
Artist's commentary
A Thankless Coronation
The girl's ears rang in the fantasia with the words conversed on that day.
"This sword wasn't hard to pull out at all, Merlin."
"Indeed. Becoming the king everyone wishes for won't be hard for you at all, given that I'm guiding you. However, Altria... The hard part is that you can't always meet everyone's expectations."
"Then they can choose a more fitting king by that time. I won't protest."
"But what if such a person will never exist?"
"...Then I'll do my best to meet everyone's expectations."
Now, the girl had long since become aware of how profound that tragedy would be. Would she have chosen to give up if she were to return to that moment where everything began?
The king does not speak and simply grasps the sword tightly.
The stone again gives out a thundering roar as the sword is pulled out.