[After learning that Bogut led his army to attempt an attack on Edinburgh, you immediately used the Ring of Swiftness to activate the Water Mirror Magic and brought everyone back to Edinburgh.]
[Due to the large number of people passing through and the long distance this time, the Water Mirror Magic consumed a great deal of your energy. As a result, after arriving in Edinburgh, you quickly went to rest.]
[However, the next morning, you discovered that Bogut had already been tied up tightly and hung at the city gate of Edinburgh.]
[Upon asking Knocknaree, you learned that this was likely the work of the Fairy Knight Lancelot, someone you've always had a strong distaste for.]
[In the days that followed, you repeatedly heard reports of Lancelot sightings. She seemed to be constantly circling around Guinevere.]
[Though you wished to stop the fairy Lancelot from harassing Guinevere, her extreme mobility and ability to fly made it impossible for you to block her if she intended to avoid others.]
[This left you deeply worried.]
[Strangely, you noticed that your companions—those who should have been on the same side as you in preventing Guinevere from being taken in by Lancelot—did not seem to be making much effort to stop her.]
[You decided to gather everyone for a serious discussion about these incidents.]
"...So that's the situation. Even though Guinevere rejected her like that, that dumb dragon Lancelot clearly hasn't given up."
In a makeshift meeting room, Bavinci crossed her hands on the table, resting her chin on them with a serious expression:
"That's why I've gathered you all here... We can't let her keep approaching Guinevere like this! Who Guinevere chooses in the end is one thing, but it definitely won't be that dumb dragon Lancelot! Does anyone have a way to stop her from getting close to Guinevere again?"
"Uh, I get what you're saying, but... why did you call me here too?"
In the corner, Gareth raised her hand and asked softly.
At the moment, in Bavinci's makeshift "conference room," Artoria, Bagst, and Knocknaree were all present. Gareth glanced around and felt a little out of place.
Sure, she admired Guinevere a lot, but unlike the others, she didn't have any unspoken feelings for her. So why was she being dragged into this "defend Guinevere" campaign?
"This is an internal meeting for our simulator members, of course I had to bring you." Bavinci explained awkwardly.
"So... what exactly did Lancelot do? Why are you treating her like such a big threat?" Artoria asked.
"From the information I've gathered these days, first of all, Lancelot prepares three meals a day for Guinevere, and delivers them to her door at every mealtime without fail." Bavinci frowned, "This despicable competitive behavior is intolerable—doesn't it make us, who can't cook for Guinevere, look useless?"
"She can cook?" Bagst frowned, "She doesn't strike me as having that 'perfect housewife' vibe."
"Whether she can or not, I don't know," Knocknaree said coolly, "but I did get word recently that a famous chef from Gloucester was kidnapped."
"Oh, no wonder the meals she brings are so delicious," Artoria slapped her thigh, "Turns out they're from a master chef!"
Everyone immediately turned to look at her.
"W-What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Artoria shrank her head awkwardly, "I-I mean, Guinevere never eats them anyway. I figured it'd be a waste to throw them out, so I just... ate them myself... is that so wrong?"
"Of course it's wrong!" Bavinci said sternly. "That's food she's using to seduce Guinevere! For all we know, she could've put some *** in it! If you keep eating it, what if she slowly charms you instead? Are you okay with letting that dumb dragon get close to Guinevere?"
"Uh... I don't want that..." Artoria hesitated, "But... the food itself is innocent, right?"
"But delivering meals isn't the only thing she's been up to," Knocknaree suddenly said.
"She's been gathering all kinds of things to give as gifts to Guinevere... Haven't you noticed how there are always piles of gift boxes at Guinevere's door these days? Inside are all sorts of rare and strange items—art pieces, metal figurines, precious gems, even several obviously extraordinary weapons... the famed blade Shiming among them."
"Eh? Forget the rest, but Shiming could be really useful! Why didn't Guinevere keep it? Didn't we fight for that at the auction before?" Artoria asked.
"Obviously she didn't want to owe Lancelot anything," Knocknaree replied. "That means she has no intention of giving Lancelot any opening! Honestly, I think stopping her from giving gifts is unnecessary—Guinevere won't be swayed by this kind of thing."
"So what happened to those gifts?" Artoria asked. "Not wanting to accept them is one thing, but some of those are useful. How about we buy Shiming from Lancelot?"
"Buy? Why buy?" Knocknaree said in surprise. "If it's been thrown out on my turf, then it naturally becomes Edinburgh's property, right? Isn't it reasonable that it belongs to me?"
"?" Everyone slowly typed out a question mark in their minds.
"So you're just lining your own pockets!" Bavinci exploded. "No wonder your soldiers aren't stopping Lancelot much—you've been bribed by her gifts, haven't you?!"
"Hey, what nonsense are you talking about?" Knocknaree snapped. "How could I be bribed... I'm only thinking of Guinevere! If these things are useful to him, then even if he refuses them out of pride, I should keep them for him... in case he needs them someday!"
"Hey! Bagst, say something too!" Bavinci turned to Bagst.
"Can you really accept Lancelot hanging around Guinevere all the time? Doesn't she get on your nerves?"
"Ah? Well... I don't care." Bagst shook her head calmly. "I don't want to be with Guinevere—I just want to protect him so he can safely become Britain's king. And Lancelot hanging around him all the time... in a way, that's another strong bodyguard for Guinevere."
"You guys..." Seeing how unconcerned they all were, Bavinci slammed the table and stood up in frustration.
"We can't keep letting this go on! If this keeps up, one day Guinevere's going to be moved by her! He's soft-hearted, after all!"
"Uh... do we really need to be that wary?" Artoria asked. "I'm not saying we should forgive her past actions, but if we strip her of even the chance to show her care for Guinevere... isn't that a bit too cruel?"
"You're too naive, Artoria!" Bavinci pounded the table again. "Forget whether Guinevere accepts her or not—have you thought about this? If she keeps showing off all her good qualities in front of him, doesn't that make us look useless? What if his standards for choosing a partner get raised because of her? Would you still be fine with that?!"
You had to hand it to Bavinci—usually she seemed pretty airheaded, but when it came to Guinevere and matters of the heart, her brain worked terrifyingly well.
Hearing her reasoning, the others in the room finally showed a subtle shift in their expressions. They really hadn't thought of that before.
—Except for Gareth.
"Uh... I really don't think I'm suited for this topic," Gareth raised her hand weakly.
"Instead of this, I'd rather go train more... With Mr. Bogut's issue settled, our allied forces will be clashing with the Windfang Clan's army again, right? To defeat Aurora and avenge my kin, I still need to work harder—so I'll excuse myself..."
At that moment, the door to the meeting room was suddenly knocked. Gareth blinked, opened it, and found Knocknaree's adjutant Aiken standing there. As soon as the door opened, he called inside:
"Lady Knocknaree! Something big's happened! Just now, the leader of the Wind Clan, Aurora, was found tied up at Edinburgh's gate!"
"Are you serious?!"
Hearing this, Gareth's face instantly changed. Without caring about the mixed expressions of the others in the room, she dashed toward the city gate.
"Hiss..."
At that moment, Bavinci suddenly seemed to realize something:
Could it be that all of Lancelot's recent actions weren't just about chasing Guinevere, but in a way... she was also trying to win them over, to reduce resistance to her getting closer to Guinevere?