Meanwhile, Guinevere and her group were in deep trouble.
After a fierce battle, over five hundred refugees had successfully escaped. While some intended to return home, more than two hundred remained, staring at them with expectant eyes.
"Bedivere," Guinevere said, "do you think we've been saddled with them?"
"I don't think so. Didn't those two Assassins say they had a place to shelter the refugees?"
In the wilderness, Guinevere withdrew her sword from a bandit's stomach. Her ruthlessness made Ritsuka and the others hesitate, wanting to speak but holding back. It also stopped certain refugees with ulterior motives from trying to curry favor.
Precisely because the world was ending, alongside the more honest refugees, there were always those with "flexible minds" who turned to banditry, hoping to prolong their own survival.
They had simply chosen the wrong targets, and their heads, already tucked into their waistbands, fell prematurely.
Sheathing her sword, causing it to vanish from her hand, Guinevere walked toward the sole surviving Hundred Faces and the now-armless Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke.
In Guinevere's memory, Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke was supposed to have died while escorting refugees. He had sacrificed his life to buy them time, hoping to halt Tristan's advance.
But tragically, the Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke from her memories hadn't known that Tristan could kill from afar with a mere flick of his bowstring.
His death back then had been heroic, yet utterly meaningless.
"Tell me, Mr. Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke, how much farther is it to this East Village you mentioned?"
"About... a day's journey."
His arms were gone, and his steps were unsteady. But with his face hidden beneath the white skull mask, it was impossible to tell how much longer he could endure.
Still, he was a member of the Old Man of the Mountain's Assassin Order. To attain his current abilities, he had carved off his own nose and sewn on the mask. His tolerance for pain far surpassed that of any ordinary person.
Besides, Da Vinci-chan had already treated his wounds.
At the thought of Da Vinci-chan, Guinevere's gaze shifted to the front of the group. There, a "car"—a fully wooden vehicle powered by Servant mana—was being driven by Mash. Several refugee children were inside, laughing with delight at the unprecedented contraption.
"Amazing. Not only can you assist in combat, you also know healing and can even build a car. This doll body is incredibly exquisite, and I bet you can do even more, can't you?"
Da Vinci-chan had been bustling about, primarily tending to the wounded. But among them all, none were more severely injured than Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke. So, after completing her rounds, she returned to this spot.
This was Guinevere's first private conversation with Da Vinci-chan.
"Miss Ruler, you actually know what a 'car' is?"
"Hmm... I retain memories from my previous summonings. For instance, my last summoning was during the Fourth Holy Grail War."
"Eh?"
The group continued forward, and neither Guinevere nor Da Vinci-chan broke their stride. But that surprised "Eh?" came from a projection screen—from Dr. Romani of Chaldea, whom Guinevere was meeting for the first time.
"Dr. Romani, is something wrong?"
"No, nothing. I just remembered that the Former Director participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War, but Miss Ruler isn't mentioned in the surviving records."
"Pfft. Perhaps it's because we participated in different worlds' Fourth Holy Grail Wars."
Romani is terrible at acting, Guinevere thought. He can't help but raise his cup to drink whenever he lies. But even knowing his true identity is the King of Mages Solomon, since he still wants to interact with everyone as a normal person, Guinevere won't expose him.
"Hey, Dr. Romani," she called out, "isn't your analysis of this world finished yet? If Miss Magi☆Mari knew you were this inefficient, she'd be very disappointed, you know."
"It's almost done! Based on my initial scans, I thought Chaldea's enemies would be God-possessed Crusaders. Who would have thought... Wait, you said Magi☆Mari, right? Did you hear that, Da Vinci-chan? Magi☆Mari exists!"
Suddenly, Dr. Romani on the projection screen became agitated, nearly prompting Da Vinci-chan to cut the connection.
Fortunately, he quickly waved his hands, signaling he was ready to share the new information he'd found.
"Hassan-i Sabbah, the Assassin Order active around the eleventh century. Legend says there were nineteen successive Hassans in total, and all nineteen used the name 'Hassan.'
"The distinction between them, as you've seen, is that each successive Hassan possessed different abilities."
"But that's not what I wanted to talk about. The Assassin Class among Servants is Hassan. In every normal Holy Grail War, the one occupying the Assassin Class will always be one of the Hassans."
"Romani, get to the point!"
"Ahem, what I mean is, you should check if the First Hassan has also arrived in this era. Since the Assassin Class is named after Hassan, then the legendary pinnacle of the Hassans... that First Hassan must be the Grand Assassin. If we could get his help..."
Romani's words were cut off. Da Vinci-chan had calmly ended the communication. The reason was simple: near her and Guinevere stood not only Bedivere, who seemed to be acting as their guard, but also the Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke, who was supposed to be undergoing her re-examination.
"Mr. Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke, about what Dr. Romani said..."
"Lord First Hassan wouldn't concern himself with such trivial matters. Besides, if you intend to scheme against the First Hassan, then we must part ways here. The debt we owe you... I will repay it with my own life."
As he spoke, Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke moved to bite his tongue, intending to create a fait accompli. But Guinevere, anticipating his dramatic self-sacrifice, struck the moment she sensed his intent. She shattered the mouth of his white skull mask and thrust two fingers into his mouth.
Her fingers pressed against Hassan's neat teeth, pinning down his soft tongue. In return, she received a gaze filled with astonishment and humiliation.
As an Assassin, he had long since abandoned any semblance of a conventional appearance. This was the first time anyone had treated him in such a manner.
"Mr. Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke, you're biting me. Besides, why would we want your life? And... how should I put this? When it comes to defeating the Lion King, we're on the same side. Why would you assume the First Hassan wouldn't help without even asking?"
"Da Vinci-chan, you were at the Sun King's temple, weren't you? You must have seen the Sun King's head slide from his neck, right?"
Da Vinci-chan, though puzzled by how Guinevere knew about their experience at the Sun King's "tomb," nodded, confirming the truth of Guinevere's words.
"Mr. Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke, you can also ask Hundred Faces. Ask them if they successfully rescued people from the Sun King's palace. If the Sun King were unharmed, how could they possibly have succeeded?"
Guinevere's line of questioning was too direct. The only member of Hundred Faces remaining with the refugees quickly stepped forward. After hearing the question, he corroborated Guinevere's statement.
With these two questions answered, everyone present realized who must have been capable of taking the Sun King's head.
He was one of the Golden Three, a king said to rival Egypt's strongest God-King. Even setting aside the non-aggression pact between the Lion King and the Sun King, the fully deified Lion King could never have defeated him so silently.
In this Singularity, the only one capable of such a feat...
"So... Lord First Hassan has already made his move."
Suddenly, Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke and Hundred Faces went limp, the tension they had held for so long finally releasing.
The realization that First Hassan had not abandoned the world acted like a stabilizing anchor in their hearts.
Meanwhile, Da Vinci-chan and the others in Chaldea also quietly breathed a sigh of relief
Regardless, the priority now was to get the refugees to East Village, so they would no longer be exposed to the threats of bandits, monsters, Living Corpses, and the like in the wilderness.