"Attack the Holy City now!? That's definitely not possible, right?"
Hearing the plan proposed by Zuke and Ritsuka Fujimaru, Mash was completely stunned, her expression screaming, "Are you kidding me?"
They had just returned from the Holy City, where Gawain alone had beaten them to the point of despair. In such a situation, of course, they needed to gather enough combat strength first.
Originally, their plan was to build a good relationship with the Hassan of the Mountain People, gain their support, and then deal with the Knights of the Round Table one by one.
But who would have thought that after just a brief private conversation with Zuke, Ritsuka Fujimaru would suddenly suggest attacking the Holy City immediately? Naturally, Mash was terrified by the idea.
"Ahaha..."
After proposing the plan, Ritsuka Fujimaru also realized how shocking it was to the others and awkwardly scratched her head.
In fact, after calming down and thinking about it, Ritsuka Fujimaru also felt that the plan was a bit too aggressive. They shouldn't be rushing to attack the Holy City so soon.
But Zuke had seemed so confident earlier, and Ritsuka Fujimaru had unconsciously been influenced by him, agreeing almost without thinking.
"Really, Ritsuka is completely smitten with Mr. Zuke."
Da Vinci, sitting nearby, saw the situation clearly—Ritsuka Fujimaru's sudden proposal was entirely due to her trust in Zuke.
Although she also acknowledged that Zuke's strength was undoubtedly formidable—just being near him made her feel the pressure—the idea of one person breaching the Holy City was still a bit too far-fetched for her imagination.
In previous Singularities, Ritsuka Fujimaru had also trusted the heroic spirits there, but she had never been as blindly devoted to anyone as she was to Zuke this time.
Da Vinci even wondered if Zuke had some kind of passive charm skill.
Zuke didn't know what Da Vinci was thinking, but if he did, he might have praised her—she had guessed correctly.
Zuke did indeed have a charm-related ability, specifically the "Love Spot" he had obtained by devouring Diarmuid Ua Duibhne.
Of course, since it was acquired through "Blackbird," these passive skills had been converted into active ones. As long as Zuke didn't activate them, the abilities wouldn't manifest.
At least, Zuke hadn't used the "Love Spot" so far—there was simply no need. The women he had encountered so far hadn't shown much hostility toward him.
"What does Bedivere think?"
Although Da Vinci and Mash didn't seem to approve of the plan, Zuke didn't mind and instead turned to Bedivere, who had been silent the whole time.
In fact, Bedivere was the most crucial part of this plan—in a sense, he was one of the main culprits behind the formation of this Singularity.
In the original legend, King Arthur, on the verge of death, would have Bedivere return Excalibur to the lake—only then, without the protection of the holy sword, could King Arthur die.
Even in the correct history, Bedivere hesitated twice before finally returning Excalibur on the third attempt, allowing King Arthur to fall into eternal slumber.
But in this Singularity, Bedivere hesitated even on the third attempt—he didn't return Excalibur, and King Arthur didn't die as she should have in the correct history.
The undying King Arthur, Artoria, was corrupted by the "Holy Lance" Rhongomyniad she wielded, becoming the current "Lion King," the ruler of the Holy City.
So, to resolve this Singularity, they needed to breach the Holy City and have Bedivere return Excalibur to the Lion King, allowing her to die as "King Arthur" rather than the "Lion King."
"I..."
Bedivere was clearly caught off guard when Zuke suddenly turned the conversation to him.
From Zuke's gaze, Bedivere realized that Zuke had already seen through his situation, and there was no point in hiding it anymore.
...
"...So that's how the Lion King came to be?"
Although the Chaldea team had already suspected the Lion King's true identity when they saw the Knights of the Round Table guarding the Holy City, it was only after Bedivere's explanation that they understood why King Arthur had become the Lion King—she had been corrupted by the Holy Lance, becoming a goddess and losing her former identity.
"So, resolving this Singularity is actually quite simple. We just need to break through the Holy City."
Seeing that everyone now understood the truth about the Lion King, Zuke smiled.
"What do you think, Bedivere? You're a crucial part of this plan, so we need your opinion."
As he spoke, Zuke glanced at Bedivere's right arm—it had been completely replaced by a silver metal arm.
The true nature of that "Silver Arm" was actually Excalibur, transformed by Merlin. So, as long as Bedivere could reach the Lion King, he could return the holy sword to her.
"Easier said than done. If we could breach the Holy City so easily, we wouldn't have come to the Mountain People for help."
Da Vinci looked at Zuke with some exasperation. If they had that level of strength, resolving Singularities in the past wouldn't have been so difficult.
"So, it all comes down to concerns about combat strength."
Although Da Vinci's words sounded like a complaint, it was clear that her stance had softened somewhat.
After learning that the key to resolving the Singularity lay in Bedivere returning Excalibur, the path forward had essentially been paved.
All they needed was a "vehicle" called "overwhelming combat strength" to speed down that path.
Zuke knew it was his time to step up—in the original story, Ritsuka Fujimaru and the others had run around gathering allies, essentially trying to amass enough strength to breach the Holy City.
The Hassan of the Mountain People, Ramesses II, and various other heroic spirits scattered across the land—all of it was to gather enough power to attack the Holy City.
And Zuke alone could solve this problem.
"Since you're just sitting around here anyway, why not come with me to the Holy City? If you think I can't do it, we can always turn back."
Zuke smiled at everyone, then turned to Ritsuka Fujimaru—after all, the Chaldea team ultimately revolved around her, the "Last Master."
"What do you think, Ritsuka?"
Seeing Zuke look at her, Ritsuka Fujimaru nodded almost without thinking.
"Senpai..."
Seeing Ritsuka Fujimaru nod immediately after Zuke's glance, Mash couldn't help but facepalm, feeling somewhat helpless.
She couldn't help but feel that Ritsuka Fujimaru had completely lost her ability to judge when it came to Zuke, simply agreeing to whatever he said.
No wonder Da Vinci thought Ritsuka Fujimaru might have been charmed.
To be continued…
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