Hello! Welcome back to my little story! I hope you have enjoyed the read so far! I really want to thank all of you, my dear readers, for all the loyalty you have displayed so far. It really warms my heart to know you enjoy this poor, deluded noob's story so much :D

So, I won't bother you with any additional greeting and just get to it! This time, featuring something lighthearted for a change.

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respective creators, and even thought some of the new Servants for this story do not exist within the Nasuverse and are my own creative imput, i still reject all rights and grant them to Type-moon.

Sieg felt nervous.

He didn't exactly know how to mediate this absolutely thick atmosphere that was ruling in the large living room of the Yggdmillennia family, since Amakusa and Jeanne were in the same room. They weren't looking at one another, they weren't speaking to one another. They were literally on the opposite sides of the room, and yet, the homonculus could still feel the animosity the two shared for one another. It was weird to him on one hand, as he, in his really short life so far, hadn't seen two people be this negatively aligned to one another, so the concept of an existential antithesis, or Archnemesis, was foreign to him as of this moment.

Sieg was deep in thought about what to do. It was clear that the two of them might not ever get along no matter what. But they needed this alliance to fight this new enemy that was coming. "What should I do...?" He thought to himself, whining on the inside about this seemingly impossible scenario. As he was thinking about how to address this, his thoughts trailed on suggestions, until the memory of Astolfo's teasing smuggled itself into his train of thought. 'You two should go on a date!'

"Damnit, Rider!" Sieg complained on the inside and leaned back with a heavy sigh. But then it hit him. This was actually not a bad idea at all. Well, not a date, but definetly ask Jeanne to spend some time away from the Priest, and exchange some information that might prove useful for the great battle to come. They had 3 days. Going for a walk or to eat something on one isn't going to end the world... "I think."

And so, Sieg got up from his seat on the couch and dusted himself off.

"Huh? Master?" Astolfo, who just so happened to be sitting nearby, asked in curiosity as he watched Sieg get up so suddenly. But when Sieg gave no response and bee-lined towards Jeanne, Astolfo just smugly snickered to himself, having a good guess on what was about to happen.

Jeanne, who was in the middle of a discussion with Fiore, suddenly noticed Sieg's approach and turned to him with a curious expression. Fiore only made a knowing smirk and excused herself. "I will see you later, Ruler. I have to check up on my brother and see how he is doing!" She spoke, strolling her wheelchair away before the blonde Ruler could even comment on it.

After watching Fiore leave for a second, she turned her attention back to Sieg, eyeing him curiously once again. "Sieg? Do you maybe need something?" She asked in an oblivious innocence.

The Homunculus nodded and smiled slightly before responding. "Well, not 'need', but 'want'. I would like to ask if you would join me for Dinner. I have a few things I'd like to talk to you about, and a few personal curiosities about your past, if that is alright."

Astolfo immediately began to laugh out loud due to the sheer level of amusement he felt to the situation. "Ah, Master is finally getting himself a girl!" He exclaimed with the utmost possible pride, in turn making every other person in the room curious, being Amakusa, Semiramis, Assassin of Black and Roland, who turned to Rider of Black before eyeing the Homunculus. Semiramis just let out a very defeated sigh, approached Astolfo and reached into a small pouch on her dress, taking out a few gold coins to give it to Rider of Black. "See? Told you he would do it!" The pinkette then exclaimed.

Sieg, eyeing Astolfo very focusedly just reached for the handle of his sword and had a comical, angry expression on his face, which immediately made Astolfo go silent and wave his hands before him in a defensive manner.

Jeanne, amused by the display of friendship between the Master and his Servant, as well as being generally amused by the Pinkette's antics, had to let out a little giggle to herself. "I wouldn't mind. I figured you would want to ask a few questions. I have wanted to talk to you more regarding the Yggdmillennia family as well, so this presents a good opportunity. I will meet you at the Gates in an hour?"

"Perfect! I will see you then, Ruler!" Sieg exclaimed, smiling brightly before he turned around for Astolfo again, his smile suddenly feeling incredibly forced and hiding an angry expression. "Rider, come with me for a moment. We should talk about you betting with people about me..."

Astolfo made a playful, comical whine for a moment, but obeyed the command, following Sieg out of the large lounge.

When the two were gone, Semiramis smirked knowingly to herself before she approached Jeanne. "Hear, hear. The Jeanne D'Arc got asked out on a date and she isn't even blushing." The Assassin-servant teased.

"Date?" Jeanne asked, somewhat confused. "He didn't ask me out on a date, we are just going to exchange information over Dinner."

Semiramis only brightened her smirk and put her hand around the Saint's shoulders. "Oh, dear, innocent Jeanne." The Queen of Assyria hummed, morbidly amused by the innocence. "Then what else do you call it when a boy asks a girl out to eat, just the two of them? And that smile when you accepted!"

Jeanne, slowly making a more surprised and embarrassed face, covered her cheeks with her hands while Semiramis was ruffling the blonde's hair with one hand. "O-oh Lord Almighty!" The Saintess gasped as it dawned upon her. "I-I just got asked out on a date! What do I do?"

Semiramis saw this as her time to shine and pulled Jeanne's shoulder against her own. "That is why I approached you, Maiden!" The Poisoner spoke, having a very proud smile towards herself. "As a woman of high status and luxuries with many experiences regarding romances, you have yourself a very trustworthy set of hands." She enthusiastically added, much to Jeanne's relief, who visibly stopped blushing for a moment to nod towards the Assyrian Queen. What Semiramis would, of course, never tell anyone out loud, is that this was one of those ideal Mom-moments she always strived for. Due to her past and her impression of her own mother, Semiramis has a strong sense of what Motherhood is, and should be, like. And seeing Jeanne needing an experienced woman's guidance just screamed 'I'm gonna be your mom for this'.

"Thank you, Semiramis..." Jeanne responded meekly, almost timidly, hugging herself for a moment. "But..." She then added, suddenly growing serious, which caught Assassin of Red by surprise. "I am a Saint... I shouldn't indulge myself in this, I cannot. I have to love all of humanity equally, I cannot make the exception for one person. So even if it is a Date... I should tell him it's just under friends."

Semiramis let out the most frustrated 'Are you kidding me?' sigh she ever had in her entire existence, as far as she could think back.

In an unexpected turn, Amakusa was the one to step forward, waving the other three off. "Leave, everyone. I'd like to speak to her, Ruler to Ruler, by myself."

The other Servants present left without saying much, even Semiramis, who would under normal circumstances complain audibly. But she knew Shirou enough to know that he would get this right. Her pride as a woman hinged on Jeanne accepting this Date for what it is (in their mind). And so, Semiramis exited, following Assassin of Black as they were overdue for a conversation anyway.

With only the two Saints in the room, Jeanne suddenly seemed defensive, her gaze a furious glare at the Priest.

"Okay... I get it." Shirou said, exhaling a defeated breath for a moment before he rose his hands up defensively as he took a step closer. "You and I are never going to get along with one another. I cannot understand your defiance, and you cannot understand my devotion. We will always be opposites of one another, fated to be nothing other than enemies." Amakusa continued, much to the blonde's surprise at the choice of words. This caused Jeanne to lower her guard and soften her expression slightly. "But... that doesn't mean I am going to exclusively take matters into my hands in such way that it will harm you. If nothing else, see it as me trying to keep you by best mind so we can defeat what is to come, and then kill each others in the aftermath."

Jeanne understood, and she reluctantly nodded.

"Good." Shirou commented before he stepped closer again. "I did notice the way you occasionally glance at him. A great curiosity hovers over you, Maiden of Orleans. As a fellow Saint who has experienced and allowed those feelings, take the advice from an experienced elder" the snow-haired man said, causing Jeanne to go slightly wide-eyed. "You weren't summoned to resume your duty as a Saint. You were summoned to embrace a new purpose. Your Oath to love all of humanity binds you no longer. Forget your shackles. Do what feels good."

Jeanne eyed Amakusa for a long moment, silence overcoming the two of them before she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why are you trying to help me?"

Amakusa Shirou seemed amused by the question as he only smiled a bit brighter before he shrugged his hands. "I could be the evil villain you think I am and say that I want you to fall in love with the Homonculus so I can use him against you." He responded at first, causing Jeanne's expression to grow a little furious. The white-haired Shirou stepped back and chuckled before he continued. "But in all truth? I see a bit of myself in you. I have been where you now stand. I have tried to reinforce the belief that I cannot love. But..."

Jeanne caught on and rose her eyebrows for a moment. "Semiramis..."

Seeing that she got it, the Priest quivered his lips for a second in slight embarrassment. "Indeed, thought I can't just yet tell her out loud. She has a very... defensive attitude in regards to love and being loved. So I am being patient, and in the meantime, we work together to achieve my great ambition. And seeing you cramp yourself like that makes it... personal."

Jeanne eyed him carefully for a moment, slowly nodding her head before turning away towards the door to leave. As she reached for the doorhandle, she stopped for a moment. "You know, Amakusa Shirou. Were it not for your misguided goal, maybe... we could have been friends." She said, just loud enough for him to hear it, then opened the door and left, leaving Amakusa to himself.

"If only..." The Priest thought to himself, a somber expression on him before he sat down to the nearby couch within the lounge.

"Ngh... Where..."

Mordred, due to her condition induced by her trying way too hard to break out of Semiramis' little prison, had passed out shortly after they got to the Yggdmillennia Castle. She only knew that she had been entrusted in the care of Caster of Black, and so, when she woke up, she was clueless to almost everything surrounding her. She lifted her head up, then her upper body. With her hands pushing against what she was laying ontop off, she only thus noticed that she was in a bed. Her eyes opened up fully to see that she was covered by a thin blanket. However, soon as she lifted it, she saw that she had no clothes on her except for a standart white onepiece gown. This caused her to blush severely, but also get very furious, as this meant someone had to strip her off of her clothes. "Oh I will KILL whoever did that! SLOW AND PAINFULLY!"

"And you will get your chance in due time, Knight of Treachery" Caster of Black responded while leaning his head up to look at Mordred. Caster was seated behind a desk that had a large amount of stacked papers on it, some neatly sorted, others so spread out and chaotic that a person with OCD could suffer a heart attack. It was a weird mix of order and disorder so finely separated between each half of the bureau-table that it appeared to be intentional.

"You BASTA- Argh!" Mordred yelped out before she could finish the word, pain overcoming her chest-area and she lifted the cleavage of her gown to look at her skin, seeing that she had a large amount of bandages around it.

"I wouldn't move too suddenly, if I were you. I JUST operated on you." Gwydion then commented before he got up from his seat and walked around the table to lean his rear against it, hands on the table's edge while he eyes Mordred. "Now, I want to do a basic check-up on you, if that is alright."

"The fuck you on about? You some kind of doctor now, Gwydion?" The blonde Knight protested verbally, but she got up slowly from the bed and stood upright while facing him, as he requested. "The hell did you need to do surgery on me anyway? I am a Servant, I would have regenerated fine on my own."

"That is where you are wrong..." The welsh sorcered responded, causing Mordred's eyebrow to raise up in curiosity, but her expression remained overall angry. "Your Spirit Core was severely damaged. To the point that your body was unable to recover any Mana or heal any of your wounds, and any more and it would have broken completely, and you would have disappeared back into Akasha. So I had to take a couple measures into my own hands, fix your internal wounds manually by sewing cuts closed. However..."

"However what? Don't torture me with suspense or I will kick your ass where you stand, injured or not!"

"Alright, alright..." Gwydion said, his voice without a care in the world. "Your Spirit Core's damage has had a rather worrysome side-effect. A Tumor unseen in humans before. A mutated clump of mana that has physically manifested within you. It is something that no one has ever seen before, but then, you are also the first servant to my knowledge who somehow managed to get the middle-ground between a fine and a broken Spirit Core. Quite frankly, you are the first known case of a damaged core, and so no one knows what to do."

"So what?" The Knight asked while growing more furious, her eyes narrowing threateningly. "Am I gonna die?"

"unlikely. But... you could come across difficulties if you try to use any Mana, specially with your Noble Phantasm." Caster spoke, thought he was being too vague for Mordred's liking. "Well, there is a... fix, if you will. But we can only begin tomorrow, when your body has fully healed."

Mordred just crossed her arms and scoffed as she heard this, turning around to look at the bed again. "I wasn't dreaming, was I?..."

Gwydion knew exactly what she was referring to and nodded his head. "Afraid so... everything you remember happening, did."

"How long was I out?"

"Barely 3 hours. We are approaching sunfall."

At this, Mordred let out a deep sigh and her shoulders began to shake lightly. She reached up with her right arm and seemingly wiped away a few tears, judging from Caster of Black's field of vision. "Fucking hell... in one day, I vented all my rage against my Father, I saw her feel genuine remorse for abandoning and neglecting me, I got her heartfelt apology and I even began to forgive her... and then... then she is killed in front of me, by the man she loves no less..."

Gwydion had more than a few things to say about that, but he decided to only say the following. "It is, truly, in your words, a Fucked up world we live in... but it is not a world you and I are done with yet." With his words spoken, he walked past her towards a small corner of the room, where a Drawer was present, and opened it, taking out a black shirt and a fitting pair of pipe jeans, some white socks and a pair of leather shoes. He set the items down on the bed one by one, neatly stacking them ontop of one another. "You can have these while you are venturing about within the Castle. And as much as I know you dislike orders, based on your legends, do me the favor and do not leave the Castle for any reason. I need you present and ready for tomorrow."

Mordred nodded her head and walked around the bed to stand before the clothes while Gwydion left towards the door at the very opposite end of the room, past his desk.

"Oh and..." He started, earning Mordred's attention for a moment. "Get dressed and get out quickly, Assassin of Black only allowed us to occupy her office out of a rare and formal kindness. But she stressed that once you are awake, we leave it."

Mordred gave just a small nod at the demand from Caster and reached down to the pile of clothes, putting the shoes aside to lift up the shirt and eye it. "Hmm... I never wore black before." She mused to herself. "It always looked real badass on Lancelot. Wonder how it suits me?"

In the meantime, Jeanne had retreated together with Semiramis to their room, which they were told they would share for the time being, and so, Semiramis made the absolute best possible use of that and used the clothes and makeup provided within it to prep Jeanne for her 'Date'.

"Do... do you really think this will look well?" Jeanne asked as she was sitting before a small mirror placed ontop of a table, pretty clichee item for people who regularily use Makeup on themselves.

"Of course! You will absolutely blow him out of his shoes!" Semiramis cheeringly assured. "After all, I am the one who prepared you for the occasion" She continued to muse, clearly very proud of her work. "Now come out, I want to see how the dress looks!"

Jeanne, who was hidden behind a wall of covers that only slightly showed her shadows, moved herself for a moment, seemingly adjusting her wear before she walked around it to reveal herself. Jeanne wore a red dress that was both revealing yet also modest. The dress was a one-piece, with an open triangle cut at the cleavage, thought it didn't reveal all too much as the chestcover reached up high, leaving just the upper part of the torso, right below the neck, visible. The chest-part and a thin stripe going down the main body of the dress were coloured white with some light-golden ornaments. The bottom part, the Skirt, was also mostly red, but it was open at the front-part just past the upper half of the thighs, allowing for her legs to be seen if she took long steps forward.

Paired with the getup, Jeanne had her hair redone. Instead of a braid, she had it done with a free-flowing ponytail with some wild strands of hair running down the side of her head and between her eyes. Her Hair was also very carefully combed and straightened so it had a very light and feathery feel to it for observers.

"Oh my, you look even more lovely than I imagined! Please, admire yourself!" Semiramis said with joy as she moved a large, oval-shaped mirror to hold it right in front of the Saint, who seemed nervous at the sight.

"I don't know..." Jeanne spoke. "It looks so... flashy. Like I am the castle's Lord..."

"That might be because the suggestion came from Assassin of Black." Semiramis countered while having a thinking expression for a second. "She did say that she modeled this after a less pompous version of what her Emperor at the time, Nero Claudius, wore. The Original, if she is to be believed, had the front part cut open the whole way and the skirt was built with wires in it to open up like an umbrella, leaving the legs entirely exposed. The Cleavage was wider open and she had pushed up shoulderpads too, if I recall this right. But the similarities can still be observed."

"I never got a close enough look at Assassin of Black to identify her..." Jeanne interjected, earning Semiramis' curiosity. "Do you know who she is? I would like to know in order to mind her abilities for-"

"Nah ah, none of that talk today, young lady!" Semiramis stopped her, going into full mamma-mode now. "You are NOT going to ruin this day for yourself by worrying about what has yet to come. You should focus on the here and now, such formalities can come once you are back from your date!" Semiramis finished, arms crossed and an angry pout on her face.

Jeanne found it difficult to keep a straight face at that and let out a happy giggle for a moment, covering her mouth with her right hand, much to Semiramis' slight annoyance on the matter. Once Jeanne calmed down, she voiced her gratitude. "Thank you, Semiramis. You really are like a mother. How come, thought? You have no reason to help me with something so trivial, moreso seeing as after this is over, we go back to being enemies."

Hearing Ruler's words made the poisoner let out a deep, extended sigh before she walked around the room for a moment, going to the bed to sit down on it, patting the spot to her left for Jeanne, signing her to sit next to Semiramis. The blonde oblidged and went to sit down next to the queen, which was met by an arm wrapping around her shoulder. "If I am going to be completely truthful with you, I do wish we wouldn't have to fight."

"Huh?" The Saintess asked, her eyes looking up at Semiramis with curiosity. "What do you mean by that?"

"You know of my past, right? Then you do know that I hold great resentment for my mother for the way she not only let herself be seduced, but also abandoned me..."

Jeanne only silently nodded at the question, her eyes glued to Semiramis' own.

"I... I always had a wish to be a mother myself, as a result. I wanted to... break the cycle. Be the proper parent figure that neither of my parents were. And when I look at you, I see an innocent, inexperienced, lost child that wants to deny herself the joys of... of living! It is my true wish, the reason for my participation in Holy Grail Wars... a wish I have never confessed to anyone else before. I want True Incarnation so that I can become a mortal, sensitive mother to a mortal, sensitive child."

Jeanne had to let out a deep breath before she chuckled for a second. "You and Amakusa are so alike. You both act in kindness because you are reminded of your past selves... you two really fit well with one another."

"Well, I have grown a sense of admiration for him, born out of respect." The Queen confessed to Jeanne while giving her a small shoulderrub with one hand. "He is... he is the first man I ever met who does not look away when speaking my name. Not just that, he always looks at me so intently, so devoted. And even thought I know that he is deceitful and probably even lied to me, I... I can't be mad at him." She further confessed, closing her eyes to give a heartfelt smile. "If only he could let go of his towering ambition, then maybe... we wouldn't have to go down a route where we are doomed to separate by death."

"You don't have to..." Jeanne interjected. "Maybe... maybe we can convince him to settle for you."

"PAH!" Semiramis suddenly said, feeling the absolute utmost of offenses. "SETTLE for me? Do I look THAT Second-rate to him!? Oh, if I get my hands on him! I am a QUEEN!" Semiramis complained, much to Jeanne's vocal amusement as she started to laugh quite loudly at the comical display of anger. Semiramis then shot up and powerwalked for the door, but stopped and turned to Jeanne. "I hope you are right. I like this, you know?"

"So do I..." Jeanne commented while Semiramis left.

Sieg had similarily readied himself. After his little talk with Astolfo about the ethics of gambling and betting, they made sure that the Homonculus was presentable for the occasion. He mostly wore his usual clothes, but this time with a black suit top piece on himself with a fly, a recommendation given to him by Caules. And as they had agreed, Sieg had awaited her at the gates leading the entrance to the Castle so they could go to eat out in Trifas.

Sieg had to make pretty wide eyes when he saw Jeanne appear and how gorgeous she looked. It was nothing short of absolutely stunning. "Wow..." Was all that Sieg could say, his expression making it clear that he was in a slight daze.

Jeanne had to hide a blush as she approached him and pat him on the head to shake him out of it. "I do apologize if I seem a bit too dressed up for the dinner. Semiramis wouldn't let me go in normal clothes."

"I... it is fine..." Sieg nearly whispered, gulping heavily before snapping out of it. "You look amazing in it!" He then complimented, making the Saint have a faint blush and a smile.

"Thank you. You look stunning, as well. I assume Rider wouldn't let you leave without looking fancy, either?"

"Quite right." Sieg agreed before they both shared a little laugh, then turned to the Gates and exited the castle.

The Walk was refreshing, and since the sun was going down, the streets were starting to look empty and silent. Lights were on, small businesses were still open until 7pm or 8pm, depending on their schedules, so they still had enough light to see their pathway at all times. As they were approaching a small restaurant. Jeanne suddenly stopped for a moment before she turned her head to Sieg. "So... what did you want to talk about with me?"

Sieg chuckled out a little as he approached the entrance and held the door open for her. "Honestly? Nothing."

"Huh?" Jeanne exclaimed, her eyebrows lifted in curiosity. "Then why did you ask me... out..." She suddenly went beet red as the thought came to her head. "So he really did ask me on a date!"

"Well, I saw how uncomfortable you were with the Priest around, so I thought to get you away from him for a moment or two."

"Oh..." Jeanne thought to herself, making a small and comical tear-face before she walked in, with Sieg following suit. "That is very considerate of you, so thank you."

As the two walked around for a moment to find a table, Sieg pulled the chair back for Jeanne to sit, which she took with a grateful smile. Then, Sieg took his own seat opposite of hers on the small table so they were eye to eye.

However, Jeanne's expression got a bit serious after a moment and she leaned herself back, her head in thought.

"hm?" Sieg wondered, leaning a bit closer. "Everything alright?"

"I just..." She began while her eyes trailed upwards to the ceiling for a moment before they returned to look at him. "Should we really be doing any of this...? We have just under 3 days before we engage in a fight that could wipe us all out... I don't feel it right to go out and eat, chatter and... have fun, now of all times."

"I understand you..." Sieg responded before he moved a hand to his chin. "This is something that I had to go through as well. The burden of responsibility... Let me explain." He said as he leaned forward a bit more. "When I first woke up in one of those tubes, I felt... overwhelming fear. My mind... it saw the deaths of all my fellow homonculi as they were trying their best to create what I am on purpose. A new generation of Homonculi, specially equipped for combat. Needless to say, when I first got told that I was a prototype assumed defect at first, I felt this urge to prove myself. I didn't want to live the moment of my birth thinking I was some mistake. And so I started to feel like I had to improve myself, be better, get better. I felt a sense of responsibility to my own existence, to my being in this world. And... it ate me up from the inside. No 2 days after being 'born', and I already became irate, anxious... unstable. It wasn't until Assassin of Black sat me down and ordered me to just... breathe. Sit and breath. Then Sit, breathe and humm a tune. Then Sit, breathe, humm a tune and dance. I didn't understand it at first, and so I only reluctantly obeyed. But... I still don't know how, but I started to feel better. Much better. It was, ironically, when I WASN'T concerned with my own fate that I felt like I could handle it just fine."

Jeanne was a bit awed at the story, and she showed genuine interest in listening to it. However... "But I don't see how that ties with this situation..."

"I was overthinking, I didn't give myself time to rest and process and repair what was damaged. I succumbed to overwhelming stress and panicked, making things worse while trying to make it better." Sieg concluded while making a big smile. "Assassin taught me a valuable lesson that day. When you are hurt, you heal. When you are hungry, you eat. No one can go through life being only ever concerned about purpose. Sometimes we just have to take a break. It helps us get away from feeling responsible when we aren't. The battle is 3 days away. We lost the first round, we got hurt, we are exhausted, and for the metaphor, we are hungry. So we eat, rest and heal. It took me a proper guidance to understand that this isn't neglect, it is self-care, and nothing can be done without it."

"I... understand." Jeanne responded. Her voice sounded somewhat defeated, mostly because Sieg's lecture didn't just speak to her now, it also spoke to her back when during the 100 year war, when she became what she is known for now. Back then, she never rested. Every day, every thought was dedicated to those she called comrades. Even her very faith and soul was only devoted to the lord, never to herself. It caused her to do the unthinkable and question whether or not that was what lead to her demise, her failure. "So we are still doing something for what's to come?"

"Exactly. Trivial as it may appear, everything is something for what's to come. Trying to stress it and only focus on the outcome is just going to ruin us and make us be at our worst when the time arrives."

Jeanne went deep into thought for a moment, processing all the new information she was given by Sieg. It took a lengthy moment, close to 20 seconds, but she then smiled up and nodded her head again. "Thank you, Sieg. This was very insightful. I will try not to overthink it and just enjoy the night."

As Jeanne gave her conclusion, a waiter approached the table to take their orders, which Jeanne and Sieg were more than happy to give.

"Tell, tell! Are they getting along?" Astolfo asked as she stood right next to Semiramis, who was eyeing the pair from afar with binoculars. The two of them were on a rooftop a few hundred meters away from where Sieg and Jeanne were having their date, observing whether or not they are working out. The pair was a bit late to the occasion, so they arrived around the time where Sieg and Jeanne were done eating.

"Shush, I am trying to read their lips but you are distracting me!" Semiramis scolded the pinkette while suddenly making a shocked gasp. "no way!"

"No way what? Tell me!" Astolfo whined slightly while trying to grab the Binoculars, which Semiramis let him take. When Rider did, and looked through it, he had to make wide eyes. "Oh... oooohhhh. This is good~!"

The pair saw that Sieg and Jeanne left the establishment, hand in hand, chattering and laughing some more, both smiling very brightly in the process.

"We should get back to the castle before they do. Well, you should. I have no direct obligations to Jeanne, but you do to Sieg. If he finds out you tailed him, he will hand you over to Celenike for 24 hours."

"WHAAAAA! OH NO!" Astolfo cried before he hurriedly ran rooftop to rooftop, dashing back to the Yggdmillennia castle as fast as he possibly could while not using his Hippogryph to avoid suspicion.

Semiramis just chuckled out and de-materialized, retreating as she had what she wanted.

Gwydion let out a very deep sigh as he approached Assassin of Black's room and knocked on the door, awaiting her to open it. When she did, he wordlessly entered and waited for her to close and lock the door before she waved at him to come.

"You said it was urgent?" Gwydion responded, to which Assassin handed him a piece of paper before nodding. "These are the finalized results of Mordred's Mana-Tumor."

Gwydion didn't seem impressed or surprised at first, but as he continued to read on, his eyes widened. "This is... this can't be. No, this is absolutely not possible."

"And yet, you hold the proof in your hand." Assassin added before she took the piece away. "I tested her three times myself. Same result every time."

"So... how do we proceed?"

"As planned. Tomorrow, 7am morning sharp, the catacombs deep beneath the castle." Assassin commanded before she reached for another piece of paper with more medical data on Mordred. "We are about to make a new piece of history and create something not even Gaia, the World's will to Survive, ever could."

As Assassin finished explaining, Gwydion left the room again, closing the door behind him to leave behind Assassin by herself.

"We..." She started, laughing out loudly for a moment, a maniacal, victorious laugh, the laugh of a mad scientist scoring a breakthrough."

"We are going to create an Artificial Divine Spirit."

And with this, the 1st chapter of Arc II has been released and we officially steer towards the latter 50% of the story.

Thank you for reading, as always, and leave me an R&R if you liked or disliked what you read, and tell me why.

Cheers!