"An unfamiliar ceiling..."
When Jalter opened her eyes, she found herself in a place resembling a library. The surrounding walls were entirely made up of bookshelves, but the rest of the furnishings looked like a living room. The velvet-textured bed was very comfortable, even more upscale than the palace she had seized in France back then.
Jalter only remembered being defeated by the people of Chaldea. She wasn't some Jeanne d'Arc, but a complete and utter fake; logically, her existence should have dissipated. There was no possibility of her manifesting in The Mortal Realm. There was also another point: "Could you please not put words in my mouth? Since when is there a ceiling in this place?"
Indeed, looking up, there was only the vast starry sky. Bubble probably just liked this vibe, and Jiang You quite liked it as well.
"Isn't that what someone is usually supposed to say when they wake up?"
Jiang You felt that Jalter was actually in pretty good shape.
"What is that? It sounds so boring."
Jalter displeasedly threw off her blanket. Noticing that she was wearing a purple evening gown, she instinctively pulled out her flag—which practically served as a spear—while her other hand grasped a single-handed sword. The sword instantly flared with flames representing her anger and desire for revenge, and she glared hostilely at Jiang You.
"Did you change me into these clothes? Your taste is truly awful."
Her true thoughts were that she was actually very satisfied with the dress, as it suited her tastes in every aspect. However, the thought of this strange man in front of her changing her clothes made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She would never admit that she liked the outfit, even if it killed her.
Soon, the burning flames covered Jalter from head to toe, and her dress transformed into a black outfit that was the exact opposite of Jeanne's Priestess attire. She even put on a black cloak with fur trim to increase her imposing aura.
"Isn't this to your own liking?"
Jiang You thought that he had replicated this outfit 1:1 based on the Shinjuku evening dress from 1.5.1, so how could she be dissatisfied? Moreover, Jalter couldn't hide her expression; she clearly liked it. This time, she wouldn't even have to walk through the sewers wearing this outfit.
"Besides, I wasn't the one who changed your clothes. Rest assured, it was a female servant... who in a way could be considered your mother?"
Jiang You had indeed seen everything, but to be completely honest, he wasn't the one who changed her clothes.
"Nonsense! Where would I get a mother!"
Jalter lifted her spear. She still couldn't use much strength, feeling a sense of weakness as if she had slept for a long time. Additionally, she did have the same memories as Jeanne, but she wasn't the real Jeanne d'Arc. Jeanne's mother wasn't her mother, and that person couldn't possibly appear as a Heroic Spirit anyway.
"Then you couldn't possibly have popped out of a rock either, right?"
The only one who received that kind of treatment was a certain monkey. "Your existence originally began when a certain Gilles de Rais created a specious Dragon Witch based on his own desires and thoughts, although she didn't have the Dragon attribute. But even for a Servant, after dissipating, the law of conservation of mass still has to apply, right? There must be some reason that caused you to be reborn into this world."
Jalter had only this tiny bit of memory that belonged uniquely to herself. She looked at the unfamiliar man in front of her. Although this was her first time meeting him, he had indeed accurately described what happened in the Singularity at that time. Added to the fact that he was even able to figure out her preferences—something that bug-eyed Gilles de Rais had no way of knowing—it showed that he truly understood her. Thus, she instantly believed about sixty percent of what Jiang You said.
"In other words, someone recreated me... Hmph, expecting me to call them family because of this method is sheer wishful thinking. And what is your goal? If it's something boring like taking revenge on France again, forget it. That's not my business."
The hatred towards France still exists, and it's also her foundation as an Avenger. However, having already tried it once, she now only feels somewhat void. She herself is a fake, so naturally, her hatred is too. That pure white, naive fool actually had no thoughts of revenge against the country that burned her to death and denied her efforts, which made her feel it was extremely ridiculous. Incidentally, she also felt she was extremely ridiculous.
"To be accurate, your appearance in the mortal realm this time is also an accident..."
Jiang You thought for a moment and decided to tell Jalter the truth. With his current strength, he absolutely didn't need Jalter as combat power anymore; he barely even needed the deck King Hassan gave him, let alone someone like Jalter.
"Ha? Just because of this ridiculous reason?"
Jalter imagined hearing Jiang You say he was joking, but Jiang You's convinced expression made her accept reality.
"That's the truth. I never even thought I'd be able to see you."
Jalter's popularity was indeed very high. If Jiang You had the chance, he definitely would have actively sought her out. But by the time he met Gudako, she had already advanced to the Sixth Singularity, so there was no chance at all. This time was simply an unexpected pleasant surprise.
"You make me sound very cheap."
Jalter complained in dissatisfaction. She hadn't thought about appearing either, alright? "Since you've talked so much about my affairs, what about you? Just who the hell are you?"
"Wow, do you have no manners at all?"
Jiang You felt that his goodwill was already very obvious, so why didn't she have a single nice thing to say? However, knowing that this girl was actually just a good girl pretending to be a delinquent, Jiang You didn't mind too much.
"As for me, if you acknowledge Tiamat as your Mother, I should be considered your adoptive older brother, right?"
"Ha?"
Jalter never expected to meet someone in her short life who would try to claim kinship right off the bat. "I'm not going to acknowledge her as my Mother just because of that. But since she gave me the chance to be active, tell her that I'll protect her from now on. So who the hell are you, kid? Don't change the subject."
"You're the first person to say you'll take Tiamat under your wing. Commendable courage."
Jalter had absolutely no concept of the power gap between Heroic Spirits. During her previous active period, she had relied on the blessing of the Holy Grail and summoned a group of Berserker-class servants to turn France upside down, which made her quite full of herself. Even the famous Siegfried had almost fallen by her hands. Jiang You figured she would behave herself once she actually saw Tiamat later.
"As for me, my name is Jiang You, a top-tier servant. We'll be a family from now on, so just consider that evening gown my welcome gift to you."
"A top-tier servant?"
Jalter kept scanning Jiang You. Because Jiang You hadn't activated his Unique Skills, his aura didn't seem particularly dangerous.
"I can't tell. Just you?"
Calling himself a top-tier servant was actually Jiang You being modest; he was currently at the bona fide Major God-class. Even without using his Duel Noble Phantasm, most servants would find it hard to gain any advantage in a physical brawl against him. Jiang You's biggest problem right now was a lack of offensive methods; ultimately, deciding the outcome of a battle still relied on Noble Phantasms.
However, right now, Jiang You did possess an ability similar to coercion. Looking at Jalter's disdainful eyes, Jiang You decided to bully her a little. Next, Jiang You unleashed his Unique Skill [Blindly Eating Fish].
Jalter only felt that the space around her had become viscous, and her chest felt as if it were being crushed by a thousand-pound boulder, requiring all her strength just to take a breath. The seemingly harmless young man in front of her instantly became like a black hole, constantly dragging reason and cognition down into the Abyss.
"Now, does that prove it?"
Jiang You looked at the near-fainting Jalter and smiled as he deactivated his passive. Before, he didn't have an aura to display his strength to other servants, but now his aura was so overwhelmingly strong that ordinary servants would be stripped of their sanity and sent straight back to the Throne of Heroes just by getting a little too close. He still couldn't unleash it casually; otherwise, if there were any ordinary people around, they would have been instantly sent to the afterlife.
Jalter gasped heavily for air. In merely a few seconds, her back had been drenched in cold sweat. He had only briefly flared his aura, yet it gave her the illusion of having narrowly escaped a catastrophe.
"Hehehehe, a top-tier servant?"
Jalter was so exasperated she nearly laughed. "If that is a top-tier servant, what does that make me? A joke?"
"Jiang You, you're a bad boy too!"
Jiang You suddenly took a smack to the back of his head, turning to see Tiamat walking in carrying a clay pot half the height of a person.
"The moment I walk in, I see you bullying little Jalter. Can't you act more like a responsible older brother? She's still so young."
Judging solely by appearances, Jalter did look quite mature, but taking reality into account, it seemed she truly wasn't even a year old yet.
"I'm just showing her my strength, right? She even said she wanted to protect you before."
Jiang You directly exposed Jeanne d'Arc (Alter)'s past. Tiamat was also the type to not conceal her aura at all, and Jalter similarly felt a huge pressure from her. This made her blush with shame, confirming once again the fact that she was just a third-rate servant.
"Speaking of which, Mama Tiamat, you're also a Demonic Dragon, and Jalter is the Dragon Witch, so it really is quite fitting."
"Good child, but Mother is very strong, so don't worry. On the contrary, it's you who still needs Mother's protection."
After all, the current Jalter was born from the Primordial Sea, somewhat similar to Kingu in a sense. Compared to Jiang You, it was obviously more appropriate for Tiamat to call herself Mother in front of her.
"You are still very weak now. I made you some chicken soup, drink it while it's hot."
Jiang You even saw a snake head in the clay pot. Tiamat wouldn't be unable to distinguish between a chicken and a snake; this thing was probably a monster called a Cockatrice. As expected of Mama Tiamat, even her soup is made from a Phantasmal Beast.
Jalter had never actually experienced family affection, so this scene of being taken care of while sick left her somewhat at a loss. She instinctively wanted to refuse, but couldn't quite bring herself to harden her heart and reject Tiamat's kindness.
"I... I'm not your child... This soup shouldn't be for me. Besides, a servant doesn't need this kind of thing..."
"Did Mommy do something wrong?"
Tiamat tilted her head. "This soup contains a lot of magical power, and is a great tonic for a servant, so why refuse?"
"You didn't do anything wrong."
Jalter subconsciously stepped back. She could burn her enemies to death without hesitation, but when faced with the goodwill of others, she appeared to be filled with anxiety about gains and losses.
"It's just that I'm not your daughter..."
"No, you are."
Tiamat acted very tough. "Everyone in this world is my child! And to Mommy, you are also a very special one."
"Huh?"
Jalter was a little dizzy; what was all this? Even she knew that humans were born after a Mother and Father mated, so how could a horned young girl claim to be the Mother of All Things?
"Let me explain."
Jiang You took over the conversation. In a sense, what Tiamat said was the truth. Considering that Jeanne's illiteracy had been inherited by Jalter, it was completely understandable that she knew nothing about mythology.
"The one standing before you is the Creator Mother Goddess, Tiamat..."
Jiang You then briefly explained Tiamat's myth and Authority.
"Therefore, even if you weren't created in the Primordial Sea, she is still your mother. Not to mention, you were born from her Primordial Black Mud combining with Jeanne d'Arc's Spirit Origin. Strictly speaking, you actually have two moms now."
The thought of Jalter having to call Jeanne "Mom" made Jiang You struggle to hold back his laughter; that mental image was just a bit too ridiculous to bear.
"Is... is that so?"
Jalter looked at the black-haired young man and the white-haired girl with giant horns before her, feeling a bit disoriented for a moment. She, who was supposed to simply disappear, had suddenly joined a family composed of incredibly powerful servants in the most bizarre way.
"That's right, that's exactly how it is. Come now, good child, call me Mommy."
Tiamat embraced Jalter, placing her against her chest. In her eyes, Jalter was like a sensitive and timid little black cat, needing care to let down her guard.
"..."
Jalter struggled a bit. She agreed with Jiang You's explanation (it was the truth, plus she was easy to coax), but calling a little girl who looked a dozen years younger than her and whom she had met less than ten minutes ago "Mother" was somewhat unacceptable to her. However, the warmth on her body and the longing in her heart wouldn't lie. Her mouth opened and closed several times, and finally, she timidly called out that word.
"Mom..."
"Good child!"
This phrase made Tiamat much happier than Jiang You's perfunctory way of calling her. She immediately pressed Jalter back onto the bed and brought over a small dining table suitable for placing on the bed.
"You haven't adapted to this body yet, so it's exactly the time to supplement your nutrition (magical power). Come, drink it all. Don't waste it."
"A-all of it?"
Jalter looked at the half-human-tall clay pot in disbelief. The chicken soup indeed emitted an enticing aroma, but the half-human-tall pot was incredibly visually shocking. The total volume of this thing was probably larger than Jalter herself.
"That's right, all of it. Even if Jiang You wants some, I won't share it with him! This is exclusively for the patient."
Tiamat nodded, still a little worried that she had made too little.
"This... this is a bit..."
But Tiamat didn't give her a chance to speak, already bringing a spoon full of chicken soup over.
"Drink it while it's hot. It won't taste good if it gets cold, and some of the nutrients will be lost."
Tiamat continuously fed spoonful after spoonful into Jalter's mouth.
Jiang You watched as Jalter cast a pleading look at him, but he could only make a helpless gesture in response. If he spoke up now, Tiamat would probably be unhappy. He had come today to apologize to Tiamat, so he wasn't going to get in the way of her motherly instincts.