"How is this possible? Artoria, what on earth is going on with you?"
On a street in Gloster, Oberon stood with hands on hips—one hand still clutching a feather duster—looking at Artoria in utter disbelief.
"Where did the money go? Our travel fund? The one hundred million Mob Pounds Morgan gave us? It's all gone? Spent already?!"
"Well...it's not—well, I didn't spend it all. I only spent ninety-eight million...and there are still two million left."
Artoria weakly tried to explain.
"'Only'?! You've got the nerve to say you 'only' spent ninety-eight million?!"
A vein throbbed in Oberon's forehead, as if ready to explode from fury.
"Are you some kind of super spendthrift? What's your family wealth situation—do you own a mine?! You just blew ninety-eight million in no time and you still dare to say 'only'?!"
"And where are the items you supposedly bought with ninety-eight million? I can't see anything. Even if you spent all the money, you ought to have something to show for it, right? Where are the items?!"
Seeing Oberon so furious, Artoria went "thud" and dropped to her knees. Her eyes darted around; guilt was written all over her face.
"Uh, well, Oberon, you don't have to be so angry," Guinevere tried to interject, almost whispering.
Of course he couldn't just stand by silently—he knew exactly where Artoria had spent the money.
Although he didn't approve of Artoria's extravagant spending—after all, for the minor attribute boosts he'd gained, he could have farmed those stats himself in two months of grinding. Two months of his real life wasn't worth a billion Mob Pounds. Even selling himself wouldn't scrape up a fraction of that sum.
But one thing at a time. As the primary beneficiary, he couldn't just pretend nothing happened.
"In any case, it was also our fault for naively giving her all that money in the first place... And if I look on the bright side, about not seeing any items for the money spent...uh..."
Guinevere hesitated for two seconds, conceding that he couldn't come up with any excuse. Even he felt, from Oberon's perspective, that Artoria had really gone too far.
Who spends money like this?
"...Well, hmm, at least it shows she didn't blow it on random jewelry or luxury goods..."
After hesitating, Guinevere managed to utter that weak defense—only to have Oberon shoot him down immediately:
"I'd rather she'd spent it on those things! At least then I could return them and recoup some money—get maybe seventy or eighty percent back. But she didn't even buy anything! She can't even say where the money went! At this point, I'm wondering if she's into some vice or other!"
Finishing his scolding of Artoria, Oberon's anger still burned hot:
"And also—how can you even defend her? If you hadn't indulged her, would she be like this? If you hadn't spent all you had on her earlier, would she be so out of control?!"
Now Guinevere, too, cowered beside Artoria, both of them ducking their heads like two startled quails. They wanted nothing more than to bury themselves in the ground.
"Well…actually…"
Seeing there was no way to weasel out, Artoria finally spoke up, her voice trembling:
"I, um…actually, I spent that money on Simulator rewards."
"!" Guinevere's eyes went wide.
What? What's happening? Big sister? You're confessing it out loud now?
You're supposed to keep that system cheat secret, right? You can't just tell everyone! You need some cover!
But while he was still reeling, Artoria laid it all out:
"Because I needed to bid at the auction for that ancient sword, I had to accept a mission. If I completed that mission, I'd get a reward that grants a skill to you… So I spent all the money on that."
"…?" Guinevere gaped at her.
He had no clue what to make of this—only that Oberon was staring at him now, equally astonished.
"Well?" Guinevere ventured.
"Fine! I'll say it, I'll say it!" Oberon snapped. Exhausted, he glared back at Artoria:
"Artoria! What did you think you were doing just mouthing words without actually explaining? Were you deliberately trying to piss us off?!"
"Huh?" Artoria looked up, perplexed. "I wasn't—I was trying to explain—"
"Then ask Guinevere! Ask those people over there who were passing by!" Oberon snarled, pointing toward both Guinevere and the nearby curious onlookers.
"Ask them if they heard you say anything at all!"
Artoria stared at Guinevere, baffled—and from his expression, he was just as bewildered.
What was happening? She was definitely speaking! Why was Oberon saying she was angry on purpose?
Guinevere's calm mind suddenly clicked: Was the simulator automatically censoring any mention of its existence whenever she tried to explain to non-players?
Realization dawned on him.
At that moment, Artoria saw this notification floating before her:
[Note: Please do not attempt to reveal the existence of the Queen Simulator to anyone who is not a simulator player.]
[To avoid exposing this game, the system will automatically censor any speech that risks revealing the simulator.]
"Ah, uhh…"
Artoria was completely stuck.
What could she do now? If she couldn't explain the truth, how could she calm Oberon and Guinevere?
Just then, a familiar voice called out from the side:
"Ah, wonderful luck—seeing you two here."
Hearing someone greet them, Artoria and Guinevere both snapped to attention, their expressions brightening. But when they saw who it was, both froze stone still.
"What, have you already forgotten my name in just the time I was away?"
The Fairy Knight Lancelot, in full armor, lightly pressed a hand to her chest and smiled at them.