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The first time Artoria saw a girl named "Merlin"—let's call her a girl based on her appearance—was the day she drew the Sword in the Stone.

Although in the years of memories she had before this, she would receive lessons from Merlin every day in a short sleep dream, but that was always to the extent that she only heard his voice but never saw him, and she didn't know what Merlin looked like .

So, on the square after everyone had left that day, she stood in front of the stone with the sword in the stone, looked up and saw the man sitting opposite the sword in the stone, wrapped in the old but still pure white mage robe When she was a young girl, the other party's strange wine-red eyes seemed to penetrate her soul to see her past and future, that gentle smile that penetrated into the bone marrow of noble temperament melted her barriers, and her long silver-white hair was snow-white The white skin and pure white robe, as if it does not exist in this world, made her spirit shake for some reason.

Say something to catch her eye, to make sure she's actually there—it's a response of the body itself, not the will.

"Irisviel?" When Artoria realized it, her body had already spoken the name automatically.

She couldn't help but froze.In her memory, she had never heard of the name "Irisviel", let alone said the name unconsciously.

But she did feel familiar with the sudden name.

Frowning unconsciously, Arturia forgot the situation she was facing for a moment and began to feel distressed.

"Although we do know each other, as far as I know, I shouldn't have used another name." The gentle female voice was mixed with jokes, pulling back Artoria's thoughts.

"I'm so sorry, Merlin."

"You don't need to apologize." Shaking his head slightly, Merlin's expression turned serious, "Maybe this name really has something to do with me."

When she heard this name, she was also in a trance for a moment, and a feeling more familiar than the name "Merlin" swept her mind. If she hadn't reacted in time, the voice she responded to that name at that time would have been on the tip of her tongue.

The ungraspable response troubled her, but she was supposed to be indifferent to the name.

After struggling for a moment, she rationally put this little worry, which was much more trivial than the current situation, behind her mind, and the girl named "Merlin" looked seriously at Artoria who was opposite the Sword in the Stone again.

"Are you sure you want to draw the Sword from the Stone, Al."

Puzzled as to why Merlin would still ask such a question at this time, Arturia didn't hesitate at all.

"Naturally. Merlin."

This is what she has been told since birth, this is her destiny, and it is also the choice she made according to her own will.

Merlin should understand this point, she believes that Merlin understands her well enough.

"Even if Britain is doomed to perish?" She had told Artoria, and it appeared before her in the form of a dream. The future of Britain's doomed end would definitely not be what she hoped to see, but if now she If she pulls out the sword in the stone, then she will be the one who brings that ending to Britain, and how much harm this will do to her who longs to build a peaceful and stable country, Merlin can't even bear to imagine.

Artoria lowered her eyes, not knowing whether she was thinking or simply looking at the Sword in the Stone, but when she raised her eyes, her eyes were full of determination.

"There are a lot of people laughing, right? I believe that future is correct." Holding the golden hilt of the Sword in the Stone with her right hand, Artoria paused, and continued, "Even if that is only part of that future, But as you said, Merlin, the foreseeable future is not unchangeable." Slowly clenched his right hand and gradually increased the force applied, and the golden sword, which even the strongest knight could not shake at all, was easily loosened , "And I'm going to do my best, that's my job."

"Chong"

The crisp sound of rubbing passed by briefly, and the slender one-handed sword was lifted high, as if splitting the sun. The golden sunset shone into Merlin's eyes from both sides of the sword in the stone, and the dark figure dominated the scene due to the backlight. The world in front of her eyes seemed to be infinitely magnified, and the indomitable people in front of her made her feel a strong sense of security inexplicably.

For a moment she had no reason to believe that the little girl in front of her could do anything.

Obviously compared to her age, she is just a child who has taken a small step on the road of growth.

The corner of his mouth curled into a smile of resignation or reassurance - or neither - Merlin raised his head to look directly at Artoria's clear and pure eyes, and his tone became gentle without even realizing it.

"I will help you, Artoria."

What Artoria saw in her eyes at that time was a smile that made her heart beat for a moment.

The person in front of her will accompany her for more than ten years, and their lives will be intertwined and symbiotic.

She protects what is behind her, and she guards the path she walks.

"May I have the honor to invite this beautiful lady to accompany me for a walk outside the city?" After greatly satisfying the curiosity of the children who lingered around them asking questions, they sent the children aside to play, maybe Infected by the innocence of the children and relaxed a lot, Artoria bent down to Merlin and stretched out her hand as if to invite a lady.

The other party's long-lost joking expression made Merlin couldn't help chuckling, and then deliberately straightened his sitting posture, trying to make a noble expression, but he couldn't control the upward arc of the corner of his mouth, and instead looked a little mischievous.

"It's a great honor." The slender white hand touched Artoria's callused hand from long-term sword practice, and the fingertips unconsciously rubbed against the thin calluses of the opponent's tiger's mouth. Merlin felt that the person in front of him was a little shorter than her. The girl gave her a great sense of security.

Just like what she felt on the day of the election of the king more than ten years ago.

When they came to the gate of the city, Merlin saw two familiar horses quietly waiting by the gate.

Even the horses were prepared in advance, and it seemed that going out of the city was not a whim.Thinking of this, she began to search her memory for what had troubled Artoria recently.

After all, Artoria is not someone who will go out of the city to play idle, not to mention that she will not have leisure at all, even if she has free time, she will use it to do things that she thinks are more meaningful-such as looking for her to study, such as Practice swords, such as feeding horses.

They drove the horses side by side on the grass outside the city. Due to the proximity to the metropolis, there were no large-scale forests nearby. Instead, it was opened up as a vast plain. I saw scattered villages not far away and a few wisps of early morning smoke.

The slightly cold spring breeze blew their temple hairs. Although they didn't wear warm clothes, they didn't need to care about the chill.

"Last night, several lords came to me together and said that the harvest in recent years was not good enough and food was insufficient. They hoped that I would take advantage of the time when I defeated the King of Bei to stabilize the country to recuperate and avoid war." Artoria stroked the horse's mane with one hand. Mao explained the problems of the trip.Her tone was calm but subdued, and it was obvious that she was dissatisfied with that incident.

Merlin understood the cause and effect of the matter without Artoria talking about it.

The current politics of Canmele is extremely divided, with Merlin in charge of internal affairs and Wang in charge of war.Those lords deliberately found time at night to avoid her, who had the most say in the field of internal affairs and would definitely stand on the side of the king unconditionally, and used farming and the people as bargaining chips. This behavior was of a coercive nature.

However, with Artoria's temperament, what she is dissatisfied with is not the offense of her subordinates—in fact, as a king, Artoria is very tolerant towards her subordinates—what she is dissatisfied with should be the fact that her subordinates suggested avoiding the war , although the king of Bei has been crusaded, the harm of the alien race has not been eliminated, and recuperation is obviously not in line with her strategy.

Of course, from a theoretical and moral point of view, the advice of the lords has great advantages.

just.

Sighing inwardly, Merlin thought about how to express the truth in order not to hurt Arturia as much as possible.

"Al remember what I said when you pulled out the sword in the stone?" Merlin looked at Artoria who turned her head to look at her in doubt, and maintained a calm expression, "Britain is doomed to perish."

"Yes? But before that, I still want to build a peaceful and stable country."

Closing his eyes and shaking his head helplessly, Merlin looked towards the village and fields not far away.

"Last year was a year of crimes, this year will be a year of crimes, and next year will still be a year of crimes."

"What...?! You mean?!" Artoria's face flashed panic and shock, and the horse she was sitting on seemed to feel a little anxious about her abnormal emotions.

"The decline of Britain's land is not due to foreign invasion. As long as Britain still retains the atmosphere of the mythical era, the year of violence will not end. Unfortunately, the people of Britain also belong to the category of remnants." Try to keep outsiders Merlin found this unexpectedly difficult, "The land on this island itself is changing towards the direction of the world, and it will not stop until you perish. In the past, the land around Canmele could still maintain a good harvest, but it took a long time. It will also decay."

Therefore, recuperation is not a good strategy. If it is coupled with foreign aggression, it may even accelerate its demise if it is attacked by the enemy.

Arturia lowered her head, half of her face was covered by the shadow of her bangs so that she couldn't see her expression clearly. The atmosphere was so oppressive that even the air became heavy in an instant.

"Merlin," she suddenly raised her head, her extraordinarily solemn and serious expression added a bit of majesty to her, "tell me, if we plant alien species and receive blood from other races, will we be able to avoid the decline of Britain? ?”

Her thoughts suddenly jumped from fighting to how to deal with recession, which showed that Arturia had already made a decision to start thinking about something farther back.

"This is also one of the feasible methods. Of course, whether it is suitable or not depends on the situation of the people. If there is a stable environment, I think I can solve some possible obstacles. But, do you want to do this now?"

"No matter what you want to do in the future, the biggest threat you are facing now is still foreign invasion, right?" Artoria pulled the rein and turned the horse's head, and looked at Merlin with a firm expression, "If the harvest is not good, use the existing resources Alright, let’s mobilize all available resources first, and drive out the aliens as quickly as possible.”

The resolute tone, without any hesitation, made the most efficient decision in an instant, all with the aim of a peaceful and stable future for Britain.

This kind of Artoria has grown a lot more than ten years ago, and she has fully displayed her aptitude to become an excellent king.

As for whether it will be considered militaristic or whether it will be misunderstood by the people, this kind of thing is not within the scope of her consideration.

Looking at the back of the familiar girl sitting upright on horseback, Merlin's mood was very complicated.

"Artoria, you have become a very good person."

It's just, why are my eyes so sour that I almost want to shed tears?