"Are you Shizue?"
On the wide-open grassland, a figure in blue and white armor slowly approached.
Her pace wasn't fast.
Yet with each step, it felt as if she crossed through space itself, closing the distance in an instant.
In just the blink of an eye, she was standing in front of Shizue and the children.
"Knight?"
"So pretty…"
"Do you know her, Shizue-sensei?"
The children were stunned by her appearance, awestruck by her beauty and imposing presence.
"Who are you?"
This was Shizue's first time seeing her.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
Artoria gave a formal knight's bow. "I am Artoria Pendragon, the Guardian Knight of Rin."
"Pen, Pendragon?!"
One of the children, a blonde girl holding a pink plush doll, widened her eyes. "Are you… are you related to the legendary King Arthur?!"
These children had been summoned to the Cardinal World via summoning magic. They were originally from Earth.
Among them, Alice had come from a British noble family before being summoned. She was very familiar with the legend of King Arthur.
"King Arthur?"
"I don't know what your world's version of the legend is like."
"But in my world, I am King Arthur."
Artoria's words left Alice completely dumbfounded. "No way…"
"King Arthur is actually a girl… and such a beautiful onee-san…"
Luckily, the little girl didn't have any firm belief that King Arthur had to be male.
If anything, a female King Arthur was way cooler!
"Arthur King? That Arthur King?"
"The one from British legend?"
"Is that real or fake?"
Kenya was Japanese, but he'd also played games about King Arthur and knew the legend.
"If King Arthur's a woman, wouldn't that make her super weak?!"
"Heh…"
Artoria didn't bother arguing with a bunch of seven or eight-year-olds. After all, children spoke without much thought.
Whack!
"Ow!"
That said, discipline still had to be enforced.
"What was that for?!"
Kenya clutched his forehead and glared at the blonde girl who'd just smacked him. "You ambushed me! That's low!"
"I'll never acknowledge a woman like you as a righteous knight!"
"A righteous knight?"
Artoria raised an eyebrow at his fierce little glare, then shook her head. "A knight isn't something a brat like you can define."
"And looking down on women? That attitude needs correcting."
She punctuated her words with a punch, which immediately raised a large bump on his head.
"Owww!"
"That hurt! You awful woman!"
"Ughhh!! I'm so mad!! I demand a duel with you~!"
Luckily, Shizue quickly stepped in to stop the stomping Kenya. She gave Artoria an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Kenya doesn't mean any harm."
"I know."
Artoria smiled softly. In truth, she preferred Alice and the shy black-haired girl beside her.
"Hello, Onee-san! I'm Alice."
"I-I'm Chloe."
"Gale Gibson."
"I'm Ryota Sekiguchi. Are you really King Arthur?"
Compared to Kenya, the other kids were far more polite.
Faced with their curiosity, Artoria nodded. "Yes. I was once the King of Knights who ruled Britain."
"Um, Artoria-san… is Master available?"
"Is this about the children?"
Artoria told Shizue not to be so formal. Everyone was Rin's subordinate. They were family.
"Master told me before."
"As soon as you returned, I was to notify him. He will come immediately to heal the children."
"Good."
Shizue let out a relieved breath upon hearing that.
Of course, she could've contacted Rin herself.
But she was too shy and worried that she'd be interrupting something important.
'Important…'
Artoria thought of what was happening in the backline right now.
Where Rin and Rimuru were watching the livestream of their own dungeon run.
She really couldn't tell the truth.
Rin wasn't handling any important business. He was clearly slacking off and having fun.
"Master…"
"Rin…"
So, the two women called Rin's name at the same time to get his attention.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, Rin, who was in the dungeon, looked up. "Artoria. Shizue?"
"The children arrived?"
Healing the children was serious business. Rin couldn't ignore it, not even for the bet with Rimuru.
More importantly…
Rin glanced at the two grayed-out avatars in his party.
"Forget it."
"Anyway, we've already lost…"
Rin didn't even have the energy to complain anymore. He had truly witnessed the legendary incompetence of Aqua and Megumin.
He had clearly explained everything before entering the dungeon.
But Megumin ignored everything he said.
The moment they entered the dungeon, she shouted, "It's my first dungeon ever! I have to commemorate it!"
Then the chuunibyou girl immediately raised her staff and fired off Explosion in the narrow, enclosed dungeon corridor.
'What the f***'
That was the only thought Rin could manage at the time.
Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, the first dungeon run for their team ended with all four of them buried alive.
Of course, Rin and Darkness weren't afraid of being buried alive.
But they had agreed to use only the data of Konosuba adventurers for this run.
So once they were buried, it was game over.
Not to mention Aqua and Megumin, who didn't have Rin and Darkness's durability. The moment the cave collapsed, they were declared "dead" and teleported out.
Just like that, their one chance to explore the dungeon for the day ended within a single minute of entry.
Enraged, Rin pinned Megumin, who couldn't move after exhausting all her magical energy, across his knee and gave her a solid spanking.
He didn't stop until the little girl burst into tears and swore again and again to obey Rin and never act without permission again.
Afterward, Rin gave a mountain of instructions.
Megumin solemnly swore on Explosion Magic itself not to mess up again.
Once her magical energy was restored, they began their second run.
This time, the troublemaker changed from Megumin… to Aqua.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)