"Eat something—"
In the evening, by the campfire, Morgan offered rations to her knight-princess sister.
"If you don't eat anything all day, you'll pass out sooner or later."
"..."
Looking at the food Morgan held out to her, Artoria hesitated for a moment, but still shook her head.
"Leave it for them."
"I... can still endure it."
"..."
Morgan, of course, knew that the "they" Artoria spoke of referred to the villagers she had seen.
However, the more she understood this, the more obvious the dissatisfaction in her eyes became.
"So—"
"Artoria, do you plan to solve their problems by not eating anything yourself?"
"My King, don't you think that's very foolish?"
"The food we brought will be gone sooner or later, but their problem will still be there. This is just deceiving yourself."
"I..."
Artoria could not refute Morgan's words.
After a long while, she finally replied.
"Then at least we can save one for now."
"It's not like we've done nothing for them."
"So in the end, you're just relieving your own unease, is that it?"
Morgan sneered.
"If that's the case, isn't that a kind of hypocrisy?"
"My King, do you really think this is right?"
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
It was only the first day of their journey, and things had already reached such a state.
This was something that would have been impossible to imagine before they set out.
"I'm back—"
A voice broke the silence.
Ian was seen returning from a short distance away to Morgan and Artoria's side.
However, he too quickly sensed that the atmosphere was not right.
"What happened?"
"You two... why are you so quiet?"
"..."
Though she was genuinely dissatisfied with Artoria's performance, given her own status and Ian's presence, Morgan couldn't speak her mind frankly.
"It's nothing."
"I was just being presumptuous."
Saying this, the princess of Britain walked towards the shadows.
It was a corner that would not be noticed by others.
She stroked the necklace with the blood-red crystal tied around her neck and sighed.
"Tiamat—"
"Morgan!"
Tiamat's roar quickly came through.
It was a voice that, even across time and space, was still incomparably clear, making it hard to ignore.
However, Morgan had already found a way to not reveal the commotion, which was to use a little of her own magical energy while the two were conversing.
Tiamat would not notice this.
"Have you confirmed it yet?" Tiamat asked anxiously.
"Not yet."
Morgan told a lie.
"However, I'm very close. Tiamat, if you could provide a little more help—"
"I think I should be able to confirm it very soon."
"Help?"
"What help do you need?"
Hearing Tiamat's voice, completely devoid of suspicion, Morgan knew her plan had succeeded.
She looked at the village that exuded waves of despair in the darkness, but what appeared in her mind was Artoria's meek and submissive appearance from just now.
On what grounds can such a simple person become the King of Britain?
And on what grounds does she have that strange knight who cares so much for her?
Simply sacrificing oneself for the sake of so-called salvation will change nothing at all.
There is a more correct way to do things.
"Lend me some of your magical energy, Tiamat."
"I promise you will get the reward you want."
The princess of Britain said this, touching the bottomless darkness all by herself.
On the other side.
With Morgan's departure, Artoria and Ian once again had time and space to themselves.
"Um—"
Trying to alleviate the awkwardness of the previous conversation, Artoria forced a smile.
"Have you finished doing what I asked?"
"Mm."
The boy nodded.
"I've already distributed it."
"But it doesn't seem to be enough for them to eat their fill."
"..."
Artoria's heart sank.
This was a perfect validation of what Morgan had just said.
"I-Is that so?"
Artoria's expression became more and more embarrassed.
"Then we have to think of something—"
"Otherwise, everyone will continue to go hungry."
"Oh, right, I still have..."
Artoria picked up the rations Morgan had just handed her, wanting to have Ian take them to the villagers.
But an awkward thing happened at this moment.
Artoria hadn't eaten anything since arriving at this village.
So at the moment she picked it up, her stomach very naturally...
Guu—
"..."
Artoria's face instantly turned red.
"Um!"
"That's not because I'm hungry! It's just..."
She was at a loss for words.
No matter how she tried to deny it, the feeling of an empty stomach was still there.
Artoria felt that her idea was indeed a little foolish.
However—
She soon found that Ian was approaching.
And watching him get closer and closer, Artoria had some bad associations.
"Don't!"
The young woman covered her chest with one hand and her skirt with the other.
"I'm not in the mood for that kind of thing right now—"
"If you force me, I'll hate you!"
However, Artoria's warning had no effect.
Ian continued to approach her, doing as he pleased.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
He arrived in front of her.
But this time, there was no outrageous behavior.
"You're hungry too?"
"Eh?"
"Just answer me—"
"..."
"Mm..." Artoria nodded. "I am a little hungry."
"I see."
Ian nodded.
"Going hungry is not a good thing."
"Artoria, come a little closer—"
"Eh?"
Although she didn't know what he was planning, sensing that Ian wouldn't do anything bad to her, Artoria still did as he said.
The young woman's body leaned forward slightly.
And the next moment, Artoria felt as if her whole body had been electrocuted.
It took her a good while to confirm one thing.
That was—
When she was completely caught off guard, Ian had kissed her.
Before Artoria could even scream, a terrifying red light shone in the boy's eyes.
With a whoosh—
Giant wings spread out under the moonlight, extinguishing the campfire in a single pass.
The boy's body became as massive, terrifying, and powerful as it was in the young woman's dream.
A blast of hot air surged from his sharp dragon teeth, rushing straight into Artoria's face.
"ROAR—"
The great dragon seized Artoria and flew up towards the sky