Things are often not as difficult as they seem.
Especially things that have never been tried before.
With Ian's "support," Artoria's command quickly spread.
Standing majestically atop the city walls, she conveyed her intentions to her subjects.
To her surprise—
There were no protests.
Not even the slightest voice of opposition could be heard.
There were only replies like these:
"My King, when will this plan begin?"
"What should we do?"
"And what can we do?"
Yes.
There was not a shred of doubt.
The people of Camelot, without exception, chose to believe in Artoria.
She was, without a doubt, the rightful King of Camelot.
....
At the Round Table.
Artoria convened a meeting that was more like a victory banquet.
Barghest, Mélusine, Habetrot, Baobhan Sith, and Ian holding Mash were all present.
"What's this all about, meow?"
Habetrot asked, her head bobbing as she ate the delicious food before her.
"It's been so long since we've eaten here!"
"I wanna know what's happening!"
What Habetrot was thinking was exactly what Barghest was thinking.
Drinking her fine wine, she said something similar to Habetrot.
"Yeah!"
"My King, it's been a long time since we've had a Round Table meeting like this, hasn't it?!"
"Are you going to announce something?"
"Or is it something else—"
"It's probably about the announcement you made to everyone from the city walls earlier."
Compared to Barghest and Habetrot, who were full of anticipation but completely in the dark, Mélusine's mind was quite clear.
"The matter that involves everyone in Camelot."
"Involves everyone~"
Mash echoed her mother.
But it was obvious she didn't really know what was going on.
"..."
Baobhan Sith said nothing.
But with her arms crossed, not touching the food or wine before her, she seemed to have already understood something.
Artoria didn't mince words.
After Mélusine's remark, she spoke directly.
"Yes, that's right."
"Regarding the matter I mentioned before—having everyone in Camelot transform into dragons—the time has come to put it on the agenda."
"..."
"As I thought." Mélusine didn't seem surprised by this answer at all.
"So the plan is to completely turn Camelot into a nation of dragons."
"But—"
"Hasn't Vortigern already been killed?"
"Even so, are we to continue with this plan?"
"That's right." Artoria nodded.
She continued her explanation.
"Mélusine, the enemies of Camelot, and of Britain, are not limited to just Vortigern."
"A much more powerful enemy..."
Artoria paused, as if weighing her words. Instead, it was Ian at her side who spoke up first.
"My mother is coming here."
"She... might bring many problems for Camelot and Britain."
"..."
Ian's frank admission naturally plunged the room into a deathly silence.
However, this silence did not last long; in fact, it was only for a moment.
Because Mélusine quickly slammed her hand on the table and spoke:
"Wait a minute!"
"Ian's mother... doesn't that make her my mother-in-law?!"
"How can she be an enemy! That's impossible, right?!"
"She should love Ian too, shouldn't she?!"
As Mélusine said this, there was a clear panic (or perhaps agitation) in her voice.
Evidently, the possibility of Ian's mother, Tiamat, appearing was like a super-bomb to her!
"Well, that's a challenge in its own right."
Baobhan Sith, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.
There was a clear look of amusement in her eyes, as if she found great fun in this sort of thing.
"In-law troubles... even a knight can't avoid dealing with that."
"Mhm, are you thinking of running away?"
"Then your only choice is—"
Baobhan Sith glanced at Mash and smiled.
Her unspoken meaning, of course, was for Mélusine to "escape" with Mash.
It seemed to make some sense—if a mother discovered her son had been "tricked" by a "bad woman" and had a child, it wouldn't be a very easy thing to accept!
"This..."
This was the first time Mélusine had ever encountered such a situation.
She completely failed to realize that Baobhan Sith's suggestion was purely teasing.
"There's no need to be so tense, Mélusine."
Artoria softly comforted the petite swordswoman.
"This isn't your problem alone."
The King of Britain picked up her child.
Thanks to Morgan's magecraft, Mash was growing much faster than expected.
But even so, it would still take some time for her to become a true knight.
"There's no need to run. We just need to be fully prepared."
"..."
Artoria's words calmed Mélusine down.
She nodded, indicating she understood.
Habetrot then continued to ask.
"I don't know this mother person."
"But based on what you said, King-meow, she must be a very tough enemy—so why are we making everyone become dragons?"
"Because we need to leave the ground completely."
Artoria no longer held anything back.
She urgently needed the support of her Round Table Knights.
"Tiamat, Ian's mother, will most likely arrive from the sea."
"Before that happens, we need to make all of Camelot, and indeed all of Britain, leave the ground—that is something that humans cannot possibly achieve. Only by becoming dragons is there even a sliver of a chance."
"But, for everyone else, it might just be forced labor."
"Mmm—"
A satisfied look appeared in Baobhan Sith's eyes.
"It seems the King has adopted my suggestion after all."
"Coincidentally, Mother also told me a few things about this. We can start whenever you're ready."
"More work, huh."
Barghest said, then looked at Mélusine.
Or rather—
Everyone's gaze was now focused on Mélusine.
It was clear that the others had no objections to the plan.
So, only Mélusine's opinion remained.
"Wh-What are you looking at!"
"Of course I support the King's decision!"
Mélusine said, her face slightly red.
"Let's start right away!"