— — — — —
The girl's sudden change hit Tom like a truck. He was completely stunned.
"Jeanne, you…"
"Don't call me that."
The Jeanne who used to be as gentle as a kitten suddenly wore a look of pure disgust.
"Then what should I call you?" Tom asked carefully. "Joan?"
"That's just a difference in pronunciation!" she snapped back. She leaned in and kissed him, then pulled away just enough for their eyes to lock. "You don't seem all that shocked."
Tom answered honestly, "No, I'm freaking out."
"But I'm mentally resilient," he added quickly. "High adaptability. That's why it looks like I'm not."
How could he not be shocked? Jeanne had blackened out of nowhere, and from the look of it, Jeanne herself knew about this other her.
"How about I call you Jeanne Alter? Or just Jalter for short?"" Tom suggested.
In the Nasuverse, Jalter wasn't Jeanne at all, but a Servant created by Gilles de Rais using the Grail. The one in front of him now, though, was both.
The girl thought for a moment, then realized the name fit unexpectedly well. She nodded. "Fine. From now on, I'm Jalter."
"Can you tell me how you appeared?" Tom asked.
"No."
She shook her head, then pressed close again. "I'm taking my reward first."
With just a little force, she pinned Tom down onto the bed.
...
Two and a half hours later—
Tom stared blankly at the ceiling.
Good news: his body was still pure. Bad news: his mind definitely wasn't. 99.99% realism. Way too real.
What was this supposed to be? Some kind of spiritual intimacy?
Also, Tom, being a good citizen, adjusted his age and the beautiful witch's to 18. That feature had been added because of Ariana's constant demands, so she could grow and feel more alive in the study space. Well… she would never have thought it would be used today for "adults only" stuff.
"..."
Jalter lay comfortably on Tom's chest, lazily drawing circles with her fingers. She looked so focused, like a kid who'd just discovered the best toy in the world.
Not wanting to be toyed with any further, Tom sighed and asked again, "So? Can you tell me now? When did you show up?"
"Isn't this what you wanted?" Jalter snorted, her hand still moving. "You made that country bumpkin read so she'd clear out her stupid head and ditch the Church's nonsense."
Tom let out a long breath. "I didn't mean to create a split personality."
She immediately bristled, clutching his most vulnerable spot. "What's that supposed to mean? What do I lack compared to that foolish girl?"
"No, no, no, I didn't say anything!" Tom protested. "You're overthinking it. I'm just saying I'm surprised. Okay… your appearance was unexpected too, but to me, you're both Jeanne. There's no difference."
It wasn't the answer Jalter wanted most, but when she saw the sincerity in his eyes, she could tell he meant it. She gave a soft huff and slowly pulled her hand back.
Tom finally relaxed.
Even if he was omnipotent and immortal in this space, having someone hold your weakness like that was still a terrible feeling.
"My appearance wasn't an accident," Jalter said.
She settled back into his arms, her voice low and hazy, almost as if she were speaking in her sleep. "Actually… even before that girl died, I was there. Her faith hadn't wavered, but she had already begun to doubt the world itself. She felt that something was fundamentally wrong with it, that it went against the Lord's will."
"The poor work themselves to the bone, only to have ninety percent of their harvest taken away. The rich, like demons possessed, keep squeezing value out of them without end. Justice is never upheld. Devils walk freely among men…"
Tom didn't react. He just listened quietly. It was simply reality being spoken out loud. What was there to be shocked about?
Jalter went on. "And after you summoned her, after she learned everything that happened after her death, she understood something. Whether in the past or now, the so-called saint was nothing more than a tool."
"But then you appeared, and you became Jeanne's salvation. Those two emotions kept clashing, splitting apart. My true birth became inevitable."
Tom brushed his hand across her cheek. "I guess it just means we were destined to meet."
After thinking for a moment, Tom added, "I'll look into a way to completely separate the two of you. Just give me some time."
"No way."
Jalter shot the idea down instantly.
Tom blinked. "You don't want to separate from Jeanne?"
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. As the opposing persona, shouldn't she be desperate to split off from the original, to be treated as a complete individual instead of a shadow?
Jalter curled her lip, utterly dismissive. "Yeah, I don't. It sounds like a pain. I've seen how exhausting that country bumpkin's life is. If we split, you'd definitely force me to study every day too. No thanks. I just want to do whatever I feel like doing. Let her deal with all the hard stuff."
Honestly… it was a disturbingly brilliant plan. Jeanne carries the load, Jalter enjoys the ride.
But still.
"Jeanne Alter, can you stop calling her 'that foolish girl' or a 'country bumpkin'?" Tom said, exasperated. "If Jeanne heard you, she'd be heartbroken. And you two are one... You can't talk about yourself like that."
"I'll say it. I'll keep saying it."
Jalter sulked, thumping his chest with her little fists. "You're always taking her side instead of mine. Isn't she a country bumpkin? She is, and so am I. What's wrong with saying it?"
"And besides…" She leaned in close, warm breath brushing his ear. "Don't you think it's more fun this way? Playing around, and then suddenly it's a different person. Don't you like that?"
How are you this smooth?
Tom stared blankly at the ceiling. He racked his brain but couldn't figure it out. The library didn't have any adult books, so where did Jalter even learn tricks like this? He didn't even add anime that had much fan service.
Was it really pure talent, learned with no teacher?
But she clearly wasn't planning to let him think for long. Dressed as a female knight, she mounted up again, boldly requesting a second round.
...
After who knew how long, the two finally settled down.
Cradling the girl, who had obviously recovered but was still pretending to be weak, Tom carried her to the bath for a shared soak before leaving the study space.
Tomorrow, he'd have a proper talk with Jeanne. Whether to separate was a matter for both consciousnesses, not something he could decide based on Jalter alone.
Even if he'd already ahem... eaten Jalter completely, he wouldn't play favorites.
After all… he'd be eating the other one too eventually. It was only a matter of time.
He just never expected his first time to happen in the study space.
---
Once Tom left, Jalter lounged lazily on the bed in a bathrobe, a smile on her lips that simply wouldn't fade. "So? How did it feel?"
"…You… you're shameless."
Jeanne's voice rose from deep inside, tinged with tears. "That's not what you said before. What did you do?!"
Jeanne felt utterly wronged. She'd been tricked by herself?!
They'd agreed beforehand that Jalter would only use the exam as an excuse to reveal her existence to Tom and test his reaction.
So why, why did it end up like this?
I was the one who came first, and in the end she got everything?
"Tch."
Jalter's smile only grew brighter, her shoulders shaking with laughter. "Idiot. You can read all the books you want, but you will still be an idiot. I tell you something and you just believe it?"
"What's wrong with fooling myself? Haven't you been lying to yourself all this time? I trick you once and now you're mad?"
"No. You can trick me, but you can't defile Tom!" Jeanne snapped, a rare flare of anger as she tried to seize control of the body.
Jalter wasn't worried at all. She simply recalled the sensations from earlier. Since they shared feelings, or rather, the same memories, Jeanne's mind immediately went soft and scattered, utterly collapsing.
"See?" Jalter purred. "Didn't you like it too?"
She rubbed her thighs together, licking her lips. "So, how did it feel? Did you have any sense of participation?"
"Oh~ Must've been amazing, right? I didn't feel you resisting at all when I did it with him. I even tried so many shameful poses, but there was no response from you."
Jeanne didn't answer. Jalter pressed again and again, even threatening to never let her out again. Only then did Jeanne reluctantly mumble, "I… I got too excited and passed out. When I woke up, you were already going to take a bath…"
"What?" Jalter froze.
She hadn't expected that answer. After a brief moment of shock, she burst into uncontrollable laughter. "Hahahaha! You… you actually passed out? Pff—"
"Hahahaha! Country bumpkin, are you trying to kill me by being stupid?"
Her laughter stabbed into Jeanne's heart like knives, leaving her humiliated and furious.
But… back then her mind really had gone blank. Everything felt hazy, like she was floating on clouds. Even now, she still hadn't fully come back to herself.
"Tch."
Jalter clicked her tongue in disgust. "Good thing I was decisive today. If I'd waited for you to finally get smart, Ariana's kids would probably be running wild all over the place by now."
"Useless... Useless and foolish."
Jeanne fainted again. This time, it was from sheer rage.
.
.
.