Sitting on the upstream bank of the Miyama Town side, Ludwig dangled his feet over the edge of the rough concrete ledge, his soles barely grazing the surface of the water.
He kicked at the water idly. Artoria stood beside him, her gaze scanning the surroundings—not with intense wariness, but with a quiet, practiced vigilance.
"Just asking, but... regarding Berserker... Lancelot. Are you doing alright?" Ludwig asked, watching the sky as it once again dissolved into the colors of twilight.
Ever since Berserker's identity had been revealed the previous night, he hadn't asked Artoria how she truly felt. She had been putting on a brave face, and he hadn't wanted to pry until now.
The question caused the previously relaxed atmosphere to turn heavy in an instant.
"...Lud, do you want the truth or a lie?" Artoria asked.
"Whichever you feel like telling," Ludwig replied, handing the choice back to her.
Artoria lowered her eyes, a look of helplessness crossing her face. "To be honest, I still haven't sorted out my thoughts... You spent the whole day dragging me around the city just to distract me, didn't you?"
"Not entirely. I wanted to see the sights myself," Ludwig said. "It seems Lancelot manifesting as a Berserker really hit you hard."
"It's more than just the fact that he became a Berserker," Artoria said softly. "It's his state—how he falls into a mindless rage and attacks me the moment his Master's control wavers. Those who lose their sanity and sink into madness usually fixate on the person or thing that was their greatest obsession before they lost themselves."
Another example of this was Caster—Gilles de Rais.
"A knight who once respected and trusted you, who swore an oath of eternal loyalty, now reduced to this..." Ludwig shook his head. "When Kariya announced that True Name, I almost thought he was trying to play a trick on me."
"I thought I had done well enough, yet I still incurred Lancelot's hatred." Artoria slowly sat down beside Ludwig. Her voice was low, her tone more intimate and equal as she spoke. "I must have been an inadequate king, unable to bring out the best in everything."
Her expression was bleak, shrouded in a deep, internal gloom.
She had drawn the Selection Sword at fifteen. For ten years, she had fought countless battles without a single defeat, only to fall at the hands of a rebellion led by her own knights and subjects. Blood had completely stained the already precarious state of Britain, soaking every inch of soil and turning the land into a hell of fire and blood.
It was unacceptable. Unbearable. Britain should not have met such an end.
"..." Ludwig listened to her murmurs in silence. After a long moment, he reached out and draped an arm over Artoria's shoulder. "Forgive me."
"Eh? What are you doing?" Artoria was bewildered by the youth's sudden intimacy, her body instinctively tensing up.
But Ludwig simply guided her to lie down, resting her head on his lap, and began to gently stroke her hair.
"You're tired, Artoria," Ludwig said, using her name. "You might not feel it yourself, but I see the look of exhaustion on your face that everyone gets when they're pushed too far. It might not be much, but at least for now, take a moment to rest."
"It's not necessary, I..." Artoria tried to protest.
"Decide if it's necessary after you've experienced it," Ludwig chuckled triumphantly. "My personal instructor used to do this for me every time I came back from training or a mission. I've always found that this kind of comfort is much more effective than just sleeping."
"Your instructor? The woman you're close with?" Artoria asked.
"You saw that too, huh?" Ludwig laughed helplessly. "She's of the Angel-species. That race ranks twentieth among the Hundred A-Rays, but in terms of pure physical destructive power, they can trade blows with the Top Ten. Don't let her face fool you."
"...Is she even more dangerous than you, Lud?" Artoria asked.
"As an enemy? Definitely," Ludwig replied with a mischievous grin.
Artoria managed a small smile. She tried to sit up, but his gentle movements carried an inexplicable weight, making it impossible for her to find the resolve to pull away.
"I once read that 'He who can bear the insults and humiliations cast upon the people can become the lord of the state; he who can bear the calamities of the nation can become the king of the world,'" Ludwig said, returning to their previous topic in a conversational tone. "Judging solely by the weight of Lancelot's hatred, I'd say you were undoubtedly a qualified monarch."
Artoria looked thoughtful. "Are you trying to comfort me, Lud?"
"Comfort? I wouldn't call it that. I just think that anyone can feel regret, but the prerequisite for that is usually that you could have done something but didn't. Like, if you could have pulled the sword but chose not to, letting Britain wither away under the eyes of its enemies," Ludwig said matter-of-factly. "You weren't idle. You did everything that could be done, and you gave it every ounce of effort you had."
She hadn't left behind a void; she had fought with everything she had and achieved a "result."
"My point is simple: there's no need for regret or bitterness. If you want to try again and seek a miracle, go for it. But the ones who should truly feel regret and bitterness are Lancelot and your subjects—because they were the ones who lost a perfect king," Ludwig said, shaking his head. "Humans are too obsessed with the form of 'acting like a human' that they forget to examine what's inside. We A-Rays are essentially the manifestation of that obsession reaching its limit."
"Perhaps you're right..." Artoria gave a noncommittal smile.
She knew Ludwig was subconsciously standing up for her. As a being who was human-like yet fundamentally non-human, he was instinctively speaking for her out of a sense of kinship.
"So go ahead and do it. The Grail, the miracle—claim both the process and the result for yourself," Ludwig said with a brilliant smile. "As for how it all ends, no one knows. Even those who can see the future are keeping their mouths shut tight."
"You're right, Lud. But at the very least, before this ends, I need to face Lancelot once more in my capacity as King." Artoria slowly sat up.
Ludwig didn't object, though he did offer a reminder: "If Kariya is still alive and Berserker hasn't vanished after we deal with Archer..."
His priorities were clear, and Artoria had no intention of arguing.
But then, a sudden, chilling surge of killing intent caused her nerves to snap taut.
"Looks like we've hooked a big fish." Ludwig kicked at the water one last time.
Standing on the Shinto side of the riverbank was a man in bizarre robes with bulging, protruding eyes.
Caster.
The man was glaring across the river at them with a look of absolute, unbridled fury.
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Type-Moon: The A-Ray Knight's Holy Grail Journey(80 Chapter - Ongoing)
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