"Who are you?" Frieren shot back.
"Who am I…"
Jeanne stood up and walked over, studying the elf who clung to Shichen's shoulder like a small animal.
No matter how she looked at her, Jeanne was sure of one thing: something about this girl didn't belong in what she knew.
She had never seen Frieren before. None of the people she knew matched her.
Had this elf caused the "change"?
Because the path—things—were no longer the same.
"Frieren, her name is Jeanne. You know that name, right?" Shichen said.
"Jeanne?!" Frieren blurted out. "Saint Jeanne d'Arc?!"
Jeanne's expression stiffened with awkward embarrassment.
"Ah—sorry, sorry, slip of the tongue," Frieren said quickly, then began circling Jeanne with intense scrutiny, nodding like a scholar appraising an artifact. "So it's really that Jeanne… a Heroic Spirit, huh? You do look like a saint. Yeah, yeah—reputation checks out…"
Jeanne shifted uncomfortably under the stare.
"Shichen…" Jeanne hesitated, still frowning. "She is…?"
"She's Frieren. As you can see, an elf." Shichen said calmly. "You should know what that means."
Jeanne was like Est and Betty—she clearly had knowledge beyond this world now. Even if she didn't, "elf" was the kind of concept that existed across countless worlds.
"I know she's an elf," Jeanne said, voice tense. "What I'm asking is… what is her relationship with you?"
"Relationship…"
Shichen tilted his head, looking at the lazy elf draped over him. "What do you think we are?"
"How would I know?" Frieren snapped.
"What? Even now you still don't know?"
"Hmph. Say whatever you want," Frieren rolled her eyes. "Do you really need to put on a show?"
"Fine." Shichen laughed softly and turned back to Jeanne. "As you can see… we're not officially anything, but it's complicated."
"Complicated my ass," Frieren corrected irritably. "If you're going to say it, just say it."
"Alright, alright," Shichen said with an indulgent smile. "You want me to admit you're one of my women—got it."
"Tch. Who asked you to admit anything? You're the one who keeps picking on me."
"Because you're easy to pick on."
"Hmph. Put me down!"
"Why? You're not even wearing shoes," Shichen said, grinning. "Going to compare your height to Jeanne and get humiliated?"
"Go to hell! This isn't outside—this floor is clean."
"Forget it. Be good and let me hold you."
He shifted her from his shoulder into a proper carry—one arm behind her back, the other supporting her. Frieren went still and stared up at him flatly.
"…You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"It's a habit," Shichen said shamelessly. "Your butt's small."
"So it's my fault?"
"Whose else?"
Jeanne watched the two bicker and cling to each other in an easy, intimate rhythm.
She wasn't jealous—more like stunned.
This version of Shichen… she had never seen him like this before.
It really was what he'd said: a restart. A different beginning.
But this "beginning" hadn't started with any of the people Jeanne expected.
"Shichen…" Jeanne's lips curved into a soft smile—relieved, as if a weight had finally lifted. "It's fine. This is… good."
"Yeah?" Shichen blinked. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Jeanne replied gently. "Just… good."
Frieren glanced at Jeanne and sighed. "So you really are a saint. Even your smile feels… clean."
Jeanne chuckled. "You flatter me—but I'm not a saint anymore. I have my own selfishness now."
"I'm not even surprised," Frieren said dryly. "This guy even messes with goddesses."
"You mean Aqua?" Jeanne said, covering a smile. "She's… not exactly the sharpest."
"…Yeah," Frieren admitted. "Are goddesses all like that?"
"Hey, hey, don't talk about Aqua like that," Shichen protested. "She's 'great wisdom disguised as stupidity.'"
Jeanne's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Oh? So you're pretending now? You don't actually think that."
"Jeanne, you can't think that either—you're Jeanne."
"I'm Jeanne," she said simply, "and I'm also a girl."
Frieren muttered, "A saint falling into the mortal world… Shichen, what the hell did you do?"
"I want to know too," Shichen said, half-serious.
Jeanne only smiled. "He didn't do anything special. I just… stayed with him."
"…Stayed with me?" Shichen's brow twitched.
"Nope," Jeanne said, playful and sly. "Not telling. You'll have to find out yourself."
Shichen sighed. "I knew it."
Jeanne turned to Frieren and offered her hand in greeting. "Let's properly meet. I'm Jeanne—just a girl, not a saint."
"Oh. I'm Frieren," Frieren replied.
"Thank you," Jeanne said softly.
"Thank me? For what?" Frieren frowned.
Jeanne only smiled, choosing not to answer.
Frieren immediately leaned toward Shichen and whispered like a tattletale, "This 'saint' feels kind of mischievous."
"I agree," Shichen said. "But it's nice."
"Nice? I don't like it. Feels like I'm going to get bullied—like Irisviel…"
At that moment, Irisviel's sweet voice drifted in: "Ara~ I feel like someone's talking behind my back."
"You heard wrong!" Frieren snapped instantly.
"Is that so?"
"Anyway—ignore that. I'm hungry. When's dinner?"
"We'll cook right away," Sella and Leysritt said, heading to the kitchen.
"Shichen, aren't you coming?" Jeanne asked.
"Me?"
"Yes. I want to taste your cooking," Jeanne said quietly, her eyes full of expectation.
With Jeanne looking at him like that, Shichen couldn't say no.
"Alright," he sighed with a grin. "If you insist, I'll show you what I can do."
Jeanne's smile brightened.
Shichen followed Sella and Leysritt—still holding Frieren, of course.
"Hey! Why are you bringing me?" Frieren struggled.
"Work's easier with two people."
"Don't you already have Sella and Leysritt? Put me down. I want to read my manga."
"Read what manga? Watching me cook is better."
"How is watching you cook better?"
"I can feed you."
"…If you put it that way, then I have no choice."
"You glutton."
They argued all the way out of the living room. Jeanne stayed behind, watching silently.
Maybe she'd arrived "late"… but perhaps it was the right timing.
The atmosphere now was gentler.
…
At dinner, everyone gathered. Jeanne naturally sat beside Shichen, with Frieren on his other side.
"Alright," Shichen raised his cup first—juice, not alcohol. "Let's welcome Jeanne."
"Cheers!"
They clinked cups.
"Eat!"
Frieren immediately started eating without ceremony.
"So Frieren is that kind of girl," Jeanne said, amused.
"I'm older than you," Frieren replied through a mouthful.
"We Heroic Spirits don't judge by appearances," Jeanne said lightly.
Rin couldn't help commenting, "Speaking of appearances… Jeanne, you kind of resemble Artoria and the others."
"That's true," Jeanne agreed. "If we had the same hairstyle, you could call us sisters and no one would doubt it."
"Is it because you're all Heroic Spirits?" Rin asked.
"I don't know," Jeanne said. "We're similar in some ways, but very different in others."
"Like what?"
Jeanne smiled mischievously. "For instance… Lily won't look at my body and immediately project herself onto it the way she did with Artoria."
"..."