.. 

In a dark, unknown space, empty and that was devoid of anything, there was no light, no stars, and nothing except for two individuals who simply floated aimlessly as they conversed.

“Sorry, but you won’t remember what transpired here once you arrive.”

“Hey, that isn’t f–”

The young man was quickly cut off before he could finish his sentence.

“What are you going to do about it?”

A bearded old man flashed a wide grin as he asked, the dark-haired young man who looked upon him with a face that wanted to express his grievances about the situation. Faced with such a threat, the young man could do nothing but accept his fate. He simply said nothing and remained respectful, only letting out a small sigh of surrender.

“great, now let’s move on”

What can one do in the face of an omnipotent being who does whatever he wants? The answer is nothing. The young man was nothing but a worm in front of such a being; the only thing he can do is accept the favour he has been given and move on.

………

“Well, this is certainly interesting.”

Sweat trickled down his forehead, and he wiped it off with his hand and heaved a sigh of relief. He was hardly tired and by the looks of it, he had more than just Excalibur in terms of powers he certainly doesn’t remember Artoria having a faint white aura that covers her body and allows her to perfectly evade attacks from enemies. He only watched Fate/Zero; as such, he doesn’t have extensive lore on her character, but he was certain that the skill he used to completely decimate 60 people without so much a scratch definitely belongs to another completely different character.

“Sir Arthur, if you’re tired, we can stop here if you’d like.”

“No, how about ten more, then call it a day? It seems your men are still eager to fight me; this would be more of a challenge if they weren’t so weak.”

He said it with a good bit of confidence, earning some curses from the soldiers. The idea that he quite possibly has [ultra-instinct] was quite enticing and exciting, and now he can speak with more confidence than he did before. However, this raises the question: what other powers does he have? He wondered, and he also thought about how he has abilities other than Artoria; in fact, how did his cosplay made from plastic become actual armour?

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re showing off”

“Perhaps I am; you’ll never know”

Gazeff chuckled at his words. He understood that, as a warrior, showing off one’s abilities is a good way to show your value. Gazeff was aware that some of the nobles were most likely watching from somewhere, hence why he thought to inform the princess as well; she should know, although a question popped into his head at this very moment.

How would he fair against Arthur? The man has yet to use his sword and has only been dodging and using his hands to knock out his opponents. If he’s that skilled without using his sword, his swordsmanship must be a sight to see.

While he was in his musings, the matches continued as another knight stepped up for Arthur to battle him. Gazeff was interrupted by one of the guards suddenly whispering in his ear, announcing the arrival of the princess and prince. He quickly straightened his posture and turned to look at the guests with a salute.

“WE WELCOME YOU, YOUR MAJESTIES, PRINCE ZANAC, AND PRINCESS RENNER.”

He shouted, gaining the attention of the other knights, causing them to stop all they were doing, stand in attention, and give their salutes to the two members of the royal family.

“Be at ease, gentlemen.”

Zanac waved his hand, and the knights relaxed their pastures at his command.

“We simply came to observe; I hear my sister’s knight is rather skilled.”

“Indeed, your Majesty, Sir Arthur is quite talented; I’m afraid our men are no match for him; he already has bested a great number of them in combat.” 

Gazeff answered the prince’s question, feeling a little bit of shame, he’d rather not have to openly admit that the Re-estize knights were being bested by a newcomer, he also thought not to speak about how many Arthur has defeated.

“Then that simply means he is a worthy knight to be my knight, is he not?”

The moment she spoke, she immediately commanded the attention of all the knights present. Each of them looked at her with varying levels of reverence and lust; her beauty was enchanting and her gait was confident; she was the pinnacle of beauty within the kingdom, and no man is worthy of her, which only served to fuel the jealousy of Arthur; to be able to stand beside her was something he didn’t deserve.

“I’m afraid they aren’t even worthy enough for me to draw my sword.”

Arthur said as he bowed to her, it wasn’t his intention to appear arrogant; however it is imperative that he build his reputation as a knight comparable to Gazeff. At the very least, of course, this meant he would earn the ire of all the knights within the castle but that’s a small price to pay.

“is that so? Then I have no doubt you’ll do well as my knight.”

She lifted her hand to him, and he grabbed it and gave her a kiss on the back of it, and that served to fuel the jealousy of the knights present further. He could practically feel the amount of hatred that was directed at him.

“Your Majesty, forgive me for speaking out of turn.” 

One of the knights who could not stand such a sight raised his hand to speak, and Renner nodded her head and allowed him to speak.

“Forgive me, your Majesty, but I don’t believe that he is more worthy of being your knight than I. Would you be so kind as to allow all of us to challenge him to a duel for the right to be your knight?”

They were already doing that, but now the princes was present, if the princess approves, he will have to actually step down as her knight, even if it’s unofficial. This has made the stakes much higher for him and actually put pressure on Arthur to put on a better performance.

Renner frowned just slightly in displeasure; no one could tell, but she felt a great sense of disgust at the idea that one of them would even think that they had a chance to be her knight. These are the very same people who forced the image of the golden princess upon her, and not only that, they were clearly overestimating themselves; none of them could survive forming a crater on the ground; they lacked the power she needed, and her intuition told her Arthur had that in spades.

“Very well, I’ll allow it. What say you, Arthur?” 

“Of course, my lady.”

Renner would have denied this as it had no point however she was sure some noble was watching in some capacity as such she can’t be seen being doubtful towards his abilities as they could use that to sow distrust between her and him and then take him from her, she can’t have that. There was hardly any trust to begin with at the moment, which is why it was important to show it quite early on to prevent any rift between them in the future.

“My knight, accepts your challenge, which is thus to be done today or tomorrow once everyone is properly rested.”

“I suggest that tomorrow, sister, we arrived here with Sir Arthur already facing and having faced a few knights, so it would be fair to let him rest.”

Zanac suggested that, although he didn’t think of this and was only concerned about Arthur having a fair fight, she, on the other hand, quickly understood the benefit of the event happening tomorrow; more nobles will be present to witness it. It was an excellent suggestion from her brother.

“Tomorrow, it will be then"

.........

A/N: how's the new year so far?