Crazy Britain:They’re All Raising Me

The time for the final battle didn't come as quickly as expected.

Although Guinevere and Nocnare had built a bridge of communication through their team links, mobilizing the majority of America's military power still took a lot of time. During this time, Maeve was already taking swift action.

While Nocnare was recruiting Maeve's followers, Maeve herself, upon noticing the connections being severed one by one, realized that something was amiss. Although she didn't understand why her contract was interrupted, she quickly sensed that her situation was becoming increasingly disadvantageous.

The situation of the Fifth Singularity seemed like a confrontation between two armies, but in reality, it was just a glorified myth. Edison had valued mass production and the strength of mechanized infantry, but in a world like the Type-Moon universe, where transcendent forces existed, the final battle would inevitably turn into a clash of super-powered heroes.

Guinevere could relate to this.

It might look like you've operated for a long time, managing economics, internal affairs, and military affairs to the utmost, appearing to have the upper hand. But when faced with a battle-hardened individual like Lü Bu, all those efforts could be undone by a single person.

Guinevere had both been defeated and defeated others in similar circumstances, so he understood this all too well.

Maeve seemed to understand this too. After realizing she had lost control over several of her Celtic followers, she wisely consolidated her remaining forces and moved them to Washington, the Eastern Army's headquarters.

"Seeing that scattering your forces wouldn't hold, you decided to gather them all together? That's a reasonable choice."

However, Guinevere wasn't concerned about Maeve's quick thinking. At this point, they had the advantage.

Although there were still third-party forces, such as Geromoni and Rama leading their own factions, as well as independent spirits like Master Li and Scáthach—particularly Scáthach, who was among the strongest in the Fifth Singularity—Guinevere didn't try to recruit them. There was no need.

As servants aligned with the pan-human history side, they wouldn't join Maeve. Since that was the case, their next step was simple: the F2A strategy.

Soon, with the Western Army marching forward, they reclaimed the territories once held by the Celts, and when Guinevere finally met Nocnare again, they were already on the outskirts of Washington.

"Nocnare!"

One moment, she was leading a large army of warriors and heroes, looking every bit the formidable queen. But as soon as she saw Guinevere, a youthful joy appeared on her face. Though she quickly masked it to maintain her dignity in front of her subordinates, her excitement could not be concealed.

"How about it! Have you seen my army?"

She stepped briskly toward Guinevere, her voice full of excitement.

"I... I've done it, like I promised! I've gained control over most of the Western Army. See? I always do what I say. You can always trust me."

But as she spoke, inexplicable emotions began to surface in her heart, causing her steps to falter and her joy to wane.

Every time she saw Guinevere, her heart would become a tangled mess.

The emotions—longing, joy from their reunion, the nostalgia for his figure, the resentment for his broken promises, and the regret that had lingered in her heart for thousands of years—all surged within her at once. Her expression became complicated, her gaze misty, and her voice grew soft.

Her next words became strange, almost tinged with a hint of tears:

"So... why... why...?"

—Why didn't you keep your promise?

Clearly, she had defended Woodworth's offensive and kept Edinburgh safe, maintaining the last stronghold for him. But where was he?

She had sworn he would return to her, yet he hadn't.

Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision and bringing back those memories—memories that made it hard for her to distinguish reality from fantasy.

The weight of the thousands of years of being an eternal queen still lingered on her.

It was this very memory that had driven her to initiate this destiny simulation, wanting to see Guinevere again, but at the same time, she had hesitated. She had told herself she was doing it to prove her worth, to be of help to Guinevere, so that she wouldn't be like Artoria or Bavanzi, holding him back.

But deep down, she knew the real reason.

She didn't know how to face Guinevere anymore.

The longing she had for him, buried deep in her heart, was overwhelming. She didn't know how to deal with this feeling.

Should she cry out her sadness from thousands of years of waiting? Should she resent him for leaving?

Should she rush into his arms like a wife waiting for her husband? But would he, who had chosen her for her rationality, be disappointed?

Or should she continue playing the ruler-subject game, the way she always had, maintaining the façade of the dignified and rational monarch? But what would she do with all these emotions brewing inside her?

Nocnare didn't know.

She had always been able to remain calm and analyze situations, to handle the ever-changing world and even manipulate others into joining her cause. Her long reign had taught her how to face everything with composure.

But when it came to Guinevere, she couldn't do any of that. She didn't even know how to face herself.

When faced with him, she lost her calm. She didn't know what foolish words might come out of her mouth or what mistakes she might make—or even whether she might hurt him.

In front of everyone else, she was the powerful queen, but in front of Guinevere, she was just a girl longing for love.

So, she found reasons to avoid him, hoping for more time to calm herself and figure out how to face him. But during all those days, she hadn't thought of anything.

She was running away.

She had thrown herself into expanding her army, seizing more troops and followers from the Eastern Army, and working tirelessly to help Chaldea. But in reality, she didn't care about saving humanity.

Even her decision to help humanity was just because Guinevere had done it before.

And when she finally came to her senses, everything was already in place, and she was once again about to meet Guinevere. But she still hadn't figured out how to face him or how to face her own heart.

However, just as her emotions were about to burst like an unleashed tide, Guinevere took the first step and gently pulled her into his arms.

As she looked into his eyes, Guinevere already knew what was in her heart.

He knew that he owed Nocnare.

"I'm sorry. I broke my promise."

So, he could only hold Nocnare tightly and speak in the most serious tone:

"I'm sorry, I never noticed your feelings."

"I'm sorry, I never properly responded to you."

"I'm sorry, I never kept my promise to you."

"I know. You've always worked so hard."

"I'm sorry, thank you for everything. And... I'm back."

"This time, I won't break my promise."

"I will stay with you, follow you, until this miracle ends."

——

Held tightly by Guinevere, hearing his sincere confession, Nocnare's mind went blank.

All the emotions that had been bottled up—confusion, longing, frustration—melted away in an instant.

Tears streamed down her face.

Meanwhile, in the army behind Nocnare, someone suddenly sighed.

"I've been trying to court that fairy Maeve, but she hasn't even looked at me... Turns out she has someone else... what a shame, she seems like a much better match than Maeve—she's not at all fickle, just a good woman."

Hearing this, Beowulf rolled his eyes and responded dryly:

"Seriously, Fergus, are you still thinking about that fairy Maeve? You really should look at yourself in the mirror before you make such a claim. A guy like you should stop fantasizing about good women."

Fergus sighed and responded helplessly:

"I know, I didn't know she had someone else. Who would've thought there was a 'Maeve' who would care about loyalty?"

"But speaking of which," he suddenly changed his tone, "though I won't chase after that fairy Maeve... don't you think her lover over there, that handsome guy, looks pretty good too?"

"?!" Beowulf raised an eyebrow. "Wait, are you telling me you're into men now?"

"Hahaha! What are you saying!" Fergus laughed loudly, "I just think he has the aura of a warrior, looks like a battle-hardened hero. If I could spar with him and then have a drink together, that would be pretty nice!"

"Well, when you put it that way," Beowulf nodded seriously, "now you've got me interested in challenging him to a fight."

"Such courage," Fergus said, "You're not afraid of a fight, are you?"

Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind them, and when they realized who it belonged to, both Fergus and Beowulf froze, then quickly turned around with shocked expressions.

Not only them, but the soldiers around them also noticed the unexpected guest. A commotion spread among the soldiers, and soon, Guinevere and Nocnare could hear it as well.

When Nocnare wiped away her tears and turned to look at the unexpected guest, her expression changed instantly.

It was as if she was seeing a mirror image of herself standing there, holding a strange whip, staring at her with interest.

Then the person spoke:

"Ah! The intel was right after all! There really is someone in this world who looks exactly like me... no, wait! You're not just my twin! My beauty is truly impossible to replicate!"

Then, she changed the subject:

"So, you're the other me from another world? How wonderful! Though I usually don't care about women, if it's another me, I think it'd be quite a different experience to take her home and pamper her, don't you think?"

At this point, the identity of this unexpected guest was clear: it was Queen Connacht, the supreme commander of the Eastern Army.

On either side of her, Arjuna with his black hair and white attire, and the Thorn King Cú Chulainn, were already standing at attention, ready for action.