66 The Saint and Magician

(1 out of 1 chapters this week)

"Hmm?"

Jeanne's eyes looked at the 'husband' of the Witch. Her eyes flashed with horror because she started seeing images.

These were images of the future. The blonde Saint's Revelation skill went haywire when she saw this man.

It shouldn't work like this. But in a sense, it did. Jeanne was a Saint who saw the 'best path' before her.

But by doing so, her path has crossed over onto his.

She was able to see images of the future. How far she has no idea but because of this man. A lot of lives will be saved OR destroyed.

Depending on the perception of this situation.

This person was so powerful that if she stood at this moment, her legs would give in, and she would collapse from sheer despair.

With a simple hand motion, he removed her mouth binding.

"We finally met Jeanne d'Arc. I hope the trip was not too rough on you?"

"...It was alright, all things considered." The Mediator of the Great War sounded much more controlled. The images she saw were very fresh in her mind.

Even if the purpose of her summons is to be a mediator, lives are at stake. For now, she needs to behave to figure out WHAT this guy is!

Being of such power should not exist in the present-day world! On top of that, Alaya and Gaia allow his entire existence.

Now that she saw him, she could understand why Morgan was allowed to exist like this as well. That Witch is a monster, just like her husband.

"Are you sure?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, his eyes motioning to her current situation, chained to a tree and her assets highlighted by the same chains.

"Yes." Jeanne tried to sound calm about her current situation, but the way this guy was staring at her made her embarrassed.

"Then suit yourself."

"Never mind that. I want to ask something." The Saintess brushed her situation aside and tried to ask him something.

"Sure, ask away." Feeling generous, he motioned her to ask.

"Why are you here?"

"Gaia and Alaya asked me to save this timeline from becoming a Lostbelt."

*Gulp*

Hearing him say that with a straight face and calm tone made her believe him! Yes! She believed him!

"...How could such a thing potentially happen? Power needed for such a thing—" Her eyes widened as she realised that there was one thing that could potentially make it happen!

"The current war!"

"Quick wits, not bad, yes, the current war." He nodded at her exclamation.

"T-Then, I will help you!"

"How cute; if you haven't noticed, I am Master of Archer of Red, and my wife is Master of Lancer of Red. You say that you will go against the rules?" The being in front of her asked with a 'smile'.

Jeanne's eyes trembled; he got her there.

"I— I will only assist you when it comes to fights which break the rules…" She somewhat came in. A tiny bit, but he smiled a little bit more.

~~~

"Master sure loves to corrupt that Saintess." Saber Alter said with a little bit of jealousy. She was jealous that her Master was doing that to that Ruler-Class Servant.

She still remembers how he did similar things to her. Recently, he has been corrupting her good two-shoes version. She even joined in that process. There is a certain amount of satisfaction in doing that.

"I don't see why he would need this Saintess," Artoria said with crossed arms.

"Oh? I can sense some hostility in you." The Alter version asked.

"Of course! Why don't you feel hostility towards her? She is from Gaul! From the place where our enemies originated!"

"..."

The Fallen Knight pondered on those words.

"I suppose that is true. But I don't have that attachment anymore. Besides, Gaul has fallen just like our Britain. She is French and not Gaul."

*Sigh*

"I know. I can still feel this— rivalry. I could ignore this if we were in a more serious situation. But now, I am alive once again, it's hard to do it." The King of Knights said with a complex look.

"Heh. The perks of being alive~" The Fallen version teased the goody-two-shoes version with a suggestive tone.

"You…"

Artoria hissed with red cheeks as she wanted to snap this annoying, inverted version of herself!

~~~

"How cute. What if I am to turn you into my Servant?" He asked with a thoughtful look. He was watching the Saintess' facial expressions.

"...You…"

"You think I can't do it? Do you think I can't remove your Saint Graph from this human girl you inhabit?

If I am to do that, you will be saving this girl from the fate of being part of this war."

Jeanne's facial expression went through several different emotions.

The blonde Saintess realised this individual was trying to make her break the rules!

It doesn't help that this guy's witch-wife was sitting on a boulder and watching this as if it were a theatrical play!

"...You… are a fiend." She said with narrowed eyes.

"Shouldn't be apparent? I am married to a Witch Queen. My Servants include an Underworld Goddess and a Fallen King of Knights." He agreed with an eye roll.

"...Damn you… fine. I will accept this."

"Ah, yes. The infamous Saint's self-sacrifice. You guys sure are annoying." He said with annoyance when he mentioned her self-sacrificing attitude.

"..."

The Saintess looked at him curiously. If he is annoyed, then why is he bothering with her? Does he have something else for her?

"Don't look surprised," Morgan said from the side, sitting on a stone boulder a few metres away.

"He is annoyed. My husband will beat that part from you. He took my Madness Enchantment away. I don't doubt he will remove that self-sacrificing attitude from you over the years, if not centuries. You will lose it; it is just how I did." Morgan explained with a smooth voice. Not that she will explain how he did it.

The reason is that it's personal. Yep, Ren pampered his wife so hard that the Fairy Queen is no longer mad; obsessed, yes, but not mad.

But this Saintess attitude is not something one can fix with pampering, nope! It is similar to that beatdown Morgan administered to her 'little sister'.

"I-I see…" The Blonde gulped down when she heard that. She doesn't want to fight him. In general, she doesn't like fighting, and now that is even more obvious.

There is no way she could potentially fight this guy!

"I-I will keep that in mind."

Ren, in the meantime, looked at his wife and the Saintess. As always, his wife will take a violent approach. Violence works from time to time. But it won't fix Jeanne's stubbornness. Nope, he needs to corrupt her; only then might she crack.

The word is 'might' as the girl has EX for her Magic Resistance; Servant's magic resistance is equivalent to Servant's beliefs.

His pair of Artorias have their beliefs questioned as well. He was able to make them diminish over the months. But damaging someone who has EX— well, it would be an exciting challenge.

"Dear, violence doesn't solve such an issue. We need to give Jeanne hard choices to impact Saintess' beliefs."

Jeanne's facial expression paled while Morgan's eyes gleamed with realisation.

She clapped her hands happily.

"As always, my husband knows it the best! I am far too used to violence, solving all my issues. But you do make sense. The girl looks stubborn.

So we should question that stubbornness." Her ice-cold blue eyes looked at her soft and warm blue ones. The Saintess felt a shiver pass through her whole being.

"I-I can easily adjust—you know?" Jeanne tried to sound as casual as possible. She doesn't want to derail into a fight, knowing well enough when NOT to reveal her honest thoughts.

After all, she is a Saint, the Maiden of Orleans; she fought for the salvation of her people; this translates to the simple fact that her 'job' as a Saint is to bring salvation. Either to the people or— in this case, to a single individual if need be.

That's what those images were. They showed Jeanne there would be a time when Ren would have choices like these.

Where he would need to choose, and if she is to be around there, then she might be able to save many lives.

"Fascinating isn't it?" He leaned forward and proceeded to whisper into her ear.

"The moment our paths crossed, you started seeing my future. Your Revelations skill truly is powerful."

Sweat started to drip from her forehead as she realised that he knew!

"Seeing thousands of years into the future without having actual power over time. I call that cheating." He teased, but for her, it was not a tease; it was more like pure terror.

"I-I can—"

"No need to explain. The question is, now you know what our goal is. Will you only care about the Great Grail War, or your urge as a Saint will make you—break the rules of the war so that you can save millions, if not billions, of people over countless years?"

He explained to her what she was feeling at this moment. He asked the question, which was already bugging her.

"...it should be obvious I chose to lose this battle so that I could win the war."

She said that after thinking for a few moments. Ren pulled back and looked at her expression. The blonde's gaze was firm and unwavering.

Her expression reminded Ren of Kiritsugu Emiya and ARCHER and their behaviour patterns.

The pair embraced the whole sacrifice of a few to save many.

"Fair enough."

He placed his hand on her head and closed his eyes.

"...W-What are you—"

She glowed in white light, which consumed her like a cocoon.

It lasted for a few moments, but then it settled down.

Jeanne's eyes looked at him with returned terror; the Saintess realised that Laeticia's body was gone! And that she had HER body.

As in, she was a Servant, but simultaneously, she was a human! A paradox! Was she like these people around him!? People who are supposed to be 'stuck in time', yet they still move in time!?

"...A miracle… you are a magician…"

"So you realised? For a girl who never learned how to read, you sure are knowledgeable."

A slight pout appeared on her face.

"I am still a Heroic Spirit, you know!"

For a moment, she forgot her anger and asked an important question.

"What happened to the girl who gave me her body!?" Jeanne asked with some panic.

"She is to awake one morning with a beautiful dream that she shares a body with a Saintess. Nothing more, nothing less."

The blonde Saintess sighed in relief.

"Oh my, she truly is one of those." Morgan walked over to her husband and took his right before rolling up the sleeve and showing the Saintess. His hand from the wrist to the elbow was full of command spells.

"You got contracted with someone who will keep you for centuries, if not the end of time, and all you care about is a human girl who most likely will never live past a hundred years?" Morgan frowned at her selflessness. She was expecting that, but the lack of self-preservation is bugging her.

Well, the witches' self-preservation warped as well. She would kill herself the moment her husband was dead. That's how bad it is with her.

Thankfully, he is 'more' eternal than she is.

"...I brought her into this mess; her life was my responsibility."

Jeanne tried to navigate the minefield, which was these two people in front of her. She still doesn't know what could trigger them.

"Fair enough."

Morgan motioned with her hand as the chains around the Saintess were removed, and the Maiden of Orleans finally stood up.

The girl inspected herself; she was feeling much more powerful than she was before.

It appears she is not regulated by the Grail system, which is a bonus.

"What is our plan then?"

~~~

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