Type-Moon: Root Seiko

This was completely different from when he was facing Kirei Kotomine's corpse. Ryouma immediately strode forward:

"Father Risei Kotomine, is he still alive?"

Luo Zhen put Karen down, lifted the old priest's shoulder, and checked his breath.

Fortunately, the elderly man was still breathing, but he had penetrating wounds in several non-life-threatening areas of his body.

Luo Zhen immediately realized that this was the same female assassin who had tried to interrogate the old priest.

The fact that the assassin attacked the church with a clear purpose made Luo Zhen feel increasingly uneasy.

But now is not the time to delve into it, so Luo Zhen immediately planned to carry Kotomine Risei on his back.

"...23..."

The old priest, still clinging to a sliver of consciousness, struggled to grasp Luo Zhen's hand when he touched him, his parched lips trembling.

"23:4..."

Psalm 23:4. Karen, standing nearby, blinked, understanding the meaning of the number even faster than Luo Zhen.

She looked at this grandfather, whom she had never met before but was related to by blood.

He was a pure and steadfast believer, and presumably a good person in the eyes of the public.

Unlike himself, and his blood-related son... it's pitiful that a saint has given birth to a devil.

With pity, Karen closed her eyes.

She clasped her hands together and spoke naturally:

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

...As the sacred incantation was lifted, the statues, pulpits, and stained glass windows within the Fuyuki Church—all of which had positioning capabilities—connected to form a vast magic circle.

Spell arrays are not only used by magicians. The Holy Church also has its own specialized esoteric departments and combat agents, but they usually prefer to claim that they guide miracles with the power of faith.

The current formation relies on sacred words to seal specific items in imaginary space, thus ensuring that valuable sacred relics will never be stolen by unrelated outsiders.

It is evident that the old priest, who personally oversaw the Third Holy Grail War, had a full expectation of what kind of despicable people the participants in the Holy Grail War were... It's all Einzbern's fault.

This made Luo Zhen feel a little sorry for him: no wonder he was willing to violate the principle of neutrality as the supervisor in order to help the trustworthy Tohsaka family achieve victory. He had been bitten by a snake once.

In short, Luo Zhen watched as golden light gathered in front of Karen, coalescing into a longsword longer than her own height.

This is a longsword with a cross-shaped guard, symbolizing five sacred marks.

Joan of Arc's sword, the sword of Saint Catherine.

Chapter 30 Jeanne d'Arc is a Saber!

This sword has an unremarkable design, but it is well-maintained and shows that it has been carefully cared for.

Since this is a sacred relic that Kotomine Risei specifically borrowed from the Holy Church headquarters, and it was obtained using such complex methods as the Holy Word Seal and the Imaginary Dimension, then it must be genuine.

"No, that's not right!"

As the surrounding magical energy intensified and uncontrollably converged on Kallen,

Realizing what was about to happen, Luo Zhen immediately reached out his hand: "Karen! Don't agree, refuse her!"

"..."

Karen, the good baby who always listened to Luo Zhen, had a spiritual light in her golden pupils, which were clearly communicating rapidly with the spirits.

Then, relying on her own will, she took a step back and avoided Luo Zhen's obstruction.

The next moment, she closed her eyes and prayed: "Holy Maiden, if this promise is true, I will give myself to you... and offer victory for my Lord."

Thus, the contract was established.

In the dazzling golden light, Karen's petite and delicate body was quickly covered by a heroic blonde girl.

Her blonde hair, braided into long plaits, swayed behind her head with magical energy, exuding a captivating and holy allure.

Holding the sword she had never parted with in her life, she remained kneeling on one knee, her azure eyes reflecting Luo Zhen's complex expression.

She then lowered her head and swore an oath to Ryougi: "Servant: Saber. True name: Jeanne d'Arc."

"I have come in accordance with the contract, and have made a pact with my sister Karen, vowing to bring victory to my lord, Rozen."

"Master, from now on I am yours. Please use me as you wish. I will definitely... Wait, what did I just say?... I'm Saber?! Not Ruler?! (€€°€€°€€)€€€€€€"

"...You did say that. And you even said it was my property."

Luo Zhen frowned even more deeply, and couldn't help but pound his forehead repeatedly.

-----------------

Joan of Arc, the heroine of France.

In terms of fame, she is not only a historical figure known worldwide, but also a saint officially recognized by the church.

Although she sacrificed her life at the young age of 19, her self-recommendation as a village girl to join the army and her leadership of the country to numerous victories are remarkable.

Then came a dramatic turn of events: betrayal by allies, being sold out to the enemy, and being burned at the stake. These legendary experiences, coupled with her unwavering will and battlefield performance that even enemy soldiers had to admire, only intensified the legendary status of this battlefield saint.

As far as Luo Zhen knew, this saintess shouldn't have any wishes she wanted to make to the Holy Grail.

After all, she was a genuine and devout believer.

The act of “using the Holy Grail to make a wish” is probably a form of blasphemy to some extent, and she would rather simply seal the item away like the Holy Church would.

To go further, she was a saint who did not express the slightest resentment even when she was betrayed by her own side and burned alive before her death.

She wouldn't accept a summons casually and then swear allegiance to just any Master.

So, if you were to ask her why she accepted the summons...

“I thought I would be summoned as the Ruler!”

Back at Luo Zhen's house, this Jeanne (who died at the age of 19) anxiously tried to explain herself under the suspicious gazes of Luo Zhen, Touko, and Arisu.

Because Orange and Pearl don't trust her at all, she's now surrounded by battle dolls and fairytale monsters, with a Tindaros hound (?) right next to her, its jaws wide open, ready to devour her.

Fortunately, she was, after all, a true saint.

Despite her urgency, Jeanne d'Arc tried her best to explain and gain trust: "I'm telling the truth! As a boundary recorder in Valhalla, I usually can't accept Servant summons! Not even with relics!"

"In most cases, the summoning of a Heroic Spirit is a two-way choice, and the Heroic Spirit on the throne has the right to refuse the summoning! Even if you use my sword as a relic, I'll at most be curious about things like, 'Oh, who has my sword that I lost after my death?' I won't respond to the summoning easily!"

Luo Zhen: "Yes. That's true, I can vouch for her."

Luo Zhen gave a thumbs-up to the puppeteer and the Great Witch around him, endorsing Jeanne d'Arc.

Although they were still somewhat suspicious, they relaxed their encirclement somewhat for Luo Zhen's sake.

Orange asked, "Then why did you accept the summon? And why did you even possess Karen's body, taking over the body of a six-year-old girl... Aren't you ashamed?"

"I'm so sorry about this, I'm really, really, really sorry!"

The dignified Holy Maiden actually cried out of remorse; her shameful appearance only made people suspect she was an imposter.

Normally, Servants do not need to occupy other people's bodies; they can freely maintain an invisible spiritual form or spend a certain amount of magic power to materialize it.

During the Holy Grail War, the consumption of mana was kept under control due to the supply of the Greater Grail, and the Heroic Spirits took advantage of this convenience to carry out tasks such as combat and reconnaissance.

But Joan of Arc's situation is different now; she has taken over Karen's body and achieved physical intimacy.

She has now replaced Kallen, and her physical body has become the most perfect state for her as a Heroic Spirit, and she can no longer become a spirit.

This looks like a dead person clinging to the world, taking over a living person's body in an attempt to live another lifetime. And what's more, it's a child's body.

Fortunately, thanks to Luo Zhen's kind-hearted approach, he first served hot tea and snacks to the three ladies, while the spirit of Joan of Arc spoke slowly.

Overwhelmed with remorse, Joan of Arc completely lost her initial dashing demeanor and looked like a child who had done something wrong, filled with regret.

"In theory, I should have been summoned as the arbiter of the Holy Grail War, appearing in this world to ensure the fairness of the war. At the same time, it is also my duty to prevent the Holy Grail War from spilling over and harming the lives of ordinary people, and to punish violators when necessary."

"That's why I accepted the summons when the overseer of the Holy Grail War was killed and on the verge of death."

Ah~, Luo Zhen understands now.

Before bringing Jeanne home, Rozen had already informed Tokiomi Tohsaka of what had happened at the church, and had also taken the seriously injured Risei Kotomine to a reliable hospital.

Before the Holy Grail War even began, the overseers sent by the Church of Christ had already been attacked, something that had never happened before.

It just so happens that the church also possesses relics of Joan of Arc, so when the Sword of Saint Catherine was retrieved from the imaginary space, the summoning of her was initiated automatically.

However, Joan of Arc immediately frowned in confusion: "I am quite certain that when I accepted the summons, I should have appeared in the world as a Ruler."

“But I don’t know what went wrong, my summoning channel became blocked. So I had to change direction temporarily… Coincidentally, there was a pure lamb, the kind sister Karen, who was in perfect harmony with me in body and soul, and was willing to accept my spirit.”

Orange/Yuzhu: "'Who are you calling pure and kind???'"

This saintess was indeed blind; the puppeteers and the great witch of the Luo family trusted her even less.

Chapter 31 I am the Judge

Leaving aside Orange and the others' strange comments about Karen.