Chapter 678: Crossover: Sweet Dreams and the Holy Grail (46)

"An ordinary life... if you wait until after leaving to regret, it'll be too late."

Xing glanced at him, about to speak but stopped.

Archer snorted, "Changed your mind? I told you, you didn't really want to leave, right?"

Having said that, Archer left.

Xing spent several days and finally finished the long sorting work. Though the sense of dissonance still lingered, she decided to get a good sleep before solving it.

…

And on the other side, Britannia.

The sunset was slowly sinking into the horizon, turning the whole sea into flowing gold. Saber stood alone at the cliff edge, the sea breeze ruffling the golden hair on her forehead.

Floating, quietly on the surface of the dream, suspended at the moment of sinking.

"Hmm, let's talk about the king's story, a king named Youse."

"Before I arrived, he led Britannia's people. After I arrived, to protect Britannia's people, he launched an attack against the all‑destructive White Dragon, ending in defeat. Yet people still call him the greatest king. In your view, what made him a hero?"

"The courage of being human," Xing said.

"He raised his sword to challenge a dragon he could never defeat; the sword broke, the bow snapped, his body was torn apart—everything about him as a human was doomed to fail... Yet the way he lifted the sword to save something left a star in Britannia's darkest night."

"The stars we see aren't their original form, but the light isn't a lie; it will shine for a long, long time, until it illuminates the path of the next hero. The stage, that nameless one (Miss Yinfu) who calls our lives so, she used a Noble Phantasm to erase the stars' radiance."

"But... Master, if you still have courage... if you're willing to become a star, all the audience watching you will also step onto the stage and become heroes."

"I unintentionally spouted some grand principles, though it's just a clumsy imitation of Meilin."

Xing asked puzzled, "Where are you?"

"I'm waiting for someone about to take the stage, and I'm also riding a horse across the wasteland. The dream is ending, Master, whether for me or for you."

…

"What a strange dream..."

Xing opened her eyes, rubbed her sleepy eyes; in the dream she had seen a blonde girl gazing at the sea, speaking words she didn't understand. Fortunately she had rested enough and needed to get up for work.

——

Miss Kaguya wants me to confess.

"Miss Saber must be a very wise king, I can't understand why any subject would want to start a war?" Secretary Fujiwara sat on the sofa, enjoying the red tea just brought by Xiao Mi, "Isn't it good for everyone to govern the country happily together?"

"Senior Fujiwara, how do you link 'governing the country' with 'happily'?" Shishang took off the headphones on his head, "Only a reckless monarch stirring trouble in the palace could connect them, perhaps? When the king and ministers govern, can you, senior, handle the work 'cheerfully'?"

Fujiwara thought carefully and it did seem that way. When handling student council duties, it's not just like being pricked by thorns, it's like sitting on a bed of needles.

"Moreover, Miss Saber's ideas are good, but the country she envisions is too perfect, like the moon reflected in water you can never touch. It's like a strict boss; when subordinates realize they can never satisfy the boss, they become resentful, right?" Shishang continued to speculate.

"Saber's world actually has 'dragons'—so the Britannia she mentions must be a magic‑filled fantasy world, where rebellion is common, kings get beheaded..." Baiyin Yuxing suddenly realized, "By the way, Fujiwara, why are you so keen on governing the country?"

"As a woman planning to become the prime minister of Sakura Nation in the future, I naturally want to know how a king governs the country~" Fujiwara laughed "hehe" and made a V sign toward the president.

"Fujiwara... do you intend to destroy our country?"

"Not at all!! President, you have to trust me!"

——

Xing arrived at the Geology Department; upon entering she saw Lancer greet her, "Yo, sis, if you're here to slack off too, this place is already full."

"I'll report you right now."

"The section chief kid is busy battling wits and strength with the runaway creation of Ruan Mei, so he has no time for me." Lancer shrugged and turned aside, "No problem, you work here, I fish here, we each get what we need."

Xing decided to temporarily ignore this carefree defense officer and lowered her head to start working.

(Come on, don't lose to this idle adult!)

Xing encouraged herself in her mind.

She opened the CNC panel, intending to schedule the next meeting, but while she was busy, Lancer suddenly turned back, staring at her as if examining a rare creature, "I remember! You're the Star Core Essence they mentioned? By the way, when you sleep, do you glow like fireflies?"

"If you ask me, a young person like you should find a master, learn a whole set of skills, carve out your own world, be like a hero—free and unbound."

——

Ren Ya.

"Why does this Lancer seem like he's reminding her?" Lie Haiwang squinted, assessing the Lancer whose space‑station attire clashed with his own; his outfit looked more suited for a fight than for work.

"In my view, both Archer and Lancer aren't real; they're projections Xing imagined using Caster's ability," Dechuan said quietly, holding a teacup.

"Oh?" Gongben Wushang stroked his chin, looking at Dechuan with interest, "Care to elaborate?"

"It's actually simple, because human imagination also has power."

Guo Haihuang took the floor, raising his withered right hand, "Our bodies have 27 movable joints; if all move simultaneously, we could deliver a supersonic punch. Yet our joints can be increased by imagination—want more, you get more. Foolish Ke Si imagined himself made of thousands of bones, thus mastering the supersonic fist."

After listening, Gongben Wushang was also stunned, "... Can it really be like that?"

"Of course, but I mention this to highlight imagination's role. One's imagination can create countless joints; Xing's imagination birthed Archer and Lancer, manifestations of her subconscious, constantly reminding her to return to reality."

——

Xing shook her head, as if trying to ignore the distraction beside her ear; she looked at the panel's next meeting and set its time a hundred years later.

She seemed to recall something, a buzzing in her head.

Engine sparks streaking outside the space station, the slight weightlessness before a train's jump… all these are nonexistent fantasies; Xing kept shaking her head, forcing herself to focus her main energy on the task at hand.

"And there are 899 more meeting requests..."

Xing kept adding the next "Stellar Collapse Observation" to the schedule, reassuring herself that this was enough, but when she turned the page, all the meeting requests turned into a blank board.