"Mr. Anno!?" Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka cried out together.
The knight in white armor seemed to have noticed others approaching from this direction as well, and he quickened his assault on the black-robed figures.
The leading black-robed figure said in exasperation, "Damn it, what the hell is with this guy? He's on a completely different level from the usual knights of the Holy City—"
"Retreat now! We can't beat him!"
Another black-robed figure shouted, then sped away, tossing aside the thing he had been carrying.
Before long, the black-robed figures vanished into the wind and sand. The raging gale and yellow sands seemed to have no effect on them.
After seeing the black-robed figures set down what they had been transporting, the white-armored knight had no intention of pursuing them further. He merely stopped before the object thrown onto the ground, his back to Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others, and slightly turned his head as he demanded in a low voice.
"Who are you? Why do you spy behind my back?"
"Anno—" Mash seemed unable to restrain herself and opened her mouth to greet him.
"Wait." Leonardo da Vinci seemed to have remembered something and stopped Mash before she could speak.
"Mash, we can't confirm his allegiance right now, and it looks like there's another Servant with him. We need to be cautious—hey!" Leonardo da Vinci had been earnestly warning Mash when she suddenly noticed Artoria walking past her, and called out anxiously.
"It's fine. If it's him, then even if we don't know his allegiance, he would never harm the innocent." Artoria said with a faint smile as she walked forward.
Her gaze fixed upon the knight, and for once, a trace of emotion entered her usually stern voice.
"Am I right, Knight of the Round Table, Anno?"
Anno