Chapter 28: Artoria, You Are a Fool

"Have something to eat—"

At night, by the bonfire, Morgan offered a ration to her knight-princess sister. "If you don't eat all day, you'll faint sooner or later."

"..." Looking at the food Morgan held out, Artoria hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "Leave it for them. I... can still endure."

"..." Morgan knew who "they" referred to—the villagers she had seen. But the more she understood, the more obvious the dissatisfaction in her eyes became.

"So, Artoria, are you planning to solve their problems by starving yourself? My King, don't you think that's foolish? The food we brought will run out sooner or later, but their problem will still be there. This is just deceiving yourself."

"I..." Artoria couldn't refute Morgan's words. After a long pause, she finally replied, "At least I can save one of them for now. It's not like I've done nothing for them."

"So in the end, you're just trying to ease your own conscience, is that it?" Morgan sneered. "If that's the case, isn't that a form of hypocrisy? My King, do you think this is right?"

"..." "..."

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. It was only the first day of their journey, and things had already come to this. This was something she could never have imagined before setting out.

"I'm back—"

A voice broke the silence. Ian had returned to their side. However, he quickly sensed that the atmosphere was off. "What happened? Why... are you two not talking?"

"..."

Morgan was genuinely dissatisfied with Artoria's performance, but due to her own status and Ian's presence, she couldn't speak her mind. "It's nothing. I was just being presumptuous."

With that, the Princess of Britain walked into the shadows, to a corner where no one would notice her. She touched the necklace with the blood-red crystal tied to it and sighed.

"Tiamat—"

"Morgan!" Tiamat's roar quickly came through. Even across time and space, the voice was so clear it was hard to ignore. But Morgan had already found a way to not reveal the sound—by using a little of her own magical energy during their conversations. Tiamat wouldn't notice.

"Have you confirmed it yet?" Tiamat asked anxiously.

"Not yet," Morgan lied. "But I'm very close. Tiamat, if you could just provide a little more help—I think I can confirm it very soon."

"Help? What kind of help do you need?"

Hearing Tiamat's unsuspecting voice, Morgan knew her plan had succeeded. She looked at the village, which exuded an aura of despair in the darkness, but the image that appeared in her mind was Artoria's meek appearance from earlier. How can someone so naive become the King of Britain? And how can she have that strange knight who cares so much for her? Simply sacrificing oneself for so-called salvation will change nothing. There is a more correct way.

"Lend me some of your magical energy, Tiamat. I promise you will get the reward you want."

With that, the Princess of Britain reached out alone and touched the bottomless darkness.

Meanwhile, with Morgan's departure, Artoria and Ian once again had time and space to themselves.

"Um—" Attempting to ease the awkwardness from the previous conversation, Artoria forced a smile. "Have you finished what I asked you to do?"

"Mmm," the boy nodded. "I've distributed it all. But it doesn't seem to be enough to eat."

"..." Artoria's heart sank. This was a perfect verification of what Morgan had just said. "I-is that so?" Artoria's expression grew more and more troubled. "Then we have to think of something. Otherwise, everyone will continue to starve. Right, I still have this..."

Artoria picked up the ration Morgan had just handed her, intending to have Ian take it to the villagers. But at that moment, an embarrassing thing happened. Artoria hadn't eaten anything since arriving at this village. So, the moment she picked it up, her stomach very naturally...

Grrrrooooowl—

"..."

Artoria's face instantly turned red. "Um! I'm not hungry! It's just..." She was at a loss for words. No matter how much she tried to deny it, the feeling of an empty stomach was still there. Artoria felt that her idea was indeed a bit foolish.

However, she soon found that Ian was leaning closer. And seeing him get closer and closer, Artoria had some bad associations.

"Don't do this!" The girl covered her chest with one hand and her skirt with the other. "I'm not in the mood for that kind of thing right now—If you force me, I'll start to hate you!"

However, Artoria's warning had no effect. Ian was still approaching her, doing as he pleased. One step. Two steps. Three steps.

He stood before her. But this time, there were no excessive actions.

"Are you hungry too?"

"Eh?"

"Just answer me—"

"..."

"Mmm..." Artoria nodded. "I am a little hungry."

"I see," Ian nodded. "Being hungry is not a good thing. Artoria, come over here a little—"

"Eh?"

Though she didn't know what he was planning, Artoria felt that Ian wouldn't do anything bad to her, so she did as he asked. The girl's body leaned forward slightly. The next moment, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning. It took her a good while to confirm one thing.

That was—in a moment when she was completely unprepared, Ian had kissed her.

Before Artoria could even scream, a terrifying red light shone in the boy's eyes.

Poof.

A pair of giant wings spread out under the moonlight. In just a single flap, they extinguished the bonfire. The boy's body grew as large, terrifying, and strong as it was in the girl's dream. A puff of hot air rushed out from between his sharp dragon teeth, hitting Artoria in the face.

"ROAR—"

The great dragon grabbed Artoria and flew up into the sky!

Join my patreon For Early access to Chapter : patreon.com/TheWorldGod

Tiamat 160 Chapter

Honkai 110 Chapter

Lobotomy 110 Chapter

MushokuTensei 40 Chapter

'Pure Evil' Simulator 50 Chapter

MushokuTensei 40 Chapter