[FGO] Epilogue 2
Morgan responded to Chaldea's call partly as compensation for the substitution magic.
Although she already knew from Chaldea's battle records that the land had perished on its own, preventing her from deviating too much from her mission of "protecting humanity" for Chaldea, Morgan actually harbored a certain fondness for Fujimaru Ritsuka and Matthew Kyrielight, and felt guilty for scheming against them to achieve her goals.
Even if the two individuals did not actually lose anything, it does not justify exploiting them.
Morgan understood these subtleties of interpersonal relationships.
However, besides her, Chaldea has summoned many high-level Servants, some of whom are even comparable to gods, so their combat power is probably no less than hers.
In particular, Morgan discovered that the "Queen of the Fairy Kingdom" and "Savior Ash" would become Chaldea's allies in the future, so she completely let go of her restraints and slowed down her pace with the idea that "although they are all Morgan, they are more likely to become the Master's helpers, so I will act as the older sister first. They will all agree, after all, she is 'Morgan'."
Morgan respected his other two selves.
On the other hand, since they didn't understand each other's motives, Morgan didn't intend to approach the fairy knights. She only marveled at the special connection between herself and Tristan, even noting that the fairy Tristan had a special bond with the queen of the fairy kingdom.
Morgan kept the information about the future to himself and carefully greeted each of the Knights of the Round Table.
Gawain was just as gentlemanly and considerate as he had imagined, returning the same kindness to her and even offering to give her a guided tour of Chaldea.
Tristan seemed a little uncomfortable, but when she said with a sorrowful expression, "It's alright, I don't expect Lord Tristan to continue this rare friendship," the red-haired knight immediately said that it was a knight's duty to share the burdens of women.
—You're really easy to deal with, Lord Tristan :)
The British princess outwardly wore a joyful smile, but inwardly she couldn't help but worry about her friend's character.
When Bedivere apologized, Morgan did not pursue the matter further. "Your actions were out of respect and love for King Arthur. Since the person involved has not blamed you, all I can say is, 'I hope you will continue to be loyal to King Arthur.'"
Morgan later asked Tristan to help her build a friendship with Bedivere. Fortunately, the Silver Knight was a kind and gentle person, so her friendship made things go relatively smoothly.
When Morgan and Mordred met in the pure white corridor, the former approached Mordred with a hint of shyness, only to receive a lukewarm response. After some thought, and learning from other Servants about the Holy Grail War taking place in Romania, Morgan devised another plan to improve her relationship with the rebellious knight.
—But that's another story.
Out of royal pride, Morgan remained calm and composed, but this composure crumbled the moment he caught sight of the pure white knight.
--There's a Lily version of Artoria! What a wonderful place this is!?
"I am a novice knight, embarking on my journey to improve myself. I have no memory of meeting you; perhaps you are a special being belonging to a part of me. Even so, you still love me, so please allow me to draw my sword for you, Queen."
Upon hearing the White Knight's declaration, Morgan responded by pulling him into her arms and showering him with affection.
Upon witnessing this scene, the Knight King and the Holy Sword Wielder exchanged glances and took action without further ado. To them, Queen Morgan was indeed very special, arousing boundless curiosity and affection.
The former has the advantage of being a woman, and is less distant in daily conversations and physical interactions (although this is partly because Morgan was not on guard), while the latter will be taken to care for by the other party and will naturally accept Morgan's goodwill to increase communication.
Then, Artori, who was sharing a bed with Morgan, sensed something and confronted the Holy Swordsman in a furious manner, only to find him glaring at her with a flushed face.
"Artorius, no matter how much our Queen Sister dotes on us, there are some things that absolutely cannot be crossed. I understand the difficulty of politely refusing a noble lady, but if she takes advantage of her kindness and pushes her luck, even you and I would have to give her a good talking-to." The Knight King, realizing that Morgan was used to sleeping with "himself" but had no memory of it, said righteously.
"I'm returning these words to you verbatim, Artoria." The Holy Sword Wielder lowered her hand from her half-face. "When did King Arthur become a personal attendant? The kind who helps princesses change clothes?"
Had Morgan not appeared so natural and clear-headed, devoid of any malicious aggression, he would have nearly drawn his sword against his sister, who was undressing him. After inquiring and learning of her reasons, Artorius only wanted to know what was going on with "King Arthur changing his sister into her nightgown."
Upon hearing this, Artoria's expression darkened. "What did you do... no, what did you see? That's my sister!"
Artorius responded with a forced smile, "Thank you for reminding me, but I'm not the kind of person who looks at Sister Wang that way."
The debate between the Knight King and the Holy Sword Wielder reached a fever pitch. The Servants hiding in the corner watched the drama unfold with glee, while some Writer-type Servants seemed to be bursting with inspiration, writing furiously on the pages of their books. Morgan, the central figure in the discussion, remained completely unaware of the situation.
The dignified British princess is shocked by the existence of a summer-attribute Servant (swimsuit).
She first visited all the summoned Servants before searching for other versions of the same Servant, which is why she learned about the swimsuit version of King Arthur several days later.
Morgan is taking a wait-and-see approach to the cosmic Servants, but whether it's Artoria, Artoria Oruta, Goddess Rungomminiad, or Rungomminiad Oruta, all the little sisters are so cute! The swimsuit versions are more than twice as cute!!
She cheered inwardly like a fan.
Just imagining himself strolling on a beach with King Arthur in a swimsuit, even watching the sunset dappled with light from the waves, made Morgan start to wonder what other class he was suited for, and a sudden thought flashed through his mind:
--If it's a swordsmanship class, I should be able to do it too...?
Even a beast-class job would be fine!! (Humanity Guy: Stop thinking!)
The remaining reason for joining Chaldea was simply that it would be very interesting! Looking at the group of King Arthurs with shining eyes, Morgan was certain that his choice was absolutely correct.
-
Emotional fluctuations from across the world create gentle ripples, like leaves falling onto a lake in the heart.
—This is a realm detached from the broader history of humankind.
Originally a realm for fantastical creatures, it has now been marked as a realm for humans as primates.
Although its coordinates are consistent with the pan-human history, it is not a place that "human burning" can reach; it is a completely remote area.
This land, once known as the Fairy Kingdom, is managed with the assistance of the Knights of the Round Table, whose blessings were taken back by the Storm King. Although humans under the rule of fairies may find it difficult to adapt, the abilities of Agravan, the British government official, need no further explanation. As for Lancelot, if he gets serious, he should be able to gain the approval of that young man with the same name as the Knight of the Round Table, Pashival.
Gawain and Tristan were assigned the task of clearing out monsters and enemies.
Based on the principle of "better safe than sorry" and having had a bad experience before (that hateful Roman emperor!), Morgan dared not be careless about whether the threat had been completely eliminated. Whenever Gawain and Tristan came to report, she would carefully check the instructions in the documents over and over again.
The two knights, bewildered, began to tremble with fear, at which point Artoria would intervene to calm them down.
"You've worked hard; your reports are excellent. Minister Gao Wenqing and Minister Tristan, please go and rest. I've already instructed you to prepare for washing up and having a meal before your reports, so you can recover from your fatigue."
The two knights bowed gratefully and withdrew.
Then, Storm King Artorius embraced the British princess, making her sit sideways between his legs—as if the two were sharing a throne.
Having removed his armor, he wore the same black robe as Morgan, with bright red patterns outlining the imposing figure of a grown man. Even though it was partially concealed by the noblewoman's skirt, it still extended into strong and straight lines, imprisoning Morgan within it.
Morgan did not resist.
Regardless of whether Morgan is a proponent of King Arthur's absolute affirmation, when faced with "this" Artoria, she must be either tolerant or accommodating.
If it were Arthur, the ever-victorious king who was adept at dealing with internal strife and external enemies, his supervision and judgment would be flawless, but the significance of the blond king's existence goes beyond that.
Just as the Knights of the Round Table were necessary, so too were Artoria.
Because she is Artorius's sister, her existence cannot be established without him.
Morgan had never considered establishing a relationship with Altoris that was not siblings, but Altoris had almost imprinted "Queen Sister" in her spirit origin, making a resounding declaration of love to Morgan through her own existence.
She was completely overwhelmed by such intense emotions and eventually succumbed to this abyss of love.
Was it because of the fairy's unconventional values that she disregarded so-called ethics? Morgan, leaning against Altoris's chest, pondered for a moment and came to a negative answer.
It wasn't simply about providing companionship, nor about giving her a promise worth a fortune. What truly stirred Morgan's heart was someone burdened with many things. The first thing on his mind wasn't heavy responsibilities or lofty ideals, but her, who seemed like a mirage.
Morgan was overjoyed to realize this, as if he were in a splendid and beautiful dream, fearing that it was all just a fleeting delusion and that he would have to face the harsh reality when he woke up.
Meeting Artorius's calm, clear, azure-gold eyes, Morgan concealed her worries with a gentle smile, half-jokingly saying, "If this moment is just a dream, it doesn't matter; it will become my motivation to keep going." The Storm King then said:
"I cannot forgive the sacrifice of your kingdom, nor will I tolerate any suffering that befalls you. Morgan, even for a moment of sorrow, I do not wish you to suffer even the slightest pain."
Upon hearing this, Morgan suddenly remembered that the Fairy Kingdom had been set up to be a bit gentler by the Queen.
So...she should be able to find happiness, right?
Even if she takes a short rest, it'll be fine... right?
Morgan had to admit that traveling to so many worlds had indeed made her a little tired, but when she closed her eyes, she was chased by the fiery scenes, and the despair and lamentation that echoed in her chest made her unable to stop.
But it didn't matter anymore, because she finally found the answer on her long journey...
The towering capital city sits beside a vast, crater-like void. On the throne gazing into the abyss, brilliant sunlight spills onto the straight back of the golden-haired king, reflecting shimmering specks of light in the fine dust floating in the air. Golden photons dance between the long, lowered eyelashes of the person in his arms.
Until it was shaken off and dropped into a slowly opening pool of blue water.
"Did I disturb your nap, Morgan?"
"No."
This time, upon awakening from the hazy dream, what met those watery eyes was no longer the burning earth.
Rather, it is a fertile land, the people who live there, and the knights and kings who protect them.
—It belongs to her and Artorius's Britain.
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