Blue-Eyes White Dragon: Adopted by the King of Knights [63]

Royal Palace
Banquet Hall

The moment Morgan entered the lively room, her face completely unreadable despite her tardiness, the banquet was officially underway.

—This was a true banquet, in every sense of the word.

Never mind how the royalty of other nations might entertain their honored guests. As far as Artoria was concerned, the only standard that mattered was abundance: the dishes must be plentiful—if not, then at the very least, no one should ever leave hungry.

If a guest went home on an empty stomach… that would be a slap in the King’s face.

“Wow, Father, this is just like you!”

The rebellious knight in the red tailcoat—who resembled Artoria by a good eight or nine parts out of ten—was the first to respond to her royal father’s summons.

Morgan shot a murderous glare at the one who was already gnawing on a whole leg of beef—she absolutely refused to admit to any relation to this barbarian.

“Mother, let me toast you.”

At the crucial moment, Gawain, the eldest son, intervened just in time, dissolving the tension that was about to congeal into something nearly tangible.

And as he downed his wine in a single swallow, the flawless Knight of the Sun was filled with emotion.

He could hardly remember the last time his mother—known to the world as the “witch queen”—had ever seemed so gentle.

It must have been when he was seven or eight. Back then, Artoria’s uprising had only just begun, and she was still gathering strength in secret. His mother had entrusted him with the holy sword blessed by the power of the sun, giving him a perfect knight’s education, hoping that, with the blood of the red dragon in his veins, he might become the prophesied “savior king.”

Later, the King of Knights rose to power. At fifteen, Gawain was captivated by the King’s charisma and willingly joined her banner, becoming her right arm.

He’d chosen to abandon his mother’s “restoration” dream by his own will.

From that point, he and his mother drifted apart, only occasionally hearing word of his siblings… Until Agravain infiltrated Camelot as an assassin, and Gawain was struck by a single, terrible truth: his elegant, wise mother had, without his noticing, fallen to become a witch of vengeance.

By then, it had been nearly twenty years since he’d joined the King and become a proud Knight of the Round Table.

How wonderful this is…

Returned from the Throne of Heroes, the Knight of the Sun gazed at his mother from this parallel world, silently grateful to whoever had reconciled her with the King.

Even if the price was the disappearance of all five of us, the knights who followed the King first of all…

“Honestly, this place feels almost like a dream conjured up just for us.”

Gawain turned to glance at Guinevere, who was now challenging Lancelot to a drinking contest, his expression turning subtly complicated.

Part of him felt indignation, wanting to scold the traitor for his shamelessness! But then it hit him: in this world, Guinevere had never married the King—they were only close friends.

And, with Guinevere’s gentle presence, the once-shattered fellowship of the Round Table seemed to be coming back together, restoring that peerless glory once more.

“Hehe, marry Lily? Now that’s an idea.”

“I’ll have Father come propose for me tomorrow—he’s been looking for an excuse to marry me off for ages!”

“Don’t talk nonsense. If you’re drunk, go find a room to sleep it off!”

“No, I want to hear more stories—tell me again, how did your world’s Lily manage to pass for a man all that time? Didn’t the other subjects ever realize?”

...

The banquet proceeded smoothly.

Even those knights who had once borne mortal grudges, under Artoria and Guinevere’s mediation, gradually let go of their resentment.

—Mostly because Artoria had promised them all a chance for an “open,” honorable resolution to their feuds.

“That’s wonderful.”

Gawain raised his cup, gazing at Lancelot seated far down the hall, and finished his drink in one gulp.

Seeing this, Lancelot responded in kind, draining his cup as a solemn answer to the proposed “fair duel between knights.”

At the Last Supper, the Messiah, foreseeing his own death, compared his blood to the wine in the cup, asking his disciples to drink as a sign that he’d atoned for them all.

Now, these two knights of the Round Table expressed their determination to “drink their enemy’s blood to the last drop” in the same manner.

But—

“That’s not right.”

“This isn’t some open-and-shut knight’s duel.”

Watching as the mood in the hall turned tense again, Artoria, seated at the head of the table, spoke up unhurriedly.

Her timing was flawless, once again taking control of the entire banquet.

“Although there are fewer participants this time… if I’m not mistaken, isn’t this contest called the Holy Grail War?”

“If it’s a war, then it ought to look like war!”

“???”

“There’s nothing strange about it. If it’s a contest, then it ought to be a contest on every level—the final winner shouldn’t be the strongest in combat alone. Wisdom, strategy, even luck, should all play a part!”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t been this excited in ages—”

As she looked out at her knights, their faces a mix of confusion and dawning realization, a rare smile flickered across Artoria’s face.

It had been a long, long time since she’d had the chance to cross swords with anyone.

This body, forged for war, was starting to feel rusty.

“I’d like to get started right away… but, let’s wait for tomorrow after all.”

“I’ll work out the rules tonight, and announce them at tomorrow’s assembly.”

...

The banquet finally drew to a close.

In a mix of anticipation and uncertainty, the knights all returned to their rooms, awaiting the coming day.

But Bluey didn’t leave.

Because he knew—after meeting these Heroic Spirits from a parallel world, after hearing those stories from another history, Artoria Pendragon—the red dragon king whose fate he had altered with his own hands—would definitely have something to say to him.

“Ah, I do have some questions for you.”

“But first, could I see what you look like now?”

“I mean… your dragon form.”

---

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!