Shinji Matou at Your Service

When the topic of Laeticia came up, Jeanne's face lit up with joy.

"She's a very good girl."

"Even if you hadn't said so, I already knew. Although somewhat reckless and brash, for an ordinary girl to hand over her body to you without hesitation, that kind of courage is truly admirable."

Shinji didn't hold back his words of praise for Jeanne's host.

"In a way, you two are very similar. You received a revelation from the Lord and threw yourself into the battlefield. She heard your voice and resolutely came here."

"Now that you mention it, that's true. And we were both attracted by different things."

At this point, Jeanne couldn't help but laugh.

What attracted Jeanne were undoubtedly the modern foods, means of transportation, and various pieces of knowledge she had never encountered before, especially mathematics.

As for Laeticia, it wasn't hard to guess: the Holy Grail War, magic, and the fantastical existence of Servants—none of which were things an ordinary person would ever encounter.

"Wait a moment, I'll call her out."

"Is that okay? With a stranger, at this time?"

Although he couldn't quite remember what kind of personality this girl had, being alone with a strange man near midnight didn't seem appropriate for a girl, especially one from a church school—Shinji considered Laeticia's standpoint.

"It's fine."

The girl's voice responded. It was the same voice, but noticeably weaker. She looked the same, but there was a hint of timidity.

"I also want to help you and Lady Saint."

"Laeticia?"

Shinji blinked.

"Yes, that's right. You were correct, I… am Laeticia."

Being stared at by an unfamiliar man, the girl nervously clenched her fists.

"Nice to meet you, though it sounds strange to say so now. I'm glad to finally get to know you."

Shinji tried to appear as friendly as possible, not wanting to scare the girl in front of him.

"I-I'm also glad to be able to speak to you like this, Mr. Shinji because before, I could only watch."

"Just being able to watch is already impressive. Those earth-shattering scenes could easily leave a psychological scar."

A person living a normal life in the world, suddenly has a saint possess her body and getting caught up in a war over the Holy Grail. Although her consciousness was dormant inside and she didn't need to fight personally, there were times when she would inadvertently witness some unbearable scenes.

Laeticia gave a slightly different gentle smile than Jeanne's—in the same appearance, the atmosphere was distinctly different.

"I'm fine now. Lady Saint has always been very caring. And everyone is very kind: Mr. Shinji, Miss Artoria, Miss Reika, and Jack-chan… I knew nothing about magic until now. I'm completely ignorant."

The girl spoke while bringing her hands together in a prayer gesture.

"If Lady Saint hadn't descended, I would probably have lived my life in ignorance. But now, I know these things in this way, and I've met heroes who were only celebrated in myths and legends."

"I am not a hero, you know. Did I disappoint you?"

"No, not at all."

Laeticia shook her head repeatedly. "Mr. Shinji is strong, handsome, and smart. You're not inferior to those heroes at all."

"Heh, thank you for such high praise. But I know I'm still far from their level, really far."

Shinji squinted, looking a bit dejected. Seeing his expression, Laeticia became very anxious.

"No, that's not true! Mr. Shinji is really, really amazing, because I've been watching you, always, always—"

For Laeticia, this was truly a fantastical time.

Before that, her lifestyle was very simple and suffocatingly tight.

Morning prayers, noon prayers, evening prayers, prayers before meals, prayers before sleeping.

Her friends in the dormitory would often take a break appropriately. She didn't plan to blame them; she even thought it would be better to relax a bit herself. Even though she thought so, for some reason, she had no intention of doing so—perhaps because she feared things that would stir her heart.

It was like spending every day in the deep sea. No particularly great joys or sorrows, just living life.

The academy she lived in had no particularly distinctive features either. Her friends complained that it felt like a prison. On the other hand, since it wasn't completely cut off from the outside world, some easily fell into degradation, while others regretted it.

In such an environment, people often said it was impressive how she could strictly discipline herself.

She neither fell into depravity through external interaction nor turned it into excessive pride.

Both teachers and friends praised her for some reason.

Everyone said her way of living was beautiful and correct.

She could only accept these compliments with an ambiguous smile while feeling troubled inside—it wasn't like that at all.

She was just afraid of change.

She knew her personality very well. She had no self-control; her brakes had long been broken. Once she started running, she would only accelerate, unable to slow down.

Even if there was a cliff ahead, she would jump right off. She couldn't stop until she fell into the abyss and died.

So she didn't get involved with the outside world, but she didn't feel great joy in the prison either. After all, her parents were outside, so completely cutting off contact was impossible.

She felt like she was stuck in the middle—she wanted to mock herself.

She didn't want to connect with others and get tainted by the mundane world, becoming an extremely ordinary person. But she also didn't dare to devote herself to a world ruled solely by taboos, cut off from the outside.

In summary, she didn't know what her goal should be, and couldn't find the path she should take. She was just walking forward fearfully, along a vaguely visible road.

Well, at this point, it didn't matter what happened next—she walked forward with a semi-desperate attitude.

No matter what awaited her on the path. After all, she knew nothing, and that couldn't be helped. Even if she fell into depravity, even if she became a criminal, even if she wanted to regret it... she would dismiss it all with "it can't be helped."

Just at such a time—she had a dream and saw a road.

Saint Jeanne d'Arc requested her assistance. With the knowledge implanted in her mind, she instantly understood everything and accepted it all.

Of course, she experienced fear. The fierce battles between heroes centered around the Holy Grail were not something an ordinary person like her should be involved in.

However, in the end, she agreed and solemnly declined the suggestion, "It's fine if I just stay asleep," witnessing everything through the saint's vision.

She saw everything, from battles beyond imagination to horrific scenes that filled her with revulsion.

Perhaps being "within a safety zone" served as a mental shield, allowing her to see things that no one else could see in their entire lifetime.

She witnessed heroes charging across the battlefield, warriors shattering giant statues with mysterious weapons, mages using bizarre spells, and even indestructible monsters and floating fortresses.

Amid these legendary scenes becoming reality, she felt her insignificance, stupidity, and ignorance.

Indeed, it was like heaven and earth. She thought she should just treat it all as a dream, return to her world once it was over, bury all the secrets in her heart, and recall them occasionally. After all, it was a world she could not reach.

She thought this more than once, but whenever she was about to make up her mind, that person would appear, telling her that the distance between the two worlds wasn't so great and that there was still a place for her here.

Although he also possessed extraordinary power, he did not exude an atmosphere incompatible with the modern world like the other heroes.

He would hitchhike using the universal gesture, had received a complete modern education, and his way of speaking and handling things was much like an ordinary person's. He would get carried away, show off deliberately, and even throw tantrums.

Honestly, compared to the saint, he had many flaws. But it was these flaws that made Laeticia feel he was real, and her eyes were unconsciously drawn to him, making her want to cheer him on.

After all, common heroes and elites always receive extra attention from ordinary people.

When she saw him seriously injured, she was very anxious.

When she saw him recover, she was so happy.

When she heard he was drawing, she felt she could do something for him. For the first time, she urged the saint to come over and took the initiative to intervene in a world that didn't belong to her.

Although she felt a bit sorry for the diligent saint, she hoped he could achieve the final victory.

"So, Mr. Shinji, you'll be fine, believe in yourself. I, I will do my best to help you too."

Seeing Laeticia like this, working so hard to cheer him up, brought a few more smiles to Shinji's face.

"How will you help me?"

"Um, Miss Reika said you're drawing the layout of the Hanging Gardens."

Lacking confidence, Laeticia took a deep breath and mustered all her courage.

"I have some knowledge of drawing... When the saint ascended the gardens, I was watching the whole time. I think I can help!"

"Is that so? Then could you help draw a general layout and the route Jeanne took?"

"I'll do my best."

"Great, that's the spirit. First, take a look at what I've drawn and see if there are any problems."

"Okay!"

So the two of them moved the papers and pens from the desk to the coffee table, each taking a side, and started working through the night.

Outside the slightly ajar door, Fiore watched quietly. Her expression changed several times, finally turning into a barely audible sigh as she silently left.

◇◇◇

Shinji wasn't the only one pulling all-nighters; his enemies, whom he needed to defeat, were doing the same.

Due to two consecutive Broken Phantasm, the palace where the Great Holy Grail was originally stored could no longer be used. As the master of the gardens, Semiramis temporarily established a new altar.

Though it was a temporary setup, the altar still maintained the grandeur and luxury characteristic of the gardens.

The altar and the surrounding space were distorted and isolated by magic, creating a sense of vastness that stretched endlessly.

Although it appeared bowl-shaped from an overall perspective, only the central part was flat. Descending the wide, brick-paved steps to the central area, one could see the Greater Holy Grail of Fuyuki, forcibly taken, floating there.

Its blue-white radiance made it appear like a moon summoned into this space.

However, what was even more astonishing was the ceiling of the altar.

The ceiling was made of transparent crystal, filled with water above it.

It was like an inverted lake. Blue, red, yellow, and other brightly colored water lilies bloomed on the lake's surface—like a sky painted with rainbows.

This was a miraculous sight that could only be achieved in the Hanging Gardens, a place with inverse concepts, where water flowed high and people walked low.

Unfortunately, this fantastical and magnificent scene was utterly ruined by the altar's owner, a white-haired youth in priestly garb.

The outer space of the altar was tainted by large patches of black, resembling ashes left after a fierce fire, or like the dark, eerie works of an expressionist artist.

As the youth moved on the altar, the blackened ground rose irregularly, like bubbles, or as if something was gathering and churning within the darkness.

Soon, these blackened rises merged, growing larger and taller, eventually forming black human shapes.

Apart from their overall color, these figures were almost indistinguishable from real people, with clothing details and facial features well-reproduced. The only difference was that these figures remained just that—figures, with lifeless, expressionless faces.

When the last figure was completed, the youth retracted the red and blue magic power from his arms, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Very good, it's done."

"Using the souls of Servants contained within the Lesser Grail as the foundation, I connected and summoned their spiritual cores with my Noble Phantasm, and finally used the garden's illusory properties to create Shadow Servants.'

"Although the principles differ from the originals, their performance is no different, though they inevitably suffer from intelligence and Noble Phantasm limitations."

"However, even with restricted Noble Phantasms, these Shadow Servants are still powerful. After all, this is the largest Holy Grail War in the Middle East, with five top-tier Servants participating."

"Now, it's up to you—Shadow Archer Arash, Shadow Lancer Romulus, Shadow Caster Paracelsus, Shadow Assassin Yan Qing, and Shadow Berserker Beowulf."

"Don't think that I've run out of cards just because I played them all. Using the existing deck is second-rate; creating your cards is the true path. I am the legendary King of Games!—The so-called numerical disadvantage never existed from the start, hahahaha!!!"