Chapter 96: The Reason Saber Would Fall for Shirou
Ah, selfish? Me? Shirou, what are you talking about?
Saber looked at Emiya Shirou wordlessly.
That bewildered look in her eyes, even before she spoke, expressed exactly what she thought of the idea.
selfish?... Where did this unfamiliar vocabulary come from?
From birth until death, she had been indoctrinated with the ideology of becoming a King.
Saber's mission was to save Britain after ascending to the throne. One could say she dedicated her entire life to Britain. Even while sleeping, under the intervention of the incubus Merlin, she made full use of her rest period to engage in a "Grand Learning" session—indoctrination of knowledge ranging from swordsmanship to statecraft and beyond.
As for actual private time belonging to Saber... She had no such luxury.
Naturally, she had never willfully made a single choice that belonged solely to her.
Therefore, " selfish "... in Saber's cognition, this truly was an incredibly foreign word.
This is likely why Emiya Shirou was the one to summon Saber. It wasn't just [Avalon], the catalyst that could accurately summon her. It was also the fact that the compatibility between Saber and Emiya Shirou was perhaps much higher than that of Archer—the future Emiya Shirou. After all, Archer had long since abandoned the ideals of his younger self.
Yet Emiya Shirou, just like Saber, had never given up. The only difference was that Emiya Shirou wanted to be an Ally of Justice, while Saber wanted someone else to replace her as the new King of Britain.
In reality, they were both the type of people who never spared a thought for themselves, living their entire lives only for others. Though that was the case in the past.
"Because you failed to save Britain, you think it's your own fault? That you caused Britain's downfall, and thus feel you are no longer fit to be King?"
Possessing the memories of his past life, Emiya Shirou knew what Saber had gone through.
He knew she wasn't actually as strong as she appeared, and that her so-called responsibilities and duties were burdens imposed by others and herself. Whether he was speaking to Saber or reflecting on himself, he said: "Saber, why do you think that way?
Have you never considered one thing?—If you could do it all over again, you would inevitably never repeat those same mistakes!
If that's the case, why would you hand that choice over to someone else?
Or is it that, in your heart, you actually don't want to be King, which is why you want to let someone else inherit the throne?"
'No, that's not it!'
Saber instinctively wanted to retort. But just like before, facing the perspective Emiya Shirou threw out, she had no idea how to answer.
If the answer was "No"... Why was her original wish entrusted to the Holy Grail to return to the Day of Selection and let someone else pull the Sword in the Stone, rather than letting her—the former King of Knights who clearly understood why Britain fell—save Britain once again?
Because she failed once? But isn't it precisely because she failed once that she knows how to avoid that failure?
Thanks to the magical ritual of the Holy Grail War, when Servants are summoned from the Throne of Heroes to the modern world, modern common sense is shoved into their brains to accommodate those from ancient times.
This allows them to understand daily items like cars, airplanes, and electric lights. Saber knew about the modern examination system.
She knew that for students to get good grades—those who aren't innate geniuses beyond normal men—the only way is practice. Using massive amounts of practice and testing to identify every single mistake made during trials. Only in this way can one avoid errors in the next test and achieve a good result.
Without a doubt, knowing the "wrong answers" beforehand, a Saber who started over would inevitably be able to rectify those mistakes. This led right back to the previous question.
But if the answer was "Yes"...
Would Saber, who spent her whole life sacrificing for others, throw the throne of Britain to someone else just because she didn't want to be King? If Saber truly felt that way, she wouldn't have pulled the Sword of Selection in the first place when Merlin told her Britain was destined for destruction.
'Perhaps Britain's future is doomed, but if more people can smile before that future arrives, then it can never be a mistake...'
Holding the Sword in the Stone and pulling it out, Saber had become the King of Britain with that exact conviction.
But why did it end up like this?
Questioned by Emiya Shirou, Saber was no longer immersed in the obsession that she must save Britain. Instead, amidst this bewilderment, as she wanted to say something, she began to recall her choice from back then. She fell into silence once again.
"Alright, Saber, we should head out." After finishing the treatment of the orphans and seeing Saber in this state, Emiya Shirou knew when to stop and began to leave the area: "Tohsaka and Lancer's side hasn't finished yet."
Though I think Tohsaka should be fine. Rather, since Rider is Sakura's Servant, once she realizes Tohsaka is there to save Sakura, she'll likely just go through the motions without putting in effort.
The only worry is whether Lancer and the others can successfully reach an agreement with Caster.
In any case, let's head over and take a look."
Emiya Shirou decided on their next course of action. After all, he didn't expect to overturn Saber's lifelong conviction with just one or two sentences. In any route other than the Fate route, Saber never truly moved on from this wish.
Tsk... "I'm not in a position to talk about Saber either."
Emiya Shirou, who only gave up on becoming an Ally of Justice in the Heaven's Feel route, thought to himself: —"Even though I don't plan on becoming an Ally of Justice anymore, I still can't just stand by and watch when it comes to Saber's situation..."
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