Guinevere felt he might be starting to understand what kind of weird thing the Chainsaw-Man contract gauge really was. After all, actions matching Chainsaw-Man's image raise the bar... Thinking of the crazy stuff Fujimoto Tatsuki comes up with, Guinevere's face went pale. If so, he might have to act like an "abstract person" from now on.
"Why are you protecting her so much? You've only just met her, right?"
Bawanshi's eyes narrowed as she dispersed her gathered magic, staring Guinevere down with ill intent. For some reason, even though he knew how perfectly matched the two radiant figures were in his mind, seeing this man jump out to defend the Chosen One made Bawanshi inexplicably irritated.
"Ha!"
Guinevere sneered at her question. "Sorry, but I was lovers with every beautiful girl in my past life. So even for a girl I just met, of course I'll stop you."
As he said this bizarre line, his eyes remained fixed on the contract gauge in the display before him. Unfortunately, perhaps because the remark was too reasonable, it barely moved the gauge.
Guinevere fell silent for two seconds, then added: "So, to heroically rescue her in style and then applaud for love in the future, I must step up."
[Because you openly revealed your true intentions, your perverted behavior strongly fits the Chainsaw-Man image. Contract Gauge +10%; current charge: 28%.]
[Tip: Your wording is still too subtle; more blunt lines might boost charge more.]
It really charged... Damn... Of all things abstract, this tool is the most shameless! And "openly revealing my thoughts"? I didn't think that—don't slander me! I'm a gentleman; I only stepped up for my wife! No earthly motives! It's all because... right, it's purely for this abstract Noble Phantasm that I did it! And I already said "applaud for love"—how is that subtle? What's "not subtle" then? You shameless tool!
Guinevere felt so embarrassed he could almost dig a three-bedroom apartment in the ground, cursing this abstract tool in his mind. He wondered what image he'd leave in Artoria's mind after saying that.
"So, what do you mean by 'applaud for love'?"
Just then, Guinevere saw Tristan's confused expression as she asked.
"...?"
Looking at her genuinely puzzled face, clearly not feigned, Guinevere stayed silent. What's going on? Sister? You really know nothing? Your persona suggests you're a cunning devil...
"Uh... applaud for love? Like this?"
On the other side, Artoria, usually the pure white rabbit in his mind, lightly clapped her hands, producing a crisp "clap clap" sound.
"...Ah,"
Then, unexpectedly, Artoria fell silent after hearing that sound; after two seconds, Guinevere heard a low exclamation from her side:
"Eh? Eh? Eh?! So that's what it means?!"
"I can't stand this! Are you two secretly exchanging codes here?!"
Feeling like the only one out of the loop, Bawanshi's expression turned fierce; in a fury, she fired a magic arrow at Artoria, sending her sprawling.
Then Bawanshi quickly turned her gaze to Guinevere, snarling:
"Fine! Back to the topic: you said all beautiful girls are your past-life lovers? What about me? Am I not a beautiful girl?"
"Uh," Guinevere's mind seemed to freeze for two seconds at this odd question. He couldn't fathom what state of mind led her to ask that. In this situation, he chose honesty: "You are."
"That's more like it..." Seemingly satisfied, Bawanshi nodded and continued:
"Then by your logic, I'm also your past-life lover. If so, why help him but not me?"
Holy hell, lady, do you hear yourself?
Guinevere's expression was approaching "elderly person lost with a smartphone," but lacking a rebuttal, he nodded: "You have a point..."
Unexpectedly, as he said that, his contract gauge rose again to 30%.
"Point my ass!"
"Bang!" came a crash from the next cell—Artoria, frantic, banged her head on the bars:
"Are you an idiot?! Don't be so easily convinced by anyone!"
"Ah, right!" Guinevere snapped back to his senses and clarified: "Of course my dream is to ensure no beautiful girl in this world suffers. If you tried to harm her, I'd never agree."
"But what if the Chosen One tried to harm me...? Though that's impossible, I ask hypothetically." Bawanshi pressed.
"Uh..."
The topic was sliding into weird territory; Guinevere's face twisted in confusion, but he still nodded: "Then... I'd help you?"
As soon as he spoke, he saw Tristan's expression visibly soften. What? Is she really that easy to handle? Just a few agreeable words and she's in a good mood? Guinevere thought wryly.
"But what about the Chosen One?" Tristan asked, "Aren't you on the same team with her?"
"No, that's not the case. What are you talking about?" Guinevere, having grasped how to deal with her, threw up his hands: "I only just met her an hour ago; she's a crazy girl who pounced on me to force me into her party! We barely know each other!"
[Because you shamelessly switched sides at lightning speed, fitting Chainsaw-Man's image, Contract Gauge +10%; current charge: 40%.]
Then Tristan's face brightened:
"Oh! So that's it! Much better!"
"...?"
Then Guinevere saw a cheerful Tristan say:
"I heard that from you. Since you're sensible, I'll show mercy... Though you two were arrested for disrespecting me, if you can pass a test, I might release both of you."
At the end, Tristan suddenly pointed at Guinevere:
"I want you to join the Slave Swordsman Duel. If you win in the end, I'll grant you one wish."
"Hmm, can I refuse? Sounds dangerous." Just hearing the name made Guinevere uneasy; he raised his hand to ask. Then seeing Bawanshi's expression rapidly cloud over, he quickly changed: "Ah, no—on second thought, it actually sounds interesting. I'll participate!"
"That's more like it." Tristan nodded in satisfaction:
"Very well. Then tomorrow morning you go to the arena. I look forward to your performance."
Saying that, she turned and left, her footsteps noticeably lighter than when she arrived. Why so light? Why suddenly in such a good mood? Even she might not fully know. It was like she herself didn't understand why she cared about a human man's opinion—before, the only opinion she cared about was Mother's.
"Hmm... Come to think of it, humans need to eat, right? Can't forget that. If he's underfed tomorrow, he might not even have strength to swing a sword."
Back in her bedroom, Bawanshi sat up, then opened her door and instructed a waiting servant in the corridor:
"You over there—yes, you—bring some delicate food down to the dungeon for the newly captured human prisoner... Yes, only for the human. The fairy prisoner with him can starve—fairies don't die from hunger anyway."
Saying this, she slammed her door. Just as she was about to flop onto her bed, she paused:
"...By the way, that maid earlier looked unfamiliar. I don't recall seeing her before... Is she new?"
Yet she didn't dwell on it, soon tossing the thought aside and collapsing onto her soft bed. She wasn't the type to overthink such things. Like how she never asked about the real meaning behind "Spinel," the title Béryl gave her. Not only is spinel often used to represent evil, but long ago, because spinel resembles ruby, people would mistake it for ruby and set it in crowns—only to toss it aside once the mistake was uncovered. Even as a Fairy Knight, if she discarded the title "Tristan," she'd become weak again; though she has red hair like a legendary hero, she can never be one. Did the Queen truly intend for her to be a hero? How could she? Bawanshi, foolish, would never ask—and Morgan would never answer. Yet, even so, a spinel cannot but admire a diamond's brilliance, right?
Meanwhile, in the dungeon on the other side, after Bawanshi left, the atmosphere turned much more awkward. Though Guinevere couldn't see Artoria through the wall, the heavy pressure seeped through.
"...Um, Artoria, let me explain." Guinevere chose his words carefully, stammering:
"Everything I said earlier was insincere—just to placate Tristan. You know how fierce she is, the most feared lord in Britain; if I didn't go along, she might kill me."
"It's fine. You don't need to explain to me." After Guinevere's long explanation, Artoria said dully:
"To you, I'm just a crazy girl who pounced on you out of nowhere, forcing you into my party."
"That was just a temporary measure—purely unavoidable! It wasn't my true intention!" Guinevere felt wronged: if not for Tristan's threat and this abstract Chainsaw-Man Heart, how could he have said such weird lines? He swore: One master only, one wife only—his heart is solely for Artoria, no other thoughts, Heaven as witness!
"Anyway! Now that she's sent away, I'll find a way to rescue you. Let's run away!" Saying that, to prove his resolve, Guinevere summoned the Flame pistol projection again, fired a few shots to shatter the chains binding him, then prepared to break the cell bars to save Artoria. At this point, with the chains broken, tomorrow when Tristan came to fetch him for the duel, she'd see—no escape, no fallback.
But as he looked up to shoot at the bars, he saw a stranger in a maid outfit standing outside his cell, quietly watching him, holding a tray of food.
"Uh... hello?"