[To be able to re-establish the contract with the Briton fairies through the Throne at the earliest moment, you decisively choose to stay in Camelot, guarding beside the Throne.]
[However, due to not paying attention to the time during your conversation, Bavanzi's Water Mirror has reached its time limit, and you can no longer use it to swiftly return to Oxford.]
"This is troublesome… Without the Water Mirror, we can't rush back to inform everyone immediately."
Noknarei rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache.
Now that Reidra isn't with them, if they want to walk back to Oxford from here, it will take at least two days... At a time when the connection between the Throne and the Briton fairies is severing, and the fairy Morsification situation worsens by the day, being disconnected from the main forces for two days would be deadly.
Meanwhile, seeing Noknarei wearing a mask of pain, Artoria and Bavanzi exchanged anxious glances.
At that moment, a voice suddenly came from behind them:
"So... you all are sighing there? Why do your faces all look so grim? Did something happen?"
"Of course something serious happened," Artoria sighed, subconsciously replying, "You have no idea how bad the situation is right now\... Wait, this voice?!"
Finishing her words, she suddenly turned around sharply, and at the same time, Bavanzi and Noknarei recognized the voice, turning around with faces full of surprise:
"Lancelot?!"
"Eh? What's wrong? Why do you all look like that when you see me…?"
Behind them, Lancelot was peeking out from the doorway of the throne hall, scratching her head with a bit of confusion.
"Lancelot, how come you're here?!"
Noknarei hurriedly walked toward the fairy Lancelot, suddenly reaching out both hands and firmly grabbing Lancelot's shoulders, as if afraid she would suddenly run away.
"Eh?"
Seeing her reaction, Lancelot panicked immediately.
What's going on? Why are they reacting so strongly to me? Could it be... the matter of me slipping something into Guinevere's food... Has it blown up? Are they trying to give me trouble?
"I, I thought the meal I sent to Guinevere wasn't intercepted by Artoria, but Guinevere still wouldn't eat it, so I thought maybe the chef's cooking didn't suit Guinevere's taste, and I came to Camelot to tie up another chef... I hope I didn't cause any trouble with you guys."
Lancelot explained nervously, trying to break free from Noknarei's grip, sweat quietly appearing on her face.
Please, she had worked hard to barely ease the tension with these old rivals. Though she didn't really care how they saw her, if they kept obstructing her attempts to pursue Guinevere, it would be a headache. If she clashed with these three here today, all her efforts would be wasted!
However, just as fairy Lancelot's mind raced to find a safe escape, she heard Noknarei ask:
"Lancelot, how long does it take to fly from Camelot to Oxford?"
"Ah?" Although puzzled by Noknarei's question, Lancelot honestly answered,
"At normal speed, about fifteen minutes. At full speed, it could be much shorter... Why?"
"Great! No wonder you're the fastest in Britain, Lancelot," Noknarei said excitedly. "I need you to do me a favor. The situation is very urgent. I need you to take my token back to Oxford, find my deputy Eiken, and have him mobilize all my troops to Camelot at the fastest speed. Also, make sure Guinevere and the others still in Oxford get notified so they can rush to Camelot quickly."
"Huh? Can do... But you just took Oxford, right? Now you're pulling everyone out? Aren't you afraid the dissatisfied people there will rebel again?" Lancelot asked.
"At this point, that doesn't matter at all." Noknarei's expression was serious. "Since you traveled with Morgan from Still Tower, you should know some truths about the Throne... Just now, I found that Morgan has lost connection with the Throne."
"Huh?!" Lancelot's face immediately changed. "Impossible! Would Morgan abandon her beloved Throne?" Without waiting for others to react, she suddenly broke free from Noknarei's hands, dashed toward the Throne, and raised her sword using its scabbard, striking directly at the Throne—but just before the sword reached it, she suddenly stopped.
...It's true. That Morgan didn't jump out to stop me.
Lancelot turned back with a grim expression.
Why would she do that? Doesn't she fear the entire fairy kingdom will be destroyed?
"Who knows? Maybe she's tired and wants to quit, or maybe it's a test for us? Anyway, it looks like you understand the Throne's meaning... so I don't have to explain." Noknarei said solemnly. "Since that's the case, you should also understand why I need to gather forces to strongly defend Camelot."
"But doesn't that put Guinevere in the most dangerous spot?" Lancelot glared. "I can help with everything else, but please don't let Guinevere risk coming here."
"Guinevere isn't under my command, and he won't follow my orders. He'll just do whatever he wants... though we all know what he'll choose."
Noknarei sighed, then looked at Lancelot seriously:
"I know he's important to you, but not only you—he's important to all of us. It's just that we can't choose for him. Also, borrowing from a phrase I saw in Guinevere's hometown military book... 'When the nest is destroyed, what eggs can remain intact?'"
..."I understand."
After a long silence, Lancelot finally nodded gently. "I will protect him."
[One day, you are suddenly awakened by disturbances outside the window. When you wake, you find Noknarei's army has inexplicably abandoned Oxford and is heading directly to Camelot.]
[You open your door and see Lancelot waiting outside your room.]
[You learn from her about the connection between Morgan, the fairies' contract, the Throne, and fairy Morsification.]
[Although Lancelot tries to persuade you not to go to Camelot, offering to fight in your stead,]
[You refuse her request and quickly rendezvous with the main forces, heading to Camelot together.]
"But if the enemy is that thing, we must gather every bit of strength we can."
Though Lancelot hadn't explained clearly to Guinevere, or maybe she herself wasn't fully sure, Guinevere roughly guessed what they were facing next:
The Celtic Beast God Cernunnos.
Even before traveling here, Guinevere was vaguely familiar with the FGO fairy kingdom story. He knew how strong the Horned God was—when the 2.6 final chapter first launched, all the old masters in his group were utterly devastated. The boss battle's difficulty in some way reflected the Horned God's strength.
This was not something comparable to the previous Flame Disaster Lancelot or Beast Disaster Bagust. No amount of preparation would be enough to face this.
[Due to the special situation, you reluctantly put aside your prejudice against Lancelot and ask her to go to Lydney, inviting Percival and the Round Table army to Camelot to assist with defense, then also proceed to Gloucester and Sheffield to bring Murian and Boght there. This is your first time actively requesting her help.]
[Lancelot is ecstatic and immediately leaves Oxford to find Percival and deliver the message.]
[Then, you, Bagust, and Eiken lead Noknarei's troops in a forced march to Camelot.]
(As you leave Oxford, you notice that large numbers of wandering Mors are already appearing along the roads. Though you quickly deal with them, the number of Mors keeps increasing and they start forming clusters.)
[As you near Camelot, you encounter a massive tide of Mors, but after fighting hard with Bagust, the tide is quickly defeated.]
[Afterwards, you lead the army into Camelot and quickly establish your base. However, during the process, you find Camelot is apparently in chaos.]
Now, let's switch perspective back to Artoria.
[After Lancelot heads to Oxford, you haven't stopped.]
[Though she can deliver messages to Oxford fast enough, the partners there still need two days to reach Camelot.]
[During this time, Noknarei quickly takes charge of Camelot.]
[Though the bureaucrats in Camelot haven't sworn loyalty to Noknarei, those who have always played fence-sitters in past simulations quickly show wisdom and declare submission to Noknarei, who has already unified the fairy kingdom.]
[After temporarily taking command of Camelot, Noknarei reviews recent reports and indeed finds many cases of fairy Morsification occurring. The frequency is accelerating, and the severity far surpasses Oxford. Noknarei suspects this is because Camelot is too close to the Great Void.]
[To prevent further disaster, Noknarei decisively issues a curfew order, forbidding residents from leaving their homes even half a step. She orders Camelot's guards to deal with the Mors and commissions you and Bavanzi to assist.]
[However, while you are busy handling the Mors, senior fairies and officials in Camelot notice Noknarei arrived without troops, accompanied only by you and Bavanzi. They begin to harbor some improper thoughts.]