Inside the shop, following the King of Knights' words, Guinevere had already changed out of her blue long dress. She had found a matching blue outfit consisting of hot pants and a hoodie, topped with a baseball cap.
She had no ulterior motives; she simply felt this casual attire was more practical for movement and possessed some of the girlish charm she desired.
Only then, with a glint in her eyes, did Guinevere answer the King of Knights' question with a troubled expression.
"Gilgamesh? Back then, I bluffed to Lancelot, claiming Gilgamesh was nothing more than a 'withered bone in a tomb' in my eyes. But in truth, I had no confidence I could completely defeat him.
"My plan at the time was to hold him off while Kayneth went to kill his Master. If it's a war, I only care about victory, not how it's achieved."
"Now that Irisviel is my Master, and with Kiritsugu available to cooperate, I'm even more committed to this plan.
"However, if you, Lia, are willing to fully support me and can unleash the Scabbard within Irisviel, then we can certainly try to defeat him head-on."
Others might not know, but Guinevere was certain that the Scabbard named Avalon resided within Irisviel von Einzbern. After making physical contact with Irisviel, she had confirmed this fact beyond doubt.
Beyond that, Guinevere had another question:
"I heard that my sword and your Scabbard were both buried in Mordred's tomb. Since the Einzbern family used the Scabbard as a Holy Relic for the summoning, what happened to my sword?"
Having erected a Dispel Bystanders and a soundproof barrier, the three of them had no fear of their conversation being overheard. Hearing Guinevere's question, the King of Knights froze. This was the first time she had learned that the Scabbard she had left for Mordred in life had been excavated from Mordred's tomb.
Rage and killing intent surged from her, causing Irisviel to shiver and nearly disrupting the Dispel Bystanders barrier she had set up.
"Lia, calm down! Even if the Einzbern family dug up the tomb, Irisviel wasn't the one who did it."
"I know. It's just... thinking about Mordred's tomb being desecrated reminds me of how she used to cling to me, calling me 'Father-King' so endearingly..."
"...You're right. This debt must be repaid. Those grave-robbing bastards must be made to die without heirs. So, are you still planning to use the Holy Grail to go back to the past?"
"Guinevere, let's not mix these issues."
Guinevere seized the opportunity to press her point, but the King of Knights' resolve remained unshaken. Although she no longer held any hope for the Holy Grail and had already decided to stay in the modern era with Guinevere for a while longer, she wouldn't yield on this.
If the Holy Grail was unreliable, she would stay and find another way.
They locked eyes, then both snorted and turned their heads away, neither willing to back down.
As the conversation returned to the matter of the sword, both their gazes fell back on Irisviel.
While Irisviel was still gathering her thoughts, Guinevere took the opportunity to hold up a few outfits against the King of Knights, sizing her up. Her current attire—hot pants, a hoodie, and a baseball cap—sparked a playful idea in Guinevere's mind: to have her cosplay as other 'Saber-faces.'
But this was just a bit of playful banter between partners.
After a long pause, during which Irisviel even made a phone call to Kiritsugu Emiya, she finally bowed deeply to both of them in apology and explained the Scabbard's origins as she knew them.
According to her, while the Einzberns hadn't stolen from the tomb, they had indeed sent people to excavate it in Cornwall.
The Holy Sword Guinevere had asked about was also currently in the Einzberns' possession, having served as a backup Holy Relic for Kiritsugu's summoning.
"So you're saying my sword is still at the Einzbern Main Castle in Germany?"
"No. To ensure victory in this Holy Grail War, Clan Leader Ahad had us bring the sword with us. It's currently in Kiritsugu's possession, concealed as his trump card.
"Apparently, when it was excavated, it was already brimming with Mana, ready for a Noble Phantasm Release at any moment."
Guinevere's mind went blank for a moment, but she quickly recovered.
Back then, to make this Replica Holy Sword comparable to the original, and because her own Mana reserves were limited, the replica had been designed to absorb and store external Mana. While it was called "blood-sucking," it was simply exceptionally efficient at absorbing the Mana within blood.
No matter how slowly it accumulated Mana through normal absorption, being buried for fifteen hundred years was more than enough to fill its storage completely.
"Caster, when Kiritsugu returns tonight, I'll speak with him about the sword. I'll also remove the scabbard from my body and give it to Saber—if it will truly help you defeat Archer."
Still reeling from the King of Knights' earlier killing intent and Guinevere's curse of "ending the Einzbern bloodline," Irisviel was filled with anxiety. She had been trying to find a way to calm them both down, which made her unexpectedly timid now.
Seeing Irisviel's timid state, Guinevere's confusion didn't last long. She quickly spoke up:
"Ahem, I take back my curse about wiping out the Einzbern line. I'll only kill those involved in the tomb raiding. After all, Illya is my child now. How could I ever let that curse come true?"
She said it with a playful smirk, but her resolve to kill the tomb raiders was no lie.
Hearing this, Irisviel finally let out a sigh of relief. As long as Illya wasn't on the kill list, she couldn't care less about the Einzbern family.
However, the King of Knights did not appreciate Guinevere's playful tone.
After being provoked time and again, she could only respond in an icy voice, "Damn white-haired, obsessed fool! If you actually go through with that, then so will I!"
"Huh? You want Illya too?"
The King of Knights' fury was doused as if by a bucket of cold water. She realized Guinevere had never been serious about this.
Suddenly speechless, she felt utterly ridiculous. It seemed she had lost her usual composure ever since being summoned.
Back when I was alive, she thought, I was the King of Knights who could mask my true feelings with a stern expression, no matter the situation!
"Fine, fine! I'll take Illya too! We'll keep her together!" she snapped, throwing her hands up in defeat. She refused to argue with Guinevere about this any longer.
But on one point, their gazes met in a silent, mutual understanding: they would go to the Einzbern Main Castle. Their shared murderous intent forged an unspoken pact.
Just then, a commotion they'd heard before echoed from the street—the boisterous laughter of a tall, sturdy man and the whining complaints of a petite mage.
Looking through the clothing store's glass wall toward the source of the noise, they saw the red-haired, red-bearded King of Conquerors and Waver Velvet, his long hair falling straight to his chin.
"Well, it's no surprise," Guinevere murmured, her gaze lingering on the "Grand Strategy" T-shirt worn by the King of Conquerors. "Fuyuki City only has one shopping district."
Seeing them reminded her of Kayneth's parting words from the previous night. He had hesitated several times before finally voicing his request.
He'd said Waver was still young and foolish, that a good scolding would be enough punishment—he certainly didn't deserve to die. Kayneth had hoped Waver would return with nothing more than a tear-streaked face.
Yes, Kayneth had left Fuyuki last night, taking with him his fiancée, Sola. She resented him for sacrificing Lancer but ultimately had no choice but to go with him.
With Lancer eliminated, Sola's stirred emotions had nowhere to go. But as a child raised in a mage lineage, the fact that she only argued and didn't run away meant she had accepted her fate in the arranged marriage.
As for Kayneth, he could foresee the constant arguments that would follow their marriage, but he simply loved Sola and was confident he could make her look only at him in the future.
Lost in thought, Guinevere watched as the King of Conquerors and his Master reached the clothing store. Having already been spotted by the three inside, the pair had no choice but to meet their gazes and wave.
Since they had seen each other, neither side would back down out of fear. They each had their own pride.
Besides, with the sun high in the sky and the street bustling with people, a fight was out of the question.