[FMMIKA] Chapter 220: Celebration

Agravain was truly impressive.

In just an hour, even before the sky had fully darkened, he had everything the banquet required sorted out, from materials to manpower.

And then came the delightful banquet time.

Apart from the Artoria Species, other members of the court were also present.

Whether it was the Knights of the Round Table, the Mages of the Illuminati, or even the key figures of the empire.

Of course, most of them were Artorius's close associates. Those who had no personal connection with him, who were just servants of the empire, were not on his radar.

After all, this celebration wasn't a public event; it was a family gathering.

Inviting the Knights of the Round Table and the Mages of the Illuminati made sense. Most of them had close ties to Artorius. As for the others, the vast majority were individuals who had joined his ranks after the empire was established.

While there were many talented individuals among them, most had simple relationships with Artorius. He wasn't too concerned about that.

In theory, being invited and showing a special, intimate connection with the emperor was a good thing. However, most of the invited people reacted just like Agravain.

Because they saw so many women with 'Artoria Face' all at once, they were in a state of confusion, not knowing what had happened to make the empire expand its legions by nearly five hundred in one fell swoop.

Once they regained their senses, they all subconsciously directed their displeased gazes at Morgan le Fay.

Morgan: "?!"

Although Morgan had been used to taking the blame for things before this, she had never shouldered such a huge burden of blame. She felt so wronged that she wanted to cry. So, she really started crying, half-genuine and half-fake, and leaned into Artorius's arms, whimpering.

"Really, Artorius, look at these people. As soon as something goes wrong, they come to blame me. It's just... *sniffle*..."

"Alright, alright, I understand. This isn't your fault, Aunt Morgan." Artorius comforted her gently, causing Morgan to cry on one hand and smile cunningly on the other as if her plot had succeeded.

'Why should I care about the blame from outsiders? Trading it for Artorius's favor with something I don't care about at all, it's really a great deal.' Morgan said inwardly with delight.

While she felt pleased, Artorius also felt something was amiss.

"Aunt Morgan, you've lost quite a bit of weight recently." Artorius couldn't help but say.

That full-figured beauty seemed to have diminished slightly as if she had switched from a married woman form to a high school girl form.

Although this was also good, it just felt like something had changed.

It was like wanting to eat chocolate ice cream, but when you put it in your mouth, it tasted like strawberry.

Strawberry was good, of course, but what you initially wanted was chocolate.

"Ah, that's because..."

"—Artorius?!"

Before Morgan could explain anything, they heard another Morgan's voice nearby.

Artorius turned to look and indeed saw a disgruntled Morgan with a pout on her face. Then, he turned around again to 'Morgan' in his arms, quickly confirming that he had mistaken one person for another. The person he was consoling in his arms wasn't his Aunt Morgan but the Space Morgan.

'This is getting a little awkward.' Artorius said inwardly.

After her identity was exposed, Space Morgan didn't seem to care at all. She casually put her hands behind her head, kicked her legs against the ground, and whistled. Well, of course, she couldn't make a sound because her whistling skills were pretty suck.

Even though she was playing dumb like this, Space Morgan couldn't escape the consequences.

"You jerk!"

"Taking advantage of the chaos, huh? You devilish sister!"

The Artorias said this as they grabbed Space Morgan and dragged her away.

"Artorius, save me!"

She said that, but Artorius couldn't help with this.

When you make a mistake, you have to face the consequences. After all, there have to be rules at home, and rewards and punishments have to be clear.

"Artorius~"

Just like now.

After the Artorias dragged Space Morgan away, the Local Morgan pounced into Artorius's arms and let him headpat her. The strawberries turned into chocolates in no time, making the taste just right, although the Artorias were still not pleased.

Or rather, any Artoria Species, watching any Artoria Species other than themselves being patted by Artorius, would feel displeased.

"Too cunning. I want to be patted by Artorius too!"

Finally, one of the Artorias couldn't resist and protested loudly.

It was as if a floodgate had been opened. One came, then two, and soon there were four hundred. The Artorias immediately rushed towards Artorius, ignoring their meals and soda, just wanting him to give them headpats.

The scene became quite chaotic.

"What is this...?!"

"The Emperor is quite popular."

"But is this really okay? Isn't it going to be laughed at if it gets out? We'll definitely be laughed at, won't we?"

"Damn it."

"Womanizer."

Seeing this, the Knights of the Round Table and the Empire's higher-ups, along with Artorius's other harem and close associates, were all dumbfounded, not knowing how to react. Some were envious, jealous, and resentful, feeling that their future was bleak—like Vivian, for example, or Scathach, the ones who said the last two sentences.

Watching so many Artoria Species all rushing to Artorius, it seemed like he might be drained dry.

"If each of these Artorias has a turn, Artorius will be exhausted..."

"What should we do..."

Mordred and Morgan, the mother and daughter pair, were considered a subspecies of Artoria Species, although their status among the Artoria Species was like being Asian-Americans in America. They could still get by.

Both the Lady of the Lake and the Queen of the Land of Shadows were no pushovers. However, when quality turns into quantity, with hundreds of Artoria Species swarming in, even if they're made of diamonds, they'd be crushed.

Thinking about this, Vivian and Scathach exchanged glances, then simultaneously raised their glasses and made a toast. An Anti-Artoria harem alliance was formed tacitly.

"Now, let's see how Artorius deals with this."

Scathach muttered like this and heaved a sigh of relief.

Although the Artoria Species were coming on strong, Artorius remained fearless. With a combination of grace and authority, he began with—"I am the head of the Pendragons! Listen to me, be civil and quiet!"

This silenced the Artoria Species.

Then came the sweet part—a bit of patting here and there, swiftly moving among the Artoria Species, evenly distributing his headpats and attention.

At least, Artorius managed to control this group of Artoria Species.