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

Chapter 57: Legend to Prove

I blinked in confusion as Jalter, as I would be calling her in my head from now on, glared at me with an admittedly cute expression. Her face was flushed, her eyes sharp, and one arm was covering her chest as if she were shielding herself from my gaze.

Judging by that look, she definitely recognized me somehow, despite this being our first meeting. That made me curious.

I knew Jalter had been created from my Jeanne’s cannibalized Saint Graph with the use of the Grail, which was why she had been so weakened when she was summoned into this timeline.

Then I had come along and made Jeanne whole again with the Company’s ridiculous powers. From what I had learned so far, they never did things halfway.

‘Which means if Jalter had a part of Jeanne, then when I bound the latter and made her whole, it somehow affected Jalter as well… either creating some kind of resonance or something similar,’ I deduced silently. Slowly, the true meaning of her reaction dawned on me.

A small blush rose to my own cheeks as I finally understood why she was acting so flustered and embarrassed at my mere presence.

‘Crap. She totally saw me have sex with Jeanne, huh?’ I thought, mortified, as the scene played out in my mind. ‘No wonder she’s looking at me like that. Jeanne was pretty wild during our first time together.’

I let my eyes wander to the girl in question. Jeanne still looked confused by her counterpart’s behavior, clearly not having realized why she was reacting that way.

‘Better stay quiet, then,’ I decided.

During my mental deliberation, the others hadn’t been idle. The girls behind me—and Astolfo—were looking between me and Jalter with open curiosity. Jalter’s minions were the same, with Carmilla and Martha seeming the most curious as they turned to their leader with questioning looks.

“…Umm, Senpai? Why does that dark version of Jeanne-san seem to know you? Do you know her?” my cute junior asked after a moment, probably trying to break the strange silence that had settled over everyone.

Grateful for the interruption, I turned to her. I idly noticed that everyone now had their eyes on me, then shook my head.

“No. This is my first time meeting her,” I answered calmly.

My companions immediately turned to look at Jalter, their expressions questioning. That only made the girl flush even more.

Surprisingly, she also looked somewhat offended that I had said I didn’t know her.

“Grr—what sort of spell did you cast on me, you fiend!?” Jalter exclaimed in anger, still covering her chest with one hand. “I had to suffer for hours, e-experiencing and w-watching all those perverted visions!” she accused.

‘So she saw and experienced the whole thing, huh?’ I thought, a cold sweat running down my back as I once again received suspicious looks from the others.

“Are you sure you don’t know her, Senpai?” Mash asked again, this time more skeptically. A small blush dusted her cheeks at Jalter’s words.

“Of course not!” I denied immediately, shaking my head and ignoring Jalter’s cute growl at the denial. “Please remember that we’ve only been here for a day, Mash,” I added, hoping to draw some of the attention away from myself.

“Yeah. I bet she’s just crazy,” Tamamo declared, backing me up as she shot Jalter a glare.

“Besides, I can personally attest that Sieg-kun hasn’t met this woman or cast any spell on her. I would know, after all. I haven’t left his side since we arrived.” She finished with a proud, slightly lewd expression, her eyes going unfocused for a moment, no doubt thinking about our activities the night before.

At her words, any lingering suspicion toward me vanished instantly. Mash squeaked cutely and looked away, her face turning red at the reminder.

“N-Never mind that!” Jeanne suddenly jumped in, her own face flushed as she clearly tried to steer the conversation elsewhere. She focused on her counterpart.

“You… Who are you?” she asked, her expression turning serious.

That reminded me that I had forgotten to mention a few important details about this Singularity. With everything that had happened, it had simply slipped my mind.

Jalter threw me another cute glare before focusing on her counterpart and huffing.

“I could ask the same of you… Right. As the leader, let me answer that.”

“I am Jeanne d’Arc. The saint devoted to France… the other me,” Jalter declared with a smirk, shocking our Jeanne.

“What? That’s nonsense. You are no saint. Just as I am no saint,” Jeanne said, shaking her head. “But that is already a thing of the past. More importantly, why did you attack this town?” she demanded, sadness creeping into her voice.

“…Why, you ask? As the same Jeanne d’Arc, I thought you would understand.” Jalter muttered with a small scoff. “Are you stupid now that your alignment has changed? The reason I attacked this city?”

“What a foolish question. It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Suddenly, Jalter’s expression warped into something deranged. “It is for the sole purpose of destroying France. I am, after all, a Servant.”

“Politically, economically—those methods take too long. Is it not better to simply crush everything physically?” she finished in a sadistic tone.

“Such foolishness!” Jeanne declared righteously.

“Such foolishness? The foolish ones are us, Jeanne d’Arc,” Jalter said more calmly, her expression shifting again.

“Why did you want to save this country? Why did you want to bring salvation to these people? All the while knowing that they are the ones who spat on us and betrayed us!” Her anger rose with every word, until she all but yelled the last of it for everyone to hear.

“That is…” Jeanne muttered, unsure how to respond.

“I will be fooled no longer. I will be betrayed no longer. I no longer hear the voice of the Lord. The fact that I cannot hear His voice means the Lord no longer blesses this country. So I will destroy it, in accordance with the Lord’s grief. I will cut away all the bad seeds at the roots,” Jalter explained in a blank tone.

Seeing that things were heating up, especially as the Servants behind Jalter looked ready to attack, I figured it was best to share what I knew.

“Teacher, please listen carefully,” I relayed to Scáthach privately through Conjunction. I felt her perk up immediately.

“As soon as the battle starts, I want you to take care of the enemy Lancer. Go all out from the start. He’s extremely dangerous, especially if he gives in to his vampiric nature,” I instructed, my tone serious.

“A vampire, huh? It’s been a while since I’ve hunted one.” Scáthach’s reply carried a hint of bloodlust. She was clearly looking forward to the fight.

“Artoria, it’s Sieg. Please listen to what I have to say,” I said next, immediately feeling her focus on our connection.

“Of course, Sieg. You are acting as the Master in this situation, so please don’t be afraid to use me as your sword,” Artoria responded calmly.

“Will do. Anyway, as soon as the battle starts, please focus on Jeanne’s dark counterpart. With Avalon, you should have no problem dealing with her despite her enhancements from the Grail. Her Dragon Witch skill should have no effect on you thanks to my protections,” I explained as quickly as I could, seeing the situation intensify.

“Very well. I won’t fail you,” Artoria promised, her voice serious.

“Astolfo, Fran, Cleopatra. It’s Sieg. I’m speaking to you through our bond. Listen closely,” I continued.

“Mm. Master. Yes?” Fran responded immediately.

I noticed, happily, that her speech was improving every time we talked. Soon she would be speaking as naturally as everyone else.

“Hoh? What an interesting ability you have, Master~” Cleopatra purred, clearly intrigued.

“Huhuhu, this sensation is amazing, Master~” Astolfo declared happily. Being Astolfo, of course, he focused on the new ability first.

“I want you three to handle Carmilla, the silver-haired woman. Be careful. She has abilities similar to a vampire, but she shouldn’t be too much for the three of you. If you finish her off, please support any of the others that might need it.” I instructed, passing along everything I knew about her.

“Okay,” Fran said simply. From the corner of my eye, I saw her give me a cute thumbs-up.

“A beast, then? Fufufu. This will be the perfect opportunity for my beloved serpent to make its appearance. Please watch, Master~ You are about to be dazzled by the abilities of the Last Pharaoh,” Cleopatra declared grandly, a hint of arrogance in her tone.

“Yosh! Normally I wouldn’t be so confident, but since I have such strong companions, I’ll try my best too~” Astolfo said cheerfully, clearly happy about not having to fight alone.

“You are stronger than you think, Astolfo. I’m counting on you,” I muttered sincerely, making sure only he could hear it. I immediately felt the mix of embarrassment and joy coming from him.

“Jeez… if you believe in me that much, then I best not let you down, Master~” Astolfo replied, his voice more sincere this time, and full of happiness.

“Alter, it’s Sieg. I need you to do something for me,” I continued, addressing the dark Artoria.

“…Alter?” Artoria’s counterpart asked in confusion at the name I had used for her.

“It’s a nickname I made for you. I figured it would get confusing calling you both the same name when you’re together,” I explained briefly, then smiled as I felt a brief spike of embarrassment and happiness from her. Apparently she accepted it, and liked it.

“I-I see. Ahem. Please continue,” Alter said, sounding a bit embarrassed.

“Your opponent when the battle starts will be their Saber, the fancily dressed knight. I don’t know much about their abilities other than that they’re a bit tricky, so be careful,” I relayed truthfully. I really didn’t know much about d’Éon.

“Another Saber, huh? Very well.” Alter sounded a little curious about the knight, but she quickly gathered herself and responded seriously. I felt her aura flare slightly.

“Tamamo, this is Sieg. Please listen,” I continued with the next group.

“Of course, Darling~ Your Tamamo is always willing to listen to anything you have to say~” she responded immediately, her tone full of love and happiness.

“I want you to take out Saint Martha, the woman in the white robes with purple hair. Be careful. Despite appearances, she’s incredibly strong and can summon a dragon familiar, from what I know,” I relayed.

“Another saint, huh? Fufufu. Leave her to me, Darling~ I’ll show her not to mess with a fox in love!” Tamamo declared with overflowing confidence.

“Mash, Kiara, Medea. This is Sieg speaking. Please listen to what I have to say,” I said at last, focusing on the final group. I left Jeanne out of the conversation so I wouldn’t give away that something was going on, since she was still arguing with her counterpart.

“Yes, Senpai! Servant Mash Kyrielight, ready for action!” Mash, having already experienced this before, responded quickly.

“We’re listening, Sieg,” Kiara said next, her tone relaxed despite the situation.

“Amazing… I can tell this isn’t the normal Servant-Master ability to speak to each other, yet it feels so seamless,” Medea said, sounding impressed. She geeked out for a moment over the Conjunction perk before quickly coming back to her senses. A wave of embarrassment followed.

“A-Apologies, Master. It seems I got too excited about your strange yet wonderful abilities. Please proceed,” she said, her tone embarrassed.

“Hehehe, no worries. Ahem. Anyway, Mash—when the battle begins, please focus most of your attention on protecting Kiara. As our designated healer, her safety is a top priority in case any of us get injured. Kiara, I want you to be ready to heal anyone if something happens. Medea, please stay with them and provide support for anyone you think might need it,” I instructed.

“B-But what about you, Senpai?” Mash exclaimed, immediately noticing that I hadn’t included myself.

“That’s right, Sieg. What are you planning to do?” Kiara asked, sounding a little stern. As a veteran member of our group, she was more used to my antics.

“I will do as you ask, Master, but please tell me you plan to stay with us as well,” Medea said softly, also sounding worried about me.

Before I could answer that I already had an opponent I needed to take care of personally, the reply came from the sky. A roar echoed through the ruined city, grabbing everyone’s attention.

Looking at Jalter’s dark, bloodthirsty smirk, it seemed the time for talking was finally over. She had called her pet.

We turned our attention to the sky. A huge black figure could be seen in the distance, rapidly approaching.

“Dragon!” Jeanne declared in surprise.

Indeed, heading our way was none other than Fafnir, the dragon Siegfried had slain, the very beast that had given him his legend. That was exactly why it had to be me who dealt with that monster.

“Hehehehe… hahahaha! Now rejoice as my pet dragon reduces all of you to ashes!” Jalter exclaimed with a demented laugh.

“And that’s our cue!” I shouted.

In an instant, everyone vanished in a blur.

With a battle cry, Artoria used Mana Burst to clash immediately with a surprised Jalter, who barely had time to raise her sword and block the attack.

The others used the same opportunity to seek out their own opponents, managing to separate them so that each group took their fight some distance away. That left only myself, a surprised Jeanne, Mash, Kiara, and Medea.

“You know your roles,” I said, looking at Mash, Kiara, and Medea. They gave me grim nods. Then I turned to Jeanne, who looked serious but confused. “Jeanne, you and I will deal with Fafnir.”

Her eyes widened. She looked ready to decline, then stopped herself, no doubt remembering my specific abilities. A serious expression settled over her face as she nodded.

“…Alright. Let us be on our way,” Jeanne said, then took to the skies.

I gave the girls behind me one last nod and received one in return, even if their eyes still betrayed their worry. Then I followed Jeanne, heading toward the approaching dragon.

Balmung appeared in my right hand, vibrating as if it could already sense the foe ahead of us.

‘Tough luck, Fafnir. You’re not living past today. It’s about time I prove that I deserve Siegfried’s powers—and what better way than by slaying the same dragon that made his legend?’ I thought, feeling my battle lust spike massively in preparation.