"..." The scene of the cloaked girl using a pure white flag to slay a dragon with a single blow temporarily plunged the area into a strange silence.
Fujimaru Ritsuka muttered the name the other girl had just given, feeling like it sounded somewhat familiar.
She had definitely heard this name somewhere before!
Completely different from what Fujimaru Ritsuka was concerned about, Mordred didn't care at all about the name she had just heard.
Or rather, she simply didn't know what it represented.
But this didn't mean she didn't have her own concerns.
On the contrary, Mordred felt it even more strongly than Fujimaru Ritsuka.
Because the girl before her looked so much like Artoria.
The memories of living with her foster mother by the lake were instantly and completely awakened.
Clear tears flowed from Mordred's eyes, dripping onto the ground and blooming like flowers.
"Little Mom!" Mordred cried out, using her familiar nickname for Artoria.
"I miss you so much!" she added, her voice filled with longing.
Mordred spoke her heartfelt words.
Then, this mischievous child directly pounced on the girl who claimed to be Jeanne, buried her head in her chest, and began to cry.
Fujimaru Ritsuka was dumbfounded.
Jeanne was also dumbfounded.
However, listening to Mordred's sorrowful crying in her arms, the girl's eyes gradually softened.
She reached out and gently stroked Mordred's head.
"Cry it all out," Jeanne said softly, her voice filled with compassion.
"After that, the Lord will surely grant you a beautiful tomorrow," she added, her gaze gentle.
A few minutes later.
Having realized she had mistaken the person based on chest size, Mordred looked embarrassed.
Although she was mischievous, she wasn't someone who lacked manners.
Wiping away her tears, she immediately apologized:
"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to mistake you for Little Mom!" Mordred exclaimed, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Facing Mordred's apology, Jeanne smiled gently.
"It's alright," Jeanne said softly, her blue eyes kind.
"The person who could make you cry out like that... must be very important to you, right?" she asked, her voice filled with understanding.
"Being able to let you temporarily recall her through me is an unexpected surprise for me," she added, her smile widening slightly.
"Besides—" Jeanne's gentle gaze swept over Mordred.
She seemed to have remembered something, and her eyes became filled with nostalgia.
"You actually remind me of someone very important as well," Jeanne confessed, her voice soft.
"If... he were able to have children, he would probably be very much like you, wouldn't he?" she mused, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"Eh?" Mordred felt that what Jeanne said sounded a bit strange.
But before she could figure out why, Fujimaru Ritsuka beside her suddenly shouted.
"I remember!" Fujimaru Ritsuka exclaimed, her brown eyes widening in realization.
"You're the Saint Maiden written about in history books, right—the Saint Maiden Jeanne d'Arc who led France to counterattack!" she declared, her voice filled with excitement.
"..." "I really shouldn't have given my name," Jeanne said with a wry smile.
"Yes, I am Jeanne," she confirmed, her blue eyes looking at them gently.
"However—" she continued, her voice softening slightly.
"Please forget about the title of Saint Maiden... I am unworthy of it," she confessed, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"No, no, no!" Fujimaru Ritsuka shook her head repeatedly. "You deserve it!" she insisted, her voice filled with conviction.
"You were so amazing, you single-handedly took down five dragons!" she exclaimed, her brown eyes sparkling with admiration.
"Wait a moment!" Mordred called out, stopping the back-and-forth between the two.
"What are you two talking about... why is it that only I don't understand anything?" she asked, her violet eyes looking at them with confusion.
"Oh, right," Fujimaru Ritsuka stuck out her tongue playfully. "I was having too much fun, I almost forgot that you don't know about these things, Mordred," she admitted with a sheepish smile.
"Then let's take this opportunity to introduce ourselves to each other!" the orange-haired girl suggested cheerfully.
Fujimaru Ritsuka began the introductions.
"I'm Fujimaru Ritsuka," she said with a friendly smile.
"And this person—is Mordred!" she added, gesturing towards the violet-eyed girl.
"..." After a brief introduction, the three of them had a basic understanding of each other.
"Singularity repair?" Jeanne blinked her beautiful golden eyes, looking very surprised after understanding the two girls' intentions.
"Does such a thing even exist?" she asked, her brow furrowed in thought.
"Yes," Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't hide her and Mordred's purpose.
"These are all Pan-Human Histories that have been changed by the Holy Grail," she explained, her voice serious.
"If we don't correct them one by one... everyone's future will be ruined!" she declared, her brown eyes filled with determination.
"..." Jeanne frowned slightly, looking somewhat uneasy.
Clearly, as a Saint Maiden, she was worried about the future Fujimaru Ritsuka spoke of—even if she herself might no longer be alive at that time.
After thinking, she spoke again:
"If that's what you say... I do know some things that might be called 'Singularities'," Jeanne confessed, her blue eyes looking at them intently.
"What?!" Just as Fujimaru Ritsuka was about to ask more about this, the small device that had previously lost contact with Chaldea suddenly made a sound.
Buzz— Olga Marie's voice came through.
"Hello hello! Fujimaru Ritsuka! Can you hear me?" she asked urgently.
Feeling that the other party was very anxious, Fujimaru Ritsuka had no choice but to focus her attention here first.
"Director, I can hear you," Fujimaru Ritsuka replied, her voice clear.
"..." Olga Marie paused for a moment, seemingly a bit bothered by the title "Director," before continuing.
"That's great, we finally got in touch with you," Olga Marie said, a hint of relief in her voice.
"Listen, Fujimaru Ritsuka, you should currently be in France in June of 1431," she informed them, her tone serious.
"Yeah... I know," Fujimaru Ritsuka replied. "Jeanne is right here beside me now," she added, gesturing to the blonde-haired girl.
"Ah, what!" Olga Marie exclaimed in surprise.
"Ritsuka, don't play such a silly joke with me!" Olga Marie said, her voice incredulous.
"I'm not joking... she just saved me," Fujimaru Ritsuka insisted, her voice firm.
"This—?" The young Director still couldn't accept it.
Realizing that this might go on endlessly, Jeanne thought for a moment, then walked directly to Fujimaru Ritsuka's side.
She spoke to the small device that she had no idea what it was.
"Hello, I am Jeanne d'Arc," Jeanne introduced herself politely, her blue eyes looking at the device.
"I can prove that Fujimaru Ritsuka is not joking," she added, her voice gentle.
"..." Realizing that Fujimaru Ritsuka had indeed encountered Saint Maiden Jeanne d'Arc, Olga Marie became even more nervous than before.
Because Jeanne in this time period should have been burned at the stake as recorded in the Pan-Human History.
The young Director thought for a long time before finally arriving at an answer that could convince herself.
"You... have you 'Servant-ized'?" she asked, her voice filled with doubt.
The word "Servant" was mentioned once again, but Jeanne's answer remained the same as before.
"No," Jeanne replied softly, shaking her head slightly.
"I am not a Servant," she confirmed, her blue eyes looking at them gently.
"I am just an ordinary nun from France," she added, a warm smile on her face.
"..." "Ah, wait! The signal from Mashu's side has a response, I'll contact you later!" Olga Marie's voice disappeared in an instant, coming and going in a hurry.
Only the three people existing in this era were left looking at each other.
However—
The previous question didn't disappear with the sound.
Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at Jeanne before her, returning to the initial question.
"Um... you said earlier that you felt there were things that could be called 'Singularities', right?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked, her brown eyes looking at Jeanne intently.
"Yes," Jeanne confirmed with a nod.
"What are they?" Fujimaru Ritsuka pressed, her voice curious.
"This," Jeanne replied, rolling up her sleeves as she spoke.
Several red markings were clearly visible on the back of her hand.
"A few days ago... I had a dream," Jeanne explained, her blue eyes looking at them thoughtfully.
"In the dream, I heard a voice saying it would grant me the power to accomplish certain things," she continued, her voice soft.
"After I woke up, they were on the back of my hand," she added, gesturing to the red markings.
"I can feel it guiding me to certain places," she confessed, her brow furrowed in thought.
"I didn't know what this represented before... but now hearing what you said, I wonder if that might be the 'Singularity'?" she asked, her blue eyes looking at them with a hint of hope.
"I see," Mordred nodded thoughtfully.
"She's been strengthened! No wonder she could defeat a dragon in one move!" Mordred exclaimed, her violet eyes widening in surprise.
"..." "Ritsuka, what are you staring at her hand for?" Mordred asked, nudging the orange-haired girl.
"It's nothing," Fujimaru Ritsuka said, looking back at the back of her own hand.
"I just thought the thing on Jeanne's hand looked kind of similar to the one on my hand..." she mused, her brown eyes narrowed in thought.
"What?" Hearing Fujimaru Ritsuka say this, Mordred immediately compared the marks on the backs of their hands.
"Eh—!" Mordred exclaimed, her violet eyes widening in surprise.
"They really are exactly the same!" she pointed out, her voice filled with amazement.
"Huh?!" Hearing this, Jeanne perked up. "So you know what these things are?!" she asked, her blue eyes looking at them expectantly.
"We know a little bit about it," Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded.
"This is a Command Spell exclusive to Masters," she explained, her voice serious.
"Uh... what's that?" Jeanne asked, looking confused.
"I don't really know how to explain it," the half-baked Fujimaru Ritsuka scratched her cheek.
"Anyway, it's something that appears after forming a contract with Heroic Spirits, making them Servants, right?" she explained, her voice uncertain.
"I remember it being related to the Holy Grail War," she added, her brow furrowed in thought.
"This?" Jeanne, who was born in the era of the Hundred Years' War, was completely confused.
Limited by her knowledge, she didn't understand what Command Spells were, nor did she understand contracts, let alone the Holy Grail War.
But she understood one thing—that the marks on the back of her hand were not unique.
"So... it wasn't a revelation from the Lord?" The Saint Maiden's expression looked somewhat lonely at this moment.
—Buzz— The device in Fujimaru Ritsuka's hand made a sound again, and Olga Marie's anxious voice came through.
"Ritsuka, the situation seems a bit off!" Olga Marie exclaimed, her voice filled with urgency.
"Mashu also said she encountered Jeanne... and that Jeanne kidnapped Ian over there!" she reported, her tone filled with shock.
"What?!" Mordred shouted excitedly. "Someone kidnapped my dad?!" she exclaimed, her violet eyes widening in surprise.
"Your dad?" Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at Mordred with a puzzled expression.
"Uh... because my Master secretly likes me to call him Dad!" Mordred explained, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"So I subconsciously called him that just now~" she added with a sheepish smile.
"Uh, hehe!" Mordred forcefully explained, directly putting the blame on the absent Ian amidst awkward laughter.
But what she didn't know was that Fujimaru Ritsuka not only didn't suspect anything, but also secretly remembered these words in her heart.
"So... he likes to play like that?" The girl licked her lips, seemingly formulating some kind of plan.
"There's another me?" Jeanne, upon hearing the information, was first surprised, but quickly realized that this might be related to the voice she had heard.
"Since that's the case—" Jeanne began, her blue eyes looking at them thoughtfully.
"Why don't we go and meet up with Mashu first?" she suggested, her voice gentle.
"That way, it will also be a bit safer," she added, a warm smile on her face.
Hearing Jeanne's suggestion, Mordred and Fujimaru Ritsuka exchanged glances and both nodded.
"Yeah!" the two replied in unison.
And so, the three people who had met by chance began to follow Olga Marie's guidance, heading towards the place where Mashu was.
Time shifted back to the present.
Châlons.
This was a border city.
After flying for a while, the Evil Dragon ridden by the Black Jeanne arrived here.
Clearly, this place had been completely controlled by her.
Countless Evil Dragons flew under the moonlight, repeatedly obscuring the moonlight that was heading towards the ground, turning them into shadows.
Fear and despair lingered in this city, oppressing everyone's nerves.
The source of all this—the Black Jeanne—was currently walking on the road leading into the city.
She held the Evil Dragon flag in one hand and linked her arm with the man beside her with the other, a smile on her face, looking quite happy.
Everyone would think she was a girl in love—if there weren't Evil Dragons in the sky above the city.
Oppressive.
Very oppressive.
Ian could feel the painful wails emanating from this city surrounded by Evil Dragons.
Everyone who looked at the Black Jeanne had fear in their eyes.
Everyone knew she was the Dragon Witch, but no one dared to stand up and point this out.
Because that would be a guaranteed death.
This scene made Ian gasp, and his head became much clearer.
He began to warn himself.
Although the Black Jeanne was indeed a virgin with zero sexual knowledge but strong desires,
She was also the Dragon Witch who had destroyed a country.
This was not an empty title.
The atmosphere was too oppressive.
A child suddenly started crying.
Although the mother reacted immediately and quickly covered his mouth,
The cries were still heard by the Black Jeanne.
The her who had been a sweet girlfriend just now instantly turned into an extremely terrifying Dragon Witch.
"What are you crying about—!" she exclaimed, her golden eyes flashing with anger.
"Did I allow you to cry?!" she demanded, her voice filled with fury.
Violent and dictatorial.
The Black Jeanne, whose mental state was not good, raised her Evil Dragon flag and pointed it at the crying child.
Immediately, the crowd cleared a path.
Only the mother was left kneeling down to beg for mercy.
But everyone knew that this was meaningless—this witch didn't accept anyone's pleas.
At this moment, although the man wasn't very moral, he wouldn't go so far as to watch a child be killed.
He stopped her.
"What are you doing?!" The Black Jeanne, who had been stopped, was very displeased.
"This kid is too noisy, I'm going to kill him!" she declared, her golden eyes blazing.
"Don't do that, the others hate you," Ian said gently, trying to reason with her.
"So what?" The Black Jeanne sneered. "You don't think I'm afraid of these people, do you?" she asked, her golden eyes narrowed.
"..." This direction of persuasion wasn't working.
Ian's eyes darted around, and he had a new idea.
"Then—" Ian began, his voice calm.
"What if I said this would affect the examination results?" he asked, his gaze unwavering.
Ian's words hit the Black Jeanne's concern.
"Why would it affect it?" she asked, her golden eyes narrowed in confusion.
"It's hard to explain... but it's related," Ian replied, his voice gentle.
"Then I won't do it," the Black Jeanne muttered softly, her anger subsiding slightly.
"Yeah, that's right," Ian said with a slight smile, then changed his expression and roared at the mother kneeling on the ground.
"Hurry up and get lost!" he commanded, his voice stern.
The mother was stunned for a moment, then realized that the man was helping her.
"Yes, yes!" she quickly took her child and left the Black Jeanne's sight.
The Black Jeanne pouted, then grabbed the man's hand.
"Let's go back quickly—!" she urged, her golden eyes looking at him expectantly.
"It's getting unbearably hot there again," she complained, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"..." "Alright," Ian replied helplessly.
He unconsciously glanced at their joined hands and saw something unexpected.
Several red marks were visible on the back of the girl's hand.
It was a place he hadn't paid attention to at all before.
The more Ian looked at it, the more familiar it seemed, and then he recalled the correct answer.
That was—
A Master's Command Spell!