"What kind of weird name is that?"
Jeanne felt a bit offended.
"Jeanne Alter is just a black version of Jeanne. Or rather, an inverted Jeanne. Basically, the complete opposite of you, the White Jeanne—at least in theory."
Takumi glanced at Jeanne and continued.
Jeanne froze.
"So you know who I am?"
"Of course I do. Aside from that, I also know that although you manifested as a Ruler, most of your Spirit Origin was hijacked by Jeanne Alter. You don't even have the basic knowledge a Servant is supposed to have."
"Ugh..."
Jeanne's face instantly flushed red.
Life was hard enough without being called out like that!
Takumi ignored Jeanne's reaction.
"If I'm not mistaken, the current Jeanne Alter has likely already used the power of the Holy Grail to summon a large number of Servants. Among them are powerful Heroic Spirits like Vlad III, Martha, and Atalante."
"Wait! Martha? The Martha I know?"
Jeanne doubted her own ears.
"You heard me right. That Christian saint. The holy woman who subdued the evil dragon."
Takumi ruthlessly shattered the sliver of hope in Jeanne's heart.
Even for someone like Jeanne, a trace of despair began to rise.
If the enemy had a lineup like that, how were the two of them supposed to win?
Rely on her, a Ruler who had just turned into a Servant and had barely any power?
Or rely on Takumi, a brand-new, fresh-out-of-the-oven Master?
"Pretty hopeless, right? The enemy is gathering experts, while we are mostly crippled and fighting alone. If they find an opportunity to take out a few of our potential allies early, we're finished."
"The only thing that could barely be called good news is that Lawful Servants like Martha aren't 'Alter' versions. They've just been granted Madness Enhancement."
"Their will to fight isn't strong. They might even hold back a little when dealing with us."
Takumi spoke with self-deprecating mockery.
Is that how it works?
Jeanne looked at Takumi's profile in shock.
He knew the enemy's situation inside and out. How did he do it?
"But they'll only hold back a little. The Chaotic-attribute Servants will be even more brutal than usual. And the biggest boss isn't even those Servants. It's the one controlled by Jeanne Alter—the Evil Dragon, Fafnir."
"A terrifying dragon kind. Even multiple standard Servants working together wouldn't be a match for it."
"Then what should we do?"
Jeanne's gaze turned serious, and she hurriedly pressed for an answer.
"Siegfried. He has also descended into this Singularity. As long as we find him, we can easily clear this Singularity."
"The famous Dragonslayer?"
Jeanne's eyes lit up.
That's right! If they could find the Dragonslayer, forget Fafnir—he could probably take care of Martha too!
Takumi had actually thought about this for a long time. Why did everyone think the first few Singularities were just appetizers when playing the game?
Because they all completed the main quest smoothly.
What was the main quest of the First Singularity?
The answer: Find Siegfried.
As long as you found the invincible Siegfried, the strategy for the Singularity would be a smooth ride. No one could stand in your way.
"But the problem is, the moment Siegfried descended, he was besieged by Jeanne Alter's forces who were lying in wait. He was beaten into a near-crippled state. We don't know where he's hiding, or if he's even still alive. He might have already faded away."
Having experienced Singularity F, Takumi had realized something. During the five months he spent preparing, Chaldea seemed to be in a special state, frozen in time, not flowing in sync with the Singularities.
That was the only lucky break.
But after clearing Singularity F, that state disappeared.
And as everyone knew, Takumi suffered severe burns after clearing Singularity F. Even with the recovery speed granted by a Servant's power, Takumi still spent a lot of time lying in bed at Chaldea.
Consequently, he missed that crucial window of advantage.
Thinking back on this, the light in Takumi's eyes dimmed significantly.
"You even know that? You're actually really amazing!"
Jeanne wasn't infected by Takumi's gloom. Her blue eyes seemed to shine, her tone filled with unconcealed admiration.
Huh?
Takumi froze. Thinking Jeanne hadn't heard him clearly, he couldn't help but emphasize it again:
"Did you not understand what I said? Siegfried's status is unknown. We are finished! Finished!"
"Then we just go find him. After all, his status is just 'unknown,' not 'confirmed dead.' As long as we try hard to search, we'll definitely find a clue, right?"
Jeanne answered without hesitation.
She truly believed that.
"Maybe I wasn't clear enough. Even if we find him, he is currently cursed. It's the kind of curse where if we ignore him, he will fade away on his own. The curse can only be lifted if two Saints perform a baptism on him!"
Takumi felt like there might be something wrong with Jeanne's head.
Find him? Are you sure Siegfried can last that long?
"I can perform the baptism. What about the remaining one? Martha?"
Jeanne grasped the key point and made a deduction.
"How is that possible? The remaining one is Georgios. He is also in this Singularity."
Takumi was certain now. There was definitely something wrong with Jeanne's head.
Otherwise, why would she think of asking the enemy Martha to help with the baptism?
"You really are amazing! Your thinking is so clear. No wonder you're Humanity's Last Master!"
Jeanne looked at Takumi with even more surprise.
"No, are you joking?"
Takumi didn't understand what Jeanne was saying at all.
"Did I say something wrong? You've already analyzed the entire situation of the Singularity. What we have to do is simple: find Siegfried and Georgios, complete the baptism, and then everything will be fine."
"Isn't that right?"
Jeanne blinked and asked back.
Takumi fell silent.
Perhaps because of various unexpected events, even he had forgotten just how powerful having a "script"—even one that served only as a reference—truly was.
"What's the use of knowing this? Things won't necessarily go according to our plans anyway..."
Takumi turned his head to stare at the flames, his voice unconsciously becoming much quieter.
He also wanted to stand up and say something inspiring, something hot-blooded. That would be cool, right?
But Takumi was afraid.
Afraid to start. Afraid to fail. Afraid of the myriad possible futures. Afraid that his own mistake would lead them down a path of inevitable defeat.
Even at this first step, Takumi had already developed fear.
Jeanne stood up.
Takumi was startled by her sudden movement and instinctively looked up at her.
He saw Jeanne extending her hand toward him.
"Then form a contract with me!"
"You and me. An unqualified Servant and an unqualified Master. The two of us will do everything we can, to the best of our ability."
"I will be with you the whole time, so don't worry—"
Takumi stared blankly at the girl in front of him. Under the firelight, the girl's smile was so dazzling, even brighter than the bonfire beside them.
His body seemed to move on its own. In a daze, he placed his hand on the girl's small, fair hand.
[I want to move forward with her. Even if the destination is failure.]
A red light flashed between their hands.
The contract was formally established.
Jeanne also noticed that her power was significantly stronger than before the contract.
After all, no matter how bad Takumi was, he had obtained a portion of Cú Chulainn's power. It might not add much to a top-tier Servant, but for a half-crippled Servant like Jeanne, it was like hitting the jackpot.
But before she could be happy for two seconds, Jeanne finally noticed the unnatural skin on the other half of Takumi's face, which he had subconsciously hidden.
"Your face...?"
The hot blood that had just surged in Takumi instantly cooled down. He turned his head away, continuing to stare at the firelight, shielding the right side of his face.
"It's nothing. Just a little injury."
Takumi rubbed his palm, which had become smooth but ugly due to the burns, his mood slowly sinking to rock bottom.
Takumi, who occasionally looked in the mirror, knew exactly how ugly his face was now. That was why he intentionally or unintentionally turned his face away, not letting others see the other half.
Of course, Takumi knew he couldn't hide something like this forever. But when the moment actually came, he started to feel anxious again.
Will she think I look ugly? Disgusting...?
The next moment.
A warm, soft little hand covered Takumi's face.
"It must have hurt a lot, right?"
Jeanne looked at the scars on Takumi with heartache, her touch gentle and careful.
The burn scars occupied nearly half of the right side of Takumi's face. The follicles for his eyebrows and part of his hair were completely dead.
Following the scars downward, the exposed skin on his neck and arms showed their own tragic states.
Just a few simple words made Takumi feel a stinging sensation in his nose.
"It's okay... It's mostly healed..."
He held back the urge to cry, but the area around his eyes turned red, and his voice became hoarse.
How could it not hurt?
Even now, Takumi could faintly feel a stinging pain from the burned areas.
"You really are a stubborn child. Don't forget, I was tied to a stake and burned to death too. How could I not know what it feels like to be burned like this?"
"Although, I don't have much memory of the feeling from back then."
Jeanne rubbed Takumi's hair helplessly.
"I'm not being stubborn. I'm not here to compete over who had it worse..."
Takumi turned his head, slipping out from under Jeanne's hand.
Seeing this, Jeanne couldn't help but chuckle.
"Okay, okay, you're not being stubborn, alright?"
Jeanne reached out and wrapped her arm around Takumi's shoulders.
Takumi felt a strong force pull him, and then he was dragged into Jeanne's embrace.
The tip of his nose was filled with a rich fragrance. He rested his head sideways against Jeanne's warmth and softness, half of his body pressed tightly against hers.
Feeling the girl's tenderness, Takumi, who had never experienced anything like this, instantly turned bright red.
He wanted to break free, but his heart couldn't bear to let go.