Mordred: Why Am I So Small!?

Impossible.

That was Mordred's first thought upon seeing the Holy Sword in Naoki's hand.

As a Knight of the Round Table under King Arthur, she had seen her father wield the Holy Sword countless times. She was intimately familiar with its form, so she was certain that the Holy Sword in Naoki's hand was not the one she knew.

A fake—though she thought as much, Mordred couldn't bring herself to shout it out.

Despite its different appearance, she could sense that the sword in Naoki's hand was indeed Excalibur. There was no mistaking the unique aura of that Holy Sword.

Moreover, this aura… it seemed even stronger than her father's.

"By the way, I haven't introduced myself."

Mimicking Artoria, Naoki stood with the sword held in both hands.

"I'm Natsukawa Naoki, your Master. For certain reasons, I've fused with the Saint Graph of King Arthur from a parallel world, becoming a Demi-Servant. You can think of me as half King Arthur."

"A parallel world? A male King Arthur?"

Mordred wasn't foolish, and Naoki had been straightforward enough.

"So, this is the Holy Sword of the father from a parallel world?"

"Yes. But even though I'm a Demi-Servant, I can't freely use Arthur's power," Naoki said. "Unlike your father, the Arthur whose power I've fused with is so strong it can drive out all evil. As an individual power, it's overwhelming, so it's usually dormant. It only responds when someone tries to emerge."

Sajyou Manaka: Tch!

"This time, it's probably because I summoned you, and as a father, he wanted to check on the condition of his 'other child. So he woke up on his own."

"Who's your son? Don't assume I'm a man!"

"Then, a daughter?"

*CLANG!*

The Holy Sword and the Demonic Sword in their hands clashed fiercely. Mordred glared at Naoki sharply before retracting her sword. "Don't assume I'm a woman either!"

'Why is this kid so rebellious?'—Naoki could feel Arthur's power conveying such a thought.

Honestly, he felt the same way.

"So, how should I see you? If you're neither man nor woman, then what kind of existence are you?"

"Of course, I am me—the Rebel Knight against King Arthur, the knight destined to inherit the throne, Mordred!" At this, Mordred suddenly grinned. "By the way, this is a great opportunity."

"Opportunity for what?"

"The wish I'd make to the Holy Grail," Mordred said. "Caliburn—you know it, right? It's said that whoever pulls that sword will become the King of Britain. My wish is to challenge that sword to prove my father wrong and show that I'm fully worthy of being King."

That was Mordred's reason for answering the Holy Grail's summons.

Her previous goal.

"But now, I don't need that wish, because there's a more direct way."

Removing her armor, Mordred pointed her sword at Naoki. "Compared to some ritual fooling people with legends, it's obviously faster if King Arthur himself acknowledges me."

Hearing this, Naoki chuckled. "So, you plan to show your abilities in the Holy Grail War to make Arthur recognize your potential as a king?"

"Exactly!"

Acknowledgment from King Arthur would carry far more weight than the predetermined outcome of the Caliburn ritual.

After a brief pause, Naoki suddenly reached out and ruffled Mordred's hair. "Then let me see for myself whether you now have the capacity to be a king, Sir Mordred."

That was a fatherly tone!

"Great! Then let's not waste time—let's cut down all thirteen Servants besides me until they're dead, Master!"

When it came to the greatest honor in a Holy Grail War, it was undoubtedly becoming the victor. And among all methods to achieve victory, defeating every opponent was, without question, the most prestigious.

'Defeat everyone, claim the Holy Grail. Then King Arthur will surely acknowledge me!'

Mordred had already made her little calculations.

"Sure, but before that…"

*SMACK!*

Another slap landed on Mordred's head. This time, Naoki—or rather, Arthur—used full force, causing Mordred to crouch down, clutching her head.

"Your way of speaking—fix it. If you want to be a king, your words and actions must match the stature of a king. What's with this crude attitude?"

"You jerk—"

"Hm?!"

A sudden sharp tone and piercing gaze made Mordred instinctively shrink back, then nod. "A-alright, I understand, Master."

"Good, that's more like it."

Naoki smiled as he ruffled Mordred's hair again. Seeing that fatherly look, Mordred's cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly stepped back a few paces, resummoning her full armor.

"S-so, what do we do next? Master, straight to the enemy's base?"

"The Holy Grail War is being held in Romania. We're still in London, so we need to get there first. For now, shift to spirit form and follow me and Angelica back to the hotel. There are two more people you need to meet."

"Comrades?"

Naoki nodded. "My little sister and someone tagging along for free food. By the way, my sister has some connection to you. You'll understand when you meet her."

Mordred furrowed her brow in confusion.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Some time later

Naoki and Angelica, upon returning to the hotel, didn't head straight to their rooms. Instead, they knocked on Gray and Caren's door.

Caren opened it.

"Oh, it's you two. What's up?"

"Were you sleeping?" Naoki asked, noticing Caren's thin pajamas.

"Just lay down for a bit, having a girls' night chat with your sister."

"Don't tell Gray anything inappropriate—she's still a kid."

Caren merely shrugged nonchalantly. "That kid's more mature than you think. I've been talking to her for so long, but I didn't get much out of her. She's surprisingly good at handling situations like this. Did you teach her that?"

"No."

"Oh, is that so?"

Caren's eyebrow twitched as she stepped aside to let Naoki and Angelica in. Seeing them, Gray, who was sitting on the bed, hurriedly got up. "Brother? Miss Angelica? Why are you—"

"Mother?!"

Mordred's startled cry suddenly rang out.

Then, Gray saw Mordred, who had appeared beside Naoki and removed her armor.

Seeing a face almost identical to her own, Gray froze.