"Are you Shizue Izawa?"
On the vast prairie, a figure clad in blue-white armor approached.
Her pace wasn't fast.
Yet each step seemed to traverse space itself, rapidly closing the distance.
In the blink of an eye, she stood before Shizue and the children.
"A knight?"
"So beautiful..."
"Is she someone Shizu-sensei knows?"
The children were awestruck by Artoria's beauty and presence.
"Who are you?"
This was Shizue's first time meeting Artoria.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
Artoria performed a knightly bow. "I am Artoria Pendragon, Lord Damien's guardian knight."
"P-Pendragon?!"
A blonde girl clutching a pink stuffed doll widened her eyes. "Are you related to the legendary King Arthur?!"
These children were otherworlders summoned to the Central World.
Among them, Alice, who came from a noble family in her previous world, was well-versed in the legend of King Arthur.
"King Arthur, you say?"
"I don't know what the legends of King Arthur are like in your world."
"But in my world, I am indeed King Arthur."
Artoria's words left Alice in shock. "No way..."
"King Arthur is a girl, and such a beautiful girl?"
Fortunately, the little girl wasn't hung up on the idea that King Arthur had to be male.
In fact, a female King Arthur was even cooler!
"King Arthur? That King Arthur?"
"The one from the legends?"
"For real?"
Kenya Misaki, another otherworlder, had played games related to King Arthur and knew the story of the King of Britain.
"If King Arthur's a woman, isn't that kinda weak?!"
"Heh..."
Artoria didn't bother arguing with a seven- or eight-year-old. Kids say what they want, after all.
Smack!
"Ow!"
But some discipline was still necessary.
"What was that for?!"
Kenya clutched his forehead, glaring at the blonde girl who'd ambushed him. "You sneak-attacked me! That's so low!"
"I absolutely don't accept that a woman like you is a just knight!"
"A just knight, you say?"
Artoria raised an eyebrow, surprised. She met the boy's fierce gaze and shook her head. "A knight isn't something a little punk like you could become."
"And looking down on women? That needs correcting too!"
With that, she delivered another smack, leaving a large bump on the boy's head.
"Ouch!"
"That hurts!! You damn woman!"
"Agh!! I'm so pissed!!"
"I challenge you to a duel~~~"
Thankfully, Shizue quickly stepped in to stop the fuming Kenya. She looked at Artoria apologetically. "Sorry, Kenya didn't mean any harm."
"I know."
Artoria gave a gentle smile. She actually preferred Alice and the shy black-haired girl beside her.
"Onee-san, I'm Alice."
"I-I'm Chloe."
"Gale Gibson."
"I'm Ryota Sekiguchi. Are you really King Arthur?"
The other children were far more polite than Kenya.
To their questions, Artoria nodded. "Yes, I was indeed the King of Knights who once ruled Britain."
"Um, Miss Artoria, is Lord Damien free?"
"It's about the children, right?"
Artoria waved off Shizue's formality. They were both Damien's subordinates, part of the same family.
"My Master told me before."
"Once you returned, I was to notify him immediately, and he'd come to heal the children."
"That's a relief."
Shizue let out a sigh of relief.
Though she could summon Damien herself, she was too reserved and worried about interrupting his important work.
Important work, huh...
Artoria thought of the crowd in the rear, watching Damien and Rimuru's live Dungeon exploration.
She couldn't bring herself to tell the truth.
Damien wasn't busy with important work... he was happily slacking off.
"Master..."
"Lord Damien..."
The two women called out to Damien together, drawing his attention.
"Hm?"
At that moment, Damien, deep in the Dungeon, looked up. "Artoria and Shizu?"
"The kids are here?"
Healing the children was serious business. Damien wouldn't neglect them just for a bet with Rimuru.
Besides...
He glanced at the two blackened party member icons on his interface.
"Forget it."
"I've already lost anyway..."
Damien didn't even want to complain anymore. This time, he truly witnessed the sheer incompetence of Aqua and Megumin.
He'd laid out the rules clearly before entering the Dungeon.
But Megumin ignored them completely.
The moment they entered, she declared, "My first time in a Dungeon calls for a celebration!"
Then, the chuunibyou girl recklessly raised her staff and unleashed Explosion magic in the cramped underground space.
Goddamn it...
That was the only phrase that captured Damien's feelings at the time.
BOOM!
The next moment, a deafening explosion rocked the Dungeon.
Damien's team's first Dungeon exploration ended with all four buried alive.
Sure, being buried was no issue for Damien and Darkness.
But they'd agreed to explore using only the stats of adventurers in this world.
Being buried alive? Game over.
Not to mention, Aqua and Megumin lacked the physical resilience of Damien and Darkness. The moment the cave collapsed, they were deemed "dead" and teleported out.
Thus, the party's first exploration attempt lasted less than a minute, costing them their first chance of the day.
Furious, Damien pinned the mana-drained, immobile Megumin over his knee and gave her a thorough spanking.
The little girl wailed, swearing through tears to listen to Damien from now on and never act out again.
After countless warnings and Megumin's repeated vows... sealed with Explosion magic... Damien restored her mana and began their second attempt.
But this time, the troublemaker wasn't Megumin... it was Aqua.
***
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