Chapter 358: Jeanne (Bonus) (Patreon)

With Justeaze's surveillance, Shinji didn't need to do any terrain reconnaissance; it was just an excuse for him to act alone.

Tonight, he did not spend the night in the room next to Fiore's but chose to move under the cover of darkness. It wasn't because there was unfinished business in Fuyuki; rather, Justeaze had relayed a message—Ruler had stepped into the leyline where the Greater Grail was located, namely the Trifas region.

Ruler, the adjudicator, nicknamed "the Ruler," does not belong to the commonly known seven classes of Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker. Typically, Ruler is only summoned under special conditions.

There are roughly two scenarios for Ruler's summoning: one, the form of the Holy Grail War is extraordinarily unique, resulting in unknown outcomes, meaning the Grail deems a Ruler necessary; two, the impact of the Holy Grail War could potentially distort the world.

This Holy Grail War undoubtedly met the criteria, and thus Ruler was summoned.

The Transylvanian Highway is the only national road leading to Trifas. Since Trifas is disconnected from the tram network, vehicles traveling there are almost nonexistent.

More than half of the streetlights standing side by side on the road were broken, probably because there were no drivers to complain, so the government seemed determined to save on the budget.

A nearly fully loaded truck was driving on the national road. Its worn appearance and the screeching engine made the dilapidated highway look even more rundown.

In the passenger seat of the truck sat a beautiful young girl. Her long blonde hair was braided into a single plait at the back, and her clear blue eyes evoked the image of a sky washed clean after rain. She wore a white shirt with a black tie on top, and black shorts below, looking like a student from somewhere.

Seemingly sensing something, the girl rolled down the window and cast her gaze into a certain place under the night sky.

A few minutes later, a young man with purple hair and purple eyes appeared in her line of sight.

Like her, the young man was dressed in casual clothes, with a relieved smile on his face, waving both hands continuously.

The truck driver, a kindly old man, stopped the truck and asked the young man if he needed any help.

The young man said he fought with his girlfriend, was thrown out of the car by her, and was wandering alone on the national road, hoping the old man could give him a ride to the nearby city.

The old man agreed, just as he did when he agreed to give the girl a ride earlier.

The young man expressed his gratitude profusely and climbed slowly into the cargo area at the back of the truck.

The girl also made an excuse about wanting to stretch her legs and followed the young man into the cargo area, prompting the old man to quietly tease, "Ah, youth."

In the old man's eyes, the young man, who seemed like a mixed-race, was handsome, and the petite girl was pure and beautiful. Both were at the most beautiful age of their lives, and it was perfectly natural for something to happen between them. Having been young once himself, he understood that feeling. To help the young couple, he even switched to a soothing tune.

Perhaps it wouldn't be long before sparks of love ignited between them.

The old man, with some romantic notions still lingering in him, thought so. His idea was only half right: sparks did indeed fly between the young man and the girl, but it had nothing to do with love. Instead, it was a meeting filled with scrutiny and vigilance; more accurately, the girl was scrutinizing the young man, who was single-mindedly wary.

"I know I'm handsome, but staring at me like this makes me a bit embarrassed," the young man said, spreading his hands as an opening line.

The girl didn't speak, her clear gaze slightly retracting.

The young man continued, "I have no ill intentions. If I did, I wouldn't approach you in this way—don't you agree, Miss Ruler?"

"Indeed, Black Assassin."

The young man was, of course, Shinji, who had received Justeaze's information and rushed over from Millennia Castle, and the girl before him was the one he was looking for—the adjudicator Ruler summoned by the Holy Grail.

Upon hearing Ruler's response, Shinji knew he had taken the right first step.

As the safeguard of the Holy Grail system and the arbiter of the Holy Grail War, the Ruler possesses class privileges that differ from those of regular classes, including a powerful sense of perception. Ruler's perceptive abilities are ten to several dozen times stronger than those of standard Servants, enabling her to detect the presence of Servants within a ten-kilometer radius, even rendering Assassin's "Presence Concealment" skill ineffective.

For this reason, Shinji did not attempt to approach stealthily but chose to visit openly. For an Assassin to act this way was, in itself, a gesture of sincerity. This also explains why Ruler did nothing but wait patiently for Shinji to board the truck.

As for the issue of being both a Master and a Servant, Shinji was not worried at all. Not to mention that Ruler's class privilege targets only Servants and not Masters but there is also no other way to identify a Master besides the Command Seals (otherwise, Irisviel's disguise as Saber’s Master would have been seen through). Additionally, in "Fate/Apocrypha," there is precedent for a Servant serving as both a Servant and a Master without being penalized by Ruler, which was enough to ease Shinji's concerns.

"Let's start with introductions. Black Assassin, the Nameless Assassin," Shinji said.

If it were any other participant, whether Servant or Master, they wouldn't believe this answer immediately and would at least ask why. But Ruler did not; she believed it, thanks to her class privilege—Skill: True Name Discernment. When summoned as Ruler, the true name, class, and performance information of any directly encountered Servant would be automatically revealed. If the opponent had inherent skills or Noble Phantasms to conceal their true name and abilities, it would be determined by their luck level.

In Ruler's eyes, Shinji's information was crystal clear, except for the sections on the true name and Noble Phantasm, which were blank.

Blank, not obscured or erased, but simply left empty, with the rest of the basic attributes, skills, and Noble Phantasm levels visible.

Unaware of Justeaze's existence, Ruler naturally assumed that Shinji genuinely had no name or had deliberately forgotten it, rather than using a Noble Phantasm or skill to conceal it.

Since the other party was so forthright, it was only appropriate for her, as the arbiter, to respond with corresponding sincerity. No, it was precisely because she was the arbiter that she needed to demonstrate sincerity; otherwise, hiding things would fail to gain the trust of both the seven Masters and their Servants.

"Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc, the adjudicator of this Holy Grail War. Pleased to meet you, Black Assassin."

"Pleased to meet you."

Hearing this name, Shinji felt no ripple of emotion. The moment he first saw her, he had already confirmed her identity.

Jeanne d'Arc, the Maid of Orléans, the French heroine who liberated Orléans during the Hundred Years' War, and a Catholic saint. From leaving her hometown at seventeen to being executed at nineteen, though only a brief two years, she left an indelible mark on the history of both England and France.

Of course, the girl before him bore no obvious traits that could directly link her to the saint Jeanne d'Arc. Shinji was able to confirm her identity solely because he had seen a face very similar to hers the previous day. Jeanne and that face differed only in eye color and the tuft of hair on her head; apart from these two points, they looked like they had been cast from the same mold.

Indeed, Artoria and Jeanne were that similar, in both appearance and aura.

However, there were notable differences in other aspects of their bodies.

For instance, height: the younger version of Artoria stood at 154 cm, while Jeanne was 159 cm, and the older version of Artoria was 171 cm.

And then—Shinji's gaze shifted slightly downward from that familiar face to those conspicuous peaks.

"With such an obvious difference, how did Gilles de Rais mistake her?"

The younger version of Artoria was an A-cup, while Jeanne was clearly a D-cup. To compare with Jeanne's figure, it would have to be the older version of Artoria!

Marshal, you truly deserved to have your eyes pierced...!

PS: Shinji is Man of Culture.