"Ah?"
Arthur was momentarily stunned, looking at the light blonde-haired girl before him.
She looked as cute as a doll. At first, her face showed no expression—almost inorganic and pure. Then, after addressing him as "Your Highness" in a meaningless tone, she smiled with innocent sweetness.
Of course, that wasn't the point.
No matter how cute she was, Arthur didn't care.
She was just a girl—and one without breasts, at that. What was the point of being pretty? She wasn't even as good-looking as he was!
What really caught his attention was her name: Sajyou Manaka. It didn't sound British at all. Could it be that some Eastern island nation had already mastered superb navigation and migrated here, like the Saxons?
Nonsense!
No, no—if she claimed to be Tohsaka Rin or Emiya Shirou or whoever, Arthur might even believe it.
"Oh, so your name is Sajyou Manaka," Arthur responded awkwardly.
Obviously, Arthur was not omniscient—he didn't even know who this girl was.
"Ms. Manaka, may I ask why you're here?"
"Of course, to see the prince~!" Manaka smiled faintly. When Arthur was distracted, she glanced sharply in another direction, then relaxed again.
Arthur's mind raced with questions thanks to Manaka's naive words.
Girl, if you keep this up, that strange uncle will trick you and lock you in a dark little room. Don't you know that?
"Ahem, I'm not a prince. My name's Arthur—you've probably heard of me. I'm somewhat famous around here," he said, keeping his expression steady as he supported her. Still, he had the odd feeling Manaka wasn't really injured, that she somehow had the strength to climb into his arms.
He tried to back away, but the distance between them didn't increase—it seemed to close instead.
It had to be an illusion. There was no way Manaka Sajyou could also be some kind of Super Briton.
"I know, but the prince is the prince."
"No, no, no—don't look at me like that. I'm still a king, after all." Arthur waved his hands quickly, inwardly complaining that he really wasn't fit to be one.
After a moment's thought, he said, "Forget the titles for now. Your injury's more important. I'll carry you to the castle. The best magicians of this era are there. They can heal you quickly."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I didn't recognize you at first, so I didn't want to scare you. But I know a bit of magic—I can heal this myself." Manaka smiled playfully and immediately cast a spell.
Within moments, the wound on her knee healed visibly, and even the torn white silk of her knee-high socks seemed to rewind in time—the blood faded, and the fabric mended.
Arthur knew magic existed in this world, but seeing it firsthand was always incredible.
"That's amazing."
"It's just a little trick. If you need me, I'll give you all my strength."
"I see."
Arthur nodded, his gaze on Manaka shifting completely.
She was like the ultimate tool, a perfect worker.
Her origin was mysterious. Someone obviously not from this country, a powerful magician appearing suddenly before Arthur—it was suspicious no matter how he looked at it. But compared to the many troubles on his mind lately, Manaka's identity seemed trivial.
Camelot was too backward.
In management, military, ideology, tradition, economy, daily life, and construction, Camelot was lagging far behind.
He had even considered madly developing the technology tree to strengthen the country.
But that was only theoretical. It couldn't be implemented. The era lacked the conditions and capabilities for manufacturing modern technology—it was like an ancient, simple computer with no functionality or understanding of binary.
People of this time didn't know what 0s and 1s meant, or their potential.
It was impossible to cultivate scientific talents or independent researchers in a short time. Even if Arthur threw piles of advanced books at them, the locals would only be confused and reject the knowledge.
In military terms, making cannons or simple firearms was actually quite easy.
But without precise measurement and control, parts wouldn't fit consistently. Without mass production, the effort wouldn't be worth it.
Besides, guns and artillery weren't invincible in this era. Ordinary soldiers could dodge bullets easily, and powerful knights could withstand artillery shells. This was the Age of Gods. This was Britain.
Science was effectively blocked.
Physics? Only in a martial sense—was popular in Britain.
So technological development was almost impossible.
But there was a way.
"Magic... it really is a magical and convenient technology," Arthur murmured softly.
Britain was the last place clinging to the Age of Gods, and Camelot was its most mysterious stronghold. Compared to other regions, Camelot's people were more adaptable to magic and had greater natural talent.
This was an inherent advantage.
As long as more magicians appeared, Camelot's productivity could rise steadily—at least in this era.
He had confirmed this with Morgan countless times. Training magicians was simple. Anyone smart and willing could learn magic here.
You must understand, the Britons and humans of this era were fundamentally different. Magic circuits hadn't yet formed. They didn't use low-power source magic but absorbed and controlled the true ether drifting in the atmosphere—the genuine magic of the Age of Gods.
Ultimately, the gap between humans and magicians was just knowledge.
If there were teachers and reasonable methods, Camelot could produce countless magicians.
But most magicians could only use a few tricks.
"Manaka, though this is our first meeting, I want to... hire you for my court..." Arthur began formally.
Before he could finish, a strong hand grabbed his shoulder, followed by a panting voice.
"Hey... hey, my king, I have to explain what happened before. Things aren't what you... saw. Actually, I didn't—"
The annoying voice belonged to Merlin. Arthur turned around with impatience—and was frightened.
Who the hell was this bruised-faced pig-headed man?
"Uh—no need to make that face. Honestly, I'd be sad too. Morgan and Gawain beat me up, so... Your Majesty King Arthur, please plead for me. Otherwise, you might really lose a loyal and powerful magician."
Arthur almost laughed aloud.
Oh, great—hope you get beaten to death.
Even Manaka could sense Arthur's hostility toward Merlin. She spoke softly, "My Prince, was the reason for your distress earlier because of this strange creature? Would you like me to help get rid of him? By the way, I can prove my strength to you."
"Of course. Please kill him. I don't care if it makes some noise."
"Okay."
038: The Kings Are on the Road
Time flew by.
Four months had passed since Arthur traveled to this era—three months after he was crowned king.
During these three months, the people saw little significant change. The Saxons had not attacked again, and King Arthur neither imposed harsh policies nor raised taxes.
So the common folk went about their daily lives: eating, sleeping, and doing little else. As long as they didn't starve, life went on.
But to the knights, Arthur's reforms were drastic.
First, there was the restructuring of positions.
The knights who had originally followed Arthur were now split into civil and military roles. The civil side was led by Aggravin, who served as King Arthur's secretary and head of home affairs, taking over many duties that previously belonged to nobles. Rumor had it he also held other secretive positions of power.
The military officers were headed by Gawain and Lancelot.
Gawain was appointed head of the Knights Guard, responsible for Camelot's security and protecting King Arthur.
Lancelot commanded the first legion of foreign combat troops directly under Arthur's control, training soldiers and eliminating bandits and criminals.
Each knight's duties were demanding and complex, further divided into various organizations with specialized roles.
Arthur also assigned tasks to nobles and magicians alike, handling trade, land management, construction, and farming. But the knights, exhausted from relentless training or busy rushing about, had no time to learn all the details.
That day, Arthur was busy as usual in his chambers-slash-office, constantly issuing orders and rapidly reviewing documents.
The pile on his desk towered over one meter high. The knight standing loyally behind him swallowed nervously.
"This is terrifying. We have to manage this intense workload every day for four months straight? No human could survive that."
"That's rude, Sir Kay. I'm just an ordinary man. Anyone can do this—it only depends on motivation," Arthur replied casually. Then he handed the document in his hand to the knight at the front of the long line on his right.
"These two documents: the top one for Lord Agravin, the other for Lord Draven. Deliver them quickly."
"Yes, my king!"
Arthur immediately buried his head back in his work, and the mountain of documents shrank visibly.
Still, he found time to joke with Kay.
"How can this be ordinary?" Kay muttered, palpitation evident on his face.
To be honest, when he was in his father Ector's territory, Kay had excelled in all areas—combat and administration alike—and earned a solid reputation.
But compared to Arthur now, he was nothing.
He didn't even know where these documents came from; just looking at them made his head spin.
Arthur's processing speed was beyond human.
When Arthur first arrived in Camelot, Kay had witnessed him casually glance over tax records and pinpoint loopholes in seconds. Arthur's ability had only grown more terrifying since then, and the documents he processed were incomprehensible to Kay.
This made Kay grateful he wasn't in Arthur's place.
If his foolish sister ruled here, she wouldn't even have time to eat.
"Huh~ finally done. That wraps up my morning work."
While Kay was distracted, the pile on the desk vanished completely, leaving the room nearly empty—only three people remained. Arthur stretched lazily, smiling at Kay.
"…This guy's becoming less and less human."
When Merlin proposed the "Ideal King" plan, he had picked the wrong man to embody it.
"What's with that face? You look like you've seen a monster," Arthur complained.
Kay forced a bitter smile. "My king, at least monsters are slayable. You… you're on another level."
"Are you becoming more disrespectful lately? How rude! I'm an ordinary man—just ordinary. How many times do I have to say it before you believe me?"
"Are ordinary men really such terrible creatures?"
"...Okay, there must be a serious misunderstanding between us." Arthur pouted, then said seriously, "Come on, knight, have a proper chat with me—or go talk to Manaka."
"Ahem—excuse my rudeness, King Arthur, but I'm simply amazed by your talent," Kay coughed mockingly.
There was little point in chatting with Arthur.
Not only because it risked assassination by jealous colleagues, but because any conversation with Arthur only led to brainwashing through twisted logic.
As for love songs… that was Manaka's business.
Although Kay disliked Merlin and often plotted his demise, this also proved Merlin's resilience. At least he was alive and well.
Merlin was like a changed man since Manaka joined Camelot. He'd become much more honest.
In the past three months, Manaka had pushed Merlin to the brink of death more than once, which amazed Kay.
If the yandere woman found out he contradicted the king, Kay was certain he'd be dead.
Changing the subject quickly, Kay said, "My king, I hate to disturb your rest, but you should be cautious. Camelot remains stable, but your reputation in other countries is spreading in subtle ways."
"Oh, that. I know. Just some kings making insulting remarks publicly. No need to worry."
In the end, only a few kings disliked Arthur enough to slander him or threaten war.
But they dared not act.
Since the Saxons' last failed invasion with 10,000 men, kings may sneer at Arthur's tactics, but their disdain was only surface-level.
If they truly despised Arthur, they would have attacked already.
In truth, they feared him.
And soon, that fear would be resolved.
Because if you upset Britain's current balance with mere words, you only harm yourself.