Arthur felt quite down that day. Recently, nothing seemed to go right—he felt as if fate itself had possessed him, making everything unlucky.
Maybe he wasn't cut out to be king after all.
"That's true. I'm just an ordinary person. Even with knowledge beyond this era, I'm not a true king," he sighed.
But now that he held this position, some things had to be done. Even if he doubted his own abilities, he could only push himself harder.
"Did I go down the wrong path? Did I fail to develop my own strengths?"
As everyone knows, humans often carry strange quirks encoded deep in their DNA. Depending on race, environment, or culture, they are born with or acquire unique traits. For example, in Arthur's previous life, his unfriendly next-door neighbor was infamous for having "cheating" and "arrogance without knowing his place" engraved in his genes.
"What about me? What strange skills are encoded in my DNA?"
Curious, he checked his racial skill list:
Arthur Racial Skills:
Agility LV1
Planting LV1
Peace-loving LV1
Anti-Dragon Slaying LV5
Dragon Slaying LV10
Infrastructure LV10
Hamster Characteristics LV10
Fear of Insufficient Firepower LV9999
Hmm...
What kind of king, endowed with these peculiar traits, would Camelot end up with? Probably one who would make even its strange traditions look tame.
Bang—
Arthur was deep in thought when suddenly the wooden door was smashed open roughly. Artoria stormed into his quarters, eyes blazing.
"Arthur, what the hell did you do to Merlin, you bastard?!"
"Huh? What could I possibly have done to that bastard?" Arthur feigned innocence, then suddenly perked up. "Wait—did that incubus demon finally figure it out? Is he preparing to retreat into Avalon or leave Camelot?"
Though it sounded incredible, it wasn't impossible.
So Arthur brightened and gave this advice: "Let me be clear—he can leave if he wants, but you can't. Trust me on this—you won't end well if you follow him."
"…Are you sure it wasn't you?"
Artoria eyed him suspiciously, studying him for a moment before suddenly gasping.
Compared to the high-spirited man from a week ago, Arthur now looked pale and worn, like he might die at any moment.
"How long have you been running on no sleep?"
"Uh... I suppose it shows." Arthur sighed. "Don't worry. I just haven't been able to rest well recently. My current duties are actually pretty light. Camelot isn't ready for transformation yet."
Hearing this, Artoria calmed down a little.
Though she hadn't liked Arthur much before because of past events, she'd always observed his actions. He hadn't conspired with Morgan to harm Camelot like she'd feared. Instead, everything he did was sincerely for the people's benefit.
How could she remain hostile to him, then?
Though outsiders now saw their relationship as strained, the truth was that it only stemmed from her stubbornness.
"Do you want me to ask Merlin to help? His magic could surely help you sleep better."
"Forget it." Arthur shook his head vigorously. "If Merlin knew, he'd just gloat over my misfortune. Don't underestimate how rotten that guy's character is."
He suspected Merlin was behind his recent sleeplessness but had no proof.
If he allowed Merlin to openly perform healing magic, Merlin might just deliver finishing blows instead.
"Well, Merlin's character is... complicated. But he wouldn't do something that cruel, right?"
"You're not sure either!" Arthur groaned and slumped weakly on the table. "Forget it, don't worry about me. It's just that I've had the same nightmare every night lately. Now I'm scared to sleep. When my spirit is utterly exhausted, I'll sleep even if I don't want to—and then I can finally rest."
"Nightmares? Have you been like this for a while?" Artoria frowned, as if connecting the dots.
"Why, did you find something?"
"Actually, my dreams haven't been normal these past few nights either."
"Oh, that's normal for you. I know Merlin has been entering your dreams every night, teaching you knowledge. He probably hasn't given up on helping you become king and isn't wasting a minute."
"No, Merlin hasn't appeared in my dreams since the night you defeated those 10,000 Saxons. That's why I said it's abnormal."
"So this abnormality... Maybe Merlin's tired of it?" Arthur snapped out of his trance suddenly, eyes blazing. "Damn it! That criminal is definitely behind this!"
"Huh?"
"You haven't had any dreams since that night, right?" Arthur looked murderous.
"That's right."
"But since that night, every time I sleep, I dream of a battlefield—surrounded by enemies attacking relentlessly. Every night the same battlefield, the same enemies! At first I thought it was my first battle trauma and ignored it," Arthur said through clenched teeth.
"But because of this, I haven't dared to close my eyes for three nights straight!"
"..."
Even Artoria could no longer defend Merlin.
It was too obvious. Combined with their testimonies, Merlin's guilt was undeniable.
Disturbing the king's sleep and casting unauthorized magic on him—that was downright evil.
A capital offense.
In Artoria's mind, she saw Arthur dragging Merlin to the execution platform and chopping off his head. Though she didn't truly wish that fate for Merlin, still...
"Merlin has gone too far. I know I'm not in a position to plead for him, but for the sake of our brotherly—sisterly relationship, let me deal with this. I will be the one to chop off Merlin's head," Artoria promised, her expression grave.
"Fine, no problem. I'll leave it to you," Arthur said without concern.
He didn't care if Merlin died.
Because it was impossible.
That guy was a demigod, masterful at saving his life through magic, and nearly immortal by race. As long as humans and dreams existed, Merlin could never truly die.
Even Artoria's all-out pursuit was no threat to Merlin.
After all, Merlin had taught all of Artoria's skills. The honest girl had no chance resisting his deception and illusions.
Still, there weren't many chances to truly disgust Merlin.
"Please kill Merlin quietly—no big fuss. I'm counting on you. Also, tell him: 'What's the difference between having no dreams and being a salted fish? Just a joke. A salted fish with dreams is still a salted fish.'"
"Don't worry, I'll handle it."
After Artoria left, Arthur stretched and stood.
Though her sincerity was admirable, it would only annoy Merlin. To solve this, Arthur had to find Morgan—otherwise, he dared not close his eyes.