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Chapter 432: Chapter 391

"Oh, it was no trouble. I\'m always happy to spend time together." She sat down opposite of me at the table. "It\'s a nice break too. With everything going after the recent incident."

"Don\'t even get me started!" I exhaled in exhaustion.

"I\'ve had many different people bugging me since, and even my family were getting a lot of.....interest, more than usual. I can\'t imagine everything you\'ve had to deal with. How bad has it been?"

"About what you would expect. We weren\'t even technically involved, but after publicly making it known that Wilhelm was my man, well....the proximity and everything made it worse. We\'ve had to escort a ridiculous amount of spies out of Kyoto, for starters. And we\'ve had many Kami – gods, coming and going. Some being discreet....others not so much."

"Oh dear. Dealing with Gods is never easy."

"Funnily enough, Susanoo had come around Kyoto a couple times keeping the peace." I chuckled at the absurdity of it. "I even asked Izanami if she was telling him to and she was just as surprised as I was!"

"Ignoring his Divinity, at the end of the day, he\'s a boy. I wouldn\'t put it past him to think of Wilhelm as someone close to him now that he\'s both with Izanami and fought together."

"I\'ll never understand boys." I groaned. "First they fight like they did, then they fight together and suddenly they\'re friends."

"Otherwise, how was the fallout? It\'s been hectic down in Hell and we weren\'t directly affected."

"For us, not too bad. But there is a tension that wasn\'t there before. Which doesn\'t help matters when we\'re getting prepared for a war. Oddly enough, it was somewhat of a morale boost too."

"The \'young Lord\' fighting with Susanoo against Indra? I could only imagine why." She giggled.

"Thankfully, there wasn\'t much damage across the globe either. Most Gods of other Pantheons acted quickly. Poseidon over in Northern Europe and Greece personally stepped in, earning himself a lot of praise. Zeus shortly followed once I assume he realized his brother would outshine him. Thor, and some other Norse Gods also lent a hand. Aztec, African, Chinese, Korean, etc."

This was far from the first time that beings of this caliber came to blows and others had to offset the \'destruction\' that ensued. The Shinto Pantheon aren\'t the only ones going to go after the Hindus for reparations.

"Wilhelm is going to be watched much more closely now."

"That was inevitable. Our man doesn\'t have a habit of staying under the radar." I sighed in mild exasperation. "Even the Susanoo fight caused a commotion, but nothing on this level. Thankfully, nearly everyone is laying the fault at Indra\'s feet, for good reason."

"Atleast they had the good sense of fighting away from civilization."

"For good that did." I sighed again. "Have you seen the human news talking about it? IT\'s nonstop about the weather that happened and there\'s only so much we can do."

"Oh dear, I didn\'t even think about that. What\'s the plan there?"

"I spoke to Amaterasu briefly-—"

"When she handed over her – "

"Please don\'t even say it." My head fell to the table. "I don\'t know how I\'m supposed to even face my Goddess in the future."

"You could always use Wilhelm as a shield." She offered.

"....that\'s probably my best bet. She\'s still embarrassed at flashing him. If I have to deal with my own embarrassment, then she has too as well!"

"And what was the word from the Goddess on how things will be settled?"

"She\'s going to have a few aquatic Volcanos stimulated to make them look like they erupted in unison. The Humans will find them soon, and that should be enough to answer many questions that the general public has with some nudging."

"Smart."

"I suppose so. It\'s above my pay grade, so I\'m not even bothering to keep up with it." I shrugged. "But I called you because I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Threesome?"

"What!?" I blinked. "No! But...well, I wouldn\'t mind. But that\'s not it..." I paused. "Oh you\'re a bitch."

She giggled, covering her mouth. "You looked so serious."

"I can\'t help it, I\'ve been so busy and dealing with this nonsense on top of it. I don\'t blame Wilhelm, mind you, but being his Woman does come with its own difficulties." I wouldn\'t trade Kunou\'s father for anything at this point, but I still want to pinch his cheeks every time a new stack of paperwork lands on my desk.

"Alright, what is it you wanted to talk about?" She asked.

"It\'s about Kunou. As a mother yourself, I felt like you would be the best one to talk about with this. Raikou is unfortunately not here, so I can\'t get her opinion at the moment."

"Mmm, it\'s good that she\'s with Wilhelm though."

"Agreed. I expect that man to get into trouble, but I\'ll feel much better knowing one of us is nearby."

"What about Izanami?"

"Her perspective is warped." I paused again trying to choose my words correctly. "Not in a bad way, mind you. But she isn\'t a mortal like us, despite how long lived we are, Gods think and act differently."

"Understandable. I have not interacted with Gods until I joined in the Harem, so I\'ll take your word for it. I won\'t presume to use the stories and such I\'ve heard."

Probably for the best. Not many Gods like to be compared completely to the stories that humans passed down unless it shows them in a good light.

"Right, I\'ll just cut right to the chase. I\'m worried about what to do with Kunou."

".....what do you mean?" Venelana tilted her head.

"I don\'t want my little fox to be in Kyoto while we\'re in the middle of a War and it\'s getting close to when we\'ll begin fighting. I feel like you can understand me the best right now."

"I do." She said quietly. "I could not imagine my Daughter being born during the Civil War, much less the Great War. I was lucky that Sirzechs was a monster in his own right that I didn\'t have to worry too much about someone hurting him."

"But I\'m also scared of just....putting her somewhere for a period of time."

"I would offer the my own home and lands, but I would assume you would reject it."

"I...will politely decline. It\'s not you, I trust you. It\'s just..."

"Devils?"

"....yes"

"Oh dear, it\'s nothing to be worried about." She waved it off. "I can completely understand your point of view and there are no hard feelings over your reluctance."

"You must have an idea of what you want to do though, if you called me? You said you wanted my opinion."

"I was thinking.....about asking Wilhelm about maybe finding another World she can attend a boarding school or something like that? Maybe somewhere that she can learn Magic since she\'s been getting very interested in that subject."

"That\'s not a bad idea." She offered.

"I\'m worried that she\'ll think I\'m abandoning her. And I\'m scared about not having her within arms reach."

"She\'s old enough to understand the heavy responsibilities of an approaching War. I think you may be coddling her too much in this case."

"Do you really think so?" I asked, hesitantly.

"You need to sit down and talk to her about everything properly. Make her a part of the conversation and she will appreciate it much more. Be honest with your worries so she understands that you care about her."

"That makes sense..." Maybe I am just being over protective. "I want her to make friends too. I know it\'s been difficult here since she\'s my daughter, not many people are willing to treat her as just a child."

"There\'s that too. I had the same concerns when Rias was born, both for myself and Sirzech\'s position. Luckily there were other Pillar families we were close with, but there doesn\'t seem to be anything similar in your case. It would do good for her to leave home and see a bit more of the world....relatively speaking."

"She\'s going to be Eleven....I guess it\'s time for my Little Fox to step away from the nest." Within reason of course. "I\'ll wait until Wilhelm gets back so we can talk to her together and I can run everything by him as well."4

"You know...if you\'re looking at friends for her, my Grandson is her age...?"

"I....admit I forgot about that." That wasn\'t a bad idea either. "We would obviously have to talk to Wilhelm."

"Of course, he needs to be part of the conversation there. Milicas also wanted to meet his Half-Brother. Wilhelm didn\'t seem entirely against it, I just think he\'s been too busy to think about it."

"That\'s adorable."

"I know." Venelana giggled. "You should hear him, Milicas keeps wanting to hear news about Wilhelm and he even started trying to copy him with magic and swordsmanship. Ever since Wilhelm saved us both, he\'s been nonstop about it~"

"Kunou too. She wants to be just like her daddy. So she\'s been practicing Magic all the time."

"Do you have pictures?!"

"Do I have pictures!?" I threw a stack onto the table before she could even blink. "Look at the top one. That\'s one of my favorites."

"Oh my, the look on Wilhelm\'s face." Venelana cooed. "That is a proud dad smile If I\'ve ever seen one."

"Don\'t worry, I have plenty more!"

[***]

Olga Marie Animusphere POV

"Are you sure about this, Director?" Roman continued to worry about my decision, but I took it in the good nature that it was intended.

"Who else but me, Roman?"

"We have Hinako...."

"And you\'ve seen her leadership skills in the simulations previously." I said dryly, staring at the clearly exhausted man.

"Stil....."

"I\'ve already made my decision, Roman." I clenched my fists but released them a moment later, letting out a long breath. "I know my situation didn\'t change much but please let me have this."

"I\'m just worried....Director." He smiled awkwardly. "You still can\'t summon a Servant. Even if whatever Wilhelm did made it so you\'re a viable Rayshift target now....which we\'re still not entirely sure about. There are still tons of – "

"Are you questioning me, Roman?" Da Vinci poked her head into the room, staring menacingly at the Physician

"N-no." Roman quickly corrected himself. "It\'s just –"

"I triple checked, Roman. The combination of The Director\'s existence as pure Spiritrons being forced through a successful Rayshift, combined with the process of semi-actualizing her soul created a qualitative change."

Isn\'t that hilarious?

All it took for me to be capable of Rayshift was being technically killed by the person I trusted most then to be saved by the Grandson of the Wizard Marshall. The latter of whom did something only thought under the umbrella of True Magic and did what could only be described as a semi-actualization of my soul.

A nonsense term if it had been spoken before this discovery as you can\'t be semi-Actualized. You either are or you are not, there was no in between, or so we thought.

But here I am, able to project a physical representation of my very soul outward in various forms for use.

Rigorous testing showed an increase in physical capabilities, and a visibly increased healing rate. Not to mention all the more...nuanced uses for this energy we\'ve discovered over the past month.

....and he just casually handed it to me, saving my life in the process.

I have so many questions if I see him again!

....when I see him again.

Whatever happened, I\'m sure he survived.

"Roman, if you give me any other viable suggestion, I\'ll listed." I paused for a moment to let him retort, but he simply slumped his shoulders in acknowledgement. "The members of B-Team have been progressing greatly but they\'re still new to everything, Roman. And as I said, Hinako has the leadership skills of a baked potato."

"I think that\'s an insult to the potato." Caster chirped.

"Fine." Roman threw his hands up. "But I\'m doing this under protest."

"Your protest is noted." I rolled my eyes. "Has everyone gathered?"

"We\'re just waiting on you, Director!" Caster stated. "And I ran the test you asked for. That quaint little storage space in the hat should hold up through a Rayshift, so you don\'t have to worry."

"Thank you, caster." I nodded towards her.

I was glad that the Hat would survive the Rayshift properly. It would make it easier to gather supplies on the return as otherwise we\'d have to physically carry anything we wanted back with us and that was a whole other set of problems.

Well, Caster did say she could make something similar, but we don\'t have the resources to waste when we already have a viable Mystic Code ready to go.

I was hesitant, but I would not second guess my decision. Even if I couldn\'t summon or forge a contract with a Servant, I could still help!

I won\'t waste this opportunity that bastard Lev gave me.

"Are you going to take his familiar with you?" Caster pointed at Schweinorg\'s Rabbit that rested within my arms. "He should be able to survive the process."

".....and you would know that how..?" Roman questioned.

"Do you think I wouldn\'t look into the only other creature besides the Director that had their Soul Semi-Actualized?" Caster looked offended.

As if to reply, Sir Wiggles moved from my arms to atop of my head. An action that was common place at this point and no one batted at eye at.

"I believe he stated that he intends to follow." I glanced upwards. He was intelligent, he wouldn\'t come if he didn\'t think he could handle it. I trusted Schweinorg to not have an incompetent Familiar. And Sir Wiggles has proven himself in his owner\'s absence. "The others should have finished the last minute preparations as well. Let us depart."

[***]

"Good, everyone is here." I looked around, entering the room with the Coffins. I had not been in here since the explosion, but the majority of things looked to be fixed at first glance. However, that was not true for the Coffins themselves.

We still only had a portion of those available.

Thankfully, Wilhelm provided not just foodstuffs but materials of different kinds. Among them being some metals of interesting properties that allowed us to fudge some of the requirements to get these Coffins back online.

But I ignored that for now. I trusted Caster to go over this place with a fine toothed comb.

"Fujimaru." I called out.

"Yes, Director." He stood up straighter. I was impressed with how quickly he took to everything. If a month or so ago someone told me he was a complete novice....I would believe them but I would also have had hoped that he could be more with time.

"The Rayshifts are going to be timed so that you and Mash will appear twenty seconds before everyone else. This is the largest gap we can manage, and in that time frame, your job is to clear the Rayshift point of any hostile entities, if there are any. There shouldn\'t be, but in the event that we seemingly fall right ontop an Enemy Servant, keep them away from our point of entry long enough for everyone else to Rayshift without the chance to be killed on the spot."

"We\'ll handle it Director!" Fujimaru nodded.

"You can leave it to us." Mash joined in, looking serious as well.

....good then.

"Hinako, you\'re up next. In the event of hostile Servants or other entities, you will be immediately engaging them while we prepare the summoning for our Servants."

"Yeah, just leave it to me." She shrugged.

It\'s still taken me some time to wrap my head around the fact that she is a being similar to a True Ancestor. While she didn\'t explicitly give the details, she did say her origins were Eastern...obvious in hindsight, but it narrowed down her race extensively.

She was something that could fight Servants equally. A boon in this situation, and a welcomed one at that.

Next I looked at the other two B-Team members, the American and the Frenchman. A stroke of luck that we had someone who\'s nationality aligned with the Singularity. It may make getting information from the natives easier if someone they recognized as \'one of their own\' approaches them.

"Samuel, Pierre, and myself will be appearing as well at that time." I stated the obvious just to clarify any details. "Once we establish a foothold, we will focus then on securing a Leyline to begin the Servant summoning."

"Uh, Director." Samuel raised his hand.

"What?"

"When you say Servant summoning, do you mean a fresh summoning, or summoning the Servants we already have here?"

"That\'s –" I stopped myself because it wasn\'t as stupid a question as I almost blurted out. "The conditions for summoning become favorable during a Singularity, however, we also have limited power reserves focused on the return Rayshift. Due to this, we will only be summoning the Servants already present within Chaldea to minimize the strains on our systems."

"You want all of us there at the same time, missy?" Caster leaned against his acquired Red Spear.

I felt my face twitch at his way of calling me. "Saber will be summoned first in the miniscule chance that an issue occurs and the next summoning fails." I eyed the former enemy of ours that stood silently near Ritsuka Fujimaru.

She was oddly cooperative after her summoning despite trying her best to kill us. For some reason, the mention of Wilhelm Schweinorg calms her down whenever she gets irritated. Or the opposite when Caster decides to rule her up.

"Makes sense." Caster said nonchalantly. "I\'d be mad if I was a Lancer, but as a Caster, yeah. The little lass over there brings more muscle than me, unfortunately." He commented, making the Saber Servant frown, but I was thankful she was biting her tongue. "That being said, I did teach Farm Boy over here a few things."

"Noted." I replied evenly. And wasn\'t that a surprise to learn that Samuel Washington was talented in the old Druidic Arts? Perhaps that\'s why he was able to summon Caster. He even carried a Mystic Code – a Staff that Caster Cu Chulainn made him from some materials he salvaged from the botany department of the facility. "I read the report. In the case that Caster Cu Chulainn is unable to be summoned, he will take over the role of searching for the nearest Leylines. I take it this will not be an issue?"

"No, Ma\'am." He politely shook his head. There was something to be said for southern manners atleast. "Caster taught me a few things, I can find a Leyline with some effort."

Among other things.

I was almost envious of his tutelage under a Magus from the Age of Gods.

How comical it is, that given enough time, they could have been a proper team that might have had the potential to fill in for A-Team under the right circumstances. Did Wilhelm know this when he was teaching them? I wouldn\'t be surprised; he was keeping a bunch of secrets already.

And he wasn\'t the only one that had access to a Caster from the Age of Gods. "And Caster Medea." I looked at the final Servant that was summoned since we completed the Fuyuki Singularity. "I understand that you were only recently summoned and this is not the ideal circumstances for your deployment."

"That\'s an understatement." The hooded woman scoffed from a bit further back with her arms crossed. "I\'m not like that muscle head over there who thinks hitting things with a stick is Magic."

"Wanna go, Witch?" Caster Cu Chulainn gestured towards her.

"If I wanted to play with Pigs, I would have stayed on Circe\'s island."

"Oh, want some burn cream for that one, Cu?" Da Vinci dipped her head inside at the exact moment.

"Enough." I interrupted them. "If you can\'t put aside your bickering for something as significant as saving the world, then I would rather be a Servant or two down from this operation."

"Ugh, being chided by a girl barely an adult." Medea huffed. "Fine, I\'ll behave." She waved her hand flippantly. "But you\'re right, this isn\'t a very good place for me to \'deploy\' as you said. However, I understand how unorthodox my summoning was and how desperate you all are, so I\'ll bite my tongue for now. I expect to be used better when the situation calls for it."

That was a given.

She wasn\'t a Caster like Cu Chulainn that focused more on fighting. She was the traditional sort that set up a workshop and won her battles through ample preparation. Unfortunately we didn\'t have time for any of that.

And she was barely here for a week at this point and did not mesh well with the others. The only ones she seemed to even have a smidgen of respect for were Da Vinci, as someone who could keep up with her. And surprisingly, Pierre was able to rein her in at times.

A report about how they got into an argument and how she threatened to turn him into materials for research and he didn\'t back down and threatened to blow himself up via Reinforcement just to spite her.

Even so, we\'ve been unlucky with the repertoire of Servants summoned.

For deployment, One Saber and Two Casters....not ideal by any means.

Hopefully there will be Servants within the Singularity open to negotiations like last time.

And it was getting tiring referring to multipleServants as the same Class title, we would have to do something about that in the future.

"If there is nothing else, begin final preparations for Rayshifting." I ordered.

"See you on the other side, Director!" Da Vinci waved before leaving the room. The Other Servants followed after, going to their designated locations to prepare for their own summonings.

I walked up to my personal Coffin.

What an apt term for such a device.

I brushed my hand over the newly noted name tag on it.

Director Olga Marie Animusphere.

Looking around at everyone else semi-stumbling into their devices as we\'ve practiced a few times thus far, I waited until they were safely in place before I pressed the release button to open the hatch on mine and I stepped inside.

I wouldn\'t allow any of them to see my anxiety.

Wilhelm\'s familiar moved back to my arms, even within the confined space, it nestled into me and I felt myself calm down while running a hand through its fur.

[***]

Wilhelm POV

"Do I really have to be tied up!?" Jeanne whined while I carried her over my shoulder.

"Yes."

"Will!!!"

Raikou did a good job.

Very sexy.

"Does it hurt?" Raikou asked, mildly concerned.

"Oh no." Jeanne blinked, her wiggling stopped. "It\'s actually kind of comfortable....."

"I think the Saintess just discovered a kink."

"No!!! That\'s not what I meant!" She went back to struggling.

"Ufufufu." Raikou giggled. "I can teach you later~"

"The patron Saint of Bondage."

"Nehhhh!!!" She wiggled even more.

"Calm down there, Miss Saintess." I pat her butt. "I don\'t want to drop you."

"Do I have to see my mother like this!?"

"You had your chance, now we\'re doing things my way." I informed her.

"What\'s she going to say!?" Jeanne cried out.

"Probably something about not showing your kinks in public. Atleast, I think that\'s what my mom would say in your situation..."

"It\'s not – " Jeann puffed up, but her indignation quickly dissipated. "Hey, Wilhelm....did you really mean what you said? About your mom and mine....was I doing the wrong thing?"

"There\'s no real answer to your question, because it\'s subjective. From your perspective, you did have a logical and thought out reason for not approaching them. From the other side, well, you already know my feelings. I personally think you were in the wrong, but someone else might think that you were doing the right thing." I gave a more objective and honest reply.

"But what if I do more harm? Wouldn\'t it just be even more selfish for me to go through with this? I know my parents cared about me, and I know they must be hurt, but they continued living. I could be changing things..."

"Jeanne." I stopped, putting her down so we could talk face to face. "Humans are selfish creatures."

"...that\'s not true."

"Isn\'t it?" I questioned. "Tell me, why do people give to charity?"

"To help people!"

"Which people?"

"Well...um..."

"Exactly. They\'re donating a pittance to some far off family or people that most likely need the help, but it\'s probably infantile in scope. It\'s because it makes the one doing the donating feel good."

"That\'s a depressing interpretation. Even if they do it for the wrong reasons, they\'re still providing help to people in need..."

"I don\'t deny that." I fully acknowledged her argument. "But that\'s not the point. Humans are selfish. Why was there even a war happening in France that you needed to get involved in? That\'s rhetorical by the way, we both know the answers to that question."

"...is that how you look at everything? Just everyone being selfish? Do you hate humans?"

"I think you\'re misunderstanding something." I booped her nose. "I don\'t hate humans. I actually love humanity. And yes, I think humans are inherently selfish and I don\'t separate myself from that category. I\'m a very selfish person."

"Aren\'t you here, helping right now?" She retorted.

"Because people I care about are here." I countered.

"I don\'t believe you." She frowned. "I\'ve seen the good in people."

"Ah, you\'re misunderstanding me again." I couldn\'t help but poke her again as she was being cute. "I don\'t disagree with that. I think it makes it all the more wonderful when someone performs a genuine act of charity or is good just for the sake of goodness. That\'s why I admire you so much, because you are someone who wholeheartedly is selfless."

"I don\'t think I\'m worth admiring though." She said quietly.

"I know." I felt my expression soften. "That\'s what makes you so beautiful. You don\'t put on airs, you don\'t even see yourself as a Saintess. You would offer up your life if it meant saving a complete stranger on the other side of the world. You\'re the kindest and most compassionate woman I\'ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. The Saintess who willingly called a Devil her friend. And that\'s why I\'m forcing you to go through with this."

Her cheeks turned a faint pink. "What does that have to do with forcing me to meet my mother?"

"Do you remember what I told you when we parted during the war?" I asked softly. "Forget about the rules or consequences. You\'re human, you\'re entitled to your own selfishness. But I know what you\'ll say, because you are the most selfless woman I\'ve ever met. I can\'t imagine a woman like you not wanting to see her mother. I could see the pain in your eyes when you were trying to convince me through your stupid logic. So, like what I told you before, I\'m going to be selfish enough for the both of us."

"You....dummy." She whispered trembling slightly. "I shouldn\'t....it\'s wrong and I\'m already dead. But....I really want to see my mom..."

"And that\'s why I\'m kidnapping you. Your protests are ignored and struggling is futile." I hefted her back up.

"...thank you, Wilhelm." She whispered again. "Can I please walk?"

"Nope."

[***]

"Master, did you need to cast an illusion?"

"Well, I didn\'t want the entire city hounding me for carrying their Saintess around like this. I think there would be a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding? I couldn\'t see why." Jeanne pouted.

"Is that sarcasm?" I blinked. "Raikou, is that allowed for a Saint?"

"I don\'t believe so, Master. Perhaps we should file a complaint with the Church."

"I\'m allowed to be sarcastic!" She whined again with a huff. "And I\'m surprised to see so many faces I recognize around here. Why are so many of my former comrades living here?"

"Why else, you silly girl? They\'re here to protect your family."

"But....why would they..."

"Do you not realize how much you meant to them? Raikou, if she says something about \'not being worth it\' or anything else like that, tighten the ropes."

"Neh!?"

"Will do, Master."

"I swear, you\'re like an idiot savant sometimes."

"Don\'t be mean!" Jeanne puffed up.

I hefted the Saintess off my shoulder and plopped her onto her feet infront of the door and knocked.

"W-wait, give me a moment. I don\'t know what I\'m supposed to say!?" Jeanne started panicking, which was rather cute.

"Don\'t worry, I\'ll help."

"Really?" She looked relieved.

"Yup, trust me." The door opened up, revealing a mature woman that looked nearly identical to Jeanne. "I believe you lost this, Madame." I Pushed Jeanne forward.

"Jeannette!?" Her mother exclaimed.

Once the brief look of betrayal disappeared, Jeanne\'s expression shifted exponentially. She began trembling again, and infront of her mother, that sort of aura of a Saintess dimmed quite a bit. At this particular moment, she was just a little girl again. "Momma." She called out.

"My baby!" Her Mom wailed, grabbing her and not letting go.

I don\'t think she even processed that fact that Jeanne was still tied up.

"You\'re here! What happened? Are you okay? My little Jeannette!"

"Momma, I can\'t –"

"Don\'t worry, Momma is here now!"

"This is sweet." I said quietly as I watched them both.

"You did a good thing, Master." Raikou leaned up to me, sharing the same happy look.

"You think so?"

"Mmm, I have met people in the past who were too caught up in helping others that they forget their own happiness."

"Why are you tied up!?" Jeanne\'s mom eventually blurted out.

"Ooop, that\'s our cue, I believe." I stepped forward, interrupting what was otherwise a heartwarming reuinion. "That would be me, Momma Jeanne." I waved.

She looked at her daughter with her face scrunched, then at me. "Jeannette, I love you but be honest.....are you pregnant?"

"MOM!?"

"Your chest looks fuller....and you come home with a man..."

"It\'s not like that!!"

"Are you sure? It\'s alright, we can have a quick wedding so you don\'t have a child out of wedlock."

"Jeanne, don\'t lie to your mother." I put a hand on her shoulder. "Let\'s just be honest."

"Don\'t you start!" Jeanne tried her best to be intimidating.

"We have a saying back in my country, Momma Jeanne." I cleared my throat. "The Rice has already been cooked."

"Nooo, mom! Don\'t believe him!"

"Regardless, perhaps we should take this inside?" I offered.

"Of course." The Madame smiled warmly. "Come in, come in. I\'m so happy to see my Jeanne, I thought the worst. Your father and siblings will be so happy to hear the news." She prattled on as we followed through the threshold of the door. "We heard that you died and.....it was hard. But that\'s alright, once your father comes back –"

"Momma." Jeanne interrupted her. "Those weren\'t rumors....I did die."

"But....you\'re right here?" Her mom looked confused. "I don\'t understand?"

"I\'m...dead." Jeanne looked down. "I-I....Will, help." She looked to me with pleading eyes.

"Madame, if you would let me explain, I\'m a bit better at this." She didn\'t respond but she looked at me expectantly. "Bear with me, because I\'m going to be talking about things that are secrets. There exists a place, when people die, sort of like Heaven. It\'s know as the Throne of Heroes. When someone famous and heroic passes on, they can end up in this place, and they become something known as a \'Heroic Spirit\'. It\'s possible, under the right circumstances, for a Heroic Spirit to return to Earth."

"...I don\'t understand." She said quietly.

"God tasked her with stopping the Dragon Witch, so he allowed her to return temporarily." I tried again.

There seemed to be some faint understanding there, but still not something she was fully grasping. It was one thing to read the Bible, to hear the stories, but another for their Daughter to tell them to their face that they died and God brought them back to save France.

....then again, that\'s very similar to the reason she gave to ride off into battle.

"You\'re saying that my Jeannette was sent by the Lord because she\'s a hero?" She repeated.

"That\'s close to accurate." I nodded.

".....that means you\'re gone?" She looked at Jeanne.

"I\'m sorry Momma."

The tears then started falling down her cheeks. "My poor Jeannette."

"I know this was a bad idea, I shouldn\'t have come. Will, please take me and leave, I – "

"You weren\'t going to come?" Isabelle\'s eye\'s widened.

"I-I\'m not supposed to interact with you now that I\'m dead." Jeanne whispered. "And now I just opened up old wounds by being selfish and seeing you, and I should have just stayed away, and – "

"Jeannette, my precious daughter." Her mother interrupted her. "The wounds from your passing will never be old. I will carry them with me until my death. This is hard for me, yes, but this is the greatest blessing I\'ve ever been bestowed by the lord other than you and your siblings being born into this world. I\'ve had so many things I\'ve wanted to tell you. I wanted you to know how loved you were, but I never had the chance to tell you. A mother should never have to say goodbye last, Jeannette."

"I\'m so sorry Momma." Jeanne\'s eyes watered.

"Hush, dear. You are forgiven." Her mom gave her another teary hug. "....but why are you tied up."

"She was resisting." I said simply.

Jeanne\'s mom looked at me in amusement. "She\'s not really pregnant, is she?"

"She is not." I replied truthfully.

"A shame."

"Momma!"

"I told you to find a good man early, Jeannette. Why did you take so long to finally bring one home?"

"It\'s not like that!?" Jeanne\'s face flushed. "W-we\'re friends, mom! Just friends."

Seems like I\'m not the only one that likes to tease Jeanne. Even if the reunion was bitter sweet, Jeanne\'s mom was seemingly happy at the return of her daughter.

Overall, I think I made the correct choice.

While the two of them were still going back and forth, I took Raikou and snuck away.

Let them have a little while by themselves, they surely have a lot of things that need to be talked about between them.

In the meantime, I think we should plan our next move.

What did that person say? Something about a strange knight in a city south of us? Might be worth checking out before heading to Orleans.

[***]

A/N

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