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[FMMISM] Chapter 76: Saving the World
🕑 Added 2024-08-03 01:09:32 +0000 UTCNoticing the tense atmosphere between Artoria and Gilgamesh, Iskandar quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Ahh, when I saw him on the street, I invited him to join us for drinks—though he's running late. However, unlike me, he came on foot, so I can't really blame him... By the way, do you two have a bad relationship?"
"Hmph…"
Gilgamesh crossed his arms and turned his face away.
Although in 'Fate/Zero', Gilgamesh was obsessed with Saber Artoria and wanted to collect her as his own treasure, he seemed to have an entirely different attitude toward Lancer Artoria.
Her tall figure, overly voluptuous body, the goddess-like aura surrounding her, and the faintly glowing eyes in the dark night—Lancer Artoria was practically a collection of all the elements that Gilgamesh disliked.
By the way, from some perspectives of Nasuverse's fans, whether it was Gilgamesh's pursuit of Saber Artoria in 'Fate/Zero', his affection for the underage girl in 'Fate/hollow ataraxia', or his gentle attitude toward his young female Master in 'Fate/strange Fake', all signs point to this King of Heroes potentially being a lolicon.
However, some even said he was not interested in women because he was only interested in his 'clay friend'.
From these perspectives, it was no wonder Gilgamesh didn't get along with Lancer Artoria.
Ignoring Artoria, Gilgamesh turned his head to Iskandar and spoke up.
"You really picked such a lousy place for the banquet. Is this the extent of your taste? I came all this way just for this—how will you make amends?"
Upon hearing this, Iskandar laughed heartily and handed a wooden ladle filled with wine to Gilgamesh.
With a snort, Gilgamesh took the ladle and drank the wine down in one go.
"What kind of inferior wine is this? Using such wine for a banquet of kings?"
Gilgamesh scoffed as a swirling golden ripple appeared behind him.
Soon, a series of dazzlingly jeweled wine bottles and golden wine cups emerged from the golden ripple.
When one looked inside the wine bottles, they were filled with a clear and colorless liquid.
"Go ahead and taste it. What you saw is the king's wine." Gilgamesh said with pride.
Artoria and Iskandar curiously took the golden wine cups and took a sip.
"Ooohhh, this is so delicious! Is this really made by humans? It can't be a divine wine, can it?"
Iskandar's eyes widened as he praised exaggeratedly.
Gilgamesh's wine collection was undoubtedly the finest wine. Even Artoria, who wasn't particularly interested in such indulgences, silently nodded in agreement.
With this, the three kings, immersed in the taste of the fine wine, began discussing the way of kingship.
Just like drunken ramblings, Gilgamesh, who claimed the Holy Grail as his own treasure, spoke of his reasons for participating in the Holy Grail War—to punish those who dared to covet his treasure.
"It is a matter of principle not to let those who steal my treasures go unpunished. It is a law set by me, as a king."
"Hahh..."
After hearing Gilgamesh's words, Iskandar let out a deep sigh.
"A perfect king indeed, one who can enforce his own laws. But you know, I still want the Holy Grail. My way is to take what I want by force after all."
Because the Holy Grail was there and he wanted it, he decided to seize it—simple as that.
Such was he, the King of Conquerors, Iskandar, also known as Alexander the Great.
After all, his wish was to become a living human again to conquer and gain new dominance in this world.
"Because this is the foundation of conquest." Iskandar murmured, staring at his clenched fist. "To have a living body, to rise to the heavens and the earth, to carry out my conquest—this is my path to kingship. Unfortunately, I don't have a body right now. Without it, nothing can start. That's why I need a physical body."
Upon hearing this, Gilgamesh displayed a different kind of smile than usual, one that included a layer of malice, unlike his typical mocking expression.
"It's decided... Rider, I will kill you with my own hands."
"Guhahaha, talking like that now? You'd better get ready soon. Not just for the Holy Grail—I also plan to raid your treasures! You've let the King of Conquerors drink such fine wine. You really are too careless, King of Heroes!"
Iskandar grinned widely, then turned his head to the silent Artoria.
"By the way, Lancer, why don't you tell us your wish?"
Throughout the conversation, Artoria maintained a bored expression.
"I have no wish." Artoria replied calmly.
Perhaps the past version of her would have wanted to use the Holy Grail to save her country, completely disregarding her own life, but that thought had long vanished with her transformation into a goddess.
"Huh? Since you have no wish, why are you here then?" Iskandar asked in confusion.
"Saving the world." Artoria answered briefly.
Gilgamesh: "Hmph."
Iskandar: "Ohh? That's really... ambitious."
Irisviel: "Ahahaha..."
Waver: "...What?"
At this moment, the entire courtyard fell silent.
"Uh, saving the world… what exactly does that entail?"
Artoria's serious demeanor indicated that she wasn't joking, so Iskandar awkwardly asked.
Unfortunately, Artoria did not answer his question. Even if she did, ambitious tyrants like these two men probably wouldn't understand.
If one were to ask why, the object that she decided to spend the rest of her life exploring and pursuing was born from the desires of humans like Iskandar and Gilgamesh—great evils.
At the end of human desires, the terrifying Beast of Revelation would awaken according to prophecy. In order to fight against the scarlet beast recorded in the holy text, the eternal king who returned from the dead had forsaken her ideals and emotions.
Now, Artoria who straddled the line between a hero and a god was the savior appointed by the Counter Force.
"Your sister's wish isn't to save Britain, but to save the world?"
Even Ragna and Morgan, hiding in the upper loft, were slightly surprised by Artoria's words.
Compared to the King of Knights Ragna knew, she seemed more like the envoy of the planet who was supposed to wield the holy sword of the planet, Excalibur.
However, she clearly had no Excalibur.
'What's going on? Seriously, there are too many Artoria Species. It's getting hard to keep track...'
With a long sigh, Ragna reclined, resting the back of his head on Morgan's soft, ample chest.
"Hey… if you became the ruler of Britain, what would you want to do?"
"I don't know." Morgan answered in a daze.
"Huh?"
Her answer truly made Ragna speechless.
Morgan le Fay, who was more obsessed with the throne of Britain than anyone else, surprisingly hadn't even considered the responsibilities, duties, or purposes of being a ruler.
In light of this, if Iskandar and Gilgamesh were tyrannical rulers, then Morgan would be a foolish ruler.
Suddenly, Morgan emitted a sobbing sound and then spoke a bit more softly than usual.
"I never thought about what I should do after becoming a ruler. I just… feel that the throne of Britain was supposed to be mine..."
"..."
Morgan hugged Ragna tightly, burying her face in his hair and quietly sobbing.
"It was supposed to be mine... I just want to get back what's mine… Is that wrong?"
Morgan's voice seemed to be accusing the whole world.
As the first child of King Uther, she should have been the rightful heir to the throne.
Pitifully, she wasn't even allowed the chance to contend for it. Whether it was her father's approval, the court mage's teachings, or the challenge of the sword in the stone—all of it was unrelated to her existence.
She was simply trying to take back the throne from her sister yet got condemned by the world as an evil and evil witch.
"..."
Unsure of what to say upon seeing her suddenly like this, Ragna silently reached up to wipe away Morgan's tears.
For chaotic Britain at that time, considering Artoria as its king, there could be no better ruler than her.
From this, it was clear that the choice of the Human Order was not wrong.
Even though Morgan clearly had the legal right of succession, extraordinary intellect, and talent, there must have been a reason why she was denied even the chance to rule.
In the end, between Artoria and Morgan, there might not be a right or wrong, and Ragna knew that the struggle between the sisters was not something for an outsider like him to meddle in.
Sighing, Ragna suddenly jumped down from Morgan's lap.
"...Are you going to leave me, Master?"
Morgan's moist eyes and dry voice trembled together.
Ragna scratched his head helplessly and said, "Well, I'll swing by later if you want to hang out in your room. I'm just finishing up this boring banquet now."
After leaving these words, he immediately leaped down from the loft.
