"...Phew. There. We have fled far enough. We should be safe now."
At Marie's words, Mash turned toward the communicator and asked, "...Doctor. Is that truly so?"
[I believe Her Majesty is correct. The Servant reaction has vanished. And to add to that, there is a leyline nearby as well.]
"Understood. Lady Jeanne, Sir Elius, and... Lady Marie?"
"Lady Marie?!"
Gasp!
At Mash's form of address, Marie cried out. Everyone started and turned to look at her.
Mash, equally startled, hastened to apologize.
"M-my apologies. I only meant..."
"No, not at all!"
Clasp!
"Eh?"
But Marie suddenly seized Mash's hand in both of hers. Mash's eyes widened as she looked back at her.
"It is no discourtesy at all!"
"...Pardon?"
Marie held Mash's hand as her eyes shone with delight.
"It is no discourtesy. I am utterly delighted! That manner of address just now was so adorable I thought my ears might leap from my head. I beg you, travelers from afar, please continue to call me thus!"
"Ah... um... would 'Miss Marie,' perhaps, or 'Mademoiselle Marie' not do?"
"It will not!"
"I-I understand... Lady Marie."
"Eeehee~"
At Mash's words, Marie flushed like a maiden receiving a confession of love. Seeing that, I pressed a hand to my brow.
Romani, who had been watching through the communicator, also seemed somewhat disillusioned, for he muttered hollowly, [The image I had of Marie Antoinette is crumbling within me...]
"I share the sentiment... More importantly, you said we must draw supplies through the leyline, did you not, chicken?"
[Again with 'chicken'... In any case, yes. That is correct.]
"Very well. Your Majesty, would you hear me out?"
"Ah, of course, gallant knight!"
Marie, still smiling as she cradled Mash's right hand in both of hers, nodded at my words. Seeing that, I continued.
"First, we shall make for the nearby leyline. According to this acting director, we must go there if we are to receive provisions."
"Ah, yes. If we inscribe a summoning circle there, Chaldea can provide supplies and magical energy support as well. We must secure it as a base."
Mash readily agreed. I looked over the gathered company and spoke.
"Just so. That is where we are bound. Has anyone any objection?"
"I have none, of course. What say you, Amadeus?"
"There is little point in asking my opinion. Do as you please."
"I too believe there is no issue."
At my words, Marie, Mozart, and Jeanne all nodded. At last, Ritsuka gave her assent as well.
Thus, with unanimous accord, we set out for the leyline without delay. Just as Romani had said, it lay very near at hand.
Thanks to that, we arrived swiftly, dealt with those who had occupied the leyline before us, and were able to establish the summoning circle.
Once the circle had been set and tents raised for our temporary stay, we gathered around the campfire. After confirming that all were present, Marie spoke.
"Allow me to introduce myself anew. My True Name is Marie Antoinette! I have manifested as a [Rider]-class Servant. As for why, that remains a mystery. I have no Master, you see!"
"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I am a [Caster], and much the same as Marie. I know not why I was summoned. To begin with, I am hardly a hero."
Truly.
I had known it already, yet to meet in person a queen famed throughout France and the musician of the age stirred a strange feeling in me.
When I turned my head slightly toward Ritsuka, I saw that she too wore a faintly astonished expression.
At the sight, I gave a small smile and began my own introduction.
"I as well manifested without a Master. Though now, this young lady is mine. My True Name is Elius. I was summoned in a reversed state, as a [Berserker]."
"Elius!"
"...Hm?"
No sooner had I introduced myself than Marie's eyes lit up as though she had met some adored idol.
Just as she had done with Mash, she abruptly seized my hand in both of hers. At the sudden gesture, my eyes widened.
Untroubled by that, Marie continued to gaze at me with shining eyes and spoke like a maiden who had at last found the very image of her ideal.
Clasp!
"O-oh?"
"Of course I know of you! Tales of your devotion to your king are so renowned they are spoken even across the sea. I had always wished to meet a splendid knight such as you. And now to behold you in truth... ahh!"
"...Ah. Th-thank you. I am honored you think so."
Her stream of praise left me oddly abashed, and I scratched my cheek with my free hand.
Jeanne and Ritsuka watched that scene with expressions that suggested they did not care for it in the least. As I stood there in some discomfort, Mozart approached and pressed a hand to his brow as though already weary.
"...Haah. My apologies. As you can see, Marie has a rather singular temperament. I ask your understanding."
"...It is no matter. And this young lady bearing the shield is..."
"My name is Mash Kyrielight. I am a [Demi-Servant], and my True Name remains unknown. And this is Fujimaru Ritsuka, the Master of both myself and Mr. Berserker."
At Mash's introduction, Ritsuka, still wearing a somewhat sullen expression, spoke.
"...Ritsuka. A pleasure. Though before that, would you kindly step away from Berserker now?"
"Ah, how rude of me. Do look at me... my apologies."
At Ritsuka's words, Marie answered with a contrite look. I raised a hand to show that I did not mind, then gestured toward the last remaining member of our company.
"And lastly, this is—"
"I know. Jeanne, Jeanne d'Arc. The holy maiden who rose to save France. Along with the knight here, you are one I long wished to meet even in life."
Jeanne, who had been wearing a faintly displeased expression much like Ritsuka's, stiffened slightly at Marie's words and said, "...I am no holy maiden."
"I know that is what you believe. Yet we also know of the miracle you showed at Orleans."
"...That was not a miracle wrought by me."
Jeanne answered with a bitter smile.
"It was a miracle achieved by all those others who resolved to fight in order to save France. It was never a miracle of my making.
Marie Antoinette, your words gladden me truly. But... I am not a holy maiden.
I merely raised my banner for the sake of what I believed. And as a result, my hands were stained with blood that can never be washed away.
Thus I have no regrets, nor do I resent my death."
"...I see. So that is why you said you are no holy maiden. And why you believe your death to have been the price for the blood upon your hands."
"...!"
At my words, which struck the very heart of the matter, Jeanne's eyes trembled. I looked upon her in silence.
Truly... she resembled Artoria.
A life spent in motion for the sake of a beautiful ideal. A beacon of hope to others. A spirit of sacrifice that offered the self for the sake of the many. Even the self-loathing born after death from guilt and reproach.
Everything in her life called to mind Artoria, my beloved and my king.
At this rate... even if I wished merely to listen, I could not remain silent.
Comforting others is not to my taste... but it could not be helped.
"Jeanne. Why did you choose to follow the revelation of God?"
"...It was to bring an end to the Lord's lament."
"With the body of a girl of eighteen?"
"..."
Jeanne answered my question, yet at the words that followed, she fell silent. Seeing that, I reached out my hand toward her head.
Pat.
"...Eh?"
"Jeanne. Even after receiving that revelation, you could have lived on as nothing more than an ordinary village girl."
I smiled as I gently stroked her hair. Jeanne was startled by the touch, but only for a moment. Then my next words made her whole body go still.
"But you did not. You chose of your own will to cast aside your life and follow that revelation."
And had that choice never been made, France would have been ravaged by England. In the worst of outcomes, it might even have perished altogether.
Yet would it have ended there?
Had France fallen, the French Revolution would never have come to pass, and democracy, which would one day stand as a banner for mankind's future, might never have taken root. The old order of rank and birth would have endured.
But because of Jeanne's choice, France was preserved, and her descendants were able to bring forth democracy in ages to come.
In other words, it would scarcely be an exaggeration to say that the resolve with which Jeanne sought to save France helped shape the very course by which humanity arrived at its present age.
"More than that, you never betrayed your duty or your faith. The burden upon you must surely have been heavy beyond measure, and yet you bore it all upon your shoulders and became the hope of the French people. Because you became their guiding star, they were able to achieve that miracle. Therefore, you are—"
a holy maiden.
At my final words, tears at last spilled down Jeanne's cheeks. I lowered the hand that had been stroking her head and brushed away those tears with my fingers.
As I wiped the tears from her face with my thumb, I looked at her and smiled brightly.
"So then... you have done well indeed, Jeanne."
"...Hic..."
At those final words, Jeanne finally broke into sobs and threw herself into my arms. Seeing that, I smiled and gently stroked her head.
It was the moment in which the holy maiden found salvation.