【Cang Yin】The girl in love
"Not an enemy? What does that mean?"
"Because I handled it well."
—If they weren't enemies, why would the Assassins attack Morgan?
The time difference between Ayaka Sajou's encounter with Assassin and Morgan's sneak attack by Assassin... no, the most important thing is the order of events. Which one came first?
This question sent a chill down Altoris's spine.
The fairy-like girl was completely unaware of the golden-haired king's thoughts, only offering a bright smile to Artorius, her clear eyes reflecting his handsome face.
"Hey, Saber..."
Artorius stared blankly at Sajou Aika's shy, blushing face.
A girl in love never hesitates to show her beautiful and lovely side.
Pure and innocent.
Like a delicate flower that has transcended the world.
Sajō Aika continued speaking: "Since I can take care of a Servant all by myself, could I—"
"Give me a reward."
'Altoris.'
As if his vision was being covered by a pair of fair and delicate hands, in the darkness that interrupted their eye contact, a clear and gentle voice rang in Artorius's ears.
Unfamiliar, yet familiar.
It felt like it came from afar, yet it was right next to me.
Artorius had heard this voice before and had seen the owner of this voice.
He called tentatively, "Vivian?"
After a long silence, a cold voice finally came through: "...Are you deliberately trying to make me angry? My foolish and mischievous younger brother."
Morgan.
Have you calmed down?
"Um, I'm sorry. And thank you." The blond king concealed the turmoil in his heart beneath a faint smile.
When King Arthur raised his eyes again, he took the girl's small hand in his and leaned down to kiss the back of her hand.
Artorius ultimately concealed his affair with Morgan from Ayaka Sajou—his Master.
-
Shatiao House.
Even though Aika Sajou complained in a coquettish tone that the night was too short, it was not advisable to stay outside for long during the Holy Grail War, as demons and monsters were lurking in all directions.
After returning safely to the outpost and sharing the battle situation and intelligence with the head of the Sajō family, Artorius was about to say goodbye to Sajō Aika when he heard the girl call out to him.
"Saber, what are you planning to do next?"
Before the knight in his azure silver armor could answer, Ayaka Sajou continued, "If you don't mind, would you like to sit down and chat for a while longer?"
The blonde girl clutched the basket tightly in her hands, a blush rising on her pretty face. It wasn't hard to tell from her shy demeanor how much courage she had mustered to make the invitation.
"...I'm a little concerned about Sister Wang's condition."
"It's alright. Just like I told my father, the barrier is intact, and we haven't encountered any enemy attacks. We're really lucky!"
Altorlis's thin lips opened and closed several times, finally squeezing out a dry sound from his throat:
"But wouldn't Sister Wang harbor some resentment about staying behind to guard the rear?"
"So, is Saber planning to go and appease her?"
Under Ayaka Sajou's gaze, the Silver Knight seemed to ponder for a moment, then shook his head, "For her, that might be an even more unbearable insult."
"I see. Saber is so kind."
Sajo Aika placed her ten fingers together in front of her chest, her pretty face once again covered with a delicate blush, and the words that came from her pink lips were as gentle as a flower.
—However, beneath the beautiful flowers lie terrifying, intertwined thorns.
...Thanks to his strategic experience of deceit and intrigue during his lifetime, Artorius was able to talk to Ayaka Sajou with an unchanged expression, suppressing his inner turmoil until the girl succumbed to sleepiness and ended the conversation.
King Arthur entered the bedroom two hours later.
A slender figure sat gracefully by the floor-to-ceiling window, the pale moonlight casting a veil of silvery glow over her, the hazy light blurring her profile.
—It was as if the person before me was nothing more than a phantom woven from moonlight.
For no apparent reason, a strange feeling made Artorius call out:
"Sister Wang."
Morgan's gaze shifted from the bright moon outside the window to the young king.
"Is it over? You've worked so hard."
The Knight King's armor made a slight rustling sound as he moved.
As Artorias approached Morgan, the moonlight gently caressed his golden hair and handsome face, reflecting the resolute look in his emerald eyes.
"Did you expect this all along?"
"More or less, I guess. I just didn't expect it to actually happen." Morgan shrugged casually, then tentatively said:
"However, Sajō Ayaka only performed a Servant summoning last night, and it's certain there are no spying familiars around. So who else could know about a chain summoning Servant and break into the barrier without triggering an alarm?"
Sensing Morgan's implied meaning, Altoris immediately said in a stern voice, as if rebuking, "Aege has no need to do such a thing."
The upright King Arthur refused to make malicious assumptions about his Master.
Artorius prefers to believe that Assassin and his master encountered Sajou Aika after the surprise attack and reached some kind of non-combat agreement.
Moreover, although it cannot be said that way, based on Altorlis's life experiences, the number of times they harmed each other due to Morgan le Fay's conspiracy was countless.
Furthermore, since almost no one could outwit Morgan and there was no need to worry about his safety, Altoris did have a fleeting thought that "as long as he's alright, that's all that matters."
As for Aika Sajou, in Artorius's eyes she was merely an innocent, pure, and pitiful girl.
Unaware of this, Morgan declared righteously, "I don't believe you haven't noticed Aegean's feelings for you, Artorius."
"That was just a fleeting infatuation. Servants only appear in the world during the Holy Grail War. When the final group wins the Holy Grail, the Servants will return to the Throne of Heroes, and that infatuation will gradually fade away with time."
"So you neither accept nor refuse? Are you trying to say this is a knight's consideration for women?"
Altorlis frowned, sensing Morgan's disapproval and aggressive tone.
"I don't understand what you're anxious about, Sister Wang. No matter how much Ai Ge loves me, there's no possibility of us being together."
"..."
Suddenly, Morgan realized it.
Sajō Aika, who was in love with King Arthur, probably targeted Morgan not only because she interfered with her love, but also because of the worldly questioning of the relationship between Morgan and King Arthur in the Arthurian legend.
LOL, she has absolutely no chance of survival in Ayaka Sajou's eyes!
Putting aside for the moment the fact that would cause his Sanity to plummet—Morgan and Altoris's "affair"—Morgan couldn't help but rub his forehead and ponder.
—It seems that Ayaka Sajou and I are destined to be enemies to the death.
Morgan was never one to sit idly by and wait for his doom.
Even if the opponent is a unique being beloved by the world, connected to the source and omniscient and omnipotent, and capable of driving "beasts".
No matter how invincible a creature or consciousness may be, it is not indestructible as long as it possesses desires.
Sajou Aika cares about Artorius Pendragon.
He even said he would give him the Holy Grail and grant his wish.
Even if Aika Sajou gains unparalleled knowledge through the Root, it won't be easy for her to overturn the fate of Britain's destruction in the pan-human history.
Fortunately, Morgan possessed the memories of the Fairy Queen (a great achievement), allowing him to roughly deduce the methods that Ayaka Sajou might employ.
—These are nothing more than methods that can generate singularities or Lostbelts.
Perhaps only the ends of the earth (Avalon) will be spared.
Recalling a certain rainbow-colored figure, Morgan couldn't help but complain:
"It's all your fault for always getting entangled with strange women, Artorius."
For a moment, King Arthur's expression was indescribable.
Seeing this, Morgan tilted his head in confusion and looked at his younger brother, "...?"
"No, it's nothing."
Altorlis looked away from Morgan.
"In short, humans are not entirely rational beings. Do I need to elaborate on the behaviors they will exhibit when dominated by emotions?"
Just as Morgan was about to explain to his brother the incredible deeds of women who were either born with or (forced) to be love-struck, and how they had utterly ruined the lives of their crushes, he was suddenly interrupted by a sentence:
"Although you speak eloquently, Sister Wang has never been in love with anyone, has she?"
A certain keyword evoked an image of snowflakes covering the ground.
—Then a piercing barrage of noise assaulted Morgan's brain.
Humans exist as "knights" on a land built upon sin and curse, filled with lies and betrayal.
To end the war and fulfill her long-cherished wish, she (the savior) regarded the person as "hope".
On that long journey, the man who reached out to her (the savior) and smiled at her (the savior) called out in a voice filled with longing: "■■■■."
Whose name was he calling out?
Morgan didn't have time to make out the shape of the man's lips before the gradually blurring image shattered into tiny grains of sand, like sand flowing in an hourglass, falling into a bottomless abyss.
That person exists in both Pan-Human History and Lostbelts.
It is grief, it is joy;
It is both hope and despair.
—No, this isn't my memory. It's...
The silver-haired, blue-eyed woman lowered her eyes.
Like a bright moon obscured by dark clouds, or a rose withered by cold frost, its slender profile appears exceptionally lonely.
After a long silence, Morgan finally snapped out of his jumbled memories and asked in a low, melancholy tone:
Why do you always side with people other than me?
Upon hearing this, Altolis was speechless for a moment.
The reason was simple: the blond king turned around and examined his own words and actions.
King Arthur steadfastly protects the elderly, women, and children who suffer injustice, warmly helps civilians attacked by wild beasts, and forgives his erring subjects and close friends, knights.
While people still praise King Arthur for his kindness and wisdom... he never defended the princess of Britain.
On the other hand, just as Morgan le Fay intentionally avoided King Arthur, King Arthur also subtly avoided being with her.
Even the most heated arguments only occurred between Altolis and Mordred.
Faced with Morgan's accusations, Altorlis's first thought was—"Is Morgan one of our own, or an outsider?"
In terms of blood ties, Morgan and King Arthur were closely related and belonged to the same side; in terms of fate, they were on opposite sides and were enemies.
But if given a choice, which one would Morgan want to be? And which one would Altoris want to be?
Still unable to reach a conclusion, Artorius could only say, "...That's not what I meant, Sister Wang."
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