"Lady Jeanne is...apologizing right now."
As a Servant summoned using a living anchor, one's awareness of their host's condition was not particularly sharp. Servants themselves had no need to eat, drink, or sleep.
They could remain alert every moment if needed, but the same was not true for their host.
The host would become hungry, weary. Yet, given that a Servant's mental and physical endurance far exceeded a normal human's, the sensations of hunger and fatigue transmitted by the host were barely perceptible.
If careless even for a moment, one could end up like Jeanne, inadvertently allowing her host to collapse from exhaustion.
After all, the sensations Laeticia transmitted to Jeanne were extremely faint. Compared to eating, seeking out the abnormalities of this Holy Grail War naturally became Jeanne's primary concern.
"Apologizing?" Shirou echoed, puzzled.
"Yes," Laeticia explained softly as she finished another bowl of porridge. "Lady Jeanne insists it's her fault I became so weak, so she's continuously apologizing to me, and expressing gratitude to you both."
"If that's the case, why doesn't Miss Jeanne come out herself?" Arthur asked curiously.
Given their situation, the two should have been able to switch freely.
"Miss Jeanne wanted to take some time to sort out her thoughts regarding this Holy Grail War," Laeticia explained frankly, disregarding Jeanne's internal protests. "Moreover, she feels extremely embarrassed about suddenly fainting in front of you and Sir Emiya."
Before Shirou or Arthur could reply, a subtle change in presence emanated from the young woman before them.
"Ahem—!"
"At any rate," Jeanne spoke, swiftly regaining her dignified composure, "this Holy Grail War is rife with abnormalities. Nevertheless, you two are not irregular participants—you are officially recognized combatants."
Shirou and Arthur tactfully overlooked her brief embarrassment.
Jeanne quietly took up the bowl before her, sipping its contents.
The flavor really is wonderful. The taste transmitted through Laeticia's senses and her own firsthand experience differed slightly.
Truly delicious porridge indeed.
"Ahem—!"
"Do either of you have more questions?"
"No particular questions, but our confusion seems to have multiplied," Arthur said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Right now, the matters they wished to clarify appeared to elude even this impartial arbiter, who herself was racing to uncover answers.
And as mere participants, their grasp of the situation was even weaker. If even Ruler couldn't resolve these mysteries, what chance did they have?
"Ruler, I'd like to know something. Normally, the Holy Grail War doesn't involve innocent bystanders, correct?" Shirou spoke up. He had numerous questions for Jeanne; nearly everything he knew about the war came solely from Darnic's biased perspective.
And Shirou certainly didn't trust someone like that. Compared to questioning Darnic, it was clearly quicker to ask the neutral arbiter directly.
"No, it shouldn't," Jeanne firmly replied, meeting Shirou's eyes. "Normally, the Holy Grail War takes place at night, and I personally do my utmost to protect any innocent people caught in the crossfire."
This type of conflict within the magecraft world should never affect those uninvolved in the normal world. Jeanne was fully committed to maintaining fairness and order in this war.
What surprised her, however, was the earnest concern this young man—a magus—showed toward ordinary people.
Furthermore, it wasn't as if he was asking merely to curry her favor. Everyone knew Jeanne was a compassionate saint; flattering her sense of morality might indeed earn her support.
Yet all she saw in Shirou's gaze was sincerity and firm conviction, words spoken purely from the heart.
"With your assurance, Ruler, I feel relieved," Shirou nodded. He knew well that his strength in this war was severely lacking. If the Servants chose to slaughter innocents, he was powerless to prevent it.
Even though his Saber could likely handle such situations, if Arthur became occupied elsewhere, Shirou himself would have no choice but to watch helplessly as innocent lives were taken.
Shirou knew in his heart he couldn't just stand by. Even if powerless, he'd still rush forward—buying even a few seconds could mean lives saved.
Fortunately, the Servants summoned here seemed honorable enough, holding firmly to their warrior pride.
But Shirou still worried that some Servants might commit atrocities.
This concern stemmed mainly from something he'd overheard while passing through the corridors: Darnic mentioning their Assassin was a serial killer. The true name hadn't been revealed, so Shirou's knowledge was limited. Yet if even notorious murderers from history could become Heroic Spirits, it wasn't unthinkable that others might resort to slaughtering innocents.
Shirou was determined to prevent this at any cost.
Later, he'd find a chance to look into the Assassin of Black personally.
"For now, I plan to head to the Church," Jeanne declared, finishing the last of her porridge.
"Why the Church and not Black's headquarters first?" Shirou questioned.
If information was what Jeanne sought, the Black faction would obviously be easier to approach. Darnic would surely provide information unavailable from the Grail itself—like details about the Red faction's members.
Such intelligence might provide Jeanne with clues through her revelations.
Of course, Shirou himself had never requested such information from Darnic, but he knew it existed. He'd learned firsthand in the Empire that information warfare was crucial.
After all, wasn't the one who understood you best usually your enemy?
Surely Black had thoroughly investigated Red's Servants.
"The Holy Church has always overseen the Holy Grail Wars. I intend to check with them first. Moreover, the Red faction, currently stationed there, is acting notably suspicious. It would be wiser to start there."
Jeanne had initially planned to oversee the war while investigating why she couldn't manifest normally.
According to information from the Grail, the Holy Church traditionally supervised the wars, so it made sense to consult them first, to ascertain exactly what was happening.
But the situation now had shifted. Red faction's Lancer had openly announced his Master had ordered Jeanne's assassination.
Such a peculiar move made clear the Red faction harbored serious irregularities.
Since the Church and Red faction occupied the same area, Jeanne naturally preferred heading there for information first, then investigating Red's suspicious activities directly, rather than needlessly detouring to the Black faction's territory.
"If it were a matter of recruitment, it might still be understandable—but directly assassinating the overseer? Such a pointless act undoubtedly signals deeper trouble."
Jeanne's gaze turned toward Shirou and Arthur, her voice firm. "Whether or not this connects directly to the war's abnormalities, it's clearly worth immediate investigation."
Her tone left no room for negotiation.
Then she took another sip of porridge, steadying her nerves.
---
T/N: was gonna update earlier but got lazy, so im just doing 4 chapters for today's update, should be an update tomorrow too maybe 4 maybe not
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