Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"Under normal circumstances, Joan of Arc, as a saint, would surely be filled with regret and despair. After all, she couldn't even determine who she was, and dragging this incomplete body would be even more miserable. So, it's not just incomplete, it might even be broken."

"……Eh?"

Along with Joan of Arc's voice, another voice rang out from the side, unnoticed by the purple-haired woman. At the same time, this voice caused the purple-haired woman, who was under a berserk state, to frown slightly, because it was all too familiar.

Moreover, the moment I heard that voice, the berserk state that had been placed on me vanished. So that's it, that voice definitely belonged to that child—no, using such a term is far too impolite; it should be—

"If she were a saintly woman destined to save the nation, this is probably how she would think about the current situation—"

Novia's voice mingled with the chirping of insects at night, echoing quietly in the cool night.

"'If they can use their hatred for me to cheer themselves up, that would be good.' That thought must have been much more important to her than who I am, right, Joan of Arc?"

Indeed, as Novia said, Joan of Arc truly thought so; it didn't matter if she hated herself, as long as it could cheer her up, that would be the best outcome.

Because Novia's words were exactly the same as Joan of Arc's thoughts, the blonde girl naturally showed a slight smile.

"Yes!"

"I quite like this answer, after all—"

The next instant, when the purple-haired woman, Martha, saw Novia's figure and Black Jeanne Lily still riding on her neck, she tilted her head slightly. Although she had guessed that Novia was coming, but... how come the Dragon Witch Jeanne d'Arc is here too? And she's shrunk?

But none of that matters. Originally, Martha's next line was, "It's been a long time. Should I call you Pope or something else?"

After all, she had called Novia that in the last few years of her life, even though Novia said she could just call him as before, the saintess insisted on calling him that.

Taking advantage of Martha's momentary daze, Novia reached out her hand:

“Sister Martha, it’s been a long time. I am a priest.”

"...Just a priest?"

Hearing Novia say this, Martha's face lit up with a loving smile.

"It could be something else, but in any case, right now it's—"

"Is that so? So it really has been a long time, Via."

F3.jpg.

Chapter 355 The Great Hand of the Awakened One.

"Saint...Saint Martha?"

"Yes, the Chaldea Master is named Fujimaru Ritsuka, right? I'll call you Ritsuka-chan from now on."

The next morning, Ritsuka and Mash, who had just woken up, stepped out of their tent and saw the extra Martha. With explanations from Novia and Jeanne, they learned the name of this purple-haired woman: Martha, the saint of the first century.

Martha then placed her hands on her knees and said with a smile.

"Originally, I was berserk and summoned by the Dragon Witch's side, so I should have been an enemy of Tarask and you."

Located behind Martha, Tarasque, a dragon slightly smaller than Fafnir, let out two cries upon hearing Martha's words. This caused Fafnir, who was pretending to be asleep, to open her eyes slightly. After glancing at Tarasque again and finding no threat to Novia, the incarnation of her ancestor Typhon, she resumed her feigned sleep.

"In short, various reasons have led me to abandon darkness and embrace the light, and thus I have come to assist you."

Martha clapped her hands as she spoke, looking very happy.

"Welcome very much..."

Although Ritsuka was a little confused, she felt that it was a good thing that her side's fighting strength had increased.

Then she glanced at Novia and noticed that Joan of Arc was still riding on his shoulders. Although it might just be a child's dependence, why was Miss Joan of Arc behind the tree pretending to hide herself with two saplings, yet staring at him with shining eyes...?

That was you when you were younger, not you now... but it doesn't really matter, since they're just different stages of the same person.

In fact, Ritsuka always felt that Jeanne became much more reserved and cautious after meeting Novia, as if she was afraid of doing something wrong that would make Novia angry. It seemed that this was the reason why the younger Ritsuka tried so hard to win Novia's favor...

"Hehe, Ritsuka, do you care a lot about Via?"

Mardar, who naturally noticed where Ritsuka's gaze was directed, narrowed his eyes and stared at the Zohar Gemstone around Ritsuka's neck, casually asking a question.

"Because he is our Chaldea maintenance consultant..."

Martha could naturally sense the emotion in the girl's brief reply.

If nothing unexpected happens, it's probably a crush.

Then Ritsuka saw Martha chuckle, and before she could ask what was wrong, Martha rested her chin on her hand and gently said this sentence—

"Who knows, your wishes might all come true smoothly, Ritsuka."

After all, the Zohar Glowstone can increase the probability of a "future event" by manipulating the timeline by controlling the desires of the active subject, namely humanity, or obtain near-infinite energy. This was originally a gift that Noah, the great ancestor of humanity, gave to Novia in his last moments, and was later passed on to Fujimaru Ritsuka.

"What's the meaning……"

"Hehe, don't think too much about it. Just take it as my blessing to you as a saint who has abandoned darkness and embraced the light."

Martha looked at Novia just like Ritsuka had before her. However, unlike Ritsuka who was only peeking, Martha looked at her openly. Novia, sensing her gaze, also looked over, and the two locked eyes.

"After all, you're the one who's supposed to save the world, Ritsuka..."

With a smile, Martha continued, "Did the Dragon Witch summon Servants from somewhere? This land itself has also summoned corresponding Servants. Let me take you to find them."

Just as her own consciousness was about to be distorted, she saw the items she had given away in the past.

Marda, who had not yet met Novia, was distorted by the madness she had been subjected to when she sadly picked up the blood from the ground.

The essence of a Servant is that they are soul-devouring beings. If they do not possess magical power, they can only devour things that produce magical power. Therefore, they must lick blood, gnaw on hearts, and crush souls. Martha, whose body was corrupted by the madness brought about by Berserk, could not even commit suicide.

"Woo..."

Upon seeing Martha, who was like a sister to him, in such a state, Tarask, who had appeared in the world with her, let out a mournful cry.

“I’m alright, Tarask. I can’t let this madness invade you…”

The purple-haired saintess trembled as she clutched the blood in her hand, wavering between an overwhelming impulse and a sliver of reason.

She knew she was making a desperate struggle, and even if she did, it wouldn't change much, but certain things, certain people...

I wonder if 'that child' will feel sad about my behavior.

It's truly astonishing that someone as earnest, honest, and gentle as you, a role model, would do something like this. How could a saintess go on such a brutal killing?

The image of Novia speaking of herself in that voice echoed in Martha's ears, causing her to give a wry smile.

Then, just as she was about to drink the human blood, the saintess saw something in front of her that filled her with magic—

Shining in the flames, shimmering in the sun's rays, not brilliantly radiant, but merely glittering, with a slightly worn feel, it was the staff that the 'Savior' had given him in his youth, the staff that was later given to 'that child'. It should have been a sacred relic buried on the summit of Golgotha ​​outside Jerusalem, beside the cross where the 'Savior' suffered.

In an instant, Martha understood that it would be more accurate to say she was sent here rather than appearing here.

It certainly has 'that child's' style. Okay, it's about time to pick it up. We need to catch up with 'that child' who's watching us from somewhere and return it to him.

This is also why Martha came to La Salleh, where Joan of Arc and others were stationed, last night.

……

With Martha leading the way, Ritsuka and the others were able to meet the Servants summoned from this land without any trouble.

Marie Antoinette, the Cake Queen of France, Mozart, Kiyohime, and Elizabeth.

Martha had originally intended to tell them that the Dragon Witch's side possessed a very high-ranking dragon, Fafnir, but...

Now that the Dragon Witches have shrunk and are always sticking to Novia's side, and Fafnir is as obedient as a puppy, Martha feels there's no need to go looking for 'Siegfried, the strongest dragon slayer' anymore.

However, Novia was quite enthusiastic about it, so the group set off for Lyon to find Siegfried.

Upon arriving in Lyon, considering Ritsuka's health, Novia suggested that they camp for the night to rest, and everyone naturally agreed.

"Camping...is it really a good idea to do this in an emergency like this...?"

Inside the tent, Ritsuka asked Novia, somewhat puzzled, that she was now used to Jeanne d'Arc Lily still clinging to Novia.

“It’s alright. As an advisor, I also need to conduct a physical examination on you, Ritsuka. Consider it my duty to take over Da Vinci’s role.”

"Um?!"

"The kind of examination that can be done through clothing using magic."

Just before the orange-haired girl could panic, Novia quietly uttered these words, which quickly calmed the girl down, while also leaving her with a slight sense of disappointment.

"Hmm, it looks like Ritsuka, you're not hurt."

After examining Ritsuka, Novia looked at the back of her hand and said, "But your body can only sign one more Servant right now. Any more and it will be overloaded."

At this moment, Ritsuka has already signed contracts with Jeanne d'Arc and Martha, two Servants, at Novia's suggestion. After all, this is only the first Singularity, and once she gets used to it, signing contracts with a large number of Servants should not be a problem.

"Speaking of which, Ritsuka, do you think France could become a singularity?"

"To be honest, I haven't thought about this question yet..."

“Three hundred years after 1431, the Declaration of the Rights of Man was adopted on French soil, beginning with the words, ‘Men are born equal and remain free and equal,’ and this idea is the pride of France.”

The silver-haired youth blinked and smiled.

"If these rights are delayed, civilization will stagnate, because ideas are products of their time, and times are formed by people and nations together, not something that can be conceived on a whim. So once France is destroyed, some of its foundations will crumble. Although the revolution left behind many achievements, it also took away many lives. Come to think of it, these are things that are covered in history class."

"Haha, yeah, that's true..."

You can't exactly tell Novia's advisor that you're always sleepy in history class and only get excited when you see pictures of weapons, can you? How could you possibly say that?

"I don't think Ritsuka is the type to pay attention in class. Could she be dozing off during class?"

Suddenly, after a long silence, Lily (Alter) spoke up.

"Sigh, what an adult they are. They're so disappointing..."

The silver-haired girl's words made Ritsuka hesitate. After all, from a certain perspective, what Alter Jeanne Lily said was true, but that was because she hadn't listened carefully. If she had been serious, these things would have been no problem at all.

"So, 'Joan of Arc,' you'll listen attentively in class now? Ritsuka is quite talented."

Novia smiled and asked in return.

Upon hearing this, Black Jeanne Lily narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms with a displeased expression, and began to mutter to herself.

Sure enough, whenever Tatsuo gets involved with Fujimaru Ritsuka, he immediately stands up for her. Damn it, I'm your Master! Even though it's the grown-up version of me, it's not much different; it's still me. What a fickle Servant! I'll definitely give him a good scolding with Command Seals someday. Damn it…

"It's alright, it's alright, Advisor. Joan of Arc is just a child, I don't care at all..."

Although she was very happy that Novia spoke up for her and that Jeanne d'Arc (Lily) had such an expression, Ritsuka felt conflicted, both happy and conflicted.

"I am telling the truth."

In fact, what Novia said was the truth. After all, at the end of the incineration of humanity, Ritsuka, with the support of Chaldea, created a brand new summoning method that was equivalent to the 'anti-summoning', namely the new summoning method of dedicating all existence to the protection of humanity, thus ignoring Goetia's anti-summoning.

Even though Goetia is the origin of all summoning magic in the world, and in theory nothing built around summoning magic should be able to interfere with it, this shows Ritsuka's talent in magic.

However, to Alter Lily, Novia's words were simply a show of support for this guy, while Ritsuka just felt that Novia was encouraging her. She hadn't even been exposed to magic for half a month, and no matter how she thought about it, she was at most at a level where she could barely hold her own.

Of course, the girl was very happy about this.

……

A little earlier, outside the tent, Ritsuka, Novia, and a group of people including Jeanne Alter Lily were chatting.

"I have always spared no effort in improving my housework skills."

Kiyohime, who was cooking for everyone, looked at Mash, who was carrying firewood, and said, "After all, we don't know when we'll be able to meet our ideal 'future'."

"An ideal 'future'?"

"That is, I heard the Buddha's words at the moment of my death, which should be the Master's will. And I was summoned by the Holy Grail this time. Although there is a Dragon Witch Master, that doesn't count. I want to burn her to death."

"Ah, so this is your reason for fighting, Kiyohime-sama..."

A somewhat bewildered Mashu turned to look at Elizabeth, who was grilling meat. "Miss Elizabeth must be—"

"Of course, it's to kill my future self!"

"what--"

Upon noticing Elizabeth grilling the meat, Kiyohime shouted, "What the hell are you doing! You frilled lizard! You've burned such precious meat to charcoal!"

"What! I'm trying to help you!"

Mashu was at a loss for what to do about the two who were at odds, but Mary smiled slightly when she saw them like this.

Let's talk about our love stories.

These words had a magical power, instantly calming down the two who had been at odds.

"Great idea, Mary, this looks interesting!"

"I'm an expert on relationship-related issues!"