Chapter 20

Robert still had his doubts about Jeanne and Maxime.

He was troubled by how complicated the situation was becoming.

Meanwhile, the knights were beginning to believe that Jeanne and Maxime really had received a divine revelation.

“Those ignorant country bumpkins are acting with such absolute conviction. What if they really did receive a revelation from God? What if we’ve offended Him by how we treated them?”

The knight Bertrand de Poulengy spoke. Watching them stand so confidently through the interrogation had clearly shaken him, and he was anxious that they might have gone against God’s will.

“Our lord ordered us not to jump to conclusions. But like you, I think they truly did receive a revelation. How else could a country girl carry herself with such confidence? I can’t explain it except to say that God chose her.”

The knight Jean de Metz added his support. They were far from the only knights whose convictions had begun to waver.

“Honestly, there’s something different about them. I had a feeling from the start that they weren’t ordinary…”

“I’ve been watching that Maxime fellow. He takes a weapon away for a moment, and before you know it, he’s polished it to a shine. He must be using some mysterious power we don’t know about!”

“I saw it too. I ate at the tavern by the well this morning. When I came out after lunch, the entire road from the well to the farmland had been fixed up! No human could possibly work that fast!”

“That woman Jeanne….I thought she was at least thirty because of her chest, but when she took off her helmet, she was so young. Even we flinch when we face Captain Robert. How could a girl that young stand her ground against that fearsome glare unless she had God’s blessing?”

As the eyewitness accounts piled up, the belief that the two truly were extraordinary only grew stronger. By now, most of the knights had already fallen under the spell of the outsiders from Domrémy.

“Are we really going to sit around and do nothing? This isn’t the time for that. Let’s go to Robert and tell him we should help them! He’s not a man who turns a deaf ear to advice. I’m sure he’ll listen.”

“Right. As knights, it’s our duty to offer him honest counsel.”

And so they set off on an adventure to add a few more wrinkles to Robert’s brow.

***

I was watching the others train for battle when he called Leo and Agathe, the two marksmen, aside.

“You two are good shots, but I’ve noticed some dangerous habits. The Thunder Falcon is powerful, and that makes its hazards more pronounced than those of other crossbows. Before marksmanship comes safety. Following proper safety procedures comes first.”

Agathe’s serious hand injury while practicing alone was proof enough. Safety could never be emphasized too much.

“Leo, if you keep your finger on the trigger while you’re standing by, there’s a high risk of an accidental discharge. Get in the habit of always keeping your hand here instead.”

“Yes, sir!”

“This won’t do. Let’s go over the Thunder Falcon’s construction and mechanism again from the beginning.”

Just as soldiers studied the workings of their firearms, it was important for users to understand exactly how their weapons operated. As the creator of the Thunder Falcon, I carefully pointed out every important detail.

If I only explained it once, they would eventually forget. Since the subject had come up anyway, I drew a simple Thunder Falcon manual on a wooden board.

“You’re good at drawing too, Captain.”

“Sketching is a basic skill for any craftsman.”

Paper was hard to come by, so normally I just drew things on the ground and erased them afterward. Drawing itself was something I had done often in my previous life as well.

Leo, being the bigger of the two, took charge of carrying the manual.

“If you’re unlucky, you might find yourselves facing cavalry at close range, an enemy you’ve never had to deal with before. The Nest is meant to stop infantry and arrows. It’ll have a hard time withstanding the sheer force of charging cavalry.

There are basically two situations you need to consider. The first is when you have plenty of distance between you and them. That’s the better scenario, and it might even be the one you encounter most often.

If the rider is wearing plate armor, even the Thunder Falcon might not punch through it in a single shot, and they’ll overrun you while you’re reloading.

Aim for the warhorse, not the rider. Unlike the rider, a warhorse isn’t completely covered in armor, and it’s a much bigger target, so it’s easier to hit. Most importantly, once the horse stops, the rider is useless.”

“What’s the other one?”

“Treat the other situation as an exception. That’s when you’re hiding nearby and they break through your position. Usually, they’ll be on top of you within seconds. At your current level, you should assume you’re dead.”

“…Gulp.”

“So take full advantage of the Thunder Falcon’s overwhelming range, and be prepared to fight as dirty as you possibly can.”

That was enough theory. In the end, the most fundamental skill for a marksman was still marksmanship.

Based on what I had taught them, I watched as the two adjusted their stances and resumed shooting.

The person I observed most carefully was my younger sister.

Quiet and stealthy, with good enough eyesight to give her a remarkably long effective range. She’s almost like… an assassin from a video game.

…If she gets good enough, could she assassinate an enemy commander from a distance?’

I didn’t jump to conclusions. For now, it was only a possibility. It hadn’t been long since I had opposed her joining us in the first place, and I had no intention of recklessly sending my younger sister somewhere dangerous just because I saw potential in her.

Still,

I could at least make some specialized equipment for Agathe.

***

Helena was born and raised in Vaucouleurs. Her German-born father was a local administrator, so her family was fairly well-off.

As an only daughter, she had high standards. None of the young men her age in the area even caught her eye.

After spending all night thinking it over, she had finally made up her mind.

I’m going to seduce Maxime Blanche.

He was a mysterious and capable man from out of town. It might depend on the woman, but in Helena’s eyes, he was an extremely attractive man.

She put on the finest clothes she owned. She wasn’t a prostitute, so there was no question of trying to seduce him by showing a lot of skin.

She checked her outfit several times before putting on the only finely crafted necklace she owned. It was a deliberate display of just how wealthy and privileged an upbringing she had enjoyed.

Finding Maxime wasn’t difficult. As usual, he was helping the people of Vaucouleurs.

“Maxiiime~.”

Helena called out to him in an exaggeratedly sweet voice. Maintaining a proper posture, she hurried over to him.

“Did you sleep well last night? I’d love to invite you to my house, but it’s a shame you have companions with you.”

“Good morning, Helena.”

“You remembered my name?”

“Well, you emphasized it enough…”

“I’m so happy!”

Helena suddenly grabbed Maxime’s hand. While she was at it, she leaned her body against him, practically throwing herself halfway into his arms.

Like a true Frenchwoman, her approach to seduction was direct and forceful.

She whispered so that only Maxime could hear.

“My flesh longs to kneel before you, Maxime. And if you partake of the sacrament, wouldn’t that itself be a baptism of the Holy Spirit bestowed by Heaven?”

It was a dirty joke couched in theological language.

To Maxime, it felt less like she was trying to seduce him and more like she was charging in to conquer him.

“You… You’re that woman from before!”

Jeanne d’Arc, who was standing nearby, recoiled in surprise.

“Get away from brother Maxime!”

Helena’s earnest attempt at seduction looked like an act of sheer lunacy to Jeanne.

“Maxiiime~ Some strange woman is pulling me away. Won’t you help me?”

“Do we know each other that well?”

Maxime firmly drew a line.

As though she hadn’t even heard his rejection, Helena turned her attention to needling Jeanne d’Arc.

“How strange~ Maxime is clearly unmarried and isn’t even engaged, yet some strange woman keeps getting in the way between a man and a woman.”

Helena now regarded Jeanne d’Arc, who had gotten in her way before, as an enemy.

Drawing on the skills she had honed through gossiping behind people’s backs, she made Jeanne d’Arc’s behavior sound ridiculous.

Her companions wanted her to stop? As far as Helena was concerned, being told not to do something only made her want to do it more.

“Oh my, what kind of outfit is that for a woman? Wearing armor is bad enough, but you’ve even got dirt all over it. How sloppy… Don’t go getting my clothes dirty for no reason.”

“Brother Maxime told you to stop too—”

“What, are you his lover or something? Don’t you know romance is all about playing hard to get? You don’t even have the right to interfere, so why are you doing this?”

“……”

The provocations kept coming, and Jeanne found herself getting dragged into Helena’s rhythm.

I don’t have the right to stop her…?

And Maxime was watching.

What if she was actually the one in the wrong?

Jeanne’s rational mind ground to a halt.

Unaccustomed to this kind of confrontation, she couldn’t think of a response to Helena’s relentless taunts.

The confusion only continued to pile up.

“Why so quiet all of a sudden? Got a rock sitting on your tongue?”

Snap.

At last, Jeanne’s reason broke.

“M-My breasts are bigger than yours…!”

The irrational words slipped out as though something had compelled her to say them.

“…….”

Silence fell over everyone nearby. Helena, who had been attacking her one-sidedly until then, was so stunned by Jeanne d’Arc’s remark that her mouth hung open.

“Y-You can… say something like that all you want… It doesn’t bother me at all, you know?”

Normally, she would have argued back, but even she could see that… there was an undeniable difference between the two.

“Brother Maxime likes mature women.”

Jeanne d’Arc had already completely lost it. She thrust out her chest and answered proudly.

It was exactly the same pose her older sister used to strike when teasing her as a child.

She never would have done something like this under normal circumstances. With blood rushing to her head, she had instinctively reenacted something she had experienced long ago.

The victim had simply become the aggressor.

“Ha… Hahaha! This is… This is ridiculous…”

Trudge, trudge…

Helena’s lips twitched as she walked away. Faced with the overwhelming difference in sheer physical endowment, she had been left speechless.

***

Robert smashed a bottle over one of the knights’ heads.

At first, he had taken their words as nothing more than loyal counsel.

But the argument refused to end, and one knight in particular kept pushing his luck until Robert could no longer restrain himself from resorting to violence.

Thanks to that, the other knights quickly quieted down. For Robert, at least, that was a relief.

“That’s enough. All of you, get out. Knights getting swept up so easily…”

He had finally escaped the knights’ pressure.

Once outside, he stared blankly at the recently repaired castle walls.

There was no denying the craftsmanship was remarkable.

None of the craftsmen he had ever encountered had displayed such versatility.

Deep down, he wanted to bring Maxime into his own domain.

It wasn’t that he disliked the man. Matters as sensitive as divine revelation simply had to be handled with care. One wrong judgment could bring ruin upon his entire family. Making a hasty decision was the kind of sin that could destroy a noble house.

“Lord Robert de Baudricourt. I have something I need to discuss with you.”

The priest who had interrogated Maxime and Jeanne d’Arc requested a private meeting.

Once they reached Robert’s office, the priest made sure there was no one around to overhear them before immediately confessing.

“I no longer have the confidence to continue interrogating them. I ask that you put an end to the inquisition.”

“…Even to you, do they seem like saints chosen by God?”

“…I believe it’s possible. Both of them are difficult to deal with, but Maxime Blanche in particular makes me feel as though I’m dealing with a seasoned politician. There’s no reason someone so young should have that kind of experience. If he truly received a revelation, however, it would make sense.”

Robert was naturally suspicious and cautious, but when everyone around him insisted that the two truly had received divine revelation, even his resolve began to waver.

“Haah…”

In the end, he accepted the situation for what it was, hoping that this decision would not bring disaster upon his family.

He sent a letter arranging a meeting with the Duke of Lorraine.

The reply came almost immediately. Unexpectedly, the Duke of Lorraine was so eager that he intended to come to Vaucouleurs in person.

Robert summoned Jeanne and Maxime.

“The Duke of Lorraine wishes to meet you. He should arrive sometime tomorrow, so be ready to come at once when I summon you.”

Jeanne couldn’t hide her delight.

“That’s a relief.”

Just in case, Maxime canceled the plan he had prepared for some French-style fire-spinning spectacle.