The morning sun spread across the land. The Pyrenees Mountains appeared in a peaceful golden hue under the morning light, seeming to herald a good day.
At this time, Jeanne and Reines, dressed in dirty and tattered clothes, had long since arrived at the weed-covered hillside to begin their daily labor.
Reines grabbed a handful of black mud and slapped it onto Jeanne's face, covering up the fair, tender, and supple skin on Jeanne's face again.
"Jeanne, the dirt on your face is gone!"
Jeanne nodded at Reines, reached out to smear the black mud on her face, and spread it evenly.
These past few days, Jeanne and Reines, who had infiltrated the village disguised as refugee farm women, had not had it easy. Not only did they fail to obtain any intelligence because most of the people they encountered were ignorant farm women, but they also had to smear mud and dust on themselves every day to cover their appearances—after all, what kind of farm woman has fair, tender, and supple skin?
They could only wear tattered clothes that God only knows how long hadn't been washed, and they were never full, with barely any water to drink. After all, there weren't many water sources on the Pyrenees Mountains, and most water came from melted snow. But precisely because of this, Jeanne and Reines were able to blend into this village; after all, with insufficient water, everyone couldn't bathe, and not bathing made it less likely to be exposed.
At this moment, a farm woman carrying a tattered basket stood with arms akimbo, pointing at Jeanne and Reines and shouting.
"You newcomers! Yes, you two! What are you whispering about over there! Hurry up and find food!"
Scolded, Jeanne and Reines quickly shut their mouths and began digging for wild vegetables growing in the crevices of the rocks, collecting some edible insects.
When the sun rose higher and the nearby farm women had already gathered in more distant places, Reines tossed aside the broken basket and lay on a flat, large rock, complaining.
"I'm done! We can't get any intelligence in these days, we can only eat one meal of wild vegetable and insect soup, and we have to be scolded by this group of farm women! Jeanne, let's just go to the fortress and show our cards!"
"I have no objections, Master. I will follow your instructions!"
Reines stroked her chin, looking at the completely indifferent Jeanne, and couldn't help but sigh.
'Rin! How could a Servant brought in through your robbery method sincerely help us!'
Yes, indifferent. Jeanne, who had been forcibly contracted by Rin and left in the Spiritron World, had given up on herself. After all, whoever was forcibly contracted like this wouldn't have a good expression. If it were someone with a slightly worse temper, let alone helping Chaldea, not stabbing them in the back directly would be good enough.
But even for someone like Jeanne, whose personality was extremely good, she couldn't let go of Rin's actions. However, Jeanne did quite approve of the actions of Rin and their Chaldea to save the world, which was why she chose to help Rin and the others. But don't expect Jeanne to do her best.
Just like that, Reines and Jeanne silently found a hillside that ordinary people could never reach. They first used Reines's magecraft to clean their bodies, then changed back into their clothes and quickly moved towards the fortress.
Just as Jeanne and Reines were about to reach the fortress, a fierce sound of horns made Jeanne and Reines stop in their tracks.
Reines looked puzzledly at Jeanne, who had stopped her, and asked strangely.
"Jeanne, what's wrong!"
"This is the horn sound of the French Army discovering an enemy attack. Something is wrong!"
Suddenly, a rain of arrows attacked them from the fortress, and at the same time, a team of cavalry rushed out of the fortress gate, swiftly charging towards Jeanne and Reines.
"Dragon Queen! Quickly, quickly!"
Jeanne, as if dancing, waved her war flag to block all the arrow rain, then grabbed Reines and gracefully jumped, dodging the short spears thrown by the cavalry.
Reines, having reacted, angrily entered her Servant form and waved her hand.
Suddenly, a large amount of mercury emerged from the ground, instantly entangling the cavalry's warhorses and tripping them all.
"Master, don't hurt anyone, let's retreat first!"
Reines looked at the fortress unwillingly, used mercury to create two warhorse golems, and with Jeanne, each took one and rushed towards the nearby dense forest.
However, the French Army seemed to have no intention of giving up. Continuous horn sounds rang out, beacon fires were lit on various hills, and a large group of cavalry in the fortress, led by Gilles, rushed out of the fortress, chasing after Jeanne and Reines.
At the same time, the French Army continuously poured out of villages and caves throughout the mountains, starting to encircle and suppress the two together with the cavalry from the fortress.
"What the hell! How did it turn out like we poked a hornet's nest!"
Jeanne and Reines reined in their horses, looking at the French Army that had already surrounded them from all directions. They looked at each other and saw the confusion in each other's eyes; after all, the French Army's behavior was really too abnormal.
At this moment, the French Army in the direction of the fortress opened a path. Gilles, riding a warhorse, walked out of the ranks, holding his longsword and asking loudly.
"Jeanne~! No! Dragon Queen, you actually dare to appear here alone!"
Reines looked at Jeanne suspiciously, then reached out and gently poked Jeanne's slender waist.
"It seems to be because of you!"
Understanding something now, Jeanne shook her head, leaped off the warhorse, held the war flag high, and slowly walked towards Gilles.
And every time Jeanne took a step forward, the French soldiers retreated in fear. Only Gilles remained in place with a grave expression, watching Jeanne getting closer and closer.
"Gilles, I am Jeanne, not some Dragon Queen!"
When Jeanne walked in front of Gilles, Gilles couldn't help but feel puzzled. Why did the Jeanne in front of him feel different? Could it be a disguise?
"Stop! Crossbowmen, prepare!"
However, no matter what, Gilles would not take it lightly. He first shouted loudly to make Jeanne stop 5 steps in front of him, then waved his hand to order the army.
The French Army quickly deployed their formation, the crossbowmen quickly rushed to the front row, aiming their cold, gleaming arrows at Jeanne.
Seeing that the crossbowmen were ready, Gilles gained a little confidence. Gilles jumped off the warhorse, walked cautiously to Jeanne, and examined this Jeanne, who was different from the Jeanne in his cognition.
"You indeed don't look like her, so who are you!"
Jeanne frowned, pulled out the Catherin Holy Sword from her waist, and stuck it into the ground. At the same time, a bad premonition arose in her heart, 'Is there another version of myself in this Singularity?'
Gilles looked at the Catherin Holy Sword on the ground emitting a dim, holy radiance, and believed a little more that the Jeanne in front of him was not the Dragon Queen.
However, this matter was still of great importance and not something Gilles could decide.
"Someone, go and invite Queen Marie!"
The knights in the army formation looked at each other and remained silent. Only Baudricourt, who had originally recommended Jeanne to the Crown Prince, sighed and agreed.
"Yes!"
Then, Baudricourt rode his warhorse towards the fortress, looked back at Jeanne in the encirclement, and muttered.
"Jeanne! Don't let me be disappointed again!"
At this moment, Reines came to Jeanne's side with a heavy heart, patted Jeanne's shoulder, scanned the French Army surrounding her and Jeanne, and let out a long sigh.
Thinking to herself, 'Forcibly summoning Jeanne, and descending into this Singularity with a dissatisfied Jeanne, Rin, you probably knew it a long time ago! No wonder after forcibly summoning Jeanne, Rin, you didn't have any thought of explaining to Jeanne. It turns out we were all in your plan, Rin. It's truly cruel!'
At this time, Rin, who was in the royal palace, looked at the mysterious symbols sent by Touko on the communicator and muttered.
"It seems Jeanne already knows. The Saint and the Witch! My Throne of Heroes has been waiting for you two for a long time!"
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