The Trial Of The Holy Sword — Arthur’s Trial

“Rod-sama!! Are you alright?!”

As Rod went limp and collapsed the moment he touched the holy sword, Maid Number Fourteen caught him. He seemed to have lost consciousness, but…

“He’s fine. He’s alive. Unfortunately, it seems he couldn’t pass the trial, though…”

Was it just Arthur’s imagination, or did the guardian spirit’s voice sound faintly regretful?

“What even is this ‘trial’?”

“Wouldn’t it be unfair for me to tell you? But if you can’t overcome it, you won’t be able to draw the holy sword—much less defeat the ‘Cat of Endings.’”

The guardian spirit shrugged and refused to say anything more. If Arthur wanted to know the contents of the trial, he would have to touch the holy sword and face it himself.

But now that Rod had failed, the only royal left here was Arthur.

And if he failed too, they would lose the holy sword.

“Arthur, I believe in you.”

“I do as well. I’m sure you can overcome any trial.”

Arthur met their eyes, filled with trust, and thought of Kei and the others—who were likely caught up in the chaos back in Britannia by now.

“Yeah. Leave it to me.”

Remembering everyone, Arthur forced courage into his chicken heart and touched the holy sword. Light flared—and his consciousness vanished…

“‘The Cat of Endings’ feeds on negative emotions and turns them into magic… I’m hoping you overcome the trial.”

He felt like he heard that voice at the very last moment.

“Feels like I’ve been dreaming for a long time…”

Maybe because he hadn’t eaten properly in days, he felt as if he’d escaped reality into a pleasant dream.

In that dream, he had a maid who adored him…

A fiancée who was nagging but sometimes adorable…

A knight who was frivolous yet tried to throw his life away for Arthur’s sake…

And many others who smiled at him.

“There’s no way I’d ever have people like that…”

Arthur gave a self-mocking smile inside a prison cell.

After Mordred’s revolution, his life had flipped upside down. When he became king, he’d indulged in luxury—but life grew poorer by the day, and now he’d been captured by his former subordinates and thrown into a cell.

“Tch…!”

Worse, because of the mana-sealing chains, he couldn’t even use healing magic, and for the first time in his life he was writhing in pain.

“Damn it… If I’d realized sooner… maybe I could’ve had a future like a dream…”

But Arthur didn’t hate Mordred or the common people. Well—he was a little angry—but he understood now that their anger had been justified.

“If only I’d paid attention to the people… If only I’d thought and acted for myself…”

It was too late. His cheek—struck in irritation—throbbed, and hunger gnawed at him.

“Hey. You’ve got a visitor. Not like sucking up to him means anything, but people sure try.”

“A visitor…?”

Contrary to the guard’s bored tone, Arthur blurted out in shock—and remembered her. The one who always came when she was allowed.

“Arthur-sama, are you doing well? I brought you something again today. What someone like me made might not suit your tastes, but if you don’t eat, you’ll waste away.”

A familiar voice approached. A young woman appeared—more mature than the girl from his dream, but unmistakably her.

“Thanks. Always, Kei.”

“Huh? Arthur-sama… you remembered my name?”

Seeing Kei’s stunned expression, Arthur felt warmth spread through his chest.

Even if it had been a dream, he was happy to see her again—the one who had taught him what mattered, and treated him more kindly than anyone.

“Yeah… I really was trash. I didn’t even try to know the people who took care of me…”

“It can’t be helped. You were special, Arthur-sama. You were a prince…”

Her words, and the reverent look in her eyes, felt distant—different from the Kei in his dream. It made Arthur’s chest ache.

Trying to recover, he opened his mouth to eat the bread she’d brought, thinking she’d feed him as usual through the bars. A person couldn’t squeeze through, but an arm could.

“What’s wrong, Arthur-sama?”

Kei’s blank look made him suddenly burn with embarrassment.

Right—of course. That was only in the dream. In reality, a maid calling herself his big sister was ridiculous!!

As his face went red with shame, Kei asked timidly:

“Did you… want me to feed you?”

“Well, I—”

“Heehee. So you do have a needy side.”

With a soft giggle, she tore a piece from the loaf and brought it to Arthur’s lips.

“It feels strange… doing this. It might not suit your taste, but…”

“It’s fine… It’s delicious… It’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”

The bread was hard and nearly flavorless, and yet his chest warmed as his hunger eased.

“Are you crying, Arthur-sama?”

“Yeah… I didn’t know. I didn’t know how hard people worked just to get bread like this… how much they struggled…”

As he ate while crying, a gentle hand stroked his head. Kei. She looked at him with the same kindness as in the dream, soothing him.

After he finally stopped crying, he thanked her, wrapped in awkward shame.

“Thanks… I feel a lot better.”

“You were lonely, Arthur-sama… If only I’d realized sooner…”

Kei looked oddly sad, and Arthur’s chest hurt—but this was beyond fixing. He thought it must be punishment for never trying to understand anything.

Now that he was captured and his healing was sealed, there was only one thing he could do.

“Arthur-sama, what are you—?”

Kei cried out in surprise as Arthur suddenly took off his shoes and began pulling at the soles, but he continued anyway.

The once-beautiful shoes were now ragged. A complicated feeling rose within him, but at last the sole came loose—and a large gemstone rolled out.

“Take this. I don’t need it anymore… Use it for your family.”

It was the gemstone Morgan had hidden on him “just in case.” If he ever escaped, he was supposed to sell it and live a second life…

Remembering her kindness, Arthur pushed it into Kei’s hands.

“No… I didn’t come here because I wanted something like this!!”

“Just take it. It’s my last request. Be happy.”

Kei looked stricken at the word last, and Arthur felt a wave of relief. He was glad he could at least give it to her.

But they’d made too much noise.

An unwanted intruder arrived.

“Hey, what’s that gem?! I told you private items aren’t allowed. I’m confiscating it.”

A guard knight, wearing a leering smile, snatched the gem from Kei’s hand. Arthur shouted.

“No—this is hers. She just showed it to me because it was pretty.”

“A commoner like her wouldn’t have a gem.”

“No…”

“What a nice face. You probably don’t remember, but I got demoted because of your whim. Serves you right.”

The knight spat it out coldly, then kicked the bars Arthur clung to as hard as he could.

“And honestly? I finally join the revolution army and I’m stuck here staring at your face all day. It’s been pissing me off. If I take this much—”

“Stop!! That belongs to Arthur-sama! You have no right to steal it!!”

Just as the knight roared back at Arthur with a mocking expression, Kei reached for the gem—

“Get out of the way!”

“Kyah!!”

“Kei!!”

The knight violently flung her off, slamming her to the ground. And something dark rose inside Arthur.

Then Arthur realized—somehow, a sword radiating strange light was in his hand.

“What is this…? Whatever. With this—”

Even if it was a dream, Arthur had already fought through countless crises. He knew what to do.

First, he cut the mana-sealing chains. In an instant, wounds across his body healed. Then he glared at the knight and at Kei.

“Where did that sword come from…? Wait—calm down.”

“….”

Ignoring the knight’s frightened plea, Arthur cut the cell bars. The iron fell apart like paper.

“H-hiiiii!!”

“Arthur-sama, no. Your hands exist to heal people, not to kill—”

“I know, Kei.”

Arthur ignored the knight, stepped in front of Kei, and healed her injuries.

“Arthur-sama… healing someone like me…”

“It’s not a waste. My power exists to save the people of Britannia.”

Arthur smiled gently, already knowing what she would say—then turned to the knight.

“I-I got carried away! Please, just spare my life—!”

All his bravado was gone. The knight begged pathetically.

Arthur bowed his head.

“I’m sorry… I must have caused you trouble too, just by being such a useless king.”

“W-what… Arthur apologized?”

Hearing the knight’s shocked voice, Arthur gave a bitter smile—just like the reactions in his dream—and looked to Kei.

“But I won’t forgive you for hurting Kei. Apologize properly—”

“Arthur-sama… is that really enough? He did terrible things to you, didn’t he? Right now, you could kill him with that sword.”

The whisper in his ear sent a chill down Arthur’s spine.

Then the knight’s face began to blur—

“Who are you? Kei would never say that.”

Arthur leveled the sword. “Kei” slowly changed, becoming a hooded figure.

“You’re… the guardian spirit?! Then what is this?”

“Amazing… You can cast aside hatred even in this situation? Weren’t you cursing the world when you were executed? Have you forgotten how he spat into your soup and threw your bread onto the floor?”

The flippant voice spoke only truth. In Arthur’s previous life, he’d suffered treatment close to outright abuse before his execution.

“Yeah. You’re right. But I understand now. He must have had something that made him hate me. And I want to live in a world where that kind of hatred and resentment disappears.”

“……”

Arthur set the sword on the floor.

The guardian spirit watched in silence, then, realizing Arthur truly had no intention of picking it up again, pulled back the hood and smiled with nostalgia.

“Hah! You really are like him. Fine. You pass the trial. The ‘Cat of Endings’ devours people’s negative emotions and turns them into magic. That’s why anyone who loses to hatred can’t defeat it. If you want me to say it in a cheesy way—overcome it with warm feelings like love, courage, and hope.”

“So that’s why you made a trial like this?”

“And also… I wanted to see what kind of people you—his descendants—really were.”

“Who is ‘him’?”

The guardian spirit didn’t answer. But looking at that smile, Arthur was struck by an inexplicable nostalgia.

He’d seen it somewhere before. Not in person—maybe in a painting, or something…

“I’m glad we entrusted the relics to you. That notebook only shows the way, after all. Well then—take care of Britannia.”

“Wait—! You know about the ‘Good Deed Notebook’?!”

The world began to crack like glass.

And when Arthur opened his eyes, he saw Morgan—holding his hand with a serious expression, praying for something.

“Ugh… I…”

“Arthur?! You’re awake. Do you feel anything strange?”

“No. I’m fine. And even if something happened, I’d heal on my own.”

Morgan let out a sigh of relief. As she looked around, Arthur also saw Tristan—equally relieved—and Maid Number Fourteen hugging Rod tightly.

“What happened to the guardian spirit?”

“The moment you gripped the sword, it said, ‘Take care of Britannia,’ and vanished. More importantly… you were chosen by the holy sword.”

Only then did Arthur realize the holy sword was in his hand. So that had been the trial.

“Seems like it… But first, I need to heal Rod.”

Still gripping the holy sword, Arthur went to Rod and used his healing—then paused, feeling something off.

“Arthur-sama, did something happen to Rod-sama…?”

“No. He’s just asleep. I think he’ll wake up on his own.”

“I see… Thank goodness.”

As Maid Number Fourteen relaxed in visible relief, her figure oddly overlapped with Kei in Arthur’s mind—and worry for Britannia surged.

“Maid, take care of Rod for me. We’re heading back to Britannia.”

“With the holy sword in hand, all that’s left is to fight.”

“There are many excellent knights in the capital. Everyone will be fine.”

With the holy sword in hand, Arthur and the others rushed toward Britannia.