Fate Grand Order: Broadcasting Master Love — Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Shirou Has a Bold Idea

[Following the display of Artoria Lancer’s Spirit Origin Ascension imagery, the light screen began its formal introduction.]

[The King of Knights who ruled Britain in legend, King Arthur. An ‘IF’ version of the King whose primary armament shifted from the Holy Sword to the Holy Spear upon ascending the throne.]

Cold, golden text carrying the heavy weight of history danced across the broadcast, clearly outlining a trajectory completely divorced from common knowledge. The figure on the screen was no longer a girl-king clutching a golden sword and clad in heavy, concealing armor. Instead, she was a mature monarch wielding a towering lance, standing tall enough to support the weight of an entire nation on her shoulders.

[No longer bound by the cessation of growth caused by the Holy Sword, her physical age matured to a stage appropriate for her status as King.]

As the lines of text materialized, it was as if the invisible river of time was flowing over her right before the audience’s eyes. The innocence of youth washed away, settling into a majestic, impressive temperament befitting a true crown.

[Due to the continuous use of the Holy Spear, she became an existence incredibly close to a Divine Spirit. However, since the period of use was only about ten years, her mental and spiritual particle structures did not undergo significant alteration.]

The final supplementary note seemed deliberately placed to emphasize a crucial point: she had not lost her human heart to the erosion of divinity. She remained the exact same King Arthur, harboring the same desperate obsession to protect Britain.

At the end of an empty, drafty corridor in the Fuyuki Einzbern Castle, Saber stood alone in the shadows. Her silver-white armor glinted coldly under the flickering candlelight.

Her thumb unconsciously brushed against the invisible hilt of the Holy Sword resting at her side. A trace of deep bewilderment flashed through her emerald eyes.

She lowered her head slightly. Her voice, as faint as the freezing wind rattling the castle windows, murmured into the dark, “So, is it another version of me from a different possibility… one who didn’t rely on the Holy Sword, but chose the Holy Spear instead?”

Before the words fully left her lips, her brow furrowed. A strange, unfamiliar emotion welled up in her chest. “Wait… physical age matured to a stage appropriate for the status of King?” Her eyes darted back to the screen, taking in the towering, incredibly well-endowed figure of her alternate self. “Can I really grow to that extent?”

That hidden, lifelong obsession with being a “qualified monarch” quietly surged, taking on a slightly different meaning.

Meanwhile, inside the Emiya Residence of the Fifth Holy Grail War, warm morning sunlight spilled through the window lattices, painting the wooden floor in bright gold. Emiya Shirou sat at the low table, holding a freshly brewed cup of black tea.

When the glowing text on the light screen finally registered in his brain, his hand jerked violently. Hot tea splashed over the rim, scalding his knuckles, but he didn’t even flinch.

He snapped his head around to look at the petite blonde girl sitting beside him. His eyes were wide as saucers, his voice cracking with absolute, unbelievable shock. “Eh?! Saber, you’re King Arthur? The legendary King Arthur… is a girl?!”

His brain short-circuited. He was so stunned he was practically incoherent, the tips of his ears burning bright red.

Watching his total loss of composure, a deep wave of apology crossed Saber’s face. She lowered her head slightly, her ahoge drooping. “Yes, Shirou. I am indeed King Arthur. I apologize for not telling you my true identity before.” She kept her eyes focused on the tatami mats, genuinely guilty for the deception.

Shirou sat frozen for a long while. The famous legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and Queen Guinevere flashed rapidly through his mind like a broken projector. An absurd, irrepressible thought suddenly clicked into place, making him blurt out, “Wait. Since King Arthur is a girl… then Guinevere couldn’t possibly be…”

“Guinevere is a woman,” Saber interrupted his speculation instantly. Her tone carried a heavy dose of helplessness, desperate to stop him before he said something even more ridiculous.

“Eh? But if it’s two girls…” Shirou scratched the back of his head, his brow furrowed into a deep, confused knot. Clearly, his common sense hadn’t yet recovered from the historical bombshell.

“…I hid my gender and ruled the country as a man.” Saber’s voice dropped a few notches. Her hands, resting neatly on her lap, quietly clenched until her knuckles turned stark white. “Guinevere also knew this. As for the rest… I do not wish to speak of it.”

At the mere mention of Guinevere’s name, an indescribable gloom flickered in her emerald eyes. That tragic past, the tangled web of duty and betrayal that ultimately led to the downfall of Britain, remained an indelible scar. The ambient temperature in the living room seemed to drop a few degrees.

“Oh… right.” Shirou keenly sensed the sudden shift in her mood. He quickly snapped his mouth shut, taking a hasty gulp of his lukewarm tea to cover up his monumental tactlessness.

[The text on the light screen scrolled again, clearly listing the Servant’s parameters:]

[Height/Weight: 171cm, 57kg?]

[Source: Arthurian Legend]

[Region: Europe]

[Alignment: Lawful Good]

[Sub-Attribute: Heaven]

[Gender: Female]

[At the bottom, a meaningful note was attached: There are many theories regarding her weight and figure when she manifests as a Lancer. Additionally, as a Lancer, she will always be mounted. Her mount this time is the ‘Dun Stallion’.]

In the Fourth Holy Grail War timeline, Waver Velvet lay slumped across his desk in the Mackenzie household. He stared at the words “always be mounted” on the glowing screen, his face twisting into a mask of pure, unadulterated confusion.

He threw his hands up in the air. “Why does a Lancer have to ride a horse?! And if she’s riding a horse, why isn’t her Class Rider?! This makes absolutely no sense!”

[She is calmer and more rational than the Artoria of the Holy Sword, yet she still retains her humanity. Rather, because she has become mature, she is able to make more composed choices. As a monarch, she has achieved her ideal way of being.]

Back in the Einzbern Castle, Saber immediately straightened her posture. Her emerald eyes flashed with sharp indignation. She let out a small, offended huff, her voice echoing clearly in the empty stone corridor.

“What do they mean by ‘calmer and more rational than the Artoria of the Holy Sword’?! And what is this about making ‘more composed choices’and’achieving an ideal way of being’?!”

She subconsciously tightened her grip on Excalibur, the leather-wrapped hilt groaning faintly against her palm. She masked it with anger, but deep down, a quiet, bitter trace of envy welled up in her chest—an envy she refused to admit. Envy for that alternate version of herself who chose the Holy Spear, who grew into a woman, and who was recognized by the world as the ideal monarch.

[She is the Heavenly Heroic Spirit who personally returned the Holy Spear at Camlann Hill and returned to the earth. However, the Servant ‘Lion King’, who shares the exact same appearance, became a wraith wandering the world with the Holy Spear because she failed to die when she was supposed to meet her fate. The ‘Lion King’, who continues to wield the Holy Spear, possesses a completely different mental state due to being fully divinized.]