Player's Journey In Anime World

At a time when the Roman Empire was amassing over 100,000 troops along its borders in preparation for war, Ryou made a bold move. Exploiting the internal troop shortages within the Roman Empire, he led his navy past the Strait of Gibraltar, sailing directly into the Mediterranean. From there, he launched a surprise invasion deep into the Italian Peninsula, aiming straight for Rome—the heart of the empire! Rome, a coastal city just 20-30 kilometers from the sea—barely a day's march—was left utterly unprepared.

Ryou's decisive strike was nothing short of brilliant. The Roman consul and senators had no time to react as Britannia's navy, carrying 20,000 troops, suddenly appeared before their capital. At that moment, Rome's Praetorian Guard numbered a mere 2,000. It wasn't entirely the fault of Rome's leaders for being caught off guard; Ryou's strategy was far too advanced for their time. The concept of an amphibious assault was utterly unprecedented for the decaying Roman Empire.

Facing a force of 2,000 against 20,000, the Romans had the advantage of defending their homeland, which boosted their morale. But Ryou wasn't interested in a drawn-out siege. Instead, he unleashed a relentless bombardment with ballistae aimed at the city gates. Longbows rained arrows down on the walls, while elite crossbowmen used specialized weapons to snipe any Romans daring to show themselves. After just a few rounds of this onslaught, Roman casualties exceeded a third of their forces before the two sides had even clashed.

The demoralized defenders faltered, and Ryou seized the opportunity to deploy battering rams. With a series of violent strikes, the gates of Rome were shattered, leaving the capital exposed—like a stunning beauty lying defenseless. Britannian soldiers, eager for conquest, stormed the city. However, Ryou's strict military code prohibited looting, arson, or assault in occupied territories. Violations were punishable by death, even implicating commanding officers. This discipline earned Britannia a surprising level of tolerance among conquered populations, such as the French, despite their complete subjugation.

While sparing the Roman civilians, Ryou showed no mercy to the city's elite. Senators, nobles, and even the emperor himself were captured and summarily executed. This wasn't sheer cruelty; Ryou needed to move swiftly. Roman forces were rushing back from all directions, and Britannia's army couldn't afford to be bogged down by prisoners or encumbered by Rome's treasury, which had been emptied of its vast wealth. Executing the Roman elite served a dual purpose: it eliminated the burden of prisoners and plunged the empire into chaos. Leaderless, Rome descended into internal strife, with factions vying for power. If the infighting escalated, it would only benefit Britannia.

With his mission complete, Ryou withdrew with the spoils of war, leaving behind a devastated Rome. The wealth accumulated over centuries was so immense that it couldn't all be transported. Ryou prioritized the most valuable treasures, discarding even large quantities of gold in favor of priceless gems. This lightning-fast campaign left Rome in ruins, sparking outrage across the empire. However, with the ruling class annihilated, no one could muster a coordinated response. Ryou and his navy returned home triumphant. The riches seized were unparalleled, and Ryou became enamored with the ease of such plundering.

"No wonder they say murder and arson make you rich while building bridges leaves no corpse behind," he mused.

Emboldened, he directed his forces to continue their dual-front assault: the Round Table Knights advanced across the land borders, while the navy harassed the Italian coastline. This relentless two-pronged strategy drove the Romans to despair. Combined with internal turmoil, the empire seemed on the brink of collapse, like a fading sun setting on its final days. The Roman Empire's vast coastline—poorly defended without a strong navy—left it vulnerable to Britannia's superior maritime tactics.

Over the next three years, Ryou's unyielding campaigns drained the Roman Empire. The once-mighty power crumbled under his near-insidious tactics. From that moment on, no European nation could stand in the way of the Holy Britannian Empire's rise.

Ten years later, under Ryou's guidance, Artoria ascended as emperor of a unified European continent. Ryou personally crowned her as the ruler of the Holy Empire. By this point, this was Ryou's third empire-building game. Even the most enjoyable game can grow tiresome. With Britannia now unrivaled and global domination inevitable, the game had entered its waste of time, and Ryou felt little satisfaction.

His sole remaining interest lay in scouring the world's secret realms for rare treasures. There he dedicated to strengthening Artoria, his cherished creation, as though feeding her the ultimate in-game resources. Unlike the one-dimensional characters of a typical game, Artoria, whom Ryou personally nurtured to power, filled him with unparalleled pride. But Artoria was no mere fictional figure. She observed Ryou's tireless efforts and grew to admire him deeply. In an empire with no man equal to Ryou in ability, Artoria found herself seeing him in a new light—though she remained unaware of this change. Ryou, for his part, remained oblivious to her feelings. However, Morgan, the jealous and cunning onlooker, noticed it all. Her twisted mind soon hatched a brilliant plan for revenge against Artoria.

Ryou was shocked to discover that his yandere mother, Morgan, was behaving strangely, constantly looking for opportunities to seduce him. To make matters worse, Artoria joined in once she found out. If it were King Arthur's Artoria, this would never happen—after all, in King Arthur's heart, Britain always came first. However, after ascending as the Empress of the Holy Britannian Empire, Artoria had grown more assertive due to her position. Simply put, as the Holy Empress and the most powerful woman in the world, Artoria had become even more willful. An emperor's privilege is doing as they please.

Thus, during Ryou's time in the latter half of the Arthurian legend world, he was almost daily caught in the love-triangle battlefield between his Empress Mother and Stepmother.

This turmoil even diminished his interest in correction training Jeanne Alter, who privately grumbled, wondering if something was wrong with Ryou. Finally enduring until the dungeon world ended, Ryou was ready to escape back to Chaldea, only to be caught by Artoria. She insisted on signing a Servant contract with him and returning to Chaldea together.

Ryou was stunned. How did this Lantoria know about Chaldea? Ryou had forgotten that this was his fault. Through his endless enhancements, this version of Artoria had gained the ability to traverse time and space. Once, out of curiosity, she responded to a summoning from another world, returning to the Fourth Holy Grail War and meeting Ryou's past self. Rather than being angry that Ryou had replaced Mordred, Artoria was delighted. After all, if Ryou truly were her son, she wouldn't have been able to overcome that final barrier. She was not Morgan, who, in her twisted ways, would do anything for revenge.

Artoria persisted in pressuring Ryou to sign the Servant contract. In the meantime, Morgan, having heard the news, rushed over and demanded equal treatment. Left with no other choice, Ryou reluctantly signed two Servant contracts. As for Jeanne Alter, she had already been trained into a loyal servant and had returned to Chaldea early.

...

Today marked Ryou's first day back in Chaldea. He sat in the dining hall, preparing to enjoy his breakfast when Artoria—dignified and regal—sat down across from him with a serious expression. Ryou immediately put down his chopsticks.

"Is something the matter, Artoria?"

Artoria's brow furrowed slightly.

"You should address me as 'Mother Empress.'"

Ryou quickly obliged.

"Alright, Mother Empress."

Artoria's face softened with a small smile, though her gaze wavered, and her voice dropped noticeably.

"Um, Prince... could you make breakfast for your Mother Empress?"

By the end of her request, Artoria's voice was barely audible. If not for Ryou's heightened senses, he wouldn't have known what she said.

Seeing Artoria, usually so commanding, now blushing slightly and acting demurely, Ryou's heart skipped a beat. Once, on a whim, he had cooked a meal himself. Artoria, tasting his cooking, was utterly amazed. What he didn't know was that, as a supreme foodie, Artoria had been dreaming about his cooking ever since. But back then, as the Imperial Crown Prince, with her as the Empress, it was unthinkable for her to ask him to cook.

Now, with their statuses no longer an obstacle, her longing for his cooking had grown unbearable. Finally seizing the opportunity, she shyly made her request. For Ryou, this wasn't a big deal. After all, he often cooked for his contracted Servants, claiming it was a way to boost bonds and progress their storyline.

Just as Ryou was heading to the kitchen, someone hugged him from behind. Immediately, he felt an unmistakably soft deadly weapon pressing into his back. Morgan's sultry, slightly husky voice whispered behind him, "My dear son, I have finally found you. Look, I even made breakfast for you myself. Come, eat it."

She placed a bowl of purple-black, bubbling, potion-like semi-liquid in front of him.

Ryou could only think that Morgan had a knack for brewing poisons. Seeing this interloper ruin her plans, Artoria's face darkened with anger.

"Morgan, the Prince already promised to cook for me. Stop interfering."

Morgan's eyes lit up. Normally, Artoria was calm and composed, especially as Empress, rarely showing her emotions. Yet here she was, angry over breakfast. To Morgan, this was pure entertainment. Seeing Artoria's frustration only made her more gleeful.

"Aren't you a grown woman? Can't you cook for yourself? Some Empress you are."

"You—!"

Artoria was no match for Morgan's sharp tongue. The angrier Artoria became, the more delighted Morgan was.

"Come on, my son. Ignore this woman. Mommy will feed you. I spent all night making this—open up, ah~~~."

Morgana held a spoonful of the ominous liquid, her eyes fixed on Artoria's face, clearly more interested in provoking her sister than feeding Ryou. He resisted the urge to cover his face.

"Why did I end up with two mothers like this? I want to scream!"

Originally, Ryou's life in Chaldea revolved around eating, sleeping or nightly pleasure, and being tormented by Scathach. Now he was caught in the crossfire between his Empress Mother and Stepmother. After three days of this, Ryou had had enough.

Luckily, the system's first phase of the [Godhood Quest] required killing a large number of deities. Using this as an excuse, he prepared to escape to the [DanMachi] world. But even then, Artoria and Morgan refused to let him go alone, insisting on accompanying him.

As Ryou was about to find an excuse to leave them behind, Scathach—usually indifferent to such matters—unexpectedly intervened.