To become a king and a magician

"Um... please don't look at me like that." Artoria looked away somewhat embarrassed. "I have absolutely no intention of becoming a princess. It's just a title, nothing substantial..."

"Compared to this! Why were you able to catch up, Gawain?! I had already knocked you into the sea with all my might!"

Artoria remembered clearly that in order to get rid of Gawain's pursuit, she used a full-power magic cannon to send her into the sea. Why is she still here now?

Could it have swum in from the sea?

Upon hearing this, the fairy knight Gawain respectfully placed his hand on his chest: "Indeed, your attack sent me into the sea, but we fairy knights have all received His Majesty's blessing and protection. However, sinking into the sea is not enough to make me give up my pursuit of you."

(That bastard!)

Artoria's heart sank.

The fairy knight Gawain continued, "Your Highness, you have been away from the capital for ten days. His Majesty is very worried about you. Please do not be willful and come back to the capital with me. Lord Tristan and I will plead for you."

"do not want!"

Artoria shouted with unwavering determination, "I...don't want to go back there! I finally escaped from there, and if I go back...I'll just get locked up by that bastard again! He'll keep me locked up in that cage like a canary!"

We can't go back.

Going back now would definitely get me in trouble with that bastard—

"Clang—!"

The sound of a sword striking the ground interrupted Artoria's thoughts. The fairy knight Gawain seemed to be reluctant, and after a slight sigh, he raised the burning greatsword in his hand: "I understand. Then please forgive my rudeness, Your Highness, His Majesty has instructed that even if it means breaking your arms and legs, we must bring you back."

"That bastard really didn't treat me like a human being! — Even though I'm a fairy, not exactly human!"

Seeing the fairy knight Gawain raise his sword and become serious, Artoria's face paled slightly. She was well aware of the strength of this knight who excelled in every aspect; even if she fought with all her might, she would have absolutely no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation.

Even so... she didn't want to be taken back like this, back to that [Royal City (Cage)] that she had spent years studying thoroughly and only managed to escape from a few days ago.

"My apologies, Your Highness!"

With a roar, the fairy knight Gawain charged directly at Artoria with his sword. A strong heat wave hit her instantly, making Artoria feel as if she was about to be evaporated. The burning giant sword in her vision swung down directly towards her head!

Artoria firmly believed that Gawain would not kill her. After all, the two were not enemies. Regardless of their public relations, they actually had a good relationship in private. Gawain's current hostility was only for official business. She was just a knight who was extremely loyal to that bastard.

I'm afraid that just as the blow is about to land, the sword will turn and strike him with the hilt.

(That's my chance! Although it's a little unpleasant to use the magic trick that bastard taught me to save my life—)

"Clang—!"

However, just as Artoria was thinking of using magic to escape from Gawain's clutches, a shield suddenly appeared in front of her, taking the brunt of Gawain's attack!

It's Mashu.

"Huh?"

Artoria was somewhat surprised: "Mashu? You...?"

“Although we don’t quite understand the situation yet, Miss Artoria, you probably need help right now, don’t you?” Fujimaru Ritsuka came to her side and smiled. “You don’t want to be taken away by this fairy knight named Gawain—in that case, Mash and I will lend you a hand.”

"Help...me? Why?"

"Why... there's no particular reason. When someone is in trouble or danger, it's natural to want to help, right?"

(It's not a lie... it's just this simple reason?)

Artoria could see through Fujimaru Ritsuka's thoughts. She was certain that Fujimaru Ritsuka wasn't just placating her or had ulterior motives; she simply wanted to help her.

Meanwhile, Gawain, who was vying for the upper hand with Mash using his sword, heard Fujimaru Ritsuka's words and his eyes flickered slightly. Then, he suddenly exerted his strength and sent Mash, who was resisting him, flying away with a single sword strike!

(What immense power!)

After spinning in the air with a sense of astonishment, Mash landed on the ground, shield in hand, standing before Artoria and Fujimaru Ritsuka: "The opponent's power... is very strong, Master."

“Well, after all, Gawain is the strongest of the three fairy knights in terms of pure strength. There’s no chance of winning against her in a head-on fight,” Artoria explained. “Excuse me, Mash, could you please buy me some time so I can use a space-time magic spell?”

A magic trick involving spatial teleportation!?

"Miss Artoria, you can use such powerful magic?"

"I was forced to learn it by that bastard, but it takes time to prepare, about a minute... Although I'm very unwilling, I can only find another opportunity to deal with things related to the Holy Sword next time."

Looking back at Natsukawa Tora, who had been standing not far away watching without saying a word, Artoria took a deep breath and planted her staff in the ground.

however--

"boom------------!"

Not far away, centered on the fairy knight Gawain, an enormous pillar of fire roared into the sky! Just like a volcanic eruption, with lava shooting into the air, the scene immediately appeared before the three of them!

An incredibly strong magical reaction instantly enveloped the three of them, and even Chaldea, far away in the Pan-Human History, received this incredibly strong magical reaction! It caused Chaldea's instruments, which were originally unable to observe anything, to experience a certain degree of numerical fluctuation!

“I am truly delighted, Your Highness,” Gawain said, bathed in flames. “Since His Majesty welcomed you back to the capital as a princess, you have had no friends. Now, on your very first outing, you have made two friends who are willing to help you. I’m sure His Majesty and Lord Tristan will be very happy to hear this.”

"But I'm sorry, I will still take you back, because it is His Majesty's order and he requires me to do it as soon as possible. Please understand that my methods may be a little rough. I will apologize to you after we return to the capital."

【Fujimaru! Matthew! Unfold the Noble Phantasm! 】

Roman's voice suddenly reached the ears of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu.

Based on our observations, the magical power you're experiencing is currently equivalent to Artoria's Holy Sword Unleashed!

"!!"

Equivalent to the release of the Holy Sword!?

Without even having time to think about anything else, Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly placed her hand on Mash's shoulder, and Mash shouted, "Noble Phantasm, deploy—"

"No! It's too late!"

Amid Artoria's anxious cries, before Mash could fully unleash her Noble Phantasm, Gawain had already swung down his greatsword. The massive pillar of fire that had shot into the sky instantly shrank into a single beam, crashing down with a deafening roar as the greatsword struck down!

The overwhelming waves of flame poured down like a flood bursting its banks!

In an instant, the world of Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others was engulfed by endless flames! High temperatures, shockwaves, and blasts followed the firestorm!

"Boom————————————!"

The scorching, explosive strike engulfed everything in front of it!

When the raging flames disappeared, the three people who had been standing in front of Gawain, including Fujimaru Ritsuka, were now all lying on the ground.

One strike, and they were all wiped out.

"Well......"

Artoria let out a somewhat painful groan.

He came to her and gently picked her up, then sighed, "I'm so sorry, Your Highness—I hope I haven't caused you any trouble, Guardian."

The second half of the sentence was spoken by Gao Wen to Xia Chuanhu, who had been watching from the sidelines.

With a helpless shrug, Natsukawa Tora said, "It's really unbelievable that you would do such a mess on my island... Well, it's just a broken island that I abandoned, so even if I have a problem with it, it won't make a difference."

"Thank you for your understanding. Well then, we'll take our leave now."

After saying this, Gawain carried Artoria back along the path he had come from.

Looking at the volcanic-like area created by Gawain's serious attack, Natsukawa Tora sighed slightly: "Really... I've strengthened each of them several levels above their original strength. At this rate, it'll probably take three or four people to deal with one..."

"Forget it, let's talk about that later. Let's settle these two idiots who got beaten up without knowing anything first."

Natsukawa Tora looked helplessly at Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu, who had already fainted.

6. Not Natsukawa Tiger

"Crackling..."

Such a sound came to my ears.

After a rather long period of sleep, Fujimaru Ritsuka slowly opened her eyes from her daze, and a campfire burning in the night sky immediately came into her view.

Immediately afterwards, a burning pain spread from my whole body to my heart.

"Well!"

"Hmm? You're awake?"

Someone's voice came from the side.

Enduring the pain, Fujimaru Ritsuka looked in the direction of the speaker and saw Natsukawa Torata sitting not far away, watching her.

"Minister? I..."

"Don't think about getting up yet. Lie down a little longer. Although I have treated both you and Mashu, your burns are not healed yet. Lie down first."

Natsukawa Tora said this.

Hearing his words, Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had lain down again, subconsciously looked around and found that Masashige was also lying beside her, seemingly still unconscious. Also...

"Where is Miss Artoria?"

"Of course they were taken away. Have you forgotten what happened before?"

What happened before?

Fujimaru Ritsuka frowned in thought. She remembered that she had come to the church with Mashu and Artoria, met Natsukawa Torato, and then...

"Fairy Knight... Gawain..."

“Looks like you still remember.” Natsukawa Torama conjured a tree branch out of thin air and threw it into the campfire in front of him. “Well, to put it bluntly, you were instantly killed without even the slightest chance to resist. Gawain killed you in one blow.”

One-hit kill.

Recalling the last scene she witnessed, Fujimaru Ritsuka instinctively shuddered.

"So, Miss Artoria was taken away."

"Yes, but there's no need to worry about her safety. Neither Gawain nor the person who sent Gawain to take her away would allow her to die. After all, to put it bluntly, Artoria is one of the three most important people in all of Britain right now."

Hearing Natsukawa Torato's words, Fujimaru Ritsuka subconsciously relaxed. But as she relaxed, some things from before suddenly came back to her mind. After a slight hesitation, Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't help but ask, "Captain, you... back then... why didn't you—"

"Why didn't you help save Artoria?"

"Ah."

At that time, although Fujimaru Ritsuka's decision to help Artoria was a subconscious thought, it was not without the reason that she knew Natsukawa Torato was there. Even though they had been separated for more than half a year, Fujimaru Ritsuka still had extreme trust in the strength of her captain.

If he helps, he can definitely protect Artoria.

However, Natsukawa Tora did not make a move at that time.