Damn it, why the hell would Alaya do something like this?
Sanjiro came to a halt, a dull ache thudding in his liver.
He had originally just been a regular otaku, living in a normal world without Heroic Spirits.
But then, he was suddenly transported into a world where Heroic Spirits existed.
Back then, he was just an ordinary student. On a whim, he went to a blood donation center to donate blood.
After giving blood, he was carrying a box of milk they gave him when, out of nowhere, he was chosen to be a Master.
Becoming a Master was one thing—but there were 47 other people in line before him. It shouldn't have been his turn.
And yet, that bastard of a Grand Caster, Lev, blew up all 47 Masters with a single bomb.
Just like that, he became humanity's sole Master!
It was all fate's doing—
Like hell it was! It was clearly Alaya trying to mess with him!
From that day on, Sanjiro was forced onto the path of saving the world—forced to become a savior.
He traveled through human history, helping Heroic Spirits find the proper course for mankind.
He even suspected that Alaya just treated him like a cheat-character, sent in to give Heroic Spirits power-ups!
From Uruk to Britain, and then to the lands of west to east.
From the age when gods and humans coexisted, to the modern day when mystery steadily faded.
One historical setting after another, one singularity after another, bore witness to his battles.
Endless fighting had long left him utterly exhausted.
But all that was in the past.
After fulfilling the mission of saving humanity, he returned to Fuyuki City—where it all began—to settle down.
From there, everything returned to a peaceful daily life.
He was now 17, unmarried, and a student in Academy City. Every day, he made sure to return home by 8 PM at the latest.
After helping Kirina with her homework, he would drink a cup of hot milk before bed,do some push-ups and stretching exercises, and only go to bed once his body was fully relaxed, ensuring he slept soundly till morning.
He never carried fatigue or stress into the next day—everyone around him said he was very healthy.
So tell me—why the hell did Alaya post that edited video?!
He looked at the golden-haired girl in the video, and a flood of memories surged through his mind.
"Nameless Heroic Spirit"—that was his title.
A nameless hero who fought in the shadows, saving the world in silence. Back then, still in the middle of his chuunibyou phase, he had thought that was super cool.
Embarrassing memories he'd rather not recall.
Jeanne was the first target of his human order protection missions.
When she refused to be saved, wishing instead to awaken the ignorant French populace through her death, Sanjiro, wanting to make a stylish exit, chose to die with her in the flames.
Now, watching that scene again brought him overwhelming second-hand embarrassment—especially now that it was being watched and commented on by countless people!
Dammit!
He had already completed his mission of saving the Human Order. Now he just wanted to be a normal high school student. Why disturb his peaceful daily life?!
Alaya had to have done this on purpose, editing and posting this video—unforgivable!
After sacrificing his own Spirit Origin(Saint Graph) to reset the world, Sanjiro had essentially erased his own presence.
Wiped from the memories of all people and Heroic Spirits, he became truly a "Nameless Heroic Spirit."
But now…
With Alaya releasing that video, he was given "existence" once more—bringing back lost memories in those who knew him!
If Alaya kept posting videos like this, it was only a matter of time before every Heroic Spirit remembered him—and came knocking on his door for payback.
The number of weird and complex grudges he had with them… just thinking about it made his head hurt.
At that moment—
His friend beside him was staring at him with suspicion from head to toe.
The friend had short black hair, blue eyes, and wore black-rimmed glasses, giving off a lanky, intellectual vibe.
It was none other than Julian Ainsworth.
"What're you staring at? I don't swing that way!" Sanjiro snapped irritably.
This guy was supposed to be his enemy, yet now he'd become his best friend. Talk about a twisted fate.
Julian frowned. "You really do resemble the Nameless Heroic Spirit in that video…"
"Then hurry up and start worshipping me!"
Sanjiro admitted it openly and without shame.
But often, when you tell the truth, no one actually believes you.
Julian adjusted his glasses.
"With your shut-in personality, if you could become a Heroic Spirit, then I might as well rule the world."
"Tch, don't believe me then. You'll be begging me for help someday, and I'll ignore you." Sanjiro didn't bother explaining.
This was one of his tricks:
The more honest you appear, the less likely people are to suspect you.
Right now, the only problem was—
Had Jeanne recalled everything from watching the video?
If she did remember, there was no telling what she'd do…
At that moment—
Julian suddenly exclaimed, surprised, "France's government is apparently preparing to issue an official response to the video!"
"So fast?"
Even Sanjiro was taken aback.
The video had been up for less than two hours. Knowing how laid-back Europeans were, he thought it would take days.
Could it be… that Her Majesty the French Emperor had really remembered everything?
==================
Versailles Palace
Originally, the French president's office was located in the Élysée Palace.
But after Jeanne descended, she forcibly took over Versailles, making it her royal palace. With public support reaching 99%, no one dared oppose her.
Inside the extravagant palace—
Her Majesty, the Holy Maiden, sat cloaked in black, her silver-gray hair adorned with a horseshoe-shaped accessory.
Her amber eyes swept across the floor aimlessly.
The once-noisy assemblymen were now whispering nervously under her gaze.
Even stealing glances at her through their peripheral vision, they could only feel endless awe and reverence.
The Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne—male and female—stood in white-gold armor on either side of her, their expressions solemn.
Except—
One of the paladins looked completely out of place.
A petite and adorable pink-haired "girl" with a flawless, doll-like face.
While everyone else stood in solemn silence, this one was hiding in another knight's shadow, secretly pulling out a phone and watching a video.
That was Astolfo, or "Astolfo-chan!"
One of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins, known for his stunning beauty as a man.
Only... way too beautiful!
Astolfo looked at the title of the video, his cute little face full of curiosity. "Is this really a video about Her Majesty?"
A video about Saint Jeanne and the Nameless Heroic Spirit—
[Chronicles of the Nameless Heroic Spirit!]
[No one knows your name, but your deeds shall live on forever!]
"I'll just take a quick peek!"
Astolfo glanced nervously at Her Majesty, then pressed play.
And then—
He watched the whole thing in one go!
In the video, a fragile young Jeanne was saved by a powerful Nameless Heroic Spirit. The two fought side by side, leading France to victory.
But in the end—
The French people betrayed Jeanne, sending her to the stake. And that Nameless Heroic Spirit willingly died with her.
The comments were full of people gushing about a romantic love story.
But all Astolfo felt was a chill run down his spine.
This was bad. Really bad.
They dared to make up gossip about Her Majesty?!
With her iron-fisted rule, they were practically signing their own death warrants!
From the throne, the dark Holy Maiden calmly looked at him. "Astolfo. What are you watching?"
"I-I was just watching a... a short video."
Astolfo replied weakly.
Her tone brooked no argument.
"Give it here. Let me see."