Tohsaka Rin: "I'm home! Thank you, Lord Su Mo!"
After arriving home, Rin Tohsaka immediately reported her safe return. With no money on her, she had initially thought she'd have to walk for half a day to get back.
She hadn't expected Su Mo to have already placed a delayed-trigger spatial transfer spell on her, sending her straight home and saving her a lot of trouble.
When she got home, only her mother was there.
According to Aoi Tohsaka, after Tokiomi noticed the unusual fire at the Matou residence, he had rushed off in a hurry, wanting to provide aid. It seemed he didn't truly see Sakura as not his child, despite what he had said.
Unfortunately, it was too late to say anything now. The Matou residence had been completely burned to a ruin, with no trace of life to be found.
Rin could clearly feel her mother's anxiety and could roughly guess the regret her father must be feeling at this moment. But after a moment's hesitation, she decided not to tell her parents the truth.
Setting aside whether they would believe in Lord Su Mo's existence or that Sakura would receive a better education... even if they did, Lord Su Mo had no reason to prove himself to them.
Not to mention, the current Sakura was already incredibly disappointed in her parents. Once a crack is formed, it's difficult to mend.
Sakura had managed to latch onto Lord Su Mo's coattails even before she had, becoming the disciple of a legendary goddess. Even for her sister's future, there was no reason to make her give up the opportunity she had worked so hard to grasp.
As for whether her parents would be heartbroken for the rest of their lives... thinking of the Matou family's secret worm pit, and the tragic fate Sakura might have suffered if Lord Su Mo hadn't interfered, Rin couldn't help but feel that this was not too high a price to pay.
Having made her decision, she stopped worrying about it and turned her attention to the chat group.
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Erica: "Lord Su Mo is back too!"
Erica: "But... you were alone when you left, why did you come back as three?"
She had seen Sakura in the stream, so that was no problem. But who was this petite, golden-haired girl with an ahoge, who exuded such an incredibly powerful aura?
That proper, dignified, and inviolable attitude... Why did she, another golden-haired beauty, seem even more knightly than Erica herself?
Tohsaka Rin: "Oh, dear!"
This is what you get for not watching the stream! Your home base got stolen! Rin silently retorted in her mind. Though, even if Erica had watched the stream, she would have just been cucked right to her face.
Faced with Erica's confusion, Su Mo glanced calmly at Artoria.
Artoria immediately understood. She took a step forward and offered a knightly salute.
"I am Artoria Pendragon, the King of Knights. I have forged a contract with Lord Su Mo and pledged my loyalty to him as a knight. I ask, are you my comrade?"
Su Mo had no intention of explaining, nor was there any need to. For a lord to recruit knights was the most normal thing in the world. Never mind recruiting one ahoge-king, even if he recruited a million of them, he only needed to consider his own willingness.
Only a knight who didn't know their place would foolishly try to interfere with their lord's choices.
And clearly, Erica's self-awareness was very sharp. She had long understood that she was just lucky to have latched onto his coattails; there were plenty of others who wanted to do the same. So, her earlier words were merely a simple question.
Hearing Saber announce her identity as a fellow knight under Su Mo, she immediately prepared to show her seniority. She clearly understood that her competitive edge lay not in her strength, but in her flexible skills in uniting others.
"That's right, I am also a knight under Lord Su Mo, I just joined a little earlier than you. You said your name was—wait! Who did you say you were?"
Halfway through her prepared speech, Erica suddenly froze, her eyes staring blankly at the ahoge-king before her.
"Artoria Pendragon, the King of Knights."
Artoria patiently repeated her name, then added, "My public name is Arthur Pendragon."
"King Arthur? The King of Knights? The real one?!"
Hearing the name again and confirming it, Erica's eyes suddenly lit up. The expression on her face as she looked at the petite girl was like that of someone seeing their childhood idol.
"Of course."
Artoria nodded without the slightest hesitation. This wasn't during the Holy Grail War, and she was facing a comrade. There was no need to hide her true name.
"I never thought the legendary King of Knights would be a woman..." Erica murmured, completely stunned.
"And what of it?" Artoria raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking she would be criticized.
But to her surprise, after confirming this, the knightess let out a joyous cheer and approached with incredible enthusiasm.
"This is great! Could you please give me an autograph? An autograph from the legendary King of Knights! If I show it off, it'll make a whole circle of people envious, especially Liliana! She'll definitely have a look of envy, jealousy, and hatred!"
Erica immediately whipped out a pen and paper, like a rabid fan.
"There's no need for honorifics. We are equal comrades now."
Faced with Erica's excessive enthusiasm, Artoria was clearly having a hard time coping.
"Oh, right! We're comrades! Can I just call you Senior Artoria?"
Erica's eyes sparkled as she immediately tried to build a rapport.
"But, weren't you the one who became Master's knight first? In terms of seniority as Master's knight, I should be the junior, shouldn't I?" the ahoge-king couldn't help but retort after a moment's pause.
"How can you say that? You're the one who created the code of chivalry! Of course we can only be considered your juniors! Also, this outfit, could you sign this too?"
Erica, who had initially felt a bit of rivalry, had become completely ardent after learning Artoria's identity.
"Master, am I that famous in this world?"
Faced with this attitude, even the battle-hardened King of Knights found it a bit much to handle.
Artoria couldn't help but turn to look at Su Mo, her holy-blue eyes seeming to plead for help. Even when she learned that Su Mo was from a world completely different from the Nasuverse, she hadn't been this discomfited.
"You're famous, but it's not much different from the previous world," Su Mo explained.
The Nasuverse and the Campione! world had the same modern development and mythological systems. The fame of the Arthurian legends was no different among the general populace.
"Then why is she...?" Artoria looked at Erica, confused.
"Probably because she's a member of the Knights Templar," Su Mo casually guessed.
"Master is correct!"
Seeing that Artoria was a bit uncomfortable and realizing she had startled her, the perceptive Erica immediately did her best to rein in her enthusiasm.
Seeing that Artoria hadn't understood Su Mo's meaning, she quickly added, "The origin of us Knights Templar is the Knights of the Round Table, founded by King Arthur. For us, the King of Knights is not only the goal that all we Templars strive for, but also our most revered senior."
Although the Arthurian legends were later classified as Celtic mythology, the myth itself was filled with obvious Christian influences, and the Church generally didn't oppose it.
"Is that so..."
Hearing this, Artoria's expression softened. Looking at the excited Erica before her, she couldn't help but feel a little gratified.
Even if Britain had fallen apart and the Celts had scattered, the code of chivalry she had created had still been passed down. It seemed her efforts back then had not been in vain.
As expected, if I follow Master, I will surely find my answer.
Seeing that the two had become initially acquainted, Su Mo finally spoke.
"You can get to know each other later. Erica, help me prepare some ritual materials. I plan to test a summoning ritual I just grasped."
He was naturally referring to the ritual for summoning a god.