In this crossover anime, Yoshikage Kira longs for a peaceful life.

"cannot!"

Merlin said irritably, "Do you think this is some shoddy product from a novice blacksmith? This is a holy sword! Even if you melt it down and reforge it, it will not have the same mystique it once had, because that mystique has long been lost."

"Besides, even if I could retrieve the mystery, would you still be qualified to wield this sword? It has already broken once in your hands, and even if you wield it again, it will only break once more!"

"It's okay, even without it..."

Merlin rudely interrupted her:

"Without it, you are nothing!"

"Will not."

Artoria calmly refuted her.

Even without a sword, she believed that the knights gathered under her command would not betray her; she would still be the Queen of Camelot.

"It's not that simple."

Merlin sighed. How could she not see what Artoria was thinking?

Even though she believed Artoria truly possessed such abilities, and her confidence wasn't unfounded, Artoria still didn't understand that in this era, the things embodied in "mystery" were far more valuable than people imagined!

With the blessing of "mystery," Artoria's future will come to an end. She will be unable to defeat Vortigern, unable to unify Britain, and unable to allow Camelot to expand his territory by even an inch.

of course.

All of this is based on the premise that Artoria is an ordinary person.

But she is not; she is the Red Dragon of Britain.

Even without any mystical blessing, she was born with a considerable amount of mystical blessing, but that was still not enough for her to defeat Vortigern.

Yoshikage Kira, who had remained silent until now, suddenly suggested:

"Since this sword is no good, let's get a different one."

"Change it?"

Merlin frowned and pondered for a moment, "I do know of a few more holy swords. If they are used merely as 'mystical' enhancements, their effects will be no worse than the Sword in the Stone, and may even be more powerful..."

"But what?" Artoria interrupted.

Merlin rolled his eyes:

"But I'm not familiar with them!"

"they?"

Merlin offered a sharp and uncompromising assessment:

"The fairy who guards the holy sword, the lake fairy, a liar and a vile woman!"

Artoria's gaze was somewhat subtle:

"It sounds like you're quite familiar with them."

She was curious about what had happened between Merlin and them, but she didn't press the matter.

Because she knew that if Merlin wanted to tell them, she would do so on her own initiative; otherwise, even if pressed, she would remain silent.

After thinking for a moment, Yoshikage Kira offered his advice with utmost sincerity:

"It's okay, we can reason with them. As long as both sides are open and honest, I believe they will understand."

Merlin and Artoria's expressions became subtle. They both had some understanding of Kira Yoshikage's style of doing things, so they could guess what form Kira Yoshikage's "reasoning with him" would take.

Merlin hurriedly advised:

"Let me try to communicate with them first."

Although Merlin and the Lady of the Lake had a minor conflict, it wasn't to the point of being irreconcilable, and there was no need to exterminate their entire race. There weren't many fantasy creatures left in the mortal world to begin with, and whether it was her or those fairies, they would eventually return to the Inner Sea of ​​Stars.

Minor frictions that occasionally occur between them can be tolerated, but if she were to inadvertently gain a reputation as a fairy killer, she would probably have no place to stand in the Star Inner Sea, and all the fantasy species would unite to ostracize her.

Although Merlin isn't afraid, there's no need for him to be!

How can someone kill the whole family right from the start?

At the very least, we should talk about it first, right?

Just like interrogating a criminal, how can you come up and kill someone without asking any questions? Is this an interrogation or a cover-up?

As if afraid that Yoshikage Kira might change his mind, Merlin's figure transformed into a cluster of petals that gradually dispersed and floated into the air through the open window.

"I still have official business to attend to..."

Artoria also stood up, but Yoshikage Kira interrupted her directly:

"So, how did the sword break?"

Artoria pursed her lips and did not answer him.

"What does this have to do with me?" Yoshikage Kira asked again.

"..."

Artoria asked in a low voice, "Did you do what happened in Count Isaac's territory?"

Yoshikage Kira immediately understood.

Although he believed he had been careful enough to leave no trace—just one finger alive.

There were no witnesses or physical evidence left behind, only a very obvious pile of corpses. Anyone who saw it would immediately guess that the Saxons had broken into the castle and brutally murdered Count Isaac and his family.

Anyway, he had already killed all those Saxons, so they couldn't refute him.

Since they won't refute it, they'll have to take the blame whether they want to or not.

Otherwise, people will ask, "If you didn't do it, why don't you refute it?"

But it's a pity.

Artoria is smart enough.

Having had a similar experience before, she easily guessed that Yoshikage Kira was involved.

Whether as a king or a knight, her duty should be to capture Yoshikage Kira immediately.

Even if no evidence is found, we must strive to find out the truth.

But she didn't do that. Instead, she acted as if she knew nothing and sent Gawain to lead knights to wipe out the Saxons in her territory.

This undoubtedly violated the chivalrous code she was supposed to uphold, rendering her unfit as a knight. Furthermore, if this matter were to be exposed, it would undoubtedly be a severe blow to her reputation.

But she still chose to keep it a secret and not take any action, not even a superficial one.

And it was from that moment that it began.

The sword in the stone, originally a symbol of the perfect knight king, was thus broken in two.

Although she is still a queen, she is no longer the knight-king she once hoped to be.

This may not be a bad thing, because it means that the girl has let go of her obsession.

Kira Yoshikage stared intently into the girl's emerald eyes and asked softly:

Do you think this is the right thing to do?

"It is wrong, but it may not be wrong."

Artoria said softly, "Just as you once taught me, the world is neither black nor white, but a delicate gray. I didn't understand before, but now I do."

"The truth is, no one in this world is truly white." Even the noblest person has flaws, and no one can be right forever. Getting too caught up in the clear distinction between right and wrong, black and white, will only trap you in the same place.

"If you ask me if I regret it, my answer remains the same: I do not regret it!"

The girl's eyes were incredibly firm; even if she lost the holy sword that symbolized her status as a queen, she would never regret it.

"Yale yaale".

Yoshikage Kira did not encourage her way of thinking; instead, he felt somewhat moved.

While he was pleased that Artoria was protecting him, and this change perfectly aligned with his expectations, he had assumed Artoria needed more time to mature before understanding everything. However, the reality was that Artoria's growth rate far exceeded his expectations.

"Hmm~"

Artoria felt a little uneasy. Had she done something wrong or right?

Merlin had told her that a king could humbly listen to the advice of his ministers, but he must never lose his composure because of their advice. Yet, the girl was still very nervous, as she cared deeply about Kira Yoshikage's opinion of her.

Instead of giving her a reassuring answer, Yoshikage Kira asked her a strange question:

"Artoria, have you ever thought about establishing your own knightly order?"

"The Knights?"

Artoria looked puzzled. Although she now had at least several hundred knights loyal to her, this was still a different matter from the Order of Knights.

However, before that, she had been busy quelling internal strife.

Having just finished the campaign against the Saxons, they now have to busy themselves with restoring production and guarding against foreign invasion.

In comparison, whether or not a knightly order is established seems insignificant.

But when faced with Kira Yoshikage's question, Artoria cautiously asked:

"What do you recommend?"

Yoshikage Kira thought for a moment and then said:

"If you want to establish your own knightly order, I suggest you establish a more central organization within it—what I call the Inner Ring. The Inner Ring can monitor the actions of other knights in the order, determine their loyalty, guard against possible rebellions, and most importantly, keep the king's secrets."

Keep it a secret?

Artoria immediately thought of what Yoshikage Kira had been doing recently—

He used the killing of Earl Isaac to force the other earls to surrender quickly—a tactic that needed to be kept secret.

Any other knight besides her, even Guy, would probably find it hard to accept Kira Yoshikage's actions.

But as it turns out, Yoshikage Kira's methods were indeed simple and effective.

Even though Artoria's choice to protect Yoshikage Kira was based on personal feelings, it also shows that she did not reject such methods.

Although it's not exactly honorable, isn't it fine as long as no one finds out?

If there really is an inner ring, then there will certainly be many things like Count Isaac's, but it must be kept extremely secret.