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Chapter 66: Hello, Jeanne Alter
🕑 Added 2025-05-23 02:38:28 +0000 UTC"You're finally back."
"What? Was my hospitality lacking?" Arthur asked unhappily from the side.
"How could it be?" Irisviel said, "It's just that there's still someone waiting for me here."
"Emiya Kiritsugu?"
"Yeah."
"Then you're probably overthinking it. He's not the kind of person who worries about others."
"Is that so?" Unexpectedly, Irisviel didn’t refute. She might also be very conflicted right now, but with her personality, she wasn’t the type to be easily swayed. Irisviel was a virtuous wife and good mother.
"Well then, farewell, everyone. Next time, we might meet on the battlefield," Arthur said to the others. His face was full of determination.
"Hahaha, I won’t hold back!" Iskandar said. His personality was indeed always like this.
"Me neither."
Arthur conjured a medal from his hand and threw it directly to Diarmuid. Diarmuid reached out and caught the object. It was something he had seen before; every Knight of the Round Table wore such a medal on their chest.
"When you've made up your mind, wear it. That will be you entrusting your honor to me."
"Alright, thank you for your kind words. Farewell, everyone," Diarmuid said to the others, putting away the medal.
"Farewell!"
As soon as the words fell, everyone took their leave. Arthur wanted to see Artoria off, but Artoria stopped him.
"Right now, we are still enemies," Artoria said. Arthur couldn’t stop her and could only leave with Jeanne. Gilgamesh also directly flew into the sky.
The group moved quickly and arrived at Tokiomi Tohsaka’s house in the blink of an eye.
"Big brother!!!" As soon as Arthur entered the house, the two little Girls pounced into Arthur’s arms from the left and right.
"Have you two little rascals been good?"
"We’ve been very good," Sakura said.
"Yeah, yeah! Didn’t you say there were presents! Where are they?" Rin also directly demanded presents from Arthur.
Helplessly, Arthur put the two little girls down and took out two items from his chest. Arthur first threw a bag of gems to Rin. Rin directly opened the package, and a greedy light shone in her little eyes. It seemed that being a money-grubber was truly innate.
"This is a very precious gift, thank you for your grace, my king," Tokiomi Tohsaka thanked him respectfully.
"This makes you so grateful? Then, you should be even more grateful for what you haven’t seen yet."
As soon as Gilgamesh finished speaking, an excited light appeared on Tokiomi Tohsaka’s face. He could feel a powerful force emanating from this orb of light.
"Sakura, this is a Magic Crest inheritance. Don’t disappoint big brother."
"Thank you, big brother."
"Inheritance!" Tokiomi Tohsaka looked in shock. This was the most precious thing for Tokiomi Tohsaka! "Whose inheritance is this?"
"Heroic Spirit, Andersen."
"What! A Heroic Spirit!" Such an inheritance! It could definitely reach the pinnacle of this world! Even in the Clock Tower, it would definitely be a top-tier existence!
"Got it, big brother," Sakura nodded. She understood how precious this Magic Crest inheritance was. She also knew how much her father had worried about obtaining a Magic Crest inheritance.
Arthur placed the orb of light on top of Sakura’s head, and the orb gradually merged into Sakura’s mind. "Alright, from now on, your future path will depend on yourself."
Watching the orb of light enter Sakura’s mind, Arthur nodded in relief. Now, Arthur was truly at ease.
Just then, a powerful surge of magical energy came from not far away. What was this?
Arthur greeted the others and left, believing that with Jeanne’s help, Sakura would adapt quickly.
In the air, Arthur clearly sensed whose magical energy this was: Jeanne Alter!!! She had appeared again.
Arthur quickly rushed to the destination, but when Arthur arrived, he found that the magical energy had disappeared again.
Arthur could only search around. Looking at the surrounding scenery, it seemed to be a park, and now, Arthur was beside a flower bed.
"Coo coo coo." Arthur heard the sound of pigeons cooing. He followed the sound and saw a girl by a small fountain at the edge of the flower bed, feeding millet from her hand to the pigeons beside her. The girl’s eyes were full of tenderness, and her face revealed joy. However, seeing the few people collapsed beside her made the scene feel particularly eerie.
"Hello, Jeanne Alter."
"It’s you! King Arthur!" Jeanne Alter immediately showed a wary expression, and a sword directly appeared in her hand.
"It seems your feelings towards me are very bad," Arthur said helplessly.
"Of course! You killed Gilles. Do you really expect me to give you a good look?"
"He was your good friend?"
"That’s right."
"Then your taste is really low." Arthur walked to Jeanne’s side and sat down on the small flower bed beside her. "I didn’t expect you to have things you like."
"I just hate these hypocritical humans. As for these animals, I don’t dislike them."
"All humans are hypocritical?"
"Of course!" An angry expression appeared on Jeanne’s face. "How much did I give for them! But! What was the result! What did I get in return?"
"You got nothing."
"You understand, don’t you."
"But you yourself have nothing either."
"What do you mean!" Jeanne Alter looked at Arthur strangely, but Arthur said nothing.
"Rather than saying you are Jeanne’s dark side, it’s better to say you are another person with Jeanne’s memories."
"How do you—"
"Of course I know. You were born because of Jeanne, but you are not Jeanne. Am I right?"
"Who said I’m not!"
"You are indeed not! The Jeanne I know wouldn’t want to destroy people just because they betrayed her. She was so foolish, how could she possibly harm others?"
"That’s just what you think."
"No, the current you is what you think." Arthur walked to Jeanne Alter’s side, his two eyes staring straight at her, making Jeanne Alter feel a little scared inside. "What do you want to say now?"
"You are inherently a void existence. Your existence itself has no meaning. Therefore, all your actions can only rely on the little memory in your mind. So, you naively think you are Jeanne. In reality, you are just another soul wearing Jeanne’s appearance."
"You actually know all of this."
"I also know that your existence is just the Holy Grail directly creating you to fulfill someone’s wish. You are just living in someone’s fantasy."
"That’s right! You know everything! In that case! Why did you still come to find this empty soul? What is there about me that’s worth you wasting your time?"
"Because, people, originally come from nothingness."
"What?"
"Everyone comes from nothing and goes to nothing, isn’t that right?" Arthur’s tone became exceptionally gentle as he said this.
"What do you mean?"
"We all appeared from nothingness. There’s nothing wrong with that in itself. So, each of us strives for the process of our lives, just like you and me. The most important thing in life is the process, isn’t it?"
"Since you acknowledge me, why do you still want to stop me?"
"The process is the most important thing. That’s why we must live out our own most important colors, instead of living the life that others give us, isn’t that right?"
"My life? Is it given by others?"
"That’s right. In my heart, you are just a beautiful and lovely girl. Look, you get angry for the sake of small animals, you want to get close to these little cuties. This in itself shows that you have your own thoughts. It’s just that, for some reason, you don’t dare to speak them out."
"No, I killed many people! I am Jeanne Alter!"
"Are you?"
"Are you really!"
"I am! I am! I am!!!!!" Jeanne shouted, clutching her head, but her voice had already wavered slightly, and then turned into, "I am... am I really?"
"You are not." Arthur held Jeanne’s shoulders, making Jeanne look directly into his eyes.
"Wake up, look at these people... aren’t they also living for themselves? That guy made the Holy Grail create his ideal you, but is that truly what you want?"
"I..."
"Come with me." Arthur directly took Jeanne Alter’s hand and pulled her onto his horse. Jeanne Alter didn’t resist, perhaps she couldn’t resist.
Arthur brought Jeanne to a small house. Through the window, they saw an old woman wiping a photograph.
"That’s... Jeanne?"
"That’s right." Arthur nodded. "That was our first encounter. At that time, this old woman was seriously ill, and Jeanne saved her."
"She’s really idle."
Jeanne Alter curled her lip in disdain. Suddenly, Arthur knocked on the door, knock knock knock.
"Who is it?" The old woman came out.
"Hey! What are you doing!" Jeanne Alter asked. But Arthur directly hid, leaving Jeanne Alter alone outside the door.
"Hello," the old woman opened the door.
"Hello," Jeanne Alter replied helplessly.
"You are!" The old woman was shocked. "My benefactor!!"
"What? I—" Just as Jeanne Alter was about to say something, Arthur, after becoming a spirit, whispered in her ear, "Agree first, and then see."
"Um, I am Jeanne. Grandma, how is your health?"
"It’s really you! Quickly, quickly, come in and sit down." The old woman hurriedly led Jeanne into the house, calling out inside, "Quick! Old man! The person who saved me last time is here."
"What!" An old man walked out. "The benefactor has come! Quick, Waver, come out! The person who saved your grandma is here."
"What?" Waver walked out wearily. He had just returned, okay? This house was the home of Gran and Martha Mackenzie.
"Servant! Quick! Rider, help!!!" Waver saw Jeanne Alter and immediately shouted for help.
"What!" Iskandar also ran out immediately in his undershirt!
Bang bang! Two knocking sounds rang out.
"What are you shouting for!" Gran directly knocked both of them.
"That hurts!"
"It serves you right! This is the benefactor who saved your grandma! Quickly thank her!!!"
"What!"
"Hurry!!!"
"Oh, thank you," Waver thanked her helplessly.
"Ah, you’re welcome," Jeanne Alter also nodded.
"Old man, you chat with our benefactor for a while, I’ll go kill a chicken."
"Got it."
"Grandpa, no need!" Jeanne Alter shook her head. She had seen when she came that there was only one chicken in this house.
"No, no, our benefactor has come to our home, of course we must treat her well." The old man directly went out to kill the chicken, and the old woman also directly chatted with Jeanne Alter. Seeing the old woman’s happy smile, Jeanne Alter’s heart felt inexplicably sour.
Soon, the meal was ready. Waver, who had been waiting for a long time on the side, was just about to pick up food when smack! his cutlery was knocked away.
"Let the guest eat first."
"Got it."
The few of them kept looking at Jeanne. Seeing their warm gazes, Jeanne helplessly took a bite. However, for some reason, the fragrant chicken tasted a bit bitter in her mouth.
"Doesn’t it taste good?"
"It’s delicious."
"Then eat a little more." The old woman smiled, and Jeanne Alter fell silent. Perhaps, she had never been cared for in her life. This little bit of care was enough to move her greatly.
Iskandar and Waver had already learned the whole story from Arthur, so they temporarily put down their guard.
A meal quickly passed. After eating, Jeanne went to the roof of the house alone, silently looking at the moon in the sky, not knowing what she was thinking.
"What’s wrong? Any thoughts?" Arthur dispelled his spirit form and sat down beside Jeanne Alter.
"No thoughts. They’re so stupid, they didn’t even notice my hair is white."
"They’re not stupid, they just don’t suspect you. After all, just based on your face, even if you’re not her, you’re her relative. So, for them, it’s all the same."
"The same? But, after they know what I’ve done, they’ll probably be afraid of me."
"Oh? Coincidentally, someone’s here. Ask them yourself."
As soon as Arthur finished speaking, he became a spirit again and disappeared.
At this moment, the old man walked over. "What’s wrong, miss? Why are you in such low spirits?"
"It’s nothing, grandpa."
"It’s cold up here. I brought you some hot coffee."
The old man’s thoughtfulness made Jeanne Alter feel even more uncomfortable inside. "Thank you."
"You’re welcome."
Jeanne Alter took the coffee and continued to look at the sky.
"I heard that dead people turn into stars in the sky."
The old man said to Jeanne Alter, his tone tinged with sadness. "Every time I miss my grandson, I come here to look at the stars."
"Isn’t Waver your grandson?"
"No! My grandson is very afraid of heights."
"Then why do you let him stay at your house?"
"What does it matter? He doesn’t have any bad intentions. He thinks we don’t know, but actually, we’ve known for a long time. My grandson isn’t this gentle with us."
"You forgave him?"
"He didn’t do anything wrong, why should I forgive him?"
Jeanne Alter was. How could people think like this? Jeanne Alter softly asked, "Then, if there was someone who made many mistakes, would you still forgive her?"
"Making mistakes, everyone makes mistakes. As long as they can change, it doesn’t count as a mistake."
"But, if the mistakes made are very serious..."
"Miss, no mistake is unforgivable. The only thing that is truly unforgivable is one’s own heart."
"Grandpa, thank you." Jeanne Alter seemed to understand, she finally understood something.
"Haha, as long as you’re happy. I have to go help out. Drink the coffee while it’s hot."
"Okay, I understand, grandpa." Jeanne Alter nodded with a smile, and the old man left directly.
"Hehe, seeing your smile, I understand." Arthur extended a hand. "Hello, Jeanne Alter."
"Hello, King Arthur." Jeanne Alter extended a hand. The joining of their hands probably represented the disappearance of the past. Everything would pass, and hope would surely come.
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