Way of Kingship?
I don't know anything about that!
Being stared down by Gilgamesh, Iskandar, and Ozymandias—even Enkidu and Ishtar, who were just guests, seemed quite interested—Miss Illya sat frozen in place like an obedient little duckling, panicking immensely.
"Master! Master! What do I do, what do I do?!"
[Illya] mused, "Ah, the Way of Kingship..."
"Firefly and I have some minor disagreements in our philosophies, but we're largely on the same page."
"The Empress of Glamoth's Way of Kingship—"
"Although she's called an Empress, honestly, the initial idea came about merely for fun. Of course, it was also out of a desire to fulfill the beautiful ideals in that child's heart, ideals that were shattered by a cruel 'Mister.'"
"Unable to endure solitude, unwilling to be alone."
"Those who fought for their ideals until their last moment, even when told that everything they believed in was a fabricated lie, they continued to practice what others had instilled in them until the very end of their lives."
"Though brief and absurd, it was by no means laughable."
Miss Illya listened as [Illya] spoke to herself. Although she didn't fully grasp the meaning, she was inexplicably moved. The next moment, she involuntarily responded:
"Like moths to a flame, they rush towards death to find life."
"That alone is my reason for being the Empress of Glamoth."
"It's not that I was born to be king, but that they hailed me as their Empress—not a rule, but something closer to a voluntary following."
"To lead the way forward, to open up visions of the future, and to entrust these choices to them, hoping that everyone can become who they want to be, to become a 'King' capable of leading others."
After speaking, Miss Illya looked bewildered.
...It felt like she didn't quite understand, yet somehow, she did...
Of course, for those kings, this was an unmistakably clear answer.
After all, the so-called Way of Kingship wasn't such a complicated thing.
It was the path chosen by the king, a vision shown to the subjects that captivated their hearts, for which they would toil and strive their entire lives.
And the Way of Kingship belonging to the Empress of Glamoth, as articulated through Miss Illya's mouth...
"Haha, you... you should actually be called a Sage (The enlightened one)!" Ozymandias burst out laughing.
Sage, King, or the so-called Hero—at their core, they were essentially the same type of person: a 'Leader.'
They provided humanity with direction, the path deemed 'correct.'
Not everyone could find their way forward, and in this process, leaders became guiding lights.
However, if the former (Sage/Hero) were leaders who illuminated the path ahead, and the latter (Hero) were leaders who forged new paths, then a King was a leader who 'ruled.'
Pointing out the path wasn't a king's responsibility. All a king would do was tell the people that they needn't think, just follow—the path the king trod was correct. The king's individual will superseded the will of the masses. Kings, God-Kings, all were no different.
But people's paths could not be the same.
Everyone inevitably had their own path.
This was the so-called 'divergence.'
A King would resolve it through conflict, a Hero would tend towards compromise, and as for a Sage... they would use both. For such beings, whether conflict or compromise, both were merely means, a 'process' to achieve an end.
And a being who was both a King and a Sage...
Undoubtedly.
This could seemingly only be described by one term.
"A Philosopher King, really? Haha, I thought such a thing only existed in imagination!" Iskandar drank deeply of the divine wine, laughing heartily.
"Well, I have indeed seen something that pleases my eye," Mr. Goldie remarked, uncharacteristically without sarcasm, a hint of admiration in his tone.
Although there were certain things a tyrant and autocrat like him could never agree with—they were natural enemies—what could never be changed was humanity's eternal yearning for ideals.
That was why he had originally wanted to seize Saber. Even though in Gilgamesh's eyes, everything the latter pursued was quite ethereal and ethereal, those who could uphold such brilliant ideals were undoubtedly treasures he acknowledged and cherished most.
However, unlike with Saber, Gilgamesh didn't show any amorous interest in Miss Illya.
After all, if the former was an unripe, immature fruit, then the latter... was probably, as the Sun King had said, a scorching sun.
Such a thing, even for him as the King of Heroes, was a bit too much to handle.
Ultimately, the contest of the Way of Kingship was a clash of wills.
But this Philosopher King... you couldn't even touch it! It was like a cheat-code kind of existence!
Whether it was the so-called King's Way, Way of Conquest, Divine Way, or Sacred Way, they were all inherently encompassed within the concept of the 'Philosopher King.'
Therefore, it couldn't be denied. But...
"Empress of Glamoth, compared to the King's Way you follow, my own, and even that of the Sun King and the King of Heroes, probably seem rather inadequate..."
"...This King will not yield to you."
"After all, I am the King of Conquerors! Even a so-called Philosopher King, my generals and I will surely conquer them!" Iskandar declared.
Even Iskandar couldn't deny that, purely in terms of their paths, the three of them combined were no match for the 'Empress of Glamoth' conceived by Jiang Qiao. But they would never submit.
After all, kings were incredibly egocentric and greedy creatures.
The so-called 'Court of a Single King' was precisely that.
Although a 'Court of a Single King' looked laughably inferior before an 'ultimate king' like the Philosopher King, completely crushed from a leadership perspective, it was precisely because of this 'flaw' that even if their philosophies as kings were utterly defeated, they wouldn't abandon everything they were as kings to follow behind this 'Empress of Glamoth,' this Philosopher King.
Even if it was wrong, even if it led them to hell.
To err to the very end, unrepentant even in death—ultimately, kings were such 'stubborn' beings.
And undoubtedly, the three men before her were representatives of this stubborn faction.
They would insist on this even at death's door.
Iskandar spoke: "Say, Empress of Glamoth, if your will is indeed unshakeable, then you shouldn't mind if this King, and the King of Heroes, challenge you."
"...Eh?"
Hearing this, Miss Illya's face instantly turned a shade of green.
No way, this can't be happening!
She felt she probably couldn't even beat one of them present, and now... these three, who seemed to be the strongest, were going to team up and gang up on her?
No, no, no! I'll be hammered into Illya-pulp! I don't want that!
She desperately wanted to shake her head—I mind! I mind a lot! I'm just a pathetically weak elementary schooler Servant! If you really want to pick a fight, I suggest you go find that Empress of Glamoth herself! I, Illya, am just a temporary mouthpiece!
However, to Miss Illya's despair...
Her mouth moved on its own, and she said—
"The Empress of Glamoth never shies away from any challenge."
Hmm... undoubtedly, Miss Firefly was indeed the type to 'welcome all challengers,' especially in combat, her forte. Politics and such were another matter. But if it was a fight... Even if all three of you come at once, you're still no match for me!
"Master..."
[Illya] explained, "Well, it's a provocation from other kings. Though I'm not the type to care much about such things, that child, however, cares deeply about this honor."
Gilgamesh snorted. "...Who allowed you to represent this King?"
Ozymandias chuckled. "My, my... I'm truly being underestimated."
Iskandar declared, "Of course not. Empress of Glamoth, listen well... your opponent will only be this King. So—don't you dare get eliminated before then. As for the other two... hmph, this King will deal with them first."
Ozymandias countered, "Indeed, that's precisely what I was about to say. The Pharaoh is the King of Heaven and Earth, and I, as Pharaoh, am the King of Kings! A Philosopher King? The ultimate king? Heh heh, then let me, the almighty King of Kings, the King among Gods, see which of us, you the ultimate Philosopher King or I, is the true ultimate king!"
Ishtar suddenly interjected, "Honestly, just one king, and yet even more conceited than that Goldie! Saying he's the King among Gods! If that's the case, I, the Mistress of Heaven, can't just stand by and watch!"
In an instant, the great hall descended into chaos.
Ruby, Illya's wand, chirped, "Oooh, it looks like they're all fighting for the right to... interact with Illya."
"It should be the right to fight, right...?" Irisviel looked speechlessly at Illya's Ruby wand. As a mother, seeing such a lewd-minded thing near her daughter truly worried her.
"Haha... Yeah, something like that," Ruby giggled.
"It's very different! I'm not some animal! And whether it's 'interacting' or fighting, it's all terrible!" Miss Illya felt like crying but had no tears.
She had just listened to her Master and come to see the pyramid, tagging along as a little nobody, maybe sneaking some of that big brother's offerings. That would have been a perfect trip for Miss Illya. Afterwards, all she had to do was sneak away with Mom. But then... she had inexplicably become the focus of the banquet.
The only good news was that everyone present had their pride, so they wouldn't actually resort to ganging up on Miss Illya as Iskandar had 'suggested' without any shame. Well... two of the 'Golden Trio' plus a big brute bullying an elementary schooler would undoubtedly be explosive news worthy of a headline in the Chaldea next door.
"[Illya] reassured her, "Relax. Most likely, the final outcome will be that one of them emerges victorious from their own brawl, and then they'll come to challenge you."
"...Am I some kind of final boss?"
Miss Illya's face was wooden in response to [Illya]'s attempt at comfort.
She was just an elementary school magical girl—pathetically weak in this Holy Grail War. How did things suddenly escalate to this 'final boss' treatment?
For Pete's sake, there are so many strong people here, go fight them! If push comes to shove, go fight that bad guy Kiritsugu!
Noticing Miss Illya's rather 'filial' thoughts, ['Jiang Illya'] in the magic workshop suddenly let out a surprised "Huh?"
"Hmm, speaking of Kiritsugu... it seems he's run into some trouble too."
"He's in trouble?"
Irisviel tuned into the channel.
The next moment, [Illya] displayed the real-time image from a familiar.
"ARTHUR—!!!"
"It's Mordred. Looks like after that child left the Radiant Divine Temple (pyramid), she went straight to find traces of Kiritsugu and Saber."
"[Illya] continued, a hint of schadenfreude in her tone, "Well, that's perfectly normal. After all, look what Kiritsugu did~"
To make such a mess of the Britain situation, causing everyone from the King to the subjects, from the rebellious child to the scheming enchantress Lady Morgan, to lose face completely—it was only natural that he'd be sought out for trouble, right?
Saber, who was confronted, uncharacteristically didn't get angry. She just had a cold expression, asking somewhat guiltily:
"Mordred."
"...You didn't attend that banquet?"
Although she considered Mordred a rebellious brat and wasn't fond of this product of Morgan, having just made a rather shameful retreat herself, she felt somewhat guilty facing Mordred, a former Knight of the Round Table.
Mordred seethed. "Why didn't you go?!"
"..."
Saber was in the wrong and couldn't possibly tell the truth—if she really said 'Kiritsugu didn't let me go,' that reason, once thrown out, would be as laughable as provoking Mr. Golden Armor.
After all, one who is controlled by others—what kind of king is that? At best, just a clown, a puppet.
So, such a reason couldn't be used as an excuse; using it would only bring more shame.
Yet, Saber was the noble Knight King and couldn't lie.
Thus, holding onto her dissatisfaction with Mordred, she merely said coolly:
"This has nothing to do with a rebel like you."
Her tone was uncharacteristically calm, as much as possible.
However...
This Mordred stared at her, fists clenched tightly, teeth grinding:
"Arthur, you bastard!"
Not only do you deny me, but you also want to defile that honor, that Camelot which I revere so much, that sanctity?!
"You fiend, just how much further do you intend to humiliate me?!!!"
This furious appearance made Saber's gaze flicker away—it was rare for her to be like this, unable to look this rebellious child directly in the eyes... At this moment, Mordred was like an enraged lion... even more furious than in life.
Saber silently drew Excalibur. Although she was very much in the wrong, and even Saber herself felt extremely unwilling and angry, but... since things had come to this, and she had already gambled the pride she once held dear...
No matter what, she had to obtain the Holy Grail.
As long as she could start over, then a more suitable king would lead Camelot to a better end, and the shame she had brought upon Britain would be washed away, buried.
So... she had to win! No matter what, she had to win!