Inside the dungeon.
Lancelot and Gawain stared at each other in silence for a few seconds.
Then, almost at the exact same time, they looked away.
Right after that, they perfectly synchronized their heads at a forty-five-degree angle to stare at the small iron window embedded in the stone wall.
Neither of them had ever imagined they would one day end up imprisoned like this.
They could still remember clearly how they had left Camelot full of confidence and fighting spirit.
And now…
They had been defeated.
Captured.
And thrown into a cell.
Overall?
Humiliating.
Extremely humiliating.
"We have to escape!"
"Of course! Losing was already humiliating enough. If my king has to personally come rescue us… then we'll never be able to show our faces before the Round Table again!"
Now that they had experienced Mordred's current strength firsthand, both of them understood something terrifying:
They feared Artoria might need to gather all the Knights of the Round Table just to stand a chance at defeating her.
Gawain and Lancelot imagined themselves wearing prisoner uniforms in front of their former comrades.
Lancelot & Gawain:
"Prison break! We need a prison break!"
"You may lose a duel… but you must never lose your dignity!"
After all, they were not ordinary knights.
They were the number one and number two knights of the Round Table.
They did not fear embarrassing themselves before enemies…
But they deeply feared embarrassing themselves before their own comrades.
Especially before their king.
Otherwise, they might end up like Mordred in the past, wearing a helmet all the time out of shame to face others.
Besides…
If they escaped, they could at least bring important information back to Camelot.
However—
"Guhhh!"
"Haah!"
"Goooo!"
"Kuhwu—!"
Strange noises echoed violently throughout the dungeon.
The guard responsible for watching them could not stop a subtle expression from appearing on his face.
He began wondering what kind of relationship truly existed between the legendary first and second knights of the Round Table.
In reality…
Lancelot and Gawain were simply trying to break their chains through brute force.
And failing miserably.
Their armor had already been stripped away long ago.
Even Arondight and Excalibur Galatine had been confiscated by Mordred as spoils of war and handed over to Leon.
On top of that…
The two were restrained with sealing shackles.
These magical items completely blocked the flow of magical energy.
Even though their physical abilities were absurdly high…
Without magic, everything became useless.
"Gawain… what do we do? I can't escape."
"…It's fine. There are still other methods!"
Gawain stared at the shackles on his wrists with deadly seriousness.
Then he began thinking of another solution.
"When they bring us food, we take the utensils… we use the spoons to dig a tunnel. Since we can't use magic, we'll have to rely on perseverance!"
"Good idea!"
The plan sounded wonderful.
However…
As two noble and honorable knights of the King of Knights, they clearly possessed absolutely no experience with prison life.
For example…
When discussing an escape plan, it is usually better to speak quietly.
Not loudly enough for the guards to hear every single word perfectly.
Guard:
"…Right. Let's pretend we didn't hear anything until they finish digging half the tunnel."
"By the way… not only do these two Knights of the Round Table seem to have some kind of strange relationship…"
"…they also don't seem very intelligent."
While the two knights enthusiastically discussed their escape plan…
An unexpected accident occurred.
When night fell and the guards brought dinner, Gawain and Lancelot froze.
"T-This is…!"
"So luxurious?!"
Of course, by the standards of the Magic Kingdom, this was merely a simple prison meal:
Two pieces of bread per person.
A bowl of vegetable soup.
And some pickles.
For someone born in Leon's Magic Kingdom, this would be considered miserable.
Under Leon's rule, the citizens of Palettia already enjoyed extremely comfortable lives.
Even ordinary commoners could eat meat regularly.
Guard:
"Hmph. Enemies who dare oppose His Highness Leon deserve nothing more than this."
"In the Magic Kingdom, even dogs would refuse this food."
But…
This was Britain.
A poor land.
An island constantly ravaged by war and famine.
Even the Knights of the Round Table sometimes had to endure miserable meals.
Lancelot and Gawain stared at the food before them with wide eyes.
Then swallowed hard.
Gawain:
"…Suddenly, I feel like there may not be any need to escape so quickly."
Lancelot:
"I agree… we still need to gather more information before returning."
Damn it.
This already tasted better than Gawain's mashed potatoes.
If every prison meal was like this…
The two felt they could stay there another ten days before even considering escape.
In fact…
At that moment, Gawain seriously considered inviting Artoria to visit the prison.
After all, due to the war in Camelot, even mashed potatoes had been reduced from once a day to once every two days.
"If prisoner food is already this luxurious…"
"…then just how good must Mordred's meals be?"
"Where did she get so many resources?"
Lancelot seemed deeply disturbed.
Especially when remembering the previous battle.
Mordred's abilities had not increased absurdly.
But the equipment…
That was completely ridiculous.
Compared to Mordred's fully enchanted armor, the magical accessories spread across her body, and her seemingly endless magical energy…
Lancelot and Gawain, even while wielding holy swords, had looked like rookie adventurers fresh out of the starting village.
Their defeat had happened almost entirely because of the absurd equipment gap.
"This must be support from Leon's Magic Kingdom…"
"…I truly didn't expect it to be this excessive."
"How rich is that country…?"
Gawain commented with genuine envy.
Then he bit into the bread.
And felt it tasted better than meat.
At that moment…
The two Knights of the Round Table officially began their happy and peaceful prison life.
---
Meanwhile…
In Camelot—
"Gawain and Lancelot actually lost?! And were even captured?! How is that possible?!"
Upon receiving the news, Artoria's eyes widened.
She nearly dropped the utensils she was holding.
She knew Mordred possessed monstrous talent.
But even so…
She should not have been capable of defeating the two of them together.
Artoria reflected for a few moments.
Then immediately made her decision.
"Gather the main army and all the Knights of the Round Table."
"It seems we'll have to respond with full force."
"My king… wouldn't that be excessive?"
"No."
Artoria answered without hesitation.
"Although Mordred is impulsive, she is not stupid."
"If she managed to defeat even Lancelot and Gawain, then that means she possesses absolute confidence and far greater power than we imagined."
"No… even using our full strength may still not be enough."
Especially because Mordred's victory had caused enormous political impact.
Various forces dissatisfied with Artoria had begun joining Mordred's side.
Even neutral factions had started wavering.
Artoria understood perfectly:
If she underestimated the enemy…
She would fall.
---
"Ah…"
"Lancelot… Gawain…"
Artoria slowly lowered her gaze.
Before her sat a massive steak.
Meat from a true land dragon she had recently defeated.
Originally, this was meant to be her small reward after so many days of hard work.
But now…
When she thought about her captured knights potentially suffering torture…
She could no longer eat.
Her subordinates were suffering.
How could she enjoy meat alone?
Artoria closed her eyes.
"…Forget it."
"…I won't eat."
"Distribute this to the people of the city."
"As king… I must share both joys and suffering with my subordinates."
Meanwhile—
Inside the dungeon.
Gawain:
"Ahhh… this bread is delicious…"
Lancelot:
"Ahhh… this vegetable soup is wonderful…"
(End of Chapter)