"This child isn't fit to be a king."
Kay's voice wasn't a blazing fire, but carried an anger so cold it could freeze anything in its path.
"She loves eating, laughs and chatters cheerfully, and craves adventure… she's my precious little sister."
Even if it was some world-saving leverage to preserve human history, even if she were a pawn to be sacrificed for the greater good, Kay could not abide his family being offered up for such grandiose reasons.
"Merlin. You've really hit a nerve. Where are you right now?"
"Ahaha~ Why would I tell you that? And Kay, I might not even be on Britain's soil at the moment. My true nature isn't human but a dream demon. I could be watching everything from the boundary between dream and reality, or from the world's underside…"
Merlin's voice, borrowed through the parrot's beak, broke into an irritating laugh.
"I get why you're angry. But you can't do anything about it. This is fate—Pendragon destiny. You should stop resisting now—"
Screech!!
Before Merlin could even finish, the demon sword [Cúrdinn Alternative] sliced through the air.
It was a clean strike, not a drop of blood spilled. The old parrot that had perched on the throne's back was cut cleanly in two, falling to the floor.
"Wait, dream demon. Whether you hide in the world's underside or flee into dreams… I will find you with my own hands and tear you to pieces."
Those were the irrevocable, cruel death sentences spat out by the warrior of the demon realm.
Not long after the parrot's death left the room in silence, Artoria, slumped on the throne, let out a soft groan and opened her eyes.
Maybe it was the pain in her ribs from that crushing knee, or the drug's effects wearing off—she pressed her throbbing head and looked around urgently.
"Medicine… where's the medicine? My head feels like it's going to split… the powder, the smoke…"
She reached out toward the shards of broken medicine bottles scattered on the floor.
Then a large, rough, scarred hand gripped her wrist tightly.
"Stop this now."
"…Huh?"
"Don't rely on this crap anymore."
Artoria's dull green eyes trembled as she recognized the face she'd only ever seen in hallucinations.
But the warmth in the hand gripping her wrist, and the metallic tang of blood seeping from his chest, proved it wasn't a dream.
"I'm sorry I'm late. I'm truly sorry for leaving you alone until you were pushed this far."
It was Kay's sincere apology.
Artoria opened her eyes wide in disbelief, then with trembling fingers gently stroked Kay's cheek.
"Re…really… Brother? You're alive—It wasn't just a hallucination…?"
"It wasn't a hallucination."
Only then did the gray mist in Artoria's eyes clear, and the restrained tears began to pour like a broken dam.
"Waaah…!! Brother!! Brotherrrr!!!"
The great king of prophecy buried her face in Kay's blood-stained chest and sobbed like a child.
The guilt over the countless lives she had taken fighting the Saxons, the loneliness when her sisters departed.
And the five hellish years of forced potatoes mixed with ground rock burst forth alongside her tears.
Kay said nothing, patting her dry back until she fell asleep from exhaustion.
After some time, once Artoria's crying had subsided, Kay grabbed her shoulder and spoke with a very serious look.
"Artoria. Now, stop being a king."
"…What?"
"Quit playing Merlin's puppet and bearing Britain's burdens alone. Drop it all. I'll feed and support you—just live as an ordinary girl from now on."
Artoria shook her head, sniffling.
"I… I can't. There are still people I must protect, enemies I must drive off. If I put down the holy sword, Britain would…"
"So you really want to live and die like a puppet in Merlin's grand plan for ruin?!"
Kay shouted in frustration.
"Responsibility? Duty? Forget those chains! Tell me what you really want! Say you want to throw away being king and run away, that you just want to eat my cooking and live honestly!"
At Kay's outburst, Artoria's eyes reddened again.
"Just say it: I don't want to do it!"
To the one who had always been forced to be the ideal king, he was the only person who allowed her to show her true feelings. Biting her lip, she finally confessed her suppressed desire.
"…I don't want to do it! I don't want to be a king!! I hate killing people every day, and eating awful food is torture! I… I wanted to run away like Lily!!"
Kay smiled in satisfaction and ruffled her hair roughly.
"Alright. Case closed. If you want to quit being king, the country has to go too. I'll just chop this cursed, hallucination-ridden castle to pieces with my axe right away—so start packing your things."
"Wa–wait, Brother!!"
Artoria grabbed Kay's arm in horror.
"You can't do that! I know you're angry, but the people who bled and sweat to build this castle, and the innocent subjects inside, did nothing wrong!"
"…That's… true. Kind of a waste, this castle."
Kay lowered his axe and scratched his chin at her objections.
"So, what are you going to do now? Will you keep the title of King of Logres?"
"Hmm… about that…"
Artoria hesitated, looked away, then blushed slightly as she offered a surprising compromise.
"I'll keep the title… but from now on, all governance of this country will be decided entirely by you, Brother!"
"What?"
Artoria's eyes suddenly gleamed with a twisted light familiar from his other sisters.
"You can spend the treasury however you like! You can have the knights assist you in cooking and eat to your heart's content! All policies, all politics—whatever you wish. Think of the entire great Kingdom of Logres as a gift I'm giving you♡"
"…Hey, you insane girl! What am I, some treacherous Dark Templar leeching off the kingdom?! You're trying to turn me into Dong Zhuo! Why don't you just sell the country off somewhere else if that's the case?!"
Kay recoiled in disgust, but Artoria giggled and snuggled against his arm.
"Brother, I've been so clueless after losing you. And before that, I never repaid the love you gave me. From now on, I want to make it up to you no matter what. I want to give you everything I have."
Kay let out a deep sigh.
It seemed that, like his other sisters, her intense, emotionally volatile brother-complex had fully awakened.
Kay decided to set aside the complicated matters of dismantling or handing over Logres. He had a more urgent task ahead.
"Selling off the kingdom can wait. First, let's fix the most pressing issue."
"A pressing issue?"
"Yes. We're going to normalize this rotten castle's food culture."
With firm resolve, Kay rolled up his sleeves.
"That dumb Gawain has been feeding you dust-flecked potatoes, so no wonder everyone's been overdosing on medicine and going crazy! Gather every knight and subject in the castle to the central plaza. Tonight, I'll feed everyone in this castle."
"Oh, Brother! What on earth are you planning to cook…?!"
Artoria's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Kay drew the spatula he'd been using in the demon realm from his waist and declared proudly:
"The true taste of the battlefield. The ultimate dish to fill your belly and wash away fatigue with its spice. Army stew!!"
========================
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 119
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T