Chapter 53: The Dragon and the Saint
First Singularity — New Orleans
I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard someone speak. Turning, I saw Mash with her hand extended toward me. I had been sitting on the ground without realizing it.
“Haah… Looks like we managed to reach here safely, Senpai,” Mash said, her voice filled with relief as I took her hand and climbed back to my feet.
“We were teleported by accident last time. This time it was a proper Rayshift via the Coffin with no physical anomalies,” she added, releasing my hand and beginning to look around.
We had apparently landed in an open field, with a dense forest stretching behind us.
I blinked as a familiar furry weight landed on my shoulder. Fou had hopped up and was now licking my cheek playfully, making himself comfortable.
“Fou! Fou! Fou!”
“Fou-san? Did you tag along again?” Mash asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
Before I could answer, the rest of the group materialized a short distance away.
“Darling! I’m so glad you’re alright~” Tamamo cried happily. She leaped into my arms, forcing Fou to jump onto my head to keep his balance. She snuggled warmly against my chest, her tails swishing with joy.
“Sieg, there’s something in the sky you should all see,” Artoria said, her voice serious as she pointed upward.
As one, we turned our gazes to the heavens. A massive ring of light hung ominously overhead, pulsing with an unsettling presence.
“Have any idea what that is, Sieg?” Scáthach asked, her expression grave. The tone in her voice told me just how serious the situation might be.
“I’m afraid not,” I replied, shaking my head slowly, my own face settling into a small frown. “The information I received about this timeline is incomplete, just the major events that will occur.”
At that moment, Romani established contact. A holographic image of him appeared, seated between Olga and Da Vinci.
“Yes, we’re connected! Not the best quality, but I’ve got video feed now too,” Romani said with a sigh of relief, only to notice our serious, surprised expressions.
Olga beat him to the question, shoving the poor man aside as she demanded answers in a worried tone.
“What’s the matter, Sieg? Mash? Is everything alright?” she asked, unable to fully hide the concern on her face.
Mash took charge smoothly. “Director, I’ll send you visuals. What is that?” She fiddled with her communicator for a moment.
A second later, we heard gasps from the Chaldea side.
“This is… a ring of light… No, some form of magecraft cast over satellite orbit?” Romani muttered, taking over briefly before being interrupted again.
“Sieg, you wouldn’t happen to know what that is, would you?” Da Vinci asked.
“I’m afraid not,” I repeated, earning a nod from her.
“That’s fine then. We’ll analyze it on our end,” Da Vinci assured us. “You guys focus on surveying the area. Start by searching for leylines.” With that, she cut the connection.
“Yosh! Leave showing the way to me~” Astolfo declared happily, pumping his fist in the air. “I’m at least confident enough in navigating us through a country I know pretty well!”
“We should probably start by finding the nearest town or village,” Alter said calmly, standing beside her counterpart.
I turned to the two Artorias, suddenly remembering something important.
“Actually, Artoria, Alter… If we encounter any soldiers, I’d like you both to try your best to keep your faces hidden as much as possible. Especially you, Artoria,” I requested.
Both of them looked at me in confusion, particularly Artoria, who seemed puzzled that I had singled her out.
The two Artorias blinked before turning to one another in confusion for a moment. Artoria tilted her head toward me.
“Is there any specific reason why, Sieg?” she asked calmly.
Our conversation had drawn everyone’s attention. The rest of the group watched with open curiosity.
“It has to do with your face,” I said a bit nervously, which only confused them further, until Astolfo’s eyes suddenly widened in understanding. He smacked his fist into his palm.
“Ah! So that’s what you mean, Master!” he exclaimed, now fully on board with the plan.
“Hah, could you please explain properly?” Alter asked, a cute irritated expression crossing her face.
“Right,” I began. “You see, the main enemy we’ll be facing here is actually a corrupted version of Jeanne, like I mentioned before.” Thankfully, Artoria seemed to catch on quickly, a small spark of understanding lighting up her expression.
“Is this perhaps because of our similar appearances?” she asked. “I remember you mentioning when we first met that I share a similarity with the Saint of Orléans.”
The others looked at her as realization slowly dawned on them too.
Alter, who shared the same face, lost her irritated look and simply nodded. Her black mask materialized over her features. “I see. Then I’ll just wear this when the time comes.”
“Nice thinking, Sieg-kun~” Kiara suddenly pressed herself against my back, her generous chest softly squishing into me as she hugged me from behind and planted a small kiss on my cheek. “You just saved us a lot of trouble with the locals if the Artorias share a similar appearance with their enemy.”
Tamamo, looking a little jealous, frowned and snuggled even closer to my side while shooting Kiara a small glare. Kiara, used to her antics, ignored it completely.
“I still don’t understand something,” Artoria spoke up again, a curious expression on her face as she tapped a finger against her chin. “Mind clarifying, Sieg?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Why did you specifically single me out more than my counterpart when we share the same face?” she asked, genuinely puzzled.
Smiling nervously under everyone’s curious stares, I coughed into my hand before just saying it plainly.
“While you two share the same face, your body is more… developed,” I explained, a small blush coloring my cheeks as I lowered my gaze slightly to her generous bust. “Especially around your, ahem… chest area. You’ve had time to actually grow beyond looking like your fifteen-year-old self after all.”
Silence fell over the clearing for a beat.
Then Astolfo burst into loud, unrestrained laughter, which set off a chain reaction, several of the others giggling along with him.
“Wahahahahaha! You’re completely correct, Master~” Astolfo howled, clutching his stomach.
Artoria turned a deep shade of red, resembling a ripe tomato. She immediately crossed both arms over her chest and shot me the cutest embarrassed glare.
Alter, on the other hand, had the opposite reaction. She frowned, glancing down at her own modest chest for a moment before looking at her counterpart’s far more developed figure. A clear flicker of jealousy crossed her face.
“While this is amusing, we should focus for now,” Scáthach interrupted, her voice cutting through the lighthearted moment. “I can see what appears to be soldiers in the distance.” She pointed toward the west.
“She’s right,” I agreed with a nod. I gently pulled away from Tamamo and Kiara’s embraces, much to Fou’s relief, who quickly reclaimed his favorite spot on my shoulder.
“Would you lead the way, Rider?” I asked, turning to Astolfo.
He lit up instantly, nodding with bright enthusiasm. “Leave it to me, Master~” He took up position beside me and pointed forward. “Let’s go!”
As our group of nine moved out, I noticed the others, whether consciously or not, falling into formation around me. Mash stayed close at my side, ever the reliable Shielder, while the rest covered me from every angle.
It didn’t take long before we reached the soldiers. They grew visibly wary at our approach, but Astolfo stepped forward smoothly and began speaking fluent French with them.
“I’m glad Rider can speak French,” Mash sighed in relief. “We would have been in trouble otherwise.”
I blinked, then turned to her with a small smile. “Oh, that’s right, I forgot to mention it. Thanks to my abilities, you should be able to pick up any language fairly quickly just by listening to others speak.”
Mash’s eyes widened in surprise before an awed look took over her face. “You really are amazing, Senpai~” she whispered admiringly.
A light blush warmed my cheeks. “Hehe, thanks.”
“Yep! My Sieg-kun is the best~” Tamamo declared proudly, slipping between us and hugging my arm tightly against her chest. Mash blinked, then gave a small, light pout.
At that moment, Astolfo returned to us with a bright smile.
“Good news, Master! I managed to convince them to escort us to their fortress, as long as we agree to help them out a bit. Apparently they keep getting attacked by monsters,” he explained cheerfully.
“Sounds like a plan. We agree,” I said, glancing at the others. Everyone nodded, even Fran, who had been quietly and diligently guarding my back the entire time.
“It seems you were spot on about our Sabers too, Master,” Astolfo continued, drawing our attention. “They kept shooting them curious and wary looks, but I managed to smooth things over.” He finished with a proud little nod.
“Good job, Rider,” I praised, reaching out to pat his head. He instantly melted under my touch, giggling happily and leaning into my hand.
“Hihihi~ I don’t know what it is, but your touches have gotten even more addicting than before, Master,” Astolfo purred, eyes closed in contentment.
‘That’s probably thanks to my Sticky Fingers Lure,’ I thought silently. Noticing the jealous glances coming our way, I gently withdrew my hand.
Astolfo whined softly but quickly recovered. We followed the soldiers toward their fortress, with Astolfo walking among them and regaling them with his usual over-the-top stories, which helped relax the group even more.
About half an hour later, the fort came into view in the distance. Our group came to a sudden stop as we all sensed a large number of magical signatures rapidly approaching.
“I’m guessing everyone felt that?” I asked, my eyes turning toward the direction of the signatures.
“Yes. It seems we have enemies incoming,” Alter said seriously. A moment later, Excalibur Morgan materialized in her hands, and her usual black dress was replaced by her black-and-red armor.
The others quickly followed suit. I summoned Balmung as well, there was no longer any need to hide our power now that our enemy was already aware of us. Well at lest for the abilities I had already shown.
“Rider, go ahead without us and protect them,” I called out loudly. “We’ll take care of the monsters approaching the fort.”
Astolfo, who had already sensed the same threat, turned with a happy nod and flashed me a thumbs-up.
“Let’s go, everyone,” I said seriously. I glanced at Kiara, who was the slowest among us. “Kiara, would you mind staying back with Rider?”
“No problem, Sieg-kun~ See you in a bit. Good luck.” She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before moving to join Astolfo and the French soldiers.
With that settled, the rest of us moved at a brisk pace and soon reached the dozens of Dragon Tooth Warriors. We made quick work of them.
When we were finished, Da Vinci contacted us and asked us to collect the remains of the monsters. We agreed without hesitation.
Making our way back toward the fortress, we saw Astolfo and Kiara waiting for us alongside a group of soldiers who were cheering loudly at our approach.
‘It seems Astolfo managed to talk us up with the French soldiers,’ I thought, pleased that we wouldn’t have issues with the locals here.
‘I definitely lucked out summoning Astolfo for more than one reason.’
As we drew closer to the fortress, whose name I still didn’t know, I suddenly came to a stop. A painfully familiar presence brushed against my senses.
Before I could focus on it, I felt even more magical signatures rapidly approaching. I turned my gaze to the sky.
“We have incoming!” I shouted. The others immediately caught on as several wyverns appeared in the distance, clearly hostile.
Thanks to our Shrouds granting us the ability to fly, we took to the air. Though the wyverns were stronger than the Dragon Tooth Warriors, they were no match for our combined strength.
Both Artorias made short work of them with their Excaliburs. Scáthach wielded her spear with masterful precision, piercing multiple foes at once. Tamamo unleashed her curses to freeze or burn them from the sky. Fran bludgeoned them with her mace, while I used Balmung to decapitate them, my attacks proving especially effective against dragonkin.
In no time at all, what could have been a devastating attack on the fortress was repelled without a single casualty.
“Sieg-kun! Don’t forget to gather their bodies as well,” Da Vinci reminded us once the battle ended. “Wyvern parts can be really useful for many things.”
“Sure thing.”
It didn’t take long to store the fallen wyverns in our inventory. Astolfo and Kiara soon rejoined us.
“Sieg-kun, everyone—is anyone injured?” Kiara asked, looking us over carefully as we shook our heads.
“We’re fine, thanks Kiara,” I replied. Then I murmured, mostly to myself, “Though I had a feeling the fortress would have been alright even without us.”
“Yes, I noticed it as well,” Artoria commented with a nod. “I thought I felt what appeared to be a Servant nearby.”
“We should meet them,” I said, carefully hiding the depth of my emotions. “I have a feeling they’re friendly.”
“Hmm… It seems to me there’s more to this,” Alter said, arms crossed as she studied me calmly. “You seem somewhat eager to meet whoever that was. Do you happen to know them?”
The others turned to me with curious expressions. Slowly, looks of understanding dawned on their faces.
“…It’s her, isn’t it?” Tamamo stated more than asked, a small pout forming on her lips as she crossed her arms.
“Yes,” I admitted readily. There was no point pretending anymore.
“What are we waiting for then, Master?” Astolfo asked with a bright, happy smile. “I also want to see how that Saint is doing!”
Seeing that no one had any objections, I bowed my head to them.
“Thanks,” I murmured quietly before straightening up and taking the lead.
As we moved forward, my heart hammered with equal parts excitement and nervousness.
=====
It didn’t take us long to find her. It seemed she had been waiting for us, she hadn’t moved from her spot even after undoubtedly sensing our approach.
Our walk led us into a small forest, and sure enough, a feminine figure wrapped in a brown cloak stepped out from behind a tree as we came to a stop before her.
“Um… Thank you very much for helping them,” Jeanne said, there was no doubt in my mind it was her now that I stood face-to-face with her. Her voice was soft and filled with gratitude as she bowed respectfully. “I wanted to step in, but I noticed that you and your Servants had it well in hand.”
“…Don’t worry about it.” It took me a moment to respond. My throat felt tight, but I forced myself to swallow and speak gently.
She reached up and slowly lowered her hood, revealing a girl of almost otherworldly beauty. Long blonde hair was tied back into a thick braid, and a pair of pure, beautiful amethyst eyes gazed at us.
When those eyes focused on me, I felt a sharp pang in my chest, as if I had been stabbed. There was no recognition in them at all, which made perfect sense, since this Jeanne had never met me, but it didn’t make the pain any easier to bear.
“I am Ruler. My Servant class is Ruler,” Jeanne introduced herself with a soft, happy smile. “My True Name is Jeanne d’Arc.”
She extended her hand for a handshake. I looked at it for a moment before unconsciously reaching out to take it in mine.
“Hello, Ruler. My name is Sieg, and these are my Servants,” I said, feeling a small sense of loss when she gently released my hand and turned expectantly to the others.
One by one, the girls introduced themselves. Scáthach, Fran, Kiara, and Mash went first. Things became more interesting when the two Artorias stepped forward.
“Servant Saber. My True Name is Artoria Pendragon,” Artoria said politely. Her gaze lingered on Jeanne for a moment, carefully studying her face and figure, particularly her chest, before she frowned slightly, almost pouting, and stepped back.
Alter went next. After introducing herself, which clearly confused Jeanne due to the shared names and similar appearances, she too let her eyes wander. Unlike Artoria, Alter openly pouted as she compared Jeanne’s more developed figure to her own and huffed quietly in jealousy.
Jeanne only smiled politely at their strange behavior and said nothing. Then Astolfo stepped forward with a giant grin.
“Nice to meet you again, Ruler~” he cheered, waving enthusiastically and further confusing her. He stepped back and whispered to himself with a mischievous giggle, “Hihihi, I can’t wait to see your face when you finally regain your memories.”
Tamamo, the last to introduce herself, didn’t step forward like the others. Instead, she walked to my side, pulled me down by the collar, and gave me a brief but firm kiss on the lips, causing Jeanne to blush in embarrassment. Then she wrapped both her arms and tails around me possessively and shot Jeanne a look full of smugness and slight jealousy.
“Hmph! I’m Tamamo-no-Mae, Caster,” she declared haughtily. “More importantly, I’m Sieg-kun’s first girlfriend and future first wife. Nice to meet you, I guess.” She emphasized the “first” parts with a smug little smirk at the now thoroughly embarrassed and confused Jeanne.
“N-Nice to meet everyone,” Jeanne replied awkwardly, clearly unsure what to say.
I was about to speak up when Tamamo was suddenly pulled from my arms by Kiara. At the same time, Scáthach gave me a firm push from behind, sending me stumbling forward, straight into Jeanne’s arms. She panicked and instinctively reached out to catch me.
“Stop wasting time and give her back her memories, Sieg,” Scáthach said, her tone annoyed. “I don’t remember training such a coward.”
My face was now buried in Jeanne’s chest. “W-What is going on?” Jeanne asked nervously, her face bright red from a mixture of confusion and embarrassment.
I lifted my head, somewhat reluctantly, feeling my own cheeks warm. After coughing into my hand, I decided to follow Scáthach’s blunt advice.
“You see… I have a Mystery that allows me to empower others, including Servants,” I explained calmly, my heart pounding. “We noticed you seem a bit weakened. My Mystery should restore you to full power.”
Jeanne’s eyes widened in surprise. She searched my face for a moment before breaking into a beautiful, trusting smile and nodding.
“I can’t believe such a wonderful Mystery exists~ Then, if you don’t mind, Sieg-san… I’ll gladly take you up on your offer,” she said, accepting without hesitation despite having just met us.
I froze for a second, then my expression softened into a warm smile. I closed my eyes, not even noticing the single tear that slipped down my cheek.
‘No matter the world, she truly never changes huh?’