Chapter 91: Toku Kenzo... Well, No 

In the six months following the unification of Britain, life grew undeniably dark for the former nobles.

After today, tomorrow might no longer come for them.

Though those around them looked the same, their hearts had changed.

Arthur had prepared everything long ago. The assassins who replaced the nobles had once been the lowest-ranking people in Camelot. After years of rigorous training, they emerged as elite shadows, intimately familiar with the personalities, talents, social habits—even secrets—of their targets. Quietly and seamlessly, they took over the very next day.

And so, in the silent darkness, all opposition to Arthur vanished overnight.

The nation stabilized.

Arthur's policies and vision spread swiftly throughout Britain.

Camelot's institutions and systems now covered the land of the Age of Gods like an iron shroud.

Time passed quietly, and three years had come and gone under the British Dynasty.

Arthur flipped through documents in his hands, a relaxed smile curling on his lips.

"Well, things are going very well. Smoother than I expected," he said with satisfaction.

After the conquest, official positions and talent were scarce and unreliable. Many skilled individuals were untrustworthy, while others couldn't be publicly appointed. But two and a half years ago, those problems had been resolved. Now, talents even overflowed.

After all, the British Isles were only the size of a palm.

In Arthur's previous life, Britain was no larger than a province. Managing it required little effort—mostly institutional reform.

Since unification, Arthur had not pressured the Magicians' Research Institute for breakthroughs.

For one, technology had reached an advanced plateau. Even if innovations continued, their practical spread would take time. Many of Manaka's designs remained impossible to realize in Britain.

Secondly, the greatest asset of establishing a dynasty was labor.

Yet the people's livelihoods and ideologies in other regions lagged behind. The focus had to be on raising all of Britain's cities to Camelot's level.

Magicians trained in Camelot specialized in learning different kinds of magic to serve various duties, allowing infrastructure to keep pace with development.

All of these tasks were completed this year.

A unified writing system. Standardized wheel gauges. One currency. One system of weights and measures.

Thanks to the achievements of a great emperor, Arthur had a clear goal from the start—and he had achieved it.

He couldn't help but wonder: Should he now set his sights on the Saxons to the north, or even conquer Rome by sea?

If he accomplished that, nothing would threaten him.

"Oh—now there's just one real problem left," Arthur said, his smile vanishing as if remembering something.

"Still worried about that matter, my king?" Merry blinked.

"Yeah, I'm worried."

"There's nothing we can do."

"But divine punishment is often unreasonable to us mortals," Arthur sighed.

What troubled him wasn't anything earthly.

It was the faith of the people.

All across Britain, people worshipped Arthur as a god.

That itself didn't burden Arthur—such things had already happened in Camelot and now spread across Britain.

His actions would not change because of how people viewed him.

His will had never wavered.

But it had an unprecedented impact on people's faith.

Before, the land worshipped the God of the Bible.

Now, faith in that God waned—even former believers turned to Arthur, their great king.

"I only hope that the great God has a mind as vast as the achievements praised by the people, and will not be troubled by a mere island's struggle for faith," Arthur said helplessly.

In his previous life, he was an atheist.

But here, gods really existed. According to Merlin, the gods had ascended to higher planes and no longer descended.

But who could guarantee that the God Arthur believed in most had escaped like the others?

Legend said omniscience and omnipotence were the basics of the God of the Bible.

Britain's current power could never rival that.

Even the omniscient, omnipotent Love Song god was but a newborn beside the God of the Bible.

"Perhaps you're overthinking it, my king. Gods don't care about ants' opinions," Merry chuckled, perching on the table. With a charming smile, she lifted Arthur's chin with her index finger.

The next second, Kay's sword pushed Arthur back into a corner.

As usual, Merry and Merlin were best suited for corners.

"My king, you needn't worry about those false gods!" Kay declared righteously.

Almost everyone in Britain, including the Knights of the Round Table, followed Arthur.

"…Sir Kay, no need to comment on this. I'll think it through myself," Arthur said, eye twitching.

Is this a true believer?

Terrifying.

"Enough of this worrying. Let's relax. You two, come with me."

The three headed for the castle garden.

The garden of King Arthur's castle bloomed year-round.

Through magic and careful gardeners' hands, rare flowers from distant lands flourished.

Merry knew Arthur's tastes well—chrysanthemums, orchids, plum blossoms, cherries, peonies, crabapples, and more.

Here, surrounded by colors and life, Arthur usually found respite from his worries.

But today was destined to be different.

"Plop~"

Not long after Arthur's arrival, a figure charged into his arms with great force, knocking him down.

"Puff—" Arthur's eyes rolled back; he almost spat blood.

Is this the legendary giant dragon Meng Chong?

A deadly combination of fierce and adorable.

"Fuwu~"

"Arthur! Arthur! It's bad! Sister… Sister she—"

Artoria panicked, trying to say something. But her flushed cheeks suggested she preferred her current state over delivering the news.

And what was wrong with her hand, Arthur wondered?

He felt like he was being toyed with—and it was a little unbearable.

Since becoming a magician, she had grown livelier, moving toward "cute creature" territory.

Damn it, why was she so cute?

And Fu Fu, why are you joining in?

"Take your time, Sister."

"Arthur, Sister… she… she lost something important! Very, very important! Really important!"

-End Chapter-

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