"Yusser..."
Triggered by Nocknare's words, Guinevere recalled the terrifying shadow he had encountered during the Holy Sword Bearer's simulation when he was in Orkney. It had only been a shadow, a mere remnant of power, but its strength was truly astonishing. Back then, Guinevere and his group had made several attempts to challenge Yusser and the Savior's Shadow, but all of them had been utterly defeated, leaving no chance for victory.
Even though Guinevere had far more advantages now, with a pile of external aids and nearly perfected swordsmanship, back in that simulation, they had still been a group consisting of strong individuals like Altria, along with Redra, a powerful dog with borrowed strength from Odin, and Percival, who was equally formidable. Altria had even nearly maxed out her abilities after ringing the bell in Orkney.
Despite all of this, they were still crushed by that terrifying duo. Had it not been for Altria suddenly coming up with a clever plan to separate them and duel them one-on-one, and Guinevere using his Flying Shield technique unexpectedly to take down Yusser, they might have been stuck there until Bagster tore down all of Britannia.
However, it was during the fight with that so-called knight, Yusser, that Guinevere confirmed something—Yusser, like him, was a traveler from another world and very likely someone with a system, otherwise, there would be no explanation for his full set of Calian Knight equipment, resembling the god-tier magic swordsman build from "Elden King."
Now that he thought about it, the schematics for the Paru Ball Factory they had auctioned off during the Gloucester auction were most likely left behind by that very Yusser King... Given that, it made perfect sense that he would have left behind a Legendary Paru Ball too.
"Wow, if we have a Legendary Paru Ball, doesn't that mean we can just fly?" Guinevere exclaimed, "With that level of Paru Ball, even Woodvoss or Lancelot might be caught with a single throw!"
"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Nocknare's eyes widened in surprise. "I thought Paru Balls only work on beasts... Can they really be used on fairies too?"
"Huh? You didn't know?" Guinevere blinked. "As long as you raise the Paru Ball and point it at your target, the device attached to the Paru Ball will show the success rate of capturing. It works for both people and fairies too, as long as the probability isn't 0.00%, it means you can capture them."
"Like that?" Nocknare immediately raised a regular Paru Ball in her hand and aimed it at Guinevere.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Guinevere quickly dodged to the side. "I told you it can capture people, but that doesn't mean you can use it on me!"
"Ah, sorry, I just wanted to check the probability after hearing you say that..."
Seeing Guinevere's reaction, Nocknare immediately waved her hand in reassurance. "Of course, I had no intention of using it on you! After all, according to my philosophy on love—ah, I mean, my method of commanding others— I never force people. I always go for a more honorable, persuasive approach!"
... Yeah, right.
Guinevere rolled his eyes in his mind, muttering inwardly, If you really were like that, you wouldn't have used that Queen's Contract to force me into being your errand boy...
However, Guinevere didn't voice this out loud. He wasn't like Altria, whose words often lacked consideration. As the saying goes, a wise person knows when to keep silent, and the last thing he wanted was to upset Nocknare by saying something she'd snap at.
So, he simply nodded. "Yeah, that's true. You're Nocknare, after all. I trust you."
Hearing his words, Nocknare immediately smiled. She quickly regained her composure, her face showing confidence as she nodded firmly. "That's right. As expected of my trusted subordinate, you're very insightful... Good job!"
With that, she raised another Green Advanced Paru Ball in her hand.
Guinevere: "?"
"Cough, cough, don't get too excited. I just didn't get a good look earlier, so I wanted to double-check," Nocknare explained, while quickly stashing the Paru Ball away. "Anyway, thanks for cooperating."
It seemed that both the regular and the advanced Paru Balls had shown a 0.00% capture probability when aimed at Guinevere. With that, Nocknare reluctantly gave up on this idea.
As for the Legendary Paru Ball... well, with Guinevere's abilities, Nocknare was confident he would still end up in her hands, so there was no need to waste the one-of-a-kind Legendary Paru Ball.
Just as Nocknare was about to turn her attention elsewhere, a commotion broke out ahead of them, grabbing both their attentions.
To their excitement, they discovered the source of the commotion—a pack of Double-Horned Beasts.
[Upon encountering the Double-Horned Beasts, the hunting party immediately took action.]
[Thanks to the team's wealth of experience in hunting monsters, and your Monster Hunter skill that intimidated the beasts, the hunt progressed smoothly.]
[You successfully captured all five Double-Horned Beasts and sealed them in Paru Balls.]
[During the hunt, due to your cooperation with Nocknare, the bond between you two deepened.]
[You continued hunting after that.]
[However, after the initial success, your luck turned. You couldn't find any suitable mount beasts for a long while.]
[After a day of searching, you returned empty-handed and disappointed.]
"By the way, Nocknare, when we set out, the goal was to capture more four-legged beasts for our new cavalry, right?" Guinevere asked as they made their way back.
"Yeah, what about it?" Nocknare responded casually.
"Well, I've got a question," Guinevere said. "The lake district to the west of Edinburgh is famous for its abundance of beasts and its low human population, right? If you want to hunt more beasts, why didn't we go there?"
"Oh, I see... you didn't know?" Nocknare looked surprised by his question.
"I didn't know what?" Guinevere frowned.
"Well, the lake district is actually the territory of Fairy Knight Lancelot, in Glasgow," Nocknare explained.
"Fairy Lancelot's... territory?" Guinevere blinked, a bit surprised.
He vaguely remembered hearing that Lancelot was the only fairy knight without a territory in the original plot, but now he understood the situation.
Of course, in this world, Lancelot didn't have that particular attachment to Aurora, so it made sense for her to have her own territory here.
Seeing his confusion, Nocknare slowed her fairy horse and continued, explaining further:
"Well, you wouldn't have known since not many people do... Glasgow is actually a closed-off city. Only a few clan leaders and their trusted subordinates know about it."
"A closed-off city?" Guinevere raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"
"Let me explain..." Nocknare paused. "Glasgow has another name—it's known as the Prison City."
"A prison city?" Guinevere repeated.
"Yes, there are no normal residents there. It's filled with the most ruthless criminals, all former fairy criminals. In the fairy kingdom, when someone commits a crime, if they're not executed, they either end up in the prisons of other territories or are exiled to the Nameless Forest in Cornwall."
"But there's an exception. That's when it's a particularly powerful criminal, someone with extraordinary strength, or a high-ranking fairy, like a great fairy. These criminals, when they die, their kind won't ever appear again in Britain. And some of them are rarer than others... because their abilities are unique. Killing them would be wasteful, and they provide substantial magical tax income each year."
"That's when Morgan stepped in," Nocknare explained further. "Instead of killing them, she decided to create a prison city in the lake district, a place where these criminal fairies would be locked up, with powerful queen knights stationed as wardens. Even if some manage to escape, the beasts and the horrors of the Moors will make their chances of survival slim."
"...This is sounding like Arkham Asylum," Guinevere muttered under his breath.
"Arkham Asylum? What's that?" Nocknare asked.
"Oh, it's like a place in human history, a prison for the most dangerous criminals. But those criminals end up taking over the place every now and then," Guinevere said, explaining briefly.
"I see. Well, nothing like that will happen in Glasgow. Morgan took care of everything. If something were to go wrong, they'd have Lancelot overseeing it. She's the strongest of the fairies, and even if the prisoners tried to take over, they wouldn't stand a chance against her."
"But there's something else," Nocknare added. "Lancelot is often in the Lake District near Dragon Skull, so it makes perfect sense for her to be the ruler of Glasgow."
"...Talk about going overboard," Guinevere commented. "Why not just execute them in the first place? If they're evil, let them pay the price. Locking them up for centuries? They'll just end up coming out and continuing to harm innocent people."
"Well, Morgan has her reasons," Nocknare replied, her voice tinged with thoughtfulness. "The criminals sent to the prison city are never allowed to leave, not even after serving their sentence. They're just replaced with new wardens. It's a fitting punishment."
Guinevere gave Nocknare a surprised look, seeing a side of her he hadn't quite expected. It seemed that Nocknare would be a capable queen.
[Although the hunting trip wasn't as fruitful as expected, after talking with Nocknare, you feel your relationship with her has deepened. Your understanding of her has also grown.]
[You returned to Edinburgh together.]
[Once back in Edinburgh, however, you received some unfortunate news.]
"Hey, you're back..."
Altria and Bevanxi, bound and tied, exchanged a glance before awkwardly speaking.
[You learned from Aiken that while you were away hunting, Altria and Bevanxi had infiltrated the Paru Ball Factory and tried to steal something, only to be caught.]
"How do you want to handle them?" Nocknare turned to Guinevere, asking.
"..."
Guinevere silently covered his face.
To be honest, sometimes watching these bumbling teammates of his... he just felt hopeless.