An unfamiliar, luxurious ceiling.
That was the first thing Ritsuka saw upon waking up.
"Ugh~~~ Hmm~~~~!"
With great force, she stretched her stiff body and sat up. Only after sitting up like that did she realize she was sitting on a super large bed, about five or six meters long.
And the room housing this super large bed was also extremely opulent, making one wonder if she had entered a noble's castle.
No, wait. A castle?
And she was awake now?
Ritsuka remembered being suddenly attacked from behind by Naoki and then sealed inside a crystal block. Now, not only was she awake, but she was lying on a large bed in a luxurious room like this, which meant...
(Did the Director free us?)
Just as Merry had said.
(If he released us, could it be that the Director actually...)
"Ugh..."
A groan sounded next to Ritsuka.
Turning her head, or more accurately, looking down beside her, Ritsuka saw a long row of familiar people on the bed.
Mash, Atalanta, Ayaka..... Almost everyone was with her on the same bed!
"We've all been placed together. It seems the others haven't woken up yet."
Seeing Mash still asleep beside her, Ritsuka felt a little relieved. As long as everyone was okay. Even though they were severely beaten and badly injured before, the important thing was that no one came to harm in the end.
(Just as Merry-sensei said, even if the Director only left behind an empty shell of memories, he still remembers us... This is the best news.)
The next thing to do was to bring the Director back to Proper Human History along with everyone.
But considering the difficulty...
"Haaah..."
Ritsuka let out a long sigh, then raised her hands to look at the ten rings on them.
The Ten Rings of King Solomon, rings inhabited by the strongest Familiar, Goetia. In the previous battle, Ritsuka did not summon Goetia—no, rather than saying she didn't, it's better to say she couldn't.
She had no idea how to summon Goetia. Calling out to him in her mind yielded no reaction. Even though Goetia had chosen her, he didn't seem willing to hand over his power for her use.
(But... not summoning him back then was probably for the best. If I had summoned him, and he ended up being taken by the Director, the situation would have become truly hopeless.)
Two enemies on the level of Beasts would be impossible to deal with.
So, not summoning Goetia at that time, in terms of outcome, was actually very good.
"By the way, where is this? It looks like we're inside the city of Camelot, but...."
*CREAK!*
As Ritsuka was thinking, the sound of a door opening suddenly came from the door not far away. A somewhat recognizable figure entered through the door and looked slightly surprised to see Ritsuka already sitting up.
"Awake already? Master of Chaldea."
"You're... Fairy Knight Gawain?"
The person who entered was Barghest.
Barghest nodded: "The name bestowed upon me by His Majesty is indeed Gawain, my real name is Barghest. You can call me whatever you like, I personally don't mind much."
"Yes... well then... Miss Barghest, I'd like to ask..."
(Crap, I'm a bit nervous.)
Seeing Barghest, who was far stronger than any muscular Servants she had met before, Ritsuka unconsciously grew nervous, compounded by the memory of Barghest swinging her flame sword and taking everyone down in a single attack...
"No need to be nervous, Master of Chaldea."
Noticing Ritsuka's state, Barghest's voice and expression softened slightly: "Although our previous two encounters were unpleasant, at that time I was merely following His Majesty's orders. And now His Majesty's order is for us Fairy Knights to treat you as guests, so I will not take any aggressive actions against you now."
"The Director said... we are guests?"
"Yes. I've heard the details from His Majesty. You are His Majesty's comrades and loved ones from Proper Human History. You were willing to come to our world to reclaim His Majesty. Regardless of the reason, your feelings earn my great admiration."
Barghest said with a smile: "However, there is one thing I wish to make clear. His Majesty is our His Majesty. He has left Proper Human History and will not return with you—this is also a message His Majesty and the Queen asked me to convey."
"...."
Ritsuka fell silent.
And the next moment—
*BOOM!*
An ear-splitting thunderous sound suddenly came from outside the window, and Ritsuka immediately felt the entire room shake, as if an earthquake had occurred.
"Eh? What's happening?"
"It's starting again."
Unlike Ritsuka's surprise, Barghest showed a helpless expression: "They truly refuse to learn their lesson. There has to be someone like this every day. Defeated by His Majesty time and time again, yet they remain so persistent."
"Is someone fighting the Director?" Ritsuka more or less grasped the meaning.
Barghest explained: "Yes. Although you all were originally scheduled to be released today, five days ago, two of your comrades managed to break through His Majesty's seal on their own and voluntarily came out. Immediately after, one of them launched an attack against His Majesty. Although she was defeated by His Majesty right then and there, the very next day she came back again...."
*BUZZ!*
As Barghest spoke, a red moonlight suddenly shone from outside the window. The powerful sound of vibrating air reached everyone's ears.
(This commotion... it must be Sister Arcueid!)
Ritsuka looked at the scene outside the window with slight shock.
Sure enough, a Crimson Moon was slowly descending from the sky—Arcueid had directly dropped a Moon Fall!
"She's too reckless, Sister Arcueid!"
"Don't worry, Master of Chaldea." Barghest approached the window. "This attack cannot possibly harm His Majesty in the slightest. Over the past few days, that True Ancestor has attacked His Majesty like this every single day, but not one attack has truly injured His Majesty. Today will be no different."
(Whoa... Even Moon Fall can't defeat the Director?)
"Rather than that, could you wake your comrades? His Majesty and the Queen have ordered me to wake all of you and bring you to the Throne Room."