Blue-Eyes White Dragon: Adopted by the King of Knights [69]

Ask the voice in my heart?

Does he mean the Heroic Spirit dwelling inside me?

Bluey’s suggestion caught Mashu off guard.

She was different from the others.

As the only “Heroic Spirit” summoned to this era in the guise of an ordinary girl, there was something very special residing within her.

Of course, Mashu herself was well aware of this.

In fact, even though she’d never spoken openly of that Heroic Spirit’s story, his true name had already surfaced in her mind, clear as day.

She just lacked social experience, but when it came to the history and legends of nations, she was an expert—twelve of the thirteen Knights of the Round Table were right here at her side; who else could the last one be?

[Galahad].

A knight who stood at the seat of disaster, yet remained the purest of them all. Chosen by the Grail, he returned it with his own hands, letting his soul ascend to the heavens.

To be counted among such knights—Mashu felt that was an honor, too.

But at the same time, Mashu felt troubled.

“I tried talking to him.”

“But… there’s never any response.”

“Whether before or now, it’s as if he’s simply not there.”

If only the one inside me was this little guy…

Mashu stroked the fur of the white beast beside her—she would have much preferred to be host to this cute creature.

At least when I call to him, he answers with a cheerful little ‘fou fou.’

And yet—

“So you want to be a jinchūriki for a Beast? That’s a pretty impressive ambition!”

“…What?”

“No, it’s nothing. I mean… you should really be asking your own heart.”

“Not anyone else’s advice—your own feelings.”

“There’s no need to worry so much. Just do whatever you truly think is right.”

A baffling conversation.

Even after leaving the temple, Mashu couldn’t figure out what that somewhat mystical man had actually wanted her to do.

—But that was fine.

It was never meant as advice, but as a reminder.

A reminder meant to help her “wake up” at the right moment.

…

Time ticked by in a blur of chaos.

Another week passed.

Not only had nothing improved in the kingdom, but everything was getting worse.

Not just officials—ordinary people were starting to grumble as well. The Round Table knights, clearly out of their depth, were making a mess of everything.

In the end, even the King could no longer ignore it.

“Gentlemen, I’m sure you all know why I’ve called you here today.”

A place usually filled with laughter, or at worst, the cheerful din of argument—today, it was suddenly cold and silent.

The King sat at the head of the table, her eyes like ice as she swept her gaze across the room, as if regarding a crowd about to meet their doom.

The knights kept their heads bowed, none daring to meet her eyes. Only Mashu, “half an outsider,” looked up at Artoria’s frozen expression, brows furrowed.

“Bedivere—”

The King’s voice rose sharply.

It made the knight, who had followed her for more than a decade, startle and jump to his feet.

“Yes, my King!”

“Tell me, Sir Bedivere—why did you reduce this man’s fine by thirty percent?”

“Ah, my King… He’s an important merchant here, and when we were building the kingdom, he contributed a great deal.”

“So that’s why you cut his fine, and now the other merchants have come to complain?”

“…”

“Sir Lancelot, can you explain these accounts?”

“Well… I just wanted to stock up a bit… There was a merchant offering a really good price… I thought better safe than sorry…”

“So you spent the whole month’s budget in two days, and now our food rations have to be halved?”

“…”

“Agravain, what about these complaints from the officials?”

“My King, I’m sorry for troubling you. But they weren’t following the processes set out in advance—if things went wrong, it’s a lesson they needed to learn.”

“…”

Artoria called out each one by name.

She let no one off the hook—not even Gawain, the epitome of loyalty, was spared a scathing tongue-lashing. Here, in the closed circle of the Round Table, King and knights could drop all pretense and show their truest selves.

Mashu was the only one not reprimanded.

Partly because she was only “half” one of them; partly because, as a temp, she’d barely had the chance to make any mistakes.

But—

This isn’t right.

Mashu looked at the knights, heads bowed in shame after Artoria’s scolding.

It’s not supposed to be like this!

In her mind, she saw images from a month ago—the whole group working together in harmony, striving for a shared goal.

Back then, life was so bright.

So how had things soured in just a single week?

Was it really the knights’ fault?

Maybe. They’d certainly made mistakes; no wonder the people were upset.

But—at the root, the real reason wasn’t the Round Table knights.

It was the King.

The King, standing there as “the victim,” chastising her loyal and brave knights.

She knows.

She knows perfectly well.

Sir Bedivere is best at dealing with people; he belongs in the intelligence office.

Agravain is meticulous, so he fits best in the courts, where emotion doesn’t cloud judgment.

Sir Kay is thrifty, never willing to suffer a loss; he should be managing the palace stores.

She knows all of this!

Mashu stared at the King, her own feelings a tangled knot of confusion, anger, doubt, and helplessness. Suddenly, she was seized by a powerful impulse—a feeling that she had to do something.

No. This is wrong!

She slammed her hand on the table—the sound echoing through the hall, cutting off the King’s rebuke and drawing every eye.

The knights from the Throne of Heroes all stared at the girl standing at the thirteenth seat of the Round Table, some with shock, others with surprise.

In that moment, her figure seemed to overlap with someone else—someone they all knew well.

“Your Majesty, forgive my boldness.”

(My name is Galahad.)

“But the one truly at fault—”

(My mission is to correct the King’s mistakes.)

“—is you!”

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This is a fan translation of 综漫：青眼幼龙，被骑士王捡到了 by 歌冰丽月. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!