IBHJ 1103

He put down the book and left his room. As he walked into the main hall's corridor, he saw Guinevere gripping the handrail, rubbing her bottom and letting out long sighs.

"Is everything okay, Guinevere?" he asked.

"Oh!" Guinevere jumped, then turned and relaxed when she saw who it was. "It's just you, Shirou."

He glanced at her hand still resting on her bottom. "Did the king give you a spanking?"

"What? No! Father would never do that!" She quickly moved her hand away.

His expression made it clear he didn't believe a word.

"I just... had a little fall," she said with a weak smile.

"I'm sure you did," he said.

She could tell from his face that he wasn't convinced, but she was telling the truth. Her father had never raised a hand to her - she really had slipped on some spilled wine and taken an unfortunate fall.

She noticed the book in his hand and smiled after a moment. "Oh, you're reading the Tale of the Holy Sword, Shirou."

"Yes, I wanted to read some of the empire's great stories. It's quite an amazing tale. Do you happen to know who wrote it?" he asked, holding up the book.

"That would be Apostle Pendragon, the King of Camelot."

"What?"

He froze.

"Well, Pendragon is the only family name mentioned in the whole book. The White Dragon defeated King Uther Pendragon, and the Holy Sword Hero led everyone under the Pendragon name. So Apostle Pendragon must have written it," Guinevere said.

Shirou's brow wrinkled. She was right - while "The Tale of the Holy Sword" told his story, it barely named anyone. Both his name and Merlin's were kept secret.

But what really made him stop was that name - "Apostle Pendragon."

This Britain had layers of power: the emperor at the top, worshipped as God, then the twelve Apostles like angels doing his bidding, and below them the kings of territories like King Leodegrance.

The title "Apostle Pendragon" felt strange to him, but he pushed the thought aside. After all, this wasn't the Britain he knew.

Still, who was this Apostle Pendragon?

Could it be you, Artie?

"I see. This Apostle Pendragon must be quite the storyteller. I'd love to meet them someday," Shirou said with a smile.

"It's getting late. You should get some rest," Guinevere said, smiling back.

"You're right."

He nodded and walked a few steps toward his room, then turned back to look at Guinevere. "You know, Princess, you remind me a lot of the Great Fairy Vivian."

"What? Me, like the Great Fairy Vivian? No, no. I'm just a timid princess - nothing like clever, capable Vivian."

He smiled, turned around, and walked back to his room.

That night, instead of rushing into action, Shirou lay in bed, staring at "The Tale of the Holy Sword" and unable to sleep.

Looking at the book, he fell quiet for a while before whispering, "I need to leave Camlann."

This Britain was nothing like the one he knew, and he had to find his way back to his own world. For that, he needed to understand what was really going on.

The Emperor, the Apostles, the foreign enemies... everything was different from what he knew. The person behind all this might be among them.

But the Emperor and Apostles were too far out of reach, and the foreign enemies were kept away by the Emperor's Hands across the sea - also impossible to get to.

Shirou got up and walked to the window, looking at the pure white tower. According to Guinevere, it connected to the Emperor's palace.

But there was no floating palace in the sky. The Emperor's palace must be at least 80 kilometers up in the thermosphere, or thousands of kilometers up in the exosphere—too high even for Vimana to reach.

"I need to go to Tintagel."

His eyes hardened with resolve.

There was nothing left for him in Camlann. Tintagel was where he needed to be.

He couldn't avoid Tintagel forever. That's where everything began - the Sword in the Stone, Ector's manor, Artoria, Kay, and Merlin.

Even if this Britain was different from his own, "The Tale of the Holy Sword" kept pointing to that place. He had to go there.

"Tintagel... I have to face it sooner or later. And Artie, could you be this Apostle Pendragon?" Shirou clutched the book tightly.

The next morning, he went to say goodbye to Guinevere and King Leodegrance.

"Ehhhh? You're leaving?" Guinevere's eyes widened. "But I haven't shown you everything in Camlann! Did I do something wrong?"

She looked completely heartbroken.

"Not at all. You've been the perfect host, Princess. But after reading 'The Tale of the Holy Sword' last night, I really want to see Tintagel - where the Holy Sword Hero first appeared," he said with a smile.

"Can't you stay just a bit longer?" she asked, her shoulders dropping.

"I'm sorry, Princess. But I'm just a traveler - moving on is what I do. It's the path I've chosen," he said gently.

She wanted to say more but couldn't find the words.

King Leodegrance looked from his daughter to Shirou. "Lord Shirou, you say you're going to Tintagel?"

He nodded, "I want to see where the Hero came from. Maybe I'll write some poetry about it for my collection, to remember my travels."

"As it happens, I have business in Tintagel," King Leodegrance said with a smile. "Why not stay a few more days and travel there with me?"

"The King must be handling the Emperor's decree. How could a simple poet like myself get in the way of such important matters?" Shirou smiled and shook his head. Unlike Xuanzang, he could see right through this simple manipulation.

"There's no need to be so formal. It's just some small tasks for Apostle Pendragon, nothing too important," King Leodegrance said, still smiling.

"Apostle... Pendragon?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," King Leodegrance nodded, then smiled as if remembering something. "Ah, that's right. You saved Camlann, and the Emperor must know about it. Your rewards might be with Apostle Pendragon. Why not join me?"

"Well..." Shirou rubbed the back of his head. "After so many kind invitations from the King, refusing again would be rude."

King Leodegrance laughed warmly, then looked at his gloomy daughter. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Guinevere, you can come with us this time."

"What?" Guinevere stared at him. "Father, you're really letting me come along?"

"You've always wanted to see Tintagel, haven't you? Or have you changed your mind?"

"No, no, I want to go! I really want to go!" Guinevere said quickly. "It's just... Father's never let me travel before, so I'm just surprised."

"If I don't take you with me, you'll just sneak out again!" King Leodegrance said firmly. "Those foreign enemies know ways past the Emperor's Hands. You were lucky to meet Lord Shirou this time - it could have been much worse!"

"I promise I won't do it again." Guinevere ducked her head.

Shirou agreed to travel with King Leodegrance, and Xuanzang also asked if she could join them.

She might be naive sometimes, but she wasn't foolish. If she stayed in Camlann, King Leodegrance would keep finding ways to delay her Journey to the West.

So she decided to join them, planning to answer the king's Buddhist questions during the trip. That way, she could finally leave Camlann properly.

Three days later, King Leodegrance set out for Tintagel. He brought the prince and Guinevere, along with three thousand fully armed soldiers. Shirou and the others traveled with them.

Tintagel was close to Camlann - only an afternoon's ride at full speed. That's why Artoria and Ector had found him so quickly after he left Guinevere.

Through the thick forest, Shirou spotted a city ahead.

Fields spread out beside the city. Despite it being harvest time, no one worked in the farmlands. Only patches of harvested ground showed that farmers had been there recently.

As they entered Tintagel, Shirou's face tightened. He saw soldiers everywhere, wearing silver armor and carrying weapons. They stood at their posts, watching everything with stern faces.

But something felt wrong.

What was it?

He looked around from his horse, taking in all the soldiers. Then it hit him.

It was the stench of bloodshed!

This wasn't the warm, peaceful Tintagel he remembered. This place felt like death.

It felt like...

Like a war zone!