Does a Doll Deserve to Live a Happy Life? (Patreon)

Chapter 56: The Other Jeanne

A silence stretched over everyone after I offered my half-hearted apologies. The others were still looking at me with blushes on their faces. Mash couldn’t even meet my eyes properly, fidgeting with her fingers in the cutest way.

“It’s about time, honestly,” Scáthach said, breaking the silence. She crossed her arms and gave me a proud nod. “I was starting to grow impatient waiting for you to finally take me into your bed. I’ll be waiting for my turn next.”

She said it so bluntly, without even a hint of shame.

Her honesty made Mash and Artoria stare at her in shock. Mash squeaked and covered her eyes in embarrassment, while Artoria scowled at Scáthach, her own face already turning red.

“Lancer! Have some shame!” Artoria reprimanded her, using the class names we had agreed to go by while we were in a Singularity.

“What’s there to be ashamed about?” Scáthach asked calmly, raising an elegant eyebrow as she popped one hip to the side and rested a hand on her waist. “I’m Sieg’s woman. It’s only natural that I would want to be intimate with him. Aren’t you the same?”

It was a critical hit. Artoria turned beet red and started sputtering denials, shooting me small, panicked glances every few seconds.

“O-Of course not! I would ask you not to say such scandalous things! N-Not that I wouldn’t mind being with Sieg—I-I mean…”

“I’m next after Lancer~” Kiara chirped, wearing a faintly lewd smile as she winked at me.

“Fran next,” Fran added in her usual calm tone, though there was a hint of curiosity in her expression.

“Hey! Don’t go getting ahead in line, Berserker!” Astolfo declared, pouting as he crossed his arms. “I’ve known Master the longest, so if anyone should be next, it should be me.”

“Tsk. This is getting ridiculous,” Alter muttered with a small huff. Contrary to her words, though, she was watching me from the corner of her eye with an intense, unblinking gaze.

Poor Mash, the only one who hadn’t spoken yet, clearly felt pressured by the others. She started mumbling under her breath.

“I-I-It’s too soon for me and Senpai… Maybe in the future…” she muttered, swirls in her eyes and her face bright red, looking like she was on the verge of passing out.

Just as I was about to step in and steer the conversation toward safer topics, my communicator lit up. A flushed and very angry Olga appeared on the screen.

“Sieg! We will be having words when you return to Chaldea about the proper time and place for doing such d-depraved things!” she exclaimed, frowning hard.

“…Yes, Director,” I said with a small sigh.

Instead of pacifying her like I had hoped, those two words only seemed to make her angrier. She started glaring at me.

“Huhuhu, silly Sieg-kun~” Da Vinci’s teasing voice suddenly drifted in from behind Olga. She giggled, clearly amused. “Can’t you see that our dear Director is just really jealous that someone else took your virginity?”

Olga froze for a moment. Then her face exploded into a deep blush. She started sputtering nonsense until a single name finally escaped her lips.

“Da-Vinci!”

Right after yelling her name, their faces disappeared from the screen. The sounds of things breaking, more giggling, and angry yelling followed immediately after.

I could only blink at the situation before Romani suddenly appeared, wearing a sheepish look.

“Ahem. What the Director was trying to get at is that you should try to summon a Servant,” he said in an encouraging tone.

“There are still several positions that aren’t covered, like Assassin and Archer, so please do your best, Sieg-kun.”

Happy to finally be out of that awkward situation, I agreed immediately.

“Will do, Romani.” I gave him a thumbs-up, then turned to Mash. She perked up the moment my gaze fell on her. “Mash, do your thing.”

Her blush had mostly faded. She nodded quickly and began setting up the summoning ritual while the others stepped back so they wouldn’t interfere.

“It’s ready, Senpai!”

“Remember, Sieg-kun—try to go for an Assassin or an Archer,” Romani encouraged.

‘How the hell am I supposed to do that?’ I thought, a sweat drop forming at my temple.

Nevertheless, I stepped forward and let the ritual take hold. I felt my magic being drained. A moment later, I blinked as even more magic was pulled from me, and the magic circle grew even larger.

When the light receded, I immediately understood why. Instead of one Servant, I had somehow summoned two at the same time.

‘Is that even possible?’ I thought, incredulous.

My gaze fell first on the woman to the right. She had long green hair, jade-green eyes, and a curvy, well-endowed figure. She wore modern garments, leather trousers and a black-and-white jacket decorated with quite a bit of gold.

She stood with one hand on her hip, looking at me with a slightly arrogant smirk that seemed born more from habit than anything else. The most important thing, though, was the faint response from my Campione blood. That meant she was related to a deity.

‘Are those symbols… Egyptian?’ I wondered.

When my gaze shifted to the left, the same feeling hit me even stronger. Standing there was a beautiful young woman with lavender hair, violet eyes, and pointed ears that made her look like an elf or fae. She wore a dress that practically screamed princess, and her demeanor was soft and composed as she stared back at me.

‘Yeah. This girl definitely fits the naïve princess vibe to a T,’ I thought.

Apparently tired of remaining silent, the green-haired woman spoke first.

“Hah. Did you think I would appear from within a rolled-up carpet? …Well, perhaps I considered it, but I rejected the idea since this is our first meeting.” Her tone was haughty as she flicked her long hair back with one hand.

“I am the last Pharaoh, Cleopatra VII Philopator. Master, could you please refrain from holding your head higher than the sun?” she finished, leveling me with an intense look.

I didn’t back down and met her gaze evenly. That seemed to earn me a small measure of approval, judging by the slight upturn of her lips.

I then turned to the young woman beside her. Seeing her opportunity, she spoke next.

“I’m Medea, a Caster-class Servant. I look forward to working with you,” she said demurely, offering a small smile as she bowed her head a little.

I smiled back at her, then coughed lightly into my hand. It was my turn to introduce myself.

“Hello, Caster. Assassin. My name is Sieg, a member of the Chaldea Security Organization. I could really use both of your help. You see…”

I then went on to explain our situation, with the others chiming in here and there as they rejoined us and helped outline our goal.

“…Hmm. A noble goal indeed. On top of that, you’re also giving us the chance to return to flesh once more.” Cleopatra looked impressed, then offered me a sultry smile.

“There’s no chance I wouldn’t accept! I can clearly see that you have the kind of passion I’m looking for, Sieg. I look forward to discovering more of your character.” She nodded firmly, grabbing her hips and puffing out her already impressive chest.

“U-Umm… I’m not very good at fighting, but if there’s anything I can do, even a little, then please let me help as well,” Medea said, her voice reserved but with a spark of determination in her eyes.

“Thank you both.” I smiled at them, then let my Shroud manifest behind me. I had already explained its purpose and necessity to the two of them, and they were watching the golden tendrils with open curiosity.

A moment later I wrapped them both in the Shroud. I felt the connection form, then willed it away. Cleopatra and Medea both gasped in surprise at the sudden surge of strength.

Wanting to do a little more for Medea, since she still lacked confidence, I pulled up my HUD and bought a Template—along with its upgrade—of Medea’s older self. I didn’t know much about the older Medea, but I did know she was a formidable Caster.

Closing the HUD, I smiled, satisfied. I decided to keep it as a surprise and let her discover it on her own.

“Well, with that out of the way, we should really be making our way to La Charité,” I suggested, drawing everyone’s attention back to me.

“Good idea, Sieg. I was about to suggest the same. There’s no telling what my evil counterpart might do,” Jeanne added with a smile and a nod. She was no longer lost in her own little world.

“Yahoo! Let’s go, Master~”

I was suddenly yanked by the arm as Astolfo pulled me onto the back of his griffin. I wrapped my arms around his waist to keep steady.

Looking behind us, I saw the others shooting dirty glares at Astolfo before quickly taking to the air themselves thanks to their Shrouds. Kiara, thankfully, gave Medea and Cleopatra a quick lesson on how to fly as well.

=====

On the Sky

Riding with Astolfo on the back of the griffin he had summoned, I leaned in a little closer. I wanted to ask why he had pulled this little stunt.

The others were flying behind us. Mash, Kiara, and Artoria were doing their due diligence, filling our new companions in on any details we had missed and answering their questions.

“Any particular reason you wanted to separate me from the others, Rider?” I asked just over his ear so I wouldn’t have to shout this high up.

Astolfo began pouting in that cute way of his, then turned toward me and poked my cheek.

“I was a little jealous, okay?” he huffed, his pout growing. “You’ve been getting close to that fox woman and the others, and then even that Saint returns and you pay special attention to her. Don’t I deserve some attention too?” he demanded, still looking adorably upset.

I blinked at the answer. An awkward feeling settled in my chest. The feelings from my first life as Sieg were warring with those of my second life, leaving my head quite confused. In my first life I had cared—and still did—a great deal for Astolfo, second only to Jeanne. Back then, I wouldn’t have minded starting a relationship with him.

That was where the problem came in. While I still cared deeply about the bubbly Servant who had once saved my life, my current self—a combination of both past lives—simply wasn’t attracted to the same gender, no matter how beautiful Astolfo was.

Internally, I shook my head and chastised myself for even having these thoughts right now. Astolfo was clearly waiting for a response.

With a hint of hesitation on my face, I leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. The gesture took him by surprise and turned his face a deep shade of pink that matched his hair.

“I do care about you a great deal, Astolfo,” I murmured, using his real name as I gathered my thoughts. “Just because I spend time with the others, or seem close to them, doesn’t mean I don’t want to do the same with you.”

Astolfo blinked at my answer. Seeing that he wanted to speak, I gently covered his lips with a finger. I wasn’t finished yet.

“Please let me finish,” I asked softly. He gave a small nod.

“Like I said, I care about you a great deal. But the one thing holding me back is the sad fact that I’m not attracted romantically to the same gender,” I revealed as gently as I could, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

“I’ve thought it over a lot since we reunited, and no matter what I try, I just can’t force myself to feel comfortable showing you the same kind of affection I show the others.” I finished with a small sigh, looking down. I didn’t want to see the sad look on his face.

Astolfo stayed silent for a moment. Then he responded with words that shocked me.

“Oh, is that all?” he said casually, visible relief in his voice.

Looking back up at him, I saw him give me a cute wink and a grin. “Huhuhu, surprised? I don’t remember if I told you before, but gender doesn’t really matter much to me. If I like someone, I just go for it. That’s that.” He shrugged calmly, his expression never dropping.

“The reason I stopped pursuing you before was that you clearly weren’t looking for a polygamous relationship, so I took a step back. Now that isn’t the case anymore, though. I won’t back down!” he declared passionately, determination shining in his eyes.

“If all it takes for me to be with you is for me to turn into a girl, then so be it.” Astolfo said it with such casual acceptance that it surprised me. Then he started smiling teasingly. “Huhuhu, it also comes with the benefit that I’ll now be able to wear whatever cute clothes I want and show them off to you~”

He leaned in and returned my earlier affection, kissing the corner of my lips before pulling back with a happy smile.

“So just wait a bit longer, Master~ I already had a feeling this would happen, so I’ve been talking to Da Vinci-chan about fixing it.” He gave me a thumbs-up.

I blinked at his declaration and stood stunned for several more seconds. Then a smile slowly lit up my face as I shook my head.

“I should have known you would react like this.”

“Yep~”

“Hah. Very well. If that’s the case, then I’ll look for something on my side as well. Maybe there’s something in my System that can help,” I said, wanting to be supportive now that I no longer had a reason to hesitate, especially given how far he was willing to go.

“Thanks~”

With the mood between us brighter now, our journey continued for several more minutes. Eventually we reached our destination, and our smiles faded at what we found waiting for us.

=====

La Charite

A burning city in ruins.

That was what awaited us as we landed at what had once been the entrance to the city.

Worse still was the fact that there was no one left alive. Whoever was responsible had killed them all, and their corpses weren’t even allowed the decency of rest. They had been brought back as undead.

Jeanne was deeply saddened by the sight. We quickly made short work of the undead, finishing them off as painlessly as possible, before we were faced with wyverns once again.

With everyone working together—and with the two new additions to the crew, Cleopatra and Medea—the wyverns didn’t stand a chance. Cleopatra burned everything to ashes with her snake familiar, while Medea buffed the rest of us with her magecraft.

As we started to relax, I offered Jeanne a comforting hug for what her evil counterpart had done to the people of her country. That brief moment of calm didn’t last. Olga suddenly contacted us, her voice urgent as she informed us that enemy Servants were incoming.

A moment later we all sensed them approaching. We prepared to confront them, knowing we at least had the numbers on our side.

Within moments, our enemies made themselves known, and I grew even tenser as I beheld a familiar face.

Vlad III, also known as the Lord Impaler or Count Dracula. A monstrously powerful Servant if he ever gave in to his true nature and used his Noble Phantasm to full effect. In my first life, he had been the leader of the Black Faction which I had been a part of. Sort of.

‘This Singularity sure has a lot of familiar faces,’ I thought.

Next was Carmilla, another vampire, an alternate version of Elizabeth Báthory, who should also be in this Singularity.

After her came Saint Martha, a Dragon Rider. Despite her beautiful and delicate appearance, she was incredibly strong, having wrestled the Evil Dragon Tarasque barehanded and won.

Second to last was Chevalier d’Éon, an androgynous-looking Servant whose gender was impossible to tell from appearance alone. In that way, they shared a similarity with Astolfo.

And finally, trailing in the back, was the identical doppelgänger of my Jeanne. The only differences were the cruel expression on her face, her beautiful armor dyed black, her hair bleached to a more silver color than blonde, and her eyes turned a harsh gold.

This was Jeanne d’Arc Alter, a creation of Gilles de Rais, formed from the Grail after he witnessed the original Jeanne being burned alive at the stake.

The woman immediately zeroed in on Jeanne and tilted her head in confusion.

“…What on earth? Who knew… Who knew such a thing could happen?” Jeanne Alter muttered with a frown. Then her gaze naturally turned to me, since I was standing right beside Jeanne.

Her eyes traveled over my face, and then she suddenly froze. A blush spread across her entire face as she started stuttering nonsense, slowly raising a hand and pointing at me accusingly.

“W-Wha? Y-You!? You’re actually r-real? W-What are you doing here, you pervert!?” Jeanne Alter exclaimed in extreme embarrassment.

The entire battlefield turned awkward as everyone shot us confused looks.

‘…What the hell is she talking about?’ I thought in complete puzzlement, having no idea what she meant.