Fate: The Forged Arthur Pendragon

In the end, Su Ya still couldn't grasp what Merlin's words truly meant.

Since arriving in this world,

Breaking through the Conqueror Queen's siege,

and outwitting the Round Table Knights—some real, some fake—who surrounded him because of his identity,

He never had much of a choice.

He was always forced to make decisions that benefited himself.

He was like a small boat caught in the raging waves of a historical torrent,

regardless of his thoughts, his deeply hidden desires, or his pure and simple nature.

This world had given him no chance to choose.

And suddenly hearing Merlin say that he might become some incredible figure, someone with a 'once in a millennium' prefix,

Su Ya initially found it amusing.

What could such a weak person like himself change, even if he made a choice?

But soon,

these inexplicable words lingered in his mind, like viscous silk drawn from a spider's belly, coiling around his heart, suffocating him, rustling in his ears and mind,

leaving him sleepless through the night.

"Sir Dagonet, why are you here today?"

The next day, early morning.

Su Ya, with dark circles under his eyes, had only slept for an hour before crawling out of his tent and heading to the designated spot on the side of the camp where he was to meet Lucan, preparing to learn the combat technique called Shadow Dissipation from him.

However,

the person who appeared there was not Lucan, but Dagonet, clad in silver-white plate armor, with a seemingly plastered, fawning smile on his face.

Compared to yesterday, his plate armor bore several claw marks and dents, with grass clippings, root fragments, and dirt stuck in its seams. His face was also streaked with grime from a mixture of mud and sweat.

At this moment, seeing Su Ya approach, Dagonet placed a hand over his chest and respectfully said:

"My King, it is your most loyal knight, Dagonet, who is responsible for teaching you 'Shadow Dissipation'!"

Su Ya nodded: "I see. Let's begin then."

Although a different person was teaching him, and it seemed some strange things might have happened in between,

Su Ya had no intention of probing; as long as the other party could teach him, that was enough.

His kingship was fake, his identity was fake, the knights pledging allegiance to him were fake, and even the sincerity of that allegiance was most likely fake.

But the one thing Su Ya was certain of was that the combat techniques he learned, and the power that began to soar after he had eaten his fill, were undeniably real.

And at this moment,

Dagonet bowed slightly, his silhouette reflected against the dark horizon, and suddenly asked:

"Before that, My King, Dagonet has a question for you."

"Speak."

Dagonet lowered his head and spoke solemnly:

"Though this question may seem strange coming from a humble clown like myself, for me, who pledges allegiance to you... we need an answer."

"Please forgive Dagonet's presumption first."

Su Ya felt slightly curious but still nodded and replied:

"It's alright, please ask."

Dagonet still did not straighten his back. Despite his power, he could take Su Ya's life at any moment, yet he maintained this posture of a hand over his chest and a bow. He paused for a moment, then slowly began:

"There are seven kings in this world."

"The King of Mages, King Solomon, who, with wisdom, acted justly and righteously, was granted divine authority, and guided all kings in governing the world with his wisdom."

"The most ancient hero from epics, the tyrant who ruled Mesopotamia with cruelty, arrogance, and unmatched divine power and wealth, the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh."

"The King of Gods, King Indra, who gave birth to the sun, sky, and dawn, who could single-handedly conquer the 99 castles of Kari, symbolizing the god of order who triumphs over chaos."

"The great strategist, Charlemagne, King Charles the Great of the Carolingian Dynasty, who, with divine glory and his twelve paladins, saved and unified Europe."

"Born to be a true king, the Emperor Alexia III, the Conqueror Queen, who conquered Greece, Egypt, and even West Asia, ruling the most vast lands and the strongest legions."

"The legendary Vampire Duke, Vlad III, the King of Thorns, who reigned with terror and blood, manipulated kings, poisoned the world, and covered the land with thorns and bloodied stakes."

"And Emperor Caesar, the greatest hero, military commander, and statesman of ancient Rome, a dictator who continued to influence and rule the entire Roman Empire even after his death."

After introducing each of the seven existing kings in the world,

Dagonet paused, looked up at Su Ya with a very serious expression, his face straightening, and solemnly said:

"Then,"

"As the eighth King!"

"You—the destined King of all the lands of Britannia—"

Reflecting the faint glimmer of dawn slowly rising from the distant horizon,

Dagonet then softly asked:

"What kind of King do you wish to be?"

Upon hearing this question,

Su Ya struggled to digest the horrifying names in Dagonet's words,

and then,

He was stunned.

His first thought was: 'How the hell am I supposed to fight these guys?'

His second thought was: 'Is it still not too late to surrender with Britannia?'

The greatest kings of seven nations, undoubtedly starting at least at legendary levels of power.

Compared to himself, whose identity, kingship, and even Round Table Knights were fake, and whose power was merely that of a newly-minted junior swordsman.

Were these two even comparable?

You ask what kind of King I want to be?

For a moment, Su Ya truly didn't know how to answer this question.

What if, just if, he somehow became King of Britannia due to various unexpected circumstances?

Compared to this group of people, he, who knew nothing about politics or military affairs and only had a slight knack for imitating others' movements, wouldn't even be a wise ruler. Just avoiding becoming a tyrant who caused the dynasty to collapse would be a huge success!

After pondering for a moment,

Su Ya scratched his head, looking somewhat innocent at Dagonet.

He couldn't directly answer the question,

But with the atmosphere built up like this, he couldn't just say to the knight in front of him:

"Hello, I'm useless."

He instinctively wanted to gloss over the question with flowery words, or say something grand and proper, like, 'I swear to become the strongest King of Knights, and then lead you all to defeat these absurd fake kings and unify the world, gah!'

This would not be difficult for Su Ya, given his con artist profession.

He could even make a lie sound incredibly beautiful, so full of emotion that it would bring tears to people's eyes, and so passionate that it would make them clap enthusiastically.

But,

At that moment, Su Ya met Dagonet's gaze.

It was a look that had fallen to the bottom of an abyss, aimlessly and helplessly surveying its surroundings in a lightless environment. Even the emotion of 'despair' itself had dissipated, leaving only indifference, numbness, and a complete understanding of everything.

And then, in this moment, in this environment,

this clown knight, Dagonet, looked at him with such a numb gaze, as if he had seen a beam of light descending from the sky.

Su Ya discerned from this look—

He didn't believe in him.

He didn't think he could compare to the kings Dagonet had described.

He didn't even hold out hope that he would do this.

It was just that,

He looked at him with this kind of understanding, numb gaze, like a moth seeking light, yet knowing full well that ahead was not the sun, but just an ordinary, broken lightbulb. It was almost a habitual gaze.

As if, as soon as he spoke the lie Dagonet expected,

This knight would, like a moth crashing into a lightbulb, knowing it's futile yet repeatedly hurting itself,

loudly swear allegiance to a broken lightbulb like him.

Facing such a gaze,

Su Ya felt his throat dry slightly, and the lie about to escape his lips seemed to be blocked by something.

He couldn't tell such a sweet lie to this knight.

He had no right to make the knight bear the burden of a false king with his life.

He had even less right to promise the knight a future that the knight already deemed insignificant.

He wanted Dagonet to revert to his usual slippery, cunning self, the one who seemed to have had all his edges smoothed by the world.

That was the way to live longer in this world.

Finally,

after a long silence, Su Ya could only avoid that numb, knowing gaze and foolishly chuckled:

"Sorry, Sir Dagonet, I haven't thought about that question."

"If I absolutely have to give an answer,"

"I can only tell you..."

He paused, and then, silently said:

"I don't know."

He didn't get the expected answer,

Nor did he get the arrogant, self-aggrandizing lies he had heard when, in the past, he stubbornly chose to pledge allegiance to various monarchs.

He didn't even get a proper, clear response.

Dagonet froze in place.

Behind him, the light of dawn dispelled a corner of the darkness, struggling to rise higher.

Finally,

for some reason,

The knight, who had seemingly been put off, yet felt as if he had finally received the answer he had always longed for,

He held back the sudden moisture welling up in the corners of his eyes, knelt before Su Ya, and bowed his head deeply.

His slightly choked words rose from the grassland, drifting into the distance,

"I confirm again, you are a noble King!"

"My King—"

"Your most cowardly knight, Dagonet."

"Reports for duty!"

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