Artoria the Big Liar

Feeling this ripple, a surge of emotion surged in my heart.

——In my heart, there is really only that person.

"That, that... Mordred... I..."

"Don't get me wrong, Artoria." I interrupted her incoherent speech. "I'm just a companion by your side, a knight protecting you. I actually have a sweetheart—to be honest, you want to compete with that person for the position in my heart. I can't say it's impossible, I can only say yes Fantastic."

Fairy Artoria's face turned even redder, like a ripe apple, tempting me to take a bite.

It seems that this village girl has no idea how ambiguous my conversation with her is.When I mentioned this, I realized it.

She lowered her head nervously, and crossed her fingers on her lap, nervous and embarrassed, as if she didn't understand this at all.

"...Take off your fur hat first. It's really ugly. I'll go to the market when I have a chance, and I'll buy you a new suit by the way. Your outfit is really rustic, even worse than mine. Dirt, just tasteless."

(Sorry, I had some physical problems yesterday and couldn't update in time.)

Chapter Forty: The Knight and the Maiden

◆Mordred◆

Skills require experience, experience requires accumulation, and accumulation requires inheritance and learning.

Fairy Altria has lived in the wild for a long time, but it seems that she has no experience and accumulation at all【|

The so-called mushroom fish broth is basically cooked randomly. I don’t know the order of the ingredients, I don’t know how long to cook, let alone the heat, and there is a lack of spices. It all depends on my mood.Thinking about my mother's cooking skills, as well as Brother Gao Wen and Sister Gareth's cooking skills, I know how unpalatable this pot of mushroom and fish broth is.

After all, she is a goblin, and her grasp of details is far inferior to that of humans.

So, under her increasingly shocked eyes, I took over the job of cooking.

These days of study and practice have made my cooking skills advance by leaps and bounds—how to keep the original taste of food and how to mix it with other flavors, I have basically mastered these basic knowledge.

There is at least kosher salt, although there are no spices.I used the dissolution method to filter out the impurities, and kept the refined salt. The finished mushroom fish soup should not be too bad. At least the fishy smell of the fish head soup can add a lot to the whole pot of soup.

I tasted it with a spoon, and as I expected, it was not bad overall, at least at the level that could be eaten.

I poured the soup into a bowl and brought it in front of Fairy Artoria, but she stared at me with emerald green eyes the whole time.

"What's wrong? Is there something on me?"

"No... Mordred is the child of Vortigern, and he is the heir of the country. I remember correctly, right?"

"Of course. It's something I repeat many times."

"But why does Mordred know how to cook? Shouldn't this kind of thing be left to servants?"

Facing this curious baby-like village girl, I put the bowl on the ground and waited for it to cool.

I was quite patient, and told her a bunch of basic knowledge such as swordsmanship, mathematics, manipulation, sense of space, and microscopic perception.She kept her eyes wide open, and her eyes were erratic, obviously dazzled by these terms she had never known before.

Even after I finished speaking, she was stunned for a full 3 minutes before smoothing out the logical relationship between before and after.

"In other words, cooking is part of spiritual practice?"

"Not just cooking, everything is a part of practice. A sword holder should use the sword as the bone, the sheath as the flesh, and the skill as the soul. As long as there is an idea, eating and sleeping are all part of the practice-very simple Buddhist thought, But you probably can't understand it, because you are a magician, not a knight or a swordsman."

"Is that so..."

Fairy Artoria seemed to be in a daze with a half-understanding look.

After all, I have embarked on the road of magic, and I am too lazy to continue explaining. After eating, I urged her to leave the swamp and continue the unfinished tour.

When her life is at this moment, she is quite calm, she does not want any pots and pans made by herself, I burn [_

But before leaving, that Bagster who was scared off by me came here again.

Although it is a huge magic dog, it can be seen from its eyes that it is actually very intelligent.

"...Well, Bagster, I'm leaving."

Listening to Fairy Arturia's words, and seeing her sad expression when we parted, I raised my eyebrows.

I thought she used illusion to cover up her wooden house, but I didn't expect that she and this dog devil are actually friends who are familiar with each other.And the reason why Bagster came here was because he was worried that I would hurt the fairy Altria, not because my lightning had disturbed it.The reason why it ran away was that it was really afraid of me on the one hand, and on the other hand, it saw that I didn't have the disadvantages of the fairy Altria in the first place.

However, these are small things.After all, I met the huge dog demon in front of me by chance.

Bagster lowered his head, and his strangely colored pupils showed a sadness that only intelligent creatures could have.

Then, it—she, to be precise—opened its mouth and spit out words.

"【[[

"Artoria, do you really want to go? It's dangerous outside, the queen is hunting you, and everyone regards you as a disaster."

It's a very mature voice, but it still has the immaturity of a girl, a bit like a strong girl who often works out.

Artoria lowered her head, snapped her fingers, her pupils were full of reluctance, but she unexpectedly had a determined expression.

"However, the mission entrusted to me by the paradise must be completed after all, right? I am afraid of the queen, but I am even more afraid that I will not be able to return to the paradise. After all, I am a fairy created by the paradise based on a certain existence. Devices and tools. The meaning of devices and tools is to perform their duties, right? And...even if I really want to escape, where can I escape?"

"...Yeah, where can I escape to?" Bagster closed his eyes in pain, and crawled down on a clean swampy high ground. "This country was created by the Queen and guarded by the Dragon King. I used to be regarded as a calamity by the fairies, but when I faced the Dragon King, I couldn't even catch his sword and died almost immediately... Arturia, I can't protect you , can only let you spend a fairly quiet time in this swamp with nothing.”

"Bagster, you don't have to worry about this, Mordred will protect me in the future...Although I am not very powerful, Mordred is really powerful. Did you feel it before? Just her armor , is a miracle that goblins cannot accomplish.”

"Mordred... Indeed, she is very strong. The aura she exudes is exactly the same as that of the Dragon King."

As he spoke, Bagster looked at me with extremely cold and indifferent eyes.

I just shrugged, spread my hands, and didn't explain.Because when I need to explain, Fairy Artoria will definitely explain it for me.After all, she was Bagster's friend, and I was just a stranger who came in.

But what surprised me was that the fairy Altria didn't explain it, but blurred the issue.

"Anyway... Bagster, I really have to go this time. Thank you for taking care of me these three months."

"Be careful, the outside is much more dangerous than you think. The elves will not let you go."

After speaking, Bagster closed his eyes.

Fairy Artoria walked ahead, passed through the swamp, and reached the exit.

The exit is a door made of many vines, which is smaller than the door of Ukhvar’s house, allowing up to four people to pass through at the same time.

And at this door, the fairy Artoria stopped, turned her head, put her hands behind her back, and looked at me nervously.

She looked a lot better after removing that rustic hat that exploded.Although she is still a rustic village girl, the faint light that emanates from the inside out like stars and fireflies, the clean and clear emerald green eyes, and the unique girlish temperament that is not deep in the world but has some experience, let her She has been elevated to the ranks of "beauties" in my senses.

If you dress up well, although it's not as good as the father and Saber, it must be much better than Mei Lin, the temptress, right?

For a while, I was immersed in the imagination in my mind, thinking about what kind of long skirt to buy for her in the town market.

"...That, Mordred." Her voice reached my ears, and I realized that she was still full of anxiety about the future, and she still couldn't fully trust me—that is, the person I was staring at The look in her eyes was actually quite rude, which made her at a loss, and she couldn't speak out the words that had been accumulated in her heart.

"Ah... sorry, Arturia, I was thinking about something." I said so, but after thinking about it, the girl in front of me might be really smart, so I quickly changed my words: "I'll just say, take After taking off the hat, you look much more pleasing to the eye. So I want to buy clothes for you after going to the town. Anyway, this country girl outfit will definitely be rejected, at least you have to have some taste."

Sure enough, a ray of red glowed on the girl's face.Still shy, but completely different from before.

Father Wang is right at all, people who radiate light are the most beautiful people in the world.Even if it's just a faint light like a star, it can already make the girl so beautiful that it almost fascinates me—I can only say that it is worthy of Artoria.

"... Mordred, I want to ask you a question. Although I know it's impossible, I still want to ask."

"What's the problem? I'm self-appointed, but I'm your knight after all."

"Mordred...can you really come to the end of the journey with me?"

"Of course, otherwise?" I smiled and raised my head, full of confidence both on my face and in my heart. "All the promises made by the royal father have been fulfilled. As her heir, how can I do the opposite of her?"

"But surely one day, Mordred will confront her with swords?"

"This is the best thing about this Lost Belt—" After a pause, I continued: "For both my father and me, this Lost Belt is just a dream. Even my father and I There was a real fight, but it was just a competitive game in my spare time. Although I haven't won it yet, I believe the result will be different this time."

"But dreams and reality are different after all, right? Even nightmares linger with a vague feeling. Reality always has things that don't match expectations. As long as you are trapped in reality, you will encounter setbacks. If you fail, you will feel as if your entire soul has been broken, and you will never be able to stand up straight again... Mordred, this world is the Lost Belt. The Lost Belt is flawed and full of all kinds of cruelty And unreasonable. No matter how strong you are, you can’t make everything go your way.”

"Artoria, are you underestimating me?"

"No, it's not... I just want to say. Sure enough, don't treat the dream with the attitude?"

"Then I can only say that I have seen unreasonable things and cruel things, far beyond your imagination."

The smile on the corner of my mouth disappeared, and I became indifferent.

It's not indifference to the girl, but indifference to the past self.

She was powerless until the end, wanted to go crazy but was forced not to go crazy, wanted to die but woke up in paradise with that person, wanted to change her past but was told that it was those pasts that made her who she is now, even The temptation of the god of evil is close at hand, as long as I nod my head slightly, I can lead to a completely different path-no one can understand what so-called cruelty and irrationality are better than me, and no one's hatred and anger can compare The fire in my heart grows stronger.

But... I endured it and grew up from this cruelty and unreasonableness. I was able to be independent from my father and king, to be able to truly be on my own, to be responsible for my own decisions, and to face myself without the shadow of the past. s future.

Sure enough, the girl lowered her head and finally realized what kind of existence the person in front of her was.

"Then... Mordred, can I pretend that I didn't say anything?"

"Okay." I replied bluntly. "Also, don't think about it in the future. Even if you are fulfilling your own mission, I know better than you how to do things—whether it is experience, experience or knowledge, I have a lot more than you."

"Well, I know it. After all, Mordred is really strong. Not only is he strong in force, but he is much stronger than me in character, knowledge, and so on."

Confirming the thoughts in her heart, the girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Fairy Swamp changes with people's consciousness and emotions.

A ray of sunlight passed through the tall trees and shone on the girl's face, making her smile as warm as the winter sun, and her eyes shining like the brightest emeralds.Unknown white flowers grow and bloom beside her, as if the paradise appears here, surrounds her, and reflects her, as if she is the symbol of the paradise and the end of redemption.

Before I knew it, I reached out to her.

But before it straightened, I let it go.

Indeed, the girl in front of her was beautiful, almost as beautiful as the morning star of summer.

But after all, it is not the person in my heart, but a phantom in my heart, a dream that will eventually end.

"... Mordred?" She tilted her head, not understanding why I acted like this.

"Ah... sorry, I thought about something again." After a pause, without her consent, I held her wrist as before and led her out of the fairy swamp. "It's time to go out, Arturia. Your future is waiting for you. As your knight, I will accompany you until you complete your pilgrimage and fulfill your mission. At that time, I will come from Dream Waking up in the middle of the night, and saying goodbye to this world classified as the Lost Belt."

"Well, it's time to go out, Mordred."

I took a deep breath and prepared to step through the gate to get the vine build.

The girl took a step forward, shoulder to shoulder with me, fingers intertwined, and walked out of the gate of the fairy world.

Looking up, it is the setting sun that is about to sink into the horizon, and the beautiful flowers all over the mountains and plains.

Spring stays here forever, and even in the harshest winter, it still maintains the dream of spring.

(The picture is generated by AI, with some training content)

Chapter 41: The past is like a shadow

◆Artoria◆

"Taxation is the cornerstone of everything. Unlike the historical inertia of pan-human history, your country starts from scratch. Then, you must make your subjects not feel that taxation is a forced collection, but a payment that meets their expectations. "The important affairs of the country are the sacrificial and military affairs." These two things are considered the most important by the subjects. The former protects fate and keeps away from disasters. The latter brings territory and protects safety. Tona Riko, you can't do both Good. You did suppress the disaster, but the people didn’t know about it, so you need more publicity. You did protect the security of the country, but the people didn’t know who the enemy was, lacked the sense of crisis, let alone the brutal war experience.”

"Then you can derive follow-up knowledge from this—what matters is not what you did, but that the people know what you did. You must inform your subjects of your thoughts and intentions, instead of hiding in this grand palace as a A queen hidden behind the scenes. You need to restore the offering and worship of the Diagonal God, and clarify the sins created by the six initial Yaling. You need to describe several powerful enemies, and then tell the people that without you, there is no army, They will live worse than death and become slaves. Only in this way can you persuade the people to pay taxes for you, not just the so-called 'existence tax', and you will have more resources to do more things."

"Now let's go back to the essence and explain - the essence of power is the responsibility and obligation paid by the people to reduce risks, and the essence of taxation is the transfer of labor and property in order to control risks. Fairness and justice are indeed very important to the country. , but not the foundation, because it is an internal problem, not an external crisis. An internal crisis can only lead to dynastic changes, but an external crisis can make the state itself cease to exist."

"Finally, combined with the actual case. Yuther died. He was hated by an unknown goblin and poisoned to death. It seems to be an accident. In fact, no goblin was loyal to Uther during the entire process from poisoning to verification. , are all attitudes of hatred. Because neither you nor Uther told everyone what the country exists for, and what the king exists for, nor did they design a set of moral codes to tell the goblins how terrible chaos and loss of control are. .Conversely, when the majority of the people agree with you, they entrust the oath to you, rule is no longer oppression, government orders can be accepted, and the country is considered prosperous.”

"Tona Riko, now, do you understand where the distortion of the country you created before is?"

Before, I only talked about some basic concepts, but did not integrate these concepts to form a chain of knowledge.

If she still wants to be a queen who builds a paradise, I won't talk so much nonsense.But now, she has decided to create a new race, a new civilization, and a new country, so in order to establish a system, she must have this basic gray knowledge.

Here is the question zone, time is the most pressing pressure.Before the remaining power of the fantasy tree is exhausted, Tona Riko must lead the new race through the 4000-year journey of human beings.Reinventing the wheel is not okay, and neither is irrational behavior.Tonali must understand what I'm talking about, if there is no if, if there is no otherwise, the foreigner must be completely destroyed.

Tona Riko lowered her head, closed her eyes, and thought for a long time.

She has a good memory and a strong thinking ability. She can remember what I say without paper and pen.

I have been waiting for her response.It may be a question, it may be an answer, or it may be disagreement.It doesn't matter because【'{

After about 10 minutes, she finally responded.

"... Arturia, I finally understand. You said that 'the essence of politics is the social relationship between individuals', so that's what you meant." Regret and suddenly. "So, the reason why my previous country was distorted is because the existence of goblins has no social relations at all, and all actions follow their own preferences. Even if they pretend to obey, they will repent at any time-it is just like a beast. The same short-sighted, no growth."

"This question, if the full score is 100 points, you only answered 20 points." After a pause, I looked at the sun that had sunk into the horizon outside the window, and I said: "Then, today's lecture is over. , Tona Riko. You need to think deeply about the rest, and I believe you can give an answer of more than 60 points when I wake up next time."

"...Time flies so fast." Tonali Ke looked at the setting sun outside the window with regret on her face.