All in all, although things had started off somewhat tense, after Bagest knocked him down with a single punch, and with Arash suddenly jumping out to expose his past, the Cursed Arm finally relented and allowed everyone to enter the village and settle in.
"Anyway, I still have to thank you all for saving Sariya. She was originally from this village, only leaving after marrying into the Holy City… It's truly a blessing that she survived."
After expressing his gratitude to Chaldea's group, the Cursed Arm immediately busied himself again:
"Well then, please make yourselves comfortable. I need to arrange housing for the new arrivals. Forgive me for not being able to entertain you properly."
Before leaving, he let out a sigh:
"Never thought I'd be summoned into the very era I lived in… This is too cruel. For those not yet mature, far too cruel…"
"I see. No wonder that big brother was so familiar with everything. Turns out he was summoned into his own homeland."
Watching the Cursed Arm's retreating back, Arash muttered softly, then quickly turned his gaze back to the group:
"Well then, though I've already been recognized, I should still properly introduce myself. My name is Arash, Archer, currently residing here in this village."
"Everyone, please follow me. You must be exhausted from your long journey. I'll do my best to host you. Though considering the scarcity of resources here, we can't hold a welcoming banquet or anything—please forgive us."
Soon, under the arrangement of the great hero, the group was settled into temporary lodgings and, guided by Arash, took a tour of the small village. Despite its poverty, the villagers lived with a sense of peace and contentment.
While they walked and chatted, the conversation inevitably turned to the matter of the Holy City's knights. As one of the Round Table knights himself, Bedivere was deeply burdened with guilt over the atrocities of his comrades.
"Please don't speak like that, Sir Bedivere."
At this moment, it was Bagest who spoke up first to comfort him:
"The Round Table's slaughter of the weak, born of blind loyalty, is certainly contemptible. But you decisively severed ties with them and resolved to take up arms against your former comrades in order to admonish your king. I believe that is an act of great nobility."
"It's thanks to your existence that I can feel my admiration for the Round Table knights of legend wasn't in vain."
"Eh? R-Really?" Bedivere looked embarrassed. "But among the Round Table, I was second-rate at best… No, more like a bottom-rung knight without any real presence…"
"No, that's not true." At this point, Bavanzi interjected:
"Whether a knight is qualified, I don't think it's determined solely by strength. Though strength is certainly important, far more important is one's ability to uphold chivalry—fighting to protect the weak, to oppose injustice, to remain steadfast in loyalty and righteousness. That, I believe, is what defines a true knight."
"From this perspective, Bedivere, you who chose to oppose the Lion King and her knights for the sake of loyalty to King Arthur—there is no doubt you are a true knight."
Recalling the impression Bedivere had left during Chapter 6's tale, Bavanzi praised him sincerely.
"This is… truly humbling…" Bedivere squirmed under the praise, but Bavanzi's words steeled his resolve for the actions to come.
"Well then, since the escort of the refugees is complete, I should return to the Holy City."
"Eh? You're planning to attack the Holy City?"
Bagest immediately perked up:
"Splendid! Please allow me to accompany you. I must personally set right the wrongs of the Round Table knights. Especially Sir Gawain—since he's the original bearer of my name, I cannot tolerate him slaughtering the weak. His actions must be brought in line with the name of 'Gawain.'"
"Eh? No, what I meant was…" Bedivere tried to explain that he intended to return alone, but before he could finish, Bavanzi interrupted:
"Hold on. I can understand Bagest's feelings… but it's too soon to talk about this now."
"Bagest is indeed strong, and even against Gawain, blessed by the gift of the Sunless Land, he wouldn't fall short. But the Holy City has more than Gawain—the other Round Table knights are equally dangerous. Until we've gathered enough strength, it's not yet time to strike."
Bavanzi's words naturally earned agreement from the Chaldea group. After all, their approach in every singularity so far had always been the same—ally with every possible force within the singularity, then gather together to defeat the most powerful enemy… except, of course, in the Fifth Singularity.
Because in the Fifth Singularity, Chaldea had done nothing at all. With the Northland King's template, Bavanzi had simply teamed up with Nocknere and speedran the whole thing.
It couldn't be helped… If Bavanzi had entered this singularity with the template of the Savior Dragon Knight, he might have done the same here—ignoring everything else, directly storming the Holy City. In that form, fighting to save humanity itself, his power was terrifying. He might have been able to wipe out the entire Holy Round Table on his own.
But that hadn't happened. This time, Bavanzi had chosen not to bring the Dragon Knight's vessel, instead entering with his real-world template. That meant he had to face the crisis of insufficient strength while working on developing his Destiny Skills further.
So, with the principle of "unite all possible allies," the group persuaded Bedivere to remain in the village and recover from the strain of using the Silver Arm, awaiting a better opportunity to return to the Holy City.
Later, under the arrangements of Arash and the Cursed Arm, they settled into the village.
That night, Bavanzi and the Chaldea group gathered again to discuss their future strategies.
"Eh? Miss Bavanzi isn't here?"
After everyone had taken their seats, Ritsuka Fujimaru noticed her absence and asked.
"Bavanzi? She's probably still stuck with the refugee children." Recalling the scene at dinner, where Bavanzi had been surrounded by kids, Bavanzi chuckled softly.
It seemed that because Bavanzi had fought Tristan, and the refugees who had escaped him had arrived earlier than the group, the villagers were already familiar with her.
What's more, in retelling the story of her battle against Tristan, those refugees had exaggerated their savior's deeds—calling her a warrior who held her own against a Round Table knight and describing her beauty as peerless. As a result, the village children adored her.
And during the escape from the Holy City, she had shone again, picking off the Suppression Knights from the walls as the only ranged fighter. To the eyes of the refugees, she was a hero. Now, she had become the children's idol, constantly surrounded by them.
Whenever that happened, Bavanzi would groan:
"Seriously, where the hell is Artoria? This is her job, not mine! Why am I stuck with this mess?"
But despite her words, she never truly scolded the children. Instead, she played along with them… Whether because she didn't really mind, or because her own mental age wasn't that different from theirs, no one could say.
Of course, Bavanzi suspected that her popularity had a lot to do with her looks… After all, among the group that had rescued the refugees, she was undoubtedly the most striking.
"I see… Well, Miss Bavanzi really is beautiful. Among us, perhaps only Da Vinci and Senpai can compare. No wonder you like her so much, Bavanzi-senpai."
Ritsuka nodded lightly.
"So then, could you share her opinion in her place, Bavanzi-senpai?"
For some reason, Bavanzi felt a hidden jab in her words.
"That's no problem." Bavanzi nodded. "Bavanzi always listens to me."
"Oh, I see." Ritsuka nodded again. "As expected of Senpai, you're really skilled at deceiving girls' hearts."
"?" Bavanzi typed out a question mark in the air.
"Anyway, let's discuss what to do next," Da Vinci interjected. "As we agreed earlier today, our overall goal is still to gather more fighting power, more allies. Does anyone have ideas?"
"Gathering more power… Come to think of it, shouldn't King Ozymandias be a target as well?" Mash raised her hand.
"Indeed. That king would be an extremely valuable ally."
Da Vinci nodded, then shifted her tone:
"However, before we left, he told us that next time we meet, it would be as enemies, and we should come prepared. Convincing him will likely require a battle first. We'd best wait until we've grown stronger."
"So, before Ozymandias, we'll have to recruit other allies…" Ritsuka frowned in worry.
"If it's allies you need, I may have a way."
Suddenly, a voice came from behind, startling everyone.
"M-Mr. Cursed Arm? When did you get here? We didn't sense anything at all!" Ritsuka exclaimed.
"Hmph. Don't underestimate an Assassin's stealth. If I don't wish to be seen, could you really detect me?"
"At first, seeing you all sneaking off at night, I thought it might be something shameful. But it turns out you were just discussing this?"
With that, the Cursed Arm strode forward and took a seat.
"In short, if it's fighting power you seek… would you perhaps be interested in a jailbreak?"
What he failed to notice was that, after he sat down, Ritsuka—who had just looked so startled—exchanged a glance with Bavanzi and Da Vinci. On their faces flashed a knowing smile: the look of a plan coming together.