A little over a week had passed since their return from the Singularity.
To be honest, nothing particularly extraordinary had happened during that time.
Well... except for the daily arguments between Elizabeth and Kiyohime, who seemed incapable of staying in the same room for more than five minutes without starting another exchange of insults.
Arthur also took advantage of those days to spend time with his girls. In practice, that meant almost every woman in Chaldea, since none of them seemed willing to give up an opportunity to be by his side. Even his "adoptive sisters" insisted on monopolizing part of his time, making it perfectly clear, without the slightest embarrassment, that he belonged to them a little as well.
The most curious part was realizing that, as the days passed, they all seemed to become increasingly proactive in seeking his attention.
At that moment, however, Arthur was standing in front of Jeanne Alter's room.
He raised his hand and knocked a few times.
After several seconds, the door finally opened.
Jeanne Alter appeared before him wearing clothes Jeanne d'Arc would never choose of her own free will.
And, for some strange reason, her hair, which had once only reached her shoulders, had grown and now extended all the way down to her thighs.
"Come in," she said as she stepped aside to let Arthur enter her room.
Arthur walked inside while discreetly observing her.
It was rare to see her without her usual black armor.
"That's new. You finally decided to abandon the armor today."
Jeanne Alter gave him an indifferent look as she closed the door behind him.
"I got used to this after spending some time in Chaldea. Since we're not fighting, I might as well be comfortable."
She was wearing nothing more than a black T-shirt with something written in Katakana.
オ (o)
ル (ru)
タ (ta)
オルタ (Oruta)
Basically, it meant Alter.
She was also completely barefoot, walking around the room without the slightest concern.
The metallic ornament that normally held her hair in place had been set aside, allowing her long silver hair to fall freely. She looked like a lazy cat that had just woken up.
Arthur smiled.
"I wouldn't normally say this, but you look really beautiful," he complimented her.
"...Really?" she murmured as she twirled a lock of her hair around her finger.
"Ahem! You know my reputation as a womanizer. If you keep acting this cute, I won't be able to restrain myself," Arthur warned with a light laugh.
"Try it, and I'll cut off your little friend," she replied flatly while making a pair of scissors with her fingers.
"One day you'll admit you've already given in to temptation," Arthur laughed. No matter how threatening she tried to sound, the faint blush on her ears showed that she wasn't actually angry.
She was just being a tsundere.
"In your dreams."
That was all she said before continuing toward the entrance to the basement connected to her room.
Every room assigned to Heroic Spirits had an underground training area.
It was a space reinforced with multiple layers of magecraft, specifically designed to withstand Servants testing their Noble Phantasms and abilities without destroying half of Chaldea.
The problem was that Jeanne Alter's basement had long since stopped fulfilling that purpose in any civilized manner.
Two enormous stone pillars had been completely destroyed.
Much of the floor was cracked.
The walls were covered with deep scars from explosions and sword strikes, while several areas remained scorched despite the countless fire-resistant enchantments placed upon them.
Arthur looked over the devastated scene.
"...What the hell happened..."
But his words died before he could finish.
The broken pillars and cracked floor weren't the strangest things there.
Someone was lying right in the middle of the room.
Kiyohime, with her hands and feet tied together in a rather strange position, her mouth gagged with a cloth, and her face inexplicably flushed.
"...This is..."
Before Arthur could finish speaking, Jeanne Alter flicked her fingers.
A black blade sliced through the air and cut only the cloth covering Kiyohime's mouth.
"Our Master has arrived, you pervert. So don't start spitting fire everywhere."
Jeanne Alter crossed her arms.
"If you do... I'll tear your mouth off myself."
Kiyohime snorted.
"Even if you hadn't said that, I would've been careful."
She immediately looked at Arthur.
"Master."
With a small burst of flames, she burned away the ropes binding her hands and feet before standing up.
Then she pointed directly at Jeanne Alter.
"Did this cursed witch kidnap you too?" she asked.
"Tsk!"
Jeanne Alter clicked her tongue.
"Look who's talking."
Arthur rubbed his forehead, already feeling a headache coming on.
"Would someone please explain what the hell happened here?"
The two of them opened their mouths at exactly the same time.
"She started it!"
"She started it!"
They glared at each other and spoke simultaneously once again.
"Stop copying me!"
"Stop copying me!"
Arthur let out a long sigh.
After spending several minutes listening to them argue over who had copied whom, he finally managed to piece together the entire story.
It had all started because Jeanne Alter wanted to ask Arthur something the previous night.
As she walked through the hallway, she found Kiyohime silently crouched outside Arthur's room, peeking through the small gap in the door with a strange smile while making suspicious movements with her hands.
Naturally, Jeanne Alter asked what she was doing.
The answer genuinely left her speechless.
According to Kiyohime, now that she had become Arthur's Servant, it was only natural to stay as close to him as possible in order to serve him in every possible way whenever necessary.
Furthermore, she hadn't even felt the need to warn him never to lie to her.
With anyone else, that was always her first condition.
But, for some reason, when it came to Arthur, that concern simply didn't exist.
She had never told him not to lie because, to her, it seemed obvious.
In Kiyohime's own words...
"Master Arthur would never lie to me... right?"
Arthur scratched his cheek, clearly embarrassed by her unusual level of trust.
"Trusting that a man with such a huge harem would never lie to you seems even crazier than the Incineration of Humanity..." he thought.
Before he could respond, Jeanne Alter crossed her arms and let out a mocking laugh.
"If no one else is going to say it, then I will."
She looked directly at Kiyohime.
"Kiyohime... is there something wrong with your head?"
"If you really can't stand the possibility of someone lying to you, maybe you should give up this romance nonsense and become a damn nun instead."
"What did you just say, you fifth-rate witch!?" Kiyohime shot back immediately, taking a step forward. "Unlike certain people, I know when my Master is speaking sincerely!"
"And unlike certain stalkers, I still know how to use my brain before following someone around the hallways like a creep," Jeanne immediately fired back, also stepping forward.
"Stalker!? I'm simply fulfilling my duty as a devoted wife!"
"You're not even his wife!"
"YET!"
The two glared at each other once again as the atmosphere heated up. Arthur merely rubbed his forehead with two fingers before letting out a resigned sigh.
"Alright... stop this pointless argument. I think I completely understand the situation now."
His voice alone was enough to make both of them stop arguing.
Still exchanging hostile looks, Kiyohime and Jeanne Alter fell silent, waiting for him to continue.
"First, Kiyohime."
Arthur turned toward her.
"There's something I need to make clear. I can't, in good conscience, promise that I'll never lie to you."
"I'd already be lying if I made that promise."
Kiyohime's pupils trembled slightly.
Arthur continued before she could speak.
"However, I didn't realize how much that meant to you. But now I do. And precisely because I know..."
He smiled gently.
"I'll do my best not to lie to you."
He held her gaze for several seconds.
"That's the promise I'm making from now on. Is that enough for you?"
The tension gradually disappeared from Kiyohime's face.
She partially raised her fan to hide the faint blush on her cheeks as she looked away.
"...Yes."
Her voice came out much quieter than usual.
"Then I will continue serving you with all my loyalty, Master... as long as you don't lie to me."
She placed one hand over her chest and smiled with rare sincerity.
"I will believe your words, Master."
After resolving things with Kiyohime, Arthur turned his attention to Jeanne Alter.
"As for you, Jeanne..."
"What?" she raised an eyebrow.
"I completely understand why you did what you did."
Jeanne Alter looked surprised for a moment.
"You saw someone acting suspiciously around me, didn't like what you saw, and decided to act before anything could happen."
Arthur gave her a small smile.
"Even if your method was... extremely violent."
"Hmph."
She snorted.
"But thank you for worrying about me," Arthur finished with a smile.
Jeanne Alter immediately looked away.
"Who said I was worried? I just thought that stalker was ridiculous."
"Of course you did," Arthur replied, smiling even more.
"And stop smiling like that," she grumbled.
Arthur chuckled softly.
"I can't."
Jeanne Alter let out a long sigh and covered part of her face with one hand.
"Honestly... after seeing that stupid smile, it's hard to keep arguing."
She shook her head in resignation.
"Very well. Since you resolved the situation yourself, I'll let this Kiyohime business go."
Jeanne then shot the oni a sideways glance.
"But let this voyeur be warned. If I catch her spying outside your room again, I'll tie her up again—and this time, I'll bring fireproof ropes."
Kiyohime immediately answered,
"You can try!"
"You just admitted you plan on doing it again!" Jeanne mocked.
"And you just admitted you plan on tying me up again!"
"Because you deserve it!"
Arthur simply laughed as the two resumed their argument exactly where they had left off.
"I'm leaving the rest to you," Jeanne Alter huffed. "Don't make me regret it."
After finally settling that little incident, Arthur left Jeanne Alter's room.
Today was a special day.
It was the birthday of his beloved goddaughter, Illyasviel von Einzbern.
Because of that, Arthur decided to prepare a grand banquet to celebrate the occasion.
Besides himself, Ritsuka, Mash, all of his Heroic Spirits, Olga Marie, Romani, Da Vinci, the Tohsaka sisters, the Emiya family, Irisviel, the Chaldea staff, and naturally the star of the evening, Illyasviel, would all attend the celebration.
There was one important point that hadn't been mentioned before.
After the explosion caused by Lev Lainur, Chaldea had suffered far more damage than it initially appeared. Although Arthur, Ritsuka, and the others had managed to prevent the organization's complete destruction, most of the former researchers, technicians, and staff had been severely injured during the incident. Many survived only because they were hurriedly placed into suspended animation capsules, remaining in cryogenic sleep while awaiting treatment and a recovery that could take years.
Because of that, the current Chaldea was very different from what it had been before the explosion. Most of the daily work was carried out by the former YoRHa Scanner-class Homunculi, who handled facility maintenance, data collection and analysis, and operational support, while the Operators managed the internal systems, logistics, and communication between the base's various departments.
Shortly before losing the ability to travel between different worlds, Arthur had taken the final opportunity to bring them here, ensuring that Chaldea could continue functioning normally despite the absence of most of its human staff.
Unfortunately, he hadn't had the opportunity to bring 9S, 2B, or White. Otherwise, things would have been even easier around here.
A2 had something much more important to take care of—a little bundle of cuteness named Vergil—so bringing her here hadn't even crossed his mind.
In fact, even if he had wanted to, he couldn't have brought 9S. The kid seemed to have become obsessed with alien technology and had locked himself inside a laboratory to continue his research.
[A/N: Marvel Universe technology, obviously.]
Fortunately, the situation had changed recently. Thanks to the power of the Holy Grail obtained in the last Singularity, Arthur had regained the ability to travel between worlds. That meant that, besides continuing to recruit new allies whenever necessary, he could also obtain technologies, resources, and even specialists capable of accelerating the recovery of Chaldea's former staff.
(End of Chapter)
A/N: To be honest, I had completely forgotten about the NieR: Automata world until a few days ago, so I couldn't include 9S, 2B, or White in this arc. So here's an honorable mention for them.