"This is all I know about the situation in France."
The information I got from Jeanne about the state of France... As expected, it was too limited. I considered revealing what I knew, but my knowledge would be too strange.
I needed a reason to go straight to Lyon, where Siegfried should be, or to our final destination, Orleans.
"Lady Jeanne. Do you happen to know if there are any large cities nearby?"
"A large city? Hmm, if we use La Charité as a reference point, there probably aren't any nearby. I've heard rumors that both La Charité and Vaucouleurs have recently fallen. The closest city comparable to those would probably be Lyon."
Lyon. Unexpectedly, thanks to Chen Gong's assist, I now had a reason.
"You asked about the city to gather intelligence, right?"
"That is correct. Moreover, if it's a city populated with people, siege warfare becomes a possibility. A place suitable for a siege would be rich in information. It would be an excellent place to acquire intelligence on the enemy."
"I see. And if it's a large city, the enemy will likely target it, just as they did the others. By heading there, we can naturally confront the enemy and protect the innocent citizens!"
"But looking at the map, it seems to be quite a distance. It might take at least two days to get there."
Chen Gong's strategy was simple yet effective. Leonidas agreed, but Parvati seemed worried about the distance.
"Certainly, we cannot rule out the possibility that it will be too late by the time we arrive. However, at present, we have no other viable targets. Paris, considered the heart of France, is more than twice the distance of Lyon. I believe heading to Lyon is our best course of action."
"What do you think, Sho? Where should we go?"
Mash looked at the map, comparing the distances to other cities, and concluded that Lyon was the best option. Ritsuka asked for my opinion, and I nodded.
"Let's go to Lyon. Conversely, it's highly likely that it's already too late for Paris."
Whether Paris was safe or not didn't matter. In the original story, Paris was never the main stage anyway. It was always other, lesser-known regions that took the spotlight.
Our priority is to rendezvous with Siegfried. And if we head in that direction, we might also be able to meet Elisabeth Bathory, Kiyohime, and Georgios.
Thus, our destination was set for Lyon, and we immediately set off.
We traveled for about three hours, but we didn't encounter any enemies, let alone a village. That was to be expected. How could we possibly cover all of this vast, medieval France?
We decided to take a break and have a meal in a small forest.
I opened the handmade lunch box the four of them had prepared.
It was a magnificent five-tiered lunch box, made by Olga Marie, Ritsuka, Mash, and BB.
Aside from the first tier of rice, they said each of them had prepared one tier.
Just as I was about to open it and eat...
"I'll be right back, just need to take care of some business."
I had to pee. Ritsuka and Mash were looking at me with expectant eyes as I opened the lunch box, but their stares were a bit much, so I decided to relieve myself first.
[Senpai, you're such a mood-killer~]
[What a buzzkill.]
Ah, the feeling of being scorned. It doesn't affect me at all.
So I went deeper into the woods to relieve myself against a tree. As I was doing so, I felt a presence behind me. Thinking it might be a male Servant or a grunt, which could be dangerous, I glanced back to see a blushing Jeanne standing there.
"Why are you here?"
"Oh, well. I came because I had something to tell you in private. Um, it's quite big."
Maybe I should just die.
Jeanne turned her head away, her face bright red, as I hastily put myself back in order.
This is not easy. To think a saint would see me pissing. This is the worst day ever.
"What did you need to follow me out here to tell me?"
To think she had something so important to say that she followed me while I was urinating.
As I walked towards Jeanne, I tripped on something. Glancing down, I saw it was a tree root. I fell forward, and Jeanne tried to catch me.
I collided with her, and my face was buried in her chest. The soft feeling of Jeanne's chest. I quickly pushed myself back and away.
"Sorry! It wasn't on purpose, but I'm sorry!"
I apologized to her sincerely, but for some reason, Jeanne was breathing heavily. She touched her chest, an unreadable expression on her face.
"No, it's alright."
Something about this feels unsettling.
"You asked why I came to see you in private, didn't you?"
"Uh-huh."
"It's nothing else, I just wanted to talk about repaying you for saving me."
Repaying me? True, we did help Jeanne when she was in a pinch. But was it enough to warrant a reward?
"No, we were just doing our job. We didn't expect anything in return."
"No, this is a matter of decency. You all certainly saved my life. And, Kuriyama Sho-sama, you are the representative of Chaldea, are you not?"
"Not exactly the representative, but I am the field leader."
"Yes. I heard it was your decision to help me. Therefore, I must express my gratitude."
She's incredibly polite. A saint is a saint, I guess. In the previous timeline, I had no interaction with Jeanne.
I had never even seen her before her corruption. Though, from what I recall, she seemed to have had a good relationship with Ritsuka back then.
"Honestly, I was deeply moved. The way you stepped forward to help a stranger whose name and face you didn't even know. I think it's wonderful."
"You're giving me too much credit. I wasn't even the one fighting."
Something about this atmosphere feels like it's heading in a weird direction.
"No, not just anyone can make that kind of decision as a Master. You all came to this Singularity from the future, with no idea what the situation was, and you took the lead for the sake of your justice, your beliefs. I think that alone is amazing. Truly, the makings of a hero!"
Seriously, I think this conversation is taking a strange turn. In the original story, Jeanne was never this complimentary.
"Kuriyama-san. I believe you are more than worthy of being my Master. No, rather, I believe it is because it is you that I must form a contract."
"A Servant contract."
So that's what this is about. I'd prefer she contracted with Ritsuka and became a pillar of support for him like before. But the current Ritsuka seems to have no intention of contracting with any Servant other than Mash.
"Of course, before that, I must show my sincerity."
"Sincerity?"
"Yes. My gratitude for saving me. I... received knowledge upon being summoned, so I know about modern times. In modern times, you repay the favor of being saved with your body, right?"
Huh? Wait, something's not right here.
"And I heard that you repay that favor by dedicating both body and mind. That kind of culture is popular in modern times, isn't it?"
It's true that such developments are common in isekai and harem power-fantasy stories, not to mention R-18 works. But it seems Jeanne's understanding of common sense is a little twisted.
"I felt it when we collided earlier. You said you were just an ordinary person, but you have a very solid body."
That's just because I've built up practical muscle from doing manual labor.
"Just now, when you touched my chest, my heart pounded. I understand now. In my previous life, I dedicated this body to the Lord. As a Servant, I now know to whom I must dedicate this new life."
Hey, was she like this with Ritsuka too? If so, the damage he must have felt when she was taken by that bastard would have been immense.
"Kuriyama-sama, do you wish to impregnate me?"
"Wait a minute!"
"I take after my mother and have a body suited for easy childbirth. I'm sure I can bear children well, just like my mother! Please, do not hesitate! Relieving the desires of an excellent male Master is also the role of a Servant!"
Her eyes have already glazed over! This isn't normal! She seemed so close to Ritsuka, was it because she came on this strong? Of course, as far as I know, Ritsuka was a virgin, so their relationship probably wasn't like that!
I felt this with Medusa back in Fuyuki too, but the female Servants in this world are really not in their right minds!
*Thwack!*
Just then, Ritsuka appeared from behind Jeanne and knocked her out with a karate chop to the neck. What the—Ritsuka shouldn't have a buff like I do.
"I had a feeling I should check, and here you were, about to get sexually assaulted."
"No, I wouldn't have lost in terms of strength, so it wouldn't have happened. But it was definitely a difficult situation. More importantly, how did you do that?"
"It's nothing special. I just used a function on the Mystic Code that BB told me about. It momentarily boosts your physical abilities to a Servant's level. You should try it later, Sho. BB recommended Gandr."
Gandr, huh. If I used Gandr on a female Servant, would my stomach get blown open?
His strength had clearly increased, as Ritsuka easily lifted Jeanne over his shoulder and walked away. I need a moment to collect myself. For a second there, I was almost aroused.
Is it because I dreamt of being with them last night? Am I really that sexually frustrated? Should I just masturbate? Is this kind of situation going to keep happening? I'm getting needlessly anxious.