vs. Golden Rule, Arthur was utterly defeated.
…Completely defeated.
There was no need to count the coins—the gap was obvious.
"Hahaha! Do you understand now? I alone deserve to be called king, from ancient times to the present!" Gilgamesh laughed heartily, arms crossed over his chest.
To say such cringe-worthy things in public like a total middle-schooler… Arthur admitted defeat.
I, King Arthur, would like to call you, Gilgamesh, the strongest chuunibyou.
"Hmph. You're proud of yourself for stealing a seat from commoners? That's pathetic, you old chuunibyou." Arthur turned his head away stiffly. Although he had lost a ton of coins simply because he refused to compete with civilians for a better machine, the game coin distribution had been uneven from the start. Even if both machines were emptied, Arthur would still have lost.
"Huh? Still not convinced?"
"Of course not. Expecting me to yield over a game that requires no skill whatsoever? That's wishful thinking."
"Hmph! Then let's continue. I'll spare some time today to thoroughly humble you."
"That's rather courageous." Arthur smiled.
Naive! So naive, Gilgamesh. You've just arrived in this world, and you think you can defeat me—a king who's spent a whole year mastering video games? Today, I'll show you just how dangerous this world truly is.
He chuckled and pulled Gilgamesh toward the racing game.
Insert coin.
The game begins.
Swear to the covenant, follow honor and dignity, and be crushed by me with ease!
So, ten minutes later—
Even though Gilgamesh's reflexes were far beyond human, paired with centuries of combat experience and adaptability, he still lost.
He didn't even make the top ten leaderboard.
Are modern humans monsters?!
"Hehehe, you've actually managed to hold on until now—even though your opponent is me. You still have potential," Arthur said in a perfectly neutral tone. It sounded more like sarcasm than praise.
"Hmph! But your own record was only eleventh. You couldn't even break the top ten. That means you're only at this level." Gilgamesh, naturally, was the type who never admitted defeat.
Well, not completely impossible.
But no matter what…
He just didn't want to see that guy looking smug.
-End Chapter-
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