"How dare they flee from under my very throne? Do they harbor some grievance against me?!"
Gilgamesh slammed his fist against the armrest of his throne in fury. If he were a decade younger, he would have dragged each of these deserters back and slaughtered them personally. "Honestly! This King is so busy my stomach aches, and they can't even spare me a moment's peace!"
"That concludes all the recent reports, Your Majesty..."
Siduri reported on the latest updates. Beyond the Magical Beast front, civilian affairs also required urgent attention. Since Enkidu's departure, she was the only one who could still communicate normally with Gilgamesh.
"Speaking of which, rumors of paradises like 'Peach Blossom Spring' and 'Utopia' have been circulating among the populace lately. I suspect these rumors are connected to this incident."
"Peach Blossom Spring? Utopia?" Gilgamesh stroked his chin. His Clairvoyance allowed him to grasp the meaning of these terms, yet he found it odd to hear such words from Siduri's lips. "It seems another group of mongrels has come here to vex me. We've already lost two combatants to them; it's time to remind them of my true power once more..."
Seeing Gilgamesh rise to his feet, Siduri swiftly ordered servants to bring a cart laden with clay tablets—all the state affairs Gilgamesh needed to review. "King, this is the fourteenth time you've found an excuse to leave this month. Your work for today isn't finished yet; you can't rest yet."
Siduri added sternly, "Not until you've completed all your duties."
Gilgamesh deflated. Siduri's oversight was too strict. He could easily catch up on all this work in a couple of all-nighters. He felt like his butt was about to grow roots from sitting in the Uruk Divine Tower. "Then there's no other choice. The Chaldeans have been performing well lately. Summon them for me. Tell them I have an official mission for them."
"Finally, an official mission!"
Gudako stretched languidly. For the past few weeks, she'd been helping with miscellaneous tasks around the city at Gilgamesh's request. Even the usually aloof Ana had taken a part-time job at a flower shop. She'd almost forgotten she was here to save the world.
"Investigate the situation in Ur, huh? It seems the southern regions aren't at peace either."
"Senpai, please stay close to me. According to Gilgamesh, Amakusa Shirou and Fuuma Kotarou, the Servants he summoned, have also gone missing in that area. It's bound to be dangerous."
Mash meticulously checked Gudako's combat suit for stability. The Master's safety was paramount; no carelessness could be tolerated.
"I, Ana, will be going too. With Big Brother around, you don't have to worry. Even if we can't win, I'm the best at running away, you know!"
Merlin waved his staff, his words carrying undeniable weight. Even Enkidu couldn't detect his Illusion Magic.
"...If we're just gathering intelligence, I have something that might explain things," Ana spoke up, her voice unusually firm. She reached out from beneath her cloak and opened her palm, revealing a candy lying quietly in her hand. The translucent cellophane shimmered under the sunlight.
"Candy?" Gudako was momentarily stunned, until a bare-chested Uruk resident passed by, pushing a cart piled high with clay tablets.
"E-eh? EEEEEH?!"
"This is 2500 BC!"
Dr. Roman, who had also witnessed the scene, stared in astonishment at the candy in Ana's hand.
"Legend has it that candy wrappers first appeared during the Warring States period (475-221 BC), over two millennia from now! And this manufacturing process clearly involves plastic production!"
"The old woman at the flower shop gave this to me. She said someone is distributing incredibly valuable supplies near the south gate, and that there's some kind of paradise or utopian settlement to the south?"
Ana slowly relayed the information she'd gathered from the old woman, repeating it word for word to the group.
"The old woman said if her child were still alive, she would consider moving there... She also told me to go there if I get the chance, since this place is too close to the front lines."
Merlin took the candy and carefully examined it using his extensive knowledge.
"This is genuine, with no trace of magical power. It doesn't bear the marks of any Noble Phantasm manufacturing process. Of course, we can't rule out the existence of Noble Phantasms that can directly overwrite reality, but using such a powerful artifact to produce candy would be an immense waste."
"So you're saying someone in this era possesses the technology to manufacture candy?"
Romani immediately dismissed this theory. "Even if that were the case, they couldn't be using colored paper wrappers. The production process is far too complex for this era, lacking both the necessary foundational technology and the surplus production capacity. Still, being able to taste candy in this age... if I were in your shoes, I'd be itching to see what's going on there."
"You could have done something like this yourself, right?" Merlin said with a smile, his eyes narrowing into slits, as if conveying some hidden meaning to Romani.
"Stop with the riddles. They already know who I am. You half-baked mage who bites his tongue every time he tries to cast a spell—if you want to argue, just say it directly."
Romani, looking utterly unconcerned, gritted his teeth and spat out, "Miss Magical Merry!"
"Huh?" Merlin hadn't expected that.
"But if he's trying to win people over with such kindness, that means he wants to protect humanity too," Mash interjected, breaking the tension between the Former Grand and the Grand Candidate. She reasoned that someone willing to offer people hope in such a gentle way must be a good person.
"In that case, why not cooperate with the Heroic King? Our chances of survival would improve even further."
"His motives for recruiting people remain unclear. We can't jump to conclusions," Romani countered, feeling Mash was still too naive—as if she'd be immediately snatched up as someone's child bride the moment she lost her memory. If I don't keep an eye on her, what'll happen? "When you go over there, be extremely careful. He might have some kind of mind control tricks."
"Sounds like it's my time to shine," Merlin said, stepping forward. As a master of illusions, he was particularly adept at countering mental abilities. "Leave it to your big brother here. Now that preparations are complete, let's move out!"
Their journey proceeded remarkably smoothly. The Magical Beasts that had crossed the mountains and roamed the plains had vanished without a trace, allowing the group to reach the southern edge of the vast tropical rainforest without any obstacles.
"This environment is completely out of place for Mesopotamia," Romani analyzed the data. "It feels more like the Pharaoh's desert. It must have materialized along with the servants..."
"South America... candy... shouldn't it be chocolate?"
Chaldea quickly completed a scan of the surrounding area.
"Alright, the terrain map is complete. There's a large town ahead... Its appearance... its appearance is—!" Romani's voice trembled with shock. "Camelot!"