After rescuing Jeong Min-man from the castle and making a dash for it, we safely arrived at the western village.
'...Has it been about five days now?'
The time I have left is 7 days. I hope to quickly deal with the Lion King and get out of the dungeon within that time.
'To be honest, I could leave for a bit in the middle, but wouldn't it be better to finish it all at once?'
Thinking that, I began to calculate.
'If things go like this, maybe it's possible within a week?....But there are too many variables....'
Just look at earlier—originally, there should have only been Agravain in that castle, but I killed Mordred, and that bastard raised the alert, bringing in Tristan and Lancelot.
'Perhaps other variables might arise.....'
Ozymandias might not support us, Lancelot might not turn to this side, and besides, 'that old man' might not help, and also....
'Sigh....Why are there so many variables....'
I scratched my head at the overwhelming number of variables and started preparing countermeasures with the Great Sage, but soon my head hurt, so I spun the gacha.
'Let's just spin it 10 times simply.'
Soon, the gacha started spinning.
[The Attribute Man of Good Fortune smiles]
[The Fable Gacha's Berserker shouts 'Gacha! Gacha! Gacha!']
Soon, the gacha results came out.
[Kamen Rider: Fable Fragment Infinite Possibility]
[Undertale: Skill: Gaster Blaster]
[Ultraman: Fable Fragment The Path the Rainbow Takes]
[The Seven Deadly Sins: Weapon: Divine Axe Rhitta]
[Super Sentai: Dricera Zyudenchi]
[Super Sentai: Fable Fragment Number One!]
[Type-Moon: Fable Fragment: Sword of the Star]
[Type-Moon: Caliburn]
[Super Sentai: Zector Zyudenchi]
[Super Sentai: Gabutyra Zyudenchi]
'Divine Axe Rhitta and a skill form of Gaster Blaster? On top of that, fable fragments and the holy relic Caliburn? This is amazing!?'
I was inwardly very surprised and satisfied when a message popped up.
[Fable Fragment: Sword of the Star reacts with an item you have.]
[The item Excalibur (Replica) absorbs the fable fragment Sword of the Star.]
[The item Excalibur Replica is enhanced to a one-time use item Excalibur.]
"!!!??"
With that message, my eyes widened in an instant.
Compared to other items, the Excalibur I had was a replica, so it wasn't very useful, but if I can use it even as a one-time item, it would be the best for me.
"!...That sword...."
Bedivere, with an expression like he had something to say, looked at the Excalibur (one-time use) I was holding and grew flustered.
"Let me say this in advance....this is just a replica feel....a degraded fake compared to the real one. After all, the real one is...."
When I quietly glanced at his arm, Bedivere made a face as if to say 'as expected' and muttered despondently.
"So...you knew from the beginning...."
"That's right, I had figured out most of the situation since we first met...."
At my words, Bedivere quietly lowered his head and sat down beside me.
"This fact, to the other party members—"
"I know, I won't say anything...at least not until you speak up yourself."
"Is that so? Thank you very much..."
"....."
"....."
With those words, a brief silence flowed, and Bedivere, with an expression seeking words, quietly began to speak.
"As you probably already know....I have committed a sin....In my heart, not wanting to lose the king, I committed a foolish sin...."
[The One Who Could Not Return the Holy Sword begins his story.]
As he started his tale, his fable began to speak.
Worn, rusted, eroded, cracked, broken—fables that seemed ready to turn to dust and scatter were telling their own story.
"In that forest, I hesitated to follow the king's order. If I returned the holy sword to the lake, the king would truly die. Afraid of that—even on the third time, I couldn't return the holy sword...."
[The One Who Could Not Witness the King's End recalls that time and slowly begins his tale.]
"And when I returned to the forest, the king's figure was gone. ...I only learned later. Because I didn't return the holy sword, the king could not die. The king, clutching the holy spear left in the water, became a wandering ghost king."
[The 1500-Year Journey of Atonement recalls long-past events and begins its own story.]
"....To atone for that sin, I kept searching for the king. Continuously. As if chasing a shadow that didn't exist."
[The Knight of Loyalty recalls his sin and bows his head.]
I listened silently to Bedivere's...his stories, then quietly spoke.
".....You really...had a rough time in many ways...."
"No, this much isn't hardship....Rather, the king...because of me....."
Bedivere, saying this, was trapped in complex emotions like regret and guilt, and somehow...that sight wasn't unfamiliar.
"...Everyone is afraid of losing someone precious....."
Perhaps because of that, I told him.
"The sorrow of losing someone precious is felt by everyone, and everyone suffers....And within that, there are those who commit sins because they don't want to lose someone precious, and many who go down a bad path after losing someone precious...."
Thinking of such characters from various creations, I said to Bedivere.
"You can do it....Even if it's too much for you alone, I'm here, the Chaldea party members are here, and other party members are here too....So whenever you need help, say so...We'll help you."
"....Truly...thank you. I always receive help from you...."
"Don't mention it~ Now, let's get some sleep soon. We need to recover our stamina too. I'm going to bed first."
With that, I left Bedivere behind and went to rest first.