The moment Mo Wang said Jeanne's name, Mash, who had been focused on the wyvern meat, was so startled she choked and began to cough violently.
"Jeanne?! How can that be?" Mash stared in astonishment at the hooded woman behind Mo Wang. The final boss just showed up? Why is Senpai so calm?
While Mash was still reeling, the woman pulled back her hood, revealing a standard Saber face.
"Senpai, get back! I'll handle this one!" Mash declared, jumping in front of Mo Wang and raising her shield, her eyes fixed on Jeanne.
But just as she was about to charge, Mo Wang bonked her on the head. "Hey, can't you calm down for a second, kid? Didn't you hear me? This isn't the troublemaking Jeanne. This is the real deal, the actual saint."
"Huh?" Mash turned to him, confused. There's more than one Jeanne?
"I apologize," the woman said, seeing Mash's defensive posture. "I am indeed Jeanne, but I have been summoned as a Ruler. I am not the same person who is currently destroying France."
"A Ruler?! How is that possible?" Mash was stunned. She knew of the special class in the Holy Grail War. A Ruler was a Servant summoned by the Counter Force only when a Holy Grail War went awry, acting as an overseer. They were essentially game masters with admin privileges, a role reserved for Servants of the highest moral character.
It wasn't that Jeanne wasn't worthy of the class. It was just that one Jeanne was currently razing France to the ground, and now another one had shown up to be the referee. It was... a little strange.
Jeanne gave a wry smile, seeing Mash's skeptical expression. She hadn't expected this either. She had been perfectly content in the Throne of Heroes when she was suddenly pulled down to act as an umpire.
And as if that weren't bad enough, the first thing she heard was that another version of herself was already here, as an Avenger, no less. She didn't even know she had an Avenger version.
And this unknown version of herself was teaming up with Gilles de Rais to destroy France with a horde of wyverns, completely tarnishing her reputation.
To make matters worse, she found that her own power had been severely weakened upon arrival. She had gone from a top-tier admin to a nerfed half-wit. It made no sense at all.
She had come down to be a fair referee, and now she was being blamed for being the Dragon Witch. It was like someone had stolen her account, committed a bunch of atrocities, and now she had to take the fall for it.
It was a good thing Jeanne was so good-natured. Anyone else in her shoes would have probably lost it.
Archer and the others, however, were much calmer than Mash. They were veterans of the Holy Grail War and had seen all sorts of strange things. Two Jeannes at once... okay, they hadn't actually seen that before.
It was extremely rare for the same Heroic Spirit to be summoned twice in the same war.
But after Jeanne's explanation, they understood that she was the real Saint Jeanne, and not the same person as the troublemaking Dragon Witch.
"So the same Heroic Spirit can be summoned twice at the same time?" even Romani from Chaldea couldn't help but comment.
"Oh, it's just two of them. Nothing to be surprised about," Mo Wang said dismissively. In his mind, it was entirely possible for the entire Holy Grail War to be filled with different versions of the same person. Right, Saber Rangers?
"How are you so calm about this? Do you know something we don't?" Romani asked, his suspicion growing. He had always suspected that Mo Wang had some form of future sight.
How else could he have known about Lev's entire plan and Goetia? It was entirely possible he already knew about this Jeanne.
"Of course, I'm not surprised. I know that the Jeanne who's causing all the destruction is a fake."
"A... a fake?"
Everyone froze. It felt like Mo Wang had just dropped a huge bombshell. Even Jeanne was stunned.
"That's right. But before we get into that, Miss Jeanne, would you care for some wyvern meat?" Mo Wang asked, offering her a plate of fried chicken and a roasted wyvern steak.
"Senpai, now is not the time to be eating!" Mash said, facepalming. Why are you dropping a huge plot point and then immediately changing the subject to food? At least finish what you were saying!
"Relax, relax. It's just a fake Jeanne. At this point, what could be more important than a good meal?" Mo Wang said. Jeanne's reputation was already ruined, so they might as well eat first.
"I don't think you can just dismiss it as 'just a fake Jeanne'," Jeanne said with a wry smile. She was about to refuse the food, but then her stomach growled loudly. The atmosphere suddenly became very awkward.
"Ahem, w-well, in that case, I'll just have a little," she said, quickly taking the food and stuffing it into her mouth.
Everyone watched in amazement as she devoured what looked like a five-person portion in a matter of seconds.
"Um, excuse me," she said, blushing, after she had finished. "Do you have any more?"
"Whoa," Archer muttered, stunned. Is this what it means to have a Saber face? That appetite is terrifying. No wonder Gilles had mistaken the other one for her. Not only did they have the same face, but they also had the same appetite.
Jeanne's blush deepened until her face was the color of a ripe apple. She wished she could bury her head in her chest (if she had one).
Since her summoning, her power had been nerfed, and she hadn't been able to replenish her magical energy. And because of the Dragon Witch, she hadn't been able to find any food and had been forced to hide.
She had been fighting on an empty stomach this whole time. Faced with such delicious food, she had lost control.
"Ahem, Archer, can you make some more for the saint?" Mo Wang said. "Don't worry, our chef is used to cooking for big eaters. You can have this for now. Now, where were we? Oh, right, the fake Jeanne."
"I'm so glad you didn't forget about that," Romani said sarcastically.
"Shut up and let me talk!" Mo Wang shot back at the slacking doctor before turning to Jeanne. "Before we continue, Miss Jeanne, you know Gilles de Rais, right?"
"Of course," she said, nodding without hesitation as she dug into the fried chicken rice bowl Archer had just made for her. He was one of her closest comrades.
"Good. Your comrade, in the next ten years or so, will go completely insane because of your death and start studying all sorts of evil magecraft. This whole incident, simply put, is because he somehow got his hands on a Holy Grail, came to this world, dug up your grave, and used your body to create a fake Jeanne who only knows revenge and isn't very bright."
Jeanne stopped eating, her eyes wide with shock. "You're saying... Gilles did this?!"
In her memory, Gilles was still a handsome and chivalrous knight. The idea that he would become a frog-eyed, obsessive lunatic who would destroy France was something she couldn't accept.
Even Mo Wang had to admit, it was hard to believe that the Caster version and the Saber version of Gilles were the same person.
"Let's put it this way, Miss Jeanne. Have you noticed recently that you can't fully use your Ruler authority and that your strength has been greatly diminished?"
"Y-yes, that's right."
"Exactly! That Jeanne Alter was created by Gilles using your body as a vessel, combined with his own hatred and resentment for what he believed was France's betrayal of you, and the power of the Holy Grail. She doesn't have a proper spiritual core as a Servant. The Holy Grail is her core. And because she appeared before you, the name 'Jeanne' was registered and bound to her first. That's why your own fame in this land has decreased, and even your class authority is incomplete."
"Is that so? Gilles... would do something like that..." Jeanne's expression fell. She had never imagined that something like this would happen after her death.
To have her body dug up by her best friend and used for such a purpose... it was a hellish thought.
The image of the French marshal had just plummeted in the eyes of the other Servants. Compared to him, Mo Wang, who just went around robbing graves, seemed almost like a decent person.
"Hey, Miss Saint, you don't have to feel so guilty," Mo Wang said, patting her on the back. "It's just that your body was used to nearly destroy all of France. Compared to the mess someone else made, it's nothing."
He was, of course, referring to a certain someone who had nearly destroyed the entire history of human civilization because his body was used. And that someone was currently sitting in his office in Chaldea, eating snacks and watching tokusatsu shows, living his best life. Compared to that, what was one country?
As the saying goes, when you think you've screwed up badly, just remember that someone else nearly destroyed the world because they didn't dispose of a body properly.
"Achoo!"
Back in his office, Romani sneezed. "What was that? I feel like someone's talking about me."
"Thank you for your understanding," Jeanne said, her expression serious. "But no matter what, I am still responsible for what has happened. Gilles is my friend, and I must stop him." She stood up, looking at the others with determination.
"That's the spirit, young lady! In that case, welcome to our great team!" Mo Wang said, pulling her into a hug.
Mash's eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed red. "Senpai! What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, pulling him away from Jeanne. "You can't just hug people like that! Especially a saint you've just met! It's rude!"
"Hey, I was just welcoming her!" Mo Wang said innocently. "What's wrong with hugging a new teammate?"
"Everything is wrong with it!" Mash stomped her foot. "It's too frivolous! And... and..." Her voice trailed off, and she looked down, muttering, "It's just not right!"
Shirou-Morgan walked over, her arms crossed. "Mr. Mo Wang, your actions were indeed inappropriate. As a Master, you should maintain proper etiquette and decorum, not act so casually towards a Servant."
"Hey, it's just a hug. It's perfectly normal in France, right, Miss Jeanne?" Mo Wang asked.
"Ahaha," Jeanne laughed nervously. It was true that hugs were common in France, but she had a feeling that Mo Wang's intentions weren't entirely pure.
"Ahem, Mr. Mo Wang, putting that aside, what should we do next?" Jeanne asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Oh, what else?" Mo Wang said. "First, we go to Marseille. Then, we find the French army."