Epilogue: The Round Table

With the turmoil of the ‘End-of-the-World Cat (Cath Palug)’ over, peace had returned to Britannia. The nobles and commoners who had evacuated came back as well, and Britannia’s daily life returned to its usual rhythm.

No—there had been a few major changes.

“Come on, Prince Arthur. It’s already six in the morning. Get up. Today is an important day.”

“Mmm… I’m still sleepy… The schedule’s in the evening, isn’t it…”

“What are you saying? Early to bed and early to rise are the foundations of health. After we go for a run, we’ll have breakfast together.”

The one who came to wake Arthur was, of course, not Kei… but Morgan, dressed for easy movement. Since that incident, she had become more straightforward, and she had started proactively taking care of Arthur herself.

For Arthur, it was a complete nuisance.

“Fine… I’ll get changed, so call Kei. Let’s meet in the courtyard.”

Even while grumbling, Arthur didn’t seem entirely unwilling to go along. He reached for the bell to call a maid to bring his clothes, but his hand was stopped.

“…I’ll do it.”

“Huh—what did you say?”

“I said I’ll help you change.”

“What?”

Arthur let out a stupid-sounding noise at Morgan, who had turned bright red and started saying things that made no sense.

What was this woman even saying…? And then he arrived at one answer.

She was planning to look at him naked and check whether he’d been sneaking snacks…? Remembering the cookies he’d secretly eaten with Kei the other day, he resisted.

“What are you saying? That’s a maid’s job, and I can change by myself.”

“What’s wrong with it? Th-that is… when a wife takes care of her husband, it’s effective for improving marital harmony.”

Ignoring Morgan, Arthur tried to call a maid, but she grabbed his arm. His feet tangled, and he tumbled off the bed.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yes. Thanks to you, I’m not hurt… I think I hit my head, though. Are you all right?”

“You know I don’t feel pain and I don’t get injured. More importantly… aren’t you too close?”

Arthur had instinctively ended up underneath, holding her, but with their noses almost touching, he saw Morgan’s beautiful face flushed red and hurriedly looked away.

“Y-yes… that’s true…”

Morgan answered, but for some reason, she didn’t move while still being held. The wholesome scene was broken by a knock at the door.

“Arthur-sama, I heard a loud noise—are you all right?”

“Y-yeah. I just dropped something. Can you bring my clothes too?”

“I’ll be waiting in the courtyard.”

Before the door opened, the two of them quickly put distance between themselves. Seeing that, Kei smiled softly as if watching something endearing.

“You don’t need to stay with Morgan-sama longer?”

After finishing their run and eating breakfast with Morgan, Arthur had taken Kei and was heading to the orphanage.

“Give me a break… When I’m with her, I’m forced to help with paperwork nonstop.”

“Ufufu. Morgan-sama is diligent, after all. The maids say that with her around, even Avalon will be secure, and as her fiancé, you must feel proud, Arthur-sama.”

“Well… she’s competent, yeah…”

“And lately she’s been going out of her way to wake you up, too. She has a cute side, doesn’t she? As your big sister, I’m a little lonely, though…”

Arthur let out a weary groan at Kei’s slightly sulky tone.

“No, I can handle her sometimes, but being with her all the time is exhausting. Besides, when I’m with you like this, Kei, I feel calm.”

“Honestly… when did you start saying things like some kind of womanizer? Your big sister is sad.”

“Huh? But I meant that sincerely!!”

Arthur lamented the unfair misunderstanding, failing to notice Kei smiling happily.

“Oh, since we’re here… should we buy some cookies? The stalls look weirdly fancy.”

“Yeah… business must be booming. That is…”

With a gasp, they looked at the sign hanging over a stall. It read: ‘New Release: Arthur Cookies,’ and inside were cookies shaped like chibi human figures. Worse, they were slightly more expensive than normal.

Kei looked at Arthur as if to ask, so he tilted his head, signaling he didn’t know. Kei then spoke to the shopkeeper.

“Excuse me, what are these ‘Arthur Cookies’?”

“Oh, you’re that maid young lady who always buys in bulk. These are special cookies we made on merchant Erin’s suggestion—she said you can receive Arthur-sama’s blessing from them. He’s the kingdom’s hero now, after all.”

The shopkeeper spoke proudly. The ‘Holy King Orphanage’ was nearby, after all. If it was connected to Arthur, it would sound convincing.

“That’s amazing… Arthur-sama even became a cookie…”

“Yeah… now that you mention it, I feel like Erin asked me something about that…”

She’d said all kinds of things about how, if it was officially approved, some percentage of sales would come in as royalties, but Arthur hadn’t understood and had brushed it off.

“Oh, so it’s a proper product, then. In that case, let’s bring some to everyone at the orphanage. Could you wrap these ‘Arthur Cookies,’ please? I’m sure everyone will be happy.”

“Huh?”

Arthur thought, I don’t like the idea of everyone eating food modeled after me right in front of my face, but he swallowed it down when he saw Kei’s delighted expression.

If she was happy, and the orphanage kids would be happy, then maybe it was fine. That’s what he decided.

“Okaaay, Arthur-sama is here! And we’ve got snacks too—”

“““Yay!!”””

When they arrived and Kei started handing out cookies, the children came running over with cheers.

Arthur was ignored.

Wait—are they here for the cookies, not me…? Arthur slumped, and then Marianne, who had been caring for the children, approached.

“Arthur-sama, even though today must be difficult for you…”

“Well, I don’t have anything to do at the castle anyway.”

Arthur brightened, happy that someone was finally giving him attention, but then he noticed two children behind Marianne—Bedie and Neil.

“Oh, I heard about both of you. Bedie found where the ‘End-of-the-World Cat (Cath Palug)’ appeared, and Ys protected Kei, right?”

“Yes. That was also because you opened the archives to me, Arthur-sama.”

“A man protecting a woman is only natural.”

Both boys answered happily, but for some reason they fidgeted. Seeing that, Marianne gently helped them along.

“Now, now—aren’t you making Arthur-sama uncomfortable? You know he’s someone you can properly consult with, don’t you?”

“B-but…”

“Yeah, it’s kind of…”

Arthur, puzzled at their fidgeting, urged them on anyway.

“What is it? Don’t tell me you wet the bed—”

“Like hell we did. It’s… you know, we wanted to ask if the promise still stands—that if we work hard, you’ll hire us someday.”

“Compared to when we first met you, Arthur-sama has become truly great and admirable. So we understand it may be difficult to employ commoners. But we want to work under you, with gratitude in our hearts.”

Arthur let out a small laugh at their serious words.

“What, that’s all…?”

“That’s all?!”

Ys started to protest, but Marianne stopped him.

“Honestly… look at Arthur-sama’s face. That has nothing to do with it—right? Kei, his exclusive maid, is a commoner.”

“Yeah. If I think you’re capable, I’ll hire you properly, so relax.”

“Thank you. I think things will get difficult for you from here on, Arthur-sama, but I’ll work hard so I can be of help.”

“Yeah. I’m going to fully master dwarf craftsmanship.”

“Then you’ll need to learn proper etiquette too—especially you, Ys… you understand, don’t you?”

“Ugh…”

Arthur felt an odd kinship with Ys’s pathetic groan and gave a wry smile. Then, as he relaxed with the children at the orphanage, Kei spoke up.

“Arthur-sama, it looks like you’ve loosened up quite a bit.”

“Yeah. I guess it’s about time we go.”

“Um… am I really allowed to go too?”

Arthur answered Kei’s timid question without hesitation.

“Of course you are. You’re my exclusive maid, Kei.”

“Yes… thank you.”

And with Kei beaming, Arthur boarded the carriage that had come to pick them up.

The carriage brought them to a plaza with an impressive stone dais, some distance from the royal castle.

“I’ve been waiting, Prince Arthur. Your nerves… seem to have eased.”

“Yeah. Of course.”

Morgan, holding the holy sword, smiled as she waited at the entrance. They regrouped with their escorts—Tristan, Gawain, and Lancelot—and proceeded inside.

“Arthur, big brother. Good work.”

“You’re pretty late. Keeping us waiting—looks like you’ve gotten awfully important. No, you really are about to become important.”

Waiting in a hall with a solemn atmosphere were Mordred and Rod—and Rod’s maid.

“Rod-sama, being a sore loser isn’t very dignified.”

“Shut up, Ludmila. He’s about to become king after getting the holy sword that was supposed to be mine. Let me at least make a snide comment.”

Arthur was surprised by Rod and Ludmila’s exchange. Something must have happened at that spring… because they were calling each other by name now.

“So Father isn’t here.”

“Correct. This is strictly the bestowal of the holy sword. It is, so to speak, a ritual devised by the first ‘Holy King,’ in which you mutually acknowledge which of the three princes is worthy of the holy sword.”

Morgan answered Arthur. Rod and Mordred wore faces that said, You didn’t even know that?, but Arthur ignored it.

“Then, as the head of Avalon, I will begin the bestowal of the holy sword. Prince Arthur, step forward.”

“Got it.”

At Morgan’s clear voice, Arthur stepped forward. She presented the sword, glowing with sacred brilliance.

“Prince Rod and Prince Mordred—do you acknowledge that Prince Arthur is worthy to be the bearer of the ‘holy sword’?”

“Mordred acknowledges.”

“…Rod acknowledges.”

Mordred answered instantly. Rod hesitated for a moment before responding, and then the others followed.

“Tristan acknowledges.”

“Gawain acknowledges.”

“Lancelot acknowledges.”

“K-Kei acknowledges.”

“Morgan acknowledges.”

The bearer of the holy sword receives it in front of the trustworthy companions they chose—this was the holy-sword bestowal ceremony devised by the ‘Holy King.’ And those who acknowledged it swore lifelong loyalty to that person.

In other words, the two princes had also recognized Arthur, which meant the next king was effectively decided.

“Is this really fine…?”

It was the moment a tense Arthur sheathed the holy sword. For an instant, he was struck by an illusion—as if he had seen the Holy King, and another figure… the one who had called itself the Guardian Spirit.

“Is something wrong, Prince Arthur?”

“No, it’s nothing. More importantly—there’s something I want to ask of everyone.”

All eyes gathered on Arthur as he looked at them with renewed seriousness.

“I’m still inexperienced. So even if I become king, I want all of you to speak your minds without worrying about status. With that, I want to make Britannia better.”

That was something Arthur had realized after starting over. Morgan knew far more about politics, and the knights like Tristan were far superior in combat.

Arthur didn’t know anything. That was precisely why he intended to borrow the strength of those who did. In this era, such a thing was normally unthinkable—people would usually shrink back with It’s far too presumptuous…, or suspect, Is this some kind of trap…?

“I understand. You’re saying you want us to think for ourselves too, aren’t you?”

Morgan answered with a smug expression, misunderstanding it as a test, and the others nodded along.

“No, I’m serious though… Oh, right. Since a throne makes you look arrogant, why not use a round table instead? That way it feels fair for everyone, doesn’t it?”

“What are you saying, you fool?! You’re going to be king! A king must be a special existence!!”

“Haha. Arthur, big brother, you really do think of interesting things.”

Rod exploded in anger, while Mordred laughed as if he truly found it fun.

None of them yet knew that once Arthur became king, he would carry out all sorts of reforms across Britannia—and they would all be swept along by it.