Separated? Again?

Pale golden hair and eyes, a black dress with blue edges, a tall and curvaceous figure, and those familiar, seemingly startled rabbit-like eyes.

Who else could this person be if not Guinevere?

Arkhan couldn't believe he had run into Guinevere here of all places. This was more than ten kilometers away from Tintagel!

"Aren't you supposed to be with Morgan le Fay? Why are you here?" Arkhan was utterly puzzled.

"I..." Guinevere began to speak, but a sudden rustling in the nearby bushes made her jump behind Arkhan, trembling like a quail.

"N-No... It can't be that monster again..." Her voice quivered.

Arkhan looked at her helplessly. She looked like a confident older sister from the outside, but her temperament was that of an inexperienced child.

""Teacher!""

Two figures emerged from the dense forest, and it was Kay and Artoria.

"Ah! It's Lily!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Guinevere suddenly peeked out from behind Arkhan and happily rushed toward Artoria, embracing her petite figure with both arms and rubbing her face against Artoria's, like a little cat.

"Guinevere? Why are you here?"

Artoria was taken aback by Guinevere's sudden affectionate gesture. What puzzled her even more was why she was here in the first place.

Kay also looked utterly baffled.

"Um... because... I accidentally got separated from my sister..." Guinevere raised her head, looking like an abandoned kitten with pitiful eyes.

""Separated?""

Arkhan, Kay, and Artoria exclaimed simultaneously, exchanging puzzled glances.

Last time, she accidentally got separated from Morgan and fell into the river. If Arkhan hadn't been passing by at that moment, who knows what dangers she might have encountered.

And now, unbelievably, the same scenario was playing out once again, as if in a movie rerun.

"This is really pushing it, getting lost twice in a row. How did you even grow up like this?" Kay's corner of the mouth twitched.

"I've always lived in the castle; this is my first time going on a trip..." Guinevere whispered.

"..." Kay was speechless.

"When did you get separated from your sister?" Arkhan asked.

Guinevere thought for a moment.

"It was this morning, I think."

After saying that, she suddenly collapsed on the ground.

"Guinevere! What's wrong?!" Arkhan and his two students jumped in surprise.

"I... I'm so hungry..." Guinevere drooped her head listlessly and uttered a feeble voice. "I haven't eaten anything for a whole day..."

As if to prove her words, a clear *gurgle~* sound came from her stomach.

Artoria and Kay exchanged glances.

Arkhan sighed, then started writing a Rune.

[Rune - Space]

A black hole appeared from the Rune and he retrieved bread, smoked meat, and water from inside of it, handing them to Guinevere.

"Thank you."

Guinevere took the food and quickly devoured it.

Even so, her movements were incredibly graceful, making it a delightful sight to watch. It seemed like both Artoria and Guinevere had the potential to become food vloggers.

Shaking his head to clear his scattered thoughts, Arkhan continued to ask, "So, you're saying you got separated from Morgan since this morning?"

"Um..." Guinevere mumbled with a mouthful of bread.

'It shouldn't be this long for Morgan to find Guinevere...' Arkhan furrowed his brows, glanced at Guinevere, and traced a complex, light green rune in the air.

[Rune - Search]

The Rune quivered slightly, about to point to the direction of the chosen target, when Guinevere's blue diamond-shaped crystal earring on her ear suddenly emitted a faint light, causing the floating Rune to dissipate into smoke.

Arkhan's face displayed an expression of realization.

Although it lasted only a moment, he still detected the disturbance in the Rune from that earring. 

It was a counter-tracking magecraft.

Arkhan had a similar one himself, mainly used to prevent his mother from locating his position and to resist the Wisdom of Dun Scaith. However, his version of counter-tracking magecraft used Primordial Rune.

'Really...'

Arkhan sighed inwardly, wondering what Morgan was thinking, using a counter-tracking magecraft on someone who was a road idiot like a certain green-haired swordmaster.

"Take your time eating; no one's going to snatch it from you."

Arkhan crouched down, wiped away the breadcrumbs at the corner of Guinevere's mouth with his thumb, and, using the cover of her hair, his index and middle fingers lightly hooked the blue diamond-shaped crystal earring, which fell into his hand.

Without this counter-tracking magecraft on Guinevere, Morgan should find them soon.

As Arkhan thought this, he noticed Guinevere in front of him staring at him blankly.

His brows furrowed slightly. "Is there something wrong?"

"N-No, nothing..." Guinevere stammered, lowering her head in embarrassment. Her rosy cheeks, along with her crystal-clear earlobes, turned bright red.

In all these years, apart from her father, no one of the opposite sex had ever made such an intimate gesture towards her.

The touch of his fingers on her lips seemed to carry a strange magic, making her heart beat faster than ever before.

"Well done, Teacher, you've effortlessly achieved what us mortals can't!" Kay remarked with a jealous tone.

"What are you talking about, Kay?" Artoria looked at him in confusion.

"Nothing, just feeling a bit nostalgic. There are still many things worth learning from our teacher."

"???" Artoria tilted her head sideways, confused.

Arkhan didn't think there was anything inappropriate about his actions. Although he hadn't revealed his true identity, deep down, he had already regarded Artoria, Morgan, and Guinevere as if they were his family.

Guinevere's disposition was naturally fragile, and with the added affection of family ties, Arkhan believed he should show her more care.

"Let's go; our camp is over there. Rest well tonight, and by tomorrow, Morgan should come looking for you."

Arkhan stood up, extending his hand toward Guinevere.

Guinevere blinked her pale golden eyes and softly murmured in agreement. She held the unfinished bread in one hand and took Arkhan's hand in the other, disappearing into the dark and quiet forest.

After a while, a gentle breeze swept through, carrying specks of starlight.

On the ground, the grotesque remains of the Chimera, along with the scattered blood, had all disappeared, as if—

It had never existed at all.