By the time Jeanne finally realized the vampires had broken into her home and hurried back to the castle, an hour had already passed.
"Everyone! Are you all right?"
Inside the conference room she pushed open were the people who had just finished clearing the ghouls out of the castle.
Jeanne pushed through the crowd, looking left and right, until she finally spotted the figure she had been searching for.
The Holy Maiden smiled and jogged over. "I'm so sorry! Ar..."
"Ruler, you're back. Thank you for all your hard work tonight."
Jeanne's relaxed, healing smile slowly froze.
Because she saw the girl who had become the new leader of Yggdmillennia.
Fiore was resting her head on Shirou's lap, her sleeping face peaceful and blissful.
"Um... w-why is Miss Fiore lying on your lap?"
Jeanne forced down the irritation in her voice.
She could not see the wheelchair Fiore usually sat in. Even if... even if there was no wheelchair, that still did not mean she should be sleeping against a boy, did it?
This was far too improper!
"Because Fiore was tired."
Shirou tilted his head as he answered.
On the way back, Jeanne had already heard that Fiore had been attacked by a vampire and saved by Shirou.
She could roughly imagine what happened afterward.
The girl Shirou had rescued was exhausted from the shock, but she was too afraid to stay in the room where she had been attacked, so...
Shirou must have been the one who let her rest on his lap. Fiore would not be shameless enough to do that on her own...
How enviable... No, how indecent!
Jeanne's brow twitched, and she said with a serious expression, "It wouldn't look very good if someone saw this..."
"Yeah, you're right. I really didn't think that through... If Fiore found out, she'd probably scold me too."
Shirou scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
She would probably be too happy to complain, Jeanne thought, puffing out her cheeks.
Ruler sat down beside Shirou, and the two began exchanging what had happened to them that night.
While Shirou had successfully eliminated Berserker, Jeanne had also encountered the Heroic Spirits of the "Red" faction.
A fierce battle broke out, and both sides suffered injuries to some extent.
"Did you fight too?"
Shirou noticed that Jeanne was wearing military attire formed from magical energy instead of the casual clothes she had worn when she left, which meant she had fought tonight.
"I had no choice. They had already decided I was their enemy."
Jeanne said, "I told the Servants of the 'Red' faction that they had all been deceived by Father and Assassin, but they said they already knew the truth.
Even after learning the truth, they still chose to fight without changing their stance."
Shirou stroked his chin. "So that means the 'Red' Lancer and the others were all persuaded by Amakusa Shirou?"
"Mm."
"'Salvation for All Mankind,' huh... What do you think, Ruler?"
Jeanne fell silent for a moment, then honestly shook her head. "I don't know.
But I have a very bad feeling about this. I feel like I have to meet Amakusa Shirou and talk to him properly."
"Then let's meet him. I'll help you arrange it."
Jeanne nodded. "You're right. The problem now is how to get close to that Hanging Garden.
You do have a Noble Phantasm that can fly, but the moment you bring something like that out, it would mean open war with them, wouldn't it?
Hm? ...What did you say?"
The Holy Maiden looked at Shirou in astonishment.
The red-haired boy smiled. "I'll help Ruler arrange a meeting with them."
"Wait... how do you plan to do that?" Jeanne asked, stunned.
"Isn't it simple? I just have to use the Holy Grail as bait."
"Really? I don't think that cautious man will take the bait."
Shirou shook his head confidently.
"Without the Holy Grail's support as he planned, even if Amakusa Shirou stored up sixty years' worth of resources in advance...
After this series of battles, he should be stretched thin by now. He can't keep supplying magical energy to five Servants for much longer, can he?"
…
"I see... So Lancer is gone too..."
The girl stood at the bow of the Hanging Garden, gazing at the lights of the distant town while the high-altitude wind lifted her platinum-blonde hair.
"Such a strong, terrifying, incredible Lancer, and in the end, he still couldn't defeat my Saber..."
Manaka Sajyou murmured to herself, "He really is worthy of being my Prince..."
Although it was a fact she had known all along, witnessing it with her own eyes was still a very fresh experience for the girl.
The strongest Heroic Spirit, who should never have been summoned into the Holy Grail War.
The King at the End of the Human Order, who protected Britannia and saved the world.
As his Master, Manaka Sajyou felt nothing but happiness and pride.
If only... Saber had not relied on Jeanne's Command Spell tonight, it would have been perfect.
She was happy that he had accepted her request and given up on using her Command Spell, but... that was still only a small flaw in an otherwise perfect performance.
The Holy Maiden loved him as deeply as she did.
Manaka Sajyou had realized that long ago, perhaps earlier than anyone else.
In that case, there was nothing wrong with letting you like him just a little, was there?
The girl smiled sweetly, like a fairy.
"Now that matters have come to this, what do you intend to do next?"
A bewitching figure that seemed to melt into the night appeared at the bow of the Hanging Garden.
Semiramis, Queen of the Ancient Empire and Vicious Garden Witch, walked up beside Manaka with an unhappy expression.
"Good evening, Assassin."
"I am surprised you still have the nerve to show yourself before me. Has this not turned out completely different from what we agreed?"
Semiramis crossed her arms. "Did you not say I would obtain the Holy Grail smoothly? Yet now it has fallen into your hands."
The killing intent radiating from the Empress was enough to make a massive Magical Beast tremble and flee, but Manaka paid it no mind.
The girl raised her pale arm, and a golden cup rippling with colorless magical energy appeared in her palm.
"...!"
Semiramis's eyes widened, and her body leaned forward slightly.
If not for the upbringing she had as a queen, she would likely have rushed forward and snatched the Holy Grail away.
"Are you going to give it to me?"
"...No. Saber asked me to keep it safe. If I lose it, he'll scold me."
"Tch... If you are not willing to hand it over, do not take it out just to show it off!"
Semiramis gritted her teeth.
"Please rest assured, Assassin. You are an important companion to me...
I will share the Holy Grail with you in the end. Since it was a promise, I absolutely won't go back on my word."
Manaka put the Holy Grail away, then observed her expression and looked deeply puzzled. "Why are you so anxious?"
"Wha..."
The Empress froze at the question.
Am I... that emotionally unstable right now?
She had only just left Amakusa Shirou.
Although her Master had said nothing, it was clear he was distracted.
After all, the plan he had spent more than sixty years preparing had gone wrong at a crucial step.
No matter how skilled he was at regaining his composure, it was only natural that he would feel frustrated.
But... what did that have to do with Semiramis?
In her own eyes, Assassin's wish for taking part in the Holy Grail War was very small.
It was "to obtain eternal life, and absolute power sufficient to rule the world."
Aside from that, she had also taken pleasure in observing the end of the boy who had summoned her and prepared the Hanging Gardens for her... observing Amakusa Shirou's final fate.
Watching him fly into the flame, chasing his dream until he died foolishly.
To the Empress, it was a rather pleasant diversion, much like the performance of a court jester.
If she was merely an observer, then she should have no reason to feel restless, Semiramis thought.
"I have something I wish to ask you," the Empress said, looking down at the girl from above.
"What is it?"
"Why did you choose me?"
Semiramis asked in a low voice, "Out of so many Heroic Spirits... why did you choose me alone as your ally?"
The principle of the Holy Grail War.
The Greater Grail cannot activate the Wish Machine on its own.
It requires the fuel of condensed, immense magical energy, the materialized miracle, in other words, the souls of the seven Heroic Spirits summoned by the Holy Grail, to open a passage to The Root.
In other words.
Of the fourteen Servants participating in the Great Holy Grail War, only the deaths of seven Heroic Spirits have meaning.
The reason they are divided into "Red" and "Black" factions is to minimize destruction as much as possible and keep the ritual from becoming too chaotic.
But... in the end, there can only be one victorious Master-Servant pair.
Once one faction has been slaughtered to the last, the remaining members of the other faction will kill each other until a single true victor is decided.
To the rare genius, Manaka Sajyou, this method was far too inefficient.
"Those Heroic Spirits who vanish in despair, yet cannot become fuel for the Holy Grail... they're far too pitiful."
And so, Manaka Sajyou reshaped the Great Holy Grail War.
She would make every Heroic Spirit's death meaningful.
In other words.
Manaka Sajyou would offer fourteen Heroic Spirits to the Greater Grail, including the two Rulers.
In the end, only her beloved Saber and the Assassin willing to submit to her would remain.
That way, the amount of wish-power obtained would be twice the original.
It would be able to grant more wishes, or "greater wishes."
A wish like Semiramis's, "eternal life and eternal dominion," was insignificant before wish-power on that scale.
Semiramis believed Manaka Sajyou's plan was feasible.
If it was this girl, even expanding the Holy Grail's functions was not impossible.
What she could not understand was why Manaka had chosen her.
Semiramis's wish was simple, and it would not conflict with Manaka's intentions.
As the de facto No. 2 of the "Red" faction, Semiramis could easily deal with the Servants beneath her, while also stabbing her Master through the heart from behind if he let his guard down.
Those were all important reasons, but there should have been something more decisive...
"Why did I choose Assassin?"
The girl tilted her head adorably, as if the answer were almost absurdly simple.
"Hmm~ Because Assassin is very similar to me?"
"What?" The Empress clicked her tongue.
She knew perfectly well that the girl before her was something wearing the appearance of a cute little girl.
An existence regarded as a mother by the offspring of the Goddess Tiamat.
As if seeing through Semiramis's confusion, Manaka smiled with innocent delight.
"I think Assassin and I are the same kind of person, you know? Hehe."
"...I am not like you."
Manaka Sajyou covered her mouth in surprise. "Oh my... If I've angered you, please allow me to apologize."
Semiramis lowered her voice, her tone thick with disgust.
"I would never be like you... so captivated by a man that I lose all sense of myself...!"
"...Ah."
When Assassin brought up her and Shirou, Manaka's expression turned terribly bashful.
There was pride and happiness in it, along with the shyness unique to a girl experiencing her first love.
Semiramis simply could not understand it.
The Empress, who saw men only as tools and stepping stones, could never understand such feelings.
For romance, for love.
The Root Maiden, who transcended all things on earth and every star in the sky, had willfully entrusted herself to a boy she had known for less than a month.
That expression and attitude meant to please a man only seemed laughable, pitiful, and tragic to Semiramis.
Even though she could so easily obtain everything, dominate everything, and take everything.
Manaka Sajyou had chosen to give up everything for one man.
"Don't be ridiculous."
I will prove it to you. I am not like you.
Semiramis gripped her pitch-black gown, her teeth sinking into her full lips.
...
Leticia seemed to have adjusted to the time difference between Eastern and Western Europe recently, and she had reached the point where even five hours of sleep a day was enough.
Jeanne woke up around breakfast time and ate with Shirou and Manaka.
As always, today's breakfast had been prepared by Manaka, and it was very, very, very~ delicious.
The Holy Maiden gratefully cleaned her plate.
During their casual conversation at the table, Jeanne learned that Shirou's cooking was even better than Manaka's.
Huh? How could that possibly be true?!
She did not believe it, but... if she had the chance, she really wanted to try Artorius's cooking~
Jeanne shook her head and slapped her cheeks with both hands.
"Artorius!"
"What is it?"
Shirou was sitting at the table reading the newspaper. It covered the recent monster attacks in Trifas.
As for what the monsters really were, there was no need to say it. They were ghouls.
Although the vampire responsible had been eliminated last night, some of the ghouls he had turned still seemed to be hiding in town.
Jeanne glanced at the newspaper and asked, "Are you free during the day?"
"I don't have anything else to do."
Shirou found it a little strange. They were clearly at an inn, so why had Ruler changed into casual clothes so early in the morning? Where were her pajamas?
"In that case..."
The blonde girl turned her slightly warm face away and invited him while pretending not to care.
"Why don't we go into town together during the day and clear out the ghouls?
I mean... it would be dangerous to leave them alone, wouldn't it?"
That was a lie.
Ruler possessed the power of "Revelation," which allowed her to sense the locations of the lower-tier monsters lurking in town.
With her strength, dealing with a few isolated ghouls would take no effort at all.
The real reason she invited Shirou was the guilt she felt over last night.
Jeanne had chosen the wrong strategy, causing Shirou to fight Lancer again.
Jeanne felt she should make it up to him somehow.
So she thought of inviting Shirou out for a walk through town during the day, letting him unwind after the string of battles.
In other words, a date.
***
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