"We're finally here!"
Looking at the city walls that had appeared before her, Artoria's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"This is Camelot!"
"The royal capital of Britain!"
"..."
Artoria looked over at Ian.
"Why aren't you reacting at all?"
"Shouldn't you be excited at a time like this?"
"It smells bad."
"I don't really like it here."
A simple comment, but it made Artoria understand Ian's attitude.
Thinking about it, it was understandable.
Wanting to pull out that sword and become king was her own wish, and he didn't care about that.
Artoria thought this, but then she felt her hand being held tightly.
It was Ian, taking her hand.
"Let's go."
"Eh?"
Artoria hesitated for a moment, then spoke:
"Didn't you say you don't like it here?"
"But you like it."
"That's enough."
"..."
Artoria's gaze drifted away.
She clutched her chest, which had been ravaged by Ian several times, and suddenly felt like it was a pretty good deal.
"Mm, I understand."
In a somewhat ambiguous atmosphere, the two arrived at the gates of Camelot.
"Halt—"
Soldiers holding silver spears stopped the two of them.
"What's your business?"
"Um!" Artoria quickly explained.
"We've come to the city to try pulling out the sword!"
"..."
"..."
The two soldiers looked at each other, then both burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha!"
"Someone like you is going to pull out the sword—"
"You'd better not even think about it!"
"Yeah, plenty of big guys have come these past few days. With a frail-looking kid like you, don't waste your time."
"Going home to farm is more realistic than this!"
"..."
Artoria's face turned red.
She knew the two soldiers were acting this way because they saw her petite figure.
Damn it...
They're looking down on me!
While the young woman was still fuming, Ian, who was beside her, had already acted.
Without saying a word, he just stared at the two soldiers.
He was unarmed, and the clothes he wore didn't fit him well.
But—
The two soldiers felt a powerful killing intent.
As if in the next moment, the boy before them could tear them to shreds.
In an almost instinctive reaction for survival, the slightly burlier soldier raised his spear and pointed it at Ian.
"What are you doing?!"
"D-Don't think we'll be scared of you just because you're staring!"
"We are..."
Halfway through their words, the soldiers stopped.
Because they saw an incredibly terrifying scene.
Ian opened his mouth and bit down on the spear pointed at him.
Teeth ground against the spearhead, making an unsettling sound.
CRUNCH—
CRUNCH—
It was the sound of chewing food.
Under the soldiers' astonished gazes, Ian spat out the chewed-up iron fragments and continued to glare at them with that ferocious look in his eyes.
If before it was the instinct for survival.
Then now it was the feeling of having the word 'death' carved onto their foreheads.
Of course Artoria didn't fail to notice the soldiers' panic.
She quickly grabbed Ian and began to explain.
"Um!"
"My Ian, he's had strong teeth since he was a kid!"
"Don't be scared!"
"..."
The moment the words left her mouth, Artoria regretted them.
After all, it sounded completely ridiculous.
However—
It seemed like they didn't dare to refute her.
Right.
Artoria secretly glanced at Ian.
He's still panting heavily.
Who would dare to say otherwise?
"Is that so?"
"Strong teeth since he was a kid?" The soldier forced a very strained smile.
Of course he knew the explanation was pure nonsense.
But he couldn't refute it.
To be precise, he didn't dare to refute it.
"I see."
"..."
"..."
"Then we'll be going in!"
Realizing that if this went on, they'd be standing here all day, Artoria quickly took Ian's hand.
"See you around!"
But after just a few steps, as if she had remembered something, she returned to the soldiers.
"Um—"
"In the future, please don't look down on anyone."
"Someone will get very angry."
"Eh, oh... got it."
Under the soldiers' dazed stares, Artoria and Ian entered the city and parked the carriage.
Although the method was a bit unusual, at the very least, she had let off some steam.
Artoria's mood improved considerably in an instant.
"Um—"
"Thank you, Ian."
"You were standing up for me just now, weren't you?"
"..."
"Mm."
Ian nodded.
"I was very angry."
A look of affection appeared in Artoria's eyes.
After all, knowing that someone cares about you is something that's hard not to feel warm about.
But Ian's next sentence brought her back to reality.
"Artoria smells so good, after all."
"Hey!"
"Are you judging me from a food perspective?!"
Artoria put her hands on her hips and looked at Ian with a dissatisfied expression.
"But your chest does taste really good—"
The moment the boy said this, he felt his mouth being covered.
It was, naturally, the work of the extremely embarrassed Artoria.
"You're not allowed to say things like that outside!"
"People will think you're a pervert!"
"Also, you can't just get angry, it will cause a lot of problems!"
BOOM—
Right at that moment.
Thunder rumbled in the sky.
"See!" Artoria seized the opportunity, "Even the heavens are getting angry now!"
"Is that so?"
Ian looked up at the sky.
The lightning that would make ordinary people fearful seemed to have no deterrent effect on him at all.
On the contrary—
His eyes, reflecting the lightning, he muttered to himself.
"It's about the same when Mother gets angry."
"Eh?"
Artoria suddenly felt that she might not know enough about Ian.
At the same time—
The Sea of Life.
Actually, to be precise, it probably wasn't "at the same time."
After all, this boundless ocean created by Tiamat was a place where time and space did not exist.
But because of that.
The Sea of Life also had the potential to "link" to any era.
And now, its master, Tiamat, was raging here.
"Aaaaaah—!"
"Ian, there must be other girls around you now, right!"
"Don't get close to them..."
"You'll fall into an endless abyss!"
"Mama... will find you!"
"Mama... remembers your scent!"
Tiamat writhed lonely in the Sea of Life, appearing anxious and pained.
A storm brewed in the Sea of Life.
And in the skies of Britain, more thunder rumbled.