"...tch! ….er!"
A cacophony of noises rang through the town square. The sounds clashed into each other, resulting in voices designed by the devil himself.
The eyes of a young girl slowly fluttered open, the loud unintelligible moans waking her up.
Though awake and eyes wide open, she could not quite determine what it is she is looking at. A grotesque sea of men and women, some children, maybe?
Even as the scene in front of her proved incomprehensible, she could feel the animosity and eagerness coming from it, begging for… something to happen.
To ascertain herself, she tried to recall, to reach into her own recollection, where she might see how it all led up to this moment.
…Yet all she found was indistinguishable from the writhing mass of misery in front of her. Even her name had become unrecognizable in the midst of foggy memories.
But from her reminiscing, she dug out an undeniable truth of herself.
That atrocities had been something prevalent in her life.
The sight of death, whether they be friend or foe, civilians or combatants, had become all too commonplace in her 19 years of life.
Her other senses fared no better. Smell, hearing, taste, touch, all of them had become tarnished by the brutality that had colored her life, no longer able to recognize halcyon days that she could no longer remember.
The chaos died down ever so slightly as a bigger, more singular voice boomed through her. She cast her eyes down in submission. Though she could no longer remember nor perceive the true form of her predicament, she knows the absolute truth that awaits her, that she will meet her end once the voice stops itself.
Whiff
The sounds of hostility and damnation slowly faded into nothingness as a scent seared itself into her nose. The young girl's head raised itself, the first reaction she had graced onto the crowd, before falling once more.
Does it matter? For her, the smell of burning trees and flesh had long melded into one indistinguishable stench to her nostrils.
Yet somehow, something pricked at the back of her mind. An unyielding force inside her forcing her to acknowledge it, even through the jeers and accusations coming from faces that have melted into each other.
"██████! Get off your lazy butt and help me out here!"
Her hearing became clear.
"Hmph! Why should I, █████████? Are you not the 'big and strong' eldest son?"
"██████, if you help out your brother, I'll make you your favorite food for dinner."
Her tongue tasted swishing saliva.
"Really?! Brother ███████! How can I help?! How?!"
"Gah! Alright, alright, just help me move these woods to the fireplace."
Her skin could feel the harsh torment it had suffered.
"Hngh! Alright! There, now what?"
"We light it on fire, of course!"
…
"Whoa…. That's a pretty big fire!"
Her sight came unblurred.
"Well yeah, you and I worked together on it after all. Now, come closer."
"...It feels nice, Brother ███████."
"Oh really, what part of it does?"
"All of it."
"Come on! Be more specific, sis!"
"...The smell, I guess."
Her nose started to sniff the kindling of fire.
Ah… she remembers now.
The accusations, the crowd's faces of anger, the pain she felt on her wrists, the taste of hunger.
Yet through the rushing surge of memories, she instead smiled.
For the smell of wood burning below reminded her of a simpler, happier time.
As the young girl's flesh was torn asunder by raging inferno, a passing thought crossed the last remnants of her consciousness.
'I…
H̷̻̣̆͂̂Ȁ̸̖̤̝T̶̳͈̯̐͊̒E̸͖̗̅͂
̴̪͓̔H̷̫͍̗̄̈̃A̸̘̜͘T̵͎͂̔͠E̷̻͕̎͑
̶̡̭̘̆Ḥ̵͖̰̈́̀Á̵̟̅̂T̷̞̽E̷̠̯̿̏̕
̵̹̼͋́͋H̴̠͛̂A̷̡̟̜͋̃̍T̴̩̤͠Ę̶̪̈̅
King had spent 4 days total in Chaldea.
4 days and 3 nights, to be specific.
And none of them had been particularly pleasant.
Ranging from getting caught up in a world-saving ordeal to having to rush through hundreds of pages for the sake of keeping up pretenses, he can't say he's had a good night's sleep in this new world just yet.
Sighing, King turned on the sink, letting water pool in his hands.
As the water filled his hands, he raised his head.
And found a corpse staring back at him.
The corpse's skin was shriveled, folds present in places he did not know were possible. his hair parted into strands, creating a ribbon-like curtain that partly covered his face.
The dead man's face was scrunched up, his eyes as white and blank as a canvas, creating the visage of an angry god.
…
'So that's why some of the staff looked so scared last night.'
Fshhhhh
The feeling of water running down his hands snapped King out of his own reflection, causing him to bring up the water to his face and wipe his hair back.
With those two simple moves, the man in the mirror was revived, now showing the face of a powerful, confident man.
'...Yeah, right.'
Regardless of how it has fooled damn near everyone else into thinking that he is a supreme hero, King knew what the face truly represented, a fraud.
King ran his fingers down the three lines going down his face and through his left eye. They were shallow, so shallow that his eye didn't even get the slightest bit of damage when he took it to the hospital. It was not a mark of a fierce battle between two powerhouses, all it is is a scar from his own carelessness.
Yet somehow, it has spurred his existence into that of a myth, a legend.
Part of him wondered if his life would be more peaceful had his feet moved just a little faster at that fateful attack.
'...Nah, Saitama kept showing up a bunch of times after. Guess that's just my bad luck.'
Sighing again, now in frustration, King turned his back on his reflection and went back to prepare for the day.
After all, today will be yet another busy one.
A line of nine stood in the command room.
The sounds of clicking keyboards and hushed discussions filled the room, the people inside moving quickly and haphazardly yet also orderly and controlled.
The faces of those nine people ranged from stoic, excited, and nervous as they stood still amidst the ruckus of constantly moving bodies and hastily given orders.
"So, I believe the mission is clear to you all."
The booming voice of the director drowned out even the bustling room and directed all their attention.
"Get in, correct the 'mistake' in history , find the grail, get out. In essence, it is no more complex than those four steps. However, with the very possible threat of resistance in the coming singularity, we have taken the necessary steps to prepare…"
The woman's voice faded out of focus in King's ears as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
Honestly, the fact that he is even standing here after that all nighter is a goddamn miracle. The last time he did anything of the sort was probably his college entrance exam.
Man, not one week into this world and here he is going to a country that's unfamiliar to anything in his world. At least let him go to Japan or America where he understood the language!
Finding it harder to stay awake as the director's speech went on, King decided to look towards the others to try and distract himself.
Most of their servants looked rather calm, even the nervous Murasaki had an air of preparedness to her.
The same can't be said for his fellow humans, Ritsuka and Mash, who shuffled awkwardly and looked everywhere but straight respectively.
Oh well, at least he isn't the only one that's out of their depth.
"Take these, both of you."
Outstretched palms presented themselves to the masters, devices present on both of Olga's hands, a simple round contraption and a… bracelet?
"These circles are your communication devices, so you two can contact each other in case you decide to split up." Olga explained as King and Ritsuka took said objects.
"And these are bracelets with translation runes inscribed in them. As we'll be going to many different places at different times, our magecraft division felt it was essential to rush themselves for these. Thank them later."
King stared at the bracelet, now worn around his wrist.
'Damn, even the tech back home can't do this yet. Magic sure is nice.'
…Doesn't that mean that the extra hour he spent learning basic french phrases was for nothing, though?
"Good morning~ Hope you all had a nice sleep."
"Good morning to you all."
The voices of Chaldea's other two higher ups barged in.
"Morning, Da Vinci, you too, doctor." Mash greeted back.
"Wow, to see Mash grow up so quickly over the past week…" Romani commented, making Mash blubber.
Speaking of the caster…"Miss Da Vinci, are you not joining us? You are a servant too, are you not?" King asked. He read up on her in yesterday's binge. An inventor as prolific as her would surely be of help.
"Haha, good question! In the first place, your servants can only jump into singularities because they have a contract with you, so I, who is contracted to neither of you, can't." Da Vinci explained, to which King nodded. Makes sense.
"Besides, you already have quite a lot of power here. The Hero of Charity, The Hero of The Trojan War, and of course, our very own head chef." Da Vinci pointed out, causing looks of pride and one look of annoyance.
"That being said, I'd love to explore the past, so let's do that sometimes. In the meantime, I'll be helping you out from the sidelines."
"Umm, about contracts, I'm still confused about how the servants are split between us." Ritsuka questioned, pointing to both King and himself.
"Ah, right. We did some tinkering with our systems and without going in too deep, your responsibilities as masters are now split up evenly between the two of you." Da Vinci said.
"By the way, when you get there, do find a place to set up a leyline so we can send supplies like food and such." Romani added, while gesturing to himself and another man beside him.
"...Uh, who's that, doctor?" Ritsuka asked, the presence of the other man finally becoming apparent despite having stood there since Romani came.
"Oh, yeah! This is James Ryder, the new head of rayshift operations. You, uh, might recognize him from the meeting."
That jogged King's memory. Right, there was that strange looking guy who got into an argument. He looked no different than he did back then, a denim jacket still out of place over his black and blue Chaldea uniform.
"Alongside me and the director, he'll be one of your main contacts during your journeys." Romani said.
"I-I see. Nice to meet you, Mister Ryder." Ritsuka greeted, slightly bowing his head.
…
The blonde man did not respond, his hands hidden in his pockets as it was since he made himself known to the group. His emotion saw no change either, his still despondently tilted upwards, barely giving the young master's greeting any acknowledgement.
Ritsuka gulped, having yet to raise his head, afraid that he might have somehow offended the division lead.
"A-ah, don't worry about it, Ritsuka. James is… Well I don't know how to really say it, but he's always like this. Don't worry though, I assure you he's perfect for the job!" Romani Reassured to a dumbfounded Ritsuka, who slowly nodded.
'...Is he really?' King thought, unconvinced.
"Alright, that's about all that we need to say. Now, get in the coffins." Olga ordered.
As he was about to follow the order, a hand on his shoulder stopped King.
"Show me what you got, master!" Cu Chulainn said while smirking.
"Hell yeah, I'm expecting a lot out of you!" Achilles joined in.
'What do you all mean by that?'
The question went unvoiced as King felt his blood run cold. He has barely interacted with them since they got summoned, so what the hell is with these expectations he suddenly had to live up to?!
King could only nod, feeling the weight on his shoulder increase ten fold. With a chuckle, the lancer let go of his shoulder, allowing him to continue.
King, Ritsuka, and Mash walked to their designated coffins while the servants faded into spirit form, waiting for their masters.
The blue-silver cylinder felt cold to the touch as King navigated his way in. The interior felt alien yet strangely fitting to his body. He made his back familiar with the contraption's padding, providing a small comfort to its low temperature.
The coffin's door closed, cutting off King's vision to the rest of Chaldea.
"We're going to start the process, so get ready… and good luck." the voice of the director came, muffled through the coffin's wall, signaling the start of the operation.
King could hear his individual heartbeats reverberating in the confines of the coffin, hastening though not to the point of the usual thundering noise.
Now that King thought about it, the last time was a complete accident, just him in the wrong place at the wrong time, but this was different. This time, he is jumping to uncharted territories intentionally.
With each passing second inside the cylinder, King felt more and more out of his depth. He knew that it was necessary for him to play along, yet the prospect of dying by freezing is starting to sound preferable to doing this six more times.
"Unsummon Program start."
The mechanical voice of the command room's sound system came from inside the coffin.
"Spiritron Conversion start."
King felt a bizarre lightness to his body, almost as if he was floating. Soon, up and down lost all meaning, as did left and right, as he felt an indescribable separation happening within himself.
'...Fuck, I hope that's normal.'
"Rayshift starting in 3, 2, 1…"
"All procedures cleared."
"Grand Order commencing operation."
FRANCE
1431
A blinding light penetrated King's eyelids, prying his eyes open.
He took in the scene in front of him, a grassy field not too dissimilar from Chaldea's simulator.
"Successful rayshift confirmed. No anomalies detected." The familiar voice of Mash came from his side.
Looking down on himself, King patted his body down and breathed a sigh of relief. Good, no body parts missing.
What was that? Felt like his body got turned into a string and then got shoved down a tube. King shivered, hopefully he won't be doing this any more than seven times.
Shaking his thoughts off, he looked to his companions. Mash and Ritsuka were admiring the view, while their servants scouted their surroundings.
Seems like all of them made it in one piece.
"Fou!"
…Along with an unexpected stowaway.
"W-Woah! How'd you get here, Fou?" Ritsuka asked the fluffy creature, surprised.
"Fou!" Despite the nondescript sound, it somehow delivered his message perfectly: 'I tagged along.'
"Hm, so the animal could rayshift as well." Archer commented.
'Fou, huh?' Ritsuka talked about him before. Apparently he just appeared one year ago in Chaldea without much explanation. Mash named him from the sound he made, which reminded King of the Hero Association's naming standards. Oh well, at least it didn't seem actively malicious like them.
Still, King wondered about the animal. From the books, it seemed like animals here aren't any different here from back home, plus Ritsuka couldn't tell what it is either.
'Hmm, an animal that appeared out of nowhere and joined in on adventures… isn't that just like a mascot?'
"Fou!"
"Eh? What's wrong, Fou-san?" Mash asked, alarmed at the creature's sudden exclamation.
"Fou…" Unbeknownst to the others, Fou felt a strange feeling, as if he was just struck with a scarily accurate attack that pierced the essence of his being.
In blissful ignorance, King kept stroking his chin, pondering.
"...What's that?" Cu Chulainn asked, his tone serious.
Immediately, their attention all turned to the sky.
A giant ring of light engulfed the center of the sky. It was so enormous to the point that it was unavoidable to the sight of anyone who gazed upon the sky.
"I-I don't remember reading anything about this in 1431 France… or France in general." Ritsuka said, shaken, his eyes still taken by the giant phenomenon.
"Ahh, there we go. So, how are- Why are you all looking at the sky?" Romani asked, confused at their actions.
"Ah, I'll send the visuals." Mash said.
"What… is that?"
Olga Marie's voice broke the stunned silence of the command room.
Whispers of uncertainty and quiet panic took over the room, halting the work being done.
Romani gulped at the picture sent by Mash, the circle taking all of his attention.
James briefly tilted his shades, staring daggers at the ring of light, before returning his head to his seat's headrest.
"...Romani, can you figure out anything about it?"
"A-Ah, yes! It doesn't seem to be a natural phenomenon, nor are there any records of such a thing happening in 15th century France. I can't be too sure without further looking into it, but I would wager that it's a form of magecraft." Romani said.
'...Magecraft?' Olga pinched the bridge of her nose in deep thought.
"So… who or whatever it is that caused the world's incineration is powerful enough to cast such a powerful magecraft…" Olga whispered under her breath.
Grab
Purely out of instinct, Olga grabbed her shaking left arm. No, even if their enemy is far more powerful than any of them could comprehend, the last thing Chaldea needed is a leader out of her wits.
"...Send the data to Da Vinci and her team. We'll analyze this further later. For now, let them focus on the singularity itself."
"G-Got it, director."
King couldn't take his eyes off the giant ring.
For a period of time, he remained speechless. Even his mind was unable to formulate a single thought, overwhelmed by the sheer size of the structure.
'This world is facing… that?'
This world that has been reduced to a single company with some 50 people in it is supposed to go up against something that could do that?
The absurd circumstances played in his mind again and again.
It was one thing when the aliens invaded his planet, even if they had the power to straight up evaporate an entire planet (according to his bald friend), his world had Saitama.
Maybe… just maybe this world has someone of equal power? The notion seemed outlandish even as he thought about it, but for the sake of this world, he hoped such a person does exist.
'...Another person as strong as Saitama would be scary though.' King thought, shivering at the idea of a less moral version of his friend.
"...The director said to focus on the mission for now." Mash relayed.
Yeah, just ignore the giant ring in the sky that is definitely threatening, real easy.
"So, the first thing we need to do is to observe the area." Ritsuka commented.
Scouting, huh? Didn't Karna say… "Karna, you said that you could fly, right?" King asked, remembering a conversation they had a few days ago.
Karna nodded. "Yes, master. I could get an eagle's eye view if I boosted myself up high enough. That being said…"
"It's too loud. We know too little of this singularity to be doing a reckless move like that." Archer rebutted.
'Damn, no luck huh?'
"How about me then? I'm probably the fastest thing in this singularity. I can just zoom over in a village nearby, then zoom out undetected. Boom, problem solved!" Achilles boasted.
To which Archer just sighed. "How would that be any different? Even if you could somehow launch yourself without a trace of your speed, we're dealing with something that could do that." Archer pointed to the sky. "Even if our enemies can't catch you, they can still notice you."
"...Damn" Achilles cursed dryly, unable to retort.
"Well what do we do then, smart guy?" Cu Chulainn complained.
As the lancer and archer argued, King saw their caster who shuffled awkwardly, as if wanting to get a word in.
"Miss Murasaki? Do you have an idea?" King asked, his voice stopping the argument.
"W-Well I was about to suggest just doing it the old fashioned way, but…"
"It seems that information is coming to us, instead." Kojiro finished, pointing to a direction.
Following his finger, the group saw a cohort of soldiers marching to their position in haste though clearly not hostile.
"Hey! What are you all doing out here?! It's not safe!" One of the soldiers shouted, both in frustration and panic.
"Just our luck." Archer dryly said.
"Bonjour, sirs. May I ask what the problem is?" Mash asked the soldier that ran towards them.
"What the problem is?! Did you all live under a rock until now? Just come with us for now!" The soldier hurriedly said.
"Well it's not like we have any leads, so…" Ritsuka trailed off, gesturing towards the panicked soldiers.
…
King sighed and shrugged, not even the slightest bit of downtime for him, huh?
The bustling chatter among soldiers could be heard as the group stepped foot in the stronghold.
A group of men could be seen gossiping about the arrival of an important person, while others could be seen hitting dummies with weapons and the like while raising their spirits with loud yells as they trained their hearts out.
Fort Vaucouleurs was as rambunctious as a fort could be.
'...Those dummies sure look big.' King didn't really get why they needed such a big training dummy. From his research, they were fighting a war against England, right? Not like there were big tanks around this time.
Hell, the fact they were even training at all is weird. Supposedly, 1431 is an 'off year' of some sort for the century long war, with mostly politics taking over bloodshed.
"Umm, do you know a way to get an audience with The King? We have a, uh, message for him." Ritsuka said nervously to their escort.
"The King? My God, you really were living under a rock!" The soldier responded, flabbergasted at the notion.
"Why would you say that? It could be a very important message, you know? Maybe even… something pertaining to the war." Archer said, the subtle coercion not missed.
"The war? No, that doesn't matter right now. Your message doesn't matter because The King is dead."
…What?
"I'm sorry, but did you say The King died?" Kojiro asked for confirmation.
"Yes! It happened just under a week ago." The soldier reiterated.
'...That doesn't make sense…' King thought. If his memory serves him right…
"How so? I believe the war is stalled at the moment. Right now, the war is being done through words and politics rather than blade and arrow. I cannot imagine either countries would upset that balance, nor be successful in regicide." King said, recanting the history book damn near word by word.
"W-Wow, you sure know a lot, King…" Ritsuka complimented, slightly in awe.
"Well, you gotta prepare before jumping into situations like these, even if it's unpleasant." King replied. God knows the last time he studied that hard. Probably for the college entrance exams? Sure wasn't something he wanted to relive.
"I-I see! I'll study up next time!" Ritsuka said, taking note in his mind.
"Y-Yes, you're right. It wasn't The English that killed King Charles… but a witch."
"A witch?" Cu Chulainn asked, showing his disbelief.
"It was quite harrowing, but it's fine now."
"H-How could it be fine? Your King is dead, would that not mean France is no more?" Murasaki continued the chain of questions.
"She'll come by in an hour or so, so you can see for yourself. But I'll tell you this much: The Saintess has come back to give her aid to France." The soldier gave an ambiguous answer, before taking his leave.
…
"Well, let's kill some time until 'The Saintess' arrives, shall we?" Archer suggested.
"So, what's a beautiful lady like you doing all the way out 'ere?"
"M-Me? I-I was simply traveling when I met my now companions. We happened to be heading in the same direction, so we decided to travel together." Murasaki replied to the obvious flirting attempt.
Kojiro nodded beside her. "The rest of us had a message for The King, though I suppose that it's no longer of any importance."
"Ohh, alright that makes sense. It was real weird when the cap'n brought back a delicate lady with some warriors." The soldier sitting on a crate said.
"G-Great, Lord Kojiro! The cover story the director gave us seems to work!" Murasaki whispered.
"Yes, it would seem that she did her due diligence in preparation." Kojiro whispered back.
"Anyway, do you need anything, lady?" The soldier asked Murasaki.
"E-Eh?! T-There's no need to go so far… We're just stopping here for a bit." Murasaki answered, a little flustered.
"No, no! Our pride as soldiers would be in shambles if we didn't show any hospitality to such a pretty damsel!" Another soldier chimed in, encouraging Murasaki to speak her mind.
"...Then, if possible, may I borrow any books you might have? It won't be long." Murasaki said, relenting to the soldiers' enthusiasm.
"Books? Uh, all we have are training manuals and some simple history books, nothin' fancy."
"That's fine. To me, even books such as those are invaluable works."
"H-Holy hell!"
"This guy's insane!"
The stupefied reactions drew even more soldiers to see just what kind of spectacle could elicit such reception from seasoned fighters.
To their shock, the cause was merely a single man…
"Hup! There we go!"
…hauling two entire crates of weapons on each shoulder.
"Alright! So where do these go?" Achilles asked the awestruck soldiers around him, barely registering the weight on his body.
"W-Well, it's for the barracks over there." One man responded nervously, pointing to a building rather far from where they were.
"Got it. Time to lug these over then."
"W-Wait, ain't those heavy? You sure you wanna help out? Don't ya wanna rest after a journey here?" One of the men asked.
"Nah, can't exactly leave y'all when you were struggling with these." Achilles said, demonstrating his strength by lowering and raising the crates, which marveled the crowd.
"Besides, they ain't that heavy."
Thwack
"Gah!"
"Heh, what's that? 15-0 for me?"
The question went unanswered as the aforementioned 15 laid on the ground, too busy catching their breaths to give a proper answer.
"Damn, can't believe we all lost like that… and you ain't even break a sweat!" One of the soldiers said incredulously.
"Hmph, maybe in a hundred years you'll catch up." The spearman clad in blue cockily said.
"...I should feel angry, but even I know that's right." The admission came from another soldier, his ass flat on the ground.
"Man! I thought we got some easy meat when some dude went in and asked for a fight. Turns out we're the meal." A different soldier complained.
"Don't blame me, gotta do something to kill time until the, uh, who was it again? Saintess? Yeah, her." Cu Chulainn said while twirling his weapon, a little bored at the lack of challenge the men provided. Well, not really their fault, they're not bad for humans. Too bad the lancer never was one.
"Why'd you wanna meet her, anyway? I mean, I get it, she's beautiful, strong, even devoted on top of that! But you look like you got other reasons!"
"Me? Hell if I care, all I know is my master ordered it, so I'll do it."
Eagle eyes watched on as men walked along the road, darting from soldier to soldier in the river of people, not missing a single individual as it kept flowing.
"...Uh, Archer? What are we doing?"
A young voice entered Archer's ears, confusion and concern palpable.
"Watching, master. You can often determine one's position by their mere gait. So far, all that has passed us seem to be mere foot soldiers." Archer replied, not letting the question interfere with his observation.
"O-Oh, I see… Wait, no I don't. Why are we doing this?" Ritsuka asked again.
This time, the line of questioning did bother him.
…Really? He knew his master was inexperienced to say the least, but did he not even consider the purpose of Archer's current activity?
"...If we can find a superior, we might be able to figure out the problem with this singularity much faster." Archer replied, feeling rather worried and slightly disappointed that he even had to spell it out.
"I-I see! Then, can I join?" The purple haired girl beside his master enthusiastically requested.
"...Knock yourself out."
"I-I'll do it too!"
And so, what was previously an inconspicuous observation became a rather odd and humorous sight as two teenagers stared holes into each soldier while the older man looked down on the ground in defeat, digging a knuckle into his own forehead.
'This is not going to be easy.'
Karna followed his master in silence.
The scarred man walked with confidence along the fort, his eyes sharp as a hawk's.
When Archer made the suggestion to split up, most of the servants went their separate ways, each trying to pry info in their own ways. However, Karna instead opted to follow his master.
Why? To be blunt, Karna himself is not adept at the art of social cues, something he is rather ashamed of.
On the contrary, his master seems to be well versed in it, evident in the fact that he is currently conversing with who looked to be a cut above the rest of the men in the fort.
'I see… How perceptive.' Karna internally praised, nodding his head. Not only did his master quickly singled out the commanding officer of the fort, he also struck a conversation, trying to garner the man's favor.
Karna must admit, worming one's way to another's trust through words was not something he could even imagine doing, yet his master did it without as much as a second thought. Perhaps it has become second nature for King?
"Thank you! I swear I won't ever forget this debt!"
The suddenly frantic yet pleased voice of the officer broke Karna out of his musings. The officer could be seen holding King's hands in his, gratitude transparent on his face.
Although the man was speaking far too emotionally to be coherent, Karna caught strings of words such as "She will be so happy" and "God, what would I have done without you" among them.
As the man hastily turned and left them alone, Karna couldn't help but have his curiosity piqued. "Who was that, master?"
King simply shrugged. "Just a guy who needs help, I guess."
…
'Ha, just the kind of response I've come to expect.'
King stared blankly at the man in front of him.
'What is he going on about?' King asked in his mind as the aged man in uniform continued to ramble to him about things he couldn't pay attention to.
When the group split, King decided to take a walk around the fort aimlessly. The others went for whatever piqued their interest.
Of course, warriors and poets both would find things of interest in a time of war, but an otaku pretending to be a hero? Nope.
Worse still, Karna entrusted his own time with him, adding unwanted pressure. Thankfully, his walk was going rather uneventfully, mostly consisting of him taking in the sights of a French fort.
It is pretty amazing to see. He came from a pretty modern world after all, much like this one's current time, and even though there were some more rural areas back there, it's not like he's much of an outdoor person.
So it was going great all things considered.
Until… "Hey, you there!" An old guy decided to stop him and Karna and start a conversation. The man was wearing pretty important-looking uniforms, while his body carried the wear and tear expected from a soldier of his age.
Now, King considers himself sufficiently polite, so if someone were to talk to him, he would hear them out, even if he isn't at all interested.
But an anomaly took all of his attention away.
Said anomaly was one he couldn't look away from, a stray piece of bread present just below the man's lips, close to the gray hairs of his beard.
"...So, what is your business here?" The man asked tersely.
King gulped. Damn, he was too focused on thinking of a way to tell him about the bread to catch most of what he was saying.
"...Don't you have more important things?" King answered back with a question, hoping the gruff man would catch the implicit message.
"Important?" The Frenchman said, taken aback, bringing his hands to his face.
King sighed in relief, happy that some of the awkwardness had been lifted.
…Only to find it short lived as he noticed yet another oddity on the man, this time on the very hand he used to clean up the mess from his previous meal.
A piece of napkin, stuck on the sweaty palm of the man, no doubt as a result from the weather and his elaborate clothing.
"What do you think I should do?"
'Oh great, seems like he noticed it first.' King thought. He didn't catch most of what the man said, the napkin making his mind drift yet again. By the sound of it though, there's no need for awkward silence anymore.
"Take a look at yourself, see if there's anything wrong." King said while twiddling his own fingers, hinting at the problem without drawing attention to it.
The man seemed to choke on air, tenderly holding his own hand. A strange expression slowly formed on his statue-like face, a mix of shame and resignation maybe?
Now King is a little confused, did those things really warrant such an extreme reaction? Then again, military culture can be weird sometimes.
"...Is it really possible for me?"
"Yeah, of course it is. As long as you're not dead, I can't see any excuse to not do it." King said, reeling from culture shock of the French military.
"Thank you! I swear I won't ever forget this debt!"
'Whoa!' King exclaimed internally, having been almost knocked over on his ass as the old man suddenly lunged and clasped King's hands with his own.
Even through the grime clouding his eyes from years of fighting the war, the determination and gratitude pierced through King's skull, rendering him speechless.
"...Yeah, go get em, man." King replied slowly, feeling slightly unnerved by how much appearances seem to matter here.
"Yes, you're right, good sir. There is much to be done." The old man said, a refined focus furrowing his graying brows.
As he turned and left, he turned to King one last time. "I will see this debt repaid as soon as I can." He said, no, promised.
His last words said, the master and servant pair were left by themselves once again.
"Who was that, master?"
"Just a guy who needs help, I guess." King shrugged and answered as best he could. Guy's gotta be pretty hopeless if he reacts like that to some simple corrections.
"The Saintess is here! Open the gates!"
A bellowing announcement caught the attention of both of them, as it did the entire fort.
'Oh well, let's see what this 'Saintess' is all about.'
In the roads of Fort Vaucouleurs, a man walks a straight focused path, creating a red sea amongst the soldiers. His steps as loose and straight as a fired arrow, his gaze focused to his destination.
The men who witnessed the sight gulped, wondering just what it was that aroused their commander's spirit so much.
Yet, in contrast to their expectations, the commander's heart betrayed the seemingly hard expression he was wearing. Though if one were to observe closely, they could see the signs of his inner turmoil, quivering lips and an ever slight glint of vulnerability in his eyes.
Creak
Before he realized it, he had arrived at his destination.
Inside his designated cabin, a piece of paper lay on a table at the far side of the room. The mere sight caused him to inhale a breath he did not know he needed.
He could not fathom how, perhaps the scarred man saw the sign on his right hand and merely deduced the rest. But somehow, the man peered into him and plucked his plight right at its root.
Himself.
The time between his fingers gripping the pen and making contact with the paper was an eternity. Yet, the moment eternity passed, words, feelings, confessions, and regrets flowed in the form of ink as if water in a river.
His hand stopped as did the letter. He stared at its contents. In it, he poured everything he held since he stepped foot into the chaos of the war.
With a wistful smile, the old man fiddled with the ring on his right hand. He hoped that she would read into every word he wrote, and listen to those he couldn't.
Maybe… Maybe, there's still a chance, even after all this time.
A crowd gathered in front of the gate. Excited murmurs came from the soldiers as they separated to make a path.
Creak
The creak of the giant fort gate silenced its inhabitants. From the parting gate, out came several soldiers on horseback, escorting a holy figure as they made their way into the fort.
"So, that's the Saintess." Archer said.
Said Saintess was a woman on a white horse, surrounded by numerous French soldiers while a single knight rode alongside her.
"I-It's really her! Jeanne D'Arc has truly come back from the dead!" A soldier exclaimed beside the group, awestruck by the woman's divine figure.
"I see, so The Saintess was Jeanne D'Arc…" Mash said, her eyes also taken by the figure of the saintess.
"You know her, Karna?" King asked, noticing a glint of familiarity in his servant's eyes.
"Yes, Achilles and I were involved in a Holy Grail War once. She was the Ruler of that war."
"I-Is it possible that this Lady Arc is a servant as well? Those men did say she came back to life…" Murasaki suggested.
"It's pretty likely, and if she's summoned as a ruler here, then she should notice us immediately." Achilles added. Though if she did, she certainly did not show it.
"Not much point in approaching her with this crowd. Let's go with the flow for now." Ritsuka decided.
"Soldiers of Fort Vaucouleurs! You have done well to persevere until now, but you can rest now, for I, Jeanne D'Arc, have come to give you my aid!"
A roar of approval and encouragement washed over the square as the soldiers stood up in excitement.
Standing tall among the sea of armored men on a makeshift podium is one Jeanne D'Arc, a banner held high over her head as she continued to rally the men.
Although her words had captivated all present in the fort, one man remained unfazed.
A scarred face yawned while stretching his arms out, completely tuning out the saintess' words.
'Man, how long is she gonna take?' King asked without voicing his question, slightly frustrated at the length of the speech.
To be honest, he kinda had high expectations going in. Jeanne D'Arc was a name that popped up a whole lot during his French crash course. A 19 year old girl who inspired even The King to take action and eventually reclaim France and was martyred for her actions by the British. A picture perfect heroine.
And that's exactly why it's so disappointing that her speech is reminding him of school assemblies, far too many words to convey too little. How long has it been? 20 minutes? and she hasn't even really stated her plan about whatever crisis France is facing!
Then again, it does seem to work on the soldiers, so maybe the problem lies with him.
Either way, standing still and listening to this for any longer might put him to sleep at this point. So, to a far and secluded place it is, like the storage room back in high school.
Slowly, King made his way away from his group, something that didn't go unnoticed by Karna. "Where are you going, master?"
"It's nothing, I just need space." King told truthfully. Karna's a pretty chill guy in the days that King had gotten to know him, so he'd probably understand.
Karna made a slightly confused look at his master, but nevertheless nodded in understanding.
Explanation given, King made his way among the crowd, eyeing for a quieter place, one where he could sit and take a rest ideally.
'Ah, there's a good spot.'
Behind the rest of the crowd, lay a lonely stack of hay, likely to feed the horses.
Not caring enough to think about circumstances, King leaned on the soft, almost pillowy bundle of dried grass. His mind retreated into itself, the voice of the maiden becoming naught but incoherent ramblings and the crowd's raucous roars turn to silence, enough that he could hear water drip from a loose keg near the haystack.
"...So, what do you think of her?"
"Gah!"
A sudden voice almost made King sink into his resting place, damn near turning him into a needle in the not so proverbial haystack.
"Incredible, isn't she? So young and yet nearly a hundred men are drawn in by her words. Almost feels too good to be true…" The masculine voice continued, either not caring or not noticing King falling backwards.
"Y-Yeah, she sure is." King replies offhandedly, still busy wiping grass off his face. The voice does sound familiar to him though.
"Well, that doesn't matter much now. I said I would repay my debt and I have come to do so." The man said.
"Debt?" Finally laying his eyes on the sudden guest, King recognized him to be the helpless man from before, now appearing prim and proper.
"Yes, my debt from earlier. You are the leader of your group, are you not? My men informed me that you wish to speak with the saintess. As such, I've personally arranged for you to meet her after she is done with her speech."
'...What.'
"It's nowhere near enough to truly pay you back in kind, but it is all I can do within my power now."
"I-"
"Ah, good timing, it seems that she is wrapping up. Shall we, then?"
Before any more words could be uttered, the man firmly grasped King's hand and dragged him towards the podium.
"Boy, this place sure got fired up."
"Any soldier would get excited at the prospect of a maiden, especially one with good news." Kojiro replied to Cu Chulainn's dry comment.
"W-whoa… So that's Jeanne D'Arc…" Ritsuka mumbled in awe, eyes fixed to the beautiful figure of the saintess.
Archer's gaze did the same, though more penetrating, as if trying to find cracks in the so-called perfect girl.
"Our next move should be to approach her and state our goal. I can't see a good way to do that without good reason though." Mash suggested, seeing the crowd dispersing and the maiden conversing with her knight companion.
"Hm? We can just walk up to her, can't we?"
"W-wha?! W-wouldn't that be rather rude of us, Lord Achilles?" Murasaki asked.
"No worries! As I said, she's most likely a ruler, so she should get why we're here right away. Besides, she's a pretty nice lady, ain't that right, Karna?"
"..." Instead of answering, Karna merely looked at the supposed ruler, a look of doubt and confusion coloring the usually stoic eyes.
"Uh, Karna? Is there something wrong?" Ritsuka asked.
"...Not particularly. It's just that her words-"
"...Isn't that master King?"
Cu Chulainn's voice snapped their necks towards the podium, and sure enough, the scarred master was on it, face to face with their topic of conversation.
"My apologies for interrupting your business."
"Oh no, if this fort's commander says it is of utmost importance, surely we could spare some time."
Beads of sweat wet King's eyebrows.
Was it the heat? the air? the stuffiness of his clothes?
In reality, it was none of those things. The weather was pleasant, the air was cool, and his clothes were freshly prepared this morning.
Rather, it was simply the consequences of his actions falling down on him.
How was he supposed to know that the old guy was the commander of this fort?! Well, maybe the fact that his uniform was different from everyone else's was a sign, but still!
And now because of King's own oversight, he found himself staring into the wooden floor and his hands crossed to stop himself from shaking, wishing that the podium would catch on fire and burn everyone here, him included.
"So, what is your business with the saintess, my good sir?" Jeanne's companion asked.
King swallowed the saliva that had been building up in his mouth. Slowly, he raised his head and looked at the voice's owner. A pale man with hair reaching his shoulder smiled at him, the sun reflecting from his armor almost blinding King.
He gestured towards the girl beside him, prompting King to look at her.
…Or try, at least, as for some godforsaken reason, an aura seemed to emanate from her, causing King's neck to freeze in place.
She's apparently a servant, right? Is this one of her skills? Why would she use it on him if that's the case.
Nevertheless, King steeled his nerves and forced his neck to turn.
A radiant smile greeted him as he had his first close up look at Jeanne D'Arc.
The girl was astonishingly bright and unblemished for someone who is caught up in a massive war, not to mention having died by burning alive.
Although her expression was… strange. Her smile felt almost artificial, corporate even, like how real estate agents would try and sell a house in a monster infested part of a city.
'Ah well, I'm here anyway, so might as well ask about what's happening.'
"So, is it hard? Keeping up appearances?"
…
The previously pleasant atmosphere suddenly dropped a few notches in temperature in spite of the still glaring sun. Cold sweat dripped down King's face, the sudden freezing tension between him and the girl in front of him manifesting in the blink of an eye.
King gulped. Was it something he said? Was it too awkward? He thought it was a pretty decent conversation starter, with how she's probably been touring along these forts and whatnot.
"...Yes it has, thank you for your concern." The voice of the girl came out like sweet cotton candy, too sweet, to be honest.
The maiden's smile betrayed the chilling suspense between her and the scarred man.
Despite the tension, both her and her knight's expressions were still rather friendly, so maybe it was just him. He could probably continue on then.
"I see. My group and I came here to… solve France's problem, so to speak. Of course, as the center of this problem, surely you could be our lead, right?" King said, going straight to the point.
This time, the smile fell on both of their faces in an instant.
'W-what?' It really was something he said! Damn it! Maybe it's some French custom he didn't know about? Finding a book about that was way harder than a history book.
"Commander! Commander!"
The shouts of a running soldier interjected with gasps of breath caught the attention of King and the commander.
"What is it?! Can't you see we are busy with her holiness?"
"It's an emergency, Commander! D-Dragons! The dragons are here!"
Chaos.
"What the hell?"
Fire.
"...A-are those…"
Screams.
"...Guess this is the cause of the singularity, eh, master?" Cu Chulainn nonchalantly said, his spear suddenly in hand.
"Dragons, huh?" Achilles said, sizing up the numerous beasts trampling on rooftops and people alike, their claws sinking into flesh, their fiery breaths turning the stronghold onto cinders.
"No, wyverns." Archer corrected, his own swords materializing.
"So we can assume that the 'witch' that killed King Charles is the very same person that summoned these wyverns, right?" Mash said while relaying the information back to Chaldea.
"Likely, but we can discuss that later." Karna said, drawing his spear in a fighting stance. "They're coming towards us."
"Dragons, or wyverns, was it? Hm, I must admit the prospect of cutting down flying creatures… excites me." Kojiro said.
"I-I'll do my best to support you all!" Murasaki stammered.
"...All right, get ready for battle!" Ritsuka shouted, standing behind his servants.
The wyverns rushed in with deafening roars, flying at speeds alien to the soldiers who had only ever faced the iron of their enemies.
But the nine standing opposite the creatures merely narrowed their eyes, weapons in hand and prepared for the incoming clash.
Swish
…Only for them to divert at the last second.
"W-what?" Ritsuka said, appalled.
"D-did the wyverns just avoid us?" Mash asked the unvoiced question in the others' heads.
'...Strange.' Archer observed the surroundings, flames ravaged the structures and soldiers rushed to aid their compatriots to safety. The wyverns' rampage was devastating.
Yet, not only them, but their surroundings remained unscathed.
"...What's going on here?"
So, dragons, huh?
No, wait, they only have two legs, so, they're actually uh… What was it again? Wyverns? Yeah that's what they're called in a bunch of RPGs King has played.
'They're probably tiger level. Should be fine with Karna and the others around.' King thought. Not that big of a threat compared to some monsters back home. Sure is a lot of them, though.
"Master!"
"Oh, Karna, you're here."
"Master, something is strange with the wyverns." Karna said seriously.
"Well yeah, of course they are." King replied. Of course the fact that some fantasy creatures suddenly popped up in the middle of a war is weird.
"I see, so you've already noticed it."
"Damn! Leave this to us, saintess! Get to safety, my lady!" The commander said while rousing up his men.
"...No need, commander." Jeanne said, earning a confused look from everyone on the podium.
A brief silence ensued. The armored hand of France's savior tightened around the spear to which her banner swayed from the hot wind.
Fwip
Suddenly, she thrusted her spear, as if about to pierce an enemy.
But rather than a declaration of camaraderie or another rousing speech, she merely stayed silent.
A slight hesitation in his eyes, the commander's gaze trailed along the weapon, until it lay in line with the speartip.
…To King.
"That man and his companions are allies of the witch, and the ones who brought those beasts here."
…
"Huh?"
King could only stare dumbfounded at the accusation.
Swish
"Dang, we missed…" Ritsuka said, seeing Archer's arrow sail past the dragon, hitting a stray wall.
"...Strange, that shot should've hit…" Archer murmured, putting away his bow as the wyvern retreated regardless.
After the initial confusion, they decided to split up to minimize the damage done by the wyverns, but their strange behavior continued as they seemed to dodge just about every attack Archer dished out before immediately flying high and out of reach.
And seeing even more of them fly up from other parts of the fort indicated to him that it's not isolated, either.
"Yo, master, how's it going here?" Cu Chulainn asked, suddenly jumping down from one of the ruined building's roofs.
"W-well, we got the wyverns away from the soldiers, but…"
"Didn't get any of them, huh? Shit, what the hell is going on here?!" Cu Chulainn yelled out in frustration, stabbing his spear into the ground.
"So, all of us experienced the same thing, I take it." The voice of Kojiro rang out.
Turning their heads, the three saw the rest of the group sans King and Karna leisurely walking towards them, the sounds of screams and wrecked buildings dying down a sign of what happened.
"Man! I got my hopes up a little when I saw a bunch of dragons coming. Turns out they were pretty cowardly." Achilles complained, his spear lazily draped across his traps.
"Cowardly? Do you really think so?" Archer asked dryly.
"Hm? I mean, what else could it be?"
"...No, Achilles, I don't think it was because they were scared." Ritsuka said, drawing the attention of the others.
"They're basically animals, so even if they felt the instinct to flee, it shouldn't be so… coordinated." The master elaborated.
"Wow, Senpai, I didn't know you were so knowledgeable about animal behavior." Mash said, slightly amazed.
"Ah, n-no, I just stayed up too late watching animal documentaries one time."
"Coordinated… Could it possibly be that The Witch is close by?" Murasaki suggested, putting the others on alert.
"It's a possibility worth bearing in mind, but let's wait for master King and Karna to make their way back before doing anything." Kojiro said.
"Won't take long, then." Cu Chulainn said dryly, his finger pointing to the running figure of two men.
"It seems like they're bringing this fort's army with them. The talk with Jeanne D'Arc must've gone smoothly." Mash commented.
"...You sure? It kinda looks like they're running from the army, actually." Achilles said, equal parts doubt and confusion growing in his eyes the closer King and Karna got.
Unfortunately, his fears were proven true as King and Karna stopped in front of them while the soldiers halted to a full stop, their weapons pointed at the group while burning hatred filled their gazes.
"Servants of The Witch, stand down now and we may show you mercy!" The bellowing voice of Jeanne's companion echoed through the tense silence between the two parties.
"Servants of The Witch?! W-wait, I think there's been a misunderstanding!" Ritsuka said, desperately trying to diffuse the situation.
"Honeyed words will do you no good now. Besides, if you truly are not allies of The Witch, then how would you explain that?"
Flap Flap Flap
The sound of wings flapping forcefully turned Ritsuka's neck to face the unfortunate truth, the wyverns are gathering around them, and not in a hostile way, instead almost as if they were his pets.
"I believe this serves as proof enough. Commander, prepare to engage." The pale man said, gesturing to the Chaldeans.
A small glint of hesitation flickered in the eyes of the aging man, his lips pursed for a moment, staring at King in disbelief.
Yet, good soldiers follow orders. "...Men, strike the enemy."
The four words from their commander was all it took for them to make steady but careful steps forward, wary of The Witch's servants.
"...What should we do, Archer?" Ritsuka asked in a whisper.
"Respond in kind." The servant whispered back, his swords at the ready.
"B-but won't the wyverns join in and kill them?"
"It won't be any different if we turn on the wyverns, if anything it'll just put us at a disadvantage."
"N-no! Just stay put for now, I don't want to see innocents die!" Ritsuka protested.
Archer shot a sharp glare at his master, causing Ritsuka's body to tense, before turning back to the angry soldiers with an acknowledging, but unsatisfied grunt.
The rest of the servants gripped their weapons tightly, preparing for the standoff to blow on itself yet still abiding by their master's wishes.
Though it would seem to be to no avail, as the men keep inching ever closer.
A look of resignation slowly filled Ritsuka's eyes, seeing no way to divert from the bloody conclusion.
"Stop!"
…Until a miracle appeared.
A figure shrouded in a ragged cloak suddenly appeared, acting as a barrier between the two parties.
The feminine voice stopped the soldiers' advance dead on its tracks.
"...I-it's The Witch!" "S-she's come to destroy us herself!"
Murmurs of fear arose from the previously confident men, some now even taking steps back.
"...That's The Witch?" Ritsuka said. Her voice was young and feminine, not too different from the frowning Saintess behind the soldiers.
"Let us leave, and I guarantee no one will get hurt." The Witch declared.
Jeanne D'Arc silently gazed at the offer, identical eyes clashing in a battle of wills.
"...Let them go. Your lives are worth much more than a pyrrhic victory." The Saintess ordered, halting the assault.
"Y-your holiness! But The Witch is right there!"
"Rest your sword, I shan't let innocent blood be shed where they do not need to." Jeanne D'Arc shut down the protest.
At The Saintess' response, the wyverns began to scatter, leaving the group of servants by themselves.
Without another word, The Witch turned her back to the fort and beckoned the Chaldeans to follow her out.
"...Should we follow her, master?" Kojiro asked.
"...I don't see another way out right now." Ritsuka answered.
An unspoken tension crept up on the group of ten.
The snapping sound of the grass they walk on became the sole break in tension as the sun bid farewell to the eventful day.
Lukewarm air turned to cold breeze, illuminating light to hostile shadows, and the nocturnals came out of their nests.
Yet the silence remained.
Dull thuds eventually replaced the sound of grass as they continued deep into the woods, until…
"Alright, this looks like a good place to- Ack!"
Before The Witch could finish her sentence, she found herself pinned to one of the trees, a pressure mounting on her throat.
"Give one good reason why I shouldn't just cut your neck open right now."
The crimson blade of Gáe Bolg found its tip pressed against the delicate skin of The Witch. Cu Chulainn could feel the rapidly pulsating vein in their throat with his spear as The Witch struggled to even breath.
"W-wait, Lord Cu Chulainn, I-I think we should at least give her a chance to explain herself." Murasaki suggested.
"You sure? The way I see it, the sooner The Witch dies, the sooner this mess gets solved." The lancer responded, his eyes still fixated on the figure cloaked in rags.
"...Hold, Hound of Culann."
Karna's firm words made Cu Chulainn stop for a brief moment, before letting go of The Witch.
"You too? Am I the only one who wants to get this done as fast as possible?"
"...On the contrary, I believe the full picture is just starting to unfold." Karna said, pointing at the fallen figure of The Witch.
"Hack! Cough! Cough!" The Witch coughed and gasped for air as she fell, the hood of her cloak going along with her, revealing blonde hair and blue eyes.
The oddity of her appearance did not go unnoticed by the servants and their masters, with Ritsuka voicing all their thoughts.
"You're… Jeanne D'Arc?"
"So what you're saying is that you're the real Jeanne D'Arc and the one parading around Orleans right now is an impostor?" Archer asked for confirmation.
"Yes. I was summoned here today myself, though for some reason, the information that the grail should provide is missing." The Witch, the actual Jeanne D'Arc said, her voice much more naturally sweet compared to the Jeanne in the fort.
"Thank goodness I was summoned in my home country, and that you all speak French, too!" Jeanne said enthusiastically.
"...Sorry to burst your bubble, Saint Jeanne, but we are simply using translators." Romani said, his hologram suddenly appearing.
"O-oh, I see… W-wait, how are you-"
"We'll explain later, for now just continue with what's happened here." Archer interrupted.
"R-right. As I said, I was summoned here earlier this day, devoid of information regarding The Holy Grail War and my class abilities as a ruler servant."
"I tried approaching a nearby village to see if there were other servants, but the people there immediately drove me out while calling me 'The Dragon Witch'."
"Long story short, I disguised myself and heard about what happened: The King was killed by The Dragon Witch and that wyverns are now infesting Orleans. It was then too that I caught wind of a convoy escorting The Saintess Jeanne D'Arc heading to a nearby fort. Naturally, I followed them and I suppose you could figure out the rest."
"...So there are two Jeanne D'Arcs, huh?" Ritsuka asked, slowly absorbing the information dump.
"And somehow the fake one convinced the rest of France that she is a resurrected saint while you're the bad guy impostor." Achilles simplified, nodding his head in understanding.
"...You propose that she is the fake while you are the real deal, yet there is no proof to that claim." Archer pointed out.
"I-I can't say you're wrong… I'm afraid I myself don't truly understand the identity of the other me, much less if she is even a 'fake' Jeanne D'Arc." The blonde servant admitted.
"Actually, there is something that can prove it."
Karna's declaration turned their heads.
"If you remember, I can tell when someone is lying, and Lady Jeanne here has yet to tell a single falsehood."
"Are you sure? Is it not possible that this skill of yours is being deceived?" Kojiro asked, doubting that the girl's identity can be solved that easily.
"That has yet to happen, but if Lady Jeanne's words are not enough, her impostor's words should be." Karna said.
"Wait, you mean-"
"Yes, when the Jeanne in the fort was rousing the men, I felt a lack of sincerity in her words, not as much as an outright lie, but most definitely with the intent of deceit." Karna revealed, cutting off Ritsuka.
"Though, I was not the first to notice, isn't that right, master?"
"...Huh?"
King's confused tone went unnoticed as the attention found itself on him.
"Right… Master King went and met the impostor Jeanne face to face didn't he?" Murasaki recalled.
"Yes. He gained the favor of the fort's commander and used it to meet with Jeanne when he noticed something off with her." Karna elaborated.
"...Well something was off with her, I guess." King said.
"I see. That would explain the wyverns too. She must have gotten spooked as she realized that master King knew her true identity and sent the wyverns to frame us as servants of 'The Witch'." Archer realized.
"As such, I believe the Jeanne D'Arc standing in front of us have been summoned by the grail to help fix the divergence in history caused by the fake Jeanne." Karna finished.
"...Alright, I'm starting to see the full picture, your main objective now is to cooperate with Jeanne D'Arc and face her impostor along with the dragons she has summoned." Olga declared from the communicator.
"Alright, director! So, uh, miss Jeanne D'Arc? Sorry for the rough introductions, but it's an honor to work with you." Ritsuka said, extending his hand.
"No, not at all, the pleasure is all mine." Jeanne said, shaking the master's hand.
"...Still, I'm confused by all these… trinkets you have."
"You may want to sit down, it's a rather long story. We come from a place called Chaldea…"
The ambience of the night passes by peacefully with crackling firewood serving as white noise to the forest's inhabitants.
On the other side, even with their considerable numbers, the forest's visitors made none but the occasional snore as time lost its meaning to the three laying in comfortable human sized pockets.
The atmosphere was perfect to fall asleep to, so…
'Why the hell am I still awake?!'
A rhetorical question, King knew why. This is the first time he ever had to camp outside overnight since… ever?
He didn't expect to ever do something even remotely like sleeping in an outdoors setting, much less with these circumstances.
A fake Jeanne D'Arc, a dead King, and fucking dragons out of all things. Why did he even bother taking a history lesson if things would be so different?
Well at least the fact that Jeanne D'Arc wasn't the disappointing public figure at the fort is a bit of a silver lining,
Oh, and that the dragons aren't as strong as the 'dragons' back home, the most they could do is fly and breathe fire, not uproot entire cities.
'…Speaking of breathing fire, this sleeping bag sure is hot.'
Maybe it was just his inexperience with this, seeing as Ritsuka is sleeping as if he didn't go back 700 years in time, it doesn't change the fact that the temperature is too much for him to comfortably fall asleep.
'...I need to get some fresh air.'
King sat up with a grunt, his face poking through the hole in the sleeping bag provided by Chaldea. The surroundings were as quiet as could be, with some of the servants in spirit mode while the others kept watch on a rotation.
Unzipping the bag, King got up with a sigh, walking away from the campfire without any real destination.
"Mister King? Where are you going?"
King stifled his mouth to prevent a scream and his heart jumping out his throat, the sudden feminine voice like a landmine he stepped on.
Calming himself down, King turned around and realized it was just Mash.
In a purple sleeping bag, with only her face showing.
She looked like an eggplant.
It was… cute, actually.
"It's nothing Eggp- Mash. I'm just getting some fresh air."
"O-oh yes, I understand! It must be hard to think about tomorrow's strategy in a sleeping bag, isn't it?" Mash said.
"No, I-"
"Don't worry about me, Mister King, I'll guard Senpai with my life!" Mash said enthusiastically, her eggplant-like figure almost bouncing on the soft ground.
"...Right, yeah, I'll leave it to you."
Mash bid one last farewell as King walked farther away, the fire giving away to stars as his light source.
"Man, whoever gave her that sleeping bag sure has good taste."
"Atchoo!"
"...Romani. Chaldea can't afford to have its head doctor get sick, you know?"
"Y-yes, director…"
The usual suspects of nighttime fauna made their ruckus as they always did, even if it is merely insignificant crickets in the ears of men.
Such as the arrogance of humanity, is it not? To twist the meaning of the actions and intent of those they deem to be beneath them, believe only what they wish to believe, and impose those beliefs on those who cannot even utter a word in retaliation.
Yet in a twist of irony, to crush humanity, she instead looked below. To be even worse than them, more merciless, more condescending, more violent.
And unlike humanity, she will make sure none will rise back from her wrath as she herself did.
Which is why…
Step
Every step she took was filled with malice.
Step
Authority.
Step
Anger.
The critter which was mere moments ago chattering scuttled away to safety as a girl dressed in black made her way through the forest, leaving a smoldering trail in her wake.
Coming to a stop, the girl assessed her surroundings, as well as her goal here.
'Honestly, why did Gilles tell me to kill that guy?'
Not long after The King burned under her powers, pitifully screaming as he went, Gilles suddenly had a change of mind about the entire plan.
"My Lady, I thought more about our plans and I believe we should reconsider some parts of it."
The new version of their scheme involved a lot more work, especially convincing those damned bastards in the castle that she wasn't the one who killed The King.
Well, not that it wasn't effective. The attack on France has been going far smoother than she had expected, even if she had to occasionally play pretend in front of fools.
The appearance of her other, incomplete self was predicted by Gilles himself. As such, the plan to outcast her as The Dragon Witch began even before she herself came into the picture.
Not that it wasn't appropriate. After all, could she truly be Jeanne D'Arc without harboring the flames of hatred that she did?
Jeanne D'Arc clicked her tongue. Even thinking about it serves to further fan the fire inside her.
"Well whatever, she can be dealt with later, but what about that guy is so special anyway?" The girl wondered out loud.
Sure, he somehow deduced her identity without so much of an actual lead, but is that really enough reason to have her kill him now and directly?
"He is a vital part to our enemies' forces. With how quickly he saw through us, he should be dealt with quickly." Gilles told her.
Well, every bit of his plan is going smoothly, so she should probably stick to the agenda.
Splash
The girl paused and took a brief look at the puddle she had stepped on.
Gilles made sure to put several layers of spells, some to hide her from the servants guarding the man, and others merely to alter her appearance.
Though alter may be a strong word, as she still looked similar to the damned Saintess, even if no longer identical.
Her clothes on the other hand were more inconspicuous, resembling a curious peasant rather than a war maiden in black.
The growing light of fire in her sights marked her goal. She prepared herself to go into the fray, in case the spells Gilles had prepared falters in front of her enemies' servants.
A different fire began to crackle around her hand, one far more malevolent. Soon, the fire took the form of a dark sword, a weapon that will soon herald her arrival to her enemies.
Everything is set.
"Hm? Miss Jeanne? Is that you?"
Instincts flare up.
Neck turns.
Eyes meet.
"...Who are you?"
The very same eyes that unraveled her identity once again appeared in front of her.
'W-what?'
In shock, the former saintess nearly dropped her weapon, though able to catch it just in time to avoid alerting anyone else.
"...And why do you have a sword?"
Thump Thump Thump
The sound of beating drums reached the girl's ears, causing a reflexive step back.
The noise rang in her ears, yet somehow the forest went undisturbed. It could only mean one thing: Wherever the hell this noise is coming from, it is meant only for her.
Sweat dripped down to the edge of her lips and time stood still, neither of them making a move.
Has he realized who she is? Was his line of questioning a mere mockery of her efforts?
"I-I…" Jeanne began to speak, the stuttering letter coming out as the master's oppressive aura increased.
"...Yes? Go on."
'M-maybe I can still make something up!'
Ha! Gilles' spells really are effective!
Her relief was short lived as she realized one wrong move could have her at the mercy of eight servants.
"W-well, you see, I am…" Jeanne trailed off, her throat failing to produce further sounds.
'S-shit! Who am I going to pretend to be now?!'
"You kinda look similar to Miss Jeanne…" The man pointed out.
'Fuck! Why do you have to be so damned perceptive?!' This keeps up any longer and the whole plan's fucked!
The staring contest continued for what felt like eternity, to the point that Jeanne could see the reflection of her disguise in the scarred eye of the man's penetrating gaze.
'Similar to that damned Saintess…?'
"I-I…" The thought of uttering the string of words that came to her head felt like bile rising out of her stomach.
But alas, what other choices are there?
"...I am Jean D'Arc! Jeanne D'Arc's little sister!"
Hey.
This took way longer than expected.
Got sick for a week and was bombarded by assignments and tests, some of which are still being worked on, so yeah.
I'm conflicted on a bunch of things about this chapter. Some parts I wrote while being inspired and am somewhat proud of, other I wrote just to slog through the part of the story while stressed on college shit and I feel is somewhat lacking.
Either way, I want to ask one thing, though. This chapter is the longest so far, clocking at 12k words. When I write a chapter, I usually determine a beginning and ending and work my way to it.
Are these chapters too long? I can get ouf of hand with how much I put into some paragraphs, So I wanna know if any of you would prefer shorter chapters and whatnot.
You might raise your eyebrows at the whole 'splitting responsibilities as masters' thing, but for once it is actually something that has been done in Fate canon instead of my own bullshit convenient headcanon.
Anyway, I can't promise the next chapter will be any faster, but I'll try to not take more than a month this time.
Later.