To become a king and a magician

After quickly finishing her tenth bowl of rice, Artoria got up and ran away, leaving both Natsukawa Torato and Gray somewhat puzzled.

Then, after about a minute or two—

"Excuse me, Lord Natsukawa."

"Is this really alright, Your Majesty? We've gathered here to visit and dine."

"My king said it was an invitation from the other party, so there shouldn't be any problem, right?"

Seeing Gawain, Lancelot, and Tristan walk in with Artoria, Natsukawa Tora froze on the spot.

Didn't I tell you to come now?!

......

Because three Knights of the Round Table joined in the middle of the meal, the dinner ended up lasting almost an hour and a half.

Natsukawa Torato felt for the first time in a long time how painful cooking could be. Feeding a woman with such a voracious appetite as Artoria by himself was incredibly difficult, let alone with his own appetite and that of Gawain, who also had a huge appetite...

"I'm sorry, Mr. Natsukawa, it seems our arrival has caused you trouble."

Tristan placed a cup of tea in front of Natsukawa Tiger and apologized with a smile.

"However, it was a truly delicious dinner. Your cooking skills are exceptional. You are able to handle so many different styles of cuisine with such proficiency. Have you traveled around the world to further your culinary skills?"

"Ah, it's nothing serious. It's just that I've been to a lot of places and naturally learned a little bit. Plus, there are a lot of people to feed at home. Although I don't cook often, there are times when it's my turn to cook. I have to satisfy everyone's appetite."

Xia Chuanhu took the tea and took a sip.

As he explained, Gawain and Lancelot, who were also sitting at the table, came over to listen.

"Speaking of which... I have heard about this from the King, but I don't know the specifics—Does Lord Natsukawa have many people in his household?"

"Well, besides me, Grey, and Lia, there's also Merry, Souji, Rei, Tohsaka, Tsuru, Lydel who comes over for meals from time to time, and Aoko who comes back unpredictably... that's about it."

Upon hearing this, the three Knights of the Round Table exchanged a glance, and then their expressions turned serious, and they suddenly adopted an extremely solemn attitude.

With his hands supporting his chin as if discussing some important matter, Lancelot asked in a deep voice, "Excuse me, are all those you mentioned women?"

"Hmm. Is there a problem?"

(According to my king, she previously lived in an apartment building named Camelot... an apartment building where everyone except Lady Natsukawa was a woman...)

Tristan slightly opened his eyes: "Lord Natsukawa seems to have quite a good rapport with women?"

Natsukawa Tora gave a wry smile: "Rather than saying it's good, it's more like it's become like this without me even realizing it. Every time I go somewhere, I always end up having contact with some women. There was a time when Rei and Meryl called me a 'fool who brings women back every time he goes out.' But I haven't done that in the last few years."

How can you develop good relationships with women without even realizing it?

Does he bring women home after going out just once?

The three Knights of the Round Table exchanged glances again, then patted Natsukawa Torato on the shoulder without saying a word, looking at him with meaningful and inexplicable eyes.

Upon hearing the three men's sudden actions, Natsukawa Torato roughly understood what was going on: "Have you misunderstood me in some way?"

“No, it was just a spontaneous remark,” Lancelot chuckled. “Speaking of which, Lord Natsukawa, our King mentioned earlier that you had something you wished to discuss with us? May I ask what it is?”

"Oh, this is actually about the Knights of the Round Table from parallel worlds that you encountered."

"I'm planning to go to the White Dragon Kingdom tomorrow, and I'll probably have to face them there, so I want to know as much as possible about them. You've all fought against them, right? So I'd like to ask you for your advice."

Those Knights of the Round Table from parallel universes?

Lancelot and the others nodded.

"Let me start by explaining about the parallel world version of myself... It might sound a bit odd for me to say this, but I think she was a very charming woman."

Natsukawa Torato: "?"

15. The noble and virtuous Knights of the Round Table

Although he knew roughly what kind of person Lancelot was, when he heard him say those words, Natsukawa Tora couldn't help but send a greeting.

A very charming woman?

So what exactly is it about that's so appealing?

Based on Lancelot's personality, Natsukawa Torato thought it would probably be that aspect.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Seeing that the other three were looking at him strangely, Lancelot coughed twice and glanced at Artoria, who was washing dishes not far away, and said quickly, "Don't misunderstand, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just giving what I thought was the most appropriate evaluation as a knight."

"..."

It would have been better if he hadn't explained; the more he explained, the more suspicious it seemed.

After taking a sip of tea to compose himself, Natsukawa Torama waved his hand: "Sir Lancelot, please continue, we're listening. If you, a woman from a parallel world, are very charming... in what specific ways does that manifest itself?"

"Hmm... First of all, it's her strength."

Lancelot said, resting his chin on his hand.

"Although she had the Holy Grail to back her up, she didn't use it when we first fought. She just fought me in her normal state. But even so, I was still slightly suppressed. How should I put it... her reasons for fighting were more compelling than mine—that's the feeling."

"I can feel the difference in weight of the blade."

For soldiers, there are many things that may be difficult to explain in words, but they can feel them to some extent through the clash of weapons or the exchange of fists.

You can sense to some extent what your opponent is carrying, what they have been through, and what kind of mood they are in while fighting.

Lancelot sensed this when he was battling his female counterpart from a parallel world.

Her sword was quite heavy, so heavy that he could sense that she was carrying an extremely important mission.

"A difference in awareness?" Gawain said solemnly, "The other me I met was actually the same. What about Lord Tristan?"

"Pretty much. Our fighting styles are different. Compared to the clash of your blades, our battles don't allow us to truly feel each other's inner thoughts."

Tristan plucked a string from the string in his hand.

"But, from the sounds of the attack, one could faintly hear some sorrowful sounds."

A powerful realization, and a sorrowful voice.

Why do the Knights of the Round Table from a parallel world exhibit such behavior during battles?

"Besides that?" Natsukawa Torato continued, "Any other points worth noting?"

"Hmm...it's the other person's attire."

As he said this, Lancelot looked somewhat embarrassed: "The armor they are wearing... I don't know if it's because the clothing style in this parallel world is different from ours, or for some other reason—as you can see, the lower half of our armor is also fully armed."

"Yes, indeed."

Leaving aside Lancelot and Gawain, even Tristan, who was an archer, had his lower body covered in armor, providing excellent protection.

"But the other person was wearing a skirt."

"Huh?"

skirt?

Natsukawa Tora pondered for a moment, then materialized some of the modern dress styles he knew on the dining table using his imagination: "Are they dresses similar to these?"

"There are indeed some similarities... By the way, Lord Natsukawa, are these dresses products of this era?"

"Well, for example, this kind of skirt is usually worn by JK girls, which are girls around ten years old. This kind of sheer skirt is called a nightgown, which can enhance the relationship between husband and wife to some extent."

"Wow, wow, wow~~~ Is the development of the times really so multifaceted?"

Listening to Natsukawa Tiger's explanation as a professional, Lancelot and the others couldn't help but sigh in admiration. In their time, there were no such varied dresses, and they really had to praise the talent of the designer who created these dresses.

After evaluating for a while, Natsukawa Torama withdrew his fantasy materialization and subtly pointed towards Artoria and Gray, who were almost finished washing the dishes.

Lancelot and the other two understood immediately, exchanging glances to indicate they understood, and naturally steered the conversation back to the main topic.

"Let's get back to the main point. As I just said, my parallel world self doesn't seem to care much about defense. I should say it's because of his confidence in his own martial arts skills, or perhaps he has some kind of protection that I don't know about. I need to be more careful when fighting against him."

“Yes, I understand that too.” Gao Wen nodded in agreement. “The other me is in a similar situation, and because the swing is a bit too big, I don’t know where to look when we’re fighting, and I get easily distracted.”

In fact, Natsukawa Tora was slightly interested in this detail of "swaying".

After listening to the information provided by Lancelot and Gawain, Natsukawa Torato also gained a general understanding of the situation of Lancelot and Gawain on Arthur's side. Although their combat strength is roughly equal without considering the Holy Grail, would Lancelot have a slight advantage in the more important spiritual aspect?

"Where is Lord Tristan?" Gawain inquired. "What points should I be aware of during the battle, given your position on the other side?"

"No."

Tristan answered decisively.

"It is very sad that, apart from being of a different gender and possessing the Holy Grail, the other me is not much different from me."

"Is that so? That's good news. This should increase our chances of winning if we meet at the gates of the White Dragon Kingdom tomorrow."

—Preparing a magic trick to force calmness beforehand should solve most problems.

That's what Natsukawa Tora thought.

Just then, Artoria, who had finished washing the dishes, came over: "Master, are you going to that castle tomorrow?"

"Yes, that's undoubtedly the most unusual place in this singularity. Nothing can be solved without going there—that's what I think."

“In that case, I’ll go with you,” Artoria said. “Outside the walls of the White Dragon Kingdom are Gawain, Lancelot, and Tristan from another world, plus Mordred… Master, it might be a bit difficult for you to go alone.”

"It's okay, they can't fly. If we can't beat them, I'll just fly over."

The inability to fly is indeed a source of great heartache for many Servants. While they do possess anti-air capabilities, they still lag behind Servants who can move freely in the air.

Artoria paused for a moment, then said, “Even so, I still have to go. I believe it is necessary for me to handle Mordred’s matter personally. I hope Master understands.”

Why Mordred is standing there is something we absolutely need to figure out.

"I understand. Let's go together then."

16. The Other Side of the Style Mismatch

At the same time.

Outside the walls of the White Dragon City, in the camp at its foot.

She stopped her horse beside a tent, dismounted, and stepped inside. The spirited woman, clad in silver armor and a battle skirt, with a long sword at her waist, lifted the tent flap.

At the same time she was seen, a voice came from behind.