"Please! I understand my own foolishness, blindness, and cowardice; I've even exhausted the courage to persevere. But still, I beg of you! Please bring back our former King!"
A familiar voice rang in his ears. Before Daniel could even see who was on the front of the card in his hand, it turned into golden light particles and poured into his body.
"Is your next line going to be 'Kobayashi'?" Daniel muttered as he silently digested the power suddenly swelling within him.
"Who is Kobayashi?" Sanzang looked at Daniel in confusion, then shook her head vigorously. "No, that's not the point! What was that just now? Why did I feel the aura of a Heroic Spirit?"
"You can think of it as... a Servant who died somewhere in this world turning their final lingering attachment into power, and incidentally giving me a mission I absolutely cannot accomplish." Daniel turned his palms over and over, examining them before curling his lip. "I don't see my palms turning white either."
"So that means you now possess that Servant's power? Whose is it?" Sanzang asked curiously.
"Knight of the Round Table, Gareth," Daniel replied. "It's bloody ridiculous that I, a man, accepted the power of a female Servant... just as ridiculous as Mash."
"Eh? Wait! Gareth of the Knights of the Round Table? I remember him being a man?" Sanzang asked Daniel with a look of astonishment.
"What right do you have to be surprised?" Daniel was even more amazed than she was. "A female Sanzang is even more ridiculous than a female knight, don't you get it?"
"Ugh, so you're never going to let that go, are you?" Sanzang pouted, looking at Daniel unhappily.
"I can keep this going for decades."
"Then, now that you've received Gareth's power, do you still choose to take a look first?" Sanzang asked, sizing Daniel up with a flicker of worry in her eyes.
"Of course," Daniel nodded and replied. "What I accepted was merely power. The will and everything else within it dissipated the moment she gave up on herself and chose release. All that's left is a sliver of a deathbed attachment wanting her King to wake up."
"Besides, that kid had a good personality; she didn't pack any personal baggage into that attachment to influence me."
Hearing that Daniel wasn't being influenced by this power, Sanzang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Immediately after, a smile tinged with a bit of mischief appeared on her face.
"Since you're a knight, you must have armor, right? Manifest it and let's see if it fits." Sanzang encouraged him.
Daniel saw right through her intentions.
She wanted to see if the armor Daniel manifested would be a female model.
To this, Daniel really wanted to laugh.
If armor were bound to the owner's personality, then Mash wouldn't be called'Shielder Eggplant.'
Heavy armor donned on the body, an English-style helmet with a visor, a heavy greatshield that could cover a third of the body, and that long, heavy lance.
Manifested as a full set, it was incredibly cool!
At least, that's what Daniel thought.
"Tsk." Seeing the serious leg armor below instead of a battle skirt, Sanzang couldn't help but click her tongue.
"Oh? It seems I tore my pajama sleeves too early." Feeling the leather armor beneath the plate, Daniel shook his head with some regret.
This was the only pair of pajamas he had brought from home.
Dispensing with the heavy armor for now while keeping the leather armor underneath on his body, Daniel followed behind Sanzang, walking in the direction she specified.
As for the result... it could only be said that she truly lived up to being the person who, during the journey to the West, drifted from southwest to northwest.
She could only judge east and west based on the sun; as for whether it was north or south, that was purely up to fate.
"I'm dying of thirst! Little Daniel, do you have any water?" Sanzang asked, looking at Daniel with a weary face.
"No," Daniel replied, clapping his hands. "You saw me when we met. I only had a pair of pajamas on me, and that world was nothing but hard stone. Where would I get water?"
"However, I still have some saliv—"
"Shut up!" Before Daniel could finish, he was interrupted by an exasperated Sanzang.
She had been harassed by Daniel's nonsense quite a bit along the way.
It could only be said that she wasn't the orthodox Sanzang. If it were the orthodox Sanzang, no matter how much trash talk you gave him, he could brush it off with a smile and even use Buddhist scriptures to counter you.
While Sanzang was feeling discouraged, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from somewhere.
"Hmm? Someone's galloping on horseback in the desert?" Sanzang looked toward the direction of the hoofbeats in surprise.
Was her experience wrong? Didn't everyone in the desert ride camels?
That was until a group of fully armed knights in purple armor appeared.
Knights, of course, would only ride horses. If you made them ride camels, they definitely wouldn't agree to it.
"Who are you?" The purple-haired leader asked with a solemn expression, sizing up Sanzang and Daniel.
Although he acted quite upright, Daniel saw through his nature at a glance.
After all, this was Lancelot, a veteran successor of the Cao Cao style.
"This poor monk is merely a traveling monk visiting various places." Sanzang gave a graceful smile, her hand forming a single-palm salute naturally. "As for this fellow, he is just this poor monk's guard."
Yes, a guard who couldn't even beat her in a fight.
"Visiting? Visiting the Holy City?" Lancelot's eyes were filled with gloom.
"Not just the Holy City." Sanzang saw through Lancelot's inner struggle and replied with a smile, "The Sun King's temple, the village of the Mountain Old Man, and the Chaldea that will surely arrive in the future are all my subjects of visitation."
"You are also a Servant." Lancelot's hand rested on the hilt of Arondight.
Without a word, Daniel stepped in front of Sanzang, assuming a stance ready to counterattack at any moment.
Lancelot didn't know why, but seeing this young man made his gaze involuntarily drift to the side, not daring to look him in the eye.
The last person to make him feel this way was that young girl knight who, exhausted in mind and spirit, had despairingly chosen to die on this land.
"This poor monk is Sanzang. For now, I will not be your enemy." Seeing herself being protected from behind, Sanzang was also slightly dazed.
She couldn't remember the last time someone had stood in front to protect her.
"Sanzang! So your Excellency is that Westbound Traveler." Lancelot raised an eyebrow and looked at Sanzang in surprise. "However, I didn't expect the Westbound Traveler to be a woman."
"This poor monk also didn't expect the world's misunderstanding of my gender to be so deep and far-reaching."
Well, that's because you call yourself 'poor monk' instead of 'poor nun.'
"Then, you..." Lancelot stared at Daniel, suppressing the urge to look away.
"Daniel, a homeless wanderer, currently accompanying Master Sanzang."
"If you are going to the Holy City, I can lead the way for you." Lancelot glanced at Daniel from time to time and then said, "However, I don't suggest you go there now. You might die."
He knew that once the King's order was given, this land would eventually turn to nothingness just like the outside. But if one could live a few days longer, why seek death now?