Artoria suddenly wasn't in such a hurry anymore.
"A farce." This was the conclusion she came to after roughly understanding the whole situation. At this point, if she still couldn't see the trick, then she would have received all those years of "king's education" for nothing, and been this "destined King of Britain" in vain.
"Brother Kay finding the little dragon might have been an accident, and him bringing it to this town can also be said to be his nature... but everything that happened after that was the work of that magus."
"Tsk, a living dragon, what a resounding title."
Artoria pouted. She understood Merlin's intention—if she could pull out the so-called "Sword of Selection" in front of so many knights, and then logically take the little dragon home, her status in the hearts of all Britons would definitely be elevated to a very high level. This would definitely be beneficial for her future.
To put it bluntly, the identity of King Uther's illegitimate child was by no means glorious; it was not a plus for her at all—but if she could really "tame" a dragon, even a young one, the other knights would also vouch for her, saying she was "worthy of being a royal with the blood of the Red Dragon flowing in her veins," a "true Red Dragon King"!
In this way, she would have obtained the justification of "great righteousness" with almost no obstacles, becoming the spiritual leader in the hearts of all Britons against the vile King Vortigern. This was almost the flattest, smoothest path.
Even Artoria herself admitted that this script was designed so perfectly—she didn't even need to do anything. She just needed to pull out the holy sword that only she could pull out, and then call the little dragon, who seemed to have gotten a bit tired of playing, to go home, and she could easily get everything.
But, but ah—
"Why go to such lengths?"
Artoria turned her head and glanced at the holy sword stuck in the stone in the center of the square, which was now being ignored. She did not continue to act according to the script Merlin had designed for her in advance.
She was not an actress, let alone anyone's puppet—she was a king. She had her own will, and her own resolve.
"Even without these things, I am still a king."
"A king who must save this island and protect the smiles on everyone's faces!"
The girl—no, she should be called a king now. The king turned around and walked slowly towards the crowd in front. A domineering aura emanated from her—it was magical energy that had already condensed into substance, rapidly expanding outwards from her body, forcefully carving out a path in the crowded street.
At the end of the road was Kay, sitting on the steps, holding a spear and a shield, and the young dragon, lying on a pile of glittering gold coins, so bored that it was playing a coin-tossing game with its tail.
"You lose!"
Looking at Artoria, whose face was grim as she walked slowly towards them, Kay's tone was still light and cheerful. The young dragon tossed a gold coin to Kay. It had made a bet with this young knight, betting on whether Artoria would choose to pull out the holy sword first or walk over here first—Shiroryu, who had bet on her pulling the sword first, lost, but he was very happy.
See, she chose me first. She has me in her heart!
...
The street was not very long. Under the watchful eyes of the public, in less than a minute, the young king reached the end and came before the young dragon's [Guardian Knight].
"I know your plan, and I understand your determination."
"But you'd better listen to me—if possible, I sincerely want you to turn back and continue being a stable hand."
"We'll go back tonight, mmm, together."
Kay, sitting on the steps, looked up at his little sister who had walked up to him and, for a rare moment, spoke a sincere word. This was also his last attempt. Although he also knew that the result of this effort was doomed to be in vain... but as the girl's older brother, having already foreseen the thorny road ahead, he still had to stand up and reveal the cruel truth:
"In fact, no one is looking forward to the so-called chosen king, right?"
"No one is willing to dream with Uther and Merlin. Compared to the unseen proof of a king, it's obviously more realistic to judge who the real king is based on how many men, how much money, and how much power one has now, right?"
"What's more, no one is looking forward to something like [God's agent who saves everything]—no one wants to become this kind of thing, and no one wants to be controlled by this kind of thing, right?"
At this point, even the knight himself couldn't help but laugh, as if he had told a very funny joke.
But Artoria didn't laugh from beginning to end. Of course, she didn't feel angry either—because she knew that the knight before her was definitely saying this out of a kind heart. But, just as he, as an older brother, had the obligation to stop his little sister from going down the wrong path; she, who was born to be a king, also had a reason to keep moving forward.
"Honestly, it's just your bad mouth that's the only flaw... Thank you, Brother Kay."
The king lowered her head and thanked him softly. Then, she stepped up the stairs without hesitation, walking towards the young dragon that had already flown up from the golden mountain.
"Are we going back?" the king asked.
The young dragon nodded—but then, it slowly shook its head. We're going back, but not now.
"Awu—"
The young dragon suddenly let out a howl, a very loud one. Under the bewildered gazes of the onlookers, Artoria turned her head with some confusion and looked at the Sword of Selection stuck in the center of the square, which was being ignored.
"You pleased me? So I will make a contract with you? Now please bring that sword to me?"
"What does that mean?"
Artoria repeated the young dragon's words—she didn't understand what this little dragon was planning, but she still followed its instructions. She first ran to the square and pulled out the glittering golden Sword of Selection, and then handed it to the young dragon.
"CRUNCH—"
The young dragon, with its good set of teeth, bit off the "development limiter" that had directly caused Artoria's gender ambiguity without hesitation. Then, under the surprised or secretly delighted gazes of the surrounding people, its body suddenly burst out with a very dazzling white light.
[Ding, you have obtained: 1000 Growth Value from this item.]
[Current Growth Value: 1065/100.]
[The conditions for evolution have been met. Do you wish to evolve immediately?]
Join my patreon For Early access to Chapter : patreon.com/TheWorldGod
Tiamat 200 Chapter (Final)
Honkai 110 Chapter
Lobotomy 110 Chapter
MushokuTensei 40 Chapter
'Pure Evil' Simulator 57 Chapter
Crossover Fic Blue-Eyes 54 Chapter