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Two days later, Agravain prepared a list and handed it to Artoria, who then passed it to Asher.
According to the list provided by Agravain, there were a total of two traitors colluding with the enemy. Out of the thirteen tribal leadersâcounting Milo, who had actively joined King Arthur, and another territory currently controlled by a maidâonly eleven remained.
Among these eleven, two were traitors. Including Sir Scott from before, a total of three individuals had colluded with the foreign races.
However, the words of the foreign races couldn't be fully trusted, so Asher had already ordered secret surveillance to ensure they wouldn't be backstabbed by infiltrators when expelling the foreign races.
In the empty training ground, Asher sat on the ground, panting. He looked up at Artoria standing before him, his heart filled with a sense of awe.
This girl was truly abnormal. He had thought that with the White Dragon's body, he would be able to defeat Lily, but he hadn't expected Lily's growth rate to be so rapid while he was getting stronger.
It was truly terrifying.
Not just her strength, but her body tooâ
"You're even more amazing than before, Lily," Asher couldn't help but exclaim.
"It's only after you taught me the Runes that I can barely defeat you. And if your magic power were sufficient, I wouldn't be your opponent anymore," Artoria shook her head, her expression still calm, without a hint of pride.
"You still have an illusion you didn't use because of insufficient magic, and since it was just training, we weren't trying to kill each other, so your prophecy basically didn't take effect, did it?" Artoria continued. "And you didn't use the killing move of battle overload either."
"So you're saying I'm stronger than you?" Asher asked.
"Currently, I am still stronger than you, but you will have a chance to defeat me in the future," Artoria said calmly.
Asher had just felt a little comforted, but upon hearing this, he was speechless.
This person was truly as direct as ever. At a time like this, shouldn't she be saying something like, "Arthur has a promising future"?
"In any case, you still need to work harder," Artoria continued.
"Lily, you should change your personality too."
Since long ago, Asher felt that Artoria's personality was too prone to offending people.
But perhaps it was simply because their relationship was good that Lily chose to speak honestly?
"You two, want some water?" Guinevere sat with her knees hugged, observing their battle. When she saw them stop, she lightly jumped off the high platform, holding two water skins as she approached.
"Thank you," Asher took the water skin and took a sip, feeling somewhat unsatisfied, and drank two more.
Artoria beside him also thanked her and then drank all the water.
"I truly envy your relationship," Guinevere watched the two of them. After a while, she suddenly sighed softly, a hint of loneliness appearing on her beautiful small face.
"If only I also knew martial arts."
"You are a princess; even if you don't fight, someone will protect you, so I don't think there's any need to be so disheartened," Artoria said.
Asher thought to himself, Lily, have you forgotten about Princess Morgan on our side? She alone could probably string us all up and beat us.
But on the surface, he nodded in agreement: "Indeed, you are a princess. Someone will always protect youâ"
Asher paused slightly, "Or if you don't mind, I can teach you some self-defense martial arts later."
After all, keeping Guinevere in the royal city and not letting her return meant she couldn't just do nothing all day.
Moreover, in such a turbulent era, having some self-defense skills was always better than knowing nothing.
"Really?" Guinevere's eyes brightened slightly.
Asher nodded. "If you don't mind my martial arts being too poor."
"How could that be? Your strength is already very impressive; it makes one feel very safe," Guinevere said with a smile.
Asher suppressed the urge to laugh, maintaining a composed expression.
Although he knew Guinevere was just being polite, hearing it from such a beautiful girl was still very pleasing.
"Then let's start with the most basic swordsmanship? It's getting a bit late today, I'll teach you tomorrow," Asher said.
Guinevere's smile remained gentle. "I'm looking forward to it."
"By the way, in that case, I'd be half your Teacher, wouldn't I?" Asher suddenly said.
"Hmm⊠If you insist, that's correct," Guinevere paused slightly, her platinum-blonde, silky hair sparkling in the sunlight, dazzling and enchanting.
She tilted her head slightly, a gentle smile on her face, with a hint of teasing. "But Arthur, you don't seem to be older than me."
"...Can we not talk about age?" Asher quietly covered his face. "And no one said a teacher has to be older than their disciple."
"How old are you?" He peeked at Guinevere through his fingers.
Guinevere's eyes flickered, and she said with a smile, "Seventeen."
"I know Arthur's age, Uathach told me before," she added.
"That sister⊠why does she tell everyone such things!" Asher's mind instantly conjured Uathach's image. Sister Uathach probably felt smug when she said that.
"Does Arthur wish me to call you teacher?" Guinevere suddenly asked.
Asher thought for a moment, then finally shook his head. "Forget it, I'm just a half-baked master anyway, not qualified enough to be your teacher. As for titles, just use whatever."
"Then I'll look forward to your guidance tomorrow, little brother."
"Hmm...?!" Asher suddenly tensed, looking up, only to see Guinevere reveal a playful smile, a hint of cunning glinting in her eyes.
Artoria watched their conversation, a faint smile appearing on her face.
The two quickly noticed the smile on the girl beside them and couldn't help but be stunned.
Asher turned to look at Artoria, his mouth slightly agape, feeling incredibly novel.
This scene was truly rare. To actually see Lily smile in his lifetime, when she was usually so serious.
"What's wrong?" Artoria's smile vanished in an instant. She looked at the two of them, confused.
"Well⊠how to put it," Guinevere was somewhat at a loss for words, or rather, didn't know whether to tell the truth.
"I just feel like Lily rarely smiles, so it's a bit novel," Asher said, expressing his thoughts directly.
Artoria frowned and said, "Don't tease me."
"I'm not teasing you, it's really rare," Asher said, glancing at Guinevere. "Right?"
"Mhm⊠it really is rare," Guinevere nodded gently. "It's very cute."
"So, both of you, stop teasing me!" Artoria turned her back to the two of them. "Let's go. We've trained all day; it's about time to rest."
Asher and Guinevere exchanged glances, and couldn't help but smile.
So, she can get shy too?
---
That night, Asher sat before the throne, listening to Milo report on the day's political affairs. Not long after, Milo's voice, filled with complaints, came through.
"Arthur, you're quite relaxed as a king," Milo said, looking at Asher with a resentful gaze.
She had thought that after becoming the king's capable assistant, their time together would increase. Instead, she was the one handling a pile of matters, busy from dawn till dusk. And Agravain, Gawain, and others were also like automatons, constantly busy with political and agricultural affairs.
Asher, on the other hand, was rarely seen.
Asher also knew how hard Milo had been working lately, so he could only comfort her with a smile: "You've truly worked hard lately, Sir Milo. You're even more capable than I imagined."
Hearing Asher's verbal praise, Milo's face showed no sign of happiness. Her gaze at Asher grew even more resentful.
She would have rather remained her tribal leader, she thought. After all, the matters she handled daily were the same. No, if anything, the workload had significantly increased, and she hadn't gained any benefits at all.
"Yes, it's truly hard work, and without any rewards, it's very easy for subordinates to become unmotivated," Milo said, raising a slender finger from her slightly long sweater cuff and gently stroking her pink, smooth hair, raising her eyes to stare at Asher.
So far, things hadn't gone at all as she had imagined. Asher did indeed value her, but what she wanted wasn't this kind of value!
Logically, after she finished her daily tasks, King Arthur should have just finished handling political affairs as well. Then she would report some important events handled during the day, as well as problems in certain towns. And when King Arthur was troubled, not knowing how to deal with these matters, she would massage Arthur's shoulders from behind, incidentally offering feasible suggestions.
...That should have been the script.
However, she did indeed offer these feasible suggestions, but not to Asher. Instead, she offered them to the usually stern Agravain, and the always-grinning Gawain.
Could this also be part of Morgan le Fay's plan?
Milo couldn't help but wonder.
She truly was a formidable woman.
Despite her age, she was still coveting a king who wasn't even an adult yet. How shameless.
Milo thought angrily to herself.
"How are things going with the badges?" Asher's voice pulled Milo back to reality.
The day before yesterday, Asher had given the designed badge drawing to Milo to handle. Probably because she had been a tribal leader for a long time, the girl's efficiency was indeed very high, even far exceeding that of the Knights of the Round Table sent by Morgan to help. This was also why Asher entrusted these matters to her.
Because of this, Artoria's mood suddenly worsened considerably at the time, believing that Arthur didn't trust her abilities, which was why he hadn't asked her for help.
Asher had to talk her into it and barely managed to appease Artoria.
"It has already been handed over to the blacksmiths in the palace. The badges you designed earlier should be delivered in about a week," Milo said, hesitating slightly. "Will a mere ordinary badge truly be enough to mobilize those tribal leaders?"
"A mere ordinary badge is certainly not enough," Asher shook his head. "You'll know when the time comes."
Although curious, Milo didn't press further.
Seeing Asher like this, he clearly didn't intend to explain things now. Since that was the case, she wouldn't push him.
Milo smiled sweetly and said, "I'm really looking forward to the badge Arthur gives me."
"MhmâŠ" Asher looked at the girl's gentle smile, then paused slightly. "Milo, you don't have to use that kind of smile specifically from now on."
"Huh?" Milo's smile stiffened.
"I can tell if a person's expression is genuine or not. You've helped me so much, so I hope to treat you with sincerity, provided you are also sincere." After saying that, Asher said nothing more.
Compared to Guinevere's earlier gentle smile, Milo's fake smile was too easy to see through. Perhaps only those infatuated with her appearance wouldn't notice.
Milo hesitated slightly, then looked at Asher twice.
She used such a smile because it easily made others feel goodwill, and under such a smile, it was easy to manipulate certain noble scions to achieve her goals.
But now, it seems it's useless against Arthur?
Is it because he doesn't like gentle girls? Or is it that my previous smile wasn't sincere enough?
Milo fell into a brief contemplation, not even noticing that the sweet smile she had been feigning had vanished from her face.
Asher looked at the young woman in a pink and white dress below the platform, sighing inwardly.
It seemed unlikely to make Milo understand his thoughts in a short period.
Having grown up in a constantly scheming family environment, for Milo, pretense had long become a habit.
He could only wait for time to change this young woman.
As the day ended, Asher returned to his room and lay on the soft bed, pondering the day's events.
Then, after closing his eyes for half an hour, Asher opened them again.
For some reason, he couldn't fall asleep tonight. He kept thinking of all sorts of things after lying down.
"As expected, I'm still suited to be an ordinary person," Asher sighed inwardly.
Even with the Knights of the Round Table and Milo sharing the burden of state affairs, he couldn't help but constantly think about various things: worrying if there was any movement from the foreign races, worrying about Vortigern hiding in the Otherworld, and worrying whether these tribal leaders harbored rebellious intentions.
Ultimately, he was just an ordinary person. Even after pulling out the sword, he was still an ordinary person. All he could do was expel the foreign races, then try to unify Britain, and then comfortably become a hands-off manager.
Tossing and turning, he couldn't sleep, so Asher left the room.
Outside, the moonlight was hazy, and the weather was a little cool.
Asher strolled leisurely in the garden, intending to clear his mind.
After walking for a while, he suddenly heard the sound of a sword being swung. Each swing was rhythmic, accompanied by a whooshing sound.
Someone's still training at this hour?
Asher vaguely guessed who the person training was. He followed the garden path in the direction of the sound and soon arrived at an empty ground.
A golden-haired girl was holding a wooden sword and swinging it forward. A faint silvery-white light covered her skin, as if coated with a mesmerizing, hazy beauty.
"I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence. Coming out with insomnia and bumping into Lily," Asher couldn't help but smile, quietly approaching.
However, just as he reached behind a tree, Asher saw another woman.
âMorgan le Fay.
Morgan was hiding behind this tree, secretly observing her younger sister, her eyes calm, her gaze fixed on Artoria.
Asher's eyes involuntarily showed a hint of oddity.
He had been wondering if Morgan was a super sister-con fanatic, and now it seemed that was indeed the case?
To secretly hide in the dark in the middle of the night and observe her younger sister training.
Did she not notice me?
Seeing Morgan still hiding, as if she hadn't noticed someone behind her, Asher's eyes flashed with confusion. He gently patted Morgan's shoulder.
"Sister Morgan," he whispered.
"Shh," Morgan raised a finger to her lips, then glanced at Asher, pulling him in front of her. Her elbows rested on Asher's shoulders, and her hands supported her chin as she continued to secretly observe Artoria, who was still training nearby.
Is she treating me as a stand?
Asher glanced back at Morgan. The golden-haired woman was wearing a thin black dress. Her figure was slender, and a pair of large, soft breasts pressed against Asher's back, but her gaze remained fixed on Artoria not far away.
"So beautiful," Morgan le Fay said, after watching quietly for a long time.
"Indeed, a serious Lily in training is quite captivating."
Asher momentarily didn't know whether to complain about Morgan treating him as a stand, or why Morgan wasn't sleeping so late, but instead hiding in the dark to peep at her sister training.
"Why are you still awake so late, Sister Morgan?" Asher finally couldn't help but ask after being used as a stand for about ten minutes.
Morgan looked down at Asher and said faintly, "Isn't it normal for the Goddess of Death not to sleep at night?"
"Are you an owl?" Asher asked subconsciously.
Morgan le Fay: "..."
Pat!
She raised her hand and lightly tapped Asher on the head.
"If you're going to use an analogy, it should be a crow!"
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