Now that I had regained the strength of my prime, wyverns were no more than easy quarry. In truth, it would have been absurd for me, the White Dragon of Britain, to be brought low by creatures such as those.
When I had slain them all and returned to Ritsuka, a voice rang out from the communicator fastened to her wrist.
"...What is this? With parameters like those, and skill of that caliber—and he was supposed to be a Berserker, was he not? How in the world is he still retaining his reason?!"
"Be quiet, Romani!"
Thud.
Leonardo da Vinci, Chaldea's chief of technical development, had struck Romani square in the solar plexus. His pitiful cry echoed through the communicator.
Hearing it, Ritsuka broke into a cold sweat. It seemed wise not to trifle with da Vinci.
When Ritsuka operated the communicator, a hologram rose from it. Within that wavering light, the face of a woman appeared.
As I watched the marvel with some curiosity, the woman spoke.
"Ahem... In any case, I am Leonardo da Vinci. As Chaldea's technical adviser, I offer my gratitude for your cooperation with our cause."
"It is nothing. I too desire the restoration of Human Order. Think of me... as an ally."
"Oh? Yet we do not even know your name."
Ah. So I had not spoken my True Name.
I turned my gaze toward Jeanne, silently asking whether I might reveal it.
Perhaps sensing my look, Jeanne hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod. It seemed she had judged the people of Chaldea worthy of trust.
Or perhaps some lofty will above the heavens had granted its leave. In any event, once I saw her nod, I looked to Ritsuka and to da Vinci within the hologram and spoke.
"Come to think of it, I have yet to give my True Name. This one is—"
"I shall do it."
Jeanne raised a hand to stop me and cast off the robe she had been wearing. As the cloth fell away, her golden hair shone beneath the sun.
Her clear blue eyes turned toward the company of Chaldea before her.
"My Class is Ruler. My True Name is Jeanne d'Arc."
"Jeanne d'Arc... then..."
At the sound of her True Name, both Ritsuka and Mash stiffened. Seeing their faces, I could well guess what thoughts had seized them.
So. They already knew the identity of the Dragon Witch.
I shook my head at the two of them, frozen where they stood, and spoke.
"I know what you are thinking, but let me deny it at once. She is not the Dragon Witch."
"...Would you explain?"
I nodded.
Looking at da Vinci, whose expression had grown grave within the hologram, I laid out the circumstances.
For reasons unknown, two Jeanne d'Arcs had been summoned into this era. Moreover, this Jeanne's abilities as a Servant were diminished from their usual state, and the privileges of the Ruler Class—discernment of location and discernment of True Names—could not be used.
"And unlike the Dragon Witch, she has been rescuing the people trapped within this Singularity. Of that, I can speak with certainty, for I have watched her at close hand. I vouch for her innocence."
"Elius..."
"...Tch. Ahem. Very well. I cannot place my full trust in her yet, but I shall accept your guarantee for the present. Then I ask that you introduce yourself as well, knight."
At my declaration, Jeanne looked at me with flushed cheeks, her face bright with emotion.
Da Vinci, seeing that expression, seemed to realize something. Her eyes narrowed sharply, as though displeased, and after clicking her tongue, she turned to me and spoke.
That reaction struck me as somewhat strange, yet I answered her all the same.
"My True Name is Elius. I have manifested here as a Berserker."
"Elius?! That Elius from the legends of King Arthur?"
Romani, who had been lying retired behind da Vinci after taking that blow to the stomach, sprang upright the instant he heard my name and lunged back into view, shouting through the screen. I regarded him with a dubious look and replied,
"...Yes. I am that very man."
"Ooooooh! O Elius, father of public administration! Please, I beg you, come to Chaldea and deliver us from this hell of endless overtime and sleepless nights—"
What?
At that prayer, which was little short of a scream, everyone present fell into stunned silence. More importantly—father of public administration? I opened my mouth, intending to ask what in the world he meant.
Thud.
"Shut up!"
"Ghk!"
But I was forced to close it at once. Romani, who had been clinging to the screen as though in supplication, took da Vinci's fist to the back of the head and was promptly retired once more.
For a brief moment I watched him with some pity as he collapsed and was carried away by the other staff. Then da Vinci clapped her palms together and addressed me.
"Whew... Elius, was it? Truly? Wait a moment—Elius is from Britain, is he not? Then how are you summoned here? This is France."
"Now that you mention it, that is true. The legend of King Arthur in which Elius appears is set in fifth-century ancient Britain..."
Mash nodded at da Vinci's question, adding her own doubt to it.
Once Mash too voiced her agreement, every eye there turned toward me. Under that gathered scrutiny, I scratched the back of my head and answered.
"Well... ordinarily, it would be impossible. France and I share no bond. The reason I was summoned here is [Connection]."
"...Connection?"
"Indeed. You are familiar with the Arthurian legends, I trust?"
They nodded.
At my words, both da Vinci and Mash inclined their heads.
"Then this will be simple. I have no tie to France. I was born in Britain, and in Britain I met my death. That much is true for most of the Knights of the Round Table."
But—
"Among the Knights of the Round Table, there is one alone who bears a connection to France. And that man was called the Knight of the Lake."
"...Lancelot."
"Correct."
I nodded at da Vinci's answer. At my words, her face hardened.
"In the Arthurian legends, Elius and Lancelot are famed for their ill blood. And Lancelot himself is of French origin... Wait. You said you were summoned by [Connection]? Then that means—?!"
"Just so. If I was summoned here, then—"
It meant that Lancelot, that traitor, had likewise been summoned into this place.
At my conclusion, da Vinci pressed a hand to her forehead as though the matter were giving her a headache.
"...Then it makes sense. Elius, who has no relation whatsoever to France, could never have been summoned here by ordinary means without a catalyst. So there was a catalyst after all—and that catalyst was your ill-fated bond with Lancelot."
"...Yes. And if Sir Elius has been summoned into this Singularity... then that all but proves Sir Lancelot is here as well."
"Precisely. Yet that gives rise to a problem. My catalyst was none other than my enmity with that traitor."
Thus, from the moment I was summoned before Jeanne d'Arc, I knew that he too was somewhere within this Singularity. But by the same token...
"He will have sensed my presence as well. Since I was summoned through the grudge between us, it would be stranger if he did not know."
Judging from the original history and from the tale of that man, the Classes available to him would likely be no more than Saber or Berserker.
If he were a Saber, then he would already have informed the enemy of my summoning. If he were a Berserker, then the instant he felt my presence, he would have flown into a frenzy.
"In any case, we have already made contact with the Dragon Witch and fought one battle against her. We prevailed, but my True Name was discerned then. Be on your guard."
"Then we must devise our strategy on the assumption that the enemy knows your True Name. Senpai?"
"Yeah, I get the general idea. Then... we've gathered all the information we can from this village, so let's head to the nearest one. Which village is closest?"
"La Charité."
"Then let's go to La Charité and gather information there. It'd be even better if we could recruit a Servant willing to help us!"
"A sound plan, Miss Fujimaru. We shall continue to monitor the surrounding area and inform you if any hostile lifeforms draw near."
"I will make the preparations."
At Ritsuka's words, Jeanne and da Vinci both agreed. As I watched the group begin gathering their things for the next stage of our journey, something occurred to me, and I turned to Jeanne.
"Jeanne."
"Yes?"
"Will it trouble you if you do not enter?"
"..."
I gestured toward the village as I spoke. Jeanne fell silent.
After a brief pause, she lifted her face with the look of one who had steeled her resolve and answered,
"...No. I am a Servant. In this world, I am little different from an outsider... And if I were to enter, I could not avoid inspection. And then..."
"...I understand. I shall respect your wish."
I cut her off with a gesture that said there was no need to continue, and looked upon her with quiet pity.
Yes. Jeanne was right. If she could not avoid inspection, and her face were revealed—
Then surely the people of her homeland would mistake her for the Dragon Witch, and heap blame and contempt upon her. Knowing that, she wished not to endure it.
To be condemned and scorned by those of one's own birthplace, among whom one had passed one's childhood—that would be a bitter thing indeed.
Thinking thus, I reached out and gently straightened the fringe that battle had left in disarray across her brow.
"...Eh?"
Pat, pat.
"Stand straight. Lift your chest. And smile. You are no sinner."
"...! H-how did you—?!"
Startled by my words, Jeanne stared at me. Seeing her so, I gave a crooked smile.
"It is nothing. Your face reveals more than you think. Though honesty is not a vice."
"..."
"...You have done no wrong. So smile. Believe in your own deeds, and walk forward. That is all... Now, I shall go."
With a smile, I gave her back a light pat, then moved away to help Ritsuka and Mash with their preparations.
Jeanne stood there, gazing blankly after his retreating figure.
He had seen through her in an instant.
She had lived her life in accordance with the guidance of the Lord, yet the path of that obedience had been paved with violence and killing.
And so Jeanne had believed herself a sinner. I have committed wrong, she had thought. She had believed it. She had accepted it. Until now.
Yet after hearing his words, that conviction began to waver. Realizing this, her cheeks flushed red.
As she unconsciously touched the fringe he had set in place, her hand drifted to her chest.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her heart beat fiercely.
And with that fierce beating came a feeling toward him that she could not name.
Yet the feeling was not unpleasant. Rather, it was dear to her. And because it was so, she thought she understood what this emotion must be.
Looking at his back as he went to aid Ritsuka, she smiled shyly and whispered,
"I think... I am in love with you."
It was a first confession known to no one in the world—save her alone.
------------------------
"I will try. I will change her, little by little, from her side."
"Ha. Do you truly believe you can alter her very nature?"
The king laughed as he drank the wine in his cup.
"That is the seed of a beast. It can never be changed. Its flowering is inevitable, and once it blooms, there can be no turning back. So I shall say it once more. Kill her."
"..."
I poured the wine.
"...My, my. At such absurd words, my hand slipped. You have my apologies."
"...You wretch."
"How foolish. I had expected something of you because you are a king, yet I did not think I would find a frightened cur who quails without even attempting the thing."
"How dare you!"
The king sprang to his feet and glared at me, but I merely looked up at him and asked,
"Have you tried?"
"..."
"If you have not even tried, how can you know? I know well enough that you possess clairvoyance. But do you truly think the future you have seen is all that can be?"
I shook my head.
"Do not be so certain. Strive to overturn the fate set before you. Those who carve their names upon the world by such effort—those are heroes. And we stand here because we too were such heroes.
"So can a hero truly surrender for such a reason? I will try. Even if I fail in the end, I will at least make the attempt. That way, though regret may linger—"
"—there will be no remorse."
At the king's words, I smiled. Seeing that smile, the king sat once more.
"...Yes. My Master is but a child. She cannot control herself simply because she has not learned, because she is not yet accustomed to it. And it is the role of an adult to teach such things."
"...So you mean to become that adult for her."
"I do. Though it means we can no longer hope for victory in this Holy Grail War... well. There are infinite parallel worlds before us. We need only seek another Grail War elsewhere, do we not?"
"...I concede it. You are a hero."
"How late you are in saying so."
The king poured wine into my cup. As I drank, he spoke.
"...I shall do no more than watch. I will not interfere. So make the attempt. Only do not, as I did—"
Do not regret it.
At those words, I gave a silent nod.