Type-Moon: Root Seiko

In short, from Joan of Arc's perspective, she truly felt that Karen's soul was incredibly clear and transparent, a perfect, born saint, and perfectly aligned with her spiritual origin.

So the moment the summoning was blocked, she automatically connected with Kallen and quickly began communicating with her consciousness.

Jeanne felt even more guilty because of this: "Sister Karen is full of care and love for Rōzen... for Master. She wants me to protect Master, obey Master, and do everything he wants to do."

"I also promised Kallen that as long as it doesn't violate my principles as a Ruler, I can obey everything else... because at that time, I realized that you, Master, and Miss Aozaki Touko were in cahoots! She was the one who truly obtained the Command Seals and established a magical contract with the Servant!"

"Then I thought, Miss Aozaki will eventually summon her own official Heroic Spirit. So I'll sign a contract with you, continue to fulfill my duties as Ruler, and protect you as well... So..."

"So you thought it was a win-win solution and happily agreed to Karen's request."

Luo Zhen shook his head speechlessly:

"Then, upon landing, I discovered that my Spirit Origin wasn't some extraordinary Arbiter. It was Saber, one of the seven knights who genuinely participated in the Holy Grail War, and logically and morally obligated to serve my victory, right?"

"...I'm so sorry!"

This blonde saintess with braided pigtails was practically banging her forehead against the table, making Luo Zhen worried that her exoskeleton-like headband might break the table.

You could tell from her extremely frustrated voice that she genuinely didn't understand how such a mistake could have happened, leaving her stuck in a rut.

"Honestly, why is that..."

With her long face, she truly resembled a 19-year-old girl.

"Up until the moment I accepted the summons, I absolutely responded to the summons with the Ruler's Spirit Origin. But why was I blocked? And why was I automatically assigned the Saber's Spirit Origin?"

“『……』”

Orange and Yuzhu remained silent, glancing at Luo Zhen beside them.

Luo Zhen exchanged glances with them and also felt it was time to make things clear.

The Holy Grail War has now gone awry.

With several months to go before the official start of the war, someone has summoned a female assassin, suspected to be an Assassin, who has directly attacked the Church of Sanctuary.

As a result, Joan of Arc was summoned as Saber through a chain.

If this situation isn't clarified soon, things will get even more complicated.

So, Luo Zhen let out a sigh of relief:

"Joan of Arc. No, I should call you Saber now."

He spoke in a cryptic tone: "I roughly understand your situation. Since things have come to this, I'll make it clear: now that you're my Saber, are you planning to serve as my Servant and help me pursue the Holy Grail?"

"Or will you break with me now, maintain your neutrality, and not participate in the war?"

...The saintess's pupils contracted slightly, and all her previous embarrassing and mournful expressions vanished.

She also scanned the room with a serious expression, looking at the three unfathomable figures in front of her.

She could sense the wariness of Orange and Pearl.

If I choose to break with Ryougi, even disregarding the coercive power of the Command Seals he possesses, these two powerful magicians will likely not let me off easily.

More importantly, the body he is currently using is that of a pure lamb who trusted him and lent him his body.

This made Jeanne d'Arc immediately make up her mind: "As long as your wishes to the Holy Grail, and your actions in this Holy Grail War, do not cross the taboos of being human and cause great disaster."

“Then I, Jeanne Darque, swear by the promise I made with my sister Karen: I will never disobey any of your orders or will, and will fight to the utmost for your victory. Since such an absurd accident has already happened, I believe there must be some profound meaning behind it, that it is the Lord's will that has made me your servant.”

“Very good.” Luo Zhen nodded in agreement.

Although he wasn't a fan of Joan of Arc's faith, since she was willing to believe it, Luo Zhen respected her opinion.

Therefore, in front of her, Luo Zhen promptly took off the new clothes he had just put on.

"Huh? Master, why are you taking your clothes off?!" The 19-year-old village girl frantically waved her hands.

Of course, she had fought her way through real, brutal battlefields, so she wouldn't blush with embarrassment just because she saw a man taking off his shirt.

However, because she had some knowledge of Kallen, and knew that Luo Zhen was a scumbag who maintained relationships with both Touko and Yuzu at the same time... she subconsciously associated it with some bad things.

Even though she is a saint, she is also a virgin who has never experienced the ways of the world in her 19 years of life, and she is indeed quite cute.

Luo Zhen remained calm: "Don't rush, I won't touch you."

"I want you to see for yourself who I am."

Having taken off his shirt, Luo Zhen turned around, revealing his strong back to Joan of Arc.

Luo Zhen has a very well-proportioned figure. He is 1.8 meters tall with broad shoulders and a physique that is perfectly toned and muscular. He doesn't appear bulky or bloated, nor does he have the appearance of being thin.

When Luo Zhen reached behind him and tore off a flesh-colored piece that was perfectly attached to his back...

"……what?"

Amidst Joan of Arc's astonished voice, Rōjin tore off the artificial skin made from oranges.

That demonstrated her meticulous disguise, preventing Luo Zhen from accidentally revealing his identity due to strange reasons such as damaged clothes.

He revealed the six-winged Seraphic stigmata that were already on his back—symbolizing the seven Heroic Spirits, two for each Heroic Spirit, for a total of fourteen Command Seals.

(This is the red version)

This is the prerogative of the Ruler.

Each Servant possesses two Command Seals, which have the same effect as the Master's.

Luo Zhen turned to look at her: "I am the Ruler, the arbiter of the Holy Grail War."

"So it's only natural that you say your spiritual origin as a Ruler is hindered."

"Because I already possessed this spirit origin. It was sixty years ago, during the Third Holy Grail War."

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

The rules of the Holy Grail War are constantly being improved over the years, and overall it is actually quite rudimentary.

During the first war, there was neither a Command Seals system nor a restriction of seven people and seven riders. This led to great chaos, and the ceremony itself was aborted.

The three founding families then learned from their mistakes and added many rules, as well as creating Command Seals to restrain Servants.

The most important rule is that of Justeza, the Saint of Winter, which is the Greater Grail itself.

Her infinitely proliferating living magic circuits will monitor the entire war, conducting real-time anti-cheat surveillance.

During the Third Holy Grail War, the Einzbern family cheated once again, summoning an additional class of Servants—Avengers—in addition to the seven regular Servants.

The avenger's individual name is Angra Mainyu, who is the absolute evil in Zoroastrianism, a monistic representation of the dualism of good and evil.

That being is said to be "all the evil of this world," possessing the power to destroy the world, and will only be defeated by the supreme benevolent god at the final judgment of the universe.

€€€€That's only natural, since the Einzbern family has committed such cheating, summoning a Heroic Spirit that shouldn't be summoned under normal circumstances.

The Greater Grail's anti-cheat system will, of course, be activated.

There should be a corresponding Ruler to uphold justice and defeat that Avenger.

"Therefore, I am Ahura Mazda, the supreme benevolent god of Zoroastrianism. I was summoned by the Great Grail to counter cheating."

Luo Zhen looked on with a delighted expression as he watched Joan of Arc slip off her chair and fall to the floor with a thud.

"Let's get along well, heretical saintess... I'm just kidding, hahahahaha!"

It's quite fun to tease this saintess; Luo Zhen really likes her bewildered expression, with her pupils dilating.

Chapter 32 The Broken Saintess and Her Rival

"I...I was burned at the stake, and became a follower of the Zoroastrian gods..."

"Lord, is this also a trial you have given me...? I must overcome it, I have no choice but to overcome it..."

After Luo Zhen explained her origins, the dignified Saintess Joan of Arc squatted alone in the corner of the room, muttering to herself with a gloomy expression, looking like she was about to break down.

Although she has a great figure, the way she sits with her round, full thighs is quite cute, making Luo Zhen really want to pat her head.

(Joan of Arc's wonderful legs)

However, because she made the room atmosphere too gloomy, Orange and Yuzhu, who were concentrating on their work, were a little disgusted.

Orange poked Luo Zhen: "You should explain it to her clearly, say you were just joking."

"You're not a Zoroastrian deity at all; you just stole the spirit core of the Arbiter."

"I've already told her, but she didn't listen." Luo Zhen was quite heartless.

It is true that the Einzbern family cheated and summoned the Avengers during the Third Holy Grail War sixty years ago.

The Greater Grail should have activated its anti-cheating mechanism and actively summoned an adjudicator, which is true.

However, in reality, because the Avenger of the Third Holy Grail War, Angola Mainyu, was too weak, he quickly withdrew from the war.

Therefore, the anti-cheating system that should have been activated was stopped, and there was no need for the adjudicator to come at all.

...But due to some issues, after Angolan Mainyu (all the evil in this world) was eliminated.

His return to the Greater Grail ironically led to the Grail's contamination, causing a series of problems.

Luo Zhen, who was imprisoned in the Root at the time, noticed the tremor in the Pan-Human History Worldline at that moment.