Chapter 173 Wits Against the Dragon Witch
On the small road between the two carriage processions, the carriages moved forward slowly.
King Louis sat by the carriage door and chatted with Shirou, asking at one moment what Shirou had studied, and at another if Shirou was married.
Although it was Tamamo Cat's scheme, Shirou had indeed received the man's favor. Although he wasn't particularly skilled at dealing with an emperor like this, respecting those who had helped him was basic etiquette. Therefore, Shirou answered the King's questions seriously along the way, as much as he could.
King Louis secretly observed the young man and nodded, thinking, 'Although he is a foreigner and his etiquette is a bit different, this young man is certainly well-bred. And there's no communication barrier; he's very sincere towards others, and even knowing I'm the Emperor, he didn't try to flatter me. He probably has a lot of self-confidence.'
Although Shirou didn't know that Tamamo Cat had used some means, and the farmers along the way seemed frightened, all of them tremblingly said that the land belonged to Marquis Shirou. But after traveling for a while, there was still no sign of Tamamo Cat. Even if she was a somewhat overly unrestrained, wildcat-like Servant, she was still a girl, and her continued absence made Shirou quite worried.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, thank you for your help. I must go after my companion now, and I will certainly express my gratitude to you later," Shirou once again bowed to King Louis to show respect, promised him, and then rode his horse in the direction Tamamo Cat had run.
"Oh, he's a truly warm-hearted and good young man," the Emperor nodded, seemingly increasingly satisfied with the young man. "My lovely princess, what do you think of this young man?"
"..." The princess, who had been sitting in the carriage and had not shown her face, looked thoughtfully at the young man's receding back.
At this moment, in the great hall of the Demon King's castle, a silver-haired girl in black armor was sitting on a luxurious chair on the innermost steps. One hand rested on the armrest, propping up her chin, as she was dozing off in boredom.
The girl was Jeanne d'Arc Alter. After escaping the tea party and breaking out of that strange place, she had followed the advice of Merlin-rabbit, who had prophesied, "The young man you wish to see will surely pass through here. All you have to do is wait."
She came to this place, kicked the annoying noble who lived here into the dungeon, and directly took over.
Anyway, all she needed was to see Shirou.
Then, with Merlin's help, she used the Holy Grail to create this magnificent castle. Merlin then used an illusion to make the noble's servants acknowledge Jeanne's identity and continue working, maintaining the daily routine.
After completing these tasks, Merlin said goodbye to the girl.
"Then, all you have to do is wait here for Shirou to arrive. As this is the only path he can take to enter, he will certainly come here to meet you."
"Hey, what about you? Where are you going?" Jeanne asked.
"I've had enough fun, so I'm going back to update my blog.
Although there are many beautiful ladies in this world, unfortunately, none of them are compatible with me.
The one holding the tea party is a lunatic who likes to sing but only makes noise.
The Duchess I served is another strange little girl, the Queen is a big villain who keeps shouting for people's heads to be chopped off, and the Princess is... Sigh, even in a dream world, a succubus like me should be free to do as I please." After Merlin finished speaking, he took off the pair of long ears like Fou that had grown on his head, as if removing a hat. His body became transparent, and then he left this dream world.
Jeanne was looking forward to meeting Shirou, so she instructed the servants not to stop anyone who came through the main gate. But after waiting for a long time, the one who arrived was a cat.
"What? Are you a Servant too, you cat in an apron? What are you doing here?" Jeanne d'Arc Alter asked with a frown.
"Meow is here as a guest, nya! Hurry up and bring out the radishes to entertain me!" Tamamo Cat said with a smile.
"Radishes? What a strange preference. Shouldn't cats be catching mice and fish?"
"Meow doesn't dislike mice, but fish are good too. Hurry up and bring out the radishes, nya!"
"Well, I suppose it's fine. Since you're a fellow Servant, be it a stray cat or a stray dog, giving you a meal is not impossible." Jeanne d'Arc Alter waved her hand, signaling the servants to prepare dinner.
"Thank you, Demon King. If Meow didn't already have a Master, I'd let you pet my tail and paw pads." Tamamo Cat said happily.
"Hah? Who cares about those things of yours? I'm just bored waiting for someone. No one here can even talk to me," Jeanne grumbled.
"Speaking of which, Demon King, I heard you are very powerful, able to grow big and shrink small, and even breathe fire?" Tamamo Cat asked.
"Hah, of course. I'm not some stray cat Servant who just popped up like you. I am very strong. If my Master were to arrive, well, there's no question, I would be invincible," Jeanne said proudly.
"What! Meow's Master is very powerful! Meow and Master are the best combination!" Tamamo Cat retorted, unconvinced.
"Hah, do you want to compare yourself to me? I'm so bored I'm getting sleepy even in a dream!"
"Then let's have a transformation contest, nya. Meow can transform too," Tamamo Cat said.
"Hmph, I have nothing else to do anyway. I'll show you!" Jeanne pulled out a cookie, took a bite, and instantly grew several times larger. If the newly built castle wasn't high enough, her head would have already broken through the roof.
"So big, nya? What about shrinking? What about shrinking?" Tamamo Cat asked.
"Hah? Now that you understand my power, that's enough, isn't it? I'm not here to play with a stray cat," Jeanne d'Arc Alter said awkwardly.
"But you were the one who said you were bored, so Meow is playing with you, nya. Could it be that you can't do it? Meow-haha," Tamamo Cat covered her mouth and mocked.
"Who says! I'll show you right now!" Jeanne then pulled out a mushroom, bit off a piece from one side, and her size instantly shrunk, finally becoming as small as a figurine placed on the ground.
"Meooow, so small! You really look like a black mouse," Tamamo Cat exclaimed in admiration.
"Hmph! Now you know how powerful I am," Jeanne d'Arc Alter said proudly.
"Now's the time! Gawu!" Tamamo Cat immediately pounced and bit the shrunken Jeanne!
"Waaah! You bastard, what are you doing!" Jeanne, who was suddenly caught, shouted.
"Hey! Tamamo Cat! Where are you?" At this moment, Shirou, who was chasing after her, also arrived.
He saw a strange sight: the silver-haired girl, shrunk to the size of a little person, was held in Tamamo Cat's mouth. Upon closer look, she seemed very familiar.
"Master! Meow has already caught the black mouse, nya. But it's very tough, and Meow feels like eating it will upset my stomach," Tamamo Cat said, squinting her eyes, looking very conflicted.
"Jeanne? Why are you so small?" Shirou looked closely. Isn't this Jeanne d'Arc Alter, the comrade he fought alongside in Shinjuku?
"Ah! You bastard, let me down quickly! Shirou!! What's going on with this stray cat?" Jeanne, with only her upper body sticking out, screamed frantically.
"Ah, Tamamo Cat, this is my comrade. Put her down quickly," Shirou hurriedly said.
"Meow? Does Master have a Demon King for a comrade, nya? Ptooey!" Tamamo Cat spat Jeanne onto the ground.
"Wuwu..." So, the sticky-bottomed Jeanne sat pitifully on the ground. Even though she returned to her normal size, her skirt armor and the stockings underneath were soaked.
"Meow, meow? So, the person this woman was waiting for is Master?" Tamamo Cat blinked her eyes, rolling them around as she examined Jeanne.
Jeanne lowered her head, seemingly gathering a palpable heat of anger, and whispered, "Bastard, how dare you do that? How dare you trick me and do this to me, and right in front of... Shirou."
"Yikes! The Demon King is angry! Master, protect Meow," Tamamo Cat let out a cheerful squeak and clung onto the young man's back, but she didn't show any sign of fear. Instead, she bared her teeth at Jeanne from an angle invisible to the young man.
"Damn it... You wretched yōkai cat! Get off Shirou right now!" Jeanne angrily grabbed her flag, ready to unleash a flame attack!
"Alright, alright, this is a misunderstanding. Tamamo Cat, stop it. Don't fight," Shirou spread his arms, blocking the berserk silver-haired girl.
"Although Meow is enough as Master's pet, and all the others should be thrown into the forest to eat bamboo or be fed to tigers, Meow won't do anything that Master dislikes, so I'll accept her as a comrade. But even if you give Meow a radish, I won't let you touch my paw pads or tail," Tamamo Cat said disdainfully.
"Who wants to touch you, you fake cat!" Jeanne roared.
"In any case, it's really great to see you, Jeanne. I was wondering when I would get to see you again," Shirou said, smiling happily at the girl.
"Hmph... Do you still remember your promise to me? Well, I suppose so. After all, with me around, there's no enemy Shirou can't defeat," Jeanne was momentarily stunned by the young man's words, then she awkwardly turned her head away, stood up, and quietly said, "...Anyway, I'll be leaving for a moment."
"Eh? Jeanne, where are you going?" Shirou asked in confusion.
Jeanne turned back and shouted loudly, "To take a bath! Do you want me to talk to you all sticky like this?! If you dare follow me, I'll burn you too!"
"I'm sorry. Please take your time. I'll wait for you here," Shirou surrendered and said to the girl.
Jeanne slammed the door and walked out.
"Oh dear, is that the end of it?" At this moment, a holographic image from Chaldea was projected, and Da Vinci peeked out, asking with a hint of schadenfreude.
"Da Vinci-chan, what kind of development were you hoping to see?" Shirou complained to the black-haired woman, then asked, "So, I finally found you. Tell me what's going on here?"
"Hmm, Shirou, you've already sensed the abnormality of this world, haven't you? You've been sucked into a world created by the Black Mud Servant," Da Vinci said.
"What do you mean? This should be a dream world, right?" Shirou asked with a frown.
"This is exactly that kind of world, somewhere between reality and a dream. It leans more towards a dream world than reality. Although it's a dream, we don't know what kind of adverse reactions will occur if a soul that's been sucked in here gets injured. Also, if you can't find the exit, you might not be able to wake up in the outside world," Da Vinci warned.
"Can't go back? What does that mean! Are there others who have been dragged into this world?" Shirou asked, his eyes wide.
"That's right. This world is the most difficult to deal with.
Unlike in Britain, where the Evil Dragon Vortigern affected the outside world by encroaching on the land, the Black Mud Servant in France is directly encroaching upon the spirit. It seems the opponent has found a weak point in the protection of your world. This influence will continue to spread.
For the specific situation, Shirou, you should take a look at this," Da Vinci said, pressing a button.
The screen immediately switched to the news broadcast on Chaldea's large screen. The anchor sitting at the desk was talking about recent news.
"Recently, a strange illness has appeared in Paris. Based on its characteristics, it has been temporarily named 'Hibernation Syndrome.'
Since last month, residents in various districts of Paris have been found sleeping in their beds, unable to wake up, much like hibernating polar bears. They cannot be awakened by any method.
Currently, patients have been sent to various hospitals and are not in life-threatening danger. The Parliament has passed a resolution to contact elite experts from various European countries to investigate, and it is believed that the cause of the illness will be found soon, allowing everyone to wake up." The news showed several people of different skin colors and ethnicities being carried on stretchers and loaded into ambulances while sound asleep.
"How could this happen? I must defeat the Black Mud Servant! Da Vinci! Where exactly is that guy?" Shirou asked, gritting his teeth as he looked at the woman on the screen.
"I'm afraid, Shirou, the Black Mud Servant in this world is completely hidden. Moreover, even Servants outside of Chaldea have been sucked in, and we have no idea what the opponent's intentions are," Da Vinci shook her head and said.
"Is that the case, Tamamo Cat? How did you come to this world?" Shirou looked at the cat next to him, who was grooming herself, and asked.
"Meow came here while taking a nap. I think that's how it was, nya? But I didn't expect to meet my beloved Master in a dream. This is simply fate," Tamamo Cat smiled happily, cupping her face, looking shy.
Da Vinci looked at the young man and said seriously, "The number of Servants here is increasing, and the detected magical energy is becoming chaotic.
Across multiple worlds, it is very difficult for Chaldea to pinpoint the location of the Black Mud Servant. The situation will only become more confusing from now on. Shirou, you can only rely on yourself to find that Black Mud Servant. Fortunately, you have your Mystic Eyes; once you encounter the opponent, they definitely won't be able to hide."
"I know. In any case, let's set off now and look for places where there might be other Servants," Shirou said, striking his fist into his palm.
At that moment, the door outside the hall was knocked.
"My Lord, there is a carriage procession that has arrived outside the door. They claim to be the Emperor of a neighboring country coming to visit. Since you instructed not to stop anyone, they have already entered," a servant ran in and announced loudly.
"The Emperor? The people from before, then," Shirou said.
"Shirou! I've detected a Servant's reaction among the people who just entered," Da Vinci warned.
"What?" Shirou said in surprise. He hadn't sensed a Servant before. Could it be someone hidden in that carriage?
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