Chapter 31: King Arthur... Is Myself!
Manaka Sajyou!?
The moment Noah saw this name, he nearly sat straight up.
After all, when it came to impressions of the name Manaka Sajyou, there were only two: one was the Root Princess, and the other was her obsession with Proto Saber!
Other Masters participated in the Holy Grail War for glory, for a mission, for themselves, or for some deep-seated grudge... But Manaka Sajyou participated in the Holy Grail War solely to summon the prince from fairy tales and then fall in love with him.
Such a simple and unadorned wish—it even bypassed the Holy Grail itself. For her, participation was completion.
And naturally, someone with such a wish would either die early or have something extraordinary about them... Manaka Sajyou was clearly the latter.
In the original story, if she hadn't been betrayed by Saber in the end, she probably could have single-handedly dominated the Holy Grail War.
She could effortlessly block attacks from the great hero Arash, poisons that could kill Heroic Spirits had no effect on her, and alchemists who had created the Philosopher's Stone would immediately submit upon seeing her...
This Root Princess was an existence that defied all reason.
If it weren't for her overwhelming affection for Saber, she likely wouldn't have been betrayed at all.
And even after being betrayed, she didn't die—or rather, she could revive even after death.
It's just... absurd.
Although Noah also had some criticisms of what Saber had done, even he had to admit that Manaka Sajyou's love was equally pathological.
Like a bullet, once fired, it was no longer under control.
But according to Mary's account, it seemed this Manaka Sajyou was only preparing for the Holy Grail War and hadn't summoned Saber yet... Without Saber, Noah recalled that Manaka Sajyou was a well-mannered young lady, easy to talk to and not prone to rampages.
So, if she never encountered Saber, things would be fine. And in this world, there was no Saber, only the "ahoge."
Thinking this, Noah felt somewhat reassured as he watched the ahoge swaying back and forth in front of him.
If she wouldn't go berserk, then Manaka Sajyou was still safe.
Just as he thought this, the content that appeared next in the simulation left Noah momentarily unsure how to react.
[Mary told you the truth, but she also concealed part of it.]
[That is, under normal circumstances, she wouldn't randomly choose someone to survive in such a way. After all, the gap between her and Merlin was quite significant, and she still held certain things in high regard.]
[But just like the name and information of Manaka Sajyou, when caught in the distortion, a fragment of Manaka Sajyou's love for King Arthur also drifted over.]
[The other party's love was so immense that even a tiny fragment affected Mary's judgment to some extent. Thus, in desperation, she chose you—the King Arthur—upon seeing Artoria.]
Reading this, Noah was stunned.
So... he had been thinking that since there was no "Saber" in this world, it would be safe. But now it seemed... before summoning "Saber," would any King Arthur suffice for Manaka Sajyou?
And the King Arthur in his case... was himself!
Ah, this...
Noah, who had been troubled by Vortigern's affairs until recently, now clearly realized a much greater problem.
If Manaka Sajyou were to run amok, she would undoubtedly pose a greater threat than both Vortigern and the Scourge of God!
Originally thinking that after resolving Vortigern's issue, his next concern would be how to survive Britain's inevitable downfall, Noah now discovered through this simulation that even after overcoming Vortigern, he still faced three massive problems.
The first was the distortion Mary had mentioned.
The second was the Scourge of God, the Great King of the Huns.
The third... was this Root Princess.
After realizing this situation, Noah first furrowed his brow, but when he looked at the simulation interface, his furrowed brow gradually relaxed.
After all, compared to actually encountering these problems in reality, he could still observe through the simulation what the outcome might be if things developed normally and he had to face these three issues.
So he decided to stop overthinking it and continued watching.
[Mary first explained the specific situation to you, then told you about her current condition]
[After obtaining magical energy from you, she could now accomplish some minor tasks. Although she still couldn't appear directly, she could manifest an avatar near you to perform simple actions, though it couldn't stray too far from you]
[Then Mary had you wake from the dream]
[You discovered a small white creature resembling both a dog and a cat had appeared on your lap. You immediately recognized it—this was Fou from FGO!]
[The Fou transformed by Mary then jumped onto your shoulder and could communicate with you in this form]
[She said that even in this state she could use some power, and could activate Avalon to assist your defense]
[She then asked you to investigate the matter of the distortion. In exchange, she could give you the Avalon from her world, and if the Holy Sword of the Stars could be found, she would give that to you as well]
[The Holy Sword of the Stars from Mary's world is different from the one Artoria currently holds. Artoria's sword has extremely complex conditions for releasing its seals, but the Holy Sword from Mary's world does not; it only requires satisfying thirteen constraints. In fact, when facing a "Threat to the Star," it can be liberated directly into an Anti-Star Holy Sword without regarding the constraints]
[You were somewhat curious about the distortion yourself, plus you were somewhat concerned about Manaka Sajyou and the Great King of the Huns, so you and Mary temporarily reached an agreement]
[You didn't tell anyone else about this matter, though Merlin seemed quite curious about the small creature you named Fou when he saw you suddenly carrying it around]
[Now officially becoming the King of Britain, Pictavia, and Hibernia, you first implemented reforms in Pictavia, which was gradually losing the Age of Gods' protection, using it as a pilot project. Then you continuously taught the people of Britain and Hibernia how to survive in a world losing the Age of Gods' protection]
[You never gave up physical training, and your body continued growing stronger.]
[You never gave up on studying Alchemy and martial arts, and your skills in both were slowly improving.]
[After making sufficient preparations, you knew that if war were to break out with that Great KIng of the Huns, it would be more appropriate to act now while the divine protection of the Age of Gods still remained, rather than waiting until mystery had completely faded from Britain and potentially facing unknown disasters.]
[But you also understood that if you were to propose cooperation with Rome to the Britons and Pictavians—who had been enslaved by Rome just decades ago—the people's reaction would be extremely volatile. Additionally, Rome itself looked down upon Britain. Under such circumstances, directly proposing an alliance was clearly unfeasible. To participate in the neighboring war, a gradual process would be necessary.]
[You originally intended to wait.]
[But Mary told you that on the Roman front, a quarter of the mighty Roman Empire had already been destroyed, and the white giant transformed by that Great King of the Huns was gradually growing larger and stronger as it continued to devastate civilizations.]
[You could no longer afford to wait.]
[So you ultimately proposed that rather radical decision—an expedition to Rome.]
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