Finally, Metatron Jeanne slowly unfurled the multiple pairs of wings that had been enveloping her in midair, revealing her true form within.
Tenfold Grace. One million three hundred sixty-five thousand blessings.
Seventy-two pairs of wings. Three hundred sixty-five thousand shining eyes.
Forty-nine jewels. And a crown upon her head.
This was the most noble angelic form the human mind could possibly imagine.
The moment Metatron Jeanne revealed her true appearance, she began radiating an intense brilliance with herself as the source. The light swept across the thousand-strong monster horde, instantly reducing every last one of them to ash. They didn't even survive long enough for her to unleash the second stage of her Noble Phantasm—the one where she formed a heart shape with her hands and fired beams of love.
When that same light fell upon the people inside the fortress, it produced the complete opposite effect. Those bathed in the glow were astonished to find every illness and injury on their bodies completely healed, as if they had undergone a sacred baptism.
This only made the crowd grow even more fervent toward Metatron Jeanne.
Even the commander who had fled at the sight of Jeanne earlier felt a moment of instinctive fear when he first saw Metatron Jeanne's face. But the moment her light washed over him, erasing all his fatigue and wounds, he immediately dropped to his knees before her, gazing upward with the expression of someone beholding their savior.
With the commander leading the way, the rest of the people followed one after another. The sight spread like wildfire.
And so, the scene unfolded:
Metatron Jeanne floated in the air, bathing the entire city in a gentle, radiant glow.
Below, the citizens of the fortress all knelt in unison, raising their hands toward her in reverence.
Meanwhile, back with the Chaldea group.
Ritsuka stared up at Metatron Jeanne floating in the sky. The holy light radiating from her helped calm the anger that had been boiling inside her earlier. The chaotic-evil version of herself quietly retreated.
As a modern person, Ritsuka had already found the existence of magecraft absurd enough. The fact that this world could summon heroes from history had pushed the limits of reason even further. But seeing this angelic figure straight out of an anime, Ritsuka could only blink in disbelief.
"...Did Jesus just manifest or something???"
Mash's reaction was even more extreme. She shook Ritsuka's arm excitedly, to the point that Ritsuka's arm was starting to feel numb.
"Senpai... I think I just saw an angel from the scriptures!"
As for Jeanne standing beside them...
She gazed up at Metatron Jeanne. Because of the angle from below, she couldn't clearly see the angel's face. But witnessing this miracle-like display, Jeanne clutched the cross at her neck, her heart filled with genuine reverence and emotion.
"Lord... Have You finally turned Your gaze upon us?"
Jeanne naturally assumed that this great archangel shining with salvific light was an embodiment of the Lord's will.
While she was still moved by the Lord's mercy, a familiar voice suddenly cut through her thoughts.
"I'm not sure if your 'Lord' is watching right now..."
"But I certainly am."
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
It was Adam, with the summoned Mash following close behind.
His hair was in a wild state, completely standing on end as if blasted by a powerful gust of wind.
Adam glanced at the unharmed Ritsuka, Mash, and Jeanne and let out a small sigh of relief.
"Looks like I didn't arrive too late."
As he spoke, he ran a hand through his messy hair, trying to fix it.
Jeanne, recalling his earlier comment, looked at him with confusion.
"Um, Mr. Adam... What did you mean when you said the Lord hasn't turned His gaze here?"
No matter how she looked at it, the archangel floating above them had to be an act of the Lord's will.
Before Adam could answer, Ritsuka suddenly seemed to realize something. She looked up at Metatron Jeanne, then whipped her head toward Adam in shock.
"Adam! Don't tell me... you summoned that angel-looking person up there?!"
Adam had finished fixing his hair. He smiled at Ritsuka and gave a small nod.
"You guessed right. No prize though, unfortunately."
The moment Jeanne heard that Metatron Jeanne had been summoned by Adam, her eyes changed. She looked at him as if gazing upon a divine messenger.
"You... you can summon an archangel? Are you perhaps the incarnation of the Lord himself?!!"
Could it be that the Lord could no longer stand by and watch what was happening to France, and had decided to descend personally?
Adam gave her an exhausted deadpan look at the ridiculous conclusion.
"How could that be? I'm definitely not that pigeon."
"I did summon an archangel, that's true. But she's my Servant."
"She's not one of the angels serving directly beside that pigeon... Well, actually, she kind of is."
"Pigeon...?"
Jeanne stood there looking somewhat lost, clearly not following Adam's metaphor at all.
Meanwhile, Ritsuka and Mash had completely lost it.
"Wait, angels from the Bible can become Servants?!"
"Adam-senpai, you can even summon angels as Servants?!!"
Even Olga Marie, watching from Chaldea, couldn't help but comment in awe.
"As expected of a Master capable of summoning gods..."
[Jeanne Emotional Value +10]
[Ritsuka Emotional Value +10]
[Mash Emotional Value +10]
[Olga Marie Emotional Value +10]
...
Jeanne shook her head, snapping herself out of her dazed state.
Regardless, she was extremely curious about the identity of the archangel floating above them.
With eyes full of anticipation, she turned to Adam.
"Mr. Adam, could you please tell me this archangel's name?"
Adam paused for a moment, then answered.
"Metatron."
Jeanne's face lit up with recognition.
"I see! So it's Lord Metatron!!"
She gazed up at the archangel with pure adoration. To Jeanne, Metatron's form was the very picture of holiness, radiance, and majesty. She was so moved she felt tears welling up.
But then, something began to feel off...
Why did Lord Metatron's face look so familiar?
Adam noticed her reaction and couldn't hold back a small laugh.
"Pfft~"
"Oh, right. I forgot to mention. Her full name is Metatron Jeanne."
At first, Jeanne simply froze, trying to recall which angel was named Jeanne.
It took her a full three seconds before the realization hit.
"Wait! Jeanne?! Metatron Jeanne... Me?!"
"I... I've become an archangel?!"
Adam recorded the adorable dazed expression on Jeanne's face in his mental album. He definitely had to tease her about this later.
He then gave her a brief explanation of Metatron Jeanne's existence.
"Metatron took your form as her outer vessel, while the interior is occupied by Metatron herself."
Even after hearing this, Jeanne still found it hard to believe.
In her mind, although she was called the Saint who saved France, she had never considered herself worthy of such greatness. She certainly didn't think she was important enough for an archangel to choose her appearance as a vessel.
"But... how could someone like me possibly be chosen by Lord Metatron?"
Adam let out a soft sigh. He always found Jeanne's excessive humility and self-deprecation a little frustrating.
Still, perhaps that was part of her charm. Even so, he felt she needed to hear this.
"Stop selling yourself so short. The you that I know is far greater than you give yourself credit for."
"Don't underestimate yourself like that."
"Speaking of which..."
Adam glanced up at Metatron Jeanne, who was still diligently radiating her holy light.
He couldn't keep her in that form much longer, or she'd complain endlessly afterward.
It was time to move on to the next part of the plan.
Adam had a method that would not only clear up the public's misunderstanding about Jeanne but also net him a massive wave of emotional value.
He led everyone to the highest point in the city.
This location was high enough for most of the citizens to see clearly—the perfect stage for a speech.
Metatron Jeanne, though not looking down, seemed to sense that Adam was in position. She slowly descended and landed beside him.
With her guidance, all attention instantly focused on Adam.
While Jeanne was still wondering what he was about to do, Adam decided the timing was perfect. He took out a pre-prepared amplification device to ensure the entire city could hear him.
"This is the Archangel Metatron!"
"I believe many of you are already familiar with her title. She is known as the Scribe of God and the Supreme Archangel. She has come here today in accordance with the Lord's will to save you all."
A massive cheer erupted from the crowd, accompanied by the sound of emotional value pouring in.
Adam silently apologized in his heart: Sorry, pigeon. I'm borrowing your name for a bit.
He then took Jeanne's hand and gently pulled her forward so the people could see her clearly.
Some citizens immediately began murmuring when they saw her.
"Isn't that the witch?"
"Why is she up there with the angel?"
"Lord Metatron must be here to punish her..."
The public opinion toward Jeanne was still overwhelmingly negative.
But Adam had a plan. With Metatron Jeanne standing beside him, he was about to completely flip the narrative.
"I'm sure many of you have noticed something strange. Why does the Archangel Metatron look exactly like the witch Jeanne who has been the subject of recent rumors?"
The crowd carefully compared Metatron Jeanne and Jeanne. Their appearances truly were identical. It was only because Metatron Jeanne's overwhelming holy aura had prevented most people from realizing it earlier.
The people began to murmur in confusion.
"Yeah, why is that?"
"A coincidence?"
"Maybe there are just many people in the world who share the same face?"
Adam continued, his voice passionate and stirring.
"What we can say for certain is that Metatron chose to descend upon this world using Jeanne's appearance."
"The fact that she chose Jeanne's form already says everything."
"Jeanne has been acknowledged by Metatron—which means she has also been acknowledged by the Lord."
"The real Jeanne standing beside me is not the violent witch from the rumors."
"On the contrary, she is the saint recognized and supported by the Lord himself!"
Most of the citizens began to waver, though a small portion still hesitated.
Adam then gently pushed Jeanne in front of him.
"People of France, think back carefully! Just a few weeks ago, Jeanne was still fighting for all of you!"
"Yet in such a short time..."
His words trailed off.
The entire city fell into a heavy silence, like the calm before a storm.
"Did it fail?" Ritsuka whispered worriedly, looking at the deathly quiet crowd.
The very next second, the commander whom Ritsuka had saved earlier raised his voice first.
"Jeanne!"
He shouted her name while thrusting his arm into the air. His action sparked a chain reaction. The rest of the citizens quickly joined in.
"Jeanne!!"
"Jeanne!!!"
More and more voices joined the chorus until the entire city was chanting her name.
Meanwhile, Jeanne herself—the one whose name they were shouting—felt both joy and extreme embarrassment. The misunderstanding with the people had finally been cleared, but...
"Ugh... This is so embarrassing."
Having an entire city shouting her name made Jeanne's face burn with shame.
Even worse, Adam was still holding her hand. She could clearly feel the warmth of his palm. Being held like this in front of so many people made her heart race wildly.
Jeanne's mind was on the verge of shutting down.
She covered her flushed cheeks with one hand and tried to cover her eyes with the other, as if playing a childish game of "if I can't see them, they can't see me."
Through the gap in her fingers, she peeked at Adam. Remembering the powerful, confident way he had spoken on her behalf, the strange warmth in her chest only grew stronger.
Adam watched the tide of public opinion completely turn in Jeanne's favor and nodded in satisfaction.
He checked his system and smiled even wider at the skyrocketing emotional value count.
Emotional Value: 70,200
Over 70,000 points. That was more than 350 pulls, or 35 consumption points.
Not bad at all. A very profitable wave.
After that, Adam quickly led everyone away from the high ground.
His goal had been achieved. At least within this city, no one would scream "witch" the moment they saw Jeanne anymore.
Though perhaps he had gone a little overboard. The extreme hatred had flipped into extreme adoration.
They still needed to keep a low profile, or they might attract unwanted attention from fanatics.
Adam brought the group to a secluded area inside the city.
While everyone was resting, he began thinking about the Servants they would likely encounter next.
Alright. If I remember correctly, there should be Marie and that one-dimensional hunting enthusiast around here somewhere.
Heh heh heh. Those two should be...
As Adam was going over his plans, Jeanne was staring at Metatron Jeanne with sparkling eyes full of admiration and excitement, like a fan meeting her idol.
"L-Lord Metatron~"
Just as Jeanne was about to say something to her...
Metatron Jeanne instantly dropped out of her majestic archangel form. The sacred aura vanished completely, replaced by an overwhelming aura of laziness that practically leaked off her.
"Ugh so tired"
Without a shred of dignity, Metatron Jeanne draped herself limply over Adam, using him as her personal chair.
Ritsuka and Mash stared with question marks floating above their heads.
Jeanne was completely frozen in shock.
"Eh?"
Metatron Jeanne let out a tired yawn and collapsed bonelessly into Adam's arms.
"Ugh, Master, you didn't tell me I had to stay in that form for so long."
"Keeping my Noble Phantasm active the whole time is exhausting."
"Let me rest for a bit. I want a princess carry."
Adam rubbed his temples. This girl was getting lazier by the day. Still... he had to admit it was one of the things he liked about her.
Even so, he felt the need to at least put up a token resistance for ownership of his own body.
"Don't you have that floating throne of yours?"
"Wouldn't sitting on that be more comfortable than being carried by me?"
Metatron Jeanne nuzzled deeper into his arms like a spoiled child, her voice as sweet and soft as melted marshmallow.
"Mmm~ No. Your arms feel much more comfortable."
Faced with this version of Metatron Jeanne, Adam had no choice but to indulge her.
"You really are something..."
Jeanne, who had witnessed the entire transformation:
Jeanne: "???"
Crack
That was the sound of the majestic image of the archangel shattering inside Jeanne's heart.
"L-Lord Metatron... What are you...?"
Metatron Jeanne slowly and lazily turned her head toward the person calling her.
"Oh, it's you. Mmm... ah... anyway, yeah."
"?" Jeanne froze again.
Metatron Jeanne seemed to want to communicate with her through thought rather than speech—she was simply too lazy to talk properly. After making a series of vague "mm" and "ah" sounds, she buried her face back into Adam's chest and continued lounging lazily.
Watching the archangel act so slothfully while clinging to Adam, Jeanne felt another twitch in her temple.
This was completely different from the image of a great archangel she had in her mind.
"Lord Metatron, you can't behave like this! How can someone like you, an archangel, be so... so lazy?!!"
"Mmm~ Can't help it. Master's arms are just too warm and comfortable."
Metatron Jeanne snuggled even deeper into Adam's embrace.
Jeanne was starting to panic. Seeing someone with her exact same face acting spoiled toward Adam felt incredibly strange.
"Lord Metatron, you can't use my appearance to... to be intimate with Mr. Adam like this!"
Metatron Jeanne glanced at Jeanne, then seemed to find the situation amusing. Still lying sideways in Adam's arms, she looked at her with a playful smile.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"You do much more exciting things with Adam in private, don't you?"
"I heard all about it from the other Mash."
Jeanne was stunned.
What did she mean by "doing more exciting things in private"?
She had only known Mr. Adam for less than a day, right?
The summoned Mash, hearing Metatron Jeanne's words, seemed to recall something as well. Once again, that difficult-to-describe expression appeared on her face.
***
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