(This chapter is from Artoria’s first-person perspective.)
My body has quite a few ailments, all left over from the poor living environment of my childhood.
Fortunately, shivering after being in air conditioning is not one of them, so the air-conditioned environment was very comfortable for me.
Coupled with having just finished a delicious bowl of ramen, and it being noon, I felt a bit drowsy lying on the bed.
If I were alone, I would certainly have gone straight to sleep.
But beside me, there was a child full of doubts and conflicts, and I probably wouldn’t be able to rest until her questions were answered.
It’s just that this feeling of my mind gradually becoming dull is a bit uncomfortable.
I might answer incorrectly, what I say might not align with my own thoughts, or I might be misunderstood—even though my body was already groggy, this uneasy feeling made me barely maintain consciousness.
But I waited for Mordred for a long time, and she didn’t make a sound.
Just as I couldn’t help but start to urge her, she, sitting on the edge of the bed, finally made a sound.
“Father…”
It was just that sound.
The question was stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken; the emotion was stuck in her chest, unable to be vented.
Mordred now, even though her heart was full of doubts, was unable to speak due to some complicated emotions.
Adolescents are all like this, too sensitive.
Mordred is a homunculus, and her body develops much faster than ordinary people.
Although her actual age is eight, her physical age is about 15.
She had already learned most of the knowledge and skills, and had even begun to stand on her own before Camlann, which could also be considered a state of adolescence.
Facing an adolescent child, I could only guide her patiently.
“Do you know what you want to ask?” I asked softly.
“There are indeed many questions I want to ask, and at first, I really wanted to ask them.
But…” Mordred’s voice was very low, as if she had just cried.
“After reading that book, I feel it’s not the time yet…
Now I have no questions I want to ask.”
“Are you afraid that I will be angry?” My voice remained unchanged.
“…No.” Mordred said the word with difficulty.
“Are you afraid that the answer you get from me will be different from what you expected?”
“I…
don’t know.”
That must be the fear that what she dreads will become reality, and she can’t find a solution, thereby falling into boundless pain, right?
The history of the kings of britain is fine; it describes King Arthur’s achievements, more like a legend than a story.
le morte darthur is a pure story, containing not only King Arthur’s story but also the stories of the knights.
Everyone’s personality, quality, and ability are written too clearly, and the progress of the story is reasonably logical, making it easy for people to think too much.
Especially in le morte darthur, Mordred is belittled to the extreme, relying entirely on improper conspiracies to incite rebellion.
It completely fails to mention why he, who had no foundation, was able to mobilize so many people to support him and push the perfect King Arthur to the brink.
After thinking for a moment, I tried to continue guiding her.
“Then let’s start with a simpler question?
Mordred, is that okay?”
“…Forget it, Father.
I really have nothing I want to ask.”
“You don’t want to ask anymore?
Mordred, are you sure?”
“Yeah…
I don’t want to ask.
I’m sure.”
“I see…” Forcing her now would only make her more confused and make the situation worse.
After thinking again, I said: “Then let’s wait until Mordred wants to ask.
At any time, Mordred can come and ask me.
As long as it is a question raised by Mordred, I will definitely speak my true thoughts.”
“Okay.
Father.
I will say it when the time is right.”
“In the future, if you encounter any difficulties, or things you can’t figure out, you can tell me.
After all, you are only eight years old now.
Even if you received the best education, that was fifth-century education, scattered and unsystematic, very different from current systematic education.
By comparison, high school education is much harder, and I expect you will need a long time to adapt.”
“I know all of this, Father.
If there is something I don’t understand, I will definitely say it.”
“…Mm.”
Then, the room returned to silence.
Mordred said nothing, sitting at the edge of the bed, appearing very quiet.
I lay on the bed, not knowing what to say, equally quiet.
Time passed slowly amidst the humming of the air conditioner.
Finally, I thought of a topic to break the silence.
“Mordred, is there anything you’d like to do this afternoon?”
“…Is there something you need to do, Father?”
“I want to see if there are any houses for rent near the school.
Misaki Town is a small city in the Sendai metropolitan area with a total population of less than two hundred thousand.
In our era, it would be a massive city, but in this age, it is just an ordinary small town.
In a small town, rent is cheaper, but finding a satisfactory house is not an easy task.
Furthermore, one must communicate with the landlord about what can and cannot be done, what must be notified in advance, and so on, and there is a high possibility of oversights.
Mordred, you will certainly be living with me, right?
So, when looking for a place to rent, your thoughts are also very important.”
“…Does Father really want to go to school here?”
Mordred’s question made me feel a bit awkward.
The existence known as Artoria appears to be fifteen or sixteen years old, but in reality, she is already thirty.
Now, this legendary King Arthur has left Avalon, not to carry out a great mission to save the world, nor to re-establish a great nation, but to study in high school with a group of teenagers.
It is just like a greasy middle-aged person playing house with children in a park; there is nothing but embarrassment in my heart, making me feel very uncomfortable.
“At my age, being a teacher would be fine, but being a student is indeed… Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
However, since our identities have been set this way, let us follow the existing script.
We were sent here by the power of prophecy, which suggests that the school is likely quite extraordinary, and many of the students inside may be similar to me—in any case, we have to take it one step at a time.”
“A script, huh…
So that is why Father became King Arthur…”
The tone in which Mordred said this was very soft, so soft that I could barely hear it and thought I had misheard.
I was stunned for a moment, then tried to ask—
“Mordred?
What did you say?”
“Ah, sorry, Father…” Realizing that she had accidentally spoken her inner thoughts, Mordred’s speech speed became high-pitched and hurried: “Um…
Father wants to look for a house, right?
Then let’s go look for a house together!
I also want to see what the architecture of this era has evolved into, and whether it is as good as Camelot!
After fifteen hundred years, I am really looking forward to seeing what the world has become!”
Yes, you are really looking forward to it; you don’t even look at the road when walking, that is truly looking forward to it.
I rolled my eyes at Mordred.
The child began to scratch the back of her head, looking guilty.
However, to be honest, the houses available for rent in this era are certainly not as good as Camelot.
Not to mention the floor space, which is incomparably smaller, the mere fact that there are no servants is something modern society cannot compete with in any way.
One has to handle three meals a day by oneself, and daily changes of clothing must be washed separately.
There are no courtyards, so various activities must be done on the residential roads or in nearby parks.
Moreover, there are people everywhere; if you want to find a quiet place, you must drive to the remote suburbs, and finding a place to camp requires traveling dozens or hundreds of kilometers.
It is troublesome no matter how you think about it.
Suddenly, I remembered that since it is a long-term rental house, just my and Mordred’s opinions are not enough.
If Morgan comes here, we can’t have her find another house outside to rent temporarily, right?
“…By the way, Mordred, do you have a connection with Morgan?”
“Connection?
Father, you mean…?”
“Magical connection.
Didn’t Morgan cast a spell on you at the beginning because she was worried about you?
No matter where you are, she can sense you, which allows her to find you at any time.
Is this magical connection still there?”
“It is gone.
After I became one of the Knights of the Round Table, the mental link was canceled by Mother.”
Perhaps Morgan felt that Mordred could already stand on her own?
I am not very clear about the matters between Morgan and Mordred; they have never spoken to me about their affairs.
But this fact made me feel a bit disheartened.
Even though I have arrived in the modern age, even though I am in a comfortable air-conditioned room, I inexplicably miss Britain and the time spent in Avalon—it is not exactly nostalgia, but rather that I am more accustomed to the feeling of having many familiar people around me and having many things to do.
“I also don’t know where Morgan and Merlin are…
Merlin is fine; she can see through the ‘present,’ and no matter what era it is, she won’t be too bored, as there are all kinds of ready-made stories to peek at.
As for Morgan, it is hard to say…
Moreover, since I left Avalon, she must be the one most saddened…
I don’t know if she has recovered from the sorrow yet…”
It must be very hard to walk out of it, right?
But, even if she cannot walk out of it, she will continue to live on, right?
And it is that as long as I do not wake up, she will not sleep; she is just waiting for me, just to be able to witness my awakening.
After all, she is different from other Morgans.
Compared to Britain, she seems to love me more—even if my knights were judged as ‘not understanding the human heart,’ and even if she never revealed her true feelings to me, I could clearly perceive this.
I was immersed in speculation and memories.
However, Mordred’s voice in my ear interrupted this recollection.
“Hmm…
Father, are you saying that Mother and that witch did not come to the modern era by opening their eyes like us, but rather spent fifteen hundred years passing through normal time?”
“I don’t know, it’s hard to say…
I just feel that this world is not our world.”
Even though I have lived the life of King Arthur, I am not the real King Arthur.
There is only one King Arthur, and it can only be that noble Knight King who was loved by everyone.
All other King Arthurs are merely one of her aspects, or evolutions based on legend and history, or possibilities generated from divergent paths.
I do not belong to any of these types, so I have always felt that I am just an actor playing King Arthur.
Since I am an actor, it is ultimately fake—like a dream mixed with pain and beauty, which is ultimately just a dream, and ultimately has a day to wake up—or perhaps to sleep forever in the dream, returning to the eternal peace of nothingness.
After a long time, having already closed my eyes, I heard Mordred’s voice again.
“Mother seemed to have said to me…
Is it a parallel world?”
“Neither you nor I have studied magic.
Whether it is a parallel world, Merlin and Morgan’s explanation would be more accurate.
But since they are not here, it is better to wait for them to give a specific explanation.
Our speculation here is meaningless.”
“Is that so…”
“Let’s rest for a while.
It is summer now, and a nap at noon would be better.”
“Yes, Father.”
Mordred took off her shoes and, like me, lay on the bed wearing a T-shirt and shorts.
Closing my eyes, memories of the past surfaced in my mind, my mind felt tired, my stomach felt full, and the air was neither hot nor cold, but at a perfect 26 degrees Celsius…
But I could not sleep.
I couldn’t sleep at all.
It was as if I had slept for too long before, or as if I had suddenly drunk a cup of coffee; I didn’t feel sleepy at all.
I opened my eyes and glanced at the wall clock; less than five minutes had passed.
Time was unexpectedly long—it was as if time here was no longer flowing water, but a viscous gelatinous substance.
I was trapped in it, breathing with difficulty, while clearly perceiving my own pulse, heartbeat, the slightest discomfort in my body, the humming of the air conditioner, the sound of cars passing by outside, and occasionally wondering if Mordred was asleep…
Time was truly too long.
My mind was very tired, but my body could not fall asleep.
I looked at Mordred on the other side again.
She had her eyes closed, and her breathing was steady, but her hands were clenched into fists, occasionally twitching—either she was not asleep at all, or she had already fallen into a nightmare.
“As expected, you aren’t asleep, are you, Mordred?”
I tried to lower my voice as much as possible.
If she were really dreaming, she wouldn’t hear me.
However, Mordred opened her eyes.
She did not look at me, but stared up at the ceiling.
“Hmm…
I can’t sleep a bit.”
“Then just lie down for a while.
It’s good enough to recover some energy.”
Thus, I moved my gaze away from Mordred’s face and looked at the ceiling as well.
Almost immediately, I felt Mordred looking at me—she completely did not want to make eye contact with me.
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted from quiet to oppressive.
“Mordred, are you okay?”
“It was all cured in Avalon.
I am fine now, Father.”
“Hmm…
That’s good…”
“…What about Father?”
“What?”
“Father’s injuries…
how are they?”
“Of course they have recovered.
I just don’t know if some old illnesses and old injuries have recovered.”
“Old injuries?”
“Yes.
The more serious ones are rhinitis and rheumatism.
Because of rhinitis, I might have difficulty breathing when I sleep, which lowers the quality of sleep.
However, the sound is not loud, just light snoring, which generally does not affect others.
As for rheumatism, my joints might ache more on rainy days, especially in the autumn and winter seasons.
At first it wasn’t much, but it has been more serious in the last two years.
Britain often rains, and sometimes I need to hold onto something to stand up.
I also have old injuries on my body; when the air is humid enough to fog up, sometimes it hurts, and it also makes breathing difficult…
There are quite a few such old ailments.”
Mordred did not make a sound.
After a long time, she said in a rather hoarse voice—
“…I have never heard Father talk about these.”
“It is fine to talk about it now.
But at that time, I was the King.
How could a King easily reveal her own weaknesses?
Furthermore, these are very troublesome old illnesses that cannot be cured quickly.
I originally wanted to find a time to have Merlin cure them, but for this kind of chronic disease, Merlin’s healing magic cannot handle it; it requires long-term rest…
I never found the time, so it ended up like this.”
“Even Merlin…?”
“Sir Bedivere lost an arm; didn’t Merlin also fail to regenerate the arm?
In the end, Merlin is just a magician.
Magic, so-called, can only achieve what human technology can achieve.
The medical skills of that era were not very advanced, and healing magic could at most accelerate the healing of wounds.
To deal with diseases, plagues, and disabilities, specialized magic is required.”
“Then, now Father…?”
“It is summer now, the air is dry and hot, and I don’t feel any discomfort for the time being.”
Then, Mordred did not respond.
I checked the time; it had been almost twenty minutes since we lay down, and since neither Mordred nor I could sleep, I got up from the bed.
“Alright, it’s about time.
Let’s go look at the house.”
Mordred also stood up.
She hesitated for a while before asking—
“Um…
Father,”
“There is still quite a lot of money in the bank account.
Even if we don’t deliberately save, it can last for a long time.”
“Uh…
bank?
Account?”
I smiled gently.
Even though she had grown as tall as me, I still reached out and gently touched her head.
Then, I said to her in a tone of gentleness I had never used before—
“You, you have so much to learn!
However…
you just need to study hard for now; don’t worry too much about other things, I have everything covered!
Your father, I am an all-rounder.
Studying, making money, or anything else, I have a way to solve it!
Mordred, you should just adapt to this era first and honestly be a high school student!”
But, a smile did not appear on Mordred’s face.
She just froze for a moment, then nodded slightly.
After that, whether on the bus, on the way to look at houses, or walking on the road, she did not say a word.
It was as if she had a breath in her heart that she couldn’t exhale, and an unquenchable flame was burning in her chest.
Because, from beginning to end, she kept her fists clenched, holding them very tightly, and sometimes her entire arm would tremble along with it.
Fortunately, no killing intent was released, and the conversation was not ruined; the rental contract was finally signed smoothly.