บท 108: C108
The sunlight filtered through the thin window curtains, casting a faint golden ripple onto the bed. Shirou twitched his eyebrows and woke up, as he did every morning.
He got off the hard bed, put on the gray linen clothes that hung on the side, and then pulled open the coarse cloth curtains to let sunlight shine into the simple room.
Standing in front of the window, Shirou surveyed the familiar surroundings. This was a manor.
"Clatter clatter clatter."
A blond girl in silver armor slowly walked into the manor, leading a horse. Shirou went over the words and grammar in his head and greeted her in a language he was not familiar with. "Good morning, Artoria. You're back from patrolling the town?"
Artoria turned to look at Shirou, nodding her head. "Hmm. Good morning, Guinevere."
Shirou showed a troubled expression and said, "I've told you, please call me Fujimaru Shirou."
"Okay." she nodded seriously before making a very effortful expression, her snowy white face turning red as she struggled to pronounce the unfamiliar name. After a few minutes, she finally opened her mouth, "Foomfaroo Shurrow?"
He couldn't help but feel speechless at her attempt, and he said, "You should just call me Guinevere."
"Okay, Guinevere!" she replied with enthusiasm. It was clear that she was relieved to be able to address him as Guinevere.
He wondered if it was because she was an actual human being and not a Servant directly endowed with modern knowledge by the Holy Grail. For Artoria, who was accustomed to speaking Old English, speaking the Japanese language of "Fujimaru Shirou" was like asking a foreigner to speak a regional dialect they weren't familiar with.
"Guinevere, I'm going to train with Ector now. Let's catch up over lunch."
"Okay, sounds good. I have to go to work anyway." Shirou replied before leaving the manor.
After bidding farewell to Artoria, Shirou followed the servants up the hill where they tended to the crops, weeding and fertilizing as they went. It had been a year since Shirou found himself in this world, taken in by the three individuals who saved him and brought him to the manor.
During his time there, Shirou had focused on recovering his magical energy by absorbing human malice, learning the language, gathering information, and trying to confirm his whereabouts. He had made steady progress and had gained a good understanding of the world based on the knowledge he had accumulated over the past year.
It was almost certain that Shirou had been thrown into the time of King Arthur in 5th century Britain after passing through the Root. It was evident by the old knight, Ector, who was the foster father of King Arthur, the blonde girl, Artoria, with whom Shirou had fought in the Fourth Holy Grail War, and the boy, Kay, who would later become the third seat of the Knights of Round Table.
However, at this point in time, Artoria had not yet pulled the sword from the stone and become King Arthur. She was still a young and inexperienced knight, staying with Ector. This was the extent of the information Shirou had been able to gather over the past year, which unfortunately, was very little.
It had taken Shirou an entire year to learn the language of Old Britain, a daunting task for a complete novice. The language was filled with unclear expressions and was far more difficult than modern English, making it a significant challenge for modern people to learn without a translation, teacher, or textbook.
Shirou had no other option but to rely on his own efforts to learn Old British. He used the most brainless and arduous method, memorizing each word one by one. It took him a year to learn the vocabulary and grammar, but he still couldn't use it proficiently as the ancient language had limited expressive ability. However, he could communicate normally with enough effort.
It was through this method that he obtained information about King Arthur. His purpose for gathering this information was to understand the world he was in and find a way back to his own time.
A year had passed since he arrived in this world, and his desire to return home had only grown stronger. He couldn't shake the thought of his home in Fuyuki City. He had to go back, no matter what.
The one problem that continued to trouble Shirou was the fact that he had entered this world through the Root, and the only way back was to re-enter it. However, without the same level of power as Arcueid, he couldn't possibly survive there. What's more, he had no idea how to open the Root and return to his own world.
To make matters worse, his contact with Scathach seemed to have been cut off. He had been unable to connect to the dream realm, the land of shadows, no matter how he slept this past year. It was as if he was blocked.
After pulling out weeds from the fields, Shirou wiped the sweat off his forehead and contemplated his situation. Undoubtedly, the only way for him to return home at the moment was to find Merlin.
Merlin was a famous magus in the legends of King Arthur and the entire world. He was a hybrid of incubus and humans and had made many prophecies that had come true. Additionally, he was one of the strong candidates for the Caster class and possessed the Clairvoyance skill which allowed him to see through the present.
Ignoring his character, his abilities alone were impressive. If Shirou could find him, he might be able to get some advice even if there was no way to send himself back, provided that Merlin was willing to help him.
As Shirou did not belong in this time period, Merlin, with his Clairvoyance, should be able to sense that he was an outsider and come to him to inquire about it, just like Scathach did through the dream world. As a child of an incubus and a human, Merlin could easily use such a method to communicate in the dream.
Despite waiting for a year, Merlin never came to him. It seemed as though he had not even noticed that Shirou was an outsider. This was simply unbelievable! Perhaps the Magus of Flowers had his own considerations?
However, Shirou could not wait any longer. He had been away from his family for a year, and he was worried about them. Having learned to communicate in Old British, he decided to confront Merlin.
Merlin was elusive and unless he wanted to appear, there was no way to find him. But that did not matter because there was one place he would definitely go to every day – Artoria's dream!
Fifteen years ago, the Western Roman Empire was in turmoil. Vortigern, a petty king, betrayed the kings of Britain and led the Anglo-Saxons to attack Britain. Uther Pendragon, who held the power of Britain, clashed against Vortigern but was defeated in the north. He had no choice but to place Britain's hope on the next generation of kings.
Uther and Merlin, who was the court magus at the time, planned to create a new king who was born to be superior to ordinary humans and a container for the "Ideal King". They mixed the blood of the kings of Britain, the ideological consciousness of Britain's embodiment, the red dragon, and the noble female lineage of Igraine to perfectly merge the two. This was the background of Artoria Pendragon's birth.
Artoria was created as a vessel for the "King" from the very beginning. However, the plan had a fatal flaw that could not be fixed - Artoria was a female, not a male. Females couldn't directly inherit the throne. To avoid the attention of others during her growth period, Merlin took her to the estate of the old knight, Ector, when she was about five years old.
This was the same estate where Shirou was currently located. Artoria lived a humble life in Ector's estate as a trainee knight, training in swordsmanship and etiquette under Ector, while also participating in farming with her father and brothers.
Most of Artoria's day was spent on her education as a future king. Even during her only three hours of sleep each day, Merlin entered her dreams to instill her with the teachings of a king. The days of endless and arduous study and training never had a moment of rest.
After Shirou learned Old British, he advised Artoria to take more rest, but unfortunately, she knew that she was born for the purpose of the "King" plan, so the effect was not significant.
Now, for his journey home, he had to confront Merlin. After finishing weeding, he returned to the manor where the cook had prepared lunch - a bowl of porridge made from buckwheat, not wheat or rice.
Shirou spotted Artoria, who was hastily stuffing food into her mouth. He approached her and said, "Artoria, I could use your help with something."
Upon hearing his request, she looked up, her blue eyes growing serious. "If something is troubling you, please don't hesitate to tell me. Genivere, I'll do whatever I can to assist you. But it's not about giving up my food, is it?"
He chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't steal your food." To be honest, the food of ancient Britain was unappetizing for modern people, lacking seasoning and flavor. He managed to eat enough to fill his stomach, but just barely.
Despite his thoughts on the food, Shirou knew he had to focus on his request.
"The thing is," he paused for a moment, "I was wondering if you could ask Merlin to appear in my dream tonight. There's something important I need to discuss with him."
"Merlin?" Artoria paused briefly, considering Shirou's request. "I'll let him know what you've asked for. However, I cannot guarantee that he will appear in your dream."
"That's alright," Shirou replied. "I would appreciate it if you could at least ask him for me."
As he made his way towards the door, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and grabbed his neck. Without skipping a beat, Shirou spoke up, "Kay, let go, you're making me uncomfortable."
Kay, who had grabbed him, looked confused. "Hey! What makes you so sure it's me?"
He chuckled and removed Kay's hand from his neck, turning to face him. "Because you responded, that's how I knew it was you."
Kay took a moment to process Shirou's response, scratching the back of his head in mild distress. "Genivere, you sly guy! You got me good."
Shirou smiled. "Well, next time you decide to play a game like this, just make sure you don't give yourself away so easily."
Kay was one of the three individuals who saved Shirou from danger a year ago. He was the biological son of the old knight Ector and would later become one of the esteemed Knights of the Round Table.
Initially, Shirou had trouble getting along with Kay. However, as they got to know each other better over time, he realized that Kay was actually quite easy to get along with, provided he could tolerate his foul mouth.
Shirou had a high level of tolerance towards others' shi*ty personalities, and he knew how to use language to steer them in positive directions. It didn't take him long to become friends with Kay once he had mastered the Old British language.
Despite Kay's tendency to use foul language, Shirou found that he could handle it easily, especially since Kay's level of profanity was nothing compared to that of a certain king of Uruk.
"What can I do for you?" Shirou asked.
"Don't flatter yourself. Why would I need your help?" Kay retorted.
Shirou smiled, "Because your expression says otherwise."
Kay chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "You're perceptive, I'll give you that. The estate has to pay taxes, but there's too much money for me to handle alone. Can you assist me with it?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you ask someone else for help?"
Kay groaned in response. "They're so dull and boring."
Shirou chuckled, gesturing towards Artoria who was eating nearby. "Are they really that bad?"
Kay let out a deep sigh, realizing he couldn't hide anything from Shirou. He turned to Artoria and said, "Art, let's go pay taxes together."
"What?" Artoria looked up, looking troubled. "But, brother, I still have to train in riding and swordsmanship this afternoon."
Kay scratched his head. As Artoria's foster brother and Ector's biological son, he was well aware of Artoria's background. She was the child of Uther Pendragon and was created to be a vessel for the "Ideal King."
Despite her exhausting training in swordsmanship under her foster father, Artoria worked tirelessly every day. Even her three hours of rest time were taken up by Merlin, who taught her knowledge of the king in her dreams.
Kay knew that Artoria was created as a vessel for the "Ideal King," and he felt powerless to change this fact. However, he also wanted Artoria to take a break and relax, even though he wasn't sure how to persuade his serious and focused sister to unwind.
Out of nowhere, Shirou reached for the bag of money beside Kay. He averted his gaze, deliberately avoiding Artoria's stare, and turned to Kay. "Let's go. I heard that the kingdom's tax policies have changed this year. It's a good opportunity to check them out, as the accuracy of tax policy is a key factor in determining a king's competence."
Kay looked at Shirou in confusion, wondering why he brought up taxes at that particular moment. Before he could respond, Artoria slammed her bowl on the table and stood up, saying firmly, "I'm coming with you."
Kay was momentarily stunned, unable to comprehend why his sister, who was notoriously difficult to persuade, had suddenly changed her mind so quickly. He turned to Shirou, who had a sly grin on his face. In an instant, he realized that his little sister had fallen for Shirou's trick!
...
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