Chapter 203
However, as Third Sun Tlaloc swung his weapon, he seemed to realize something and didn't swing it. Instead, as if giving a command, chains appeared in the darkness and instantly bound Mordred tightly.
This looks like a scene that often occurred in front of the Great Temple before Human Sacrifice was abolished.
"Great, all-powerful mercy, joyful holder of the Universe, the only Sun illuminating all things, the Saber and I are willing to withdraw from the Holy Grail War. Please forgive her rudeness; she was merely a knight who wanted to follow in her father's footsteps."
From Shishigou's perspective, neither he nor Mordred had any chance of winning or escaping.
This is just a joke...
Despite what Shishigou's inner thoughts, the surrounding aura showed no signs of diminishing.
In fact, Shishigou could sense that when he actually met this the Americas Sun God, although he was still very tough, he was still somewhat restrained, which was very different from his previous confident and arrogant demeanor when he was with him... But now, as long as he could survive, that was all that mattered. He could think about other problems later. Right now, he just needed to keep his life a little safe.
Furthermore, Shishigou believed that the Fifth Sun, which abolished the long-standing Sacrifice in the Americas and represented the arrival of New Era, might be very generous.
In fact, Novia didn't really care much about Mordred's attitude. After all, from his perspective, Mordred was just a child. Although he had a bad temper, he could be disciplined a few times and that would be enough.
However, as Novia watched Tlaloc attempt to Sacrifice Mordred, she sighed and said:
"Didn't I abolish Human Sacrifice...?"
Upon hearing Novia's words, Tlaloc immediately released Mordred from his chains and swiftly approached him.
"I'm so sorry, this is my fault."
She took off her sunglasses, her eyes sharp, and said as if she were about to confess her guilt.
"I presumptuously attempted to skin someone in front of you; this was my fault. There is no need for me to argue that my actions were justified. Please punish me accordingly."
Well, the Black-Haired Girl's reaction was so quick, it was as if she had planned it that way on purpose.
At the same moment, Jeanne d'Arc, who had been observing from the sidelines for a while, raised her left hand and loudly proclaimed:
"In the name of the Ruler — Jeanne d'Arc Arc Daruk, by Command Spell command Mordred, the Saber of the Red Faction! Obey us!"
After much deliberation, Jeanne d'Arc, realizing she was no match for Tlaloc, decided to use this method to lull the Fifth Sun God of the Americas into a false sense of security.
Putting aside the fact that Abigail Jeanne d'Arc, as the Master, felt completely unable to act, and even if she did, she doubted that the Chief God's power would be affected by the Master's exorcism, as for assisting in combat... Fran, Siegfried, and Tlaloc, whose strength far surpassed her own, all seemed incredibly difficult.
Therefore, Jeanne d'Arc felt that her only advantage was the privilege of appearing as the Punisher, which granted her the authority to use two Command Spell on each Servant.
Initially, Jeanne d'Arc was also pondering whether these two Command Spell would have any effect on Novia, but she felt that although they seemed to have an effect, there was a slight difference. This wasn't because her rank was too high... but rather because the object corresponding to this Class seemed to exist only vaguely, almost as if it didn't exist at all. In short, it was very strange.
Therefore, Jeanne d'Arc rejected this idea and instead took this action: simply put, she first tried to get closer to Novia, whom she considered Pagan God, and then used her Noble Phantasm, the Red Lotus Grail, to deliver a fatal blow when Novia was off guard.
"By Command Spell, Mordred will surely do as Lady Jeanne d'Arc says."
"By the Command Spell, Mordred will never arbitrarily interfere with your actions."
"By the Command Spell, Mordred joins your ranks."
Perhaps inspired by Jeanne d'Arc of Shishigou's actions, the man swiftly used his Command Spell on his Servant to express his sincerity.
As for Mordred, who was subject to various restrictions, he bit his lip and said with his head down:
"... I see..."
This was undoubtedly a difficult thing for her to accept, but she also understood that Shishigou was doing it for her own good. However, she still harbored the idea of challenging the Fifth Sun of the Americas, who possessed the aura of the King of the Wild Hunt. After all, although Mordred knew she couldn't possibly win, she still wanted to experience it. This must be what they call not shedding tears until you see the coffin.
"If you want a challenge, challenge me first." Seemingly sensing her thoughts, Siegfried called out to her, a fellow Saber, "After all, if you can't even beat me, you should hone your skills more. My friend's strength far surpasses mine."
"It's not impossible..."
Mordred pouted and answered somewhat dejectedly.
Her desire to challenge Novia, who seemed to be the King of the Wild Hunt, stemmed from Siegfried's attitude, leading her to speculate that this the Americas Sun God also possessed another identity: a renowned King of the Huns of the AD, and, in addition, the former Magus of Flowers.
"Storms, or the King of the Wild Hunt, there are many in the world, but in terms of laying the foundation and defining the concept, it's that guy— the Huns king who led the mystical forces to the collapse of the Western Rome Church, representing the pinnacle of humanity, and he killed it with just two shots..."
If Mo can meet him and defeat him, maybe she can surpass Little Lia! I really believe in you, Meli, good luck!
In the distant past, King Arthur's sister Morgan created the Homunculus Mordred and told Mordred:
"You are qualified to inherit the throne, however, if this is discovered now, the king will surely kill you. So now is the time to wait, you can only wait quietly."
Homunculus grow faster, age faster, and die earlier than humans. By the time a normal human grows into an adult, Mordred will have already died of old age. Therefore, Mordred vows to become a being superior to humans, which requires him to run faster than humans and believes that he is superior to everyone else.
After all, he was that king's child.
Later, under Morgan's guidance, Mordred secretly watched the king's figure from the shadows.
"That is your goal, the enemy you must defeat, the king you must kill."
Mordred thought it was impossible, because the king was too Perfection; his judgment, swordsmanship, tactics—everything about Perfection.
Therefore, Mordred rejected Morgan's request in her heart and decided to become the King's knight.
Mordred, now an adult, eventually receives a helmet, Morgan warns her never to remove in public.
Mordred then smoothly became a knight, though only the last one, she was still very happy because she had earned the qualification of Knights of the Round Table.
For Mordred, it was the most dazzling and happiest time of her life... But the day of its end soon arrived. Morgan, unable to wait any longer, revealed Mordred's true identity to Mordred. Mordred was not simply King Arthur's enemy; it was unclear how she was obtained, but this Artificial Lifeform was King Arthur's legitimate son, and also a clone.
Mordred was overjoyed. The King of Knights she had longed for was actually so close to her. She was of royal blood, which meant that Mordred was the only one qualified to 'inherit' Artoria.
"Really... I'm so glad to have a child like you. Anyway, Mordred, thank you for all these years."
After Mordred excitedly told the King of Knights everything, this was the first time Mordred had seen her so gentle. Having gained recognition, the child made up her mind to protect her father's merits, achievements, and victories.
"That's wonderful, the scene of the mother and daughter reuniting is so touching, I Meli cried."
"... Teacher, please be more composed."
"No, Little Lia, I'm really going to cry!"
The Magus of Flowers, who emerged smiling from the shadows, clapped his hands in celebration like a villain. It wasn't until later that Mordred casually learned that the day she went to tell Artoria the truth was also the day that the king who chose the Holy Lance would truly become either a 'human' or a 'god'.
Under the influence of the words of a certain transparent Magus of Flowers, before fully transforming into the "Holy Lance Goddess," she made a choice: not as the "King" of gods, but as the "Storm King" of humanity; not Holy Lance Goddess, but as Artoria Pendragon.
In short, with the help of Magus of Flowers Britain had slightly interfered in some of Britain's affairs, everything was still quite good.
However, the price was that soon after, Meli was forcibly imprisoned in a tower in the lake by the Lake Fairy of Avalon, and became cellmates with Fou, who had run away from the Black Princess's slumber. After that, while she was in the tower, she heard the call of Charlemagne, one of Bradamante's Twelve Paladins, the White Feather Knight... A very good gift, which made the emotionless Magus of Flowers feel a long-lost sense of wonder.
In short, Mordred's courage to challenge the Americas Sun God, who she perceived as the King of the Huns, in the Holy Grail War was entirely due to the encouragement of the Magus of Flowers.
Back in the present, after Mordred's little incident, Tlaloc speaks to Novia again:
I must be punished.
To put it simply, Jeanne d'Arc saw not a trace of humiliation or Wrath in the Third Sun's eyes; on the contrary, there seemed to be a hint of joy in his usual indifferent gaze...
She instinctively shook her head, thinking that this was merely Lord Tlaloc doing his duty, and how could he possibly expect to be punished?
The young woman, hailed as Saintess, seemed to have forgotten that she had similar thoughts during the Hundred Years' War. However, at this moment, Jeanne d'Arc was more concerned with whether her actions had lowered the guard of her 'enemies,' so she quickly focused all her attention on Novia's 'inner thoughts.'
In fact, Jeanne d'Arc of Arc had been paying close attention to this 'inner voice' that was so helpful to her these past few days. However, to her, Novia's inner thoughts didn't seem very numerous, and even if they did, they were quite simple, like when they were shopping on the streets of Trifas earlier—
"Being called 'Grandpa' by Fran is quite a strange thing."
"Would Tlaloc like this? Maybe eating more ice cream can help keep me cold..."
"Abi likes sweets, and so does Attila; people like her really love sweet things."
"Siegfried has become like this... but it seems like a good thing, since Kriemhild is easier to deal with as long as he hits his straight shot."
"Gordes became much more cheerful after talking to Siegfried more..."
Almost everyone had something on Novia's mind, as for Jeanne d'Arc--
"Jeanne d'Arc, it seems like she's possessed someone. I wonder what happened to the person she possessed..."
The fact that the Fifth Sun of the Americas knew about her initial decision undoubtedly puzzled Jeanne d'Arc once again.
She can guarantee she hasn't told anyone about this. At the very beginning of this Holy Grail War, before she even appeared, she had planned to use possession as her method, but for some reason she couldn't succeed. So she could only appear as Servant.
... Could it be that he's been watching me from the very beginning? He even anticipated my countermeasures in the Holy Grail War... Is this some kind of Clairvoyance ability?
This reminded Jeanne d'Arc of what she had thought before, and now Jeanne d'Arc heard Novia's innermost thoughts once more—
"Tlaloc did it on purpose, didn't he?"
"Tlaloc!" Jeanne d'Arc stood solemnly in Novia's way, speaking righteously and firmly, "I know your sense of responsibility towards your duties, but right now we have a common enemy to deal with, so there's no need for any punishment. Even if there really is to be punishment, it should be after everything is over."
"Jeanne d'Arc of Arc is right."
Novia nodded in agreement with Jeanne d'Arc of Arc.
"... Tsk." Tlaloc put on his sunglasses and gave Jeanne d'Arc a deep look. "I understand."
The Third Sun always felt that the attitude of this France Saintess was somewhat strange.
That's right, Jeanne d'Arc had already made up her mind. In order to lower the guard of the Fifth Sun of the Americas, she was willing to do these things. Simply put, she would see what he disliked or didn't want to do, and then she would do it for him and tell him directly. Moreover, Jeanne d'Arc felt that the fact that she could hear his 'heart's voice' was undoubtedly the biggest help.
At this moment, Jeanne d'Arc understood that the reason the Lord allowed her to hear her innermost thoughts was precisely for this purpose!
To be able to solve this extremely troublesome problem with minimal effort—truly worthy of the Lord.
Then, Jeanne d'Arc heard Novia's innermost thoughts once again:
"Jeanne d'Arc of Arc is doing a good job, quite well, but her attitude is a bit different from when we first met... she's become a bit too friendly..."
For some reason, these words sounded to Jeanne d'Arc like a major step in her process of using the Red Lotus Saintess to betray this the Americas Sun God, something she should be happy about. In fact, Jeanne d'Arc was somewhat happy at this moment, but also somewhat shy.
Although the Ruler is called Saintess, she is not an ice queen or a strong woman. She can laugh, feel Sorrow, and be Wrath. She is sincere in everything she does. After all, back in Domrémy Village, she was still a wild child who helped with farming with her three older siblings and played in the mud until they were covered in mud.
When she first saw the Fifth Sun in the Americas, she thought he was very beautiful, which is why she joined the Hope League. In her opinion, such a person must be a good person and so strong. However, due to some very subtle reasons, Jeanne d'Arc completely gave up this idea.
Even now, she still sees this shyness as a hint from the Sun God.
Jeanne d'Arc remained silent and vowed once again in her heart that she would overcome this 'hint' no matter what.
Because she had already said it—
Lord, I will dedicate myself to you.
275: Jeanne d'Arc's Costume Change and Amakusa's Visit (5k)
And so, the matter involving the Red Faction Team and the Yggdmillennia Family came to a close, and then another night passed.
Novia and the others also stayed in the city-state of the Yggdmillennia Family to rest, and Yggdmillennia naturally had no objection to this.
However, for Servant, sleep is basically completely unnecessary; this is common knowledge.
But Jeanne d'Arc would occasionally learn from Novia's inner voice that he would sleep... This inevitably puzzled Jeanne d'Arc. Was the price for not appearing in the Holy Grail War in a degraded or divided form simply having to sleep like a normal person?
Although Jeanne d'Arc was somewhat puzzled by the reason, she felt that the quickest way was to have 'the Red Lotus Saintess' while Novia was sleeping. Unfortunately, Tlaloc and Abigail were practically inseparable, so Jeanne d'Arc could only think about this idea.
"Dress nicer? Be more direct? Just go for it?"
Looking at the information she found in the item called a cell phone, Jeanne d'Arc couldn't help but facepalm.
Since she didn't need to sleep, and her mind was entirely focused on how to lower the guard of the Pagan God, she didn't wander around. And since the night was quite long, Jeanne d'Arc took out the phone provided by the Yggdmillennia Family and idly searched for questions like "how to make someone like you in a day"... However, Jeanne d'Arc clearly found the results to be unreliable.
After exiting the strange content that popped up on her phone during a search—"I am Jeanne d'Arc of Saintess, I have been reborn, reborn before I was betrayed, in this life I will..."— Jeanne d'Arc stared blankly at her pink phone.
The content that appeared on her phone reminded her that she should indeed change out of her armor, the Crowd should too, since doing so would easily attract unwanted attention.
... From the moment Jeanne d'Arc appeared until now, she has always been dressed in armor, while Siegfried, Mordred, Fran, Tlaloc, and others have all changed into civilian clothes, and as for Novia, she can barely be considered one of them.
"... What should I wear?"
A dress? The hem and collar are made of lace, which looks quite cute, but it's a little too cute for my taste.
Are Mordred similar shorts and a jacket? I don't think they have that cool, commanding presence to pull it off...
Is a shorter skirt better? Or should I choose a longer one to appear more demure?
These are all so difficult! I never had to think about these things before... I guess I'll just keep searching on my phone...
Then Jeanne d'Arc searched on her phone. "What should a girl wear when meeting someone so that the other person will be happy?"
Then the first thing that came into Jeanne d'Arc's view was, "When dating someone, if it's the first time—"
"... A date? Oh, it's with someone you like--" Jeanne d'Arc suddenly fell silent, her slightly surprised expression frozen, but her face grew increasingly red, and she shook her head repeatedly, cupping her cheeks in her hands. "Ah no, who would go on a date! I'm not!"
Even though Jeanne d'Arc skipped this entry, several of the following entries were more or less about 'dating' or something similar.
This prompted the blonde girl to quickly add a sentence to her search results, "It's not a date, just a normal meeting, nothing serious, I'm not kidding."
This made the content seem much more normal for Jeanne d'Arc.
"Ideally, it should be impactful, like clothes that make the other person feel touched and happy, like, 'You dressed up like this for me,' something very striking."
Looking at the pensive Jeanne d'Arc of Arc, she hurriedly opened the book and continued reading. The first picture she saw made her face turn red instantly.