Adam and Jeanne stared in stunned silence as Isabelle slowly began unbuttoning her clothes.
This was clearly far beyond anything they had anticipated.
We were just talking normally. Why are you suddenly taking your clothes off?
Jeanne recovered first. Her face flushing bright red, she rushed to stop Isabelle from undressing any further.
"Hey! Wait! Hold on! Stop right there!"
"Mother! What are you doing?" Jeanne cried out as she quickly started buttoning her mother's clothes back up.
Isabelle tilted her head in confusion, looking between Jeanne and Adam.
"Weren't we discussing personal belongings?"
"If the outer clothes aren't sufficient, I thought the ones underneath might have a stronger effect…"
Jeanne: "…"
As she spoke, Isabelle covered her slightly burning cheek with one hand and subconsciously glanced at Adam before quickly averting her eyes.
Whether it was his imagination or not, Adam thought he detected something lingering and intense in her gaze.
He quickly shook the thought from his mind.
What am I thinking? This is Jeanne's mother! It must have been my imagination… right?
After steadying himself, Adam gave a couple of tactical coughs.
"Ahem Ahem"
"While offering your undergarments would work, you don't need to go that far…"
As he spoke, Adam's eyes subconsciously drifted to the area below Isabelle's waist. Although he didn't specify what she had been about to give him, the direction of his gaze made it perfectly clear.
"Actually, it's completely unnecessary. Do you have any other items you've worn constantly for years?"
"Other items?" Isabelle pondered for a moment.
At that point, Jeanne seemed to recall something. Her eyes went to the headscarf on her mother's head.
"Mother, if I remember correctly, you've been wearing that headscarf for as long as I can remember, haven't you?"
Jeanne's reminder jogged Isabelle's memory.
She had worn it for so many years that she had nearly forgotten about it.
"Ah, yes. I've had this headscarf for many years now."
Isabelle removed the headscarf and placed it in Adam's hands.
Adam examined it, running his fingers over its rough texture.
As expected, it was at least twenty years old, meaning Isabelle had worn it for two decades or more.
"Good. This should work perfectly."
Since a mere fragment of the Round Table could summon Mordred, this headscarf should easily serve as a catalyst for Isabelle.
Adam stored the headscarf away.
The blush on Isabelle's face still lingered; she seemed a bit ashamed of her earlier behavior.
What puzzled Adam was how she had even come up with the idea of offering her panties.
Even he hadn't expected that move.
Ma'am, your train of thought is something else…
As this occurred to him, Adam suddenly realized something. He glanced at Jeanne, then back at Isabelle.
Jeanne was still lecturing her mother about how embarrassing that had been.
Adam recalled Jeanne's wild—well, incredibly lewd—behavior during their intimate encounters.
Looking at Isabelle again, who was telling Jeanne something about "there being no other choice," he noticed her subtly touching her thigh.
Hmm. Why is that? How strange.
In that moment, Adam understood exactly who Jeanne had inherited her immense desires from.
Ma'am, you're no pushover either…
Just then, Mash seemed to have an idea. She approached Adam.
"Adam-senpai, are you planning to take Isabelle's item back to Chaldea?"
Adam turned to her, not entirely sure why she was asking.
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
Mash thought for a second and appeared to spot a flaw in the plan.
"But… Adam-senpai, we're in a Rayshift state right now."
"Any items from this era that we carry can't be brought back to Chaldea when we return."
"Strictly speaking, our bodies aren't even really here."
Hearing this, Adam understood her point.
It was indeed an issue, but one he had already accounted for.
"Ah, that? It's true we're Rayshifting, but Mash~ remember that only the three of us are using Rayshift."
As he spoke, Adam pointed slowly toward the Mash beside him.
"Your master here didn't come via Rayshift."
The Mash in Adam's party had been summoned by the system. Once dismissed from the field, she would return to his Chaldea.
Just as Altera had been able to bring the Director's soul back to his Chaldea before, this Mash could naturally carry the item back and then be resummoned. That would bypass the Rayshift restrictions entirely.
"I see. As expected of you, Adam-senpai."
Mash's eyes lit up with realization, her admiration for him growing even stronger.
Ritsuka Fujimaru, standing nearby, simply nodded along in silence.
Ask if she understood? She could grasp every individual word, but the whole picture? That was debatable.
Adam walked over to [Mash] and carefully handed her the headscarf.
"[Mash], take good care of this."
"Whether Isabelle makes it to Chaldea depends on it."
[Mash] looked at the headscarf symbolizing Isabelle, her expression grave as she gave Adam a solemn nod.
"Understood, senpai."
The kind [Mash] naturally hoped Jeanne could reunite with her mother in Chaldea.
But the mention of mother and daughter caused [Mash]'s thoughts to subconsciously drift in a rather inappropriate direction.
She glanced at the headscarf, then at Jeanne, and finally fixed her gaze on Adam.
Mother-daughter combo…
[Mash] hurriedly banished the ridiculous, wicked idea from her mind.
How could senpai ever think something like that? What on earth am I imagining?
To be fair, Adam truly didn't have such thoughts, but…
When it came to the three of them, if Adam didn't, what about the other two?
The mother of the pair,
Isabelle gazed at Adam, her eyes revealing a complex emotion. She stared at his figure, becoming lost in thought, and slowly pressed a hand to her chest.
"Mother?"
Jeanne's voice snapped Isabelle out of her reverie. She looked at her daughter with a hint of panic.
"What is it, Jeanne?"
The daughter of the pair.
Jeanne stared at Isabelle in confusion, unsure what her mother was thinking.
Why was she staring so intently at Adam? Did she have something to tell him?
Isabelle's gaze shifted back and forth between Jeanne and Adam, as if confirming something.
Finally, she asked tentatively, "Jeanne, what do you think of Mr. Adam?"
Jeanne froze. "…What do you mean?" She clearly hadn't caught on.
Isabelle then leaned close to Jeanne's ear and whispered something. Jeanne's face turned scarlet in an instant.
"I… How could I possibly… N-no… It's impossible. I…"
Jeanne was so flustered she could barely form a complete sentence. She wanted to deny her feelings for Adam, but remembering everything he had done for her, the denial wouldn't come out.
Of course, there was one even more important reason.
The things Metatron-Jeanne had described earlier—the private moments "she" had shared with Adam in that other Chaldea—those shameful images still echoed in Jeanne's mind.
Seeing her daughter's panicked reaction, Isabelle immediately understood her feelings toward Adam.
Isabelle's heart was a tangle of emotions: relief that her daughter had finally fallen in love, mixed with regret.
Was she really going to compete with her own daughter?
In the end, Isabelle locked away her forbidden feelings and chose to suppress them.
But still…
Looking at how badly the Jeanne in Adam's Chaldea had failed at suppressing her own emotions…
The "floodwaters" were practically hitting the ceiling.
Whether Isabelle could keep her suppressed desires in check once she reached Chaldea was anyone's guess.
————————
Meanwhile,
Jeanne Alter had ridden Fafnir back to their stronghold.
She stormed furiously toward the summoning circle. Gilles de Rais should be there around this time.
Bang!
The door flew open with a tremendous crash.
Gilles de Rais, who had been intently working on something beside the summoning circle, thought they were under attack. In his panic, he nearly dropped the forbidden tome in his hands.
Only after looking closely did he realize it was Jeanne Alter. He asked in bewilderment:
"Jeanne, what's wrong? You look furious?"
Jeanne Alter said nothing. She simply stared at him silently as she marched straight toward him.
Gilles immediately felt an oppressive pressure prickling at his nerves.
"Er… What happened, Jeanne? Did something happen? Did I do something wrong?"
Jeanne Alter reached him and deftly raised her hand, extending two fingers to jab straight at his eyes.
In life, Gilles had a habit of his eyeballs bulging out whenever he got excited. After every victorious battle, Jeanne would manually correct them for him.
As a Caster who had spent too much time with the forbidden grimoire, Gilles' mind was already unstable, leaving him in a perpetual state of high excitement. His eyes were constantly protruding.
Poking those big, bulging eyeballs of his probably felt incredibly satisfying and stress-relieving.
Gilles, however, didn't agree. He clutched his eyes and rolled around on the ground.
"Ow~ My eyes! My eyes!"
But she wasn't done. Jeanne Alter grabbed him by the collar and yanked him close.
"Gilles, let me ask you one more time. Who am I?"
Still wincing from the pain in his eyes, Gilles didn't immediately register the question. "Huh? You're Jeanne, of course."
Not getting the answer she wanted, Jeanne Alter's tone grew even sharper.
"Idiot! That's not what I mean!"
Gilles blinked his now-reddened eyes.
"Then what do you mean…?"
Adam's face flashed through Jeanne Alter's mind.
"You once told me I was Jeanne's dark side…"
"But earlier, I met someone who said I was created by you using the Holy Grail, and that I'm not Jeanne's dark side at all!"
"Tell me! Is that true?"
Hearing this, Gilles' eyes—which had been somewhat pushed back—bulged out again to their full size.
His voice turned flustered.
"Wh-which bastard told you that?"
Jeanne Alter tightened her grip on his collar, increasing the pressure.
"Never mind that! Just answer me—is what he said true!?"
"How could it be? You are Jeanne's dark side."
Gilles spoke with firm conviction, but a cold sweat had begun forming on his brow.
"Really?" Jeanne Alter saw his resolute expression and felt a flicker of doubt, but she still wasn't convinced.
"I swear I'm not lying to you. Truly."
Gilles maintained his firm tone. This time he even added gestures to seem more convincing. However, as he raised his hands, he subtly wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Seeing his determined demeanor, Jeanne Alter's trust in him grew a little stronger, though her doubts remained.
"Then answer this: Why don't I have any memories of Jeanne as a child? The only memories in my head are of her fighting for France."
Gilles was stumped for a moment.
"This is…?"
Seeing his silence, Jeanne Alter grew worried he might give the wrong answer. She pressed harder.
"Tell me why?!!"
Gilles' large eyes rolled as an idea struck him.
"It's because… there was an error during your summoning that left your memories incomplete."
Jeanne Alter paused, stunned. This answer aligned with what she secretly hoped to hear, and her tone softened.
"…Really?"
Gilles nodded frantically.
"Of course it's true, Jeanne. Why would I lie to you?"
"You were made by me using the Holy Grail. How could it be anything else?"
"The person who told you that must be an enemy trying to mess with your head with fabricated lies."
In the end, Jeanne Alter chose to believe him.
Despite the obvious holes and suspicious details in his story, and sensing something was off with him, she accepted it because it was the answer she wanted deep down.
Perhaps she knew the truth but chose to run from it.
Accepting a convenient explanation so she wouldn't have to confront the painful questions.
It had to be said—running away was shameful, but it worked.
Jeanne Alter no longer wanted to dwell on those messy thoughts. Battle would help her focus.
She began considering how to handle Adam and his group.
The simplest approach was to summon more Servants and bolster their forces.
Jeanne Alter released Gilles' collar.
"Gilles, prepare the summoning circle. I'm summoning more Servants." Her voice was ice-cold and emotionless.
After standing up, Gilles revealed the summoning circle behind him.
"Jeanne, the circle is ready."
He had been preparing it before her arrival and had just finished when she jabbed his eyes.
Ow~ My eyes.
Jeanne Alter said nothing and silently stepped up to the circle.
After chanting several lines of the summoning incantation infused with Mad Enhancement, the circle blazed with light.
Once the glow reached its peak, two Servants materialized one after another.
The first was a gray-haired, blue-eyed executioner.
Charles-Henri Sanson (Assassin)
Right behind him appeared a Knight of the Round Table in blue-black armor.
Lancelot (Berserker)
————————————
Back with Adam's group,
They had said their goodbyes to Jeanne's mother, Isabelle.
They were now making their way toward Mr. Sorry (Siegfried)'s location.
Along the road,
Jeanne's eyes kept drifting toward the swimsuit-clad Jeanne Alter walking beside Adam.
It seemed like she had something on her mind or words she wanted to say to her.
Swimsuit Jeanne Alter noticed the occasional glances. Irritated, she turned around.
"Stop staring at me like that. It's annoying!"
"What? You think my swimsuit looks bad too?"
This particular swimsuit ensemble was one Swimsuit Jeanne Alter had picked out and coordinated herself after looking through fashion magazines multiple times.
It wasn't professionally styled, so it looked a bit off, but she was quite pleased with it.
The reason for her satisfaction was that this outfit represented a form of proof for her.
As for what kind…
Seeing that her covert staring had been caught, Jeanne stepped forward and finally asked the question that had been bothering her ever since she first saw Swimsuit Jeanne Alter.
"You right now… what do you think about your true identity?"
***
Hi guys, Elenea here. I hope you're all doing well.
I wanted to let you know that I'm currently working on one of the best projects you might ever read. This project is set in the world of Fairy Tail with some combined elements from the Yu-Gi-Oh! series.
I'm confident you won't regret giving it a try, so don't hesitate to visit my second account's page (elenea) and start reading it.
[Fairy Tail: My Magic is a Yu Gi Oh Deck?]
Synopsis:
Getting isekai'd into the world of Fairy Tail sounds amazing with all the magic and beautiful girls in it...
But do you know what's even more fun than that?
Getting isekai'd with a Yu-Gi-Oh deck!
(No knowledge of Yu-Gi-Oh is needed, so don't worry.)
...
If you like it feel free to giving it a try.