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"Guinevere?"

He was shocked because this girl was none other than Guinevere!

Apart from Ritsuka, Guinevere was the only girl who shared his features.

"You know who I am?" She tilted her head.

The sight of her made him remember everything. This run-down room, this exact moment—this was their first meeting when he entered Britain through the Root.

He blinked. Something wasn't right.

His body was twelve years old again. He couldn't feel Eternal King's record or sense the vortex in his soul. The mud in his shadow was gone. And now here was Guinevere, in this same room... Had he traveled back in time?

Was he starting over?

That couldn't be possible.

"Are you okay?" Guinevere stepped closer, waving her hand gently in front of his face. "You seem troubled."

As she came closer, he caught a light scent of her perfume and frowned. "Well..."

He struggled to explain since he barely understood it himself. The last thing he remembered was looking at the blood moon at the South American connection point, thinking about the past. Then suddenly, he was here.

He looked at Guinevere, trying to find any sign of recognition in her face. "Do you... do you know who I am?"

"I found you collapsed on the road. From the way you talk and carry yourself, you must be the son of a nobleman who has fallen on hard times." She looked at him with interest. "Or am I wrong?"

Shirou studied her face. He had thought his body was in the Council's possession, and that this Guinevere might be their fake creation, something they had made to trick him. But her eyes were clear and honest, like pure water. She wasn't hiding anything.

What was happening then?

His mind went through all the possibilities. Time travel? Rebirth? Neither should be possible with the Quantum Time-Lock in place. He couldn't even try going through the Root like he did before—not with the Lord of Salvation watching that place.

In fact, he suspected the Lord of Salvation had let him pass through the Root in the first place.

So what was happening now?

"Princess! Princess—"

The shouts came from outside, followed by the heavy footsteps of soldiers in armor rushing into the room.

They stopped when they saw Shirou was awake. In an instant, they pulled out their swords and pointed them at him.

This felt like watching the same story play out again. Last time, Guinevere had found him after he came out of the Root passage while running from Vortigern's army. They couldn't speak each other's language then, so she'd been afraid of him. These same soldiers had burst in ready to fight.

But this time—

"Lower your weapons," Guinevere said with a gentle smile. "This traveler isn't dangerous."

"But, Your Highness..." the soldiers were anxious.

"Look at his eyes," Guinevere gestured toward Shirou. "Would someone with eyes this honest mean us harm?"

The soldiers looked at Shirou's bright eyes and found themselves agreeing. Someone with such an honest gaze couldn't be their enemy.

After a moment, they put away their swords. They hadn't wanted to threaten him in the first place. The way he looked so much like Guinevere—people might think he was King Leodegrance's illegitimate child.

Guinevere turned to Shirou, her expression softening. "I'm sorry about my guards."

"Don't worry about it," Shirou said. "They're protecting their Princess. They're just doing what they should."

"You seem to know me," Guinevere tilted her head, looking curious. "Are you a noble from another kingdom? Which gathering did we meet at?"

Shirou almost smiled. If she only knew—he knew her as a fairy, who acted noble and elegant in public but was so different when no one was watching.

But he couldn't say that until he understood what was happening with this Guinevere in front of him.

Even though he'd lived another life before, he didn't believe in starting over after learning the truth about this world.

Someone had to be behind this.

There had to be someone causing trouble and messing with him!

He looked at Guinevere and put on a charming smile. "Who hasn't heard of Britain's greatest beauty? Your looks make the moon hide in shame and flowers blush with envy. Even fish sink in the water and birds fall from the sky at the sight of you."

"Oh, this..."

Guinevere's face turned as red as sunset. She ducked her head, her ears turning pink, and steam practically rose from her head from embarrassment. No one had ever praised her with such over-the-top words before.

"Insolent rogue!"

The soldiers raised their swords again, glaring at Shirou. How could they tolerate someone flirting with their princess right under their noses?

Shirou faced them calmly. "I'm only speaking what everyone knows to be true. Don't you agree? Surely you all believe your princess is Britain's greatest beauty?"

"Well..."

The soldiers looked at each other helplessly. They couldn't say yes without seeming too forward, but they couldn't say no without insulting their princess. Their raised swords drooped as they stood there confused.

"Everyone!" A soldier burst through the door, out of breath. "Enemies approaching from the forest!"

"What!?"

The soldiers spun around, their earlier confusion forgotten. Their leader grabbed the messenger's arm. "How did they get past the lighthouse?"

"I don't know, but they're heading straight for us. They must be after the princess!"

Watching the soldiers' panic, Shirou remembered this had happened before. Back then, Vortigern's monster army had attacked while he faced off with Guinevere's guards. Guinevere had escaped early, leaving him to run from the monsters until old knight Ector saved him.

But right now, Guinevere caught his attention more than these memories.

He watched as her composed and elegant smile faded into fear. She wrapped her arms around herself, trembling like a little white rabbit being stalked by a predator.

Despite being a princess, she was clearly scared of danger. For someone of her status, she was surprisingly timid, the type who gave in easily when faced with authority, and so submissive that she made people want to bully her.

Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to recreate this scene. Shirou didn't believe in second chances—this had to be someone's plan, targeting him specifically. He'd make them regret it later, but for now, with so much unknown, it was smarter to play along and watch.

He turned to Guinevere. "Vortigern's monsters are coming. You need to get out of here, Princess."

"Yes... you're right." Her voice shook. "You should run too. Don't let them catch you."

Shirou nodded.

He followed as the soldiers led Guinevere out. Around them stood tall trees and crumbling houses—remnants of what was once a beautiful village, judging by the ornate stones and tiles scattered among the ruins.

Just like he remembered.

Then he saw it. His eyes landed on a distant point where a white beam pierced the sky, stretching up through the clouds like a bridge of light.

They had made a mistake already. His smile grew slightly. In his memories, there had never been a tower of light.

The soldiers brought the horses over, and Guinevere started to get on one. Suddenly, a bunch of birds flew out of the forest and scared Guinevere. Someone shouted, "They're here!"

Guinevere's face went white. Her legs shook, and with a small cry, she slipped from the saddle.

"Princess!"

The soldiers moved to catch her, but someone was faster.

Shirou caught her smoothly in his arms, his bright eyes looking down into hers. "Are you hurt, Princess?"

"Yes—I mean, no, I'm... fine." Guinevere's cheeks turned as red as roses, her fear forgotten as she felt herself blush. No one had ever held her this close before.

He helped her stand up and then turned to look where the birds had flown out from. Vortigern's monsters were coming.

He thought he would see an army of Saxons, wyverns, and beasts. If the mastermind had copied everything else, the army would be the same, right?

But—

"What... what am I looking at?"

His eyes widened as the enemies emerged from the forest. Massive figures, five meters tall, made of black steel and carrying huge axes. They looked like...

Robot soldiers?

Shirou couldn't believe his eyes. Instead of the monster army he remembered, there were fifteen mechanical giant standing in front of them.

"Enemy sighted!"

"Fifteen of them!"

"We... we can't fight those things..."

The soldiers backed away, their weapons shaking as they faced the mechanical army.