King Arthur Won't Die by Accident

Arthur stayed in the Roman camp for another two days. No matter how much Manaka urged him, he had zero intention of returning to Britain.

After all—

Jeanne Alter was so much fun to tease... ahem, the girl was so cute that Arthur couldn't resist messing with her a little.

It was also on this day that he made a decision.

Yes, just as everyone guessed: the infamous abduction plan.

Once a Servant signs a contract with a Master, with Command Seals as proof, the master-servant bond is difficult to break. Command Seals are something not all Servants can resist. In theory, Jeanne Alter's Master should be the Sword Emperor Lucius—and given his lustful nature, he'd never let her go.

Unfortunately, the prerequisite is that the contract must be signed.

In reality, only one Servant had signed a contract with Lucius: Boudica.

That contract was born purely from Lucius's questionable tastes. When summoning other Servants, the intervention of Merry drove Lucius berserk—he killed Assassin on the spot. After that, he looked down on the remaining Servants, leading to incomplete contracts.

Therefore, Jeanne Alter's Master isn't really Lucius anymore. It's the Holy Grail in his hand.

The contract's function was greatly weakened, reduced to just the basic magic supply effect.

In other words, if Arthur could prepare a contract of sale and get Jeanne Alter's consent, he had a chance to win her over. The only problem was Jeanne Alter's inexplicable hostility toward Britain.

Arthur wanted to say, "Dear, you should hate the Saxons, not the Celts."

But obviously, it wasn't that simple. Saying that outright would probably sound like sweet talk and backfire.

So, he decided to start preparations in the coming days.

"How does Arthur know so much about Rome's intelligence—even about secret stuff like Jeanne Alter not having a contract with Lucius? Oh, that's easy. Arthur cares about his neighbors' physical and mental health. For his neighbors, he always asks about their wellbeing first, then serves them cannons."

As the saying goes, "Begin with courtesy before force." Nothing could be more true.

Look, I care so much about you, so naturally I know you talk badly about me behind my back. That's your ungratefulness, so I led my army to defeat you. Nothing you can say to that, right?

In this "friendly" spirit, Britain set up a modest intelligence network in Rome.

Just a bit more than what was arranged among the Saxons. Knowing some big and small details was normal.

"Hey, Alter, what do you think—"

Arthur looked at the mashed potatoes in Jeanne's hand with a grimace. No doubt, it was a reward from a knight to the Roman army. Two days ago, when Arthur sat down and saw the food served by the soldiers, his face turned pitch black.

This was a nightmare.

Even after several years, the horror of sun-mashed potatoes still dominated Arthur's mind.

But when outside, they couldn't care less, so Arthur resigned himself to eating this staple with a sour expression. These days, the Roman army's food was mostly mashed potatoes, with only the occasional sea fish caught.

He later learned that when Jeanne Alter led the army to attack a city, Gawain had given her a pile of mashed potatoes, and Gareth, feeling guilty, gave her a few cattle and sheep.

Unfortunately, Jeanne Alter did not cherish these gifts and gathered soldiers to wipe them out that very night.

Arthur wanted to warn Jeanne Alter several times about the mashed potato trauma, but didn't know how to start. Gareth's original intention was definitely not just to give her snacks, but to prevent mashed potato phobia.

But it was too late. Jeanne Alter hadn't realized the horror of mashed potatoes and happily ate them every day.

Perhaps the only time she could really enjoy them was now.

"Why, you want to eat some?" noticing Arthur's strange expression, Jeanne hesitated, then blushed and held the spoon to his mouth: "I don't know why you magicians are so greedy. Honestly, you're like a child. I can't help you, but just this once—eat."

"No, no, no!" Arthur stepped back in fear and resistance, quickly saying, "Eat more yourself. I just wanted to ask, what do you think of the scenery on this island? Is it beautiful?"

"Ah, the scenery. Not bad, eh… beautiful… No! You didn't hear that! Remember, you didn't hear anything! I solemnly retract that—the island is not beautiful at all. It stinks everywhere. The scenery is filthier than hell!"

"That's not what you just said."

"Stop making noise! How many times do I have to say it?! This island is disgusting!" Jeanne Alter said, nearly shouting.

Sure enough, hatred for Britain ran deep.

Never mind, Arthur thought, just try to understand her a little.

"No matter how bad it is, it's not as extreme as you say. I think the scenery here is quite nice."

"Hmph! You're blind." Jeanne Alter glared.

For Jeanne Alter, both the British Isles and its people were objects of hatred. She wanted to burn everything to ashes with her anger—even if the scenery was beautiful.

"Okay, let's not talk about that. Alter, why did you come to this island?"

"Isn't it obvious? To start a war, destroy the British dynasty, and kill King Arthur."

"Because of hatred?"

"Huh, why are you so annoying today?"

"I just want to discuss it with you." Arthur smiled.

Jeanne Alter's reactions were expected. The situation wasn't as bad as it could be.

"You magicians are so annoying. You always want to get to the bottom of everything. Don't talk about me—talk about you. Didn't you come to this island for war? I know magicians in your Roman corps can choose whether to join any war unless ordered by the Emperor and Senate." Jeanne Alter snorted coldly.

People go to war for all kinds of reasons. The same was true for followers.

But when they voluntarily join a war, their reasons are often secrets they don't want others to know.

Jeanne Alter just subconsciously tried to shut Arthur up with this rhetorical question. She hoped this time Arthur would steer the conversation to something happier like before.

Unfortunately, Arthur was fully prepared. Not only did he refuse to give her what she wanted, but he chose to dig deeper.

This guy—his brain must be broken.

-End Chapter-

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