"Speaking of which, Laurent-san, just what kind of weird move was that? It was clearly sexual harassment!"
Jeanne, however, turned her face away shyly, secretly glancing down at her own hair.
Does he find it that pretty...?
As for Laurent…
No good, I'm feeling way too hyper.
This black knight had been so nourishing that Laurent now had an uncomfortable excess of energy. He desperately wanted to fight someone—or maybe do something else—to vent this intense excitement.
Absorbing too many negative emotions at once indeed had its drawbacks.
"Laurent-san, what's wrong?" Mash approached curiously. Earlier she'd been teasing him, but now she noticed something strange. Laurent deliberately avoided looking at her odd outfit.
"Nothing, let's hurry up and get out of here."
He really couldn't afford any more stimulation right now. His gaze shifted toward Marie. "By the way, that white-haired guy earlier—he seemed to know you?"
Hearing this, Marie's expression turned slightly troubled, something Laurent saw on her face for the first time.
"He's indeed a rather… persistent man."
Laurent frowned, sensing there was something more.
After a brief pause, Marie finally confessed, "He's the man who executed me when I was alive."
"Then isn't he just a psycho? From the way he spoke earlier, it clearly sounded like he wanted to execute you again."
"Don't worry—my life isn't so easily taken away by others."
At that moment, the distant sound of cannon fire echoed.
Laurent looked over and, thanks to his sharp eyesight, recognized a somewhat familiar figure.
The soldiers there seemed to be bravely fighting against the wyverns as well.
"Let's go help!" Fujimaru decided immediately, charging forward with Mash at his side.
Laurent's expression turned slightly complicated.
He pulled Jeanne aside, "Jeanne, let's leave aside why there are two of you for now—but now there are two Gilles too?"
Jeanne paused when he took her hand, then nodded slowly. "Our history has become distorted, so I was summoned as a Ruler-class Servant to resolve this. Though I'm not entirely sure why all this is happening, we need to figure it out."
Laurent considered carefully. "So, you and I were summoned here as Servants, and so was that Gilles. But on the original timeline, Gilles is still alive—and that one over there is the real Gilles?"
"Yes."
Which meant if he himself had been summoned as a Servant, another him should exist in this world as well. After Jeanne's death, that original him would have been sealed by the Luobishi divine sword, sleeping until he awakened decades later.
If he could find the sleeping Laurent, perhaps he could reclaim his physical body.
Wait—no. Almost forgot: after being killed by the Luobishi Divine Sword, my original body was sealed. Even if I found it now, it'd just be a regular corpse with divinity. Or rather—back then I went up to Heaven and slaughtered all those bird-brained angels, so that corpse of mine might actually be the one that exists now as the so‑called only god.
Thinking this, Laurent let his blood spread across his body, forming a layer of armor.
"Laurent?" Jeanne didn't understand the meaning of his action.
"No matter which Gilles it is, I'd rather he didn't see me. Otherwise I probably won't be able to suppress the urge to explode."
Jeanne wanted to say something, but after a moment's thought, she simply smiled instead.
"Then… could you make a mask for me too? I think it's better if he doesn't see me either."
Laurent glanced at her in surprise—then let out a laugh.
"Look at you… getting better and better at making me happy."
"Hehe."
And so, the two of them put on matching couple masks and joined the battle.
The wyverns were dealt with swiftly. Afterward, they found a place to rest and checked Siegfried's condition. It was a curse. Normally, Laurent should've been able to break it—but without a true physical vessel, his current power was insufficient.
He had already noticed it earlier: his "evil" was conceptual. Even with low power, concepts should override curses effortlessly. But this one… felt like a high‑grade curse requiring significant mana to dispel.
I know how to solve it… but I don't have the juice.
So Laurent said nothing. After their own examinations, the group reached the same conclusion: they needed the help of two Saints.
Siegfried had apparently been summoned long before them—he had already been attacked once by Jeanne Alter, and had only narrowly escaped thanks to aid from Martha, the Servant Laurent had devoured earlier.
"As expected of a Holy Maiden, huh?" Siegfried murmured. "Every one of them keeps their resolve unshaken. Even after going Berserk, their beliefs don't waver. I truly do want to thank her in person."
"I'm sure she helped willingly," Laurent replied. "You were worth saving."
Their side had, at best, four Servants even counting Jeanne. It wasn't enough.
And Jeanne Alter's side clearly had more manpower, making things difficult.
They needed to eliminate a few enemies to make their next moves easier.
Come to think of it, Laurent still had no idea what Mash's Noble Phantasm was capable of.
"Yeah… she must have been prepared for it," Romani said quietly. "Since Jeanne Alter is the Dragon Witch, by the logic of counter‑forces—something akin to the restraints of the world—it's plausible to summon Saints. Speaking of which… can you think of any other Saint‑class Servants?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Marie chimed in to ease the tense atmosphere.
"It's safer to act as a group, but it's more efficient to split up, non? If we don't free Siegfried from the curse, we won't be able to defeat Fafnir."
"That makes sense. Let's split up to search for Saints," Fujimaru agreed. "But as for who goes with whom…"
Their gazes instinctively drifted toward Laurent. Given the group dynamic, Laurent was obviously going to stick with Jeanne.
"What are you all staring at me for?" Laurent deadpanned. "A balanced formation is better. Mash, you specialize in defense—so you go with Jeanne. I'll team up with Marie. That way each group has both attack and defense."
"Eh—?"
Everyone looked at Laurent in shock.
"Laurent-san… r-really?"
Mash's voice trembled with disbelief.
"What do you people take me for…?" Laurent sighed. "Unless you don't want to? If not, I'll stay with Jeanne instead."
"N-no no, this arrangement is definitely the best!"
"Good. Team setup complete. No time to waste—let's head out."
"Ah—right." Fujimaru still seemed a bit dazed by how quickly Laurent decided things.
Meanwhile, Marie watched Laurent with a soft, amused smile.
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