[FMMISM] Chapter 20: King of Knights

Einzbern Castle was a castle enclosed by ice and snow, nestled in the desolate mountains.

Today, it was finally liberated from the wind and snow.

Although the sky hadn't completely cleared, the milky white sky was brighter than on snowy days.

Inside the castle, a pair of emerald eyes watched the playful figures of a father and daughter at the forest's entrance.

Standing by the window, a majestic woman exuded a sacred aura, distant from earthly matters.

Her soft, captivating blonde hair was elegantly arranged, framing a stunning face that often wore a serious expression.

Clad in azure knight attire that accentuated her tall, shapely figure, it revealed fair skin on her prominent chest and rounded thighs.

Despite her curvaceous figure, the woman possessed a sense of fluidity.

Her limbs were well-proportioned, her breathing steady.

When someone saw her for the first time, their first impression was more of a warrior than a lady.

As if merely standing there, the room was filled with a clear and intense atmosphere.

"What are you looking at, Lancer?"

A woman's voice suddenly came from behind.

Upon hearing the voice, the woman by the window, addressed as Lancer, turned around.

She saw a beautiful woman in her twenties with long silver hair and red eyes, dressed in a long white gown trimmed in gold, her fair skin and graceful figure adding to her ethereal appearance.

"Iri? No, it's just Master and your daughter playing in the forest outside." Lancer answered, showing a slight frown—a stiffness that did nothing to detract from her beauty.

Gazing at Lancer's beautiful appearance and perfect curves, even Irisviel, designed as the perfect creation of the Einzberns, admitted her inferiority.

Seeing Lancer's beauty and maternal aura, how could one believe that she was the legendary King Arthur Pendragon, leader of the Knights of the Round Table?

Regardless, that was the truth.

Lancer was Arthur Pendragon—or rather, Artoria Pendragon, the Servant summoned by Emiya Kiritsugu, the proxy Master of the Einzbern family, using the scabbard of Excalibur, Avalon.

As for why Lancer was summoned instead of the more powerful Saber?

Initially, they thought the Saber class had already been summoned by another Master, but it seemed that wasn't the case.

At this moment, Irisviel stood beside Artoria, gazing out the window.

In the snowy field, her husband carried their silver-haired daughter on his shoulders, both smiling as they ran deeper into the forest.

"This side of Kiritsugu surprised you, didn't it?" 

Upon hearing Irisviel's question, Artoria nodded earnestly.

Even from this distance, the loud laughter of the father and daughter could be heard, filled with joy.

Yes, Kiritsugu was indeed showing fatherly affection.

"I thought Emiya Kiritsugu would be a much colder man." Artoria said in a complicated tone.

Irisviel looked very puzzled by Artoria's words before smiling bitterly.

"Well, it's unavoidable for you to think that way..."

Since being summoned, Kiritsugu, as Artoria's Master, had never spoken to her even once. He treated his Servant completely like a mere tool or servant of the Master, never engaging in conversation, remaining silent to questions, and never even making eye contact.

Needless to say, Kiritsugu had been consistently rejecting the Servant he summoned.

Artoria, despite not showing it directly, must have been deeply displeased with Kiritsugu's indifferent attitude. For her, the stark contrast between his usual demeanor towards her and the man now playing with his beloved daughter naturally created a significant rift.

"It seems I haven't gained his trust or welcome."

Despite voicing her discontent, Artoria's stunning face remained poker-faced as ever.

"Fufufu..."

Looking at Artoria, Irisviel couldn't help but laugh.

"Iri, there's nothing funny about it." Artoria scolded.

"Sorry... I was wondering if you're still bothered by what happened during the summon."

"A bit... Both of your reactions were just too exaggerated..." Artoria said with a faint sigh.

Earlier, when Artoria had emerged from the shimmering summoning circle, both Kiritsugu and Irisviel had been thoroughly dumbfounded.

"I indeed disguised myself as a man, but my intention was never to spread that lie for future generations... Even so, being doubted as a fake is truly unpleasant." Artoria continued.

"Well, there's not much we can do about that..." Irisviel sighed.

"For one, my true gender differs from what people know in the legend, and secondly, my current self is definitely stronger than my immature self." Artoria calmly stated, still with a poker face. "However, when it comes to King Arthur, Excalibur is probably more famous, right? Actually, there's a reason for that. Didn't I explain it to you before?"

In this world, after Artoria unified Britain, she exchanged her primary weapon from the holy sword, Excalibur, to the holy lance, Rhongomyniad.

No longer hindered by the growth-stopping effects of the holy sword, her physical age grew to match her status as king.

As a result, two Artoria were left in the Throne of Heroes—one was the King Arthur of the holy sword, and the other was the King Arthur of the holy lance.

Compared to King Arthur who guarded Britain as the red dragon with the holy sword, King Arthur with the holy lance leaned more toward a divine existence.

There was no difference between Saber and Lancer's existence, but they had distinctly different emphases.

The King of Knights standing before Irisviel right now didn't harbor any strong desire to save her homeland or anything of the sort.

In contrast to Saber's kingly aspect, Lancer emphasized the knightly aspect more, which was upholding justice and punishing evil.

For this reason, she grasped the 'Lance of the End'.

Having abandoned even more human emotions than in the past, Artoria with Rhongomyniad became akin to a divine being, a goddess.

From this, one could understand that Lancer Artoria's beliefs were very similar to Kiritsugu's, who devoted his life to the cause of justice. But probably because of this, his dislike toward her might stem from their similar yet repelling beliefs.

After a prolonged silence, Artoria spoke again.

"I'm grateful to you, Iri. Without someone like you, I would probably have been defeated without a fight in this Holy Grail War..."

Just as Kiritsugu couldn't tolerate her, Artoria also couldn't seem to get along with him.

"Um!"

Irisviel hugged Artoria from behind and smiled.

"It goes both ways, Artoria! Let's do our best together this time, and make sure you fulfill your mission!"

Yes, mission.

As soon as this word was spoken, Irisviel recalled the scene when Artoria was summoned.

She still remembered what Artoria had spoken at that time.

"I didn't come here to make a wish upon the Holy Grail. I came to exterminate the monstrous calamity that should not exist in this world."