LightReader

Chapter 345 - Artoria, Are You Sure You're Not a Pig?

They... they've already gotten this far?

Artoria clenched her tiny fists as her silver teeth ground furiously.

"This breakfast... Bagst made it for you, didn't he?"

"Huh?" Gawain blinked. "I guess... yeah? Unless someone else snuck into my room while I was asleep."

—What's that supposed to mean?! Did Bagst actually prep breakfast while Gawain was asleep and then sneak out quietly?

What the hell?! What kind of domestic goddess move is that?! How did things escalate so fast between them?!

And why doesn't Gawain even sound sure about who made it? What's with that? Was he that exhausted? He just woke up and still looks half-dead—was last night really that draining?

Artoria was so furious she was practically grinding her teeth into powder.

"So... wanna eat together?"

Gawain looked at her tight-lipped expression and then glanced at the food she was glaring at. He thought for a few seconds—maybe the kid was hungry again? So he offered.

But somehow, the moment he asked that, Artoria's face just darkened even more.

"...So, you're not eating?"

Gawain asked cautiously.

"How could I possibly have an appetite? I mean—" Bavinci started to explain, but was suddenly cut off by Artoria's determined voice:

"...I'll eat!"

Bavinci froze mid-sentence, mouth agape.

—Meanwhile, Gawain let out a breath of relief.

Whew, he thought something was actually wrong. If Artoria still had an appetite, then things were probably fine... right?

...A few dozen seconds later, watching Artoria scarfing down breakfast like a starved beast, Gawain went silent.

Maybe she really was starving. The way she was devouring everything... like a reincarnated famine spirit.

Thinking about it, Gawain simply pushed his own portion over to her.

"You can have mine too. Slow down a bit. Don't worry, no one's gonna steal it. Just don't choke."

Honestly, when Galahad had cooked, the portions were always pretty huge. From Gawain's rough estimate, it was enough to feed someone three full meals. So even if he split it with Artoria and Bavinci, each would still get a full serving.

...What he forgot, however, was that Artoria's stomach had never been limited to just one serving.

Naturally, Artoria had no qualms about taking the rest. After quickly inhaling her own portion, she immediately accepted the extra from Gawain, cleaning it up in no time, leaving Bavinci staring at her in stunned silence.

"Wait... you can eat that much?" Bavinci asked in a daze.

"What's that supposed to mean? You don't want yours? If not, I'll take it," Artoria said, glancing at her plate and licking her lips.

"...Huh?"

Bavinci felt like her brain was about to crash.

No way. She's gotta be a pig, right? How can she still be eating?

"You're the pig! Your whole family are pigs!"

Artoria, seeing right through her thoughts, snapped:

"If I don't eat it all, what—let Gawain finish and then hear him praise Bagst's cooking again? No way I'm letting that happen!"

"Alright then," Bavinci nodded and pushed her plate over. "All yours. Just the thought of it being made by Bagst killed my appetite..."

"? Wait, what's going on between you all again?"

Gawain suddenly noticed that Artoria had stopped calling Bagst by his nickname and was now using his full name—meanwhile, Bavinci was clearly holding a grudge too. Something wasn't adding up.

"You really have no idea what you did?"

Artoria glared at him.

"???"

Gawain furrowed his brows and tried to seriously recall what he might've done lately... Had he pissed her off somehow?

Should he know?

While Gawain was getting lost in thought, his door was suddenly kicked open. Nocnarele stormed in like a general ready to interrogate a traitor.

"Gawain! What's going on between you and Galahad?!"

"...Huh?"

Seeing Nocnarele's fierce expression, Gawain was totally thrown off.

"What do you mean, 'what's going on'?"

"I mean that! That thing!"

Nocnarele started to explain but then stopped midway. Instead, she turned to Aiken behind her.

"Aiken, didn't you say you saw it with your own eyes? You explain!"

In Gawain's increasingly confused line of sight, Aiken marched up and stood in front of Nocnarele like a soldier standing at attention.

"Yes, ma'am! This morning, I personally witnessed Knight Galahad leaving Sir Gawain's room looking panicked—and wearing Sir Gawain's coat! Furthermore, after investigating, I discovered that Galahad didn't return to her room at all last night!"

"Therefore! There's only one explanation!" Aiken dramatically held up a finger. "She must have spent the night at Sir Gawain's! What's going on between you two?! Come clean!"

After Aiken's outburst, Nocnarele put on a calm face and looked at Gawain.

"Gawain. Is what Aiken just said true?"

"...I think I get it now."

At this point, even Gawain couldn't pretend to be clueless anymore. He scratched his head with a sigh.

"Okay, look... Aiken isn't wrong. Bagst did spend the night here. But I think you're all misunderstanding. Nothing happened between us. There's nothing special going on."

"But she made you heart-shaped breakfast! How is that not a sign?!" Artoria burst out.

"Heart-shaped... breakfast?" Nocnarele, who had just started calming down, tensed again.

"I mean, if it really was a romantic breakfast, would I have let Artoria eat the whole thing?" Gawain facepalmed.

"I made Bagst a late-night snack yesterday, alright? She didn't eat it, but maybe she just returned the favor with breakfast this morning... maybe?"

"You even made her a midnight snack?!" Artoria gasped.

"? Is that the main issue here? Seriously? I made you midnight snacks too, remember?" Gawain frowned. "You and Bavinci both got hungry at night, and I cooked for you!"

"Now that you mention it... he did." Bavinci nodded.

"So what did you two do last night?" Artoria asked again. "Don't tell me you just talked all night?"

"Well... no, not all night," Gawain scratched his head. "Bagst came over to talk about what makes a good knight. I told her a story about an old knight friend of mine. She fell asleep listening. I was planning to see her out after she woke up, but I ended up falling asleep too while waiting. We've all been running around nonstop for days—it's only natural."

"How can you prove you're telling the truth?" Aiken immediately demanded.

He had to challenge this. If they really were innocent, then he'd basically just caused an unnecessary scandal...

"Well," Gawain said, "then give me a reason to lie. Bagst and I are both knights, not priests. We're not forbidden from dating. We're both single. Even if we were dating, we could just announce it and accept everyone's blessings, right? Why would I need to hide it if it were true?"

"...Uh."

Artoria, Bavinci, and Nocnarele all looked at each other.

That... actually made sense.

Even if each of them had once "promised themselves" to Gawain in different simulations... the reality now was, at best, they were just friends.

Just then, heavy footsteps came from outside. Everyone turned toward the door—Bagst had arrived, panting.

"Gawain, we've got a problem—rumors are spreading about us—huh? Why is everyone here?"

She froze when she saw the room packed full of people, all of whom immediately turned their attention to her.

"So... everything he just said is true?" Artoria narrowed her eyes. "You stayed the night to hear him tell a knight story... and then just fell asleep?"

"Uh... yeah," Bagst looked away awkwardly. "I have a habit of falling asleep after bedtime stories. I didn't mean to doze off in Gawain's room. That was... unintentional."

"..."

Artoria activated her Fairy Eyes and scanned her.

...It seemed to be the truth?

"Then why did you make him a heart-shaped breakfast?" she asked again.

"Heart-shaped? What heart-shaped breakfast?" Bagst was confused. "I just... well, the knight in Gawain's story was good at cooking and liked sharing meals with fellow knights. I figured cooking might be part of a knight's training too. I'm pretty good at it, so I thought I'd share some with Gawain..."

She turned to him with expectation.

"So, Gawain, how was it? Does my cooking meet the standard of a great knight?"

"Uh... about that..." Gawain looked at Artoria.

"You might want to ask her. I didn't actually get to eat any."

"Huh?" Bagst blinked. "But I made enough for, like, three people..."

All eyes turned to Artoria again.

Finally, Nocnarele spoke:

"So... you ate all of it? By yourself? Before confirming that nothing happened between them? While still thinking it was a romantic breakfast?"

"Uh... well..."

"Artoria. Be honest," Nocnarele narrowed her eyes.

"Are you sure the Fairyland folk don't secretly go by the name... Boar Clan?"

More Chapters