Cú Chulainn thought for a moment. With Berserker and Archer already introduced, only the Saber remained.
His face grew solemn. The Saber had clearly given him more trouble than he cared to admit.
"Next is the Saber."
"If anyone takes one of her Noble Phantasms head-on, they could probably guess her identity right away."
Olga Marie raised a delicate eyebrow and looked at Cú Chulainn.
"You know the Saber's true name?"
Cú Chulainn spoke slowly, recalling the weapon she had wielded.
"That sword is incredibly famous even in your era."
"The second Sword in the Stone, meant for a king."
"Its name is—"
Before he could finish, Adam cut in smoothly.
"Excalibur — Sword of Promised Victory."
Cú Chulainn shot him a helpless glance.
"Hey, kid, can't you let me finish at least one sentence?"
"And honestly, do you even need me to introduce her? I'm starting to feel like you know more about this Singularity than I do."
Adam simply smiled.
"Just a little."
The entire Chaldea party reacted with visible shock the moment they heard the holy sword's name—even Ritsuka Fujimaru.
That was exactly how legendary Excalibur was.
Olga Marie's brows drew tight with worry.
"Excalibur… King Arthur's sword?"
"So the final enemy we have to face is King Arthur himself!"
Cú Chulainn gave her a firm nod.
"Correct."
Olga Marie felt a shiver run down her spine, but then her gaze drifted to Adam.
It's fine. With Adam here, King Arthur is nothing special.
With Adam on my side, what's there to fear?
Her confidence returned in an instant.
Ritsuka Fujimaru had also realized who they were up against the second she heard "Sword of Promised Victory." Even she knew the name King Arthur—it appeared everywhere in movies, games, and stories.
"King Arthur, huh…" she murmured in awe. "His reputation really is huge."
Mash, standing beside her, felt a fleeting sense of familiarity at the name, but it vanished like a mirage.
[Mash] looked at the young, almost childlike Mash and began mentally drafting a training plan for her, along with careful consideration of the Heroic Spirit currently possessing her.
Meanwhile, the real Mash was happily sharing what she had read in books.
"Senpai, Arthur Pendragon is the greatest and most legendary king of ancient Britain."
"In Celtic myths and medieval records, he is said to be the leader of the Knights of the Round Table."
"A nearly mythical figure known as the Once and Future King."
Ritsuka put on an exaggerated "Ohhh, I totally understand now" expression. Whether she actually did was anyone's guess.
Both Adam and [Mash] noticed that Mash had referred to King Arthur entirely as male.
Well… technically she wasn't wrong.
There really was a male Arthur in their Chaldea, after all.
But…
Adam and [Mash] exchanged a knowing glance.
Both of them immediately remembered the absolute flood of Artoria variants currently living in their Chaldea.
Just how many Artorias were there now?
They had definitely broken into triple digits.
For a second, neither of them could keep a straight face.
Adam looked at Ritsuka and Mash, opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.
"Um… how should I say this…"
"Err…"
"Ritsuka. Mash."
Ritsuka answered on reflex.
"Huh?"
Mash turned to him as well.
"What is it, Senpai Adam?"
"Did I get something wrong in what I just said about King Arthur?"
Adam's expression became deadly serious as he stared at the two girls.
Mash immediately snapped to attention like a soldier awaiting orders.
Ritsuka's mind, however, took a hard left into the abstract—she suddenly imagined Adam was about to propose. She was already wondering how many kids they should have and what names would sound best.
That was when Adam finally spoke.
"So… what do you two think the odds are that King Arthur is actually a girl?"
Ritsuka's face instantly collapsed.
"King Arthur can't possibly be a girl!!!"
"This isn't some R-18 eroge!"
Adam tried his hardest to hold back his laughter, but it was a losing battle.
Honestly… you really couldn't say for sure.
Mash's reaction was almost identical. She thought back to everything she had read about the king's marriage.
"Yeah, Senpai Adam… if King Arthur were a girl…"
"Then how did she marry Guinevere?"
"And there wouldn't have been the whole incident with—"
Mash was about to mention Lancelot but, for some reason, couldn't bring herself to utter that parasite's name.
Olga Marie was simply stunned, but she believed Adam without the slightest hesitation.
[Ritsuka Mood +10]
[Olga Marie Mood +10]
[Mash Mood +10]
…
At that moment, [Mash] stepped forward and calmly explained to both Ritsuka and Mash.
"Senpai is not mistaken."
"At the very least, the King Arthur we are about to face is definitely female."
Adam added from the side,
"Her true name is Artoria Pendragon."
Both girls froze solid.
After a few long seconds, a very strange thought bubbled up in Ritsuka's mind.
Wait… am I actually living inside a giant R-18 eroge right now?
Adam is the protagonist…
and I'm just one of the heroines he's romancing.
…You know what? That actually doesn't sound so bad.
Mash could understand that real life and book knowledge sometimes differed.
But after learning King Arthur was female, she quietly decided the books could be thrown out the window.
It took the two girls several seconds to fully process the revelation.
Then Ritsuka raised her hand like a student in class.
"Teacher Adam, can you explain what the title 'Eternal King' actually means for King Arthur?"
"Does that mean she hasn't really died even to this day?"
Adam thought for a moment, digging through memories that had already begun to rust.
He felt that, in a certain sense, the title of Eternal King was actually quite accurate.
"As for Artoria's title of the Eternal King…"
"She cannot truly be said to have died in the fullest sense of the word."
"At the moment her kingdom was on the verge of collapse,"
"on the Hill of Camlann, she could not accept the reality that her realm was being destroyed by her own hand."
"On the brink of death, she—"
Adam suddenly stopped.
Ritsuka looked extremely dissatisfied.
"Why did you cut off right there?!"
"Adam! You'd better not start speaking in riddles now!"
***
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