Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

We just lost Saber, so you should know very well how important she was to us.

So now we should even more—”

Vlad III frowned in displeasure: "Danick, do you intend for me to repeat the same thing?"

"Um...yes, I'm very sorry."

Danic bowed respectfully to his servant and said in a deep voice, "I will obey your command."

……

……

On the way back to the city of Mirenia, the archer in black approached Astolfo and struck up a conversation.

"Was the boy who defeated Saber very strong?"

"Yeah, super strong. Incredibly strong, might even be stronger than Lancer~"

Astolfo muttered a dangerous statement that, if Vlad III heard it, could very well cost him his life.

Archer, seeing his smiling face, immediately understood and roughly guessed what had happened before they arrived.

However, he did not intend to inform on anyone.

On the contrary, if he were there, he would probably have helped.

Perhaps it's just professional inertia.

The "Black" archer, who was once the leader of many great heroes in his previous life, still longs to leave something behind for the world, even after being given a false second life.

"Tell me more about that boy."

"Okay."

Astolfo vividly recounted how he, riding a hawk, was caught in the aftermath of a Noble Phantasm duel.

Behind the two, Berserker, a girl in a pure white wedding dress, followed silently, listening to their conversation.

……

……

“Hmm… Yeah~”

Ruler slowly opened his heavy eyes.

"Where is this... um... huh? Huh? Huh?"

"Ah...Ah...Artorius? Why am I being held in your arms?!"

Joan of Arc blushed instantly, her mouth agape in disbelief.

She couldn't understand her current situation: Why was she lying in Altoris's arms?!

Shirou rolled his eyes and said irritably:

"I should be the one asking you this. Why are you sleeping in the bushes? Weren't you supposed to be overseeing the Holy Grail War, Your Honor?"

"what?"

Joan of Arc blinked, puzzled.

At that moment, she finally remembered—

She was hiding in the bushes spying on Shirou when she suddenly ran out of energy and wanted to sleep.

To be more precise, it wasn't that Jeanne Darque wanted to sleep; it was Leticia's body that demanded sleep.

The body that was possessed had just arrived in Romania and had not yet adjusted to the time difference and the problem of staying up late.

Even Joan of Arc, a world-renowned saint, found it difficult to overcome this drowsiness through willpower alone.

Since it was the first time Joan of Arc had encountered such a situation, she was caught off guard and lost consciousness as if a power outage had occurred.

As a result, Shirou happened to see the saintess fast asleep during his retreat.

Although I hesitated for a moment, I finally decided to bring her along as well.

"You should thank me, otherwise you would have been picked up by that strange old man."

"Oh, I see... I misunderstood you... Waaah!"

To actually fall asleep on the roadside while acting as Ruler is incredibly embarrassing.

And, of all people, it was Artorius who saw it...

Joan of Arc bit her lip, overwhelmed with shame and indignation.

That said, how long is he planning to carry her in a princess carry?

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

Volume 5, Chapter 207: The Origin Princess, Activate!

How long is he planning to carry me in a princess carry?

Thinking of this, Joan of Arc involuntarily tensed up.

The girl lowered her head somewhat awkwardly, while stealing glances at Shirou's face out of the corner of her eye.

Looking at it this way, Artorius seems to be a year or two younger than me.

Most Servants will appear in their prime, when they were young.

Although their mental structure remains in their youth, they actually possess memories from their old age.

Joan of Arc was the only exception—after all, she was burned at the stake at the age of 19.

Jeanne d'Arc knew very well that one could not judge the age of a Heroic Spirit by their appearance, but she still couldn't help but see Shirou as a boy close to her own age...

Is he a boy who still has a bit of a childish air about him, yet he is the legendary Holy Sword Wielder who saved the world?

No, no!

Joan of Arc shook her head: It cannot be concluded that Artorius is the savior; this is merely my own wild speculation!

But what if he really is the phantom I've been chasing since childhood...?

"I said."

"Yes, yes! What's wrong?"

Joan of Arc jolted awake from her delusional state.

The red-haired boy asked impatiently, "Are you alright now? Can you walk around on your own?"

My hands are starting to ache...it's so heavy.

"!"

Joan of Arc nimbly leaped down from Shirou's arms.

"It's not heavy at all!"

The girl clenched her fists and declared angrily.

"This...this is because I'm wearing magic-woven armor! Yes, that's right...the weight comes from the armor, I'm not heavy at all!"

"Yes Yes Yes."

"What kind of attitude is this... I already said it wasn't harsh at all! Artorius, are you even listening to me?"

Joan of Arc quickly removed her armor and changed into her usual casual clothes.

Shirou couldn't stand her nagging, so he changed the subject and asked, "Why were you sleeping by the roadside back then?"

"Well... there's a reason for that."

Joan of Arc explained her situation to him.

This time, she is not a complete Servant, but rather she is using the body of a human girl.

Because it was a half-baked spirit possession, although it gained the power of Joan of Arc, it still retained some human characteristics in certain details, such as being unable to resist physical sleepiness.

Fortunately, it won't affect the battle.

"That's it..."

Shirou nodded thoughtfully:

This explains why he stepped in to protect Ruler in front of Lancer.

What I perceive is probably not this steel-clad female gorilla, but rather the innocent girl inside her.

Are you thinking something very rude?

Joan of Arc stared coldly at Shirou, who quickly shook his head.

"No wonder……"

"No wonder?" Joan of Arc asked curiously.

Looking at her, who was keeping more than two meters away from him, Shirou said, "The girl inside you... Leticia, she probably isn't good at interacting with men, right?"

"what……!"

Joan of Arc nodded somewhat embarrassedly: "Yes, it would feel very awkward if we didn't keep this distance, please forgive me."

Shirou grinned mischievously and said, "You were perfectly fine when I held you and you were fast asleep."

"Please don't bring that up again! Waaah, it's so embarrassing...a major blunder in my life!"

Joan of Arc stamped her foot in frustration.

While chatting, the two arrived at the hotel.

Just before we were about to go in, Shirou suddenly said.

"The 'Red' faction, though we don't know their reasons, seems to have their eyes on your life."

"Yes, I'm also confused about this; I don't understand their thinking."

Jeanne noticed Shirou staring at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Shirou replied with "It's nothing," then left Jeanne and went into the inn first.

"???"

The young girl frowned slightly, staring at his retreating figure.

At first, she didn't understand Shirou's hesitant riddle-like behavior, but then she suddenly realized what it meant.

—Oh, so that's how it is.

"I won't let the red team hurt you."

He must have been trying to say that.

Of course, he was not referring to Joan of Arc, but to Laetitia's body.

Hehehe... If you have such thoughts, just say them out loud!

Her personality is really quirky; the girl covered her mouth and giggled, but that's exactly the kind of place I like~

Shirou's idea was actually unnecessary.

The body of Leticia, which Joan of Arc possessed, had been preserved and backed up beforehand.

The moment Ruler completes his mission or is defeated halfway through, Leticia's body will revert to the form shown in the intelligence report and, depending on the situation, be forcibly teleported to a safe location.

During this process, no matter what kind of injury you suffer, you will immediately regenerate.

Therefore, it can be said that no matter how many injuries Joan of Arc suffers, as long as she is not killed in one blow, Leticia can survive unharmed.

Jeanne thought about it and ultimately decided not to tell Shirou this information.

Although I know that doing this is wrong, and could even be said to violate Ruler's principle of fairness, I will forgive this little bit of selfishness.

Joan of Arc was indeed somewhat looking forward to the development of being protected by a young man.

That's right, just like the shoujo manga that Laetitia collects...

Although the girl he really wanted to protect wasn't me~

……