Fate: I Will Eventually Become the Hero of Justice II

Chapter 252

Artoria gave instructions to the women next to her to continue picking fruits without delaying the harvest. Then, she picked up an apple and walked towards Shirou.

"Long time no see, my king."

"It has been a year," Shirou sighed, looking at Artoria. The girl who once wore armor now donned a white dress, which made her even more charming.

It was true that clothing makes the man, or in this case, the woman. Artoria in armor gave off a majestic air, but lacked the gentle charm of a girl. On the other hand, Artoria in a white dress brought out the softness of a young girl.

Shirou felt a bit uncomfortable, especially when Artoria said, "My king, I miss you."

He hesitated for a moment, then walked behind Artoria and gently lifted her hair to take a closer look.

"What's wrong, my king?" she asked.

"Are you... Merlin in disguise?" Shirou hesitated and asked. It didn't seem like something Artoria, his loyal servant, would say. Instead, the white-haired useless fellow who had learned a lot of sweet words was more likely to say such things.

Kay had been completely fooled by Merlin's sweet words during their last encounter. Merlin had used Ector's name and the righteousness of their cause to persuade Kay that he was searching for a wife for him, for the future of his family. Without Merlin's help, he would remain a bachelor forever. His honeyed words had completely confused Kay.

Therefore, Shirou suspected that this Artoria might be Merlin pretending to mess with him, as Merlin hadn't returned for a year and could have come to Artoria to help her.

"Why do you think that?" she asked, her expression perplexed.

"It just seems out of character for you."

"That's too much, my King! It's been well over a year since our last meeting; even I want to express my feelings!" Her serious and earnest expression put his doubts to rest. He knew that Merlin was familiar with Artoria, but his frivolous personality wouldn't allow him to pull off such a stiff expression.

Shirou decided to change the subject and pointed to the apple in Artoria's hand. "Are you picking apples?"

"Yes, I am. And to be precise, I'm picking them with the people," Artoria replied as she carefully pulled out a notebook from her pocket and flipped through a few pages. "You once told me that leading by example is the best way to inspire others."

"I simply applied that principle to my own life, but don't worry, I took care of my own affairs first," she assured him as she closed her notebook.

"I see," Shirou rubbed his chin, not even recalling that he had made that statement. Nevertheless, Artoria had taken note of it, and even the Agravain trio had their notebooks out to record it. It seemed to be a quote that they had yet to copy.

Shirou glanced at them, feeling no awkwardness. After all, he had been with these knights for almost five years and had become accustomed to their habits.

"My king, have you come to evaluate my performance?" Artoria asked.

"Yes," he nodded.

She handed Shirou an apple and said, "You must be thirsty after rushing here. Have this apple to quench your thirst first. Let's go to the office and talk things over."

"I've already been to the office, and I have to say, you did a great job," he replied. "But let's head to Ector's estate. It's been nearly five years since we last visited."

"I'm afraid the old estate is no more," she informed him. "Ector divided it up and gave it to the former servants. The current estate is just a small one that I established about a year ago."