Mordred's sudden appearance left Artoria utterly speechless.
As for Mordred herself, her eyes lit up, only for an awkward expression to follow. She wanted to speak but held back, unsure how to interact with Artoria. Even her gaze grew evasive, as though she was both hopeful and afraid.
That all-too-human reaction made Artoria's pupils tremble. A nameless anger welled up inside her, and she gritted her teeth. "Was it really necessary... to make an NPC this realistic? This is honestly going a little too far..."
Clearly, she was genuinely angry.
Yet those angry words stunned Mordred. She then looked at Artoria suspiciously, opened her mouth, and carefully asked, "Um, Father, don't tell me you're treating me as a game NPC? Hey, hey, hey, don't go getting things mixed up! I know you don't like me, but treating me as an NPC is going way too far!"
"When I was summoned to this era, I was given basic knowledge, too! I know what an NPC is!"
"I'm telling you, I really am Mordred herself! I was sent to the Ascension Sanctuary, so don't treat me as one of its NPCs!"
She might have harbored complicated feelings of guilt and uncertainty toward Artoria, but while she could endure everything else, being treated as a fake by her own father was simply too tragic.
Hearing Mordred's indignant correction, Artoria froze. Her anger vanished abruptly, and her eyes widened in disbelief. "You... really are Little Mo!?"
Mordred stiffened all over. "L-L-Little Mo? W-what Little Mo? I-I-I, th-this... name, uh, what I mean is, um, calling me Little Mo, uh..."
She hesitated, glanced around, let her gaze wander, and trembled slightly.
Nervousness, excitement, uncertainty, bewilderment, and more flooded her heart, leaving the Knight of Rebellion's entire brain trembling.
Father called me Little Mo!
*Father called