Chapter 240 - 238: Weakling

Shirou Emiya, possessing the memories of his past life, knew that Saber's moral standards were truly exceptionally high.

This wasn't just true in Fate/Zero, where Saber could forgive Lancelot—who had effectively "cuckolded" her and indirectly led to Britain's downfall—but also in the original Fate/stay night game. While in the Fate route, if Shirou failed to build up enough affection points with Saber, he would eventually face a choice presented by Kirei Kotomine: if Shirou let himself be killed, Kirei would grant the Holy Grail to Saber. A Saber whose obsession with saving Britain had become an fixation would have her body make the decision before her consciousness could even react, decapitating Shirou Emiya.

But this ending would only trigger if Shirou, like Kiritsugu, deliberately avoided building any affection at all. Unless Shirou failed to even cook a few meals for Saber, this ending wouldn't trigger. Even Taiga Fujimura and Illya, who provided failure explanations in the Tiger Dojo in the original game, mocked that unless one was trying to complete the entire gallery, no one would essentially ever trigger this "BAD END."

A Saber who judged others by her own standards—no wonder her wish to save Britain wasn't to carry this experience of failure and try again. Rather, she felt that she was the one who was inadequate; she wanted to return to the past, replace herself, and let someone more suitable become the King.

Previously, Shirou Emiya had temporarily convinced Saber otherwise. But after they were dumped into this parallel world by the Greater Grail, and through Shirou's "spoilers," Saber learned that Mordred also wanted to save Britain—not by following behind her as a Knight of the Round Table, but by wanting to become King in her own right. Learning this, Saber didn't think Mordred would do a better job than her; rather, Mordred's wish genuinely told her that she wasn't the only one who wanted to save Britain.

While Saber felt glad, she also felt worried. Having failed once, did she really have the qualification to rule Britain again? She might have her memories to try again, but others could too, just like Mordred...

Harboring these thoughts, Saber heard Shirou Emiya's words. She didn't resist. After feeling the magical link with this parallel world's Greater Grail re-established under the ability of [Crazy Diamond], she took up Shirou Emiya's words and looked at Mordred. "Sir Mordred, why would you do such a thing?"

"What do you mean, 'why'?" Mordred said, her expression unnatural.

At the end of the day, Mordred, who crossed blades with Saber, was also a twisted "King-fan." Having been called out by Shirou Emiya regarding the wish she wanted to realize, she couldn't help but steal a glance at Saber with an expression that mixed shyness with a hint of expectation.

"What?"

"By using the Holy Grail to return to the day of the selection—is that your wish, Sir Mordred?" Saber asked. "What is the point of you doing that?"

Although she didn't believe that Mordred becoming King could change Britain's fate, Saber wanted to hear Mordred's reasoning. Or rather, she wanted to understand if other Knights of the Round Table had the same thought. Did she generate this idea because she had really done such a terrible job back then?

However, Mordred clearly misunderstood Saber's meaning.

Mordred, who had been rejected by Saber from becoming King during her life, naturally interpreted Saber's words differently upon hearing them. Her tone suddenly shifted. "King of Knights, what do you mean by that?"

"Sir Mordred, you who cannot become a qualified King and would struggle to lead Britain even after pulling the Sword of Selection—why would you go to such lengths to use the Grail to return to the past?"

Saber responded as a matter of course, "That is what I want to know."

This truly wasn't Saber's prejudice. Even if Mordred's rebellion in life successfully destroyed Britain, and even if Mordred was a homunculus created by Morgan using her own bloodline to overthrow her rule, Saber actually didn't hold much of a grudge against Mordred.

It was just that Mordred had proven herself early on. She had proven that she truly wasn't up to the task. Even with such a massive advantage—whether it was seizing the throne of Britain while Saber was away at war, or launching a surprise attack when Saber had just returned and the soldiers' spirit and stamina were at their lowest—she was still completely crushed and defeated by Saber, along with her rebel army.

Given Mordred's level, Saber was truly very worried about Mordred becoming King. The crisis Britain faced at the time wasn't just the Counter Force targeting her, causing natural disasters and poor harvests; there was also Vortigern, who was on par with Saber, the invasion of the Anglo-Saxon gangs, and the intervention of the Roman Empire.

Even if Saber had a budding desire to find someone else to replace her as King, she wouldn't choose a "weakling" like Mordred.

The reason Saber said this was that she was truly touched by the spirit of even someone as weak as Mordred being willing to give up other wishes for the Grail just to prolong Britain's survival. She wanted to know why. But her actual words were...

"...Heh heh, hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!! It's always like this, is this what you think, King of Knights!?"

Mordred laughed as she looked at Saber, her tone no longer filled with hate like before.

"Do you think you are guaranteed victory in this Holy Grail War, or are you saying that you think I will fail again?!"

"Saber..." Looking at the agitated Mordred, a calmed Kairi Shishigou couldn't help but feel a headache.

"Master, I am going to use my Noble Phantasm."

Without saying more, Mordred spoke this to Kairi Shishigou without even looking back. She removed the [Helmet of Hidden Unchastity] she wore and prepared to fully unleash her Noble Phantasm, saying to Saber: "King of Knights!"

"Whether or not my wish will come true is absolutely not something for you to decide!!"

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