"Jeanne, how…?" Lily stared at her, dumbstruck.
How did Jeanne see right through what she was thinking?
Even now, Lily's mind was still stuck on what she'd seen that morning—so vivid it felt like she'd been there herself.
"…" Artoria also fell silent.
Why did Jeanne feel so familiar all of a sudden?
She couldn't help glancing at Jeanne.
"Oh my~" Irisviel met her eyes and smiled.
"…" Artoria immediately looked away again.
It felt like life was about to get even harder.
Artoria glanced at Jeanne again, the corner of her mouth lifting—she'd found an ally.
Jeanne returned the smile, and the two of them shared a wordless understanding. Honestly, teasing the serious, upright Artoria was just… fun.
How had Jeanne ended up like this?
Even Jeanne wasn't sure. She only knew that one day—at some moment—she started enjoying it.
It wasn't that her compassion disappeared. It was simply that the "human" side of her had started taking the lead.
"Lily, you don't need to overthink it," Jeanne said gently. "This will become normal for you."
"Normal? What do you mean?" Lily asked, confused.
"You'll understand later."
"…Okay." Lily nodded obediently. For some reason, she felt like Jeanne was more of an older sister.
"Normal, huh." Rin caught Jeanne's meaning and sighed, looking at Shichen.
So Lily couldn't escape it either.
Shichen really was a hopeless womanizer.
At this rate… maybe Rin couldn't escape either.
Maybe it was already set in stone from the moment he saved her as a child.
"Hm? Rin, why are you staring at me?" Shichen noticed.
"It's nothing." Rin looked away.
"Oh? You're doing the 'riddle person' thing too?"
"What 'riddle person'? You're the awful one, Shichen!"
"Huh?"
After dinner, everyone sat around in the living room and briefly discussed the Holy Grail War.
The final conclusion: don't worry about it.
Rin completely gave up on trying to "perform well" in this Grail War—there was no point. Their side was already bizarre enough, their Servants were abnormal enough, and just having more than half the Masters on one side was enough to steamroll the rest.
She couldn't imagine any Servant capable of taking on four at once—especially when they effectively had five Servants on their side.
This Grail War didn't matter anymore.
After chatting, everyone went back to their rooms. Shichen didn't schedule anything that night—he slept alone.
There was no way Artoria would sleep with him. Just being found out by Lily, and still managing to keep her usual expression, had already taken everything she had.
Shichen lay in bed and didn't fall asleep right away, still daydreaming.
With how Jeanne acted toward him, maybe she'd come knocking tonight?
Unfortunately, he was overthinking it. He waited a long time, but she never came. No one knocked at all.
In the end, he fell asleep alone.
…
The next morning.
When Shichen stepped out of his room, he found Jeanne already up.
"Good morning, Shichen." Jeanne smiled softly—so pure it felt like spring sunlight.
Shichen instantly felt more awake.
A saint in the house is a treasure, he thought.
Of course… everyone was a treasure to him.
"Morning."
He sat beside her and asked, "Up this early because you're not used to things here?"
Jeanne chuckled. "I'm still a spiritual form. I don't actually need sleep."
"Right… I forgot."
"Besides," Jeanne added, "everyone can rely on you to use mana to give them bodies."
"You really do know everything," Shichen muttered.
"You're still doubting me?" Jeanne puffed her cheeks, pretending to be offended.
Shichen just found it adorable.
"I'm not doubting you. Est and Betty are like you too."
"Those two…" Jeanne's eyes brightened. "Now that you mention them, I kind of want to see them again."
"Can I ask something? You don't have to answer." Shichen said.
Jeanne smiled. "That one I can answer."
She continued, "Normally they call me 'Big Sister'… but I'm the second big sister."
"Second big sister…"
"And there's a third big sister too~"
"Third?" Shichen looked at her, confused.
"That's Mio."
"Mio?" Shichen blurted, surprised.
Jeanne smiled sweetly. "The three of us are basically the 'big sisters.' Everyone else is a 'little sister.'"
"Three…"
The last one would be her—the mysterious "she." Shichen already knew who she was.
He couldn't mistake that voice. She was someone he'd once loved deeply.
"Any other questions?" Jeanne asked, taking his right hand and wrapping it warmly in both of hers. "I can answer most of them."
"No. The rest… I've more or less guessed," Shichen said, shaking his head.
"As expected of you. But you are special."
"You know my situation?"
"She and I both know," Jeanne said. "Mio doesn't."
"Why is there such a huge gap between 'third big sister' and you?"
Jeanne pouted, looking genuinely unhappy. "Because she tried to sneak ahead."
"Sneak ahead?"
"Yes! She tried to go first—wait." Jeanne suddenly narrowed her eyes. "If Mio's already here, then you and her… did you already do that?"
"Uh…" Shichen hesitated, then admitted awkwardly, "Yes."
For some reason he felt embarrassed answering her—maybe because she still looked so saintly.
But he knew there was no point hiding it from her.
"Then—don't tell me Mio's pregnant?!" Jeanne's face went serious with panic.
"..." Shichen went silent.
Jeanne's expression immediately darkened. "So she is pregnant! Ugh! She cheated! She totally cheated! How is she always like this? Even without memories, she's still like this—what is she doing?! And she didn't stop it?!"
That voice didn't echo in Shichen's head this time—it rang out in the living room.
Jeanne could hear it too.
"You're back to normal?" Jeanne asked in delight.
"It's fate."
"It's all for the future."
"I think it's good," Jeanne said. "At least my life isn't the same anymore."
"Hey—are you two just going to pretend I'm not here?" Shichen finally interrupted.
He really couldn't stand Jeanne chatting with her like he wasn't in the room—especially when they were talking about things he did understand.
The voice replied coldly.
"…Never mind, I'll stay. I won't interrupt. You two carry on."
Jeanne chuckled. "He really listens to you."
"So he already guessed who you are?"
"True. Our man really is something."
"It's not so bad," Jeanne said warmly. "Everyone went from strangers to sisters, all together."
"But you still accepted it."
Jeanne smiled. "So when do we get to meet again?"
"I'll be very proactive."
"Yes, ma'am…"
"Okay."
And just like that, she disappeared again—she'd only shown up to catch up with Jeanne.
No wonder Jeanne and "she" got along. Big Sister and Second Big Sister, indeed.
Shichen let out a long breath. For some reason, facing "her" always made him feel like he had no ground to stand on.
"You're still that scared of her," Jeanne laughed.
"Scared? Me?"
"Whipped," Jeanne teased.
"..."
"If you want to see her sooner, then hurry up and finish things here."
"Alright. I'll end the Holy Grail War quickly," Shichen nodded.
"Mm. Not necessarily right this second, though." Jeanne released his hand and opened her arms toward him.
In her sleep dress, her curves were soft and striking.
"Jeanne?" Shichen blinked.
"This is my specialty," Jeanne said seriously. "A good-morning hug. Every morning."
"A good-morning hug?"
"Stop stalling. Are you hugging me or not?" Jeanne urged.
Shichen couldn't find a reason to refuse.
He reached out and slowly wrapped his arms around her.
Her scent filled his chest.
~~~
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