UWTD 363: Choices

"Are you dense, woman? This isn't a place for you, not to mention you are a mere apprentice knight, you cannot join anyway." It was a burly knight covered in armor, an enforcer to keep order. He was bold enough to reach out to her, probably to pull her out of the line by force.

"Now, don't make m-!" The knight's words cut short as his world flipped.

Lying flat on his back he could only gaze up at the vast blue sky, and the girl who overshadowed that vastness with her presence alone.

"Make you do what?" Her voice, although akin to a bell, rang through the place like a war gong.

Before the knight realized, his outstretched hand had been grabbed and she had flipped him over with a simple flick of the wrist. Artoria was strong, much stronger than the average knight here, no one could deny that.

"Right here, right now, I welcome anyone who doubts my prowess to face me with a sword. If you can defeat me, I shall serve you for life!" The proclamation turned the entire place on its head.

'She's no joke.' Adam watched over her shoulder, a sigh stuck in his neck. 'Someone born to be a king, huh? I couldn't agree more.'

No matter how much he searched in this period, Adam couldn't find anyone who could lead this country better than her, no in truth she was the only one who could. And, even if Artoria didn't want to, she had to begrudgingly take the role. Of course, the duo came up with their plan.

The first agenda, make the people acknowledge Artoria without Caliburn.

The best way to do that? Crush the opposition.

That's what Artoria did, over the two hundred duels she participated in, no one could touch a hair on her body. The defeat was so crushing that multiple knights started to question their lives after they couldn't even withstand a single clash.

If someone wasn't convinced with one duel, Artoria allowed a second but with a more brutal beatdown. The more they persisted, the lesser mercy she showed.

Of course, Adam came up with this idea to thoroughly beat obedience in them. If they wouldn't acknowledge her, she should just beat them harder. It was a method Adam used with dragons during his days because he needed live test subjects.

Above all, the knights couldn't deny Artoria's prowess and skill now. The king's most important ability in a time of turmoil was their battle strength, and no one else among the candidates could best Artoria in that at this moment. So, the decision should've been instant.

However, the fact that she was a woman still made them hesitate.

"This would be easier if I lived as my father intended." Sitting in a tent for rest, Artoria looked at Adam still unable to understand this request of his.

"True, if you acted as a man, they'd have an easier time accepting defeat." Adam hinted at the chaos that went on outside. "However, are you ok with that?"

"If it needs to be done the-!" Artoria flinched when he closed her lips with his finger.

"There you go again." Adam sighed, taking a seat beside her. "Tell me Artoria, what was the biggest reason you feel like you failed as a king?"

The slight shock went out the window and Artoria's face turned cold, not at Adam but at herself.

"I… I wasn't able to understand my people. I couldn't be the king they needed." She said.

"You see, that's where you are wrong." Adam shook his head. "You did everything a great ruler should have. You were selfless, heroic, you made decisions with rationality always choosing the best possible option even if it came at a personal cost, and you put your people before yourself. To everyone, that is the perfect King. And that is why you failed."

"What do you…?" Artoria couldn't complete her words, she wanted to shout but she held herself back.

"People aren't perfect, Artoria. They are greedy, they can split other's bellies to keep their filled, they can steal from the dying to line their pockets, they get happy when others face misfortune and they reap the benefits. Creatures are by nature selfish, and that selfishness creates lapses in their judgment, leading to faults. However, you didn't have that selfishness, truthfully you gave it up. You gave up your identity for peace, you gave up your humanity for the country, and you gave up your happiness for your subordinates. A king without a fault." Adam met her shaking green eyes, his voice still soft yet it bore down on Artoria. "And that's your biggest fault."

Artoria was too stunned to speak, her choices flashing before her eyes, the comments made behind her back, and the decisions that led to the rifts between her and the people, it all came together with the conversation she had with two certain kings.

"A nation can only be happy alongside its King. So, don't sacrifice anything, don't grit your teeth and bear with trouble, don't let go of anything, and be as selfish as you want. Do whatever it takes to be happy, that will make your nation happy." Adam placed a hand on her shoulder. "I will make sure that it happens no matter what, that is our contract."

Artoria looked up, her beating heart mellowed out as soon as she met his gaze. Was it her instinct again or simply blind trust upon hearing the words she always wanted to hear? She had always believed that sacrifices had to be made for her people to be happy, and it was true, that was how the scales hung in balance.

But, once again she couldn't deny his words even if she had been played by the scale her entire life. The reason? It was the guy walking towards the tent's exit.

"I'll go lay down some foundation for you, everything will go right, trust me." He said.

It was a feeble nod, nowhere near her fierceness in the duels, however the feeling behind it was just as intense.

Adam walked out with a smile. The biggest roadblock in Artoria's wish was being pushed out of the way. Seeing someone like her suffer didn't sit well with him. So even if he had to overstep his boundaries, he was ready to help her by any means possible. And he meant that in the truest sense.

"It's time to change their minds a little." Adam looked at the shouting lot in front of him.

The knights were still unhappy with the results even if they lost fair and square. Seeing them come up with excuses and news contests to try and best Artoria was a hilarious sight, however, Adam didn't plan to waste his time hearing them chatter. So, he got to his work, simple mental manipulation.

Although a dangerous-sounding spell, all Adam did was fill the influential knights' and vassals' heads with suggestions that overwrote their existing prejudice. It wasn't a difficult thing to achieve and it would only work to strengthen their loyalty towards Artoria over time.

It was a cheap and underhanded move that not only wiped away their biggest problem, but also cost little to nothing because of cutting away the complicated methods of the spell, making it almost negligible on the final bill.

On that day, Artoria Pendragon received the approval of all knights and vassals of the lands, even getting the acknowledgment of Uther Pendragon once again.

This time, she didn't have to pull the sword and sacrifice her humanity, and neither did she had to act as a man and give up her identity.

However, the very next night someone slipped into Artoria's dream once again.

"Merlin…"