Chapter 14 - Diverging Dynamics

It was with a cheerful mood that Mordred casually strolled down the familiar corridor to Jaune's room that morning, humming to herself all the while.

Jaune.

Her squire.

Her new, official squire.

Oh, sure, it may as well have been the case ever since she'd picked him up from Snowdonia, but her lips couldn't help but quirk up behind her helmet as she once again recalled the events of the previous day, and affirmed to herself that it hadn't all been a dream.

All the hard work they'd endured over the past month had paid off.

They hadn't failed; she hadn't failed him.

With the oaths he'd sworn, Jaune's place in Camelot had been secured.

Her friend's future had been secured.

Unbeknownst to her, a full-blown smile was gracing her relaxed face behind her helmet as she continued remembering the previous day, as well as the ramifications of it all.

Oh, sure, Jaune wasn't a full knight (she remained the only person to have managed that feat for the time being), but now that they weren't on a deadline anymore, now that they didn't have to worry about Jaune accidentally messing up and insulting the King... now they could finally take a break from all that boring formal crap (important as it may have been, as she'd been grudgingly forced to admit, nothing could change the fact that the subjects were about as interesting as watching dyes dry) and start focusing on some of the more fun stuff!

... not that she was excited for any of that, of course...

... and she definitely hadn't slept in a little bit because she'd stayed up late drawing up lesson plans and lost track of the time...

She'd just decided, in her infinite kindness and wisdom, to reward her squire for succeeding the previous day by granting him a few extra hours of sleep, that's all!

And now that it was a few hours later...

Hmmm, what should she teach him today, now that they had luxury of time and choice?

Maybe she could drill more advanced swordsmanship techniques into him? Sure, he'd gotten the basics down, and he was a lot stronger and faster than a normal knight, but considering how her ass of an eldest brother had treated him yesterday it probably wouldn't hurt to prepare him in case Gawain tried to push it...

Then again, further practice with a sword might not be the best option, if she wanted to prepare him for a bout with her fellow knights. She still remembered how her own blade had been broken by the Addanc; against the likes of Arondight and Galatine, blades that had slain creatures worse than the Addanc, a mere mundane sword probably wouldn't be enough, even if he reinforced it with his bullshit Aura. Perhaps she could focus on teaching him how to fight unarmed?

Or she could just take him to the stables and begin teaching him how to ride a horse. With the two of them mounted they could venture further from the castle for training, lessons, and other adventures, and now that King Arthur and the men were back Agravain probably wouldn't be able to complain about their departure...

Though Jaune had said he'd had no experience with horses before, during their journey back from Snowdonia, so it'd probably be best if he rode with her for their first few lessons, clinging tightly on to her back lest he fall off...

...

... reaching her squire's door just as she'd made up her mind, Mordred took a moment to once again make sure her bearing was immaculate (had to set a good example, especially now that the King was back), before she knocked on the door and waited.

After five seconds of waiting, she cocked her head in curiosity at the door, and knocked again, before listening intently with her keen senses.

... nope, she still couldn't hear any movement behind the door.

That was odd, and certainly uncharacteristic for him.

Was he still sleeping?

Was he feeling unwell?

A slight tinge of concern for her friend welled up within her, and after a third round of impatient knocking she tried the door, which opened easily.

Then she blinked in surprise, as an empty room greeted her.

Huh...

Had her squire simply gotten up at his usual timing and decided to get some training done on his own, when she hadn't shown up at their usual time?

If so... well, she supposed she could only commend his initiative and reward his enthusiasm...

Of course, that didn't answer the question about where in Camelot he was...

Shrugging her shoulders, she left his room, closing the door behind her even as she decided to go looking for her wayward squire.

After fifteen minutes of fruitless searching, Mordred ruefully reflected that maybe she should have come up with a better plan than simply picking a random direction to walk in while calling out her squire's name.

Oh well. Too late to stop now.

As she turned the corner, preparing to call for her friend once again, she suddenly felt a presence nearby, and managed to turn around and stop her moment just in time to keep herself from being almost run over by a distracted Lancelot.

"Oh, pardon me-" Lancelot quickly apologized as his attention snapped back to reality, before blinking as he realized who'd he almost collided with. "Ah, good morning, Sir Mordred. Lovely day, isn't it?"

"... everything okay there, Lancelot?" Mordred couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Between his odd behavior and the fact that she'd swear he'd had a dopey grin plastered on his face before they'd almost run into each other, something felt... off.

"Oh, of course, everything's fine," Lancelot answered hastily, his eyes quickly glancing down the corridors. "Is there something that would lead you to believe otherwise, Sir Mordred?"

"... not really, I guess..." Mordred eventually dropped it, deciding that she must have been mistaken. After all, as much as his expression and actions may have been at odds with her usual impression of him, she'd freely admit she didn't know people in general to be sure that he was acting weird, let alone him. Taking her attention away from the older knight, she peered past him, before blinking in surprise. "Did you just come from the King's private chambers?"

For some reason, Lancelot began coughing, before he explained: "Ah, yes, well... I had something I wished to discuss with the King this morning. Unfortunately, he was not in his chambers... anyway, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm just trying to find Jaune," Mordred shrugged, taking the bait. "Got some new lessons planned for him, now that he's officially one of us. Speaking of which, any chance you've seen him?"

"My apologies, but I was occupied up until just now," Lancelot tapped his chin in thought, before suggesting: "But perhaps you might want to talk to Squire Gareth? The two of them do train together rather frequently, after all..."

"Gareth, huh..." Mordred couldn't help but frown behind her helmet as Lancelot's words made her recall what the other Knights of Camelot had said, during the feast two days ago.

Sure, she knew that the two of them were friends, but the idea that there might have been something special going on between her elder sister and her friend... for some reason, the more she thought about it, the more irate she found herself becoming...

"... Sir Mordred?"

"Huh?" Mordred blinked as her attention turned away from her sour thoughts and back to Lancelot, who was giving her a look of concern.

"Is everything alright?" Lancelot inquired gently, sensing that something had suddenly bothered the young knight in front of him.

"Yup, everything's fine," Mordred quickly reassured Lancelot even as she turned around as fast as she could. "I'll just go find Gareth, see if she knows where Jaune is. Bye!"

For some reason, she found herself sincerely wishing that the answer would be "no".

-TWO HOURS EARLIER-

Jaune quietly hummed to himself as he checked on the joint of pork he'd been frying, before looking at the herbs, spices, and seasonings he'd managed to scrounge up from the kitchen with a torn look for what was probably the dozenth time that morning.

Good news, the pre-Dust world he'd found himself in did at least mostly share the same herbs, spices, and seasonings with Remnant, and if his nose was an impartial judge, his time spent in the kitchen as the brother to seven older sisters had served him well.

Bad news, the state of England as compared to Remnant meant that said herbs, spices, and seasonings of Camelot didn't exist in nearly the same quantities he was used to in Remnant, and a part of him still felt extremely guilty about even using the miniscule pinches that he had (despite Gareth having reassured him that other knights and squires snuck into the kitchens to do their own cooking all the time).

One of the biggest reasons for why this was so was, obviously, the primitiveness of England's "technology" (just as he'd observed with the farmers in Snowdonia). For example, while salt had been discovered for well over a thousand years in this world, domestic production was largely restricted to the coastal regions and some Empire-founded town called "Salinae", where brine was collected and heated in large open shallow pans until the water was boiled away.

Another conclusion that he'd come to after going through the castle's library, though, was that the fall of the Empire that had once controlled England and most of the nearby continent had basically destroyed the spice trade. According to the historical archives, most of the spices that England had once gotten through the Empire had come from foreign Kingdoms in the Far East if they weren't produced from some other corner of the Empire, and between the downfall of the Empire and all the subsequent wars England had gone through contact with these spice producers had been lost. As for local production... pepper may have been worth more than its weight in gold, but if Snowdonia had been any indicator, most people in England had their hands full just trying to grow enough crops to keep themselves fed.

(Of course, this was just conjecture at best; he'd freely admit he'd always struggled in Doctor Oobleck's classes, though he felt Ren, Pyr, and Oobleck would have been very proud of him for willingly doing research and coming up with his own theories, though Ruby and Nora would've probably been horrified...)

Well, even if he could guess why the castle didn't have much in the way of seasonings, it didn't change the fact that it didn't have much in the way of seasonings. and so all he could do at the moment was appreciate just how valuable the pork he'd just fried was, and try not to feel so guilty as he sliced a loaf of bread in half and melted some cheese over it to make a sandwich.

Fortunately for him, the smell of fried pork and cheese that made his mouth water, the thought of finally having something that wasn't roasted or boiled that made his stomach growl, and the reminder that this meal was not going to be a common occurrence did much to help him ignore his guilt.

And it definitely wasn't going to be a common occurrence; even if Camelot (and his conscience) could afford these meals on a regular basis, there was no way Sir Mordred was going to let him off from their usual morning practices.

Maybe if he bribed his mentor by preparing food for him as well? Sir Mordred had seemed to enjoy his cooking, back when they'd first met...

... no, knowing his mentor's appetite, doing so would almost certainly bankrupt the castle, and get them in trouble with Sir Agravain again...

"Oh, Squire Jaune?"

A voice suddenly cut through his thoughts, and he couldn't help but jump before he quickly turned to the entrance of the kitchen, where a blonde was studying him curiously.

"Your Majesty!" Jaune exclaimed nervously as he recognized the short boyish figure, and he made sure his sandwich was well-hidden behind him as he continued: "I didn't hear you there... how can I help you, Your Majesty?"

"Well, you could start by telling me just what that novel smell is," Artoria's lip quirked fractionally upwards, amused by the reaction the newest member of her knights had just given her.

Not to speak ill of her knights, of course (they were peerless heroes of the realm, noble champions of truth and justice one and all), but between the apparent friction between her eldest nephew and their newest member, the fact that Sir Mordred the Brash was his mentor, and the shifty 'my-hand-is-totally-not-in-the-cookie-jar' look she was getting, she felt certain that Jaune Arc was going to fit right in with her merry order of troublemakers, for better or for worse.

"I was just cooking, Your Majesty," Jaune explained even as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and held out his sandwich with his other, seeing no better alternative than complete transparency.

"I can see that, and self-sufficiency in the face of hunger is certainly not a virtue I would discourage amongst my knights," Artoria gently reassured the young squire, easily noticing his apprehension. "Though I will admit it isn't common for me to see someone putting that ideal into practice this early in the day..."

Jaune couldn't help but laugh sheepishly: "Well... I had a good teacher, I guess..."

"Sir Mordred?" Artoria prompted with curiosity even as she leaned forward to study what her nose was telling her was the source of the mouth-watering smell that had brought her there earlier.

"Yup," Jaune confirmed, before elaborating: "Usually, by this time, we'd already be training in some corner of the forest, and although today is a rare exception... I guess it's become a bit of a habit by now... anyway, what about you, Your Majesty, if you don't mind me asking? Are you also used to waking up early as well?"

"It's certainly not a habit I'm opposed to cultivating," Artoria deflected with practiced ease, seeing no reason to admit the truth.

After all, what reason would she have to tell the newest squire in Camelot that, even though she was very much physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausted (having only returned from a hard campaign two days ago), she'd still be woken up earlier than usual by her wife, who'd then proceeded to politely suggest she take a walk?

For all the words they'd shared, for all that she'd gotten a measure of his character, she'd already established that she would not betray the loyalties of her Knights and her Kingdom.

Instead, even as she internally pondered the actions of Guin that morning, she still continued their conversation, steering it to safer waters: "In any case, that certainly seems like a unique dish... is it traditional to Vale?"

Jaune looked down at his sandwich, wondering what in Oum's name could be so unique about meat and fillings between two slabs of bread. But as he thought about it, he found himself realizing that, for all the time he'd spent in Camelot, he'd never once actually seen anybody else eating a sandwich.

... was it really that unusual?

"It's just meat and cheese between two halves of a loaf, Your Majesty," Jaune finally spoke, unsure of how else to answer (did something count as a tradition if it was just how things had been done as far back as anyone could remember?). At the same time, though, he found himself feeling a lack of surprise, considering the kind of questions King Arthur had bombarded him with when they'd first talked the previous morning.

Who would have thought the Perfect King everybody that he'd met in this new world had admired would have been a bit of a nerd?

Not that he could blame him, admittedly; if a person from a different world had suddenly shown up in Remnant, he'd have probably shown just as much curiosity as he was receiving (emphasis on probably, though; he'd be the first to admit he wasn't the most studious person around).

Then he took a second look at King Arthur's intense scrutiny of his sandwich, and with memories of his interrogation fresh in his mind, he rapidly put two and two together.

Before King Arthur could comment on his words (or ask him any more questions, like where such a "tradition" originated), Jaune quickly began to fix up another sandwich even as he asked: "Would you like to try one, Your Majesty?"

-ONE BREAKFAST LATER-

"That was certainly an... interesting way to eat," Artoria finally commented as she finished wiping her mouth, and did her best to ignore her stomach and sense of taste as they pointedly requested for seconds (hunger may have been the enemy, but Gluttony was one of the Seven Deadly Sins).

"I was going to go with 'convenient', myself," Jaune offered between bites of his own sandwich, having decided to take his time in savoring the semi-familiar taste of his own cooking.

"It certainly seems so, Squire Jaune," Artoria agreed with a nod, before adding appreciatively: "Although I doubt I would have found the meal as interesting as I did, had the dishes not been so well-cooked. Would you happen to have a lot of prior experience with this?"

"My seven older sisters made me cook for them all the time," Jaune explained easily, trying to disguise his pride and embarrassment by making a comment about his family like he typically did, although a fond smile did make its way onto his lips as he talked about them.

Artoria fought down a snort of amusement at his words, remembering both her own childhood with Kay and Ector as well as watching her nephews and niece interact (truly, it seemed that having demanding elder siblings was a universal phenomenon). Instead, retaining a dignified composure, she inquired: "If you don't mind me asking, what other dishes would you consider yourself proficient in cooking? This meal has left me curious about the cuisine of Vale."

"... well..." Jaune couldn't help but rub the back of his neck awkwardly this time as he racked his brains trying to think of anything that the Kingdom of Vale would have considered a national dish. Finally, he gave up, and admitted: "Honestly, I'm not sure if I'd be able to name any dishes from Vale that would really stand out... though I'd say I'm at least good enough at cooking that I could probably recreate them here to demonstrate? Uh, well... as long as they don't need too much seasoning... they're a lot easier to find in Vale than here, no offense..."

"Oh, is the Kingdom of Vale rich in herbs and spices?" Artoria pressed as she leaned forward, a part of her trying to recall any lands of record that had met such a criteria. Sure, Jaune Arc had told them that he'd tried going through the Castle's archives to look for any mention of his home, but there had been a good number of documents that hadn't survived the Fall of the Empire and the chaos that had followed the death of her father, and when she had an ancient dream-walking wizard as an advisor the physical destruction of a local copy wasn't quite as final as it might otherwise have been.

Beyond whatever curiosity she'd admit to possessing about a Kingdom that no longer needed a King, beyond the simple want to help her fellow Man, establishing diplomatic contact (and possible trade relations) with a country of great technological might and a wealth of natural resources was really just common sense as a head of state.

"... I guess you could say that..." Jaune answered after a moment's thought. "I mean, I wouldn't really have called it rich before, but compared to here... well, I mean, it can't be helped that Vale just has more advanced farming methods..."

"You did say you were a farmer's son, correct?" Artoria hummed thoughtfully, before remarking: "I did find myself curious about your remarkable literacy and knowledge despite your apparent background, but if your home possesses more advanced farming methods, it would make sense for the profession to require a greater degree of literacy and knowledge than it does here..."

Jaune couldn't help but wince, and he immediately tried to correct King Arthur's misconception: "Um, well... I mean, sure, our methods are more advanced, but I wouldn't say farmers specifically need to be smarter than the average person... sure, there's some specialized stuff like soil chemistry or composting, but on the whole everyone in Vale's expected to be able to read and write... in fact, I'd be the first to admit I was never the best at studying..."

"I see..." Artoria murmured, taking a moment to examine the squire's face for any sign of falsehood even as she tried to digest the thought of everybody in a Kingdom being literate. "I suppose that widespread literacy would be a requirement in a democracy where voting is open to all citizens of age..."

"I mean, it'd probably be hard to read a manifesto or write your chosen candidate's name on a ballot if you couldn't," Jaune pointed out with a shrug.

"That is true," Artoria nodded, before sighing and reflecting that it been a good thing that she hadn't truly been considering democracy as anything beyond an intellectual curiosity, if a requirement for it to function was for everyone to be able to read and write.

Considering most of her people were too busy just growing enough food to see themselves through the next winter (and considering this was already a lot better than how things had been two decades ago), it would be unreasonable of her to expect them to set aside some additional time for education, let alone getting further involved in local governance.

And that wasn't even considering what the nobles under her would have done if she'd tried empowering their peasants.

The obligations imposed upon nobles by the Lord and their liege, while far from perfect, was at least for the most part sufficient in ensuring the welfare of their subjects.

With foreign invaders arriving on their shores from beyond the seas every year, she could not risk any social upheaval or rebellion.

And of course, that wasn't the only way what she was hearing could benefit her people.

"You mentioned earlier that farmers in Vale required some specialized knowledge and used advanced methods, correct?" Artoria inquired with barely-disguised curiosity, rewinding the conversation slightly. "Could you elaborate briefly on how Vale's methods differ from here? And could you tell me a bit more about this 'specialized knowledge' of yours?"

Jaune couldn't help but curse his luck at the fact that the King he'd sworn an oath to serve was a massive nerd even as he tried to figure out just how to translate what he knew into terms his liege would actually understand.

Well, at least it wasn't about politics anymore.

Author's Notes: Something something finally back something something over-worked something something despise dialogue something something eight goddamned rewrites of this chapter something something.

But yeah... this chapter was meant to address the numerous ways the status quo has changed, from Mordred's pride and relief at her friend finally becoming a squire (along with the realization that she doesn't need to focus on the boring stuff any longer), to the continued fallout from Tristan's departure (and I'm not going to insult anybody's intelligence by spelling it out), to Artoria's curiosity and internal conflicts (and even if she might be disappointed at the fact that Jaune shows deference to her and fails to treat her as an equal simply because she's the equivalent of his boss's boss's boss, he still has her interest), and even to Jaune's growing comfortability in Camelot.

In short, it's a hot mess, and when I said I rewrote this chapter eight goddamned times I wasn't joking or being hyperbolic. And the initial draft was even longer, too, but I decided to spread things out a bit more, if only so this chapter doesn't feel like somebody's cut the brakes on this future traffic accident.

Also with regards to the sandwich... well, its invention is attributed to John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, sometime during the 18th century. And while I'm sure some people probably did try it out before it was popularized, that doesn't mean it would have been around during the 6th century.

That is not to say that people in the past were ignorant or unintelligent for not having tried it out, or that Jaune is some sort of super-genius by comparison, it's simply that Jaune comes from a place where eating it in such a fashion has simply become common sense (like slicing potatoes into thin chunks and frying them with salt), and the culinary revolutions he may or may not introduce are simply due to him come from a time where the paradigm has already shifted.

And also before anybody asks, no, I'm not trying to shit on elected representation. I'm simply pointing out that, when the only knowledge one has about democracy is Athens and the Roman Republic (and especially considering how the latter ended), and when one is facing a deluge of foreign invaders, it might not be a good time to try anything that could result in a civil war from your own supporters.

And also before anybody asks about why Artoria doesn't just straight up ask Jaune to just teach everyone his farming methods... please remember Jaune is very much an unknown element at the moment, a young barely-minted squire who freely admits to not being a particularly learned individual. Even if she believes she has the measure of Jaune's character, do you really think she's going to throw such a momentous responsibility upon his shoulders without at least investigating first, prodding a bit here and there to see what he knows and is willing to share, and whether any improvements he mentions would be feasible to implement (a task aided by the fact that she did grow up in a village and would at least have a measure of the common man as well)?