"This stuff... is delicious! Gah!" The Black Knight took off his helmet and downed a can of ice-cold beer in one go, then wiped the beer foam from his beard, took a big bite of the fragrant grilled meat, grabbed another can of beer from the box, cracked it open with a "psshh", and looked incredibly happy—nothing like the silent, stern knight he had been before.
"Well, well, I never expected the famous Miss Blue to be such a great cook. It's really hard to imagine!" Pepe said, taking small bites of the grilled meat and complimenting Aoko. It was clear from his expression that the praise was genuine.
"At first, it was to improve my terrible relationship with my sister," Aoko said after taking a sip of beer. "You know, she had a nasty personality at the start, and for a while, she was dead set on killing me."
"Huh, you mean the Third Magician? That's really..." Pepe was surprised, but after thinking about it, realized that Aozaki Touko doing something like that wasn't all that shocking.
"It's nice, being able to practice cooking for your sister and family," he said with a smile. "I'm jealous of people with siblings."
"Really?" Aoko shot him a meaningful glance, then looked over at Artoria, who was silently stuffing her face.
"Of course it's true," Pepe replied. "My family is already... hmm, let's not talk about sad things. So, Miss Aoko, did you finally make up with your sister thanks to your cooking?"
"No," Aoko said after taking a bite of meat. "Later, I just beat Touko up, tied her up, and dragged her home by force. After that, we made up."
Aoko's answer instantly made the once-warm atmosphere awkward, killing the conversation. Those without siblings didn't care much, but nearby, Artoria and the one who inherited Morgan's memories fell into deep thought.
"Relationships between sisters are really hard to understand," Artoria sighed, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "I have an older sister too... we had a lot of conflicts in the past... but luckily, we eventually reconciled."
"I've often thought if only we could have talked things out from the start, how great that would've been," Artoria said, gazing at the stars in the night sky. "That way, there wouldn't have been so many regrets."
Watching Artoria lost in thought, whether it was due to Morgan's memories or her instincts, Toneriko felt there was a deep connection between herself and this heroic female knight. Yet she couldn't say exactly what it was; she didn't even know this knight's name.
"Let's formally introduce ourselves," Toneriko said with a smile, mustering her courage. "My name is ... or you can call me Toneriko. That's the name my adoptive mother gave me... from the fairies of paradise."
Although the others were a bit surprised at her revealing her true identity, neither the Black Knight nor Totorot stopped her.
"I'm Ector," the Black Knight said gruffly. "A fairy of the earth clan, originally a blacksmith. Later, this little girl found and invited me, so I became this so-called Black Knight."
"But... aren't fairies unable to use iron?" Aoko asked curiously. "How did you become a blacksmith?"
"It's not so much 'unable to use'..." Ector scratched his beard, thinking about how to answer. "...It's more of an aversion, an instinctive repulsion. My constitution is a bit special, so this level of aversion isn't a problem for me. I just got used to it after doing the work for so long—eventually, I stopped minding iron altogether."
"So you just overcame your racial weakness through sheer willpower?" Aoko said admiringly. "No wonder you're a dwarf—beer and blacksmithing are your destiny!"
"What's a dwarf?" Ector asked in confusion. "I'm just an ordinary fairy, never heard of dwarves."
"Oh, that's just a made-up legend from novels on our side," Aoko explained. "A race skilled in mining and blacksmithing, who like to build cities in the mountains, love beer, and are stubborn."
"Hahaha, doesn't that sound just like Ector!" Totorot laughed. "You should just call yourself Dwarf Ector from now on!"
Ector ignored her and quietly opened another can of beer, drinking it on his own. There was a faint blush on his scruffy face.
"I'm Totorot!" Totorot announced. "I'm originally a fairy of the winged clan. After losing a duel to Toneriko, I decided to join her team and help fulfill her wish!"
"My name is Aozaki Aoko," Aoko introduced herself. "Like my two companions here, I'm a human from Proper Human History. We came here to look for a friend who accidentally got lost in Fairy Britain."
"I have a question for Miss Aoko," Toneriko said, raising her hand like a good student. "I heard from your companions that you're a Magician... Is that true?"
"Of course it's true," Aoko admitted with a smile, looking at Toneriko. "I bet the moment you saw me, you realized it yourself, didn't you?"
"...Yes," Toneriko took a deep breath and seemed to make a decision. "I inherited someone's memories from Proper Human History, so I understand what Magicians are, but in my memory, there's nothing about you."
"There's no way you'd know me," Aoko said openly. "The memory you inherited is from the version recorded in the 'Throne' thousands of years ago. I only became a Magician several thousand years after that."
"What's a Magician?" Totorot asked curiously. "Are they fairies who use magic like you?"
"No," Aoko shook her head and paused, thinking of how to describe it. "Magicians are... completely different beings. The things they can do are impossible for anyone else, which is why it's called Magic."
"Wow, that's amazing?" Totorot looked at Aoko in fascination, and Aoko basked in the attention, showing no hint of modesty.
"Heh, so, are you impressed?" Aoko said smugly. "As a Magician, I'm just that awesome!"