Jeanne, Let's Dance
"By the way! How's Gudako over there? If he senses that the plan has failed, he wouldn't… do something again, right?" Shirou asked.
"Yes! Gudako-senpai over there also finished successfully! Thanks to reinforcements arriving, Moriarty has been defeated, and this Singularity incident has been resolved!" Mashu replied with a smile.
It turns out that after Shirou and Artoria left, Gudako and the others who remained there faced Moriarty and had the final decisive battle.
The Count of Monte Cristo, the true Man in the Iron Mask, barged in with full force. Commissioned by a certain existence, he came as Andersen's protector to rescue the restrained Shakespeare.
The two literary heroic spirits cooperated to create the ultimate weapon to counter Moriarty.
The blue-haired boy in Western attire said: "Ah, enough already! We only got on this doujinshi creation bandwagon for popularity! It's nice not to have to design characters, but writing feels restricted, which is a real pain!"
Shakespeare said, "Though the doujinshi I write cannot reach the heights of the original works, I hope that in this brief moment, it can shine as brilliantly as the original!"
Andersen opened a manuscript and shouted: "For the story I wrote for you (Marchen meines Lebens)!"
Shakespeare also opened a book, waved his black-gloved hand, and shouted: "It's rare to activate a Noble Phantasm in this way. The time of performance has arrived—receive a thunderous applause (First Folio)!"
The two magicians emitted a strange radiance, summoning something!
It was not a Servant—its spirit origin was low… nor a Shadow Servant.
There were many… one hundred, no, over two hundred.
Two hundred phantom spirits appeared, and the four figures standing at the front as representatives were: a round-faced priest, a disheveled-haired doctor, an old man playing with string, and a serious gentleman.
Round-faced Priest: Father Brown, short and plump with a round face, simple and stammering, but a priest-detective of surprising wisdom. Wearing a small round hat, round glasses, and often holding a black umbrella. His famous line: "Criminals are creative artists, while detectives are merely critics."
Disheveled-haired Doctor: If Sherlock Holmes is the most famous detective of the "evidence deduction" school, this famous detective represents the "mental deduction" school. A
thinking machine above logic—the noble detective Van Dusen, whose hair resembles Einstein's.
Van Dusen never studied chess but claimed that by analyzing the rules logically, he could defeat the world champion. He spent half a day learning the rules, then played against the world chess champion.
By the fifth move, the champion's smile vanished; by the tenth move, he began sweating nervously; by the fifteenth move, Van Dusen declared: "Check!"
The champion thought for ten minutes but still couldn't respond. Using only logic, Van Dusen defeated the world champion in fifteen moves.
"You are not human; you are a 'thinking machine'!" said the pale-faced champion.
Old Man Playing with String: The world's first armchair detective. Unlike Holmes, who intruded into private homes and used stimulants, this detective solved cases without leaving his chair, reading news in a café corner—the Cornered Old Man.
Serious Gentleman: Active in works like The Red Thumbmark and The Singing Bones' Dr. Songdick, he is a lawyer, medical doctor, and polymath, called "The Great Perspectivist." Unlike eccentric detectives, he is serious, conservative, handsome, and solves cases scientifically rather than relying on intuition.
Many other famous detectives did not appear directly, instead hiding behind the phantom spirits.
"Gudako! For the works created by Andersen and Shakespeare, for your heroic deeds in saving even a divided world unrelated to yourself, all the detectives present have descended here. Let us lend you our power!" said the phantom detectives.
"Hmph hahahaha! To defeat me, detectives of every school have come? Do not insult me! I, James Moriarty, will never lose to anyone other than Charlotte Holmes! Since you detectives are gathering, I shall borrow the power of evil!" Moriarty pulled out the Holy Grail and drew on its magic.
With the support of the phantom detectives' abilities, combined with Jeanne and the Man in the Iron Mask's attacks and Shakespeare and Andersen's assistance, they successfully defeated Moriarty, who possessed the Holy Grail and fused Holmes and Bullet Shooter.
When Moriarty tried to use the Grail for a second round of battle, the 200+ phantom detectives focused all their lifetime abilities—their single-minded skill at solving crimes—and turned it into a collective Noble Phantasm, now entrusted to Gudako.
"Come! Master of Chaldea! Speak the words!" the phantom detectives shouted in unison.
Gudako raised her hand and pointed at the bearded man, loudly declaring: "James Moriarty! You are the criminal!!!"
In life, "the Napoleon of crime" never left evidence, so he was never indicted by detectives.
At this moment, as the ultimate villain, he was pointed out by the combined intelligence and reasoning of over 200 phantom detectives.
The record of the "perfect crime" was broken, and Moriarty's power as a criminal drastically diminished in that instant.
"I didn't expect being identified by detectives would weaken me this much… Yet even so, I shouldn't have been defeated. According to my calculations and analysis, this shouldn't happen. Why?" Moriarty asked in confusion.
"Don't you understand yet?" Gudako looked at the man sadly.
"Master, tell me what's going on? Otherwise, I cannot rest even in death," Moriarty said.
"Because… you actually think doing good deeds is kind of fun, don't you!" Gudako said.
"Ah… I see… It seems the dream of a demon god, and my own dream, have both collapsed… I was just one step short," Moriarty sighed.
"It may be too late to say now, but… I'm sorry, Master, Gudako. I used your righteousness and innocence to set a trap. But please believe at least one thing! Fighting alongside you, chatting and laughing, that was the straightforward, justice-believing, good Moriarty. He's a good person. Well… probably," Gudako added.
Moriarty carefully said to the girl: "And now, standing here, please consider me merely a villain with the same appearance!"
"No way!" Gudako pouted in refusal. "I'll find a way to summon you and make full use of you!"
"You are really stubborn! Very well…" Moriarty said with a helpless smile.
"Master! Do as you like. If I am summoned, I'll accompany you for fun. Now! Hahaha! Farewell! Adios, amigo!" The bearded man waved one last time, shouting loudly.
"Meow meow meow?" Gudako blinked.
It seemed that seeing the Master so puzzled, Moriarty, who had been sneering, vanished into a glow.
At this moment, in the Chaldea control room, an operator monitoring the instruments reported:
"Shinjuku's environmental parameters have returned to normal!" "Spirit transfer can proceed at any time." "Good! This incident is finally over!" Da Vinci said cheerfully. "Then let's head to Shinjuku for a few days to gather material," Shakespeare said as he started walking outside. "Stop talking nonsense! You're coming with me into the writing hell!"
Andersen grabbed Shakespeare and dragged him into the space to start writing a work. The Count of Monte Cristo, acting as their guardian, accompanied them. Before leaving, he looked at the girl and laughed loudly:
"Never forget, my accomplice. No matter how contrary the world may be, all deeds will meet their due. If you yield now, it wouldn't suit your style! At that time, just call my name! I will immediately come to your side! Hahahahahahaha!"
"Hahahahahaha! Got it! See you next time!" Gudako replied, hands on her hips, laughing.
"One noisy person after another, they've finally all left," Jeanne muttered.
At this time, Shirou returned to the rooftop.
"Welcome back, Shirou-senpai. Where's Artoria?" Gudako greeted the returning boy with a smile. "Oh, she went to see Cavall II," Shirou replied. "What! She ran off on her own! Oh well… I guess she knows her limits," Jeanne said, glancing at the girl, hesitant to continue. "And Gudako…" "Ah! Right! I just had a little business to check, so I'm heading downstairs first," Gudako said with understanding, walking outside while secretly giving Jeanne a thumbs-up.
Now, the top of the tower had only Shirou and Jeanne.
The silver-haired girl changed into a formal outfit, donning a purple-black evening gown, and said to the boy: "Shirou! Let's dance!"
"Eh? Oh, so that's what you meant. I was wondering why Gudako was acting so strange," Shirou said, suddenly understanding, and smiled.
"What! You can dance with the fool king of Britain, but not with a French peasant girl?" Jeanne asked impatiently, glaring. "No, it's not that…"
"Then dance! Lead me already! Come on!" Jeanne urged. "I know," Shirou said, transforming his spirit core into a Western-style formal outfit. He stepped forward, took the girl's hand, placed his other hand on her back, and started the dance, leading her gracefully.
"Hey! Why are you suddenly so close? Your breath is on my face, and don't touch my back! Pervert!" Jeanne shouted, blushing. "That's how dancing works," the boy said helplessly. "Eh… it feels completely different from dancing with Gudako," Jeanne said, blushing, lowering her head.
"Relax, lift your head, straighten your chest. In this kind of dance, you need to show confidence and beauty; that's how it looks good," Shirou said gently.
"I see… I understand," Jeanne said, lifting her head to look at him.
The two stared into each other's eyes, gently moving and turning in the room. Their steps were slow but coordinated, like paired birds flying in the morning: the male following the female as they soar to the treetops, wings spread together. Each step maintained perfect spacing—neither too slow nor rushed.
A gentle breeze swayed the outer door slightly. Light reflected on the silver doorknob, flickering softly. The wind blowing through the gap made a rhythmic sound, as if accompanying their dance.
"How does it feel?" the silver-haired girl asked suddenly, gazing into Shirou's eyes. "What?" Shirou asked in confusion. "I'm asking about the dance, of course! How does it compare to dancing with that king?" Jeanne asked.
"It's quite good. With these steps, if you practice more, get familiar with the movements, and build balance and rhythm, you'll keep improving," Shirou said with a light laugh.
"Hmm… Then I'll practice properly when I go back. So… let's dance together next time. Promise!" Jeanne said. "Of course, if you like dancing this much, I can practice with you," Shirou agreed.
"Is that so…" Jeanne pursed her lips, her cheeks slightly red, wearing a funny expression as if wanting to smile but holding it back.
"Pfft." Seeing her like that, Shirou couldn't help but laugh.
"Why are you laughing? I'll burn you! Lead the dance! We still have time to practice," Jeanne scolded fiercely.
"Yes, yes," Shirou chuckled, taking her hand and leading her in a 180-degree spin. The hem of her purple-black gown flared out like a blooming flower, twirling gracefully.
Jeanne gradually felt the joy of dancing, showing a rare sweet smile in front of Shirou.
Suddenly, the BGM stopped. Someone had reached out and turned off the phone Gudako had been hiding at the door, watching them.
"Ah!" "Artoria-san!"
Gudako and Mashu shouted in surprise.
"Hehe, seems you've enjoyed it enough?" Artoria, accompanied by Cavall II, had appeared at the doorway.
"What! Didn't you just run off on your own? You could have quietly disappeared somewhere! Now you shamelessly return—what's your intent?" Jeanne asked.
"Hmph, I just thought that if I didn't let you enjoy a little now, it would be a pity later. So I'm only lending Shirou to you for a short while," Artoria said with a cold smile.