-"Done! Now, pay up."-Saber turned to Jeanne.
-"Of course, please show me your hands."-Jeanne walked to two Masters and started to grand them their command spells.
I let my wolves disappear, leaving only bracelets as a connection between them and me.
-"So what now?"-Saber looked around.
-"Now we shall return to our faction."-Archer answered her.-"It was a pleasure working with you."
-"Sure, can't wait to fight you next time."-Saber smiled, full of fighting spirit.-"And you, Bastard Mage, I don't care about your connection to Father and that Witch, but next time I see you, I'll make sure to stick my sword up your ass."
I rolled my eyes at her provocation and left her a message conveying my blessing for her future fights. I also left a small wisp of aura on her, so that a certain mother could find her lost child later.
After that short banter, Jeanne finished giving out rewards, so she gathered the girls who were nearby and left with them. Archer left after shattering the bracelet I gave him, but his Master kept it, leaving it in case communication between us proved necessary. On Saber's side, the exact opposite situation occurred, as it was her Master who destroyed the bracelet while she kept it, cursing me from time to time as if to relieve her boredom.
I filtered out her voice and started dealing with the aftermath. Because this whole action took place in broad daylight, even if we took precautions, there were still some witnesses who needed to be dealt with. Luvia already ordered her people to act, so I only needed to locate all those who saw something they shouldn't have. In about an hour, we dealt with the people, so only the aftermath of the battle remained, but this also could be left to Luvia's people.
With nothing else to do, I looked at the time and saw that there were still a few hours before nightfall, so I decided to meet up with Jeanne and the girls to discuss our next actions. Hopping onto Arion, I made my way toward the mansion where the girls were already resting. When I walked in, I first looked at Sakura, who nodded at me but then proceeded to act as if that whole conversation had never happened.
-"Eno, will you stay for dinner?"-Luvia asked with her usual polite smile.
-"Please."-I nodded.-"How are you all holding up?"
-"Been better."-Rin answered from where she was sprawled out on the sofa.-"This whole Holy Grail War is such an annoyance."
-"Heh, I bet you would sing a different tune if your family were still one holding the Holy Grail War."-Luvia rolled her eyes at her friend.
-"At least my family legacy is something more than money."
-"I must agree to that, your family legacy is everything but money."
-"Ugh."-Rin acted as if she had been hit by being called poor.
-"You two..."-Jeanne didn't understand how these two became friends.
-"Miss, Ladies, and Lord."-A servant spoke from the door.-"The dinner has been prepared."
-"Thank you, we'll go there in a moment."-Luvia answered before looking at us.-"Shall we?"
We all nodded and went to the dining room. The dishes were already waiting for us, so we sat down and started to eat.
-"Eno, what should we do now?"-Jeanne asked at some point.
-"At first, we will stay back in the Tower to deal with everything while looking for any broken rules or other issues. I suggest you all also join us there, as there I can better guarantee your safety, especially as both factions now should know that you are important to us."
-"Then we will do so."-Reines nodded after thinking about it for a second.-"Is there any way we can assist you more?"
-"There is. As you know, we expect an influx of wounded homunculi to appear. I would ask you to help with treatment and accommodating them."
-"Leave it to us."-Luvia quickly agreed.
-"But we don't know any healing spells."-Rin reminded.
-"Jeanne would be the primary healer, with my Ashes assisting when needed. Your job would be to order them when needed, as any complicated task would need someone to take charge."
-"But what about the fight itself?"-Jeanne asked.-"We can't just watch from the side, can we?"
-"It would be best if we could, but I doubt that will happen. I will observe everything, and if something goes wrong, we will respond appropriately."
-"I will listen to you, but I feel that there is something wrong with everything."
-"Feel, as if your revelation?"
-"Yes."-Jeanne nodded.-"There is something in the Red faction that makes me uneasy."
-"Then we should know what it is tonight."
-"What about Professor El-Melloi II?"-Sakura asked, remembering one missing person.
-"He should be back tomorrow, at least that was the latest information Princess Morgan sent me."
-"I see, thank you."
-"Ok, let's stop this work meeting."-Rin clapped her hands to interrupt us.-"This might be our last free time like this, right? So how about we play something together? Let's not worry about any and everything for the next few hours."
-"Childish, but I'm not opposed. I would love to get to know something about Jeanne d'Arc and you, Eno."-Reines showed a somewhat mischievous smile.
-"Why not?"-Luvia also agreed.
Sakura simply nodded, her eyes focusing on me.
-"What do you think, Jeanne?"
-"Let's play."-She nodded.
-"So what are to rules?"-I asked.
-"We'll play something easy, Old Maid, for example, and the winner can ask the loser a question which has to be answered truthfully."-Rin explained quickly.
-"Sure."
And so we sat in the living room and started to play. Both Jeanne and I had a solid C in luck, so the game was rather fair and random. The first few rounds were spent on learning how to play, but after that, we started with questions.
First to lose Rin herself, and so she was asked about her most shameful moment by Luvia. She answered, describing how she almost burned down her house while learning her first spells. Next one to answer was Reines, but she got an easy question from Sakura about her ideal partner. To that, she explained that she only requires someone who can guarantee her standing and provide for her family, as a heiress, she must put her family first.
Third to lose was Jeanne, and the one asking the question was me, so I asked her if she ever regretted taking up the banner. She answered that while she would do it again, there was one thing she regretted: never starting a family. She explained that she once promised her parents that she would find true love one day, but she was unable to achieve that.
The fourth round ended in another loss for Reines, and this time it was Rin asking questions, so she didn't get an easy one this time. What was she thinking when she met Jeanne and me for the first time? She answered that she thought that Jeanne was a naive country girl whose fame seemed overblown, while about me, she thought about how to tie me up to her so that she could gain my assistance and knowledge, thinking even about forcing me to make a move on her.
This changed the atmosphere slightly, and the next questions also didn't help. I learned that Sakura envied her sister, and that the person she wanted to date most now was me. Rin felt that Jeanne was too meek, while I was too overbearing and work-oriented, and that she once found her schoolmate interesting, but never dated him due to them being from different worlds.
Reines avoided any more questions due to not losing, but Luvia lost her luck and lost a total of five times, answering more questions than everyone. She admitted that she often measured people by the money that they could bring her, that Rin was her friend due to her never trying to gain something from her, and that she also acted with a plan to gain something from me by assisting me that much. She also got to answer about her personal feelings, and like Reines, she admitted that she had to put family before her preferences, but right now, and as there was no man who could match her, she had no one she had feelings for, though she joked that she would agree if I were to propose.
Jeanne got to answer about her past, admitting that she received many offers to become a wife from nobles, even a concubine for a prince, but she never agreed, just pretended she couldn't understand, which was easy, as she couldn't read or write, so many looked down on her. She also admitted that she felt unworthy of her Saintes title, but she wished to live up to it.
I got to answer four questions in total. First was about my status, as Reines was interested in that. I answered that I was Saint of Sankta, and I would be the leader of Raya Lucaria Academy in the future. Aside from that, I was knight of Caria and Britain. Next, I was asked if I had a lover or someone like that. There was no such person, but, if the accident hadn't happened, I would be engaged to a Saintes sometime later in Laterano.
Next was a question about my thoughts on each of them. I started from Luvia by telling her that I found her a great work partner and talented steward, but her materialistic outlook on life conflicted a little with my emphasis on vows and honor. Reines reminded me of Morgan, but she was much weaker. For me, she tried to hide weakness behind a strong façade and cruelty, but lacked the power to truly be by herself. Rin was akin to a student who didn't know her way further, living in the moment and not planning for the future. Sakura was someone with whom I could empathize, but her nature and character made me feel weird.
Jeanne was someone I had the strongest feeling for among the people present. I envied her conviction, as my Sainthood was forced upon me, and I never even wished to live up to it, just to do what I was told to. I also admitted that I found her strong points to compensate well for my shortcomings, her emotions to my rationality, her faith and creeds to my realism and partialism. I also admitted to finding all of them attractive, but Jeanne's appearance was most to my liking.
Lastly, I was asked about what I hated the most, and I answered that there were two things I despised: gods who toyed with those beneath them, and those who treated life and death as something they could control and rule, denying the natural order of things. Both of them were due to my life in the Lands Between, though Originium and my childhood in Laterano also played a role.
My last answer especially interested some of them, asking if I was against Heroic Spirits being revived people of the past, and I answered that I wasn't against that or seeking immortality. I purely hated the idea that one could dictate those for others, citing necromancy as an example, enslaving souls and spirits of those who passed, but as someone who achieved immortality to escape the fate of death to Originium, I understood others who pursued it. In my eyes, one's life and death should always be in the hands of the person living it; they should decide how to live it, and for what to die in the end.
We played and talked until the sun hung low on the horizon. Only then did we decide to end it and head to my Tower. The girls started to familiarize themselves with the surroundings. Jeanne also helped the saved homunculus prepare stretchers. At the same time, I started to watch what was happening, and I didn't have to look hard, as the giant flying fortress approaching the Yggdmillennia Castle was hard to miss.
On one side, the army of homunculi and golems, on the other, the so-called Dragon Tooth Warriors. But before they could clash, an opening strike was launched from the Red side. Archer of Red used her Noble Phantasm to decimate the Black army. As she focused on dealing as much damage to as many targets, most of her arrows only heavily injured those shot, but even then, only a third or so homunculi escaped the fate of being killed instantly. All those who could be saved started to appear in my Tower, quickly making everyone here busy with dealing with them.
After the first strike, the other Heroic Spirits started to appear one by one. First was Berserker of Black, who blocked the remaining arrows of Red Archer. Next, Rider of Red rushed into the fray, only to be blocked by Archer of Black, starting a duel between student and teacher. But that fight was but a background to the true battle on the central stage, two Lancers facing each other.
Hero of Charity and The Impaler. Both were figures who could dominate this entire battlefield, one holding a fire that could easily kill a god, while the other was the figure behind a legacy of cruelty and blood. That fight was truly something to behold, while neither could match the martial prowess of Scáthach, even she would need to be careful when confronting them.
While I was focused on them, Archer of Red also appeared on the battlefield, wanting to help Red Lancer, but the appearance of the crazed Berserker of Red made her focus on him. Rider of Black also appeared on the field, but rather than helping on the ground, he tried to assault the flying fortress, only to be stopped by yet another group of skeletal monsters.
Saber of Black stayed on the castle walls, most likely waiting for Red Saber to appear, but she seemed to be late. As if hearing my quiet complaint, I received yet another series of curses through the bracelet, so she most likely was about to arrive.
I was surprised how orderly this battle was taking place, but the moment I thought so, a strange aura appeared in the forest. I felt the appearance of Red Caster there some time before, and though they showed up to lure Berserker of Black away, but then another aura appeared, one not exactly Servant, but also not that of a Master. It was similar to how Jeanne appeared, but that should be impossible.
I thought back on everything I knew about this and the past Holy Grail War, until a name came to my mind. Ruler of the previous War, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada. I quickly made some reasonings and came to a shocking theory. That was the anomaly that forced Jeanne to appear, maybe even the reason why I was brought here.
I quickly searched for him, and soon, a figure wearing a priest's uniform appeared in my vision. His smile showed that he was in control of this whole situation. Seemingly aware of my gaze, he spoke into the empty air, knowing well that he would become our target shortly after.
-"It's a pleasure to meet you, Champion of Gaia. Please, pass my regards to the Ruler."
With that, all the pieces appeared on the board. Now we only need to play this game to the end.