"A chariot?"
Hearing Boudica mention this, Ian instantly recalled the first time he met her.
At that time, Boudica was driving a chariot pulled by two famous horses of Britannia.
Her image as a heroic and valiant warrior was unforgettable at a glance.
However—
Ian looked at the blue bricks forming Hadrian's Wall beneath his feet and, for a moment, couldn't understand how Boudica intended to summon that chariot now.
Magecraft?
Or some other method?
The Queen of Britannia seemed to know the man was wondering about this, so she quickly began to explain:
"Don't worry—"
"If you truly have this need, I can absolutely bring that chariot out!"
"What do you say?" Boudica leaned closer. "Seneca, do you want it or not? If you do, hurry up and answer me!"
"..."
Since she had put it this way, Ian was not a vague person.
"Alright, Boudica, I'll take you up on that!"
"That's what I was waiting for you to say!"
Boudica grabbed Ian's hand and then shouted to Tamamo-no-Mae and Mash on the side:
"Ladies, I'm borrowing your husband for a little while longer—!"
"Eh?"
Mash was about to say something but was stopped by Tamamo-no-Mae.
The fox demon looked at Boudica, who was holding hands with her husband (nominally and in reality), and instead of getting angry, she smiled and nodded.
"I understand. Please go and return quickly."
"Good, I'm relieved to hear that!"
Boudica waved her hand to the soldiers on the wall and then commanded:
"Everyone, you must ensure Tamamo-no-Mae and Mash arrive safely at the nearby city!"
"Also, please treat them with the same respect you would show me. They are esteemed guests of our Britannia! Do you understand?"
Boudica's prestige among the soldiers was indeed very high. A few simple words once again elicited their passionate response.
"Understood, Queen Boudica—!"
"Excellent, very spirited!"
Having briefly arranged everything, Boudica looked at the man who had just agreed to have a child with her.
"Then—Seneca, let's leave now!"
"Okay."
"Whoo-whoo—!" Boudica flicked her left hand and let out a whistle.
The sound spread across the sky near Hadrian's Wall in a very short time.
Soon, the sound of horse hooves rising and falling came from the inner side of the wall.
Two warhorses, looking seasoned from battle, were pulling a simple yet massive chariot and rushing toward Hadrian's Wall.
In a moment, it ran near Hadrian's Wall, then leaped up, flying directly over it.
At the same time, Boudica spoke once more:
"Let's go!"
After saying this, the Queen of Britannia directly grabbed Ian's hand, then brought him to jump down from the wall, landing steadily on the flying chariot.
In a short while, they disappeared into the distance.
Mash watched this scene, and the experiences from the First Singularity flooded back like a tide.
She never thought that in another Singularity, she would still see the scene of her Senpai being "abducted" by another woman.
"Lady Tamamo-no-Mae, this..."
"It's fine." Tamamo-no-Mae smiled slightly, clearly not that worried.
"Little Mash, you don't need to worry."
"Don't forget how amazing my Master is—even if you don't trust Boudica, you should trust his judgment, right?"
"The fact that he was able to hold Boudica's hand and jump down shows that he thought it was necessary."
"I, of course, should support him."
"..."
Mash didn't respond to Tamamo-no-Mae's words, but she clearly felt that her trust in Ian was not as direct as Tamamo-no-Mae's thinking.
Finally, she nodded: "Then, Lady Tamamo-no-Mae, what should we do now..."
"Naturally, we should do what a good wife should do."
Tamamo-no-Mae looked back at the other side of Hadrian's Wall, which was the actual territory of Britannia.
"Little Mash, there are still many things that need to be figured out for Master by you and me."
"Also, we need to contact BB."
"Yes, I understand!"
With a goal in mind, Mash quickly began to act, following Tamamo-no-Mae.
Meanwhile, Ian and Boudica were not idle either.
The chariot, which had just flown over Hadrian's Wall pulled by the twin horses, was now speeding across the land in northern Britannia.
"Seneca, you are indeed extraordinary." Boudica looked at the man beside her, a new appreciation in her eyes. "Even though this is your first time on this chariot, you show absolutely no sign of fear."
Just as Boudica was musing, this chariot, blessed by the Goddess of Victory, Andraste, had incredibly terrifying performance.
If an ordinary person boarded rashly, they would only feel that they couldn't endure the high-speed state and would soon want to yell for a stop.
But Ian by her side showed no such behavior.
Not only was he completely comfortable, but he even subtly looked like he wanted to praise the chariot, which made Boudica inwardly happy.
If... she could give birth to a descendant with such an excellent man, they would surely be an incredibly fine offspring, wouldn't they?
But facing Boudica's compliment, Ian's reaction wasn't overly excited. Instead, he appeared very composed, as if this was something he should naturally be able to do.
He spoke: "Boudica, can this really keep up with those black shadows?"
"Eh?"
When Ian mentioned this, Boudica noticed that the situation seemed a little unfavorable.
Although the chariot did narrow the distance between them and the retreating black shadows for a while after landing.
As the sun gradually climbed higher, the distance between the two widened again, as if they could never get close again.
If this continued... they would probably be completely shaken off by the black shadows.
"How could this be?"
"There's actually something that can run faster than my chariot..."
"It seems this is indeed the first time you've chased them out," Ian said thoughtfully.
"Then—"
"Boudica, can I try to drive this chariot?"
"What?"
Boudica was a little disbelieving of what she had heard. This was the first time anyone had made such a request of her.
You have to know that this was a chariot blessed by the Goddess of Victory, Andraste. Even just attempting to hold the reins was quite a big test.
And he now...
Wait.
Boudica patted her cheek.
Why should she doubt him?
This guy was someone who could still function normally after boarding her chariot.
Considering this, there shouldn't be any problem with him wanting to drive this chariot, right?
Without further hesitation, Boudica grabbed Ian's hand and directly let him hold the chariot's reins.
"Then you can try it!"
"As for me—"
Boudica moved back slightly and then very proactively hugged him from behind.
"I won't concern myself with anything anymore!"
"..."
It had to be admitted—
Although Ian didn't have any physiological needs for Boudica at the moment.
The sheer aggressiveness displayed by her incredibly proud figure was completely maxed out at this moment.
The way Boudica hugged him from behind and pressed her chest against him, regardless of whether it was pleasurable or not, certainly gave a dizzying feeling.
One had to remember...
Boudica's chest size was exaggerated to an unbelievable degree, the kind that would feel inexplicably reassuring just by looking at it.
Considering it from this perspective, the experience in bed would probably be excellent as well.
However—
Ian took a deep breath, calming himself down for the time being.
Now was not the time to consider such needs. Even if he was stirred and wanted to do something, he had to finish the task at hand first!
There was a large group of people waiting for him in Chaldea.
Thinking this, the man once again focused his attention on driving the chariot.
And Boudica, looking at his serious appearance, felt both a little disappointed that he wasn't excited by her chest attack and also fortunate because of his terrifying self-control.
He was truly wonderful.
She really hoped to be with him in bed soon...
Thinking of this, Boudica blushed. This was the first time she had such a burning, passionate thought.
The Queen's worry didn't materialize. Although this was indeed a blessed chariot, Ian didn't feel any resistance when he grasped its reins.
No, it should even be said that a certain power was helping him.
But Ian wasn't overly surprised.
The reason was simple:
Since the chariot's owner, Boudica, had chosen to show her acknowledgment of him with this most intimate form of contact.
Then, as her subordinate in a sense, it would naturally listen to him.
However, Ian didn't want to drive the chariot for no reason either.
He certainly wanted to chase the black shadows ahead.
But at the same time, he also wanted to memorize this chariot for his future Memory Projection use.
After all, having one more usable weapon was equivalent to having one more trump card.
However—
Even with his crystal-clear intention to pursue, as the Singularity's sun gradually rose, the black shadows' retreating speed became increasingly ridiculous.
No, there was no way to catch up.
The movement speed of these things was simply too exaggerated. They were not a target that this chariot could pursue right now.
Realizing this, Ian decided not to waste any more time. He held the reins and planned to immediately return to Hadrian's Wall.
But at this moment, Boudica behind him leaned into his ear and whispered:
"Um, Seneca..."
"If possible, could we not go back yet?"
"..."
Ian knew that Boudica had an ulterior motive for suggesting the chariot.
The moment he didn't refuse her hug, the Queen of Britannia might have already considered this a very special date.
To be honest, this perception was a bit outrageous.
After all... the current situation was definitely not a good time for romance.
But thinking about how Boudica had been striving alone for so many years, and he was the object of her emotional outpouring, Ian couldn't bear to end her enjoyment.
This was a dilemma; whatever he did felt somewhat wrong.
However, as the Queen of Britannia, Boudica's observation skills were quite sharp.
She quickly understood what Ian's silence meant.
"Alright, it seems it's not possible, so let's go back."
"Um... you're not angry because of what I just said, are you?"
Boudica's understanding and compromising attitude completely struck a chord with Ian.
He decided to make a slight concession for her as well.
"Staying outside constantly is definitely not possible... Boudica, you should know I have things I need to do here."
"..."
Hearing this, Boudica regretted why she had said those words just now.
But Ian's next sentence made her happy again.
"However, I think it should be fine if we don't go back until before noon—we can also take this time to investigate whether the land touched by those black shadows has any strange side effects."
"..."
Realizing that Ian had indirectly agreed, Boudica smiled.
She hugged him and gently rubbed against him with her proud chest.
"Mhm, let's take this chance to investigate properly!"
The chariot slowed down, and the two, nestled together, began to investigate the nearby land.
Fortunately, the ground that had been encroached upon by the black shadows didn't seem to have undergone any terrible changes.
However, Ian did sense the presence of magical energy on it—which meant that the black shadows might be the product of magecraft.
He looked at Boudica beside him and asked:
"Speaking of which... you've been in a stalemate with these black shadows for over a year, so you must have figured out some ways to deal with them, right?"
"Mhm." Boudica nodded. "Initially, we just used ordinary arrows to attack, and the effect was very poor."
"Later, it gradually evolved into what it is now—during this time, I tried using other types of arrows, but the effect was completely inferior to flaming arrows."
It seemed that fire was indeed the weakness of those black shadows. Ian further confirmed this fact.
But just as he was about to ask more questions, Boudica grabbed his hand.
The Queen of Britannia, who was hugging the man from behind, pointed into the distance.
"Seneca, look, isn't there someone there?"
"..."
Following Boudica's hand, Ian indeed saw a person.
It was a young girl, though her attire seemed somewhat androgynous.
Dressed in white, she had a small white flower in her hair, which looked out of place with the surrounding environment.
But the most striking thing was the weapon in her hand.
It was a dagger, which looked incredibly sharp, but its shape was a little unusual, seemingly specially crafted for a certain purpose.
Ian was a bit surprised.
He knew this place had been the black shadows' hell last night. How could she have survived under those circumstances?
Regardless, they should go and check on her first.
Just as Ian was thinking this, the mysterious girl suddenly collapsed onto the ground with a soft thud.