He hadn't mistaken her.
The person standing on Hadrian's Wall at this moment was none other than Boudica, who had interacted with his past self for a period of time.
However—
The current Boudica had a bit more of a queenly aura compared to her previous image as a valiant female warrior.
She was not only wearing a golden crown but also a thick leather cape, and she looked much more mature.
Perhaps after witnessing the prosperity of Rome, the Queen, upon returning to Britannia, had seriously considered what she should do next to live up to her title.
Her current appearance might be her answer.
The whooshing sound of arrows flying was continuous.
Countless flaming arrows flew down from Hadrian's Wall, accurately hitting the black shadows squirming on the ground.
The archers' skill was so proficient that even if they weren't hitting the bullseye every time, they were hitting it nine times out of ten—this was clearly not a skill that could be practiced in a short time but an accuracy gained through long-term accumulation.
Soon, with this sudden aid, the black shadows' advancing speed was not only slowed down but even subtly began to retreat.
And it was at this moment that the soldiers' shouts came from the wall.
"Hey—! The people down there! Come this way!"
Did they mean to help them get up onto Hadrian's Wall?
Tamamo-no-Mae and Mash, realizing this at the same time, looked toward Ian. The man at this moment was the absolute leader of the three.
Without any hesitation, Ian, who knew Boudica was kind by nature, knew this was absolutely not a trap.
"Let's go."
With the man's permission, the three people began to follow the guidance from the soldiers on Hadrian's Wall, searching for a path to climb it.
After a great effort, Ian and his party finally reached the top of the wall through a deeply hidden path and were then directly led to Boudica.
"Keep going! There must be no slack until dawn!"
The Queen's call was quickly answered by the soldiers.
"Yes—!"
There was another round of whooshing sounds. The flaming rain of arrows resisted the black shadows' approach in the strongest way possible.
"Come here."
Boudica led the three to a spot away from the soldiers, then looked at them and spoke:
"Your clothes are very strange—where are you from, and why are you outside the wall?"
"Um... we are here to fix the Singularity!" Mash, holding the large shield, was the first to speak. "We just arrived here not long ago."
"Also, my name is Mash Kyrielight, please be gentle with me!"
Mash was very honest and didn't hide her intentions at all.
Seeing her friend like this, Tamamo-no-Mae hesitated for a moment and then introduced herself as well.
However, she was still slightly different from Mash.
The fox demon curtsied slightly and began her self-introduction only after showing the utmost respect: "My name is Tamamo-no-Mae. I am a Servant summoned by Chaldea, and my purpose for this trip is also to repair the Singularity."
"Ian Pendragon, my purpose is the same as theirs."
The man briefly introduced himself, afraid of drawing Boudica's attention.
But—
Even being so cautious, Boudica still noticed him keenly.
The Queen of Britannia walked toward Ian. In the light of the torch, she looked him up and down, and a bit of interest appeared in her emerald eyes.
Facing Boudica like this, Ian was a little unsure how to speak for a moment.
Tamamo-no-Mae, noticing this, quickly and thoughtfully became her husband's mouthpiece.
"Your Majesty... do you have any questions?"
"..."
Boudica slightly frowned, then turned around, looked at Tamamo-no-Mae and Mash, and asked in return.
"Mash Kyrielight, Tamamo-no-Mae, what is the relationship between this man named Ian Pendragon and you?"
"..."
Tamamo-no-Mae thought for a moment, then smiled slightly and answered the question generously.
"He is my good husband, and the good father of my child."
"Eh—!!!"
Boudica and Mash exclaimed simultaneously.
But the Queen of Britannia quickly realized that the situation was a bit off.
"Mash Kyrielight, why are you so surprised? Since you appeared here together, shouldn't you know each other very well?"
"This..."
Boudica's question hit Mash's weak spot precisely. Stammering, she didn't know how to answer the question.
She truly didn't know that her reliable Senpai already had a child with Tamamo-no-Mae.
When did this happen?!!!
Had they been intimate many times in private?
Just when Mash was quite embarrassed, the understanding Tamamo-no-Mae once again stepped in to help—but her method was a little special.
She said:
"Oh... it's normal for little Mash not to know, because my husband just took her as a concubine not long ago."
"What?!"
Hearing this, Boudica subconsciously took a few steps back. It was clear that she was quite shocked by the description of a "concubine."
"How is that possible? Doesn't that mean you are both his wives?"
"Your Majesty, although it might sound a little unbelievable at first glance." Tamamo-no-Mae took Mash's hand. "But it's true, isn't it, little Mash?"
"..."
Mash, of course, knew how outrageous the identity of a "concubine" was.
But in order not to complicate matters, the habitually docile girl still accepted this arrangement that wouldn't cause Ian any trouble.
"Y-yes, it is."
"I just married Senpai not long ago... so I had no idea that Lady Tamamo-no-Mae... Mrs. Tamamo-no-Mae already had a child with Senpai."
After saying this, Mash immediately lowered her head.
Her face was so hot it could almost boil an egg.
"..."
Hearing their personal admission, Boudica looked at Ian for a while. After realizing that he wasn't refuting the statement, she bit her lip, seemingly making some kind of decision.
Soon, she proactively ended the awkward topic.
"I see. So you're a family of three."
"Welcome to Britannia. I am the Queen here, Boudica."
"But speaking of which—"
Boudica's gaze swept over the three people's clothing, which clearly didn't belong to this era, and she quickly grew a little more concerned.
"What exactly is this Singularity you mentioned?"
"It's an abnormal world that has been separated from the normal timeline." Ian, who had been silent for a long time, actively explained at this moment. "You can simply understand it as a world that has deviated from the correct path."
The man actually didn't want to explain.
But since Mash, who had accepted the identity of a "concubine," was too ashamed to speak for the time being, he had no choice but to explain all of this clearly himself.
"A world that has deviated from the correct path?"
Boudica was once again surprised by this explanation—more so than when she found out the three were a family.
"In other words... the world I am currently in is abnormal?"
"You could put it that way."
Ian controlled his tone, trying his best not to make Boudica uncomfortable.
After all, this was equivalent to saying that the place she "lived" had a problem, which was naturally annoying.
And to be honest—
It remained to be seen whether Boudica would believe him.
However, completely different from Ian's expectation, not only did Boudica not doubt his words, but she very quickly accepted everything.
She looked at the soldiers who were still resisting the black shadows outside the wall and sighed.
"I see—so it's this world that has a problem."
"That explains all of this now."
"Hmm?"
Boudica's tone made Ian notice a hint of something being wrong.
He asked further, "Queen Boudica, what do you mean by that?"
"..."
Boudica's gaze returned to the three people in front of her, finally landing on Ian.
"I saw your fight just now."
"That spear was amazing—to be able to eliminate so many black shadows in an instant, that's not something an ordinary person can do."
"You flatter me." Ian gave a polite reply. "To be honest, a Queen who can organize so many soldiers is actually the truly remarkable person."
"And if I'm not mistaken... you've probably been resisting like this for a long time, haven't you?"
Ian wasn't guessing randomly.
The proficient way these soldiers, who were following Boudica's command, handled the situation had already proven that they were not trained in a short time.
"Yes," Boudica nodded. "It's been about over a year now, hasn't it?"
"..."
Based on the time period BB had answered earlier, Ian silently deduced the source of all this.
It was about right.
It was exactly when he...
"Queen Boudica, may I interrupt for a moment?" Tamamo-no-Mae suddenly spoke up at this moment.
"Of course." Boudica smiled slightly. "By the way, you don't need to call me 'Queen' all the time—just calling me Boudica sounds much better."
"Then—"
"Boudica." Tamamo-no-Mae looked at the majestic Queen.
"You just said you've been resisting like this for over a year... can I interpret that as these black shadows started attacking this wall at our feet more than a year ago?"
"You could say yes, and you could say no."
Boudica replied, then picked up a bow and arrow that was placed nearby.
She drew the bow, and a fiery dragon flew forward, accurately striking down a black shadow and burning it to ashes.
"In fact, the place where we first saw these black shadows was much further than here."
"Much further."
"Yes," Boudica nodded at Tamamo-no-Mae. "It would probably take a few days of driving outwards from this wall, wouldn't it?"
Further than the place they were first Rayshifted to...
Ian thought to himself, and Boudica's explanation continued.
"We first saw these black shadows there. If it wasn't for the dawn, it would probably have been another tough fight."
"What does that have to do with dawn?" Tamamo-no-Mae asked. "Are they completely eliminated at dawn?"
"I can't say completely eliminated."
Boudica pursed her chin and recalled for a while.
"It's just that the black shadows retreat against the sunlight, as if they are afraid of seeing it—because of this situation, I referenced the technology passed down from Rome and tried every possible way to build this wall beneath your feet as quickly as possible."
"In this way, the people of Britannia can safely resist this strange thing."
So it was Boudica who supervised the construction.
Then the early completion wasn't a strange thing—after all, her rallying power was beyond imagination. Although it might not be as good as the Romans could do, it at least had the possibility of being completed.
At this time, Ian recalled Chaldea's initial positioning.
If Hadrian's Wall was the border of Britannia, the place where the three of them were first Rayshifted to should not belong to Britannia.
Unless—
There was something yet to be revealed.
"Boudica, may I be so bold as to ask another question..." Ian looked at the Queen in front of him.
"Is the territory of Britannia only up to this wall beneath our feet?"
This was a structure started by Rome for Britannia during Nero's reign, the purpose of which was to allow it to defend against enemies from the north. He didn't expect it to play a different role now.
Normally speaking, this should indeed be the true "border" of Britannia.
However, Boudica shook her head, and then with a bit of pride, she began to introduce her achievements.
"Of course not."
"This is only the boundary the Romans set for me."
Speaking of this, Boudica pointed to the area outside the wall, where the black shadows were surging.
"I, myself, have led them to fight in places much further than this."
At this point, Boudica seemed to deliberately glance at Ian and then continued:
"I only said I wouldn't invade the Romans' land, so there's no problem with expanding outward, right?"
"..."
Ian finally understood most of the context now.
Hadrian's Wall was indeed originally the northernmost border of Britannia, but Boudica, after swearing allegiance to the Romans, wanted to expand her territory outward.
If she couldn't go south, she would go north.
If it weren't for the emergence of these black shadows, which forced her to turn back to protect her people, this heroic Queen might have indeed taken control of the entire island of Britannia with those battle-hardened warriors.
That makes sense.
What Queen would willingly submit to others?
Moreover, Boudica herself was not incompetent. After seeing the prosperity of Rome, she probably also had a bit of ambition.
Perhaps—
What she was secretly pursuing was a situation where Britannia and Rome were equally strong?
Heh, that was unexpected.
Just as Ian was sighing with emotion, Boudica suddenly asked Tamamo-no-Mae:
"Um—"
"I have something I'd like to talk about with your husband alone. Is that alright?"
"Hmm." Tamamo-no-Mae nodded. "Of course, it is."
"Alright then—!"
Boudica grabbed Ian's clothes and led him to a place far away from his two "wives."
Immediately following, a question went straight to the man's heart.
Boudica, who had been so majestic just a moment ago, was now blushing like a young maiden who had just stepped out of her room.
"Seneca."
"Did you... hear the voice inside the amulet?"