The dream ended, and Ludwig woke up.
In the final moments of the dream, the magus had told the King of Knights that she had chosen a path of immense hardship. Miracles required a price, and King Arthur would pay with that which was most precious to her.
What was the most important thing to her?
The youth rose from his bed to wash up. To him, the Holy Grail War was merely a means to an end, a flow of events he was currently following. However, dealing with Archer was a task that required absolute ruthlessness. He wouldn't hesitate.
He didn't care if the man was the "Oldest King of Heroes" or some tyrant from a forgotten land. Ludwig enjoyed reading heroic legends, but he wasn't naive enough to bow his head to a figure from myth and simply wait to be slaughtered.
"Good morning, Lud. Merlin hasn't returned yet. Shall we do as we did yesterday—wait for nightfall before heading to the Tohsaka residence, Archer's stronghold?"
Having finished washing up and stepping out of his room, Ludwig was greeted by Artoria, who was already sitting on the sofa.
"Merlin? Which one?" he blurted out.
Artoria raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean, 'which one'?"
"...Sorry, I'm a bit mixed up," Ludwig said, waving a hand dismissively. "She isn't a Servant of this war anyway; she comes and goes as she pleases. Don't worry about her. We attack the Archer camp tonight."
He sat down beside Artoria, and she poured him a cup of tea. It was part of the breakfast set provided by the hotel's room service. Evidently, Artoria had already finished her own breakfast while waiting for him to wake.
"How was the hotel breakfast? Was it to your liking?" Ludwig asked, picking up his teacup.
"Yes," Artoria nodded. "As expected of a base chosen by Merlin, the dining options are almost beyond reproach."
Ludwig then recalled historical records mentioning that in this era, British food was famous for being... underwhelming. He couldn't help but wonder if it had been even worse back in King Arthur's time.
"Master, do you have something on your mind?" Artoria asked.
Ludwig thought for a moment, then shook his head with a smile. "No. It's just that I had a dream before waking up. I happened to see your past."
"When a Master and Servant form a contract, memories tend to manifest in each other's dreams through the magical pathway," Artoria said with a gentle smile. "To be honest, I witnessed your dreams as well."
"Are you low on mana?" Ludwig asked, surprised. Generally speaking, a Saber-class Servant with a sufficient mana supply shouldn't need sleep to recover.
"No, it was just the situation with Sir Lancelot. It left me mentally exhausted, and I drifted off without realizing it." Artoria shook her head. The revelation of Berserker's true identity had indeed been a significant shock. After returning to the hotel and handling the night's affairs, she had taken a short nap, only to find it was already morning when she woke.
"Oh..." Ludwig nodded.
He had originally intended to apologize to Artoria, explaining that he hadn't meant to pry into her privacy, but the conversation had shifted toward a somewhat heavy topic.
"To be honest, I thought you were like me—a hybrid of a human and some Phantasmal Species, or perhaps a non-human entity like a faerie," Artoria said, taking the initiative to open the topic. "It turns out I was completely wrong."
"Couldn't I be of the Dragon-kind?" Ludwig asked playfully.
"No. I don't sense the breath of a dragon from you," Artoria replied with a certain smile.
Ludwig set his teacup down and leaned back lazily against the armrest. "So, after seeing where I come from, what are your thoughts, Saber?"
"It's hard to say," she replied, shaking her head. "After all, I only saw a glimpse... of the way you used to be. Perhaps that's the best way to put it."
"I see." Ludwig understood, and he didn't press her on exactly what she had seen.
"Though it was intermittent, in most of the scenes I saw, you were alone," Artoria noted.
She hadn't just seen the conflict at the training ground; she had followed Ludwig's footsteps into his daily life and his battles. Though it was an era where almost everyone was a soldier, there were still many A-Rays living together in the city he inhabited. Yet, Ludwig was essentially a loner.
Even though he fought to protect the world he lived in, he remained solitary.
By contrast, even before Artoria became King, she had the company of her foster brother Kay and her foster father Ector—not to mention Merlin, the teacher who guided her in magecraft and kingship. For the first fifteen years of her life, she had never felt lonely. After fifteen, she had cast aside her human emotions to fulfill the role of a King, but even then, she never lacked trustworthy comrades-in-arms. Whether it was the subjugation of the Usurper King or her campaigns across the land, the Knights of the Round Table were her pride.
That was why she felt such a sense of poignancy regarding his past.
"It was just more convenient that way. Don't let my attitude fool you; I actually liked everyone well enough," Ludwig said, leaning back further. "It's just that I'm different from them. I'm an outlier among outliers—a special case."
He wasn't boasting; it was a simple fact. In that era, he was the sole exception.
"But the others didn't really understand you. They even feared your strength," Artoria said.
"Understanding isn't really the point, is it? It's like how people in this era keep gardens. They love and nurture the things they grow, but they don't expect the plants to understand them," Ludwig mused. "I do what I can, and I do my best to do it well. I think that's quite pleasant. That's enough for me."
He looked up, meeting Artoria's gaze. "What do you think?"
"..." Artoria fell silent.
As a bystander, she found these truths to be simple and easy to grasp. But when applied to herself, they were often obscured by "more important" and "larger" matters, causing her to overlook them.
'There are many people smiling. I believe... that certainly cannot be wrong.'
That was the answer she had given Merlin before drawing the sword. Whether she was misunderstood or even hated, Artoria would never regret her choice. She was willing to offer her everything for the peace of Britain in her role as King.
"...It seems I subconsciously viewed you as someone who needed protection," Artoria said, shaking her head.
She had caught glimpses of an even younger version of him and overlapped that face with the youth before her. Seeing a child who looked no older than five or six acting with more ferocity than the most seasoned Knight of the Round Table had been difficult for her to stomach. Young warriors weren't unheard of, but he had been too young.
"Well, you weren't entirely wrong," Ludwig grinned, pointing a finger at her. "You protect me, I protect you. Isn't that the whole point of a Master-Servant relationship?"
"You are absolutely right."
Infectious and bright, the boy's smile brought one to Artoria's own lips.
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Type-Moon: The A-Ray Knight's Holy Grail Journey(80 Chapter - Ongoing)
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