Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Jeanne Alter spoke with a hint of self-mockery. "Ha... Are you here to laugh at me? Go ahead, laugh. Laugh all you want. After all, I have nothing left—not even my name is truly mine."
"No, I have no intention of laughing at you. Nor is this the pity of a victor. The one who defeated you was Mr. Bai Ming, not me."
Jeanne crouched beside Jeanne Alter. "I am Jeanne, and you are Jeanne too. But you should not live by beliefs someone else forced upon you."
"Heh..." Jeanne Alter tugged at the corner of her mouth. "You really are irritating, you know that? That carefree look of yours..."
The End of the First Singularity
Jeanne Alter died very peacefully.
It was not because Bai Ming had secretly cast the Heart-Cleansing Mantra on her.
It was because she had already chosen to give up.
Jeanne Alter did not want to die, but was it something she could avoid merely because she did not want to?
"Hey... You ridiculously arrogant guy over there."
Jeanne Alter rose from the ground and walked toward Bai Ming. Bai Ming also got up and walked toward her.
His massive build made Jeanne Alter instinctively retreat a few steps, but she quickly forced herself to approach him again.
"I found my answer," Jeanne Alter said. "Though I have no desire to admit it, I must admit this—I am not Jeanne, yet I still bear Jeanne's name. My name is Jeanne Alter. Though I was born from another's selfish delusion, I am no puppet..."
Jeanne Alter spoke in circles while Bai Ming merely watched her quietly.
In truth, Jeanne Alter did not want to say much to Bai Ming. She only wanted to die quickly.
But after talking with Jeanne, she knew very well that she did not exist upon the Throne of Heroes. Once she died, this would be a final farewell.
Yet she still wanted to leave something behind—such as having someone remember her.
Everyone here was either a Servant or a Demi-Servant. After thinking it over, Bai Ming was the only one who might remember her name.
That was Bai Ming.
And Bai Ming knew what Jeanne Alter wanted to say. The core of it was nothing more than, "I want to become a real person, an independent person. Do not confuse me with that Jeanne who looks like an idiot." In the end, she simply wanted someone to remember that she existed.
There were plenty of people around him who could not be honest—Roman, who always ran away; Olga Marie, who lacked affection; Akuta Hinako, who flew into a rage the moment someone hit upon her true feelings. He had seen plenty of them by now.
"I understand."
Bai Ming formed a hand seal with one hand. His calm reply nearly broke Jeanne Alter, but it no longer mattered to her. He had promised to remember her.
Then Jeanne Alter ended her own life, and the Holy Grail fell into Bai Ming's hands.
Immediately afterward, Bai Ming used the Holy Grail to make all the Servants summoned by it, along with their Madness Enhancement, commit suicide on the spot.
The Servants began to fade away.
Siegfried and Saint George patted Bai Ming on the shoulder and reminded him, "Master, remember to lift the curse when you return."
"Of course. If there is ever dragon slaying to be done, I will summon you two first."
Jeanne gave Bai Ming a deep bow. Due to the language barrier, she could not directly say anything to him. Mozart, meanwhile, said carelessly, "Ah, I thought we would have one of those battles that worked us until our asses hurt, but it turned out to be nothing at all. Master, keep it up!"
Marie Antoinette waved to Bai Ming and Mash, then faded away where she stood.
"Hey—!"
A shout came from the distance. A pink-haired Little Dragon Girl ran over from the horizon, accompanied by a green-haired woman in a kimono who also had dragon horns. The pink-haired Little Dragon Girl shouted, "Why did it suddenly end? We only just got here—"
Before she could finish, the two Servants turned into Spiritrons and returned to the Throne of Heroes.
"Were those two comedy characters or something?" Roman's voice came through. "I knew things would be dealt with quickly if Bai Ming was there. Prepare for Spiritron Transfer back. The Singularity is already beginning to repair itself, so get ready."
Hearing that, Bai Ming directly pulled Mash's hand and sat down on the grass.
Mash's cheeks reddened slightly. "It feels like you were not particularly moved by Miss Jeanne Alter's words, Senpai?"
"I really was not. There are quite a few people in Chaldea who want to be remembered by others, want to occupy an important place in someone's heart, but cannot be honest about it."
As he spoke, Bai Ming pinched his throat and imitated Olga Marie. "I still have not been acknowledged by anyone—! Why does everyone always hate me—?! I do not want to die—!"
"Huh?" Mash did not understand who Bai Ming was imitating. After all, when Olga Marie broke down in Singularity F, everyone had not yet regrouped. Bai Ming had been the only one to see that scene.
"It is nothing. Jeanne Alter's form of existence is rather special, so in a sense, she has already been recorded upon the Throne of Heroes. There is still a chance to see her again. While she was speaking, I used a recording spell to capture that conflicted yet unwilling expression on her face, along with everything she said."
Bai Ming lay down on the grass. "When we meet again, I will play it on loop in front of her."
Mash could not help thinking, Ah... How could there be someone as malicious as Senpai in this world?
"All right, small talk is over. Prepare for Spiritron Transfer," Roman's voice came through again. "We can talk after you return."
"Okay."
A violent incident occurred in Chaldea's Command Room.
The assailant was Mash. The victim was Roman.
Before the expedition, Mash had specially prepared fresh sesame buns for Bai Ming. But during the three days Bai Ming had spent half-jokingly speedrunning the First Singularity, Roman ate every last one of them. Of course, Roman had deliberately eaten Bai Ming's sesame buns, solely to get revenge for Bai Ming stealing his strawberry cake.
While Mash chased Roman around and beat him up, Bai Ming returned to his room immediately after coming back. He released Olga Marie's soul and said solemnly, "I need to discuss something with you. You need to make a choice right now."
"What is it?"
"There are actually many things I do not understand at all. By now, much of what I knew can already be considered invalid..." Bai Ming laid some groundwork before taking out the Holy Grail. "Now, Olga Marie, you have three choices. First, maintain the current situation, where I nurture you. Second, I use the Holy Grail to wish you a physical body. But I cannot guarantee whether your current consciousness can control that body, nor can I guarantee whether you, after undergoing who knows what surgeries in the past, can survive while Chaldeas still exists."
Olga Marie's expression shifted slightly. After a brief hesitation, she said, "Maintain the current situation. Contact Roman and tell him that this Holy Grail will remain with you. When necessary, it can make up for your lack of magical energy, and its magical energy can also reduce the burden of nurturing me."
Though she did not know why Bai Ming had mentioned Chaldeas, Olga Marie chose to trust him.
Though Bai Ming spoke harshly and had a terrible attitude, there was no doubt that he truly was someone who would help her. Olga Marie chose to rely on Bai Ming, and she was not completely useless either. While her soul hid within Bai Ming's body and was nurtured through his magecraft and magical energy, she could also use healing magecraft to treat him in real time during battle.
Bai Ming never cared for his own body when fighting, so Olga Marie believed that, as Director, it was necessary for her to care for it in his place.
Bai Ming nodded. "I understand. As for the Holy Grail... I do not need an external object like that. Having something like it would make me weak. Olga Marie, return to my body for now."
Olga Marie's eyes were full of concern. "Remember to lift the curse."
"I know. Stop rushing me."
Heian-kyo Simulation Interlude
Simulating Heian-kyo? Then I Can Really Go Wild!
Bai Ming did not choose to rest. Instead, he went directly to Da Vinci's Magic Workshop and handed over some Wyvern flesh, teeth, scales, and claws. After telling Da Vinci to come to the Command Room for a meeting, he headed there himself.
Soon, all of Chaldea's remaining staff gathered in the Command Room.
Bai Ming summoned Olga Marie and explained her condition to the few staff members who still did not understand it. He then signaled for Olga Marie to begin an inspiring speech.
Olga Marie stared blankly at Bai Ming. In the end, she did not manage to say anything inspiring. She only told everyone to listen to Roman and Bai Ming's arrangements, then sat quietly in a chair to one side and watched.
Roman sighed. Ever since Singularity F, he felt that the Director had changed a great deal.
When she did not come out, it was one thing. But after coming out, she instead watched everyone coldly, as if she wanted to see through each and every person.
"Then, since I organized this meeting, I will explain our policy going forward."
Bai Ming said, "We are going to extend the time spent clearing the Singularities."
The Command Room erupted. Seeing someone about to object, Bai Ming spoke first. "Unless one of you can solo kill 'King Solomon' and guarantee that every one of us survives to reclaim humanity's victory. I cannot kill him in a one-on-one fight, anyway. If you can, then you do it."
More than twenty staff members in the Command Room fell silent.
Mash, who was attending the meeting, complained inwardly, This is dictatorship, right? This is absolutely dictatorship, right?
At present, the only people in all of Chaldea who could fight were Roman and Bai Ming. And the prerequisite for Roman being able to fight was abandoning his identity as a human and becoming King Solomon again, devoid of much emotion.
Roman spoke at that moment. "For now, we will aim to clear all the Singularities within a year. No problem with that, right?"
"I do not know, Roman, but we only have a year at most," Bai Ming answered. Then he took out the Holy Grail. "This is the Holy Grail recovered this time. Da Vinci, I will leave logistical support to you for now. I have things to do for the next while. Even if I do not leave my room, do not call me. Do not disturb me."
Da Vinci nodded and took over. "In three days, I have roughly modified the Greater Grail. Leave the rest to Ritsuka. Get used to this Holy Grail transformed into a Mystic Code as well. The Servant data from the Singularity has already been recorded. In the coming days, Ritsuka and Akuta Hinako, you need to quickly adapt to fighting with Servants. And Akuta Hinako, do not personally go down there and beat people up anymore..."
At this point, Da Vinci sighed. "Why are Magi from China all so fond of personally going down there and beating people up?"
Akuta Hinako said nothing. She merely watched Bai Ming quietly.
Fujimaru Ritsuka agreed.
"Then, does Bai Ming have anything else to say?"
"Yes. I have another use for the Holy Grail in the next Singularity, so I cannot hand it over to Da Vinci for processing and storage." Bai Ming said, "With a Holy Grail now... No, we will discuss that matter later. In any case, I hope everyone can relax properly over the next few days and face the next Singularity at full strength. That is all. Meeting adjourned."
After the meeting ended, Roman gestured for Mash to follow him to the infirmary. Bai Ming directly recalled Olga Marie, returned to his room, locked the door, and lay down on his bed.
Bai Ming: System.
System: I am here. Charging complete. Beginning simulation startup.
Bai Ming: I have a question. This simulation... It will not drag Olga Marie along with me, will it?
System: It will not... probably?
The Simulator System's uncertain tone made Bai Ming's mind go blank for a moment. Then he asked again.
Bai Ming: When the previous seven systems fought in my head for space, did the other six systems explode and leave anything behind?
System: They did, but I am still consolidating and organizing their resources.
Bai Ming: Do not throw away anything useful or useless. Even system framework materials should not be discarded. Keep all of it for me. In the simulated worlds, keep anything I genuinely train myself to obtain, as well as any items I acquire. But I will not inherit Spirit Origins, traits, or anything like that. Throw all of them onto the Throne of Heroes.
System: Understood. Loading simulation.
```
Before you continue