Listening to their exchange, Laurent thoughtfully rubbed his chin.
Alright… For now, this solution seemed like the best one, both for Jeanne and Jeanne Alter.
Originally, he'd planned to go full villain, directly devouring Ritsuka Fujimaru to obtain a real body, keeping Jeanne captive, prolonging the Holy Grail War indefinitely, and overwriting human history completely.
But even if that succeeded, Jeanne would still remain nothing more than a fragment of her original self.
Now that a better solution had presented itself, Laurent wasn't opposed to trying it.
"But do you really have someone who can preserve Saint Graphs?"
"Hehe~ You can trust Da Vinci-chan on this one!" came the cheerful reply.
"Is that so? Then how about summoning Jeanne and me?"
"Does Laurent-san have any holy relics? Or something deeply connected to you?" Fujimaru asked cautiously.
Laurent didn't answer right away, instead releasing everyone from their restraints.
"Ahhh!" Mash suddenly collapsed onto the ground, her body completely drained. Her butt stuck up awkwardly—but sadly, no one was paying attention to her right now.
Laurent stepped toward Fujimaru, removing the cross necklace from around his own neck.
"Would a Noble Phantasm work?"
Fujimaru awkwardly accepted it, sweating slightly. "A-as long as Laurent-san is willing to entrust it to us, it should work."
"Then here's the real question: what reason do I have to trust you'll keep your promise?"
That was indeed the critical issue. In the end, Laurent had only recently met these people—blindly cooperating was impossible. The fundamental problem of trust remained unsolved.
Fujimaru didn't answer immediately. After a long pause, he finally showed a sincere smile.
"I know Laurent-san only cares about Jeanne-san. Actually, I started suspecting quite a while ago that if everything ended here, Laurent-san would never allow it."
"I don't have any proof to offer you, but—" Fujimaru's eyes became resolute. "I swear on everything I have: I'll absolutely summon Laurent-san and both Jeanne-sans again. That's a promise I'll keep, no matter what."
Laurent chuckled softly. "Kid, a man's promise is something very precious."
"I'll definitely keep mine," Fujimaru affirmed once more, without hesitation.
Satisfied for now, Laurent turned toward Jeanne Alter.
"Go cooperate with them."
Laurent didn't suddenly trust Fujimaru based on a few words alone—rather, he simply felt no deceit in Fujimaru's sincerity. Deception itself was a form of evil, after all, and Laurent could instantly sense even a hint of it. Fujimaru was truly a pure-hearted person, earnest and straightforward to the core.
"You trust them just like that? Besides, this sort of thing is…" Jeanne Alter still seemed reluctant, mostly out of distrust toward Fujimaru.
"It's fine. Right now, this compromise is the best option we have. Dragging things out here further won't do anyone any good. If a better method exists, we should use it."
"Laurent?" Jeanne curiously approached him at this moment.
Naturally, Laurent hadn't forgotten about her.
"About Jeanne Alter—"
"Laurent, I…" Jeanne began hesitantly.
"It's fine." Jeanne shook her head, then suddenly hugged Laurent's arm tightly. "But you have to promise you'll spend more time with me! Initially, I thought she was just another side of myself, but since the Holy Grail created her as another complete person, I don't have the right to decide whether she exists or not. But even so—I won't easily acknowledge her! I'm your real wife!"
These words were practically a declaration of her status as the main wife, instantly sparking Jeanne Alter's displeasure. She quickly hugged Laurent's other arm.
"What Laurent wants to do and who he wants to be with—is that any business of yours, you village girl? If he wants to be with me, then he'll be with me! You don't have the right to control him!"
"But I'm his wife! I absolutely have the right to stop him from getting close to other women!"
"Heh~ Wife?" Jeanne Alter scoffed contemptuously. "So am I."
"I'm the real wife!"
Their faces nearly collided as they glared at each other, their chests pressed firmly against Laurent's arms. Laurent himself felt as if he'd soon ascend straight to Heaven.
"What, are you so insecure about your ability to hold onto him that you need to rely on your pitiful title of 'wife' for validation?" Jeanne Alter mocked provocatively, a malicious smile on her lips.
Jeanne's expression turned peculiar. "Actually, I've always wondered this, but your memories… whose are they based on? It can't be mine or Laurent's."
"Hah? Are you trying to die? Keep talking, and I'll burn you alive!"
"If Gilles created you, then your memories must've been based on him," Doctor Roman suddenly chimed in helpfully.
Laurent immediately felt things clicking into place—this explained why Jeanne Alter recognized him primarily as Évigi, yet didn't clearly remember him as Laurent.
Jeanne murmured bitterly, "That damn Gilles… He doesn't even know what Laurent really looks like…"
From afar, Gilles, already defeated and restrained, felt his self-esteem take another severe blow.
But Jeanne Alter quickly regained her confidence, sneering arrogantly once more. "Hehe, anyway, even if you had those memories, so what? When it comes to 'that' matter, you and I are basically the same."
"'That' matter?" Jeanne didn't understand her at all.
Jeanne Alter suddenly looked caught off guard and flustered. "Anyway! You don't have the right to interfere!"
"The one without any right here is you!" Jeanne countered loudly. "Laurent and I are husband and wife—I agreed to marry him long ago!"
"So what? Who said getting married makes him yours exclusively?"
"But isn't acting like that shameless?" Jeanne stared at Jeanne Alter strangely, voicing her honest confusion.
Why did it always feel like she was deliberately picking childish fights?
"You're the shameless one! Keep talking nonsense, and I'll absolutely burn you!"
"I'm not afraid of you!"
Laurent wore a blissful expression, enjoying being tightly hugged by both women.
This is bad… Jeanne's figure right now has developed way too explosively. I'm already sinking completely, and there's no coming back.
Ahh~ Just keep hugging me and fighting… He had a feeling these two would continue arguing like this forever.
Even Fujimaru could only watch helplessly, laughing awkwardly and uncertain how to intervene.
...
After several minutes of bickering, Jeanne and Jeanne Alter finally quieted down somewhat.
Only then did Laurent remember the important matter at hand.
"Oh, right. Jeanne, leave your ring behind too."
"Eh? Laurent-san, isn't that a really important thing? Such a precious item—"
Ignoring Fujimaru, Laurent gently removed the ring from Jeanne's right hand. She seemed unwilling at first, but after a bit of gentle coaxing from Laurent, she eventually agreed.
Laurent flashed a dazzling smile at Fujimaru.
"This is my way of saying I trust you, Fujimaru. But remember, if I find out you lied just to succeed—I'll absolutely never forgive you."
Fujimaru felt cold sweat dripping down his back. Why did he suddenly feel a terrifying threat just now?
"This should be enough, right?"
"Y-yes!"
---
T/N: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, i was toooo lazy and slept allllllllll week sorgee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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