NOVEL WEB Chapter 323: You and Maeve?
"..."
Fujimaru Ritsuka's greeting left Guinevere speechless.
He turned his face away, coughing awkwardly twice, and then organized his words,
"I... I'm not the person you know. You can call me King of the North or Guinevere, but I am not the Guinevere you know, nor the Blood Lord. Please, don't call me Master."
However, Fujimaru Ritsuka had a completely different opinion on this matter:
"But isn't the nature of Heroic Spirits such that the time and records can be quite confusing? For example, the Heroic Spirits we meet and become allies with in one Singularities might not recognize us in the next one. I've encountered this situation many times, but can you really say that they are not the same person?"
"Uh..." Guinevere was momentarily speechless.
Seeing that he couldn't respond, Fujimaru Ritsuka gave a slight hum and concluded,
"Since that's the case, then as just different versions of the same person from different futures, and with records of meeting me, how can you deny that you are not my Master?"
...Damn, she makes a compelling argument.
In the end, Guinevere gave up and sighed in resignation,
"Alright... if you say so..."
He couldn't argue—after all, provoking her was something he had done in the past. Though it was his negative persona that caused the trouble, who could really say that it wasn't him?
"Huh? Master? Are you blushing?"
Listening to Guinevere's voice, filled with reluctant acceptance, and his awkward attempt to look away, Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't help but giggle.
However, she soon became serious and said,
"So, Master, could you do your little maid a favor now?"
"Mash and Nightingale, the servants who agreed to assist us in this Singularities, were captured during the battle. Although I see they have no intention of killing them, just binding them, we can't know how they'll be treated next."
"Can you help me rescue them?"
"Uh..." Guinevere sighed.
"I'm afraid I can't do that immediately, or rather, I won't try to forcibly bring them back."
"I have a... special relationship with the enemy commander. I can't make her an enemy."
"Special...?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka seemed to suddenly become very alert.
"You... actually have something going on with Queen Maeve?"
"No, actually, it's not Maeve. Her name is Nokkneri."
"Eh~" Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked. "Nokkneri... I've never heard of her. Who is she? Is she another of the women you owe a debt to?"
"No, what do you mean by 'owe a debt'? And 'again,' what does that even mean?" Guinevere widened his eyes, feeling like his reputation was being ruined.
"Well... the women you've courted in the past... I know of several, let me count them for you..."
With that, Fujimaru Ritsuka actually started counting on her fingers:
"First, there's Miss Artoria, then Miss Bavanzi, Miss Frankenstein, and now, Miss Nokkneri, whom I've never even met... Look, that's already four, and I haven't even counted myself yet. A charming playboy like you is rare even in human history, isn't it?"
"No, wait, when did I ever court Frankenstein?" Guinevere was nearly dizzy from the confusion. "And what do you mean 'you haven't counted yourself yet'? We're totally clean here, right?"
"Miss Frankenstein? She was summoned by Caldea later on. But since we had limited slots for this Singularities, she wasn't brought along," Fujimaru Ritsuka said seriously. "You promised Miss Frankenstein that you would help her find a lover of her own kind, but you never did. She holds that against you."
"As for me..." She sighed, "Master, you've forced me to become your exclusive little maid and made me wear this maid outfit for you. Do you seriously think I'm just some random passerby? Because if you do, I'll cry for you, you know?"
Saying this, Fujimaru Ritsuka stretched her hand to the corner of her eye, ready to start crying any moment.
"...Alright, sister, please spare me."
Guinevere raised both hands in surrender and sighed,
"Let's put it this way. Nokkneri lives in the Fairy Kingdom. She's another possibility of Maeve, similar to the difference between Castor from the Fairy Kingdom and Arthur from the Grand Human History. But their personalities are completely different."
"I see, I understand now," Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded, "So, you're not denying that you and she have something going on?"
"What do you mean by 'something going on'?" Guinevere widened his eyes again.
"Eh? So, you're saying you're not in that kind of relationship?"
"Of course not... Wait, are we...?"
Guinevere initially wanted to deny it outright, but as he spoke, he became unsure himself.
Then he saw Fujimaru Ritsuka looking at him suspiciously:
"Really not lovers or anything?"
"Well... it's not like that... at least not until I died and became a Heroic Spirit," Guinevere scratched his head. "Or rather, I should say, though she's always had feelings for me, I never noticed it. I just saw her as a friend and my Lord... It was only after I died that I realized it."
"Ugh, a classic dense Japanese protagonist."
"Hey! Keep it up, and I'll leave you here!"
Guinevere raised his voice, embarrassed and irritated.
"Sorry, but look at me! I'm weak, helpless, and afraid... If you leave me here, I'll really die, you heartless person."
Saying this, Fujimaru Ritsuka dramatically looked around the battlefield, then immediately shrank back, as though genuinely frightened.
"Wait... Since you know all this, how come you're not even the slightest bit panicked? How many Singularities has it been? Does Caldea's Master have such high standards?"
As Guinevere glanced behind him and saw Finn was long gone and he had reached the edge of the battlefield, now mostly out of danger, he finally had the time to interrogate Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"No, even though I've survived several Singularities thanks to everyone's help, I'm still just an ordinary person who knows a bit of magic. How could I not panic on a battlefield? Especially since Mash and Nightingale lost... I thought I was going to die here, I was really scared earlier..."
Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly turned to Guinevere with a reassuring expression and said,
"But you're here now, so I know as long as you're here, I don't need to be afraid of anything."
Though she had just been teasing him, her words now were sincere, leaving Guinevere unsure of what expression to make.
In the end, he knew one thing for certain: he couldn't just leave her here. Even if Nokkneri had decided to stand against Caldea, he would have to find a way to get her to change her mind.
Sigh... He really couldn't deny it; Nokkneri, the one who had charmed half of the Heroic Spirits to her side, was truly something else.
Guinevere shook his head, then said,
"But since you mistook her for Maeve... You didn't accidentally fight this battle thinking she was Maeve, did you?"
"Uh..."
Seeing Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly freeze, Guinevere had a feeling he'd figured something out.
"I see... it was all just a misunderstanding," Guinevere sighed. "It seems we just need to figure out how to contact Nokkneri directly, and she should be able to release Mash and the others soon."
Just as his words finished, Guinevere's expression subtly changed:
"Wait, here it comes."
At that moment, he received a reply from Nokkneri through the system interface:
[Nokkneri: Hey, is this Guinevere? What is this? The system has this kind of communication feature?]
...................
[Nokkneri: Wait, so everything from earlier was just a misunderstanding?]
After Guinevere quickly explained the situation to Nokkneri, she was stunned.
[Guinevere: Yes... I almost thought you were planning to eliminate Caldea, but it turns out it was just a big mistake.]
[Guinevere: So, should we meet somewhere next? Do you want to avoid your new subordinates?]
[Nokkneri: Hmm...]
[Nokkneri: No, it's fine.]
Though Nokkneri's heart was screaming for her to meet Guinevere immediately, after some serious inner reflection, she abandoned the idea.
[Nokkneri: I have a plan that will help Caldea win this war.]
[Guinevere: Huh?]
[Nokkneri: Haven't they been saying I look just like Maeve? Turns out, they were right. The commanders of the Eastern Army didn't even realize I'm not Maeve, and they foolishly signed a contract with me, becoming my soldiers. Now my contract has overwritten their contract with Maeve.]
[Nokkneri: So, all I need to do is continue pretending to be Maeve and get her warriors to defect easily, right?]
[Nokkneri: I'm off now. I'll find an opportunity to help Mash and the others escape. You just wait to receive them back. After that, Guinevere, you can take control of the Western Army.]
[Guinevere: Wait, hold on, I think this can be discussed... let's meet first...]
[Nokkneri: Don't worry. I trust you, and I hope you trust me too.]
[Nokkneri: When we meet again, I hope it's when we're about to face Maeve together.]
[Nokkneri: I'm looking forward to your performance, my most trusted vanguard.]
Before Guinevere could say anything more, Nokkneri closed the communication and excitedly turned to her troops, clenching her fists.
Though she had been eager to see Guinevere again due to the simulation memories, she wasn't the type to meet him without accomplishing something.
After all, didn't Guinevere say that what he liked most about her was her reason and her ability to get things done, unlike Artoria and Bavanzi?
She wasn't about to disappoint him.
She had seen the records—Artoria and Bavanzi had done practically nothing in the simulations, simply waiting for Guinevere to lead them to victory. But that was never her style.
She was the eternal Queen of Britain!
The North American Myth War? The Fifth Singularity?
Hmph, she'll flip it all on its head!