Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

"By the way, Aigo, did you get the thing I asked you to buy?"

"Yes, it's here!"

Aige took a book out of her handbag.

When Shirou went to the church, he asked Aika to go to the only bookstore in Sighishwara.

Shirou said those were reference books he would need in this Holy Grail War.

A biography with the title "The Shining Road ~ The Legend of King Arthur" on the cover.

Shirou and Aika went to a restaurant near the hotel for a meal.

While waiting, he excitedly opened the biography of King Arthur.

This is a world that is similar to, yet different from, the world Shirou lives in.

Although the history of the Holy Grail War diverged during the third war, who can guarantee that the history before that was completely consistent?

Shirou decides to thoroughly investigate Artoria in this world.

—In the fifth century AD, on the land of Britain amidst the torrents of history, a young man stepped forward.

—The young man's name was Arthur Pendragon.

—He was the great knight king in human history who would later lead Britain to peace, establish the Round Table, and leave behind countless legendary achievements.

"The writing feels a bit exaggerated..."

Shirou frowned slightly; he disliked it very much.

This doesn't sound like a legend of a knight king; it sounds like an epic of an ancient golden king.

—In order to prove to the British lords that he was the rightful heir to the throne, King Arthur followed the advice of the magician Merlin and drew the sword of choice, a history known to all.

However, what the public does not know is that Arthur did not initially aspire to be king, but rather to become a knight loyal to a queen.

—This queen was none other than Morgan, Arthur's sister, who would later become his wife.

Shirou: "What the heck?"

—Arthur was originally a stranger who wandered to Britain. He was found by the wise Merlin and brought back to the palace, where he became King Uther's adopted son.

—At the age of thirteen, Morgana, the daughter of Arthur and King Uther, fell in love.

"Wait a minute...!"

Shirou's face turned pale as he flipped back to the book's cover, which indeed read "The Road to Shining Light ~ The Legend of King Arthur".

"What's wrong, Saber?"

Sajou Aika tilted her head in confusion.

Shirou swallowed hard: Could it be that Aika bought a weird version of the Arthurian legend?

Driven by curiosity, he turned to the next page.

Even the sibling relationship couldn't stop Arthur and Morgan from falling in love like fire and being inseparable all the time.

King Euthyder, of course, could not have been unaware of this, and he decided to break up the couple.

After Morgan came of age, he sent his daughter to distant Orkney in the name of a political marriage.

At the northernmost edge of Britain, Morgan became the Queen of Loth.

But how could our greatest King Arthur in history tolerate his beloved sister becoming someone else's wife?

On their wedding night, Arthur single-handedly stormed into Orkney's palace, defeated everyone who stood in his way, and successfully welcomed Morgan back.

He returned to King Uther's court with Morgan, forced Uther to abdicate, and took over the British throne.

After that, Morgan ascended the throne as Queen of Britain, while Arthur and Merlin embarked on a pilgrimage to hone their skills.

Until three years later—

When the island was plunged into darkness and despair by the king Vortigern, Arthur returned in triumph and defeated the invincible white dragon.

As the savior of Britain, Arthur's prestige reached its peak, and he and Morgan were happily married amidst everyone's blessings.

Besides his beloved wife Morgan, Arthur also had a concubine, Guinevere, who presented the Round Table to the king.

It is said that Morgan and Guinevere got along very well and supported Arthur together behind the scenes.

They each gave birth to a daughter for Arthur, who later became known to us as "Mordred" and "Artoria".

Besides his two wives, Arthur also had a little-known lover—his teacher Merlin!

That's right, Merlin's true identity is actually a woman.

When Arthur was still young, he fell in love with his teacher at first sight.

During Morgan and Guinevere's pregnancies, Arthur, whose energy far exceeds that of ordinary people, has nowhere to vent, and his childhood longing and fantasies about his teacher resurface.

One night, he sneaked into the teacher's room and, ignoring her resistance, forcibly took Merlin...

This is also one of the few stains on the life of the great Knight King.

But don't blame him too much; after all, Merlin is such a charming woman, hehe☆

What a fantastic history!!

Damn it, who wrote this book?

Author: Meryl...Who is it? Show yourself!

Shirou felt a chill run down his spine and asked, "Hey, Aika."

"what happened?"

Ai Ge is holding a glass in both hands and drinking juice with a straw.

Have you read what's inside?

"Yes, I read it while waiting for Saber."

"?"

Shirou was taken aback: After reading such a wild history, you don't have any thoughts at all?

Seeing the red-haired boy staring at her with a surprised look, a blush slowly rose on the girl's fair face.

Ayaka Sajou turned her gaze away and whispered, "I... I don't mind your past, Saber..."

Oh no! She actually believed everything in this!

Shirou helplessly covered his forehead.

During the meal, he casually glanced at the contents at the back.

The subsequent accounts are even more explosive—

Years later, the Roman Empire invaded Britain, and "Sword Emperor" Lucius personally led his army across the sea. With a flash of his holy sword, the king effortlessly repelled the million-strong Roman army.

—In order to save the island, Arthur devised a plan to capture the "Grand Dragon" Albion, and eventually succeeded in killing the strongest dragon.

—In his later years, the king defeated and sealed away the crimson calamity that descended from the moon, the Moon King named "Crimson Moon Brunstad".

Shirou was speechless.

This isn't some kind of "Legend of King Arthur"; it's clearly a novel about a protagonist who's overpowered by a dragon.

No matter how much Shirou admired Artoria, he didn't think she could accomplish what was involved.

Moreover, the author clearly ran out of ideas later on, and simply gave a perfunctory ending where "Arthur and Morgan mysteriously disappeared, and people assumed they went to Avalon."

"……call."

Shirou let out a long breath.

What a piece of trashy book... It has absolutely no reference value.

Well, but...

Shirou thought with a touch of envy: If I could really live such a life, that wouldn't be bad at all.

Volume 5, Chapter 198: Xiao Mo: Dad? Are you there?

"..."

Shirou gasped.

He asked several passersby and was surprised to discover a fact:

The Arthurian legend here is far more legendary than the version he knew.

"The Road to Shining ~ The Legend of King Arthur" is not a typical "overpowered protagonist" novel, but rather a famous work of art with slightly exaggerated content that perfectly matches the image of a knight king in people's minds.

To give an analogy, he's like Zhuge Liang, the almost supernaturally wise strategist from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms...

No wonder!

In which version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" could Zhuge Liang defeat the Moon King who descended from outer space after unifying the Three Kingdoms?

In short, Arthur in this world should also be Artoria, right?

She was not a tragic hero who met her end at Camlann Hill, but a British superhero who crushed all enemies in heaven and on earth.

Its status as a Heroic Spirit is comparable to Gilgamesh... no, without a doubt, it is far superior to the most ancient Hero King.

"Even though it has nothing to do with me... this is really a headache."

Even if Shirou doesn't want to admit that he is King Arthur, he cannot decide which weapon he uses as a Servant.

If his real name, Excalibur, were revealed, he would inevitably be mistaken for King Arthur...

Shirou felt extremely guilty that Artoria, a complete stranger to him, had suffered a loss of reputation because of him.

What should I do?

Shirou racked his brains and then came up with a good solution.

A perfect explanation for why he was summoned by the scabbard and why he can use the holy sword.

In this world, King Arthur is the greatest hero in human history.

Even if he uses the scabbard of the Holy Sword as a catalyst, it would be difficult for him to participate in the Holy Grail War given his heroic nature.

This is similar to how gods cannot participate in the Holy Grail War.

Therefore, what Ayaka Sajou summoned was actually an entity that was similar to but not quite the same as the original King of Knights.

For ancient royalty, where assassination and war were commonplace, such an existence was naturally expected.

That's right, I am actually Artoria's stand-in, her shadow warrior—the Black Knight Artoria!

Shirou was very satisfied: Okay, let's go with this setting!

But isn't that strange?

She looks nothing like Artoria herself, yet she's the king's stand-in—I'm sure some people will ask that.

The so-called body double is not just about appearance, especially in ancient times when there were no photographs and things were more casual.

Modern people all think of King Arthur as a bearded old man, but she was a beautiful blonde girl, which shows that physical resemblance is completely meaningless.

Shirou believed that there must be many similar cases in human history.

Yes, for example, the King of Heroes and the King of Conquerors.

And so, Shirou finalized his Servant design:

Faker, Altoris.

He thought to himself, "I'd better not explain this to Ayaka Sajou for now."

……

……

In a cemetery in the Romanian capital, the last Servant of the "Red" faction was successfully summoned.

"—So, you are my Master?"

The small knight, whose entire body was covered in steel, asked the question.

Even through the helmet, the clear and distinct voice rang out clearly.