Chapter 264

Chapter 264: Chapter 264

Kiriya looked at Jeanne, and the longer he looked, the more delighted he became.

The corners of his mouth were practically impossible to suppress.

"As expected of my Jeanne. You’re seriously beautiful enough to be a painting."

Kiriya silently praised himself for the decision he had made.

Convincing her to come along and travel with him had absolutely been the right choice.

"W-What is it?"

Jeanne grew increasingly embarrassed beneath his undisguised stare.

Her slender pale fingers twisted together as her gaze involuntarily drifted away.

"Don’t look at me like that."

Kiriya had not thought much of it at first, but seeing Jeanne become so shy only made him more interested in teasing her.

"Hm? Why not?"

He deliberately put on a puzzled expression.

"My Jeanne is so beautiful and so adorable. What’s wrong with me looking a little longer? I’m telling you, every second I spend not looking is a terrible loss."

"T-That’s way too exaggerated."

Before joining the army, Jeanne had only been an ordinary village girl, and most of the boys around her had been straightforward country lads.

After she joined the army, she was certainly surrounded by educated men, but those people had been awed by her military talent and by the titles and reputation surrounding her as a commander and Saint.

Even if some of them admired her personally, they rarely dared to express it so openly.

Kiriya’s direct praise therefore left her completely unprepared.

Another flush quickly spread across her fair face.

"Exaggerated? Not at all."

The more Kiriya talked, the more enthusiastic he became, and he began walking toward her one step at a time.

Every time he advanced, Jeanne retreated.

The resolute, commanding Saint who had stood fearlessly on the battlefield during the Great Holy Grail War had disappeared entirely, replaced by an ordinary young girl whose heart was racing wildly.

Too flustered to pay attention to her surroundings, Jeanne failed to notice the bed behind her and abruptly sat down on it.

"T-This is too fast. I... I’m not ready yet."

As Kiriya’s face drew closer, Jeanne instinctively leaned farther and farther backward until she was lying flat on the bed. She squeezed her eyes shut nervously.

"Hm? Too fast?"

A mischievous smile flashed through Kiriya’s eyes.

"What exactly is too fast?"

"Uuu..."

Jeanne buried her face into the bedsheets and let out a miserable little sound like an ostrich trying to hide its head.

Curious, Kiriya reached out and touched her earlobe.

It was astonishingly hot.

Then he noticed what almost looked like steam rising from her head and realized that if he continued teasing her, she might genuinely die of embarrassment.

Only then did he finally restrain himself and turn to something more serious.

"Jeanne, do you want to know where I came from?"

"Where... you came from?"

Jeanne’s attention was immediately drawn away from her embarrassment, and she lifted her moist eyes to look at him.

"Aren’t you curious where all my abilities came from?"

"Of course I am."

Jeanne looked directly at the young man so close to her.

"You’re clearly human, yet you possess enough strength to defeat a top-tier Servant like Karna. And you have so many different abilities that I can’t understand at all."

"That’s because..."

Kiriya pointed upward.

"I came from beyond this world."

"What? Beyond this world?"

Jeanne froze, her lips forming a small O in sheer surprise.

The expression was so adorably blank that Kiriya could not resist reaching over and pinching her cheek.

Soft, smooth, and pleasantly springy.

The sensation was excellent.

After satisfying his curiosity, Kiriya began explaining his origins to her.

He told Jeanne about his ability to travel between different worlds, the unusual bloodlines and constitution he possessed, and the many strange forms of life and power that existed across those worlds.

He did not hide any of it.

Jeanne was about to travel through different worlds with him and become a companion who would share life-and-death situations at his side.

These were things he could not realistically conceal from her, so it was better to explain them in advance and let her prepare herself mentally.

Kiriya was not worried about trusting her either.

This was Jeanne.

If even the Saint’s character could not be trusted, then there was probably no one in the world worth believing in.

As Kiriya continued speaking, an unprecedentedly vast picture gradually unfolded before Jeanne.

Demons, Cursed Spirits, Tailed Beasts...

Ninjutsu, cursed techniques, magic...

And above all of those mysterious existences—

Gods.

"Those gods... really exist?"

Jeanne sat upright and grabbed Kiriya’s arm tightly, asking with obvious urgency.

"They do."

Kiriya smiled.

"They’ve just had their divine power sealed, so they’re nowhere near the omnipotent, all-knowing beings you might imagine. Most of the time they don’t look much different from ordinary mortals.

Some are lustful, some are greedy for money, some indulge themselves however they please, and some only care about satisfying their own desires. You’ll definitely have your worldview broadened when you meet them."

"That’s incredible."

Jeanne slowly exhaled, murmuring almost to herself.

Ever since the great calamities of ancient times, Mystery had gradually declined and the gods had withdrawn from the mortal world, leaving people of the present age almost no opportunity to encounter them directly.

Yet in the world Kiriya called DanMachi, gods from many different pantheons lived among ordinary mortals, sharing the same cities and experiencing everyday pleasures alongside them.

For Jeanne, who came from the Nasuverse, the idea was enough to overturn much of what she understood about gods.

"No wonder you’re so strong."

Jeanne gave Kiriya a long, thoughtful look.

He already possessed exceptional talent and physical potential from another world, had received divine favor and blessings, and could travel between multiple worlds to obtain resources, knowledge, and methods of strengthening himself.

With all of those advantages combined, his extraordinary strength was no longer quite so difficult to understand.

"And it won’t only be me."

Kiriya spoke with certainty.

"You’ll become stronger too."

He had chosen Jeanne as his companion partly because he was attracted to her appearance, but he had never intended for her to become nothing more than something beautiful to admire.

He wanted a partner who could grow stronger alongside him and continue progressing with him.

If Jeanne had remained a Servant, her abilities would have effectively been fixed from the moment she was summoned.

But she had now been incarnated.

Not only had she retained her excellent physical abilities, Skills, and Noble Phantasms, she had also gained something even more important—

The possibility of continuing to grow.

"Mm. I’ll work hard so I can help you, Kiriya-kun."

Jeanne clenched one small fist with determination.

Although she did not enjoy fighting for its own sake, she understood clearly that conflict would never disappear entirely from the world.

If she wanted to protect herself and the people important to her, strength was a necessary tool.

She did not have to use it.

But she could not afford to be without it.

"Hahaha. As long as you enjoy the journey ahead, that’s enough."

Kiriya was relieved that Jeanne did not reject the idea of fighting or becoming stronger.

"Of course. I have a feeling the journey ahead will be very interesting."

"It definitely will."

Kiriya patted his chest proudly.

"If you’re traveling with me, the one thing you’ll never lack is unexpected trouble and surprises."

Jeanne’s expression immediately became serious.

"Kiriya, you must not be too reckless. I’ll make sure to keep an eye on you."

"Yare yare."

Kiriya shook his head and teased her.

"As you command, my dear."

"Uu..."

Jeanne, who had only just recovered from her earlier embarrassment, immediately started blushing again at the implication.

This time, however, Kiriya did not continue teasing her. Instead, he took her hand and asked softly,

"Ready?"

"Mm."

Jeanne nodded.

Kiriya activated his world-travel ability.

The two of them disappeared from the room together.

At almost the exact same moment, Astolfo, who had been wandering around the villa, seemed to sense something.

He turned toward the direction of Kiriya’s room and quietly offered his blessing.

"Have a safe journey, Master."

"I’ll be looking forward to the day we meet again."