On a certain Sunday afternoon, in front of the main entrance of a certain underground base, a certain pair was certainly up to no good.

"Ah cannae believe Ah lit myself gie roped intae thes..." Duncan, wearing jeans and a hoodie for once, held his head in his palm while waiting for the hydraulics of the automatic door to do their job.

"Oh, quit whining, you big baby," his companion scoffed at him with playful irritation, as much sense as that combination made, and adjusted the oversized cap balancing on top of her head.

Lady Yseult… didn't look lady-ish at all at the moment. Her long flowing locks were tied into a low ponytail behind her neck, while the rest was hidden by a dark blue newsboy-cap that was at least one size too big for her. The rest of her outfit was also pretty androgynous, consisting of a navy-blue jacket over a white shirt and matching pants and boots. She looked surprisingly tomboyish compared to the dignified, ladylike atmosphere she usually projected. Though to be fair, after seeing her drunk, decked out in biker leathers, and disguised as a UFO, my image of her was already so all over the place that her current appearance felt almost ordinary.

But back to the scene unfolding in front of the main entrance. With the door finally open, Yseult cautiously peered inside and gestured for Duncan to follow her.

"Wasnae Ah supposed tae shaw ye aroond?" the big guy grumbled, earning him a sideways glance from the woman.

"Yes, so stop dragging your feet."

"Ugh. Hoo did Ah gie intae thes mess?"

"By losing a bet. Like you always do." Yseult flashed a smug smirk and the two of them entered the main hall. "Oh. Okay, I admit this is… pretty impressive."

Now that I thought about it, this was probably the first time Yseult visited the base in person. While Naoren, Zihao, and my in-laws would sometimes come and go, especially when we were having special meetings or other events, the rest of the Draconic Federation generally considered the place to be under Ordo Draconis jurisdiction and only visited us when absolutely necessary.

As for the main hall she found so impressive, it was busy as usual despite the weekend, but nothing special. Squires and Ninjas were training in the background, the Fauns attending to their own business without minding the hustle and bustle around them, while the Research Society people were nowhere to be seen (as usual), too caught up in their mad science experience (as usual).

"Sae? Whaur dae ye want tae gang?" Duncan inquired with a soft huff, making Yseult stop and fold her arms.

"I have no idea. You're supposed to be my guide, so you show me around. Preferably the places where eligible bachelors could be found."

The big guy rolled his eyes.

"Och, braw. 'main on 'en, let's gie movin'." He gestured for her to follow, and while she was carrying herself with some semblance of dignity, the way her expression was changing as she her eyes hopped between at all the odd and novel things in her sight reminded me of a kid in a candy store. "Thes haur is th' main 'all. Th' trainin' groonds ur ower thaur, an' that's th' bar."

Yseult's eyes abruptly snapped back to Duncan.

"Wait, you have a bar down here? Were you holding out on me, big guy?"

"Nah, dornt gie yer hopes up. Th' boss doesnae loch kergo, sae th' best ye can gie is some swally 'nder th' coonter."

"I'm still curious, so let's check it out."

Duncan grunted and the two of them headed towards the lounge area with a spring in their step. Yet, it only took a few seconds, specifically until the they passed by the sparring ring on the way there, for Yseult to stop in her tracks again.

"What's that?" she blurted out, pointing at the huge, gunmetal grey robot with a blocky silhouette right out of a sentai series. It lacked a head, like the original Gigants, yet even while crouching in the middle, it towered over everyone.

"It's a construction machine," came an unexpected answer as a new face approached them, skirting around the benches scrapped by Amelia the other day. Raven Boy, true to his name, was wearing a full black casual ensemble and carried a clipboard, which was less common among ravens as far as I understood. "Hello, Duncan. I thought you were off-duty today."

"Yeah, aam jist haur tae shaw 'er around," our Mr Minotaur answered off-handedly and used his thumb to point at the woman by his side.

"A new recruit?"

"Nah. Frae th' Federation."

"Oh?" Agrawain belatedly turned to Yseult and gave her a shallow bow. "Please excuse me for not introducing myself right away."

"I don't mind. I'm incognito right now," she responded, not even waiting for him to actually introduce himself, and instead she looked him up and down from head to toe with a finger on her chin. "Hmm… Quite nice, but a bit too young, I'm afraid."

"… What?"

"Dornt min' 'er. Thes bird's jist a bit weird in th' heed."

"Who's weird in the head, you big dingbat? Care to repeat that to my face?"

"Nah, there's naethin' wrang wi' yer coopon, only yer personality."

"Those are fighting words," Yseult responded with a growl and cracked her knuckles, completely unaware of the rather complicated stare Agrawain was directing her way at the moment. However, before things could escalate any further, something else caught her interest and she turned back towards the sparring field. "Are those Fauns?"

"Aye."

"What are they doing?"

The question was entirely justified, as the duo of Hrul and Rabom were in the process of climbing onto the palm of the redesigned Biomechanical Gigant Mark III. Not just that, but the two of them were carrying buckets and masonry tools with them as naturally as if they were weapons. It was nothing special to us, but for an outsider, it must've looked rather peculiar.

"Maintenance," Agrawain responded laconically, and when Yseult looked back at him, he pointed an index finger at the ceiling. "There was some minor collateral damage during a recent combat drill, so they're going to repair it."

As he spoke, Rabom gave the thumbs up to the blocky mecha, and it gingerly raised the two Fauns to the hole in the ceiling left behind by one of Angie's training escapades. In retrospect, I should've just had someone make a Purple Zone ahead of time to avoid these problems, but as always, hindsight was twenty-twenty.

More importantly though, I was feeling a bit squeamish just by looking at the two of them balancing on the Gigant's palm. They had no safety harnesses or anything, and while I doubted they would die due to a fall from that height, considering their supernatural constitution, the whole thing was still unnecessarily dangerous. After concluding that I should absolutely sit down and explain occupational hazards and safety regulations to the Fauns, my attention was drawn back to the trio standing at the edge of the training area.

"You make them do repairs for you?"

"Nobody's makin' them dae anythin'," Duncan told her with a shrug. "They jist loch tae keep thrang, Ah guess."

"And what's with that strange machine? How come I've never heard of it before?"

"Oh, that's one of Wissenschaftler's pet projects," Agrawain spoke off-handedly and made a vague gesture towards the Gigant. "Leonard doesn't like them much, so they're mostly relegated to construction work and transporting heavy equipment."

"But… wouldn't they be really useful on the battlefield?"

"Probably, but whit can we dae? Th' boss said th' final wuid."

"Maybe I should talk to Leonard about this…"

Seeing her address me casually like that made Raven Boy raise a brow, and tentatively ask, "I was meaning to ask, but why exactly are you visiting New Camelot?"

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"I'm just—"

"Hah! Believe it ur nae, she's lookin' fur a fiancé!" Duncan cut her off, followed by a pained "Ooof!" when she planted her elbow in his solar plexus.

"Shut up, you arrant knucklehead! He doesn't need to know that!"

"But it's funay," the big guy groaned with a strained grin and forcefully straightened his back "Yoo're a braw bird, an' freakin' rich tae bit, sae normally it woods be th' other way aroond."

"And I told you I have no interest in men who want to marry me for prestige or wealth, so stop advertising what I'm doing before I put you in a head-lock again and make you cry uncle!"

While the two of them bickered, Raven Boy's eyes narrowed into a squint as he scrutinized the woman in front of him. I had him on guard duty over Percival until recently, and even after that, Agrawain didn't really involve himself with the Draconic Federation. At least not openly, preferring to work in the background, and he was pretty deeply involved in our supply chain and logistics department at the moment.

But to get to the point, I was about ninety-nine percent sure he never met Yseult in person, and even if he knew about her due to the recent events, it was difficult to draw a mental connection between the dignified matriarch of the Albion family and the short-tempered woman in front of him. Chances are, he must've thought she had to be a rebellious young heiress of one of the Draconian clans who somehow roped Duncan into giving her a tour of the facilities, and acted accordingly.

"I'm afraid New Camelot doesn't have many qualified bachelors for the taking," he addressed her in a diplomatic tone.

"Is that so?" Yseult turned to Agrawain with a skeptical glint in her eyes. "Doesn't the Ordo Draconis have a surplus of strapping young lads?"

"Do you mean the Squires? I'm not sure the majority of them would fit your… standard."

"Nae tae mention, most ay them ur still milksaps fa cooldnae handle ye." Agrawain sent a disapproving glare at Duncan, and he hastily added, "Whit? Aam jist tellin' th' truth! Thes bird is a handful at th' best ay times, Ah teel ye, an' efter ye gie 'er puckle pints, she's a tot—"

Before he could finish, Yseult tried to elbow him again, but he jumped out of the way with a 'Ha! Ah was expectin' 'at!'. She didn't follow it up but instead flashed a sweet smile at Agrawain.

"Speaking of pints, I'm feeling awfully parched all of a sudden. I've heard that there's a bar down here, so how about we sit down and grab some refreshments before we continue this conversation? If you're free, of course."

"I'm… not especially busy at the moment, but…" Raven Boy glanced at the Fauns repairing the ceiling, then back at Duncan, who was animatedly gesturing behind Yseult, and let out a shallow sigh. "I'm in the middle of collecting requisition forms, but suppose I can accompany you for a short while."

"Requisition forms?" Yseult echoed him curiously, and he showed off his clipboard in return.

"Each department of New Camelot has to file for requisitions each week. I usually collect them on the weekend and then send them over to Sir Roland, who then forwards them to Leonard for signing. It's a routine procedure."

"Does that mean you have to go to each of these 'departments' one by one?" He nodded. "That might work out even better then. Duncan was supposed to show me around anyway, so we can hit two birds with one stone, and then hit the bar at the end."

The big guy in the back slouched his shoulders in defeat, and after sending a resentful glance at Raven Boy, he walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Och, braw. Let's jist gie gonnae."

Agrawain had a classic 'Wait, don't I get a say in this?' kind of look on his face, but it quickly disappeared when Duncan dragged him along, and Yseult followed with a satisfied grin. Before long, they passed by the training grounds and he pointed at the semi-circular seating area with a large whiteboard in the center.

"That's th' briefin'. It's whaur th' big boss tells us abit aw ay his new harebrained plans."

"Duncan!" Raven Boy hissed in a low voice. "You know as well as I do that there's no love lost between Leonard and me, but I still have to object to talking about him like that in public, especially in front of someone from the Federation."

"It's braw, it's braw. Dornt fash yerse yer heed ower somethin' silly loch 'at."

Ignoring the two squabbling guys, Yseult observed the briefing area with surprising interest.

"It's fairly impressive." However, her interest didn't last long, and she soon asked, "By the way, you mentioned Sir Roland beforehand. He's currently single, isn't he?"

That comment made the two Knights cease their argument at once and Agrawain answered with, "Yes, but Sir Roland is…"

"Gonnae-no jokin', lassie. Nae tae mention, Rolain awreddy got a hin' gonnae oan wi' a hen, sae it's a pointless anyway."

"Sir Roland has a 'thing' with someone?" Agrawain blurted out in surprise. "Since when?"

"Eh, ah dunnae kinn. It's nane ay mah business, but ah've heard it frae Penny-gurl, an' she's usually oan top ay these kinds ay things."

"Seriously? I didn't notice."

In the meantime, the group entered the mess hall and continued to show Yseult around. Not that there were much to see there. The place was kind of like a normal school cafeteria (in other words, not like the fancy one in Blue Cherry High); rows of white rectangle benches with simple padded metal chairs around them. It saw little movement at this hour, but there were still a few Squires and Research Division members idling around, having a late lunch or an early dinner.

"I know that Sir Arnwald is already taken," Yseult continued the previous topic, only giving a surface glance at the mess hall. "Who else is there?"

"I suppose there's Wissenschaftler."

"Who's that?"

"Freddy. Ah tauld ye abit heem awreddy. Radge science bloke. Nae a bad fello' but kin' ay… whassa word? Neurotic, Ah jalouse?"

"Oh, him," Yseult nodded knowingly as the trio left the dining hall and headed downstairs.

"He's currently in Timaeus, but even if he wasn't, I wouldn't recommend approaching him. He's a… unique individual."

"Also, Galatea likelie wooldnae loch if ye 'it oan heem," Duncan chimed in, sounding rather nonchalant and unbothered by the conversation.

"I wasn't going to hit on him! Not right away, at least. You know I have standards." After fuming for a bit, she belatedly inquired, "Who's Galatea?"

"His daughter," Agrawain answered on the side.

"He has a daughter?"

"She's a robot lassie he gart," the other man clarified and then dramatically rubbed his jaw. "Also, aam nae sure 'dochter' is th' reit wuid tae describe 'er."

"Then what would you call her?"

"Ah dunnae kinn. It's tricky."

"So he's somewhat erratic and has a daughter who's not really his daughter. I guess he's off the table."

Over the next hour or so, the two Knights gave the incognito matriarch a tour of the workshops (or at the very least the publicly available portions), the interception- and breaking-and-entering training grounds, and even the domestic quarter where the rooms of the staff were located, yet the conversation never strayed far from the topic of 'eligible bachelors'.

"With all due respect." Agrawain finally decided to speak his mind on the stairs leading back to the main hall, with just a hint of exasperation. "I just don't understand why you're so pinpoint focused on the subject of marriage prospects. You're still young, after all."

"Oh please, Sir Knight, don't try to flatter me." The way she said that almost sounded like a stock phrase she had practised in the past, and it made Duncan stifle a groan.

"Ye hink Ah huvnae bin tellin' 'er 'at awreddy? She micht be a bonnie bird oan th' ootwith, but a thrawn mule oan th' inside."

"Shut up, Duncan. And I told you to stop calling me a bird."

"It's a compliment, ye ken?"

Yseult glared at the big guy, then dramatically turned away with a huff and addressed Agrawain again.

"I understand how this might seem strange to you, since you didn't grow up immersed in Draconian culture, but this is important to me. Especially since I was recently given the opportunity to pursue a relationship without the fetters of bloodline and legacy, I feel that I should quickly find a suitable partner to get it out of the way, so that I can freely pursue my own interests afterwards."

"That's… an unusual outlook on life," Raven Boy muttered a touch skeptically, but Yseult didn't seem to mind. "But if you aren't concerned with your family's bloodline, then what exactly are you looking for?"

"What am I looking for in a man…" she echoed him contemplatively and folded her arms. "I suppose someone not too young, but not too old either. Being handsome and muscular is a plus, but not necessary, and we should share at least some things in common or complement each other. Oh, and it wouldn't hurt if he had a sense of humour."

"Those are… not unrealistic expectations, but they aren't exactly simple either."

"I can't help my standards," Yseult shrugged, and seeing that Duncan just rolled his eyes at her, she tried to kick him in the butt. Despite his size, the big guy deftly jumped out of the way with a triumphant chortle, causing the draconic woman to chase after him.

Seeing them horsing around like that, I could see the obvious question behind Agrawain's eyes, but he never voiced it, especially since they just reached the lounge area. It looked more or less the same as usual, albeit after receiving their first pay check, the staff pooled their money to buy two more air hockey tables. If they didn't do it, I might have done it myself, considering the constant struggle over claiming the original one was getting a bit out of hand as of late.

Anyhow, on one side we had the three of those tables, with one of them being occupied by a pair of ninjas (though you couldn't tell, considering it was their day off, and both of them were wearing casual slacks), while on the other, Karukk was merrily whistling behind the bar. When the trio approached, he put down the crystal glass he was shining and flashed a smile.

"Welcome. New guest?"

"Oh. Um, hello?" Not expecting to be addressed by the Faun, Yseult responded in an uncharacteristically meek voice and prodded Duncan to step forward.

"Thes haur is Karukk, th' lieutenant ay general Brang. He's a guid bloke, nae need tae be afraid ay heem."

"I'm not afraid, you inconsiderate muttonhead! I was just startled!" After hissing so, she cleared her throat and flashed a demure smile at the Faun behind the counter. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same. So? Here for drink?" He reached out and picked up a cocktail shaker, and did that thing when the barista threw it into the air with a flourish and then caught it with the other hand. "I practiced."

"Oh. You make drinks?"

"It's hobby," Karukk replied in the company of a slightly bashful smile.

"I've heard that you don't serve alcohol here, so…"

There was a meaningful look shared between the two, and then he put a hand next to his mouth and whispered, "Not officially. For nice guests… Make exceptions." He followed that up by putting a finger in front of his lips, and a wink. "Secret?"

"Sure." Yseult let out a chuckle and then paused to look Karukk over. "Hmmm… He's built pretty sturdy, and he can make cocktails. A bit hairy, but… maybe I can work with that?"

"Och 'main 'en, lassie. Ye cannae be serioos…"

"Who knows? Maybe I am, maybe I'm not?" She chuckled again and beamed an impish grin at Duncan. "Ask me again after the third glass, big boy."

And while all of this was going on, Agrawain was in the background, with an expression that said 'I don't know what even is going on anymore at this point', to which all I could say was… Welcome to the club, buddy. We have snacks, secret handshakes, and 'best' of all, endless seas of ever-churning confusion over weird and unexpected developments! Yay?