Chapter 27

Maxime’s group was a reinforcement force. They drew up a plan to join the relief army at Orléans.

“Let’s take the conventional route. If we’re moving this many troops at once, we’ll have to use the roads. We should join up with the supply convoy from Blois.”

Blois was both a military stronghold and an administrative center. Thanks to that, it had long served as a military supply base.

The Duke of Orléans held possession of the city, so although it was administratively separate, in practice it was treated as part of his domain.

“Tours would make a good rendezvous point.”

Like Blois, Tours was connected to the Loire River. Following the river diagonally upstream would take them through Tours, Blois, and Orléans, in that order.

“Knights, lead your men. Anyone who causes trouble during the assembly will be severely punished.”

The departure ceremony ended once they passed through the city gates. Every available instrument had been brought out for the brief march.

Each unit made its way separately to Tours. Once they arrived, they would establish a proper camp.

Maxime did not voice any particular opinions during the first meeting. For the time being, the command structure was still unclear, and he had not had enough interaction with the knights serving as commanding officers. He needed time to get everything in order.

“Boss, we got rid of everything you told us to leave behind. The wagons are ready too.”

“Then let’s get moving.”

“Brother, can I start carrying Thunder Falcon around now? It feels so empty without it…”

“I’ll allow it. But until we reach the battlefield, keep it wrapped in cloth and carry it like a bag.”

“Mhmm, thanks! Leo will be happy too!”

She beamed as she ran her hands over Thunder Falcon. Maxime understood why she looked after Leo, considering the man had something of a big teddy bear about him, but seeing her suddenly grow so close to a man outside the family left him with a strange feeling as her older brother.

It should be fine. She’ll be staying close to Jeanne d’Arc from now on anyway, and there’s an age gap between her and Leo.

Agathe was hardly the only thing he had to worry about.

Even the newly organized unit made up of people from Domrémy gave him plenty to think about.

The six-man artisan unit under Maxime’s command had added thirty technicians in Chinon and completed its reorganization as an independent formation called the technical unit.

Each of the six field commanders, including Pierre, had been assigned a mercenary squad of around thirty men.

In addition, two Thunder Falcon gunners and one loader had been organized into a special detachment. However, since Agathe served as Jeanne’s squire, they had recruited someone else to serve as Leo’s second gunner.

If it were up to him, Maxime would have equipped every crossbowman with a Thunder Falcon but unfortunately, he did not even know how many of the six hundred men knew how to use a crossbow yet.

“By the way, little sister, aren’t you supposed to be a squire? Where did you leave your knight, Jeanne?”

“W-Well… um, I wonder where she could be…?”

“Go find her right now before I get seriously angry.”

“Eek, okay…!”

Agathe hurried off in a panic to find Jeanne. She had only gotten a short break, and she was already this lax. Maxime had plenty to worry about.

***

As planned, all six hundred troops assembled at Tours. The rendezvous point was not far from the road running along the Loire River.

Inside a temporary command tent, Maxime went over the troops and supplies. He did not do it alone; the Duke of Alençon and several scribes assisted him.

“The hardtack and salt have been loaded onto the wagons, and the horse feed and cavalry supplies just arrived. We also purchased the lamp oil we reported as being in short supply from nearby shops.”

“Is there anything else we need to replenish?”

“We are short on crossbows and bolts.”

“Ah, don’t worry about those. Our technical unit will make up the shortage of crossbows and bolts.”

“…In that case, all logistical preparations are complete.”

“Thank you for your work checking everything. We’ll depart tomorrow morning as planned.”

“It was hardly any trouble. I’ve never finished an inspection this quickly before. …If I didn’t know you were a saint, I might have mistaken you for the son of a nobleman with an advanced education.”

The scribe’s embarrassing praise did not please Maxime. If anything, it made him feel ashamed.

They thought he was an uneducated young man from the countryside, but the truth was that he was someone from the future who had even graduated from college.

He was nothing like the mysterious saint they imagined him to be. He felt like a fraud pretending to be a genius.

“Duke Alençon, I’ll be heading out first.”

“Of course. Get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow will demand even more of us.”

Maxime gathered the organized documents and returned to his assigned quarters. Pierre had left early and pitched their tents in one of the best spots, so it was not difficult to find them.

The area was filled with people from Domrémy.

Late that afternoon, as Maxime was rolling up a sheet of parchment, a visitor arrived.

“Are you there?”

It was Jeanne d’Arc.

“Come in. I just finished my work and was taking a break.”

Once he gave permission, she carefully opened the tent flap. She was dressed in ordinary clothes rather than armor.

“I’d like to send a letter to the English regent, the Duke of Bedford. …I can’t write, so if you have time, could you write it for me?”

“I’d make time for you even if I didn’t have any. Don’t worry about it. Leave it to me.”

“Ah… yes.”

Maxime had naturally learned to read and write Latin script while handling administrative work in Domrémy. Writing a hundred letters like this would have been no problem for him.

“…I have received God’s command. If things continue as they are, I will have no choice but to drive the English out of France. I do not wish for meaningless sacrifice. Even now, I ask that you return to your homeland so that no more blood is shed in vain.”

Maxime faithfully wrote down every word she spoke. Still, he had his doubts. The Duke of Bedford was Henry V’s younger brother.

After devoting seventeen years to the war, it was hard to imagine a letter like this changing his mind.

“Are you sure this is what you want to say?”

“Yes. If possible, I want to resolve this through dialogue before we have to fight.”

“…He’ll probably take it as a provocation.”

“I can only hope my sincerity reaches him.”

“If that’s what you want, I won’t question it any further.”

Maxime respected Jeanne’s wishes. He carefully folded the finished letter and asked a messenger to deliver it.

When he returned to the tent, Jeanne d’Arc was waiting quietly for him. Their eyes met, and she gave him a soft smile. The innocent look in her eyes made his head spin for a moment.

She used to get embarrassed and look away first, but now she never does…

Lately, it felt as though their positions had somehow reversed. He could not pinpoint exactly when it had happened, but one thing was certain. Ever since she had taught him how to ride a horse, the distance between them had started to feel strange.

Her chest keeps touching me…

Most of the time, everything was fine, but whenever they were alone, they somehow ended up making physical contact more often than not. He had even stared at her once, wondering if she was doing it deliberately, but the way she merely tilted her head suggested she was completely unaware of it.

“Ahem…”

He cleared his throat. Once again, he was the first to look away in embarrassment.

“Have some warm water before you go.”

“Yes! Thank you.”

Jeanne savored the brief time she had with Maxime before heading back.

***

“#$&%!”

I had just lain down to sleep when a commotion broke out outside.

I fumbled for the lamp and lit it.

I felt my way through the dark barracks and stepped outside. All hell had broken loose.

“What are you all doing? Hurry up and get rid of that thing! How can you let some filthy mutt roam around the barracks where a holy person resides?!”

“Woof! Woof!!”

“This won’t do. I’ll get rid of it myself!”

A sword was drawn. He wasn’t merely trying to chase Walter away. The mysterious knight was genuinely trying to kill him.

Pierre, who was nearby, grabbed his halberd and rushed over.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

Pierre blocked the knight’s sword with the blade of his poleaxe.

“…What is the meaning of this?”

I approached the knight who had started the fight.

“Oh, Sir Maxime! I’ve been wanting to meet you for so long.”

“The dog you attacked isn’t a stray. He’s a cherished member of my family.”

“Oh, dear… It seems I’ve caused offense without meaning to. You have my sincerest apologies.”

The knight even dropped to one knee and apologized with utmost courtesy. He didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the halberd right beside his neck. Even Pierre looked appalled by how nonchalant he was.

“I am Gilles de Montmorency-Laval. Just call me the Baron de Rais.”

I held up the torch to get a better look at the knight’s face.

“…Gilles de Rais.”

“Ah! You may call me that as well.”

He was a knight sent by a high-ranking noble. He made a striking impression. Not the kind of face women would like, but the sort men would consider handsome.

“I’ve been wanting to meet you for quite some time. You’ve been so busy that I’m only now able to formally introduce myself! As for me, I entered battle at sixteen and proved my valor as a knight. Whatever the battlefield, just leave it to me!”

Beneath the torchlight, I could see his unwavering eyes. He inhabited a world entirely his own. It was something akin to conviction, yet somehow different.

I called it madness.

I had a friend who got sucked into a cult and stopped contacting everyone. He had eyes like that. That’s the look you get when you believe in something fanatically without ever really questioning it…

“I saw the magical statue you created! I also witnessed the ceremony where the miraculous holy sword was bestowed upon you! Never before have I spent my days feeling the grace of heaven so directly.”

There was no longer any need for formalities.

“…You wish to become my knight?”

“Exactly! Did you perhaps read my mind? Haaah… You truly are incredible.”

I knew how Gilles de Rais was regarded. He was a knight whose abilities were so highly recognized that even his flaws in character were overlooked.

I can make use of him.

Coordinating a community was not something that could be accomplished through boundless love and consideration alone.

Sometimes, you had to know how to deal with criminals. Other times, with scum.

How a leader handled those who stuck out like jagged stones was what separated a good leader from a bad one.

“I will forge a sword for you to wield.”

It meant I was accepting him as my knight.

“Wait, Captain…”

“Ha… Hahahaha!”

Gilles de Rais shed tears of joy.

“I feel far happier now than I did when I kidnapped my wife and married her!”

I let the insane remark go in one ear and out the other.

“But I’ll give you one warning. Your sword will become my prayer. If you wield your weapon indiscriminately again, as you did today, I’ll expel you immediately.”

“…! I’ll keep that in mind…!”

I wasn’t swayed in the slightest by Gilles de Rais’s madness. If anything, it was Gilles de Rais who found himself cowed by the unwavering resolve behind my expressionless face.

***

John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford.

He tore up the letter Jeanne d’Arc had sent him and threw it away.

“Send reinforcements to the newly appointed commander at Orléans. Send whatever equipment might aid the blockade.”

The Duke of Bedford had no intention of letting the witch who dared impersonate a saint and insult England go unpunished.

She called me, the Regent of France, the Regent of England. The arrogance of the uneducated… Disgusting.

Meanwhile, rumors were also spreading throughout Orléans.

Word had begun to circulate that a pure maiden would soon appear, along with a prophecy that France would be saved by her.

The sensational tale swept through the city like the wind.

It spread without regard for friend or foe.