Eat, eat nothing in the world is more important than eating.
That was what Artoria Pendragon thought to herself.
Rubbing her stomach, she made her way toward the mess hall.
The mess hall was another one of Lot's inventions.
As long as supplies were sufficient, she could enjoy several different delicacies from Orkney there.
However, the one thing that left Artoria slightly dissatisfied was the way the cafeteria lady's hand always trembled violently when serving food.
Why won't they let me serve the food instead?
If it were me, I could guarantee not a single drop of sauce would go to waste.
Artoria sighed deeply in regret.
Just as she was heading to the mess hall, barely two steps in, she spotted Merlin standing right in front of her.
"Master Merlin, is there something you need?"
Artoria addressed him politely.
Though her stomach growled with hunger, she patiently waited for Merlin's instructions.
She loved eating, but she wasn't the type to let meals interfere with her duties.
"It's like this, Artoria there's something I need you to do right away."
Merlin smiled at her, his expression resembling that of a sly old fox eyeing a little white rabbit.
Before coming here, he had already confirmed that Artoria knew nothing about the Sword in the Stone.
That made it easy to deceive her into pulling it out.
If she had known, things would've been much trickier.
Artoria had no ambition to become king.
Her loyalty to Lot and Morgan was absolute utterly beyond question.
Had she known the truth, she would've walked right past the Sword in the Stone without even glancing at it.
So, of course, a few necessary little tricks were in order.
"Huh?"
Hearing her teacher's words, Artoria's face twisted into a pained expression.
I want to eat.
Can't I go after finishing my meal?
That was what she thought to herself.
Of course, she kept those words strictly in her heart.
She would never say them out loud.
"...Understood. I'll go right away."
With a hint of sulkiness, she nodded in agreement.
"Oh, it's not me making you work. Earlier, I happened to run into your lord, His Majesty King Lot. He mentioned he'd left a sword outside the city and had urgent matters to attend to, so he asked me to fetch it for him. But since I saw you here, why don't you handle this errand for me? These old bones of mine aren't suited for such a long trek. Artoria, if you ever become as great as your lord someday, make sure you don't boss me around like this, alright?"
Master, I don't see a single trace of old age in you.
Especially when you spot a beautiful woman my warhorse can't even outrun you then.
And now you're calling yourself "old bones"?
Artoria wanted to retort, but she couldn't find the right words.
And worst of all no food.
So unfair…
As if sensing her grievance, Merlin added, "Artoria, think about it would your lord make you run an errand for nothing? Do you really think the mess hall's slop compares to the delicacies he could offer?"
Artoria gulped, her eyes sparkling with newfound motivation.
"The food doesn't matter what's important is serving my lord!"
Her tone was firm, making her sound like the most dutiful knight in the world!
Watching her like this, Merlin couldn't help but feel a wave of amusement.
You'll pull out the Sword in the Stone and crush Morgan's hopes.
And right after that, you'll be dreaming of a feast.
Ah, my poor King Arthur~
I hope you can run fast enough when the time comes.
That was what Merlin thought to himself.
Outwardly, however, he maintained his usual smile as he described the general location of the Sword in the Stone to Artoria.
He told her the sword was right there.
And, of course, he didn't forget to add:
"His Majesty King Lot is in a hurry for this sword, so retrieve it as quickly as possible and deliver it to him."
"Understood."
Artoria memorized the location.
It was outside Camelot and quite far, at that.
I'd better hurry.
Otherwise, my stomach will collapse from hunger.
Fueled by an overwhelming desire to eat, she charged forward without hesitation.
Merlin, still smiling, picked up an apple and took a leisurely bite.
Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.
The apple was sweet.
And the situation?
Perfectly under control.
To reach the delicious food as quickly as possible, Artoria sprinted with all her might.
When pedestrians were in her way, she stopped just in time.
But watching a fully armored knight charging toward you at 100 kilometers per hour, only to halt less than a meter away
Well, that was enough to make several people wet their pants.
After all, Artoria knew she could stop on a dime.
The pedestrians?
Not so much.
Too scary.
Way too scary.
That was what the bystanders thought.
And so, Artoria stormed out of the city in a whirlwind of motion.
Soon, she arrived at the location of the Sword in the Stone.
As she approached, she saw a massive crowd gathered around.
Huh? What's going on?
Is Lord Lot's sword really that popular?
Oh, well, of course it's His Majesty's personal sword, after all. Must be incredibly valuable.
Thinking this, Artoria began pushing through the crowd.
"Excuse me, please let me through I need to retrieve that sword."
"Pardon me, coming through I'm here to take the sword."
"..."
As she squeezed past, she repeated her request to the people around her.
Some of them weren't keen on moving.
Hey, you wanna take the sword? So do we!
But their strength was no match for Artoria's especially when she was this motivated by food.
In no time, she reached the very front of the crowd.
There, she saw the sword embedded in the stone.
Wow, Lord Lot's really strong he just casually threw his sword straight into solid rock!
Luckily, it's not stuck too deep.
Alright, I'll just pull it out.
That was what she thought.
But just as she was about to step forward
She felt a light tap on her shoulder plate.
"Artoria, what are you doing here?"
Artoria turned her head.
Standing not far away was Morgan, gazing directly at her.
"Your Majesty..."