"Joan of Arc was all about kindness, humility, integrity and the purity of her faith. That was everything she was." - said a theologian.
Rouen, Old Market Square
Like a dirge from the other side, she ignored the foul words that came into her ears. If she didn't feel sad when she heard these words, she would be lying, but if these words made her feel painful, it would be an exaggeration.
Fear, in other words, was just a concern. When she decided to fight, she had already put aside shame and regret, and even at this moment, she did not feel it.
She was dragged into the square, and onlookers gathered around her. She walked straight, subconsciously covering her chest, and found that her cross had been stolen at some point.
Her spiritual support left her, and sadness slowly soaked into her heart. As she mourned, an Englishman rushed over and handed her a crudely made wooden cross with great piety.
"Thank you," she whispered gratefully, and she had to look down at him because the man was already kneeling in front of her, tears streaming down his face. Although some people would belittle her, more people were crying for her. (In the animation, it was a girl who handed over the cross, and I feel that girls are better.)
If those dirty words are foreign songs from far away lands, then those sorrows may be the mother's lullaby.
Her hands were tied tightly, and her back was pressed against the wooden frame. No one would think she could escape in such a way. The restraints were so tight that it seemed futile to try to loosen them.
Being sent so far away, I can't escape, she thought.
As the last of her crimes was ritually read, torches lit the pyre beneath her.
The flames slowly licked her feet. For those who gathered around her, burning a person's body with fire was the most horrible way of execution they could think of. The skin was burned by the flames, and the flesh and bones were burned by the fire. All they could do was shout the name of God and the Virgin Mary over and over again.
"Your prayers are lies."
She had been accused of this many times, and insulted in this way many times. She was powerless to resolve the issue. There is no fixed right or wrong in prayers, and they must remain constant no matter who is praying.
She wanted to tell them they were wrong, but she had no words. Instead she saw her life before: her lovely hometown, her normal family, and the fool who had abandoned them. But was she really a fool? Yes, she might have been.
After all, when she made this choice, she had already expected such an ending to come. No one knew the final outcome better than her.
If she had looked away then, she would have had a different ending now.
If she ignored those voices, if she turned her back on the soldiers' dying lamentations, maybe she would have lived a happy life as an ordinary woman, maybe she would have married and lived a happy life as a wife and mother. (This way many otakus would not have wives - what are you looking at, is it weird to fall in love with a paper man?)
This future will belong to her and nothing will change.
However, she threw this happiness aside and headed for a completely different end. She raised her sword, put on her armor, carried the flag representing the glory of her country, commanded the front line, and began her military career.
You knew this was going to end, didn't you
She had known it for a long time and had realized it. Her efforts only meant that she would eventually meet such an end one day. Although many people cursed her as a fool and laughed at her stupidity.
But this will save more lives! The path I chose is the right one.
Her vision of the past and future faded away as the cruel reality arrived. The raging fire around her burned her and she turned into ashes in her prayers.
This was her last prayer, this was her sacrifice. Even though everyone in the world blamed her and betrayed her, she was convinced in her last moments before she died that she had not betrayed herself.
Without any regrets, or any hope for the future, she will find peace in the end.
Despite being treated so cruelly, before her life came to an end and everyone was extinguished, her selfless prayers and uncomplaining heart still echoed in her heart.
Lord, I commit myself to you... (Shiokawa, please implement this, so that the great hero can have a companion. Dare to release it and pay for it!)
Her last consciousness faded, and in her last moments she was finally free from suffering. Her dreamless sleep ended, and only reality remained. But it was far from over. In the place where the dreams of girls turned to foam, the legend of Joan of Arc began to spread.
—Search starts
—Search completed
—One piece of matching
—Fitness
—Linger is suitable for
— Bloodline suitable
—Personality fit
—Magic Fit
—Beginning with the temporary sealing of the personality and the insertion of the spirit of the Heroic Spirit (installation)
- Obtain consent from the original personality
—Start saving the body in another area (backup)
—The spirit is installed. The spirit and body fit work begins.
—Start giving special abilities to classes (skills)
—Begin inserting all the information about the Heroic Spirits and the necessary information up to the present era
—Backup completed in other areas
—Special class abilities (skills) are granted. Skill "Saint", choose to make holy shroud. (The Saint's ability is to choose one of "increase the effect of the secret", "auto-recovery of HP", "increase leadership by 1 level", and "can make holy shroud" when summoned as a Servant. Jeanne chose to make holy shroud, and the red A is wrapped in holy shroud.)
—Necessary information has been inserted.
—Suitable for finishing work
—Complete project
—Servant class ruler. Manifestation completed
I opened my eyes. The summoning method was so unusual. It was unprecedented to have such a weak connection with the real world. Could it be that the Holy Grail War this time—the battle called the Holy Grail War—was too abnormal
The manifestation was finally completed, and all indicators were fine. But the body she was in was that of a real French girl. Furthermore, she also had most of the memories of this French girl. Two personalities in one body, this is more like the unity of two personalities than the so-called multiple personalities. Perhaps because this girl has a strong sensitivity and a devout faith, she acknowledged and fully accepted the girl (La Pucelle) in her body.
"I'm going to borrow your body for a while, Leticia."
The girl called out the holder's name.
I thought of the first thing I should do, which was to say hello to my friend.
The girl got up from the bed and shook her friend who was sleeping in the next bed. The friend hesitated for a while, and finally rubbed his eyes and half woke up after hearing the girl's whisper.
"Um, what?"
Hearing this sleepy voice, the girl felt guilty for waking her up, and said in a clear voice:
"From today on, I will be away from here for a while"
Perhaps the serious lady who had not yet understood what was said said goodbye and fell asleep again. After a few seconds, she suddenly threw back the quilt and shouted:
"What did you say?"
"I'm sorry for being so abrupt, but I don't have time anymore."
"No, no, what do you mean by time or no time? I don't understand what you mean by that! It's too abrupt! Why would you say something like that right after saying 'good night, see you tomorrow'?"
Facing her friend who was shouting in confusion, the girl told her sincerely, "This is a long trip," "This trip is absolutely necessary," and "Don't worry." Her friend listened to her words in amazement for a while, but soon nodded as if she understood.
"I see. If I have to go, there's nothing I can do about it."
"Okay. I'll explain to the teacher."
"Well, goodnight then."
"Okay, good night."
The girl did not use magic to hint, but as a Ruler, she had the power to make a third party believe her words.
She told her teachers and classmates that she was going on a journey and made them understand that it was a necessary journey. Although the girl felt that it was a bit arrogant, there was nothing she could do about it. She sighed and put aside her distracting thoughts.
Fortunately, the original owner of this body is currently living in a student dormitory, away from his parents. This trip, which is only about a month at most, should not be known to them.
The girl stuffed the necessary clothes, passport and textbooks into her bag and left the dormitory. The original owner of this body, Leticia, is still a student. As a girl from a rural area, she never had the opportunity to learn to read and write. Therefore, it was really strange that she could easily grasp the knowledge of modern language as information with the help of the Holy Grail.
"That being said, there must be a limit to abnormality."
There was no need for her to even borrow someone else's body. Instead, she should have been summoned in the form of a physical world on the urban battlefield like a normal Servant.
However, this time, she was summoned in the form of someone else's body, and the location was her own country - France, which still retains its original appearance.
Originally, Ruler was to be summoned as the eighth Servant, but this time he became the fifteenth Servant, which is probably the largest scale in all the previous Holy Grail Wars.
Was this the reason for the accident? Or was there another reason? In any case, since she was summoned as a ruler, she must take on the task of overcoming all difficulties. The girl made up her mind.
The girl's real name is Jeanne d'Arc. As a Servant, her class is "ruler", she has no Master, and is the absolute manager of the Holy Grail War.
In this way, Ruler took the night bus to the airport, and then flew to Bucharest, Romania. It would be nice if she could transform into a spirit, but it seemed impossible. She had no choice but to buy the plane ticket at her own expense (to be more precise, she used Leticia's money, you are really... a saint). After that, she would have to go to the Cathedral Church and the Magic Association to make a request. When she thought about this, she felt a little gloomy.
On the plane, she sorted out the knowledge she was given. She learned that the battlefield was in the small city of Tulifas in Romania. The owner of that land was the Thousand World Trees, the host of this Holy Grail War. Opposing them were the magicians of the Clock Tower who had received the declaration of separation. The problem with the current situation was that this was not a battle between seven people, but a battle of seven people against seven people on an unprecedented scale.
It was not uncommon for the aftermath of a one-on-one battle to cause damage to surrounding buildings, but it was depressing to imagine the devastation that would be caused if it escalated to a seven-on-seven all-out fight between the two factions.
Was I summoned as a ruler for this reason? Was I summoned by the Greater Holy Grail who was afraid of the scale and complete flaws of the war? I don't know. Now is not the time to think about this.
Let’s go to Brugast first and talk later.
Including the time for transfers and waiting, it took more than a day and a half to reach Henri Coandă International Airport in Brugast, the capital of Romania.
It was just past noon, and the sky was unfortunately cloudy. The sky covered by thick black-gray clouds was very suitable for the saying "you're about to cry." Although it was given to her as knowledge, the airport built with the latest technology still looked very fresh in the eyes of the girl.
Maybe it was because she had been sitting all the time, her waist felt a little heavy. During this long journey in the sky, half of the time was spent thinking about the Holy Grail War, and the remaining half was dedicated to praying for a safe journey. Thanks to the knowledge given as a Servant, she knew very well what kind of transportation an airplane was. However, there was no comparison between being given knowledge and actually riding it. To be honest, why can such a piece of iron fly? Although she already knew it as knowledge, she still didn't want to understand it.
It's great that I won't fall, she thought.
The defenseless girl holding a bag was walking in the crowd, which made her the perfect target for thieves. But for some reason, no thief had the heart to attack her. They were not shameless enough to put their dirty feet into the clear water.
Tulifas is located northeast of here. You must take some form of transportation to get there. Should you take a bus or hitchhike
The moment he stepped out of the airport, countless eyes were on Ruler.
However, there was no trace of any servant within her search area, with a radius of ten kilometers.
Even though he couldn't sense the powerful enemy-detecting ability of the ruler who could even nullify the assassin's "breath shield", he could still sense the sight. This meant that—
"The magic of clairvoyance and familiars?"
Magic that allows you to see things from a distance can be roughly divided into two methods:
One is clairvoyance magic. It is a magic that allows you to observe distant places through crystal jade or mirrors. As long as you have a medium, you can monitor the outside world even in a safe workshop. Therefore, most magicians have mastered this magic.
On the other hand, familiars are magic that processes small animals or parts of the body to create pseudo-life forms. They can share the five senses by establishing a causal line with their master. This is also a preliminary magic for ordinary magicians.
The ruler looked around the gray sky and found countless pigeons looking at him. Those pigeons were probably familiars, but there was no trace of rationality in their eyes. Usually, magicians would give hair or blood to creatures that became familiars, so that even if they couldn't speak, they should be able to feel some rationality.
But their eyes are pure pigeon eyes. They are just observing themselves, no doubt about it. Are they giving hints to the pigeons and manipulating them? That's a really roundabout way to do it.
Ruler stared fiercely at the distant magician looking in her direction and at the pigeons. She did not hide her magic, but the other party probably read the will conveyed by her gaze.
The feeling of being stared at brought by the magic of looking from afar disappeared, and the pigeons flew away together.
After confirming this scene, Ruler took a deep breath.
Basically, the Ruler is not here to participate in the Holy Grail War. Even so, she still stands in the position of having to judge the Masters and Servants who violate the rules. To do this, she must have the corresponding combat power.
There are only a handful of people who have experienced two or three Holy Grail Wars. Even if there are, no one has experienced a Holy Grail War with the appearance of the ruler. What he did just now was probably an attempt to estimate the power of the ruler.
"It's really getting harder and harder to judge..."
There is only one big advantage for Ruler in this Holy Grail War. The fourteen servants are divided into two camps, "Black (Ne)", with seven people on each side. In other words, it can avoid the fourteen people acting independently.
Just imagining the scene of fourteen servants doing whatever they want and running rampant is like a nightmare. If things go wrong, the entire Tulipas will be destroyed.
"Anyway, we have to go to Tulifas first..."
She muttered as she looked for a bus to Tulifas. But it seemed that there was no direct bus to Tulifas. There seemed to be no other way except to go to the relay point Sighisoara and then turn to Tulifas.
However, the next bus to Sighisoara would not arrive until tomorrow. Helplessly, the ruler had to look around for a bus going directly to Tulifas to see if he could get a ride.
Finally, a skinny old man wearing a peaked cap and glasses agreed to her request.
"I do intend to go to Tuliface next."
"So-"
"But, unlike Sighisoara, it's not a tourist destination. There's nothing there except a huge castle, but that castle is private property and entry is prohibited. If you want to learn history, Sighisoara, where Vlad III was born, is not a good choice..."
"No, it's because I have relatives waiting for me in Tuliface. May I trouble you?"
"Oh, that's the case. That's fine. But the assistant's seat is occupied with fragile items. So, can you go to the loading dock?"
"If you'd like to give me a ride, that's no problem. Thank you very much."
"Pray to God it won't rain."
the old man said with a smile after loading her onto the rear loading platform.
"Okay, got it. I'll pray."
Ruler nodded seriously and replied. If it doesn't rain, we can only pray.
The truck moved forward on the smooth road, making the sound of a tin can being crushed. Ruler felt the vibration while looking at the passing scenery of Bucharest.
Boom! The truck started to shake. At the same time, black flames began to come out of the muffler.
"It's a little different from a horse."
The vibration of the biological aspect of a horse is different from the sporadic vibration of a machine, even though they are both means of transportation. Perhaps it is because the speed and endurance have been improved, but the corresponding comfort has been lost. She thought of the white horse that she had ridden on the battlefield with. It was an excellent and strong horse, but its whereabouts were unknown during the Battle of Compiègne. I am afraid it was killed or ridden by someone else.
The speed was getting faster and faster, and the wooden boxes on the loading platform were shaking with a rattle. What was surprising was that the speed of this truck was as fast as a horse. However, this was simply because the performance of the truck he was riding was below average. In terms of horses, it was like being old.
The biggest difference between a car and a horse is that a car will not run out of energy while driving. The truck kept driving slowly towards Tuliface.
"Grandpa, how long will it take to get to Tuliface?"
Ruler asked the old man in the driver's seat. The old man hummed a little tune and replied:
"Hmm - about twelve hours at this rate?"
"Will it take that long?"
"Because I have to take a break in the middle of the journey, there is nothing I can do."
"I see. That really can't be helped."
Although Ruler was a little depressed, she suddenly thought and took out the textbook from her bag.
"It's a great era that children from farming families like me can also receive education."
However, although the Holy Grail gave him the knowledge he needed to live in the world, it did not even tell him the contents of the textbooks. The knowledge of the girl he possessed was the limit of his knowledge.
"I don't understand it at all."
With a foreboding of a tough battle ahead, Ruler began to bury himself in his math textbook.
PS: The definition of "Leticia's knowledge" is very strange. If it includes everything she has learned, it is impossible that she cannot understand the textbooks at all. Then the answer is clear. Joan of Arc did not get all the knowledge from textbooks, so she is illiterate.