One morning, a young girl arose slowly from her slumber, woken by the morning rays that seeped through the gaps in the door.

'It's already morning...' she thought, letting out a yawn as she got out of her bed and started to stretch her whole body, a little habit she'd picked up watching her brother do it every morning.

And once she dealt with her morning routine, the young girl then looked at the scenery of the countryside from her room's window, a melancholic expression on her face, an expression that a youngster of her age should not wear.

As the years went by, she saw how life became more difficult for the inhabitants of the village and she had an inkling that it was the same for all the people living in Britain. Crops began more scarce as the days went by, both demonic and wild beasts are seen rampaging around, and oppressors are often found in the province in many forms, be it the bandits, Gaels or the Saxons who managed to reach their lands.

All of these issues are nothing but sources of anxiety for the locals who want nothing more than to be left alone and live in peace, especially with the ongoing war raging across the country.

The young girl empathized with them as she once wished to live in tranquility with her family, but when she thought about how the country was slowly headed for its own destruction, she swore to bear her sword and walk the road of kingship, reasoning that only a king could save this ruined land.

However, despite her convictions, the eight-year-old girl was plagued with doubt as she had no real idea what it meant to be a king, nor did she know if she was eligible for such a role.

And so, she seeked advice from the people she trusted the most.

One of them was her father, Ector, who was an old and wise knight.

Although the girl never understood why the man refused to be called 'Father' by her, much to her sadness as she would have liked to be able to experience what it sounded like to pronounce that word with a loving voice filled with affection. But she had seen her brother call him by his name or 'old man' instead of addressing as 'Father', so she guessed it was something the man himself wished for.

And his reply... wasn't one she expected at all.

'A king is the one who kills the most in order to protect everyone.'

Ever since she heard those words, she thought about them every night and lay in her bed shaking until dawn because there hadn't been a single day that she hadn't been afraid of those facts.

Then, she decided to seek advice from her other mentor, the one who taught her knowledge in her sleep, Merlin.

And her reply… surprised her in a different way than the time with her father.

'What does it mean to be a king? Who knows. I don't really care about that stuff. But if you really want to know, just go watch Kay for a day, I'm sure he'll be able to give you an answer you'll like. I'll tell Ector to leave you alone tomorrow.'

And so, with an excited mood, Artoria decided to observe her esteemed brother for the whole day, from morning to night. With that in mind, she silently headed to her brother's room where she saw Kay still sleeping in his bed and, as she looked at him, decided to join him for a little nap.

"I see. So you want to see what I do as a knight?" Kay asked as he fed the horses at their stable, after telling him that she was told by Merlin to observe him as one of her homeworks.

"Something like that. I hope you don't mind."

She didn't want to tell him the real reason, not wanting to burden her brother any further when he was already busy dealing with the many problems happening in the area.

"Of course not. I would be happy to spend the day together with you, even if it's just you watching me perform my duties." Kay said as he placed his head on her head, which made her smile. She never understood the reason why, but Kay's hands always made her feel safe and warm in her chest, so she loved it when he rubbed his head like he does now.

But when he withdrew his hand, she felt a little disappointed with the fleeting duration of their little sibling bonding.

"Alright, my first duty as a knight is to patrol around the village, to watch for any sign of dangers and others, so are you up for a little walk?"

Artoria quickly nodded at his words, making him smile before they both headed to the town together.

As they walked down the village's streets, Artoria noted that the inhabitants all greeted Kay as he passed by, talking amiably with him.

"Hey, brat! Thanks for the weapons you gave me last time, I managed to produce some brand new farming tools for the farmers!" She recognized the man to be the local blacksmith who smacked Kay's back with a wide smile on his face.

Apparently, for a few years, Kay had been giving the blacksmith the spoils he had taken from raiding bandits and settlements of Gaels and Saxons in the area, so that they could reforge weapons for the militia or create tools for the locals as an act of charity.

She felt proud, seeing that her brother was doing his best to help the village in his own means.

"Kay, my boy, thank you for repairing my stall yesterday, I really appreciate it. Here, I know it's not much but please take this. Here's one for you too, Artorius." An old lady Artoria recognized as the fruit vendor at the local market said as she walked towards them, giving them both an apple at no cost.

'Even small actions like this can make people happy, as expected of big brother.' Artoria thought as she bit into the apple, a smile on her face.

"Kay, thank you for helping me find my little brother yesterday... If it's possible, could you come to my house tonight? I would like to... reward you personally." Artoria couldn't hold back her glare, crushing her apple in her hand when she saw a woman around Kay's age, speaking to him with moist eyes and a red face.

And she was really happy when Kay refused the invitation, telling her that she was his priority, making her smile smugly at the woman who looked at her with envy.

"You sure are popular, big brother." She said as they walked together, with Kay giving her apple to Artoria who quickly lamented for crushing hers.

"Well, I think it's necessary for people, especially us knights, to be on good terms with the inhabitants. While it's our duties as a knight to protect them since, unlike us, they aren't strong enough to be able to protect themselves from enemies or even wild beasts. But at the same time, because of the difference of strength between us, I'm sure that they must also fear the possibilities of us turning against them, oppressing them with our superior strength."

"But we would never do that!"

"That's true, but even if we don't, people would often imagine the worst scenario and fear it even if they don't want to, especially when the situation is as dire as it is now. That's why I think showing up on patrols, helping out and trying to be on good terms with the people would help things around to an extent. Of course, it doesn't mean it will always work..." Artoria frowned when she heard Kay mumble the last part, not believing it when she saw how the village's inhabitants were friendly with him.

But despite this, she thought it was amazing of Kay to be wise despite his young age, often hearing him speak words of wisdom she would have trouble understanding, like Merlin's. However, it was a detail she decided to keep to herself since she knew Kay would be upset if he was compared to her.

"Kyaaa!! Bandits!!"

The moment she heard a woman's scream, she turned in its direction to see a group of bandits rushing at people with weapons in their hands. However, before she could do anything, Kay was already in front of them and sent them all flying to the sky with a single punch. And in a single instant, Kay was back by her side, not looking a single bit exhausted and with the bandits' weapons at his feet.

"As you can see, there are many people in this world who use power for evil means, people who aren't above hurting others for their own benefits. This is why we, as knights, must show that our power is there to protect the people from those evil beings, not to hurt them." Kay said as he gave them to the blacksmith who appeared next to him, a cart behind him.

"Run!! A horde of boars are coming!!"

This time, Artoria heard a man's voice, making her turn her head in his direction where she saw a few dozen of boars running in the direction of the fields where workers were trying to run away from them. But just like with the bandits, Kay took all of them down, beheading every last one of them in an instant before he magically reappeared by her side, a mountain of corpses by his side.

"Well, this is what I do every patrol." Kay said as he nodded to a man she recognized as the local butcher, who soon began skinning the corpses, drawing their blood and harvesting their meat before distributing them to the residents.

"An important thing to do, aside from giving them protection, Artorius, is to be kind to others, so you can make them understand that you mean no harm, to make them feel safe. I want you to smile with them, make them understand that you aren't that different from them, so they won't fear you because people always fear those who are different from them. But more than anything, I want you to be happy along with everybody. That is my greatest wish as your brother." Kay said as he looked at her with a smile while she couldn't help herself but to nod.

If this is what would make Kay happy, she would do it with gusto.

And as she looked around, seeing all the people rejoicing for Kay's actions. She thought that perhaps, by keeping observing her brother, she would perhaps find the answer she sought for.

What it means to be a king.

And as they continued their walk, she also noticed a small group of young men, glaring at Kay with contempt at a distance, which made her frown. She recognized them as people from the village, but she couldn't understand why they weren't happy.

'Is this what he meant, trying to be on good terms doesn't always work out...' She thought before she blinked when she felt a hand on top of her head, making her look up to see Kay give her a smile.

"Don't worry about them, it's natural. Despite your intention, not everybody will be thankful or appreciate the help you give them, be it because of their own personality or things like envy and jealousy. It's a shame but it's not possible to make everyone happy..."

When she heard him talk with a regretful tone, Artoria wanted to cheer him up but didn't know what to say. So, she settled to just hold his hand, a gesture he often did with her when she felt lonely, missing Morgan when she stopped being part of her life.

"Big brother, there are many things I still don't understand. If one day I have a problem I can't solve on my own... Can I ask you for help?"

"Of course. I'll be happy to help you anytime, so come and see me whenever you want."

And so the two siblings walked hand in hand as they spent the day peacefully, with Artoria wishing that this time would last forever.