"So we'll take separate rooms today?"
"Yes... I'm uncomfortable, and frankly, wouldn't it be hard for you, Ruler, to live between a married couple?"
"If I said no... it would be a lie. Ahem... Yes, I understand."
Jeanne, who had tried to get closer as fellow Rulers by sharing a room, readily agreed to take separate rooms when the married couple said they wanted a room to themselves. In the first place, given that it's a heterosexual relationship with one side being married, Jeanne, having common sense, didn't insist on sharing a room just to get closer.
And so, after getting separate rooms...
"Hi Jeanne~!"
"Ms. Medb? What brings you here?"
"I came to play while Fergus is washing up! I thought about bathing together too, but talking with you is fun, you know?"
"Is that so?"
Medb came to her room to hang out, and the two had a conversation.
"Jeanne, don't you have any desires?"
"I have no wish."
"Ah, my question was strange. Not a wish, but simple things you'd like to do. In terms of wishes, we don't have them either, nor does Setanta. I mean, most Ulster lineage heroic spirits like Cú Chulainn probably don't."
"They don't?"
"Yeah. Setanta and Fergus, after being summoned as heroic spirits, said something to others. That a heroic spirit shouldn't cling to a new life, but rather to the desires they couldn't fulfill in life. And they're not grand wishes either. Jeanne, you received the position of saint from God, and you fought because you wanted to save your homeland. But, as a result... you couldn't return to being a country girl, your daily life crumbled, and you were killed by France. You probably don't resent it. But... really, didn't you have even a simple desire?"
".... I wanted to see the sea."
"And?"
"... Just, living in the countryside with my parents and brother... I did want to become a mother in a family someday. I am called a saint, but I am not that grand entity called a saint."
"But you were called upon for being that saint, not the country girl, and have to fight again. Jeanne, isn't it hard living only by the fate of being a saint imposed on you by the world? Is your happiness there?"
"... I think I am happy. I like saving people."
"Really? Are you as happy as when you lived in the countryside?"
"....."
Jeanne couldn't give a definite answer. She is a saint, a genuine saint. Willingly sacrificing her own life to save people, not resenting even if no one thanks her, or even if they betray and kill her. Truly a holy person.
But... she was just an ordinary girl. Her jumping into war and acting as a saint was only a part of her life.
"You know, Jeanne. I was also given a fate similar to yours. A villainess. Born holding the fate of being the worst villainess who would destroy Ulster. Since childhood, I thought I was the best in the world and there was nothing I couldn't obtain. I believed I was the center of the world."
"That is..."
"Yeah, like the me you know here. In this world, I diligently lived as a villainess and lived happily until the end. Though I ultimately died with my head smashed by that delicious cheese~ It's an ugly end, right? You can count such ends on one hand? But... I was different. I told you, right? When Fergus kidnapped me, my fate changed. Originally living as a villainess, blamed by everyone, thinking it was enough if only I was happy, a villainess who would destroy the world..."
"...."
"My fate changed. The mother of Ulster who revived Ulster, people call me that. I just helped Fergus, you know... I was happy. As the queen of a nation and a mother of a family, as the wife of the man I love, I lived a happy life. I, who lived rejecting my fate, was happy."
"What you're saying is..."
"I'm not telling you to deny your fate as a saint and what you've done. But, you're dead now, aren't you? It's no different from a second life. Precisely... a fragment of it? You've been given a brief time. During that time, you can do what you want. While fulfilling your duty as a Ruler, you can also try doing what you want as the person Jeanne d'Arc. I told you, right? The story of the King of Knights. Perhaps you resemble her too. The foolishly rigid parts. The pitiful parts where you gave up your own happiness... Huhu, it got long, didn't it? Even I think it got long."
"No, it's fine. So... the point you want to make is, I should try to find my own happiness during this Great Holy Grail War?"
"..."
Medb wipes her smile, stands up, and tells her.
"You are fated to fall in love with someone during this Great Holy Grail War."
"What...?"
"That's your fate. You can't avoid it alone, you will fall in love. Of course, that's not wrong. If you're happy, that's enough, even though I think this version of me is foolish, this me was happy and wouldn't regret living according to fate. But... you don't necessarily have to follow fate. Fergus changed his fate, and I was happy living a life that escaped fate with Fergus. Jeanne, how about you try escaping your fate too? The choice is yours. Well then, good night."
Leaving advice with a faint smile, Medb leaves the room. Jeanne thinks over Medb's words once more. A fate of falling in love...
Jeanne had heard that Fergus has future sight and possesses a skill called Pioneer of the Stars.
"Love... Me falling in love. I can't believe it."
Even so, thinking that she, as a saint, couldn't possibly do such a thing, Jeanne goes to sleep.
But then...
[──♡]
[──♡ Aah─♡]
"....."
The sounds of two people came from the next room. Even the sound of flesh hitting flesh... Jeanne, who was a virgin, tried her best to ignore the sound, but it continued. It had already been over an hour... Jeanne tried her utmost to ignore it, but eventually gave up on ignoring and seriously considered going to protest.
And so, ultimately unable to sleep properly, morning came. The moaning continued until dawn, and even 30 minutes after it stopped, Jeanne couldn't fall asleep. She ended up greeting the morning sun.
"Sigh... I guess Fergus is just Fergus."
Jeanne thinks that the essence of Fergus, famous for the Celtic sex symbol, is ultimately the same. Still, it's not like he's womanizing and having affairs with multiple women like in the original text, and since it's a marital relationship, Jeanne couldn't really say anything either. Trying not to show any sign, she tries to leave the room...
"Heya? Did you sleep well?"
"... Ms. Medb. Was that on purpose?"
Medb bursts into the room, opening the door. Jeanne was convinced Medb did it on purpose.
"Oh my, was I caught? He drew soundproofing runes, but I secretly erased them☆"
"Are you trying to tease me? Because I'm a virgin?"
"Well~ That too, and I wanted you to get a little stimulated? Jeanne, you have such a~ nice body, doesn't it feel wasted? Your body is optimized for seducing men, you know? You lewd saint."
"Wh, what! This is Laeticia's body!"
"But you said it's practically identical to your original body?"
"Th, that's..."
Medb walks behind Jeanne, then suddenly hugs her from behind and grabs her breasts.
"Kyaah!"
"Hmm, the texture is good too. I'm a little jealous... Really no wish you want to fulfill? Anyway, you only have one of two fates, right? Jeanne. I'm giving you an opportunity... There's no man as good as Fergus."
"Is that something a wife should say...? Are you telling me, a saint, to have an affair with him...?"
"If you become Fergus's wife, it wouldn't be an affair."
"...."
Jeanne makes a face at the absurd statement. Medb suddenly licks such Jeanne's nape. Jeanne moans, feeling Medb's tongue work. Her strength was so great that Jeanne couldn't escape from her.
"Be honest, Jeanne... I can tell. You're a lewd bitch no less than I am."
"A bitch...!?"
"I heard everything, you know? You'll say to a younger man you haven't known long, 'Do you want to impregnate me?'"
"!?"
"That's your fate, Jeanne... You'll ultimately be called a holy slut and become a subject of ridicule. That's the fate you'll walk... Just kidding? Anyway, you're a country girl who's incredibly thirsty for men. We are heroic spirits, not living bodies. You're a bit different, but as long as you get the host's permission, it's fine, right? And you don't necessarily have to do it with your original body this time. Opportunities will arise plenty... Yum♡"
"Eek!"
Medb bites Jeanne's ear with her mouth and inserts her tongue into the ear. Jeanne's mind goes blank from an experience she never had in life. Medb kneads Jeanne's breasts like that and flicks the nipples through her clothes with her fingers.
"St, stop..."
"Jeanne... I'm advising you as a friend. Women who aren't honest ultimately fail. Deirdre was like that too. She barely caught the last train, you know?"
Medb blows a breath into Jeanne's ear and lets her go.
"Haa... haa..."
"Hmm~ You really have infinite potential. Such a good body, I want to taste it too...♡?"
"Ugh..."
Jeanne, with a red face, wraps her arms around her body. Medb looks at such Jeanne and grins.
"You're an adult, aren't you Jeanne? So, shouldn't you climb the steps of adulthood? Like I said before, the choice is yours. Even if you go according to your original fate, I'll think of you as a friend. So, don't feel burdened and think about it. Your future, shouldn't you choose it yourself? We are merely the bus that arrived in front of the path you'll take. Whether you get on is up to you, right?"
Medb leaves the room first. Jeanne wipes her ear and nape with water, then composes herself and leaves the room.
"Good morning, Ruler. Did you sleep well?"
"... Yes."
At the door, Fergus, who knew nothing, was waiting and greeted her. Perhaps conscious of Medb's words, Jeanne stared holes through Fergus's body.
"..."
"...."
"...."
"Um, why are you staring so intently? If you look at me with such a hot gaze, it's a bit embarrassing...?"
"... Gulp."
That, how is he a married man?
"Are you doing that because you're hungry?"
"... Yes, I'm hungry."
Jeanne brushes it off by saying she's hungry for now, checks out of the hotel, and heads to a restaurant on the street.
"Hey... shall we just call each other by name from now on...?"
"By name? All of a sudden? I'm fine with it if it's convenient for you."
"Since there's no one else anyway, I think that would be good."
"Is that so? Then let's do that, Jeanne."
"Yes... Fergus."
From behind, Medb was grinning.