At dawn, Jeanne d'Arc arrived at Tulifas and was immediately confronted with the unexpected difficulty of finding a place to live. As the old man had said, there was not a single place in Tullyface that could be called a tourist attraction, and perhaps for that reason there were only three inns here, and all of them were full.

"It's the first time we've ever encountered something like this...... I'm really sorry. ”

Ignoring the frightened hostess, Joan of Arc swept her gaze to the men and women in the hall talking and laughing.

Has a faint magical reaction and seems to be a magician.

Most likely the magicians of Yug Domirenia. It seems that they are all staying in a hotel in Tulifis for the time being.

"No, there's no way around that. Do you know of any other places where you can stay?"

"How about going to church?"

Yes, and the church. Joan of Arc felt a little ashamed of herself that she hadn't even thought of it. I seem to be placed in a position by the knowledge of the present world. Normally, they would go to the church first.

After asking the receptionist for advice on how to walk in the church, she began to move towards the church. Perhaps overheard their conversation at the hotel, she noticed that several people had followed.

"I wish you could trade information by proper means. I'm not a magician, but a servant. ”

Sure enough, it's because of this casual dress? After all, if it is a servant, it is really a bit unlucky that the spirit transformation that was originally taken for granted becomes impossible to achieve due to possession.

Anyway, the fact that I was going to stay at church was already known. And for the sake of my body, I still want to avoid sleeping as much as possible.

There was no way, Joan of Arc walked towards the church. She knocked on the door of the small wooden church and asked to stay for a few days, and the nun readily agreed.

"It's only available in the attic, is that okay?"

I can't put forward extravagant hopes in my current position, and there is no need to live too carefully.

"As long as there is a place to rest, it is enough. Thank you so much. ”

The nun called herself Alma Pertolesia. She was born and raised in this simple city, as if she wanted nothing more than God's favor.

"So, please go this way"

Joan of Arc followed Alma, who led the way, up the stairs that led from the second floor to the attic.

"Are you here for sightseeing?"

"Not really. I wanted to learn about the history of medieval Romania. ”

"It's better to go to Scigișoara. Although there are still some medieval buildings here, they don't seem to have much historical value. ”

"There are already people on the Sighisoara side who have gone to investigate. ”

"Oh, that's right. Indeed, no one has set foot in this Tullyphas. ”

Climb the creaking staircase and you'll find the attic room. According to the nun, it seems to be rarely used here. But both the bed and the bedside table were spotless. It seems to have been diligently cleaned.

"If you don't dislike it, I'll prepare the meal as well. ”

"No need. I eat at very irregular intervals, so I can't bother with it. ”

She was very grateful for the nun's proposal. But it's also true that I think I might run out quietly in the middle of the night, and I can't bother others casually.

"It's okay. Just reheat it up."

"Reheat ......?"

Seeing Joan of Arc tilt her head in confusion, the nun asked incredulously:

"Isn't there a microwave?"

"Ah, microwave oven. yes, I see. ”

There is no need to go out of your way to reheat the stove.

"Ah, but I would appreciate it if I could still dine with you. ”

After thinking about it for a while, Joan of Arc decided to accept the nun's kindness. They agreed that when the nuns came to call for themselves, if there was a response in the attic, they would eat together, and if not, they would put it in the refrigerator first. That way, you don't have to go through a lot of work.

"So, huh...... Oops, how did I forget such an important thing. What's your name?"

"Ah, yes. You can call me Joan of Arc."

She simply said her name. It doesn't matter if it leaks out, because he doesn't have obvious weaknesses like Kuro no Saber.

"Joan of Arc, what a name. ”

"Thank you very much. Next, I have one more request. Can I pray at church until dinner?"

"Well, of course. That's why churches are built."

Joan of Arc had packed her belongings in the attic and knelt down at the altar. She clasped her hands, bowed her head slightly, and closed her eyelids.

It's the same feeling as when I was alive. The moment the prayer begins, you feel like you're cut off from the world, even from the past, the future, and the present. It's not for an end, it's just for the Lord. Every time you do this, your heart will naturally become clear about what to do.

For her, the time to pray is as valuable as breathing. Without prayers, she couldn't even live a day. Joan of Arc, who was born as a peasant child, did not even know the various prayers. Despite her efforts to memorize them, she seems to have been born with a lack of endowment for reading and writing.

At best, it can only be signed. Although she was distressed by this, she finally came to the conclusion that it was enough to pray for the Lord. It is said that her comrade, Gilles de Les, laughed out loud and assured her that "it is enough to be able to write".

"Joan of Arc?"

When I came back to my senses, it seems that I have been praying for a long time. The nun said apologetically.

"I'm sorry to bother you to pray. ”

"Nothing like that. As long as I was so focused on praying that I would lose track of time. I also don't want to faint on an empty stomach. ”

"Well, I'm good to call you. Dinner is ready, come on. ”

"Thank you very much. ”

Alma led her to the dining room. The oak tables and chairs are simple and old, and they are very suitable for this small church.

"What about the others?"

"Ah, I'm the only one in this church. Since the death of Father La Costa five years ago, the successor has been uncertain. ”

Originally, Tullyface was just a small city with a population of about 20,000. In addition, other churches have been established now, and the only people who come to visit this small church are the elderly people who live nearby.

What size is the church used for prayer, Joan of Arc thought.

"Come, pray together. ”

"Okay. ”

Alma and Joan of Arc sat down face to face and silently read their words of thanks. By the time the prayer was over, Joan of Arc's hunger had reached its limit. She swung her knife and fork and slipped the steaming cabbage and stuffed it into her mouth.

"How does it taste?"

"Very tasty. ”

With such a vague remark, Joan of Arc buried herself in the middle of dinner again. With each bite, the constricted stomach expands, and the more you eat, the stronger the feeling of fasting becomes.

"If you want to eat it, you can eat it. ”

"You're welcome. ”

Answer immediately without confusion. Originally a peasant girl, Joan of Arc is a big stomach king who does not flinch from the rude soldier with an extremely strong appetite as an opponent. Besides, the simple taste of Romanian family dishes whetted her appetite more than exquisite aristocratic meals.

Joan of Arc was happily reminiscing about dinner, and seeing her look like this, Alma couldn't help but smile as she prepared the dishes. After that, Joan of Arc borrowed the bathroom to carefully wash her filthy body from head to toe.

As soon as night falls, the magicians and servants will go into action. As Joan of Arc's true duty, it only began then.

◇◇◇

The sky is a constant grey, and according to the weather forecast, it seems to be raining a little in the middle of the night. The lion robbed the world and the red saber walked down the streets of Tulifas. Of course, they are not sightseeing, but they are visiting places that are suitable for fighting and where they are not.

However, it is not always possible to use a suitable place for combat. Tulliface was effectively under the control of the Yugdomirenia. Not to mention that their minions lurk among the inhabitants of the streets, there is a high probability that a suitable place for battle has been set up in advance - just like last night's battle. As expected, the location of the investigation was set up with a large number of detective and visual deception enchantments.

"I'm fed up with this thing. ”

"Looks like a lot of choking, master. ”

Mordred shouted from the fence as he crawled on the ground groping for ways to break the barrier. There was not a hint of sympathy in her voice.

The lion robbed with a sigh and quickly decided to abandon the place. Twice the result is half the effort, and there is no need to make great efforts to ensure such a place.

“saber。 Flat land or alleys, which side are you easier to fight?"

"Uh-I guess...... Flattening it. As I said before, my Noble Phantasm is a military Noble Phantasm. The more open the ground is, the more I can use it to my heart's content, which is very beneficial."

"In that case, it's better to just give up fighting in the city of Tulifis and go around to the outside. ”

"Outside?"

Part of the city of Tulifas is surrounded by the Fortress of Mirenia. Located on the outer side of the castle wall are buildings that have gradually increased over the past 300 years. Moreover, the fortress is located at the easternmost point on the north side of the city. Further east of the city are vast forests and grasslands. However, the forest is next to a cliff, and it is difficult to infiltrate the Stronghold, but-

"Then lead them out of the city to fight. ”

"I see. For me, it's much better than fighting in this aggrieved city. ”

"Because the eaves of the houses built here here around the 16th century are all next to each other. If you're going to throw buildings away, that's fine. ”

"No, no, of course there's a problem. ”

"Oops. In the end, both the enemy and our side will not hesitate to do such things to win. ”

A magician is an existence that is not bound by human ethics. No matter how many civilians are sacrificed, as long as the principle of concealment can be kept, there is no problem. That said, there are limits to everything. When a person dies, at most people close to him will lament. But if 10 or 100 people die, the public authorities will come out. As a result, the situation escalated to the point where one person could not hide it, and the Magic Society went into action. Therefore - the battle should be fought at night, and the battle should be preceded by an enchantment to disperse the crowd.

However, this time it's the Holy Grail War. Having summoned the heroes of myth and legend and allowed them to run rampant, it's not surprising that even if you think it's helpless to sacrifice a street. What's more, every grass and tree on this street is the property of Yug Domirenia.

Finding Mordred suddenly silent, the lion robbery, who was concerned about her, turned around and saw the displeasure on her face.

"It's really unpleasant. ”

"What's upset?"

"It's just that I'm not happy that this will sacrifice the people. Why don't magicians have such a natural sense of ethics?"

Feeling disgusted, Saber spat out the words.

"No way, magicians are that kind of creatures. ”

"Hmph, it's disgusting. I hate that, master. ”

"Alright, I'll try not to involve civilians, Your Majesty. ”

Saber, who was sitting on the wall, dangling his feet, suddenly stopped.

"What did you call me just now?"

"Well, I'll call you king. Because just now, you called the common people 'the people', right? To call the people is the prerogative of the great men. And—isn't it your wish to be king? Anyway, I'm going to be one day, so it's okay to call you that now. Is there one?"

Saber's expression froze.

“…… Oh, no, no. ”

"All in all. Your basic policy is not to affect the civilian population too much. Is that okay?"

Coughing twice, Mordred regained his usual expression. She stood proudly on the wall and looked down on the lion's robbery, and said:

"That's right. It is also forbidden to attack ordinary people to replenish their magical powers.

"Got it, got it. So, that's the basic policy. ”

Lion is also a good magician. Of these two means, he incorporated them into his tactics as an extraordinary means. But if the key servant refuses, then there is no way. If the Servant is the first to attack civilians to replenish her magic, then leave it at that, and if she doesn't want to, give up. Rather than mobilizing Saber on her own terms, the Lion's policy is to make Saber act as she wishes.

If it's the usual Holy Grail War. With six enemies to face, both sides will inevitably have to trust each other's lives, regardless of whether they are bound or not. But this time, the probability that the master is dead and the servant is still alive is extremely high. To put it more extremely, even if they defect to the enemy's master who has lost his servants, there is no problem.

In other words, for the Masters who have not established a relationship of trust with the Servants, what awaits them will be the Blade of Betrayal. In particular, this red saber only sees the relationship between the master and the servant as an alliance, and if there is a disagreement that causes her to believe that her interests are damaged, she is likely to abandon the master.

That is not betrayal, but abandonment. This is an indispensable ingredient for kings.

"Am I being tricked by you?"

"That's a delusion of victimization. Well, there's no more drama here. Next—"

Hearing the sound of flapping wings and chirping, the two of them looked up at the sky together. A pigeon threw a piece of paper at their feet and flew away. It is undoubtedly they who will deliver the message in this way...... Father Shirou and his entourage, a benefit-sharing party.

"Contact......

As soon as I read it, the lion's expression tensed. Probably bad news、Mordred thought about jumping off the fence and stepped forward to spy on the paper。

"Brserker has gone on a rampage and attacked the Stronghold?"

"Hey, it's too loud. ”

Lion Raid hurriedly stopped her. It's not a line that can be said out loud in broad daylight anyway. But Mordred replied indifferently:

"Even if people who don't know hear it, they will only think that they are talking to themselves. What's going on with the rampage?"

"Ah...... I'll explain it to you in the workshop. ”

"Say now, now. ”

The lion robbed with a glaring sigh at the stubborn Mordred. But the latter is completely unconcerned.

"It's said that Berserker's madness level is quite special. Because he can talk, at first glance he thought he could exchange ideas, but in fact—"

The lion robbery suddenly spread out one hand.

"I can't seem to understand what we're saying. No matter who says anything, Berserker will not change the purpose of the battle, nor will it stop. So, in order to achieve that purpose, he rushed out. ”

"Hmph, then, what is the purpose?"

"It's probably a battle. What else could there be. It's a real headache. ”

"By the way, what's your headache?"

A stunned Lion Raid looked at Mordred.

"In a seven-man battle against a seven-man battle, if one person stands out, of course it is death. At that moment, the battle became seven against six. Since there is no substitute combat power for servants, this is an absolute disadvantage. ”

It is essential to avoid the successive investment of combat power. This is especially true if the combat power cannot be replenished. Berserker, however, went on a rampage. Since there is no means to rescue him, there is no doubt that the Red Berserker will be killed in the first place.

This is really a headache for the Lion Tribulation on the side of the red side. On the other hand, Saber seems to have lost interest in something he has been familiar with for a long time.

"Isn't that great? It's just a berserker, that's just a servant who will die sooner or later as soon as the battle starts. Leave him alone."

As she spoke, she took a bite of the apple that the Lion Raider had bought from the market, and her brows tightened. Then he handed him the apple.

"It's unpalatable, give it back to you. ”

“…… You're so ruthless. Wow, it's so unpalatable. ”

The lion tribulation also frowned after taking a bite.

◇◇◇

Late at night, while Alma was asleep, Joan of Arc left the attic and went outside. The night in Tullyface was a "deathly" silence. However, the demonic wind that wafts there, and the stench of corpses and magical power, is undoubtedly proof that the Holy Grail War is going on in the city.

Joan of Arc soaked her right hand with holy water from the church and threw it into the air. The water shimmers faintly and moves smoothly, beginning to paint a three-dimensional picture of the city. This is one of the privileges approved by the operator (Joan of Arc)、The Servant's exploratory function。

As a result of the quest - only one Red Servant in Tullyface has been identified.

“…… Not. ”

She tilted her head in confusion, expanding the scope of exploration. The city of Mirenya, where six servants gathered, was black.

"There are still six on Red and one on Black?"

The Red faction, which understands that Tullyface is completely enemy territory, seems to have distanced itself from the city and is spying on the situation. It is speculated that this RED Servant is a scout. But—

In this case, the black side is also going to scout, and most of the red camp is stationed in the neighboring city of Sighisoara. Strictly speaking, the Holy Grail War must be fought in a city. Therefore, being stationed in Sighisoara can be said to be a violation of the rules.

"However, the strategy adopted as a status quo is also a helpless thing. ”

After all, Tulifas is the seat of administration of Yug Domirenia. Unlike Fuyuki, who maintained a certain level of fairness through the existence of the Gosan family, Tullipas was an absolute monarch who belonged only to Yugdomirenia.

Also, the size of the city is very small. It's a city that seems to have refused to develop for a long time. Unlike Fuyuki, there are very few places where foreign magicians can hide. On the other hand, Yugdomirenia was only entrenched in the fortified and dangerous fortress of Mirenia.

No matter how much they secure the Great Holy Grail. It's all so unfair. This kind of residence in a city other than Tullyface should be forgiven.

The city is terrifyingly calm. If it were the usual Holy Grail War, a small competition would have already begun......

"Since Red doesn't make a move, doesn't Black plan to do it? ”

So, will tonight be a quiet night?

As if to betray Joan of Arc, who had just thought so, the servants inside the fortress were dispatched together, but not towards Tullyphas, but towards the outside—

"To the forest?"

Changed the scope of exploration to move it to the Ideal Forest, which sprawls east of Tullyface. The reaction of the Red Servant is confirmed, and the number is three.

The market was supposed to be calm, and they seemed intent on going to the outskirts to fight.

"Well, it's a good thing that the inhabitants are safe. ”

It can be destroyed naturally, which is also troubling.

The forest was burned to the ground because of the red lancer, and I hope it wouldn't turn into that state of affairs, so Joan of Arc galloped all the way towards the forest.