A night of tenderness marked the beginning of a new life.
When Morgan and Souya woke up the next day on the large bed in the royal castle, they immediately began working non-stop on matters concerning the newborn Kingdom of Camelot.
Facts proved that being a King was truly not a simple matter.
Even though they only took over Camelot from King Uther's era, and Morgan currently only needed to manage the single city of the royal capital, it was still somewhat difficult for Morgan, who was acting as King for the first time.
Fortunately, while Morgan was indeed a novice as a King, as a magus, she was absolutely top-tier.
As the saying goes, a new official applies strict measures upon taking office. With Souya's assistance, Morgan introduced several policies beneficial to winning over the people's hearts.
For example, lowering Uther's absurdly high taxes, encouraging citizens to offer her suggestions, and dispatching personnel to solve certain social issues.
Obviously, the suggestions Souya proposed to Morgan involved shifting the foundation of a feudal kingdom slightly closer to a populist approach.
This would more or less reduce the King's majesty and prestige. However, given that Britain was currently plagued by constant warfare, the people were living in destitution, and Morgan had a poor reputation, this was undoubtedly the optimal solution.
In addition, Morgan specifically used Magecraft to plant high-yield food crops across Camelot's expanded territory—crops that ignored the seasons, absorbed magical energy, and grew on their own.
This solved the potential food crisis caused by Camelot's initial trade blockades.
This, of course, was also Souya's suggestion.
As a transmigrator with a mindset centuries ahead of medieval Britain, Souya saw right through this thing called Magecraft.
It was clearly a miraculous tool filled with infinite possibilities, applicable to the development of various fields. Yet, stubborn and arrogant magi insisted on treating it like a family heirloom, refusing to use it for the people's livelihood even if it killed them.
What Morgan was doing now could also be achieved in Souya's era. In fact, combining it with technology would yield even better results and benefit more people.
But it was a pity that the old geezers at the Clock Tower and the Mage's Association would absolutely never allow such a possibility, and would even suppress it.
Returning to the main topic, after busying herself with these matters, Morgan's energy was visibly depleted.
Every night, she basically let Souya take the initiative. There were even times when she would fall asleep the moment she lay down.
This made Souya feel both heartache and a slight urge to laugh.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Souya proposed that Morgan recruit some talented individuals to act as ministers and share her burden.
This was naturally a good thing.
However, when Morgan looked at the hand-drawn propaganda poster Souya made—featuring an image of herself pointing a finger at the viewer with the words "Have you pledged loyalty to the Queen today?" written next to it—she couldn't help but feel mentally exhausted.
In the end, she made time herself to personally recruit a batch of fairly capable talents from among Camelot's citizens, and cast Suggestion Magecraft on them along with Camelot's soldiers.
This was both a manifestation of Morgan's distrust toward anyone other than Souya, and a safeguard for the newborn Camelot.
After all, news that Morgan had inherited the orthodox name of the Kingdom of Camelot had long spread. Naturally, there would be people coveting this legitimate position.
One cannot be without the intention to guard against others.
And so, after undergoing a series of hardships, Morgan's Kingdom of Camelot finally began to operate normally.
The citizens saw Morgan's actions and changed their impression of her significantly.
And once prejudices were cast aside, the people also noticed Morgan's appearance.
Morgan hadn't worn a veil during the coronation ceremony. Once everything settled down, that stunningly beautiful face couldn't help but appear in everyone's minds.
Oh, our new Queen is truly beautiful! Just like a fairy!
Thus, Souya spent money to bribe over a dozen bards to sing praises of Morgan's virtues and deeds. He also promised that any bard who spread this content could collect five silver coins in Camelot. Under this operation, the name of Camelot's Queen, Morgan le Fay, began to spread to the outside world.
Just as everything seemed to be getting better, a piece of news swept across all of Britain like a thunderstorm.
A young knight named 'Artoris' had finally drawn the Sword in the Stone, which represented the glory of the King of Britain. He was personally acknowledged by the court's great magus, Merlin, as King Uther's lost child left in the mortal world, possessing the purest royal bloodline of Britain.
Consequently, the eyes of all Britain focused on this unknown young knight.
Most people, out of their own volition, took a wait-and-see approach. However, there were still nobles and knights loyal to Uther who declared their allegiance to him.
Thus, Souya and Morgan understood why that group of nobles had made every excuse to avoid taking a stance back then. It turned out Uther had already given them a heads-up.
They were waiting for the appearance of the Child of the Red Dragon, the perfect King from the prophecy.
Regarding this matter, Morgan's attitude was a bit subtle.
"Lamorak, you have come into contact with that Artoris. What kind of person do you think he is?"
That night, in the gardens of Camelot Castle, Morgan asked Souya, who was attending by her side, while gently brushing her fingers over the blooming flowers.
Souya recalled the Artoris he had seen and interacted with during his simulation back then, and subsequently answered.
"The Artoris I came into contact with at that time looked only eleven or twelve years old. He was a youth who had only recently taken up swordsmanship."
"But I could tell his talent was extremely high. If he has maintained that level over the past few years, he should be a very strong knight."
Morgan frowned at Souya's answer and turned to glance at him.
"What I want to know isn't whether he is strong or not, but what kind of person he is, and whether he possesses the caliber to be a King."
"You should understand my meaning, Knight Lamorak."
"This subordinate realizes his mistake, my Queen."
Hearing Morgan's words, Souya immediately knelt on one knee, placed his right fist over his chest, and admitted his mistake to Morgan.
"Continue."
A hint of satisfaction flashed through Morgan's eyes regarding Souya's behavior. She simply loved the way her knight obeyed her every word.
This gave her a sense of satisfaction and joy akin to a little girl whose beloved possession held her in high regard.
"Yes, my Queen."
Souya continued, "I only interacted with him for a short period back then, so my understanding isn't very deep. I just felt he was very stubborn, very humble. Hmm..."
Souya thought for a moment and added another sentence.
"He can also eat a lot."
?
Several black lines appeared on Morgan's forehead.
"However, I did ask about his ideal. He said it was something very important, very grand, bearing the expectations and fate of many people."
Souya recalled that blond youth under the setting sun, somewhat shy yet speaking with extreme earnestness and solemnity. He couldn't help but feel a little touched.
"But I could tell that wasn't his true ideal. At least, not his personal ideal."
"People who truly have their own ideals are happy and full of anticipation when talking about their dreams."
"But when Artoris said those words, he was serious and solemn, as if facing a task that had to be completed and a destiny that was bound to happen."
Tragic and pitiful.
For some reason, after finishing his piece, this thought couldn't help but pop into Souya's mind.
Is a borrowed ideal truly an ideal?
Such an Artoris—no, Artoria—might become a perfect King, but she would absolutely not be human.
Listening to Souya's answer, Morgan fell silent for a long time.
When she regained her senses, the flower she had been holding had been crushed into a pile of ruined petals and stems.
"A 'perfect King' artificially manufactured by Father and Merlin, huh..."
"Truly laughable... With such a frail body and such a cowardly will, how can he shoulder the responsibility of leading Britain into the future?"
"Lamorak."
Suddenly, Morgan called out Souya's name.
And the latter immediately responded.
"Yes, my Queen."
"If you encounter this ridiculous 'King', I want you to pierce through his utterly laughable life and destiny with your spear. Do you understand?"
Souya's pupils shrank slightly, but he remained as swift and decisive as ever.
"As you command, my Queen."