Chapter 52: What It Means to Be the King's Cook!

Gawain never expected that someone would actually dare to sneak into Camelot and steal something—let alone infiltrate the royal city itself. As the chief gatekeeper, this was a major oversight on his part. But to be fair, if someone had slipped in here unnoticed, it wasn't just his failure—it was a collective failure of all the knights. Now that the problem had been identified, it had to be rectified completely.

There was no way he could let the thief before him escape!

Gawain gripped the Sword of Revolving Victory in his hand tightly. Flames began to blaze along the blade, and the magical energy radiating from his body surged continuously. This surge of power would quickly attract others who could sense magic. Those who came would surely bring soldiers along as well.

At this moment, Aslan's goal was simply to retrieve the Golden Sword of Assured Victory and then leave quietly. He didn't want to stir up a huge commotion. Therefore, he needed to eliminate Gawain as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the Gawain before him was still human and hadn't entered a state where his power would multiply. Given that, one strike should be enough!

"Melusine!"

Melusine, who had been standing not far from Aslan, suddenly erupted with a terrifying burst of speed. Gawain couldn't even track her movements or her shadow. After all, he was still human—how could he possibly compare to the speed of the fastest dragon?

Almost the moment Melusine vanished from her spot, Gawain felt a powerful force slam into his side. It was as if a dragon's claw had smacked him hard. His eyes widened in disbelief at the force he'd just endured.

Gawain had suspected that the young girl beside the thief wasn't human—after all, such beauty was rare among humans, especially with golden eyes and silver hair. Still, he had merely assumed she was an elf. It had never crossed his mind that she was a high-ranking dragon species. After all, dragons capable of taking human form were incredibly rare.

The sheer force knocked Gawain flying and slammed him hard into the wall. The impact was so great that a human-shaped dent was left on the once pristine white wall. If it weren't for Gawain's extraordinary physique—and the fact that Aslan hadn't ordered a kill—Melusine had actually held back. Otherwise, Gawain might've been knocked out of commission for good right then and there.

Aslan didn't waste time. He kicked a nearby rack of equipment, and his forging hammer struck swiftly and skillfully. In an instant, the equipment transformed into a restrictive shape, like a cage or shackles, firmly locking Gawain in place against the wall.

Heh~

Back when you were beating me half to death during the Sixth Singularity, consider this a little payback—I just one-shot you.

"Melusine! Let's get out of here!"

Melusine quickly returned after kicking Gawain away and scooped up Aslan in her arms. Then, she dashed out of the castle. To avoid being surrounded by the ordinary soldiers, she used her strength and agility to move effortlessly along the walls, even making a spooky face that the soldiers couldn't even properly see.

To the soldiers, all they could glimpse was a blurry figure.

As they continued charging forward, Aslan suddenly sensed a dangerous presence. Instinctively, he raised his hand and swung his forging hammer upward. With a metallic clang, a knight's sword was deflected and sent flying, along with a flash of purple.

Though it was only a brief clash, Aslan recognized who had been knocked away.

Lancelot of the Round Table.

It made sense. Only a few people could react quickly enough to intercept Melusine. Seeing Lancelot here was within expectations. However, Lancelot was still just a human. With the explosion of magic and Melusine's speed, even someone like him could be sent flying like that.

Seems like between Lancelot and Lancelotte*, the winner is clearly the latter.

(*TL Note: "Lancelot" vs. "Lancelotte" – referring to the contrast between the knight and Melusine's might.)

Still, for Lancelot to get here so quickly... could it be that this guy doesn't take normal routes?

Come to think of it, for him to rush from Guinevere's room to here so fast... he definitely seems like someone very used to unconventional paths.

But now wasn't the time for Aslan to focus on Lancelot. Escaping Camelot was top priority.

Even if all the knights in Camelot were mobilized, they still wouldn't be able to stop a dragon rampaging through the city. Everything in their path would be flung aside like leaves in a storm. By the time anyone realized what had happened, all they'd see was a trail of dust in the wake of a graceful departure.

This incident threw Camelot into chaos. Since the king had ascended the throne and founded this immortal city, nothing like this had ever happened. And to make it worse, the theft occurred in the royal treasury—and even knights like Gawain and Lancelot failed to stop the intruder.

Unbelievable! What kind of monster thief was this!?

Artoria sat on the throne. She was no longer that wandering knight-girl from days past. Now, she was the sovereign ruler of half of Britain. Her calm, expressionless demeanor—untouched by joy or sorrow—made everyone present instinctively bow their heads.

As expected of the King. Even at a time like this, there's not a hint of panic. We still have a long way to go.

In truth, Artoria wasn't panicked at all for another reason: her instincts didn't tell her that this event would lead to any irreparable danger. She was no longer someone without experience. Since her intuition didn't signal a crisis, it meant this incident was likely much easier to resolve than it appeared.

"My King! Other than the transforming materials that subdued Sir Gawain, the only item missing from the entire treasury is the Golden Sword of Assured Victory."

Gawain clutched his side where Melusine had kicked him. Even now, he still felt a dull pain radiating from it.

"The Golden Sword of Assured Victory? Wasn't that thing already broken? Wouldn't intact armor or weapons be far more appealing than a broken blade? Unless... the thief is actually one of the King's die-hard admirers?"

What Gawain meant was: the thief seemed like a fanboy chasing after his idol. His idol, naturally, was their King. And just like a crazed fan breaking into a star's house to steal personal memorabilia, this thief came for the King's once-used belongings. Fan merch just wasn't enough anymore.

After hearing Gawain's theory, another of the King's cooks, Agravain, even nodded in agreement.