Just as Rita was about to follow the tracks Stan had left, the director of the British Museum, Catherine, appeared.
Veins popping on her forehead, a very angry Catherine adjusted her glasses and questioned Rita, who was clad in her Valkyrie battlesuit:
"Miss Rita, could you please explain to me what happened here?"
Standing on the ruins of the British Museum, Rita turned her head and smiled.
"Don't worry, Schicksal will fully cover the museum's losses."
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"Yo!"
Durandal quietly appeared behind Rita, who was sitting at the museum entrance waiting for professionals to handle the situation.
"Lady Durandal, did you come here specifically because you heard about what happened? What's wrong with your hand?" As Rita responded to Durandal, she noticed the bandage on the hand Durandal was using to greet her.
"This... it's nothing, don't worry about it. But Rita, you're injured too. The enemy must be a very formidable one!"
Rita touched the scratch on the back of her hand, a wound left by Stan's sneak attack.
"This matter all started with a cat..."
"A cat? Say no more, I understand."
It seemed Rita had, like herself, tried to pet a stray cat and gotten scratched. Durandal patted Rita's shoulder with a magnanimous look.
"I feel like Lady Durandal might have misunderstood something..."
Rita then explained in detail what had happened at the museum to Durandal.
Rita: "The Honkai Beast that attacked the museum this time was an artificial creation, so there must be someone behind it. First, Ryn was framed and imprisoned, and now a public attack on the museum. Their target is Schicksal. As long as I continue to investigate, they will surely come after me again."
Durandal: "Can you handle it alone? Do you need my help?"
"Lady Durandal should just enjoy her holiday. There's no need to worry about such a small matter. Rita will take care of it."
"Is that so? Since you put it that way..." Durandal stood up and brushed back her golden hair. "Then I'll listen to you. If anything comes up, contact me or Ryn immediately."
"As you wish."
——————————————
At a certain World Serpent base.
"Well done, Stan. To think you could push a Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie to such a state." Jackal, the World Serpent executive wearing a jackal mask, happily petted the little cat Stan.
"Meow." (You didn't even check the equipment before the operation. If I had just five more seconds, I could have finished that little girl.)
Stan meowed angrily at Jackal, but unfortunately, Jackal was one of the weak, and she couldn't understand Stan's meows.
"This is your reward. Once we optimize the limiter, your operational time will be extended several times over." Jackal brought over a bowl of cat food and placed it in front of Stan.
"Meow." (Hmph, as if I'm in the mood to eat.)
Stan swatted the cat bowl away, sending all the cat food Jackal had carefully prepared spilling onto the floor, and then left the lab on his own.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"Meow." (Isn't it obvious? I'm going to continue training my body. Only then can I better adapt to more Honkai energy.)
"???"
"Sigh, what a difficult creature." Jackal tilted her head in confusion. She offered Stan cat food, but he wouldn't eat.
"And he's so cold to his master. Could he be in heat?"
——————————————
The next day, Catherine and Rita met again inside the museum.
Catherine said to Rita, filled with righteous indignation:
"Miss Rita, regarding the culprit who destroyed the museum yesterday, as a guardian of English history, I absolutely cannot forgive him. And through this incident, I have also come to understand the importance of your mission. So please, allow me to help you with my own abilities!"
Rita: "Thank you for your kindness, Director. Although the details of my mission are confidential, I happen to have some other questions for you regarding the legend of King Arthur."
"Of course. I will tell you everything I know."
"I'm sure you've already investigated in detail, Miss Rita. The legend of King Arthur is a story that has been interpreted in many different ways in different works."
"This young king, with his invincible prowess, became the most prestigious king in the history of Britain. However, his life ended in tragedy, and the legends he left behind have no verification."
"So, Miss Rita, have you ever considered that the legend of King Arthur might not have been a real event at all?"
Rita: "You're right, Director. Historical legends are often fabricated by later generations, but there must be a basis in reality for them."
Catherine: "You are correct. In that case, Miss Rita, do you know the story of Avalon?"
Rita: "The legendary Isle of Elves, a paradise isolated from the mortal world, and the final resting place of King Arthur."
Catherine: "Exactly. But that is also a later misinterpretation. In reality, Arthur never found this place. Because, as you said, Avalon does not exist in this world, but rather is situated on the other side of time and space."
"The other side of time and space?" Upon hearing this, Rita immediately thought of Bubble Universes. The description of Avalon's existence also strongly matched the characteristics of a Bubble Universe.
"Yes. To find Avalon, Arthur and Merlin embarked on a journey together, and Merlin gave Arthur a holy sword.
Legend has it that this sword originally came from Avalon and could be used to sever space, connecting a path to another dimension, which was the only way to reach Avalon.
But even so, King Arthur spent his entire life searching, yet he never found the legendary fairyland. Only the various miracles created by Merlin became the shining points in the myth."
"So you're saying the story of Avalon is true?" The more Rita listened, the more she felt that Avalon was a Bubble Universe, and King Arthur's holy sword was the Second Divine Key she was looking for.
"No, not necessarily. However, in my research, this great wizard named Merlin may very well have actually existed.
It was he who led Arthur on the path to becoming king, he who started the legend of King Arthur, and it was because of him that the king's story was passed down through the ages."
"It seems... it's necessary to investigate Merlin thoroughly." Rita said thoughtfully.
"Then next, we move to my area of expertise!"
The director turned and retrieved several meters' worth of files, placing them in front of Rita with a thud.
"Miss Rita, this is the fruit of my many years of research! Please, have a look!"
Rita looked at the files, which were taller than her when she stood up, and felt her scalp tingle.
"O-okay..."