Otherwise, you can find another savior.

"I'm glad you like it." Shiomi picked up the handkerchief and wiped the corners of Altria's lips.

Accepting his kindness calmly, Altria looked at his face with his eyes tightly closed. "If you hadn't admitted that you couldn't see, I wouldn't have thought so. I would have thought that your habits had changed."

After all, he could sense her mood changes and could even wipe the sauce from the corners of her mouth accurately and gently.

"That's why I said there's no need to worry. Whether it's life or combat, I can still handle it." Shiomi added with a smile, "If you don't believe me, we can go to the training grounds right now and use actual combat to prove the problem."

"No, it's enough." Artoria lowered her eyes. "Just seeing you in this situation where I don't know whether it's good or bad, both Scathach and Sakura will feel distressed."

Her words left Xi Jian silent for a moment, then she smiled again. "Now that you mention it, I forgot to ask. I was so happy to have you here that I forgot to ask why Master and everyone else didn't come with us."

"They followed Morgan to Camelot, and I came to Londinium alone to check on you," said Altria.

"Master is so lucky to let you do this." Xi Jian shook his head. "Did you lose the rock-paper-scissors game?"

Altria denied, "No, it's just that Scathach said, 'Now that we know where our beloved disciple is, there's no need to rush. The longer we wait, the more fragrant the wine of reunion will become.'"

"Master can also say some romantic words." Xijian joked with a smile.

Although Altria laughed at his amusement, she vaguely felt some unspeakable loneliness in his words.

Is it because I couldn’t see the master immediately?

"Why are you staring at me in a daze? You're not really that hungry, don't you have any appetite?" Shiomi reached out and brushed Altria's temples. "If that's the case, I'll have the maid take the food away."

"You cooked all this delicious food for me yourself, I will eat it all." Altria quickly refused.

"Don't worry, no one's going to snatch it from you." Xi Jian stroked her hair as if filled with nostalgia. "I'm just sorry, even if I'm full, I can't cherish you like I used to."

"Huh?" Artoria was stunned.

It’s not that she didn’t expect to do something after they met.

But he told her so clearly that he couldn't treat her the same way as before.

But thinking back to the past, Altria could also discover the clues.

Xijian's actions today were indeed too restrained. He was emotional but polite. On the one hand, he conveyed his longing for her, and on the other hand, he tried his best not to do anything that aroused her sexual desires.

"My body is filled with curses right now. I'm not sure if being affectionate with you will cause the curse to spread to you." Shiomi said with a slightly serious tone, "If I make you feel disappointed, I apologize. I feel the same way."

"Curse? Who cursed you? Morgan?" Altria said, then immediately shook her head, "No, she wouldn't do such a thing to you. Who is it——"

"This is related to the secrets of Britain, and it's part of the many things I want to tell you." Shiomi picked up the food and fed it to Altria's mouth. "Let's talk after you finish eating, okay?"

"You're keeping me in suspense again." Altria complained somewhat dissatisfiedly.

Then, as if to finish the meal as quickly as possible, she devoured the remaining food on the table at the speed of dining in the military camp, and asked Shiomi to wipe her mouth again.

"As expected, you still have the same good appetite as before. That's great." Xijian was quite happy.

He likes to cook, but Morgan, Sakura and the others actually have average appetites. But since Altria came, he can let go and doesn't have to calculate the portions.

"It's not that I'm greedy, I'm just suffering from hunger and don't want to waste food." Artoria defended with a red face.

"I understand. The Britain you rule might not be as rich in resources as this Britain, and the food variety is also very limited," Shiomi said with a hint of pride. "If you want to stay here for a while, why don't you let me take you to Londinium, where I rule, and ask the King of Knights to judge whether I am a qualified king."

"That's one of the things I want to witness," Altria nodded in agreement. "But before that, I want to know everything you've been through here."

"Well, this topic is a bit long, we need to discuss it late into the night." Shiomi led Artoria to the bedroom and sat down on the sofa in the room. He took her hand with a serious expression, "First, do you know about the white giant that ravaged the earth in 12,000 BC in pan-human history and was finally defeated by the first generation of holy swordsmen using the 'Sword of Promised Victory'?"

"Of course I know. After all, I also inherited the Holy Sword of the Stars." Altria nodded.

"That's easy to explain." Shiomi nodded and recounted the history. "This is the difference between this world of paranormal activity and pan-human history. Fourteen thousand years ago, when the vanguards of the planet-hunting hordes ravaged the land, the elves tasked with forging the holy sword failed to complete their mission."

"Doesn't that mean there's nothing on the planet capable of fighting against the Wandering Vanguard?" Altria asked.

"That's right. So the planet was destroyed." Shiomi's voice became distant.

"Have you really lived in this world for six thousand years?" Artoria thought of another thing.

"Yes. Since I have plenty of time, I will thoroughly investigate the hidden history." Xi Jian did not hide anything, his attitude was sincere and direct. "Next, I will explain to you the whole truth about this Britain—"

Altria, sensing the enormity and heaviness of the content, nodded silently.

Chapter 103 Undercurrent

"Hmm... nice workmanship."

Shiomi stopped in front of a stall and picked up a mirror to play with it.

The stall owner quickly forced a smile on his face. He could tell at a glance that this customer was not an ordinary person. He was accompanied by a fully armed knight, and he must be a minister of Londinium.

"The customer likes our mirror. It's not expensive. It costs five silver coins."

"The silver-plated mirror body has very delicate patterns and is indeed worth the price." Xijian slightly turned sideways and asked the people around him for their opinions.

Altria, who was wearing a helmet, shook her head, indicating that it was not necessary.

Xijian had no choice but to put the mirror down and continue walking on the street with her.

Although the stall owner was filled with regret for not making the deal, he didn't say anything. He just wiped the mirror casually and put it back to its original position.

"It seems that the citizens of Londinium didn't recognize you." Artoria said.

"Except for battle, I rarely make public appearances," Shiomi explained calmly. "Even without using perceptually obstructive magic, the citizens wouldn't recognize me."

"What's the point of doing this?" asked Artoria.

"Sir, I'm not aware of their existence," Shiomi said. "While the citizens of Londinium are not unaware of the existence of a God-King, I think it's still quite valuable that they couldn't recognize him even if he appeared before them."

"Indeed... walking in the city, it seems like we are just like everyone else, we just happen to live in this city." Artoria looked around.

"Isn't this more comfortable?" Xi Jian said with a hint of pride. "I suppose you couldn't walk around the city as freely as I can now, right?"

"That's natural," Altria agreed.

Most of the residents of Londinium's clothes are not fancy, but they are clean and tidy, with new and old clothes mixed together, and rarely damaged.

Xi Jian was only wearing a half-worn brocade robe. At first glance, he looked like a wealthy man living in the inner city of Londinium. Most citizens would never immediately mistake him for the God-King of Londinium.

At this time, Artoria noticed an armory on the street, where the owner was hammering red-hot weapons that had not yet been finalized.

"That person is——"

"The Black Knight Hector. Seventeen years ago, after I abruptly halted the war against Camelot, he retired from the front lines. On days he wasn't needed at the barracks, he forged weapons in his own blacksmith shop. It was his personal hobby." Shiomi was halfway through his introduction when he suddenly realized something. "Come to think of it, the father who adopted you before you drew the Sword of the Kingchooser was also named Hector, right?"

The biological father of the Knight of the Round Table Kai, the knight who secretly raised and taught Altria Pendragon.

"Not only that..." Artoria said with some emotion, "This black knight really looks like my adoptive father."

"But I remember your adoptive father was just a human? The Black Knight of Londinium is one of the few fairies." Shiomi shook his head, "And he's a knight who has followed Morgan and me for four thousand years."

"That was a really long time." Artoria didn't know what to say for a moment and could only sigh.

She wasn't sure whether to say hello, but Shiomi had already arrived at the blacksmith's shop and was exchanging greetings with the black knight who was tempering an iron sword.

Hector was a little surprised by the strange knight beside Shiomi, but he didn't ask any questions. He just chatted casually with Shiomi.

After thinking it over, Altria finally gave up the greeting. After all, the other party was not the adoptive father she knew well.

She listened silently to their conversation about weapon forging and the like, and the topic gradually turned to military affairs.

"The army hasn't been weakened by the peace for over a decade. Are you still planning to—"

Hector took up the tempered sword, looking indifferent whether he was satisfied or not.

Before he could finish his words, he heard a panicked voice approaching. A man in a white robe and cloak, holding a plate of sliced ​​honeydew melon, staggered towards Xijian, as if he had just been bumped into by someone and couldn't dodge in time.

He was about to bump into Shiomi, causing the freshly cut melon to spill all over the floor, but he raised his hand to steady himself, and the man regained his footing.

"Oh, I'm so sorry... I just bought a fresh melon, and I was so busy thinking about how to enjoy it that I didn't notice someone passing by—" He apologized to Xiomi with a smile, and after seeing it clearly, he immediately made a surprised expression, "This is not..."

"We're traveling incognito today, so it's best not to make a public announcement. Otherwise, I can expel you from Londinium at any time, Auberon." A faint smile crossed Shiomi's face. "Allowing a fairy like you to enter Londinium is already a great favor."

"Yes, yes, of course I understand. After all, in the whole of Britain, only Londinium has few people who know me and don't care about my background. I came here for vacation and I wouldn't be stupid enough to offend the people in power here." Oberon explained with a slightly frivolous tone.

"Let's just take it as it is." Xijian just continued to smile.

Auberon sighed in boredom. "I'd better find a nice spot to enjoy these melons. I really don't have the time or appetite to enjoy them in front of your majesty."

Having said that, Auberon turned around and left leisurely, holding the melon, as if his sudden appearance was just an accident.

"Oberon? The legendary Fairy King?" Artoria suddenly spoke.

After saying goodbye to Hector, Shiomi walked with her along the street again towards the outer city.

"what happened?"

"The aura of that man is closer to that of a dragon than a fairy," Artoria expressed her doubts. "As someone who inherited the blood of a red dragon, I have this feeling."

"You're quite perceptive." Shiomi didn't seem surprised. "But don't worry, this fairy named Oberon is just gathering intelligence in Londinium. He can't do anything else."

"Gathering intelligence?" Artoria was stunned. "If he's a spy, why doesn't he—"

"Because even if we catch him and kill him, it's only a temporary solution." Xijian smiled quietly, "It's better to play the long game and catch the big fish. Let him continue to be at large like this for now."

But when he walked into the shadow of the house, Artoria saw this familiar smiling face, which gradually lost its warmth and became as cold as frost.

"With me here, he can't stir up any storm. Because in this Britain, I'm the only one who can turn my hand to make clouds and my other hand to make rain."

"This is not a good thing." said Artoria.

Shiomi's smile regained its warmth as he walked out of the shadow of the house.

"Let's not talk about that. There are still many places I haven't introduced to you. This is the ideal city I built to pay tribute to your legend."

"Ah."

Chapter 104: Choice

"If I hadn't come to Londinium from outside, I would probably have thought this was a city that had never experienced war and always enjoyed peace."

Under Shiomi's guidance, Artoria toured the customs and culture of Londinium. Standing on the city wall at the junction of the inner city and the outer city, she described his city to Shiomi.

"I'm very happy to receive such praise from you." Xijian nodded slightly to express his gratitude.

"No, this isn't a compliment, but a matter of fact." Altria frowned slightly, looking at Shiomi with some sadness. "When I learned that Britain had just ended two thousand years of war and had enjoyed a brief respite of seventeen years of peace, I always thought Londinium was a—"

"A city that is even more warlike than the military city-state of Sparta, and makes the common people live in poverty, right?" Xi Jian laughed.

"Yes."

"But you know better than me. If we keep fighting fruitless wars, the subjects will sooner or later get tired of it. Even if their king has immortality, he will still feel despair." Shiomi explained to her with a smile.

Altria confirmed this: "I came here this way, so I know it very well. Not all humans are strong enough, especially those in this place. They only have a lifespan of thirty years or so, so their lives and spirits are even more fragile."

"I remember when you defeated the humble King Vortigern and barely curbed the barbaric behavior of the foreigners, but it didn't change the fact that Britain's future was bleak." Xijian placed his hands on the city wall. "To be honest, your experience has given me enough inspiration."

Even if the person who caused the Dark Ages is defeated, if the future does not become brighter, malice will arise in people's hearts.

They will doubt whether the God-King is a glorious and legitimate king.

They will question whether obeying the God-King can bring prosperity to the country.

"So you used your power, and there are no years of poor harvest in Londinium. The blessings of the forest and the earth always surround Londinium..." Artoria pointed out the facts.

Whether this was correct or not, she couldn't judge.

Shiomi's practice is like recreating the environment of the Age of Gods, where people prayed to the gods and the gods granted prosperity to mankind.

However, for Britain, which has lost its human history from the very beginning, its birth originated from the mystery called fairies.

In this world, it doesn't matter whether the Age of Gods has retreated from the surface of the earth or not.

"Because I want the people here to realize that only Londinium is the most prosperous. And in order to protect this prosperity that belongs to them from being trampled by the goblins and avoid repeating the mistakes of the 'Night of the Long Knives', we must join this war and wield the butcher knife against the goblins again and again." Shiomi said as a matter of course.

He had told Altria everything about Britain.

Whatever choice she makes next, it is up to Altria to decide.

"But... you who are maintaining this war have already—"

"Humans aren't that fragile." Shiomi stood up from the city wall, turned, and walked down the stone steps toward the street. "Even without a king to guide and govern them, Londinium can continue."

Altria immediately followed suit and reached out to support him - even though it was unnecessary.

"Bawan Xi, she is your princess. Don't you plan to pass the throne to one of them?" asked Altria.

"Do you think the throne should be passed down like this?" A look of rejection clearly crossed Shiomi's face. "Becoming the King of Londinium means bearing the hatred of all the British fairies. That's no longer just a burden, it's a curse of its own."

At this point, he let out a wistful laugh. "It's just a responsibility and a burden, but what father would be willing to let his child bear such a curse?"

"Is that so?" Altria could understand.