The development of events was so unexpected that Gawain didn't react for a whole half a minute.
He stared at the now-opened chest that Noletta had unveiled, where a shield of peculiar design, approximately the size of a medium-sized single-handed shield, lay quietly amidst cushioning material made from some unknown substance. A series of memories related to this shield surfaced in his mind—it was not unfamiliar to him, even though he had long abandoned finding it. This shield was once a personal piece of equipment for the body he now occupied, and the impressions in his mind were deep and clear.
He didn't expect such a thing to appear before him in such a manner at this particular moment.
Noletta's voice snapped Gawain out of his momentary distraction: "This is yours, right?"
"Ah, yes," Gawain blinked and nodded, "the shield of the protector of Anzu Kingdom. I thought I would never see it again in my lifetime. Was it in the hands of the Mithril Vault?"
