"Lord Laurent, we succeeded!" Amid the cheering voices, his name was continuously called out.
"As expected of Lord Laurent—amazing!" The surrounding people couldn't contain their excitement at all.
Laurent himself showed little sign of joy.
His only goal was to resurrect Jeanne; he didn't care about anything else. Even if these people successfully achieved the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Magics, it had absolutely nothing to do with him.
Besides, the current experimental subject was essentially a failure.
She was only eternally fixed within the Einzbern family's territory. The moment she stepped outside, her lifespan would start counting down again.
Moreover, this woman—her so-called eternity was merely endlessly repeating a single day. Her intellectual and mental stagnation prevented any growth.
This so-called immortality was only relative. To put it bluntly, it was a temporal loop—tomorrow would never come.
For this woman, Justeaze, tomorrow didn't exist; she would eternally relive today.
This wasn't immortality at all—it was pure torment.
"Since we succeeded, and since the plan was Lord Laurent's proposal, I suggest the responsibility of protecting this homunculus be given to Lord Laurent."
Some among the crowd were already deciding arrangements.
For them, Justeaze's creation was the first step toward success. Amid excitement, many began to consider the future.
"Yes, all of this is thanks to Lord Laurent's help! It's definitely best if she stays with Lord Laurent!"
"I agree!"
Amid a chorus of praise, Laurent's lips twitched slightly as he glanced at the sleeping woman, then grabbed a blanket nearby.
"Let's get her out first and check her condition."
"Yes!"
As she emerged, Laurent swiftly caught her.
Her figure was soft and warm, white hair cascading toward the ground, body slender yet normal. He wrapped her carefully with the blanket and held her protectively in his arms.
Around them, many curious gazes regarded her purely as an object—a newly created Justeaze.
"Alright, that's enough staring. Prepare some clothing for her. We don't know when she'll wake up, and it's been quite chilly lately. Take precautions."
"Yes! Lord Laurent is so thoughtful—even about a homunculus…"
Laurent didn't respond, gently placing her on a nearby table.
She was merely another homunculus created by these magi, just like many others already populating the castle. This one probably wouldn't be any different—forever burdened with their expectations, working endlessly. Even if granted immortality, it would only be within the Einzbern grounds.
With that thought, he didn't disturb the enthusiasm of the magi any further.
"Prepare a room for her. From the looks of it, she won't awaken anytime soon."
"Speaking of which, Lord Laurent, isn't there a vacant room next to yours? How about placing her there? It'll also be convenient for your research."
"Suit yourselves. And I advise you to continue your own research."
"Yes!"
After Justeaze was settled, Laurent quickly immersed himself once more. Suddenly, a thought struck him.
Humans, after all, were merely aggregates of consciousness and physical bodies. If research went in that direction—along with the Holy Grail mentioned by the system ages ago—what exactly was that? Even though he'd asked many magi, none had a clue.
...
Night fell.
After another day's research, Laurent lay down on his bed, mentally exhausted.
If there was one benefit to becoming The One and Only God, it was that he could finally sleep.
His previous Absolute Evil self couldn't sleep properly at all. Once asleep, his consciousness would be contaminated by negative evil forces. Now, with evil sealed within, he could enjoy genuine rest.
Magi and ordinary humans might as well have been two different species.
Over two hundred years, Laurent had encountered countless magi. Most of them didn't view ordinary people as the same species at all—they were something completely different.
Of course, exceptions existed, but he'd become accustomed to magi and humans existing separately. He'd even witnessed many magi openly using humans as experimental subjects. Compared to that, the Einzberns using homunculi was much more humane.
He no longer felt indignation—just numbness.
It was similar to how those gods once viewed humanity, perhaps. Humans had merely been chess pieces on their board.
As for himself…
He was something far nobler—an absolute, pure-hearted fan of Jeanne d'Arc!
In his eyes, neither humanity nor magi had anything to do with him.
Whether they lived or died, he didn't care.
Closing his eyes, he quickly sank into sleep.
...
Meanwhile, in the room prepared by the magi, Justeaze—who was supposed to be deeply asleep—suddenly opened her eyes.
Her crimson eyes, devoid of any emotion, quietly stared at the ceiling.
Slowly, she turned her head, observing her surroundings and current situation.
Then, she sat up.
She gazed blankly at her own hands.
Her white hair swayed gently with her movements.
She appeared genuinely confused by what was happening.
Understandable. In a sense, she'd just been born.
Yet even so, her gaze instinctively drifted toward the room beside hers—Laurent's room.
She stepped down barefoot from the bed, unconcerned even as the loose nightgown slipped dangerously off her shoulders.
She quietly opened her own door and moved toward Laurent's room, guided purely by instinct.
She gently opened Laurent's door and stepped inside.
Standing beside Laurent's bed, she tilted her head curiously, observing his sleeping figure with confusion. She seemed puzzled as to why simply standing beside this man filled her with a strange sense of comfort.
Her crimson eyes reflected faint curiosity.
But soon, she abandoned any further thinking, quietly approaching Laurent's bedside.
Gently lifting his blanket, she climbed directly onto the bed and embraced Laurent.
It was warm—but even more, it was comforting to be in physical contact with him.
She didn't understand why she felt this way.
Nor did she care to.
She merely embraced him silently, closing her eyes, resting her head gently against Laurent's back.
Perhaps due to centuries of exhaustion, or perhaps because he was truly too drained tonight, Laurent didn't awaken from this intrusion. Instead, he slept even more comfortably than usual, subconsciously feeling the sudden warmth and softness behind him.
Even in sleep, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
---
T/N: CHEATEEEEEEER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also for people who are confujsed why we switched to non japanese honorifics its simple! they arent with fujimaru anymore! see Fujimaru only knows japanese right? and the holy grail feeds info and how to speak every language to servants so with fujimaru they speak japanese yes yes fuc k you
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