Natural Freedom

Gilgamesh: Did you hear that, Rider? What that little girl, who names herself King of Knights, said? “To which I offered my life…”
Saber: Why is that humorous?! To ensure their country’s prosperity, a king should make any sacrifice.
Rider: No. The king does not make offerings. The nation and the people, offer themselves to the king. Not the reverse.
Saber: What? Those are a tyrant’s words!
Rider: Just so. We are heroes because we are tyrants. However, Saber, if a king regrets their rule or its conclusion, that king is nothing but a fool. Even worse than a tyrant.
Saber: Iskandar, your reign ended with your heirs slain, and your empire dissolved into three parts. You have no regrets about that end?
Rider: None. Not if it came to pass by my judgement and my retainers’ sacrifices… Its destruction was inevitable. I shall grieve. And I shall weep. But I shall never regret.
Saber: You…
Rider: Let alone undo it! Such an act would be a mockery of all who fought with me!
Saber: Only warriors can find glory in destruction! Of what worth is a king who fails to protect the powerless? A just rule , with just laws… Those are the true duties of a king!
Rider: So you, the king, are a slave to what is right?
Saber: That is acceptable. A king is a martyr to their ideals.
Rider: That is not how a person should live.
Saber: If I rule the nation as king, I cannot ask to live as a person. King of Conquerors, you seek the Holy Grail merely for your own benefit. You could never understand… You who became a ruler only to satisfy your endless greed.
Rider: A king without greed is even worse than a figurehead! Saber. You said you would become a martyr for your ideals. In life, you must have been a pure saint. A proud and noble figure, certainly. But who can truly admire the martyr’s thorny path? Who dreams of such an ending? A king… The king must be greedier than any other. He must laugh louder and rage harder. He must exemplify the extreme of all things, good and evil. That is why his retainers envy and adore him. And why the flames of aspiration, to be as the king is, can burn within his people. Proud king of chivalry… The righteousness and ideals you bore may indeed have saved your nation once. However, I’m certain you know what became of those who were saved, but left to themselves.
Saber: What?
Rider: You saved them, but you never led them. You never showed them what a king should be. YOu abandoned your men when they lost their way. Then, alone and untroubled, you followed your own petty little ideals. Thus, you are no true king. You are only a little girl, enraptured by a false idol of the king who serves others, but not themselves.
Saber: I… I…

Rider: Saber! Archer! Here is our banquet’s final question. Must the king be alone?
Saber: The king must indeed be alone!
Rider: No, you don’t understand at all. I suppose I’ll have to show you exactly what a real king is.

Rider: Here, my armies once rode across the land. The place all the heroes who stood with me, through joy and sorrow, will never forget. I can make this world real because it still exists within our hearts! Behold my endless armies! Their bodies destroyed, and their souls offered to the world as Heroic Spirits. And still, these legendary heroes pledge their loyalty to me! My bond with them is my greatest treasure, my path of kingship! The ultimate Noble Phantasm that I, Iskandar, possess. Ionian Hetairoi!

Rider: A king must live a grander life than any other’s, and stoke his people’s feelings of admiration! He who is worthy of all heroes’ envy, and he who leads their way, is king! Therefore, the king is not alone. For his will equals that of all his followers together!

Rider: A king must live a grander life than any other’s, and stoke his people’s feelings of admiration! He who is worthy of all heroes’ envy, and he who leads their way, is king! Therefore, the king is not alone. For his will equals that of all his followers together!