"Huh? Go into town to exterminate ghouls?"
Hearing Jeanne's invitation, her cheeks faintly flushed, Shirou looked reluctant.
Of course he cared about the state of the city, and he did not want to see civilians attacked by monsters.
But surely there were better options than making a Heroic Spirit spend their daytime rest exterminating ghouls, right?
For example, leaving it to the Holy Church, which specialized in monster extermination.
Aside from that suspicious white-haired guy's place, weren't there several other churches in Romania?
They usually disguised themselves as community centers for civilians, but the Fathers living inside were actually monsters who could tear down buildings bare-handed... I know that, you know!
"How about contacting the Church?" Shirou asked.
Jeanne replied, "Actually... after learning Amakusa Shirou's true identity, I already tried to contact the Holy Church."
Shirou asked curiously, "Oh? What did they say?"
"The Church already knows the supervisor they sent has gone rogue. They've decided to wait and observe for the time being."
"...Useless lot."
"Don't say that!"
Jeanne puffed out her cheeks adorably and said angrily, "The Holy Church has its own difficulties too.
If they intervene now, it will only make the situation even more chaotic.
Although Amakusa Shirou isn't officially recognized as a saint, he does belong to the Holy Church.
At that point, it might develop into a civil war within the same organization.
Besides, they seem to have some disagreements with the Mage's Association too. In the end...
The Church doesn't think there's any need to obsess over a fake Holy Grail. To them, it's nothing more than a Mystic Code created by Magi."
Jeanne sighed. "From the Holy Church's perspective, it's truly regrettable that Amakusa Shirou is so fixated on a so-called universal wish-granting machine... especially as one of their own."
"...I see."
"Mm-hmm! Exactly!"
Jeanne leaned a little closer and continued pressing him. "So? Will you come with me to exterminate the ghouls?"
I feel like you could wipe out every ghoul in Europe all by yourself...
Just as Shirou was about to speak.
"Just go with her, Saber."
Shirou and Jeanne turned around and saw Manaka walking out of the kitchen while taking off her apron.
"Is that okay?" Shirou asked.
The girl nodded, her expression serious. "Yeah. These past few days, Saber has had to protect me at the inn during the day, then go out to fight at night...
You must have built up quite a bit of fatigue, right? You should go out and relax today."
"N-No... this isn't about relaxing! We have proper work to do!"
Jeanne hurriedly explained.
Huh?
Wait?
That's strange.
Why did Manaka agree so easily to my date with Artorius?
Jeanne's original plan had been to invite Manaka too, so the three of them could go out together... but Manaka did not seem to have any intention of doing that at all.
Did I misunderstand? Does she actually not have those kinds of feelings for Artorius?
Jeanne was still puzzled when Shirou stood up and said, "Since it's the Master's order, I guess I have no choice. Let's go, Ruler."
"Mm... mm-hmm...!"
Jeanne looked at Manaka Sajyou suspiciously.
"Take care~"
Manaka walked up to Shirou and reached out to straighten his rumpled collar.
That warm scene made Jeanne imagine a wife seeing her husband off to work.
...
Following Ruler's instructions, Shirou stood waiting at the inn entrance.
They could have simply left together, but for some reason, she insisted that Shirou wait outside first.
Come to think of it, something similar had happened before when he went out with Aoko and Alice... They said it made things feel more like a date.
But they were not wrong. Imagining how his companion would dress today while waiting was indeed a very pleasant thing.
Still... Jeanne and I aren't going out on a date.
Shirou thought to himself that today, he could not be as casual as he was when he was with Aoko and the others. He had to take this a little more seriously.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Shirou turned around and saw Ruler wearing something different from her usual casual clothes.
Instead of her usual uniform, which emphasized ease of movement, Jeanne was wearing a dress today.
The solid-colored one-piece dress gave her the pure, innocent air of a girl next door, while its fitted cut outlined the full, graceful curves of her figure.
The beautiful legs revealed beneath the hem were not bare. They were wrapped in pantyhose, long, rounded, and very eye-catching.
Not only that, the Holy Maiden's signature braids had been let down, and her smooth, dazzling golden hair flowed all the way to her heels.
Noticing Shirou's surprised expression, Jeanne said somewhat bashfully, "L-Leticia doesn't only have one set of casual clothes, you know?
I just picked something at random from the change of clothes I brought. How is it?"
"It's... beautiful..." Shirou said honestly.
"I-I see..."
Jeanne became even more embarrassed, so she tried to change the subject.
"By the way, after I spoke with someone from the Church yesterday, she told me there's a very famous café nearby...
Apparently, the owner is very particular about the flavor. Let's go have coffee there later!"
"Sure."
Shirou nodded.
Jeanne seems unusually excited. She hasn't forgotten why we came out today, has she...
Unable to keep the question to himself, Shirou asked, "But dressed like that... is it convenient for fighting?"
The red-haired boy's words made the Holy Maiden freeze.
After a long pause, she finally looked dejected and said, "Um... Sorry. I got too excited, so..."
"Leave today's fighting to me."
"Huh? But... wouldn't that be bad?"
Shirou narrowed one eye and smiled. "Ruler, don't you still have one of my Command Spells?
So in a sense, you're half my Master too. Just for today, during the day, let me protect you."
"!!!"
Jeanne's eyes widened.
She did not know whether the people around them could hear it, but she could hear her own heartbeat thundering.
Her cheeks... were probably bright red too.
"Ugh!"
To hide that indescribable embarrassment, she grabbed the boy's hand.
"D-Don't just stand there. Let's go!"
Just like that, time flew by.
For the entire day, the two of them searched all over the city for ghouls.
Jeanne used "Revelation" to determine the enemies' locations, while Shirou handled the fighting.
With their roles clearly divided, they soon eliminated all the ghouls Lancer had left behind.
Once the work was done, Shirou and Jeanne went to the open-air café they had mentioned earlier.
They each ordered a cup of coffee, and Jeanne added several sandwiches.
Even though the two of them had already eaten the bento Manaka prepared at noon.
When Shirou looked over in surprise, the Holy Maiden explained, both embarrassed and annoyed, "Leticia is still at an age where she's growing. Girls her age get hungry more easily!"
The day in the old town was gradually coming to an end, and the orange dusk spilled across the stone-paved road in front of the café.
Jeanne ate her sandwich while gazing at the scenery before her, lost in thought.
This peace was something the Holy Maiden had never experienced in her short life of just over ten years.
Naturally, this was also the first time she had ever sat down with a boy like this to drink coffee.
Then Jeanne noticed someone's gaze. Shirou was staring straight at her, completely absorbed.
"It's... beautiful..."
Jeanne remembered the compliment he had given her that morning.
"Ugh... D-Don't keep staring at me. It's rude."
"Sorry."
Shirou quickly lowered his head and drank his coffee. So bitter. He should have added more sugar.
"By the way, there's something I want to ask you..."
Ruler began in a slightly nervous voice, then cleared her throat.
Judging by the way she awkwardly looked away, it was probably a question that was hard for her to bring up.
"What is it?"
"Um, well... I know it's a little embarrassing to ask something so out of the blue..."
At that point, she fell silent.
Shirou had no idea what she wanted to ask, so he could not respond. He could only wait quietly.
After a while, Ruler seemed to give up the struggle and stole a glance at Shirou before asking, "Suppose... and I really mean suppose...!
There was a girl who had admired and idolized you for a very, very long time, someone who saw you as her Savior.
If someone like that existed, what would you think?"
"Hm?"
It really was a question that came out of nowhere.
Shirou thought for a moment and said, "I don't think I'm anyone that special...
But if someone like that really existed, I think I'd feel very honored."
"I see... hehe..."
Jeanne hid her face behind her coffee cup to cover up her happy, foolish grin.
"Then... would that make you like her?"
"Of course it would. If she sees me as someone she admires, then I'd take those feelings seriously.
If she didn't mind, I'd want to become friends with her too.
No, actually, I've heard there are fans who prefer to keep some distance from the people they admire, so maybe that wouldn't be appropriate..."
After Shirou said that, the light in Jeanne's eyes burned even hotter.
"I see. Then have you ever considered taking things a step further?"
"What do you mean?"
"Seeing her as a romantic partner..."
"Impossible."
Those three decisive words from Shirou sent Jeanne plunging as if into an icy lake.
The red-haired boy spoke with undisguised disgust. "Exploiting someone's admiration to satisfy your own base desires...
How is that any different from playing with someone's feelings? It's shameless."
"...Uh."
Jeanne's face turned pale.
So that was it...
That was how it was...
Would any decent man see the little girl he had raised as a romantic partner?
Just thinking about it was nauseating.
For Artorius, a girl who admired him would also be excluded from the realm of romance.
Feelings that could never be equal would naturally never lead to anything good...
Jeanne lightly bit her lip. The one saving grace was that she had not confessed to Shirou that she had admired the Holy Sword User ever since she was little.
"T-Then, what if the girl who admires you gradually turns that respect and admiration into affection while spending time with you?"
The trembling words Ruler spoke made Shirou freeze completely.
Shirou had never considered that question before, and for a moment he had no answer.
Seeing his hesitation, Jeanne grew anxious.
"J-Just as an example, I... um, when I say I, I don't mean me as Ruler...
L-Let's say, and this really is only an example, that a little girl named Jeanne d'Arc had been fascinated since childhood by the legends and myths of a certain king...
After growing up, she was inspired by you, became a hero whose deeds were recorded in the Human Order, and ascended to the Throne after death.
Then, hundreds of years later... through a twist of fate, she met you in the Holy Grail War and became your companion.
While fighting by your side, she developed new feelings different from the ones she had in the past...
You know... romantic feelings between a man and a woman... W-Would you be willing to accept her confession?"
Her words came out haltingly, and the girl's face was bright red with embarrassment.
After a brief silence, Shirou looked at Jeanne's flushed, lovely face and said calmly, "Jeanne... do you like me?"
"Whaaaaaaa!"
The Holy Maiden let out something like a scream and stood up, slapping the table.
The few customers scattered around the open-air café all turned to look, but she did not care.
"N-No, no, no, no... I told you it was just an example!!!"
"Oh, so it was just an example."
"Of course it was. What else did you think it was?"
"Sorry. I misunderstood."
"You... as long as you understand."
Jeanne sat back down in a huff.
Stupid Artorius... what on earth is going through his heaaaaad?
Normally, would anyone ask a woman that kind of question to her face?! That's so, so, so rude!
The fairly pleasant atmosphere between them had completely vanished.
The intense aura pouring off Jeanne even made the customers at the neighboring table hurriedly pay their bill early and leave.
"If it's only a hypothetical, then I'll answer honestly."
"Hmph~"
Jeanne pouted and stole a glance at Shirou from the corner of her eye.
"It really would still be hard to accept. I can't see a woman who idolizes me as a romantic partner.
I don't want to ruin the beautiful memories she has of me, so I couldn't accept that confession."
"I... see..."
Jeanne's voice sounded a little downcast.
Recently, she had been fooling around with Artorius so much that she had forgotten he was, in truth, an exceptionally noble Heroic Spirit.
A king like him would never see a little girl as a romantic partner...
"That said, people often tell me, 'You may have principles, but when it comes to women, you have absolutely no restraint.'"
Shirou turned his head and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Normally, I wouldn't be able to see her as a romantic partner...
But depending on who it was, I might not be able to hold to that.
If it were Jeanne, I really don't know what would happen."
"...Huh?"
Ruler's eyes widened.
If it were me, he wouldn't know what would happen.
What did that mean?
Jeanne's cheeks quickly turned red and hot, and her mind went completely blank.
Does that mean I actually have a chance?
The moment that thought crossed her mind, the corners of the Holy Maiden's mouth lifted in a broad, uncontrollable smile.
"Ruler... you really do like me, don't you?"
"I told you, that's not it!"