92: Better than no leader at all.
The sun is starting to set when Paris appears on the horizon. No one else shows up to stop us - I guess the fake Jeanne was bound to think twice after we blew through three of her Servants in the span of two days, huh?
We slow down as we approach the gate - and a figure on a horse steps forward to greet us. A knight in black armor, but unlike Lancelot, his armor carries gold trim, which combined with his colorful tabard and plumed helm gives him a slightly less sinister appearance.
Nevertheless, I see Jeanne grit her teeth as we approach him.
Edward of Woodstock. The "Black Prince", the son of the king who instigated the Hundred Years War. History isn't clear whether the title came from the color of his armor, or from his character - it's entirely possible it came from both. Regardless, it's only natural for Jeanne to dislike him. He's one of the reasons the world she grew up in was in chaos, after all.
Edward doesn't speak - his [Innocent Monster] skill makes it difficult for him, Ahab's memories inform me. He simply inclines his head towards us, and gestures for us to enter the slowly opening city gates.
The streets of Paris fall quiet as we pass through - on each side of the road, throngs of civilians stop what they were doing, pointing at our carriage and murmuring to one another. It's not a shock, of course, considering that we're being pulled along by a horse made of literal crystal.
Amadeus pokes his head out the front window, and says quietly, "Maria, I can drive if you'd like."
"N-no. I know the way." I hear her say. Her voice is shaking.
"That's not what I meant." He says. "We're headed to City Hall, right? The Hôtel de Ville - or I suppose it's still just the Maison Aux Piliers right now - in any case, it's close to… that place. If the drive is-"
"No. It will be… worse if I'm not driving." She says, and I realize exactly which unsettlingly quiet carriage ride she must be remembering right now. In that case-
"Alright! Which way is the Eiffel Tower? I want to see the Arc de Triomphe too!" I shout, poking my head out the window right next to Mozart.
Marie giggles despite herself, some color returning to her face. "Subaru, those haven't been built yet!"
"Gah! Is that that 'Paris Syndrome' I've heard so much about!?" I moan, faking disappointment to the best of my ability. "I-in that case! Marie, you were the Queen of France, right!? You've gotta know some of the good sights around Paris!"
A murmur runs through the crowd.
In another situation, the people of Paris would have ignored my idiotic shout. But the people of Paris right now have already seen unbelievable things. They've seen dragons, resurrected saints, and a magic horse of pure crystal. Right now, they are desperate. They've spent weeks like this, praying for salvation to arrive, beyond the mere defensive might of Saint George and foreign nobles. And so-
"Queen?" "Did he just say Queen?" "Hey, hasn't that horse got tiny fleurs de lys floating inside it?" "We haven't got a Queen right now-" "But Saint George-" "A Queen-"
She laughs. "I mostly just lived at the Château de Versailles, Subaru."
A roar runs through the crowd.
In another time, the people of Paris hated Marie. They saw her led to the guillotine and the only words spoken were jeers. But this is not the Paris of the revolution. Here, in the Paris of three centuries before-
"Vive la Reine!" Long live the Queen, someone shouts - and then another person joins, and another, and another.
A tear falls from her cheek.
"Y-yes! Vive la France, everyone!" She calls with a voice slightly choked by emotion, raising her hand to wave at the now cheering crowds.
"Vive la France!" "Vive la Reine!" "Vive la France!" "Vive la Reine!"
The chants continue for the rest of our journey to the City Hall, and Marie accepts them all without tiring in the slightest. Thoughts of her last ride through Paris, of the Place de la Revolution just a few blocks away from our destination, are banished far away.
The Maison Aux Piliers is a relatively unassuming building - I was expecting some kind of big palatial construction with a clock tower and everything, but apart from some fancy pillars out front and its position in the city, it doesn't stand out that much from the other houses we saw on the way in.
The crowd following our carriage is still cheering as Guillotine Breaker comes to a stop in the square in front of it, and slowly disappears, Marie breathing a small sigh of relief. That's right, she had to push herself hard to get here, huh?
"Good work, Marie." I say as we exit the carriage. "Now we just need to talk with the leader of the Paris defenders and get everyone up to speed."
"Saint George, huh?" Jeanne asks. "I'm a bit nervous to meet someone as holy as him…"
It's still bizarre to me how humble this girl is - but that's not why I look away nervously. "...About that. Since Saint George needed to be ready to go to the front line at any time, he refused the role of leader."
"That makes sense!" Gareth nods. "Agravain was always complaining about how it ended up being him shouting orders to everyone on the battlefield because King Arthur charged ahead."
"Sure, but… it couldn't be Edward either, since he can't talk easily, and Ahab needs to be deployed close to the front to get anything done with his peg leg. Kiyohime, Robespierre, and Corday were all deemed too crazy, and Napoleon ran off and got himself abducted." I let out a small sigh as I pinch my brow preemptively. "All of which left-"
"Everyone ~! Thanks for the applause!" A pink-haired girl with the horns and tail of a dragon shouts as she flings open the front door of the city hall.
Naturally, the crowd disappears in the blink of an eye.
"Hm? They left?" She mutters, and something almost like self-awareness flits across her face - and then disappears into the never ending void as a wide smile takes its place. "My fans are always so thoughtful! I need privacy to greet my new backup dancers after all!"
"-Elizabeth Bathory." I mutter. "Why did it have to be a Liliana type…"
"Oh! You recognized me?" Oh no, she heard me. "That's right, Fishie! It's everyone's favorite Idol, the Innocent Demoness of Fresh Blood, Elizabeth Bathory! Nice to meet you and please take care of me! "
"...Was this really the only option?" Mozart mumbles.
"Well, she's got sonic breath, so she can give orders over long distances…" I whisper back.
"She wants to be an Idol and she has sonic breath?" He asks.
"Yup." I mumble through gritted teeth.
"I see." The Composer closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
"Nice to meet you, Elizabeth!" Marie says with a glowing smile. "Vive la France!"
The Dragon Girl recoils. "Geh! Natural Idol Power!? No, stay calm, Eliza-! W-who do you think you are! I'll show you- that's right, since that girl's not here right now, you're my new rival!"
"Okay! Amadeus only tutored me a little when I was young, so even though I kept up all of my practice exercises I'm sure I'm not as good as someone who actually wants to make a career of it - but I'll try to measure up!" Marie says, Elizabeth growing paler and paler as she speaks - until the Queen grabs both of her hands and clasps them in her own, pulling her close. "Let's be great friends, Elizabeth!"
"Y-y-yes! Exactly, I'm g-g-glad you know your- oh, y-your hands are…" The self-proclaimed Idol stammers out, and I can almost see steam rising from her flushed face. "Very… warm. B-by the way, what, um, blood type- no! N-n-never mind, I didn't say anything!"
"Instantly defeated, huh…?" Mozart says.
"From the point you reach Paris, it's just a waiting game." Professor Velvet said. "Three days should have passed by then. Assuming the Count's travel time is something like that of Napoleon's sailors, you'll still need to buy three more days."
"What about the travel time once he makes landfall?" I ask. "Won't we need another three days for him to join up with us?"
"That's part of why Merry needs to be on-site. She should be able to retain a command spell that she can use to teleport him to Paris - or at least close enough." He said. "Regardless, [Tactician's Advice] guarantees that it shouldn't pose too much of an issue."
"Aren't we leaning on that skill a bit too much…?" I muttered.
"Ideally, of course, the precise timing of Napoleon's arrival shouldn't matter too much in the first place. Dark Jeanne is bound to be rattled by this point, so the ideal result to hope for is that she just holes up in Orleans and freaks out for a few days." He said, ignoring my quip entirely. "But she's the type to lash out when she gets upset. She'll have to make some kind of move. My bet is that she'll throw her whole force against you shortly after you arrive in Paris. And the best way to deal with each of those is-"
"-So with that in mind, we need to start preparing." I conclude. "Mozart, how far have you gotten on [Requiem for a Vampire] or whatever you're calling it?"
"Just about done!" He says. "I just need-"
"A singer?" Elizabeth asks.
"Absolutely not." He says, and then noticing a disappointed look from Marie, continues. "W-well, what I mean is that it doesn't really suit your aesthetic. Don't be fooled by Subaru mentioning vampires, it's essentially a religious hymn."
"Oh, that's definitely not suited to my style, then." She says. "You can have this one, Marie!"
"Thanks Elly!" Marie smiles back.
("A-a nickname!? Calm down… calm down, Eliza-!" Elizabeth mutters to herself, wiping some drool from the corner of her mouth.)
Someone barges into the meeting room - a man in a guardsman's uniform. "G-great Idol Eliza-chama!" Wow, she seriously made them call her that? "Wyverns on the horizon! Tons of them, enough to blot out the sun!"
"Hmph. You forgot to say the , Guillaume." Great Idol Eliza Chama pouts.
"Okay! Sooner than expected, but it's fine! Mozart, Marie, you should both head to Notre Dame for now. Jeanne, you're with them until we get eyes on Carmilla." I say, nodding. Next is… "Doctor, what's the status on those items I asked for?"
"Cu and Da Vinci are still working on the rest, but they've got four pairs ready right now if you want them." Doctor Romani says.
"Yeah, four is better than none." I reply. "The nearest Leyline is…"
"It's in the southern part of town." He replies. "I can guide you guys to it."
"That's probably best - Elizabeth, you should come with us too. I'm not sure how fast you are, but the older you probably has A-rank agility, and if she catches you off guard it's gonna be bad news." I say.
"Oh, did you plan it this way so that you'd get to have me in your group, Fishie? Very clever, as expected of the fan who recognized me at first sight!" She replies. "I'll just shout what's going on to the others as we walk!"
Oh no.