Chapter 116

Jeanne gazed at the ripples on the water's surface.

The intermittent sound came from the depths of her heart.

"You... no... it's not me... I need it, the conflict... don't sign it."

That was naturally the familiar voice of Ishtar in her memory, but the fragmented words, pieced together, caused Jeanne's mindset to change drastically.

She nearly lost control, gripping the edge of the pool with both hands.

Why?

On what grounds?!

To save you, I gave up the chance to rebuild civilization in the North; to save you, I rushed into the depths of the Great Palace and rang the Bell of Ys...

Now, I don't know which of the gods in heaven has blessed me with a second chance, and I have regained the ability to hear your thoughts, but why is the result like this?!

"I refuse, I refuse!"

Jeanne reached into Hebe's body, and in the depths of the cold, rushing water, her fingertips touched the viscous, warm core.

A mixture of cold and warm sensations flowed through both of their bodies simultaneously.

"Your body rests beneath me, and my fate is in your sword!"

Jeanne's fingers probed deeper into Hebe's body, a distant yet familiar tremor filling her with mixed emotions of joy and sorrow.

"So eager?!"

Hebe was startled by Jeanne's reaction.

Immediately, that tingling, cool, and warm sensation also came from deep within her body. She frowned, knowing that this was a sign that the contract had been completed.

Regardless, once the contract is signed, Hebe will be able to escape from this ancient, abandoned fountain.

Using the knowledge gained from previous simulations, a twilight person, almost unrestrained, will naturally be able to do great things that ordinary people cannot even imagine.

Although Hebe had a vague feeling that Jeanne was being a bit impulsive... this was, after all, their first real meeting, and perhaps this was just her true personality?

Splash—splash—

Under the moonlight, the stream in the forest seemed to come alive, surging and gushing out of the Spring Eye, easily over the collapsed marble spout.

Jeanne was pushed away by the water and stared blankly at the spring water shaping the girl's delicate features.

First, there was that familiar, delicate face. The clear spring water gradually turned a deep green around the eyes, while more of the water turned flaxen, gently flowing down the smooth shoulders and back.

Then came the slightly undulating curves, with moonlight draped over the girl like a light veil, bestowing upon her skin a pearly smoothness.

The flowing water continued downwards, shaping slender, straight legs.

Those beautifully shaped feet tentatively stepped onto the ground, splashing up a small puddle.

"Cough... Hmm."

Having regained her human form from pure water, Hebe habitually reached out and tied up her long hair behind her head.

She molded the moonlight and water into a pure white hue, patting it with her palms and stretching it into a garment that blended the characteristics of a philosopher and Tuners.

However, whether it's the suddenly tightened shoulders and sleeves, or the loose trousers, or the way the delicate feet are two-thirds covered by white cloth, leaving only the toes and heels in contact with the ground, it all indicates that the essence of this outfit is still for the convenience of movement... or rather, for the convenience of silently killing the target.

Hebe remembered that when she made her choice, the latest three options were the Pure Water Spirit, the Rebel, and the Hunter.

She didn't simply choose to enter the simulation Pure Water Spirit, but went directly into the Lostbelt... In other words, although she inherited the destiny of the Pure Water Spirit, she also encompassed the latter two within it.

"Alright, let's build a good relationship first, then destroy it." Hebe's face was calm, but inwardly she was contemplating how to push Jeanne onto a path of opposition. "After all, only in this way can I..."

She thought this to herself, but said aloud, "You are my 'Master,' right? I hope we can get along well in the future."

Jeanne stared intently at Hebe.

After signing the contract, the previously vague and intermittent thoughts became clearer and more coherent.

A crimson stigma resembling angel wings appeared on the back of her hand. This was the authority known as the Command Spells, a treasure that could forcibly command the Pure Water Spirit.

But there were only three shots.

Even after all three Command Spells have been used, the contract remains, but the Master no longer has the power to force the Servant to do anything.

Hebe's expression changed slightly after seeing the three-stroke Command Spells.

Command Spells are practically useless for normal twilight.

However, this is a product of the Golden Law Great Movement system, a shackle specifically designed for Pure Water Spirit. As long as she remains within the Water and Soil of Atlantis, she will be subject to the Command Spells...

One is not enough to move Hebe, two in a row would feel like a heavy burden, and using three at once would probably force her to do something.

"Ah, this is the Philosopher King's masterpiece. A Musical Note in Grand Symphony." Hebe rambled on, "Seeing it with my own eyes, it truly lives up to its reputation."

[At the very least, the Opposing Blades are on equal footing. Before that, I need to trick her into using up all her Command Spells.]

Jeanne squinted.

The familiar contractual relationship had been re-established, but she felt uneasy and disoriented at the moment.

The elven girl before him was plotting to kill him, trying to escape the constraints of the Grand Symphony Musical Note... Was the Ishtar of the past interacting and working with him with such feelings?

180. National and personal grievances, how can they be easily forgotten?

Jeanne's heart was almost filled with guilt and pain.

She spoke of labor pains because she understood the Pure Water Spirit's situation; she spoke of guilt because she too had things she couldn't shirk or forget.

She is a friend of the northern barbarians, a banner for all those who struggle to survive under the oppression of the Three Grand Harmonizers... Even if she were to be reborn, she could not simply stand by and watch the High Sea Boiling, with hundreds of thousands of lives lost in vain, nor could she bear to see her own compatriots slaughtered by the citizen army of Isu.

She not only wanted to save Hebe, but also to save the innocent people who had died; her heart was with Hebe, but if weighed on the scales, the latter was heavier.

Therefore, she must push Hebe back onto that path of constant driving and running; she has no choice but to do so!

But to what extent would it be considered crossing that line and falling into an abyss of no return? Jeanne didn't know, but at least she had to force herself to repeat the same mistakes.

"Everything will be alright, everything will be alright, everything will be back to normal..."

She recalled this saying that had been widely circulated among philosophers and Tuners, and used it to comfort herself.

Let's wait a little longer... I'll definitely save you.

Jeanne silently repeated the sentence, and her flustered mind calmed down again.

"Yes, I am your Master. And you are my Servant."

Jeanne raised her hand as if asserting her sovereignty, revealing three bright red Command Spells to Hebe before concealing them again.

[Oh...]

The Pure Water Spirit's cold mockery echoed in Jeanne's heart.

At the same time, Hebe bowed slightly, a perfectly timed smile appearing on her face.

"As you command, Master ~"

The two, each harboring their own ulterior motives yet feigning compliance, returned to the cabin before dawn.

Jeanne felt no relief as her body touched the cold bed again.

She sat down for only two minutes before hurriedly grabbing paper and pen and drawing a simple map on the table under the light.

Hebe stood to the side with her hands behind her back, watching.

"The Burgundy Province borders the North, while Orleans is located in the northwest of the province, and Domremy is separated from the nearest Northern Isles by sea, and on a clear day you can even see the outline of the other side."

Jeanne didn't hold back; she spoke as she drew.

This was both to help Hebe quickly grasp the current situation and to remind Jeanne herself.

—How can we easily forget national and personal grievances?

Sure enough, as Jeanne spoke, a faint whisper came from beside her.

"Ha, barbarians... In the end, they were once Atlantis' own people. It was only because the Three Grand Harmonizers had no way to deal with the dissonance that they let the North go its own way, allowing their own people to degenerate into 'barbarians'."

Ultimately, barbarians don't just live in the North. On this Domremy Island, who doesn't have some so-called "barbarian" blood?

What was that saying again... bastard?

Such strong aggression!

Jeanne was speechless with anger, but had no words to refute it, so she just gave Hebe a cold look.

Hebe was sitting on a low stool rubbing her feet, immediately sat up straight and tilted her head slightly. "There must have been so-called 'barbarians' living together on Domremy Island for a long time, right?"

These words were spoken tactfully and beautifully, completely different from what was heard in one's heart.

Jeanne had no choice but to nod and accept her fate. "That's true! And Nero Claudius, the 'Blue' of the Three Grand Harmonizers, is stationed in Burgundy year-round."

"The primary color, 'Nillycant'," Hebe added in a low voice. "Nero himself actually preferred 'red', but 'blue' is the orthodox color of the Philosopher King. As a direct descendant of Remus, Nero was granted the honor of Azure Harmonizer."

The latter did not doubt Hebe. Just as she could hear Hebe's thoughts unilaterally, the Pure Water Spirit should also know some of the Master's "common sense"—except that Jeanne, having been reborn, had more "common sense" than others had accumulated in a lifetime.

But in reality, for some reason, Hebe did not receive this information. This was the knowledge she gained in the simulation, while for Jeanne, it was her experience before her rebirth.

Nero Claudius... Grand Harmonizer named after the Nillycant, who adheres to an extreme hedonistic philosophy and the pure-blood supremacy of Atlantis.

She commanded the largest legion, and the knights were directly loyal to her.

Almost all the suppressions of uprisings were orchestrated by Nero...

Hebe's innermost thoughts echoed softly in Jeanne's ears.

At this point, the map, which encompassed the northern part of the country and almost the entire Burgundy Province, was completed.

Jeanne turned her head. "Nero, he deserves to die."

"..."

Hebe looked at her with surprise.

She couldn't understand where Jeanne's chilling murderous intent towards Nero came from.

In all those simulations, Jeanne wasn't always on Nero's side.

She had just started conquering the Lostbelt, and her progress was only 0. Nothing had been moved forward yet... Could it be that Nero had already massacred the city of Orleans before she arrived?

The fragmented thoughts reached Jeanne's ears, and she wore a bitter expression.

Yes, Nero hasn't had time to launch a large-scale operation yet. Instead, she's using the pretext of suppressing rebellions to "sweep" island by island. It wasn't until five years later, during the "Philosophical Chaos," that she began to openly and massively wield her sword, which is why a major uprising subsequently broke out in the North.

After that, Nero also captured his close friend, Boudica, the barbarian queen of the North.

Nero dragged her behind the carriage in an extremely humiliating manner, forcing her to witness her daughters being subjected to extreme torture.

When Jeanne rescued Boudica, who was already on the verge of death, all that remained of her chest was a hollowed-out, rotting piece of flesh.

Boudica, with only one eye left after being gouged out, still looked at her with resentment, and died mumbling curses against Nero with her broken tongue.

Most appallingly, as the situation in Atlantis became increasingly chaotic in the later stages, Nero began to openly inflict the atrocities he had initially committed against the barbarians on the citizens of Atlantis.

She ordered her knights to castrate citizens and then forced them to eat the severed organs; she expelled citizens en masse and destroyed the buildings of Ys City, all to build her Golden Theater. To make room for the Golden Theater's construction, Nero even used siege engines to destroy the citizens along with their communities...

These are merely a tiny fraction of Nero's later atrocities that could be documented in writing.

The phrase "too numerous to recount" aptly describes Nero's cruel acts.

During the forty years from the Philosophical Chaos to the High Sea Boiling, Nero alone caused the splendor of Atlantis to crumble... And her kindred spirit, colluding with her, was Elizabeth Bathory, the Grand Harmonizer Youthful Dew," represented by cinnabar.

Ironically, even though Nero and Elizabeth went all out to cause harm, the number of people they harmed combined was less than the number of people Mozart could kill with a single little finger.

As the High Sea Boiling, Mozart had already died from Cardiac Arrest, and Nero and Elizabeth were also implicated, instantly turning into noise and dissipating.

"You'll know how damned Nero was," Jeanne said through gritted teeth as the sunlight swept across the sea. "When you see her atrocities again, you'll agree with me."

Hebe shrugged. "I've never questioned it... So, what are you going to do now?"

"I need to contact my Friends in the North Realm." Jeanne's expression returned to calm. "Rather than be killed to the point of taking up arms, we should start by raising fire as our banner."

"All right."

Before Hebe's eyes, the progress of conquering the Lostbelt began to flash.

[Current Lostbelt progress: 10%]