Chapter 63: A War Should Look Like a War
In the royal palace, in the banquet hall, when the late Morgan walked into this lively room with an expressionless state, the banquet was declared to have officially begun.
—It was a "banquet" in the true sense of the word.
Let's not talk about how the royal families of other countries entertained their distinguished guests. Anyway, Artoria's standard here was that the dishes must be sumptuous—it didn't matter if they weren't sumptuous, but the quantity must be sufficient. If a guest were to go back hungry... then it would be a slap in her face.
"Wow, Father, as expected of you!"
The rebellious knight in a red tailcoat, whose appearance was eighty to ninety percent similar to Artoria's, was the first to respond to her father's call.
Morgan looked at this guy who was holding a big ox leg and directly starting to gnaw on it with eyes that were as if she wanted to kill someone—she absolutely did not want to admit that she had any relationship with this guy.
"Mother, I toast you."
At a critical moment, it was Gawain, as the eldest son, who timely intervened, dispelling the resentment that had almost condensed into substance. And while drinking the wine in his cup in one gulp, this perfect Knight of the Sun was also filled with emotion.
—He could hardly remember that his mother, who was called a "Fairy Consort" by the world, could actually have such a gentle appearance.
That was probably when he was seven or eight years old. At that time, Artoria had just started her army not long ago and was still secretly accumulating her strength; his mother, on the other hand, had given him the holy sword that housed the power of the sun and had given him a perfect "knight's education," hoping that he, who also had the blood of the red dragon flowing in his body, could become the prophesied "savior king."
Later, the Knight King rose. The fifteen-year-old Gawain was attracted by the king's charm, joined her command, and willingly became her arm. He also voluntarily gave up his mother's "dream of restoring the country."
From that time on, he and his mother gradually lost contact. He only occasionally heard news of his younger brothers and sisters... It wasn't until Agravain sneaked into Camelot as an assassin that he was startled to realize one thing: his elegant and intellectual mother had, without realizing it, fallen into a witch of revenge.
And at that time, nearly twenty years had passed since he had joined the Knight King's command and become a glorious Round Table Knight.
"How nice~"
The Knight of the Sun, who had returned from the Throne of Heroes, looked at this parallel world's mother of his and sincerely thanked the person who had made his mother and the king reconcile.
—Even if the price for doing so was the disappearance of all five of the Round Table Knights, led by him.
"Speaking of which, this place is simply like a dream specially set up for us." Gawain turned his head again and looked at Guinevere, who was drinking with Lancelot, with a rather complicated gaze. He was a little indignant and wanted to scold that traitor for being so shameless! But in a flash, he suddenly realized that the Guinevere of this world did not seem to be married to the king—they were just very good friends.
And under Guinevere's mediation, this originally disintegrated Round Table Knights seemed to have been re-glued together, once again showing that "unparalleled glory."
"Hee hee, marrying Ria? That's a good idea. Tomorrow I'll have my father come over to propose—anyway, he's long wanted to marry me off."
"Don't talk nonsense. If you're drunk, just go and find a room to sleep in!"
"No, I still want to listen to them tell stories—tell me more, how did the Ria of your world pretend to be a male? Did the other subjects not discover this fact?"
...
The banquet went very smoothly. Even those knights who had already formed a blood feud gradually let go of their anger under the mediation of Artoria and Guinevere.
—Mainly because Artoria had promised to give them an "open," "fair and square" opportunity to end this feud.
"That's just great."
Gawain raised his wine cup, looked at Lancelot sitting in the distance, and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp. After seeing this scene, Lancelot also, in a very solemn manner, responded to this "fair and square knightly duel" by drinking all the wine.
In the [Last Supper], the Messiah, who had already foreseen his own death, had once compared his own blood to the wine in the cup, letting the saints show that he had atoned for the sins of all by drinking all the wine. And now, these two Round Table Knights were, in this way, expressing their determination to "drink the blood of the enemy."
But—
"That's not right."
"It's not a fair and square knightly duel."
Looking at the atmosphere that had suddenly become tense again, Artoria, who was sitting at the head of the table, said slowly. Her grasp of the timing was just right, and she had firmly held the initiative of this banquet in her own hands.
"...Although the number of participants is a little small... but if I remember correctly, the name of this competition should be called the [Holy Grail War], right? Since it's a war, then it should look like a war!"
"???"
"There's nothing strange about it. Since it's a competition, then it should naturally be an all-round competition—the final winner should not only be highly skilled in martial arts, but also have wisdom, strategy, and even luck!"
"Speaking of which, I haven't been so excited for a long time—"
Looking at the knights whose expressions were either bewildered or thoughtful, a very rare smile also appeared on Artoria's face. She hadn't fought with others for a long time. This body, which had been specially made for war, was almost getting rusty.
"Although I actually want to try it now... but indeed, it's better to wait until tomorrow. I'll think about it carefully again, and announce the rules of this war tomorrow."
...
The banquet ended. In confusion and anticipation, the knights returned to their rooms one after another, waiting for the arrival of tomorrow.
But Shiroryu did not leave. Because he knew that after seeing these Heroic Spirits from a parallel world and learning about the stories that had happened in that parallel world, Artoria Pendragon—this Red Dragon King whose fate he had personally changed, must have something to say to him.
"Ah, there is indeed something I want to ask you. But before that, can you let me see your current appearance? I mean, the appearance of a dragon."
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