Brilliant golden motes drifted through the air.
A blonde girl knelt devoutly before a window, quietly receiving power from the Throne of Heroes.
"Physical compatibility—confirmed."
A flat, mechanical voice echoed in her ears as holy power poured into her slender body.
"Saint Graph compatibility—confirmed."
A gaze descended from the Throne of Heroes. The attention of the Root brushed past her, sending a tremor through her entire being.
"Bloodline compatibility—confirmed."
Resonance surged from deep within her blood, rippling through every inch of her body as though each muscle were rejoicing.
"Personality compatibility—confirmed."
In an instant, a will from the Throne of Heroes gathered upon her. A vast existence beyond the world replaced her thoughts, seizing control of the frail yet powerful body.
"Mana compatibility—confirmed."
Mana from the Root flooded in, rapidly constructing intricate pathways within her. Supported jointly by the Counter Force and the Throne of Heroes, the foundation for the Ruler's descent into the world was completed.
With the vessel's consent, Jeanne d'Arc took control. She breathed in the night air, and her radiant golden eyes slowly opened.
"So this… is the modern world."
A trace of complexity colored her voice. She glanced at the classmate sleeping soundly on the bed, then calmly gathered clothing and travel necessities, already planning her route to the Holy Grail War's battlefield—Romania, Trifas.
She did not notice the rooftop outside the window.
On the top floor of the neighboring dormitory, a pitch-black drone hovered in silence.
It was small, its body wrapped in matte-black coating, driven by a specialized silent engine. Though its construction employed magecraft, the device emitted no magical fluctuations whatsoever.
That was precisely why it evaded Jeanne d'Arc's perception.
Even with EX-rank Magic Resistance, even with her ability to sense magical disturbances, the drone remained undetected.
But Jeanne d'Arc possessed Revelation—an ability bordering on cheating.
So why had she failed to notice it?
The reason no longer mattered.
A message had already reached Rhodes.
—Servant·Ruler has manifested.
◇◇◇
Days passed. As the Holy Grail War drew closer, tension within Trifas thickened. Fewer pedestrians walked the streets, and the city itself carried a muted sense of pressure.
"You're asking how I slipped past Revelation?" Rhodes said lazily. "Simple. Just a trivial trick."
Inside the Yggdmillennia castle, Rhodes sprawled across a sofa, his head buried between Tamamo-no-Mae's thighs as he enjoyed her lap pillow. He shifted now and then, shamelessly decadent.
"According to your intelligence," Tamamo-no-Mae said, reclining against the sofa, "Jeanne d'Arc, the saint of the Roman Church, possesses Revelation. Why didn't she notice your surveillance?"
As Rhodes squirmed, a faint blush crept across her face.
"I added a delay to the data transmission." Rhodes lifted his head briefly, inhaled the castle's stale air, then flopped back down, his words muffled. "Revelation might be troublesome, but its limit is probably just letting her sense that someone is watching."
"If that's the case, then I—hey, don't bite!" Tamamo-no-Mae protested, her face burning red. She abruptly flipped Rhodes off her lap with a sharp motion.
Two neat bite marks were visible on her smooth, pale skin.
"Sorry. Tamamo just smells too good." Rhodes laughed lightly, all pretense of guilt clearly insincere. "When the drone found Jeanne, it only stored the footage as raw data. No one observed her directly, so it doesn't count as spying."
"But now that I've actually viewed the Saint Graph manifestation footage, she'll probably feel the gaze. Still, the time gap is enough to throw off her judgment."
"So that's how it works… To think modern weapons could be used like this." Tamamo-no-Mae murmured in surprise as Rhodes made to flop back onto her lap again.
Compared to the castle's ancient decay, the gentle fragrance surrounding Tamamo-no-Mae was intoxicating. For Rhodes, it was pure indulgence.
"But why go this far?" she asked. "Why investigate the exact moment Saint Jeanne completed her descent?"
A playful smile curved Rhodes' lips.
"Because I wanted to see if I could get Jeanne pregnant."
Bang!
A dull impact shook the workshop. Tamamo-no-Mae's fist smashed straight through the magecraft-reinforced wall. She turned to Rhodes with a dark, dangerously sweet smile.
"Could you explain that again? I didn't quite catch it."
"Tch. If I explain any further, your 'Marriage Fraud Execution Cannon' will probably finish charging." Rhodes clicked his tongue. "I plan to use the vessel—the girl called Laeticia."
"Oh?" Tamamo-no-Mae frowned, already grasping the outline of his scheme.
"Don't pretend you don't know. I'll go after Laeticia's family and classmates." Rhodes spoke casually, his smile indifferent. "With the werewolf units I planted in France ahead of time, kidnapping a few ordinary people will be easy."
"That's despicable." Tamamo-no-Mae looked at him with clear displeasure. "I prefer an upright Master."
"I know." Rhodes smiled faintly. "And I'll still do it."
"Despicable. Insidious. Ruthless. Call it what you like. This is how I wage war."
"You understand, don't you, Tamamo?"
"Yes." She nodded gently, letting out a quiet sigh. "No matter how terrible you are, you're still my Master."
"And my only lover."