"Please, enjoy your stay."
The servant said out loud, bowing her head while Artoria and the rest of the females walked in.
"Thank you." Yukio walked in after the rest, closing the door behind her.
"Oh wow, Uruk is a big city!" Sinex laid flat on the bed, her legs dangling. "It looks exactly like the main capital."
"Please have a bit of decency. Do not embarrass Lord Ha Joon with your hooligan behavior."
Yukio scolded.
Sinex, not one to take harsh words from anyone other than Ha Joon, glared at Yukio.
"Huh? Where do you get off telling me what to do!?" she yelled.
Yukio sighed in response, "Quit being such an animal, please, the queen is in the room with us."
"A--"
Sinex forgot.
She wasn't well familiar with Artoria, though she had heard news, and she wouldn't want to be on her bad side.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Sinex immediately apologized.
She looked towards the left, but to her surprise, Artoria was not paying attention to them.
She was standing in front of the window, her hand on her waist as she observed what was happening outside of the mansion.
Artoria could see the people working with one another, guards roaming about, and even merchants from different parts of the continent bringing their business to Uruk.
'I remember my father once came here to bargain with the Queen of Heroes. The details are not clear, but did my father perhaps make a deal he wasn't able to pay back? Is that why the demigod Gilgamesh called for us?'
Artoria thought to herself.
It was common knowledge not to underestimate Gilgamesh. This was someone who killed three gods just because they refused to acknowledge her as a god.
Artoria sighed, 'Doesn't matter, as long as my husband is safe, that's all that matters.'
...
Meanwhile...
[The playground has been opened.]
Ha Joon walked in.
Not too far from where he was stood a man with long black hair, bound by chains spread far and wide, each chain continuously zapping the individual's power.
The individual... was the demon lord of Vanity, Barbatos.
After trapping the demon lord in an endless loop of space and time, Ha Joon and the demon lord had battled for 754 years, moving from one verse to another.
For every year they fought, the space Ha Joon had opened would place a seal on the demon lord, damming his powers.
In the end, before Ha Joon could put the demon lord down, he needed a total of 754 seals.
Each one manifested into chains in the playground simulation, where he had imprisoned the demon lord.
"Hello there... Been a while, huh?"
Ha Joon spoke, standing in front of the imprisoned man.
The demon lord was silent, slowly raising his head to meet Ha Joon's gaze.
"If you think I am, then so be it, but do not be su-"
"Don't repeat yourself!"
"Hahaha!"
....
The next day.
"Oh my, I didn't expect you to be out of bed so early in the morning."
Gilgamesh spoke, looking at the door where she could see Artoria standing there, about to explode with anger.
And why not...
She had just walked in on another woman placing herself on top of her husband, who was still asleep, and then trying to take advantage of him.
"What... the hell are you doing to my husband?" Artoria spoke, her voice calm, even though she was raging inside.
"Nothing really. Why ask a question you know the answer to? Do I need a reason to get close to such a fine man?"
"I kindly ask that you remove yourself from him. My husband is exhausted and would like to enjoy his sleep."
Artoria made sure to remain calm. She knew if Ha Joon was to wake up to some kind of battle that could potentially bring war to Camelot, he wouldn't like it.
And thus, for his sake, she was willing to push her feelings to the side.
"You're quite different too, aren't you? Many women would have fallen into anger after seeing a woman get close to their lover. Yet you stand before me unfazed by my actions; I do not know if I find it impressive or I'm just angered by it."
Gilgamesh slowly moved away from Ha Joon, and for a split second, she could almost swear she saw him give a relieved sigh.
"There's no use getting angry."
Was Artoria's response.
"Surely you jest. You act as though you haven't figured out why I called for this meeting in the first place."
Artoria frowned a bit upon hearing Gilgamesh's words.
"A few decades ago, your father Uther came to me in need of help. I hold many treasures, some of which I do not remember, and some I have cast aside as my need for them was thin. Your father knew of this and requested I hand him one of my treasures. I found it amusing that a mortal was brave enough to ask that of me. And so I had him bargain."
Gilgamesh continued, "I blessed him with 13 treasures that I own, and in exchange, I would get to keep any member of his family if they were ever going to be male."
"What? There's no way my father would make such a deal. He wanted a male heir more than anything; he wouldn't-"
"You really know nothing about your family, do you? No, or maybe I should put it like this: you haven't tried to know anything. Even the handsome man over there is linked to your family." Continue reading at empire
Gilgamesh sighed, "If you wish to know more about the Pendragon family, I will tell you. But you need only kneel and beg me; surely that is not too much of a task for you."
"You mock me?"
"What is there to mock? The women of Camelot have no backbones. Bugs depending on the protection of others. Not once have I thought of the women in that kingdom with high regard."
Artoria smirked; if anything, there was definitely one thing she learned from her husband.
"Then why don't we make a bet then."
"Oh?" Gilgamesh was intrigued.
"I will pick a woman from my side, and you do yours, and they will battle. If I win, you'll tell me everything I need to know, but if I lose, I will indeed bow and beg before you."
"Oh no, I do not want that. You bowing does not interest me any longer. What I want... is for you to hand over this handsome man. What do you say?"
Artoria glared.