Leaving the lifeless wilderness behind, they entered the winding, rugged mountain range.
In the southern part of the mountains, near the desert, the Holy City had established a Round Table Fortress—a forward base for the campaign against the mountain people.
The Lion King, traveling alongside Shiomi, deliberately avoided the fortress.
The steep and treacherous path forced them to dismount and continue on foot. From atop a cliff, they could see a large number of Enforcement Knights entering the Round Table Fortress.
"Looks like they're going to keep pressing the mountain people," Shiomi said, poking at the fire with a dry branch. The flames flared higher.
The river fish sizzled over the fire.
They had stopped at a flat area along the mountainside, where Shiomi lit a bonfire sheltered from the wind. He intended to rest there until dawn before moving on.
"We'll find out soon enough," the Lion King replied vaguely. "If you want to see the full picture, then let's keep moving."
"No, we rest here," Shiomi said.
The Lion King looked as though she had no need to rest, and truthfully, Shiomi wasn't that tired either.
If Morgan had already led the others into the mountain people's village, then she was surely aware of any movement from the Round Table Fortress.
A large-scale troop deployment—especially one that wasn't an Assassin unit skilled in concealing presence—couldn't go unnoticed.
Morgan was likely already preparing a response.
Before he and the Lion King reached the area...
"You're trying to stall? So you won't be on the battlefield when the two sides clash?" the Lion King saw through him.
Shiomi rubbed his chin calmly. "If you're worried about missing your moment, Your Majesty, feel free to leave me and go on ahead. We're outside the Holy City, far from Camelot. Without the Tower of Endless's authority, you can't use a Command Spell to force me to move."
He had already figured out how the Lion King had turned the Command Spell back on him.
"So you're personally trying to slow me down."
"You could say that. But honestly," Shiomi looked at the fire, "Camelot needs someone to stay behind. With the Gift of 'Nightless,' Gawain is the obvious choice. You've already sent Mordred elsewhere, which leaves only Lancelot, Tristan, and Agravain among the Round Table Knights able to join the front lines."
The flames danced in his eyes as he laid out the state of Camelot's forces.
"Chaldea's team split into two. Only Morgan, Scáthach, and a Master are heading toward the mountain people," the Lion King said flatly. "The mountain people's numbers are limited. This level of resistance won't be much of a threat."
Shiomi wanted to say she was underestimating Morgan and his teacher, but quickly realized she must have a contingency in place.
Clearly, her sudden offer to accompany him wasn't as simple as it seemed.
"I get it. You're using this 'undercover patrol' excuse to drag me to the front lines, make me watch my companions be annihilated, and break my spirit so I'll follow you."
He understood perfectly.
He wouldn't blame her for being harsh.
For someone consumed by the Holy Lance, who had long since lost her humanity, moral reproach meant nothing.
If he spoke up, she might indulge him in an argument.
But if it were someone else—even one of the few remaining Round Table Knights—any hint of defiance might earn them the same fate Mordred had suffered under the Rhongomyniad...
"That's only one of the goals. The campaign against the mountain people was always part of the plan. Whether Chaldea arrived or not, it was going to happen. The western village has already fallen—only the eastern village remains."
The Lion King revealed this openly, clearly confident that even if the information leaked, it wouldn't jeopardize her plans.
Shiomi didn't press further. At their current pace, they'd likely set out early tomorrow and reach the area near the eastern village not long after. If that village was still standing, it had to be under the protection of a Servant—explaining the delay in the Round Table's assault.
He picked up one of the fish roasting by the fire.
It had been caught in a mountain stream. Before reaching their destination, Shiomi wanted to enjoy a proper meal for the first time in a while.
He took one for himself and offered the other to the Lion King.
She accepted it but made no move to eat, simply holding it in her hand.
Shiomi wasn't sure whether it was due to her divine state making her lose the desire to eat, or if she simply found such humble food unappetizing.
Regardless, once given, food wasn't something he'd ask to be returned.
After finishing his own, he leaned against a rock, closed his eyes, and dozed off.
The mountain wind whispered through the night. The temperature was mild, and Shiomi soon drifted into sleep.
But the rest didn't last. Around the latter half of the night, a distant explosion echoed through the mountains.
His eyes snapped open.
The fire had burned low. In the dim camp, the Lion King was no longer seated across from him. She stood at the edge of the cliff path, gazing silently in the direction the sound had come from.
"It's begun," she said.
Shiomi got up from the rock and walked over to her. Glancing down, he noticed the fish he had given her was back by the fire, skewered again—now bearing a couple of bite marks.
"Looks like we won't be sleeping through the night after all. Seems the time for us to part ways is near," Shiomi said with a faint smile.
"The outcome hasn't been decided yet. After all, you formed a contract with me. Bound by the Command Spell, you're still my prisoner—my Master." The Lion King looked at him, her voice calm and authoritative, leaving no room for argument.
"But only for now..." Shiomi reached out, his hand nearing her cheek.
She watched in silence. He simply raised his hand and wiped away a small stain at the corner of her mouth—the residue from her attempt at eating the fish.
"I want to speak with you properly. But with Artoria Pendragon, the human—not the goddess Rhongomyniad standing here now."
He sighed as he looked at her once more-pristine face, tinged with quiet regret.
"There's no difference between the two," the Lion King replied.
"Don't lie to yourself, Lion King," Shiomi said, turning away. "You can't even swallow human food anymore. You're not the same person you used to be. Then again, if you only stopped because it was hard to eat... that's a different matter."
With that, they both began moving—one ahead, one behind—toward the direction of the explosions and the rising clamor of battle.