Artoria the Big Liar

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Mordred and I walked the streets of the city.

I took the map, compared the city's scenery with the map's logo, and walked on the right route.

Mordred and I staggered by half, followed me in a trance, absent-minded, as if sleepwalking.

It was midsummer, the sun was rising gradually, and the air was getting hotter and hotter. I couldn't help but sweat on my forehead.

Looking at the convenience store next to the street, I stopped to buy a bottle of cold drink or ice cream.

And Mordred, still lost in his own thoughts, bumped right into me.

"Ah!" The moment her head touched my back, she screamed, and finally came to her senses. "Yes, I'm sorry...Father, I..."

It was almost instinctive, and she was still speaking Britton, which no one spoke.

I put the map in my satchel.Considering that this is the street, I said to her in a calm tone, also in Britton—

"What are you thinking, Mordred? It's not like you, who are so distracted on the road."

Mordred didn't answer, but lowered his head, not daring to meet my gaze.

Just like when she was eating at KFC just now, the words piled up in her heart, but she couldn't get them out of her mouth.

Because it is a working day, the city is not very prosperous, and there are not many pedestrians around.Add to that the roar of the engine, the constant humming of cicadas, and a language that no one but Mordred and I could understand, and even if Mordred and I were to say some incredible things on the sidewalk, it wouldn't be too late. No one cares, as if in another world.

Mordred was in a bad state of mind.Experience has taught me what to do in this situation.

Although her actual age is only eight years old, as an artificial human made by magic, her appearance age is fifteen or sixteen years old, and her mental age is around thirteen or fourteen - which is commonly known as the "rebellious period". .

A rebellious period doesn't have to be a real rebellion.However, due to the immaturity of the three views and the sensitivity of emotions, teenagers in this period will always fall into the logical trap woven by themselves, keep digging into the horns, produce wrong judgments, and make wrong decisions.If you encounter any painful things, such as being bullied, your parents divorced, etc., you will suppress your thoughts in your heart, fermenting like poisonous wine.As a result, things that could have been solved with one sentence made everyone unhappy.

When dealing with children in the rebellious period, as elders, we should communicate more and guide them more, and we should not leave them alone.

"Still immersed in Kamran's pain?"

My voice is very soft and small - what I understand as "gentle tone" is like this.

Mordred, on the other hand, seemed to have been stung by a scorpion or a centipede.The voice also trembled involuntarily——

"...Father, can... can you scold me a few words?"

Mordred raised his head, as if mustering all his courage.

Her eyes were firm, and she wasn't joking—as far as I could remember, she hadn't joked since I was a kid.

I blinked my eyes, frowned slightly, and asked, "...why?"

"...If my father can scold me a few words, I will feel much more comfortable."

"Mordred, I want to know why and why."

"...Sure enough, is it because of the battle that took place in Kamran?"

"No... no. I... feel useless. I..."

After all, I still don't want to express my emotions and thoughts in my heart.

However, I have emphasized to her before that my relationship with her is sisters, but she still regards me as a father, and her tone and posture are so respectful, which shows that she does not want to speak out, but is worried that her behavior will cause harm. Bad consequences, and this consequence is absolutely unacceptable to her-I probably know what to do.

"Need a hug?"

I opened my arms, raised the corners of my mouth, and half-closed my eyes.

And Mordred froze.This stunned for almost three seconds.

"……Embrace?"

"Yes, it's a hug. I think your spirit is not very good. If you hug..."

Before he finished speaking, Mordred took a step back as if the poison of a scorpion or a centipede had exploded.

"No, no, father, I don't need to hug...I, I..."

She lowered her head again, not daring to look at me again.

... What a troublesome situation, what a troublesome child.

With that in mind, I can only change my strategy.

"If you can't figure it out, why don't you say it? Many times, I don't know what to say. At this time, I will not say it until I find the right words, or I really understand my emotions and intentions. It's never too late."

"No, Father, it's not like this..."

"Modred, I am your sister now, not your father. The history of King Arthur is over."

Mordred raised his head, his golden pupils were full of astonishment.

This astonishment is like pine grease, igniting the fire called anger, making it burn quickly and blazingly.

"Who knows who gave that pamphlet! The age assumed by others, the identity assumed by others, so what if it is really recognized by this world! I can't treat the father as a sister-I am the father The heir is the knight of the father! Even if the history of Pendragon is over, this will not change! Not only me, even the Knights of the Round Table【[

"...Is this what Mordred wants to say?"

My tone was very calm, or too calm, and I felt something was wrong.

Reason tells me that I should be more excited, at least look a little angry, even if I pretend.

But my feelings are so calm, without a trace of waves, like a dead lake.

However, I have always been like this, now... it should be fine, right?

Mordred's pupils shrank suddenly.It was midsummer, and her pupils were originally similar to a grain of rice, but now they were almost slits.

"Father...I...I..."

"Mordred, you are fired."

My tone remained calm.

After 22 years, I can finally confirm it.

When I lost my fear, I also lost my anger—or rather, the two were the same thing.

"...what... what? 'Expulsion' is...?"

"I say, you're fired, Mordred. We're still blood relatives, but you're no longer my knight. Not just you, Gawain, Kay, Galahad, everyone in the Knights of the Round Table, Every lord of Albion, every courtier of Camelot, every soldier of all kingdoms, is excommunicated by me—see what I mean? I am not some king of Albion, I have been I don't want to be a king. I don't want to kill, I don't want to conquer, I don't want to deal with government affairs, I don't want to do anything I'm forced to do. King Arthur is dead, died in the battle of Camlann. My name is Artoria now , just because I forgot what my previous name was. Do you understand what I mean? Do you understand what I'm saying?"

No, it's still too peaceful.

The words of the sentences are harsh and the ideas that the sentences describe are brutal.

But it's still like reading it with a stick, and I can't feel anything.

To be honest, I am depressed right now.

"...Is this... the true words of the father?"

The golden pupils trembled, and the tears accumulated again, which would pass across the face and drip down at any moment.

Reason tells me it's time to stop speaking harsh words, but my emotions still let me do so.

"That's right, that's what I mean. It's not good, it's hard to accept, isn't it? No one would have imagined that the man who has an infinite desire to conquer, treats the people as worthless, treats the enemy as dust, and treats the conquered as King Arthur of manure and firewood doesn't want to be a king at all, and he doesn't want to live like that at all, right? In fact, after getting along for so many years, Mordred, you should be able to understand and know my intentions, right? Qiwen told me all the private exchanges among the knights. It seems that everyone thinks that I am in pain, and the root of this pain is that I don’t want to be king, but I have to be king—Mordred must think so ?Then I’ll tell you right now—yes, it’s all true, I don’t want to be king, I hate the throne, I hate being in the palace, I hate everything about kings, I hate it so much, so in Ava Long's first thing is to tell the three of you that I am no longer a king, and I don't want to be called a king—Modred, do you understand?"

"me……"

She clenched her fist again, and every muscle in her body tensed.

Emotions, emotions, and rationality stirred together in her mind, causing her pain and making her afraid to face it.

Seeing that the situation was almost over, I paused for a few seconds to let the "Mordred Confidence Project" go to the next step.

"I have spoken my truth. Now it is your turn, Mordred."

"……Ugh?"

Mordred froze.As a result, the tears could not be suppressed, and dripped down her face to her chin.

Raising the corners of my mouth a little more, making my expression as soft as possible, I said——

"You don't want to tell the truth, you have been twitching, because you are worried that I will be angry, right? I just said something that hurt your heart and made you angry, and I didn't care about your feelings at all. Now, it's your turn Time to let go of my feelings."

Mordred stood there dumbfounded, as if her little head couldn't figure out what was going on now.

"Stop beating around the bush, Mordred. Say what your heart wants, say it, as I do. If you still think I'm your father, take it as a father's request. If you If you still regard me as your king, then treat this as a king's order—after all, it's one thing for me to fire you, but it's another thing for you to recognize me as king. I really don't want to be king, but There are many people who hope that I can become a king, so I still become a king, and regard being a king as a job."

Mordred stood there for a long, long time.

Then, she recovered, but hesitated for a long, long time.

Maybe five or six minutes later, she finally spoke——

"I have a lot of questions I want to ask my father..."

"Think about what you want to ask me first, don't be in a hurry. This is not a place to talk..." After a pause, I said: "Let's read a book in the library first. I will give you two books to read. One is called "History of the Kings of Britain" and the other is called "The Death of King Arthur". After reading it, have lunch, and then go back to the hotel and ask all the questions you want to ask. If you read the book , If you think you have any questions to ask, then wait until you get back to the hotel.”

"...I see, Father."

Mordred's expression finally returned to normal.

But now it was my turn to be stunned.

Speaking of which, I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, thinking of something at first...

Blinking my eyes, I finally remembered.

"Mordred, wait for me first."

Then, I went to the nearest convenience store without looking back.

Walking around the convenience store, it seemed that there was nothing to buy, so I took two ice creams from the freezer.

Walking out of the convenience store, I handed one of them to Mordred.

"Father...this is...?"

"It's very hot, and there is still some distance to the library, let's have an ice cream first."

Mordred just came to the 21st century, so I tore open the bag for her in advance and handed her the ice cream.

She reached out to pick it up, using both hands, as if it was a treasure bestowed on her, which was in line with court etiquette.

I also had to remind her about the correct posture for eating ice cream, and told her that it is a food that can be seen everywhere.

These two ice creams are the same type, both are chocolate coated and covered with frozen milk.

Mordred was not stupid, she bit off the chocolate coating and licked the milk itself.

I watched her taste it for about a minute before asking her softly——

"How is it, is it delicious?"

"Well, it's delicious."

"Let's eat while walking. Remember not to eat too slowly, and don't let the ice cream fall."

After finishing speaking, I took out my own ice cream and tasted it while walking.

It is indeed delicious.The sweetness is well controlled, and the milk part is also very mellow. It is the best side food in summer.

Air conditioners in hotels, fried chicken in fast food restaurants, cold drinks and ice cream sold in convenience stores, clean streets, roads, and passers-by who pass by from time to time but never communicate with each other—these modern and convenient things , It seems to bring back memories in my heart.However, I have forgotten all the memories, and there is only a blank in my brain at this time.As a result, every time I see a modern thing, I have a feeling of deja vu.

This feeling makes me feel like I am in a dream.Although the senses of the body are accurate, there is always a sense of absurdity and unreality.It's even more unreal than staying in Avalon, and it's even more unreal than lying in the king's bedroom every day—even, it's even more unreal than galloping on the battlefield on a war horse, using the Holy Lance to pierce the enemy's body .

But, Mordred's words, let me walk away from this feeling of unreality.

"...just now, father was really angry?"

Her voice is wary, like a cat exploring a new environment.

At this time, I realized that the ice cream in my hand was about to melt.

I had no choice but to bite off a small half of the ice cream, put it in my mouth, and talk to Mordred indistinctly.

"I'm probably angry. I don't know... I don't seem to be angry. I don't know what it feels like."

Mordred did not continue to ask.

In this way, without talking all the way, Mordred and I came to the Misaki Town Municipal Library.