Chapter 6

Excluding King Arthur’s first seat and the thirteenth Seat of Danger, there were Round Fragments corresponding to the second to twelfth seats. “That’s right. The one in the third seat of the Round Table, Sir Kay—King Arthur’s foster sister. That’s your Jack, isn’t she, Luna?” Rintarou gazed at Sir Kay with an inexplicable look of nostalgia as she writhed in embarrassment and suspiciously glared back at him with hostility in her eyes. “You were brave enough to face Master Felicia and her knight—I see you’re no ordinary person. But that’s exactly what makes you suspicious! For what reason would you approach us?!” “Well, sure. I guess any normal person would wonder why I’d purposefully come to the weakest King Arthur succession candidate… Right?” he jeered. Sir Kay’s eyes burned sharply with rage. “Hey, hey, don’t get angry, okay? I’m not the one who said it. Those damn Dame du Lac were the ones who told everybody that. But well…you guys already know why they call you the weakest, don’t you?” Rintarou shrugged. “In this succession battle, victory is determined by the strength of each King’s Excalibur…and of that King’s servant Jack.” By Excalibur, he was referring to the generic term for the sword wielded by the former King Arthur. It was shorthand for the King’s sword. The participating Kings each had been granted an Excalibur by the Dame du Lac. This sword could shape-shift to reflect the condition of each King’s soul. “But you’re basically worthless and talentless, which means you had a shit Excalibur—which you sold off. To top it all off, your Jack is Sir Kay… Welp, I’m sorry to say this, but she was King Arthur’s weakest knight.” “Y-you dare call me the weakest knight?! You dare make a mockery of me?! I was stronger than Sir Dagonet! Take it back!” “Sir Dagonet was the jester in the royal court, wasn’t he…? Is that really the brand of chivalry you espouse?” he asked, unimpressed as he looked at Sir Kay, who was bitterly quivering and close to tears. “Whatever. Anyway, let me tell you… I’m strong.” He suddenly grinned. “If I back you up, your potential will skyrocket. You’ll actually have a chance at the battle. What do you think? Would you let me join your side? I’ll make sure you win, Luna.” “Huh. Okay? So who are you…actually?” she asked quietly. With that, Luna narrowed her eyes slightly. “I don’t know how, but it seems like you even know about my Excalibur.” “Does it really matter who I am? The reason I know about your Excalibur is… Well, let’s just say I have an in with those Dame du Lac guys.” “What’s your goal? Why me? I’m the one with the most disadvantages, right? I don’t know what you’re plotting, but if you want to win, shouldn’t you choose someone else?” Rintarou grinned gruesomely. “It’s ’cause it’ll be fun.” He didn’t try to make up appearances as he answered. “Whosever side I’m on will win anyway. So why not take the largest stakes…? The weakest underdog is the most fun to support… Am I wrong?” “Wha—?” Sir Kay was at a loss. Rintarou Magami was a walking, talking embodiment of arrogance and narcissism, greater than any being in heaven or on earth. He was a false deity who feared no god. “I’m bored of this world.” Suddenly, Rintarou unsheathed his sword. “Look, there are a lot of stories about people who get powers that basically cheat the system, right? That’s what I’ve got…and it’s boring as hell. There’s no reason for living. You don’t even get a sense of accomplishment. Living is as good as being dead.” He held the same two swords from the night before: The left was a sword cane, and the right was a long sword. They both glinted sinisterly in the moonlight. “But…I might still be able to enjoy this side of the world a little…right?” As he lowered his swords lazily, Rintarou swelled with an intimidating demeanor and overwhelming bloodlust. That made Luna’s and Sir Kay’s skin prickle. It was electric. “I’ll ask you again. Luna. Let me join your side. Let me dedicate my life to you. If you won’t, I’ll make you agree by force…” “Guh… You’ve shown your true colors now, you scum…?!” At that moment, Sir Kay was enveloped by a sharp burst of light, coiling around her to form a sword, armor, and a surcoat. By sublimating her mana, she materialized her Aura into a knight’s armaments. “As though we would let a boor like you defile our sacred battle!” She’d transformed into a knight, gallantly confronting Rintarou by turning her sword at him. “Oh? You want to have a go? …Fine by me. It’ll be great for demonstrating how strong I am.” He remained calm as he savagely smirked. They’d reached a volatile situation: A clash between them was inevitable. As the situation reached its boiling point, Luna strutted over to him without a care in the world. “…Huh?” The combatants were so taken aback by Luna, defenselessly entering the path of their swords, that they couldn’t move. She clapped a hand on Rintarou’s back. “You’re hired,” she said unceremoniously. Doubting his ears, he blinked in response. “Seriously, Rintarou! You’re just so obtuse sometimes!” She happily smiled. He was still in the dark. “In other words, it’s basically the same thing, right?! What this all comes down to is you want to become my vassal, right?! I totally understand!” “……Yeah?” “All right, I’ll hire you! Rintarou, I’ll let you become my vassal! I was just thinking I wanted you to become my vassal, too! Well, let’s hurry up and get the ceremony out of the way!” She was in high spirits as she pulled a folding chair out of thin air. “THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANT!!” “WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!” Rintarou and Sir Kay were up in arms as they pressed into Luna at close range. “Why does it always come down to this?! Is there something wrong with your head?!” “You can’t, Luna! This guy’s already suspicious enough as it is! He’s probably up to no good. How can you make this good-for-nothing edgelord your vassal?! You’re like a little sister to me, and I absolutely can’t allow this!” The two closed in on her. “What? But, Rintarou… You want to fight for me, right? You want to help me win, right? You want to make me the true King, right? And you said you’d risk your life for me, right?” “Y-yeah, but…” “Then you’re basically my vassal—and a super-loyal one, at that.” “…Yeah? I—I guess? Maybe I actually wanted to become your vassal to begin with? Huh? I don’t know what’s happening anymore…” “And Sir Kay. At first glance, you’re right: He’s a try-hard. But…it seems he might really be strong. And most importantly, this is more fun!” “…F-fun…?” “Because Rintarou’s serious about this, right? He said he seriously thinks this’ll be fun, so he wants to join this fight, right? Isn’t that fun, in and of itself?!” “W-well…um, Luna? Aren’t you basically saying he’s just insane?” “Ha-ha! I’ll take this talented loose cannon and use him to my advantage! That’s what a King does…right?! Well, as the true King, my heart’s big enough to welcome him in!” she announced proudly with a smug little grin and her puffed-out chest. Faced with Luna’s overtly childish naïveté, Rintarou and Sir Kay let go of their hostility in spite of themselves. “Damn, and here I was thinking of scaring you and taking control of the situation. But things realllly aren’t working in my favor. Well, who cares. I don’t mind if I’m a vassal or whatever as long as I can fight on your side.” “Ahhh, I don’t even know what to say… Luna, you’re so similar to that kid…always gathering up weirdos and oddballs just because it’d be ‘fun.’” Rintarou and Sir Kay sighed deeply, finally finding common ground: They were exasperated by Luna. Then Sir Kay looked straight at her again and chose her words carefully. “Luna. This is your battle. If that’s what you wish…then I will raise no further objections. As a knight under your service, I defer to you.” “Sir Kay…” “…I was truly a worthless knight. In the end, I couldn’t protect my younger brother…Arthur. Even on that day where everything started, when he pulled the sword from the stone…when the Round Table crumbled…when Camlann Hill was faced with devastation…” “…” “That’s why this time I’ll protect you. That’s the reason I answered your call at Camlann Hill so earnestly… Though you might’ve drawn the short straw because of that.” Then she once again turned back to Rintarou. “Listen up, Rintarou Magami. Regardless of your reasons, if you do wrong by Luna, mark my words: I swear on my life to strike you down, even if my strength is no match to yours… Remember that.” “Yeah, I’ll keep it in mind. Especially if it’s a warning coming from you.” “I-is that so…?” Truth be told, she hadn’t expected Rintarou to nod and agree without putting up a fight. With that, Sir Kay suddenly melted into particles of light and disappeared into the night. She dissolved and returned to her original place—to her part-time job. After he sent Sir Kay off into the night, he turned to Luna. “Now, my King. The King Arthur Succession Battle started yesterday night…but they haven’t even announced a single one of the quests yet. We don’t even know when they’ll be announced.” “Yeah. Right now, we gotta investigate, be on the lookout to see how each King moves…or who the Queens are…” “Then what’s your move?” he asked Luna in a slightly low tone. “We’ve still got a lot to do, even before they announce the quest or before the real scramble for the treasure begins. We can investigate what the other Kings are doing. We can find someone to make a temporary alliance with. We can review and strengthen our defenses. On the other hand, in order to increase our chances, we could go on the offensive and attack the other Kings to get them to fold. In that case…we could even assassinate them.” “…” “Now, Luna, what would you like to do? Just tell me the course you want to take… No matter what it is, I’ll do everything I can to help you become the victor.” Her eyes were unusually serious as she looked straight at him. “You’re right. After all, there is something important I must do…in order to win this battle.” “Oh?” The corners of his mouth scrunched up. “Rintarou. We’ll start right away…right now.” Her gaze was even more dignified and sharp than usual—the air of a King. “Great, I love that you’re being assertive… So? Give me some details.” “You’re an outsider, so you probably don’t know yet, but—” She lowered her voice to confide in Rintarou. He was giddy with joy. “We absolutely must get our hands on some very important information for the King Arthur Succession Battle. We’re going to do that tonight… Are you ready?” “Oh? I didn’t realize that was the case… Fine by me. Let’s make it happen.” Luna pointed the way for their next plan of action. And Rintarou was genuinely delighted as he grinned and grinned and grinned—