"Uninvited guests… Even Iskandar, when he barges into other people's homes, at least 'knocks' by crashing through the door. You rats don't have the slightest bit of manners."
Koji glanced around. Masked Assassin-class Servants surrounded them, but he did not take them seriously at all.
"Indeed, they're nothing but vermin who can't show their faces in the light."
Artoria stood up, Holy Lance appearing in her hand. This was her Master's territory.
Iskandar didn't feel criticized at all. If anything, he felt a bit smug: at least he entered openly and aboveboard; compared to that, these rodents sneaking in were really something else.
"King of Conquerors, are these ones your invited guests?"
Gilgamesh did not spare the assassins a serious look. In his eyes they were only targets that required a few extra volleys of Noble Phantasms, nothing more.
As for who had sent these assassins, he naturally understood. His cheap Master really loved doing unnecessary things.
"Haha, I've seen them before, yes," Iskandar laughed, "but a king's words are addressed to all the people. As long as they come with sincerity, why bother dividing them into enemy and ally?"
"Though… these ones don't look very friendly."
Even if assassins accumulated killing intent over countless murders, the murderous will locking directly onto them right now was on a different level.
Snap.
Thump, thump, thump…
Koji snapped his fingers. Space compressed around every Assassin, and their bodies were crushed into fine powder, erased from this world.
BlessingofSpace:spaceshifting,spacestrangulation,spaceshock,andmore…Blessing of Space: space shifting, space strangulation, space shock, and more…BlessingofSpace:spaceshifting,spacestrangulation,spaceshock,andmore…
"The annoying flies are gone. But since the real body didn't come, I can't be bothered to hunt him down," Koji said with a casual wave, wiping the slate clean.
"Spatial power… that's also one of your blessings?"
Gilgamesh's mouth twitched. He could hardly believe it.
Koji nodded. "Of course. It's part of my blessings."
"Kid, have your blessings turned into a living thing or what?" Iskandar could not hold back anymore.
One blessing after another, piling up without end—it was outrageous.
Gilgamesh was equally speechless. He had seen gods; those gods also possessed various blessings. But none of them could compare to Koji, especially in terms of sheer quantity.
At the very least, he had never heard of any god having a blessing that made every attack you could see automatically miss.
"You could say that, yes. That's why I don't really have any wishes. My blessings can already fulfill my wishes for me…" Koji grinned.
...
"Good morning. Have you gotten used to living here?"
Irisviel greeted them warmly.
"Not bad. A rich person's estate is more comfortable than any high-class hotel," Koji nodded.
"Artoria, you really can eat."
Lumine looked on in awe at Artoria's appetite; it reminded her of Paimon. Did they both have another stomach hidden in their bodies?
"This is respect for food."
Artoria gently dabbed at the grease at the corner of her mouth. Despite her astonishing appetite, there was nothing boorish about her eating; she never gave off the feeling of wolfing things down in three seconds flat.
"I've got a question. Artoria, back when you were with Guinevere… did you ever do that kind of thing?"
Lumine's curiosity finally overflowed.
"Pff!"
Artoria almost spat out the food in her mouth. The question was just too explosive.
As expected of Koji's girlfriend—her questions were exactly the same as Koji's.
"I'm a bit curious as well. Artoria, care to share?" Irisviel smiled.
The legends of King Arthur told the tale of a male monarch. Using those stories as rough reference material was fine, but you couldn't treat them as literal history—especially since the knight-king in front of them was clearly a woman. Of course there were going to be big differences.
Sakura stared at Artoria. This onee-san was a girl, and her other half was also a girl. Was that… really okay?
She was still young, and didn't really understand these things yet.
"That question is…"
Artoria very rarely felt embarrassed, but this time the words truly stuck in her throat. Her queen and her own knight had been having an affair… How could she not feel awkward?
The dignified King Arthur being made to wear a bright green hat—how could that not be embarrassing?
"Between girls it's not exactly impossible. Otherwise you wouldn't have been 'cuckolded' by someone else, right?" Koji teased.
Artoria: "..."
She had never harbored those sorts of thoughts. On the night of the royal wedding, she had already revealed her true identity to Guinevere.
Maybe it was because Guinevere was too lonely. In the end, Artoria had not stopped the relationship between her queen and her knight.
"Koji, do you know what my relationship is with Jeanne?" Artoria asked.
It was a question that had been bothering her, and also a handy way to change the subject.
That night, after everything ended, she and Irisviel had run into a strange person who had called her "Saint Jeanne" on sight. She had been completely baffled.
"It's easy to understand. Your face looks so similar to your sister Morgan's. In a world this big, there are bound to be plenty of people who share your face."
Koji immediately understood what Artoria meant.
"Jeanne is just someone whose face happens to look very much like yours, so people mistaking you for her is perfectly normal."
The whole "Takeuchi-face" phenomenon really was something.
"Jeanne d'Arc—France's national heroine. During the Hundred Years' War between France and England, she led the army to defeat English invasions multiple times. In the end she was falsely accused of being a witch and burned at the stake. Only later was her name cleared, and in 1920 she was canonized as a Catholic saint," Irisviel recited.
She was a very famous historical figure. To think she would have almost exactly the same face as Artoria.
The world was a big place; there was nothing you wouldn't see.
"Isn't she just a country girl?" Lumine scratched her head.
"Well, in a sense, that's not wrong," Irisviel chuckled. Historically speaking, Jeanne really had been a girl from a village.
"But treating me as someone else is still pretty rude," Artoria said helplessly. Being mistaken for whoever-this-or-that all the time was definitely irritating.
"Besides that Jeanne, are there any other people who look like me?"
"You'd be surprised—there are quite a few. Your 'son' Mordred, the Roman emperor Nero, Okita Souji, Morgan, Gray…"
Artoria's mouth twitched. She had thought there might be one or two; she hadn't expected there to be that many.
Was this some kind of bad joke? Why were there so many people with her face?
"Tsk tsk tsk, and they're all famous, too," Irisviel said in amazement. She had heard of most of them.
If King Arthur could be turned into a woman, then other famous male historical figures also being gender-bent into women… she supposed it wasn't that hard to imagine, but it still felt a bit much.
"Looking alike is one thing, but I really don't want people to keep mistaking me for someone else."
No one wanted to be anyone's substitute.
"Artoria, if all of you ever gathered in one place, it would probably be quite a spectacle."
So many identical faces in the same room—you could picture the scene immediately.
"I'd rather pass on that."
She didn't particularly care deep down, but the situation would inevitably be awkward. Just thinking about it made Artoria's expression stiffen.
"What would be even funnier is Mordred seeing so many copies of her 'father's' face. I wonder what sort of expression she'd make," Koji laughed.
If little Mo started calling the wrong person "Father," that would be comedy gold.
Artoria's lips curved upward. It actually sounded pretty interesting—but there was no way they would get such a chance.
...
From the outside, she might look indifferent, but Artoria couldn't help imagining that kind of scene, and had to suppress a laugh.
"Honestly, if all of you really gathered together, just standing there would be enough to make people think they were seeing double. It'd definitely leave a strong impression," Koji commented.
Sakura blinked. In her mind, she was already picturing a long, long line of "King Arthurs," which was both impressive and a little scary.
Artoria shook her head with a wry smile. She knew it was unlikely to ever happen, but the image still lingered in her mind…
(End of Chapter)
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