Dimensional Invasion: I Can Fish for All Heavens

Chapter 267 There is no perfect king in the long river of human history, Artoria who bears the burden of everything.

A flicker of memory crossed Artoria's eyes.

After King Uther's death, according to Merlin's parable, the knights wished to elect a new king by pulling the sword from the stone in the National Cathedral Cemetery.

Having kept her identity hidden, she walked up to the sword in the stone and, without any hesitation, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, pulled it out.

From that moment on, her body and appearance stopped growing and aging, remaining forever at the age of 15.

Before she drew her sword, Merlin conveyed the prophesied tragic ending to her through a conscious process:

Once you pick up that sword, you will no longer be human until the very end. You will be hated by all of humanity and ultimately face a tragic death.

She knew this, and knew that once she pulled the sword from the stone, she would be a true queen.

To protect the people, her sword will inevitably be stained with blood, and even if she is abandoned, betrayed, and scorned, there is no turning back.

This is the destiny of a king.

To conceal her identity, she married Queen Guinevere. On their wedding night, Artoria confessed everything to the Queen, and Lancelot also learned the truth. However, at this time, the kingdom was more prosperous than ever before, and no one noticed these hidden dangers.

She led the Knights of the Round Table to achieve countless feats and her prestige soared to unprecedented heights, but at this time the kingdom was in trouble.

To protect the country's territory, her decisions often involved sacrificing the minority to save the majority, exploiting village resources to fill military positions, and launching preemptive attacks against foreign tribes. The idea that "King Arthur did not understand people's hearts" was brought up at this time.

She thus became aware of the hidden dangers within the kingdom and became even more cautious.

On the surface, the British Empire appears calm and prosperous, but in reality, it is fraught with crises. At this point, all it takes is a single fuse to ignite all the "explosives."

Finally, in the tenth year, the fuse was lit.

Lancelot's affair with the Queen is exposed. Although Artoria expresses her understanding, the knights are divided.

Lancelot was forced to flee, and then Guinevere was executed. Lancelot stormed the execution ground and killed the Gawain brothers, bringing the Twelve Knights of the Round Table to the brink of collapse. The kingdom was on the verge of collapse.

Ultimately, Britain was torn apart by the Battle of Camlann, triggered by the Mordred Rebellion.

Although she killed Mordred, she herself was also seriously injured and on the verge of death, and Britain was heading towards its demise.

In her view, Wang should be held responsible for the outcome.

Regardless of the process, the fall of a nation proves its own dereliction of duty.

She didn't want to talk about the inevitability of the times, but simply attributed everything to her own abilities.

In order to rewrite history, she made a pact with the Alaya consciousness, offering to become a guardian in exchange for the Holy Grail, hoping to "return to the day of the selection of kings and let the more qualified one become king."

However, unexpectedly, they arrived in another world.

Although they call this world the "real world," her story is merely a creation of human imagination, and if she could, she would prefer it to be so.

But, the moment she arrived in reality, even though her world was fake, it became real, didn't it?
She learned about the story of "King Arthur" in real-world history, and also read the story of "Artoria Pendragon" in FGO.

Although in the end, "she" accepted that history cannot be changed, she has not accepted it now.

Upon hearing Artoria's words, Windsor gently shook her head, her eyes tender yet firm, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"Even though I am now the King's Master, the King is still the King."

"At this moment, countless people in the British Empire are thrilled by your arrival."

"Even those who were once deeply obsessed with power and unwilling to relinquish it even on the verge of death are now willing to hand over all their power to the king because of his appearance."

"This seems quite incredible to us, but because it's you, we feel it's only natural."

Artoria listened to Windsor's words and a bitter smile appeared on her lips.

Does she really deserve such heavy trust from them, having given them all the power?

“I am not a worthy king, Windsor.”

"If I were truly that outstanding, Great Britain wouldn't have..."

Artoria was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, but Windsor interrupted her before she could finish.

"Your Majesty, please listen to me."

Windsor looked at Artoria, knowing that the story of "King Arthur" in FGO was deeply understood by her.

"You are always blaming yourself, thinking that you have failed to protect Britain, that you have let down your subjects, and that you are not a qualified king."

"But you may not know that in the eyes of us in later generations, you have always been the best king."

"No one can predict the future, and no one can change fate. The predicament you face and the choices you make are things that no one else could have done better than you."

"Even if someone could truly see the future and undo all the mistakes, the times would only give Great Britain a new way of collapsing, rather than allowing it to stand forever."

"You say you are not perfect, but there has never been a perfect king, or even a perfect person, in the long history of mankind."

“You have done everything you could, you have burned your life away.” Windsor’s voice was soft yet firm.

"The belief you upheld has never disappeared."

"Your chivalry and your ideals still guide us."

"You may not have been able to prevent the fall of Britain, but you made it an eternal story."

Artoria opened her mouth.

"But what will happen..."

"The ending never defines everything."

Windsor interrupted her, her tone gentle yet unquestionable.

"You are already the best King Arthur, there will never be a better king than you."

"So, Your Majesty, please forgive yourself."

Artoria blamed herself for not seeing through Mordred's resentment, for not comforting Guinevere's loneliness, and for not resolving the internal problems of the kingdom. She believed that if there had been a wiser king, a more ruthless king, or a more benevolent king, the outcome might have been different.

But she was wrong; no one could have done better in her position.

Mordred's tragedy stemmed from Morgan le Fay's obsession, Lancelot's suffering from the contradictions of chivalry, and Guinevere's loneliness, even without Artoria, would still be bound by the shackles of royal power.

These are things that she alone cannot change.

Many people in later generations, standing from the "God's perspective" brought about by history, can easily make judgments, saying "if only we had done it this way," or "if only we had done it that way," as if these mistakes could be discovered at a glance and easily resolved.
But for Artoria, who is at the eye of the storm, bearing the weight of the entire Britannia, and whose every choice is a gamble, if only everything were that simple.

If it were anyone else facing the same predicament, they would only collapse faster and fail more completely.

Windsor didn't know what others thought, nor did she care. In her opinion, the King had done the best she could.

Therefore, she no longer needs to be so hard on herself.

In the eyes of everyone in the British Empire, she was always the most perfect queen.

This reminds Windsor of the banquet held during the Holy Grail War between the King, Gilgamesh the King of Heroes, and Iskandar the King of Conquerors, where they expounded their own ideologies.

Gilgamesh, the hero-king, believed in the concept of "absolute self," considering the king to be the supreme ruler, and the existence of his subjects to please the king.

The king does not need to sacrifice for his subjects; rather, the subjects should dedicate everything to the king.

He believed that King Arthur's "living for his subjects" was a degeneration of the kingly way, and that a true king should be above all people, not bound by responsibilities.

They ridiculed King Arthur's "idealism," arguing that his way of ruling was foolish and that a true king should enjoy all the pleasures of the world.

Iskandar the Conqueror's philosophy was "desire above all else," believing that a king should be a conqueror and pioneer, pursuing endless ambition and desire.

The king exists to burn himself and ignite the era, not to be bound by morality or responsibility.

Some believe that King Arthur's rule was too "restrained," lacking the domineering presence and passion befitting a "king"; others believe that King Arthur "beared too many responsibilities," preventing him from truly enjoying the glory of being a "king."

In his view, King Arthur's failure and the fall of Great Britain were due to his excessive concern for "protection".

A true king should keep moving forward, even if the cost is destruction.

Thinking of this, Windsor couldn't help but snort coldly.

They all talk a good game, but they don't even look at what they're saying.

Gilgamesh's rule was essentially a "theocratic tyranny." He viewed his subjects as ants and believed that the king's happiness was paramount.

But true royal power comes from the trust of the people. Is Uruk's prosperity solely due to his own efforts?

His style of rule was destined to be lonely, and ultimately the people of Uruk never truly loved him.

Iskandar believed that "conquest is the way of kings," but his so-called conquest was essentially plunder; his empire collapsed rapidly after his death, proving that his rule lacked a real foundation.

Although the British Empire of King Britain perished, its spirit has endured for millennia; while the empire of Iskandar left only "legends," nothing more.

He believed that King Arthur was "not free enough," but his so-called freedom was built on the trampling of other people's lives.

In Windsor's view, the ideas of the Hero King and the Conqueror King were absolutely wrong and extreme.

Their King Arthurian way of governance, which embodies the chivalry of "protection," "responsibility," and "sacrifice," is the only rule that can truly be passed down.

Her failure was not due to flawed beliefs, but rather to the harsh reality.

A true king is not a god who reigns above all beings, nor a conqueror who plunders everything, but a person who is willing to bear everything for his people.

King Arthur's way of kingship was far more sublime than theirs!
Of course, while she admired King Arthur, Windsor was also aware of the king's shortcomings.

King Arthur defined the "perfect king" as a "completely selfless instrument," utterly denying personal emotions and needs, and alienating himself into a machine.
This extreme repression prevented her from truly understanding people's hearts.

(End of this chapter)