After walking from the outskirts back into the city, Ludwig followed his map directly to the shopping district in Miyama-cho to see if there was anything worth eating.
"This taiyaki looks good. There are so many flavors to choose from," Ludwig said, standing before the shop and scanning the price list. "Which flavor do you want? Red bean? Matcha? Or chocolate?"
"No, I..." Saber's first instinct was to refuse.
She didn't lack for a magical energy supply, and the amount of mana provided by food was negligible compared to a direct path from her Master.
However, Ludwig had already purchased two and was holding one out to her.
"The owner said red bean is the most popular. Want to try?" he said, already taking a bite of his own.
"...Thank you."
Saber took it and took a small, cautious bite. The warm, crispy shell gave way to the red bean filling inside, and a sweet aroma instantly filled her senses.
Her eyes lit up.
She'd had no opportunity to enjoy gourmet food in her previous life. Even as a King, her meals had consisted of little more than bread, pea porridge, and basic meats. The flavors were never this rich.
Back then, sweetness came primarily from honey.
During the construction of Camelot, her teacher, Merlin, would occasionally bring her honey brewed by the faeries—those who had come from the Inner Sea of the Planet to help build the White City. He would scavenge a little for her to taste.
But even that seemed to have happened only once.
By contrast, in this era nearly fifteen hundred years later, the variety of flavors had evolved beyond imagination. Even the simplest sweetness here was incomparable to anything from her own time.
"I actually thought Servants couldn't eat," Ludwig said with a cheerful grin.
Good food was always better when shared; eating alone always felt a bit lackluster by comparison.
"Yes..." Saber nodded softly.
"Combat and gourmet food—the meaning of survival can probably be distilled down to those two things," he remarked casually, offering a seemingly profound reflection.
Saber raised her eyebrows, studying the boy's profile.
He was handsome, though he hadn't yet shed the soft edges of youth. In a few years, he would likely surpass even the "Prince Charming" Gawain or the greatest beauty of the Round Table, Lancelot.
And yet, this boy was speaking words that felt somewhat cruel for someone living in this peaceful era.
"Speaking of which, you are far too used to combat," Saber said, tossing her paper bag into a roadside bin and wiping a few crumbs from her lips. "Even Kiritsugu isn't this... adapted."
The palm-sized taiyaki had disappeared in just two or three bites.
"That's because humans aren't born for combat. They require training to become the type of person who can adapt to it," Ludwig said. "In that regard, you're much the same, aren't you?"
"I cannot deny that," Saber said, shaking her head.
Without her teacher's guidance and daily training, she would have likely become an ordinary farm girl. Even if she had pulled the Sword from the Stone, she wouldn't have been fit for the duties of a King.
"But what if someone were born for combat?" he asked. "What if they were a 'combative species' by nature? What would they become then?"
"...By nature..." Saber felt a slight sense of unease.
Hearing someone refer to themselves as a "combative species" was a strange and jarring experience.
"Given that premise, if you add training to the mix," Ludwig continued, "to put it in the style of this era, you'd get the most exquisite combat machine."
"I see." Saber closed her eyes, a pang of pity stirring within her.
There was a sense of detachment in Ludwig's tone—a feeling that he was an outsider in this era, as if he didn't belong here.
She couldn't imagine what kind of era would give birth to a "natural combative species."
Was it even harsher than Britain had been in her time?
"These grilled skewers look good; let's get a few," Ludwig said, having finished his snack and reaching for his wallet again. "Can you handle spicy food, Saber? Or just original? Oh, and a few of those meat buns over there, please."
By contrast, Ludwig's relaxed attitude as he picked out food and his hearty appetite made it difficult to associate him with the idea of a "natural combative species."
Saber didn't answer, so Ludwig bought the standard flavors and shared them with her.
"Ludwig, what do you intend to wish for from the Holy Grail?" she asked.
"Before you ask me, wouldn't it be more reasonable to share your own first, King Arthur?" Ludwig countered with a smirk. "Oh, right—about your name. Should I call you Arthur Pendragon, or Artoria Pendragon?"
"The latter is fine. That is my true name," Saber replied, before stating her wish with total frankness. "I seek the Holy Grail to save my fallen country."
"If my knowledge isn't flawed and the legends haven't been distorted... Britain fell during your reign, didn't it?" Ludwig frowned slightly, not quite understanding the logic.
Legends were just legends; they couldn't reveal the hearts of the people within the stories. But when the person involved was standing right in front of him, it was a different matter.
"Of course, that is only a general way of putting it. To be more precise, I wish to 'return to the Day of Selection' and undo a certain decision I made..." Saber said in a low voice, before adding, "It is my responsibility."
Ludwig bit off a piece of meat from a bamboo skewer. "In simple terms," he said while chewing, "you mean you regret it?"
"That interpretation is not incorrect." Saber looked at the food in her hand, but didn't take a bite just yet.
"It would be nice if it could come true," Ludwig said after a thoughtful swallow.
Saber was silent for a few seconds before nodding. "Thank you."
She didn't expect her Master or anyone else to truly understand her wish, but if someone was willing to support her, she would show her gratitude.
"Though, to be honest, I'm not sure how much that Holy Grail can actually achieve," Ludwig said, shaking his head. "If it can change history that has already happened—or rather, events that have already transpired—then maybe I should consider changing my wish too."
"What?" Saber found herself increasingly puzzled by the words of this mystery-shrouded boy.
"Just a hypothesis." He tapped his foot on the ground and gave her a bright smile. "Suppose you knew that the planet beneath your feet would one day meet its end, and that everything humanity has built upon it would lose its meaning... what should we do then?"
"Naturally... we would do everything in our power to keep living," Saber replied after a moment's thought.
"Haha—that is a very human answer. It seems the Great King isn't so difficult to talk to after all."
Ludwig laughed happily.
Though he hadn't given her a direct answer, his words felt like a response nonetheless, making it difficult for Saber to press him further.
In a way, the boy was quite clever.
Artoria's lips curved into a faint smile as she raised her eyebrows slightly, then continued eating the food before it grew cold.
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Type-Moon: The A-Ray Knight's Holy Grail Journey
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