-169- The summoned neutrals

France, above a mountain peak.

Here, wyverns also appear from time to time, flapping their wings as they fly by, emitting a dangerous aura as if searching for prey.

At a certain moment, a gigantic eagle flew in from the distance and landed on the mountainside, entering a cave.

"Let's rest here for now."

Perched on the eagle's back, Rozen spoke these words, his tone filled with exhaustion.

Clearly, the intense exertion he had just undergone had nearly drained both his spirit and magical energy.

"Caw!"

The enormous eagle seemed to have fulfilled its purpose, brushing against Rozen before dissolving into pure magical residue and vanished.

"Fou!"

Fou promptly landed with a near-perfect posture, appearing as if the perilous experience had been nothing, radiating an aura of composure that made one clench their teeth.

"Are you okay?"

Jeanne gazed at Rozen with concern, seeing him sprawled on a boulder.

"I'm fine..."

Rozen could only wave his hand weakly, then continued to lie down, looking utterly drained and out of energy.

Despite being beside the most famous saint in the world, the heroine who saved France, and the object of admiration and worship for countless individuals, Rozen's attitude was truly impolite.

However, Jeanne didn't mind at all. Her previous resolute and determined demeanor had vanished, replaced by a tranquil expression.

"Thank you very much for your assistance."

Jeanne began with a solemn expression, offering her gratitude to Rozen before continuing.

"I am a Servant of the Ruler class. You must have already known my true name."

Upon hearing Jeanne's introduction, Rozen finally showed some reaction.

"Ruler... huh?"

Rozen looked at Jeanne.

— Ruler.

It was a class similar to Mash's, not part of the seven standard classes.

Servants who could acquire this class were generally legendary saints and saintess, or heroic spirits without wishes to be anchored to the Holy Grail. Only they could form a Saint Graph as Rulers.

The summoning of a Ruler can be categorized into two situations.

First: When a Holy Grail War occurs somewhere in the world, but its format is excessively special and its outcome uncertain, necessitating external intervention, the Holy Grail itself summons a Ruler to serve as an arbiter, maintaining fairness in the war and rectifying any anomalies that may arise during its course.

Second: When a Holy Grail War is held somewhere in the world, but its impact might distort the world, the Holy Grail also summons a Ruler to intervene.

Given these circumstances, a Ruler retains memories of participating in the Holy Grail War. Unlike other Servants, their memories aren't reclaimed when they return to the Throne, and they don't lose those memories when summoned again. Moreover, a Ruler possesses multiple privileges and can exercise various abilities.

According to Chaldea's records, Rozen had a general understanding of Rulers' abilities.

For instance, their ability to sense enemies neutralizes Assassin's Presence Concealment, with a search radius extending up to ten kilometers.

Furthermore, Rulers can ascertain the true names of Servants. Regardless of the Servant's nature, with certain exceptions, their true name becomes known to the Ruler upon their appearance in the Ruler's field of vision.

More impressively, this class of Servants possesses the Command Seal privilege to command any Servant twice.

In essence, the appearance of a Ruler Servant was itself a rule-breaking act.

Or rather, they represented rules themselves and naturally possessed privileges that other Servants couldn't reach.

If Jeanne were indeed a Ruler, she would not only possess many combat-advantageous abilities but with her own combat prowess, she would be at least a top-tier Servant, equivalent to an upper-tier familiar.

The problem was...

"Your abilities seem to have been significantly weakened."

Rozen brought up this issue.

With his abilities as a Master, he could easily assess Jeanne's current stats. She wasn't only considerably weak, but she also gave off a sense of immaturity, hardly fitting the profile of an upper-tier familiar.

If she used her Noble Phantasm, her powerful defense would be formidable. However, in her current state without utilizing it, Jeanne was indeed weak, and she might even struggle against a Ten Wyvern.

Is that why Jeanne was overpowered by the Dragon witch?

Jeanne couldn't possibly be ignorant of her own condition, her tone becoming quite complex.

"Yes, my strength has been greatly diminished. Not only that, most of my Ruler-class special abilities have been stripped away. Even the abilities to use Command Seals on other Servants, as well as my search ability and my ability to discern true names, have vanished."

This was Jeanne's current condition.

The reason for her deterioration was rather simple.

"It's probably because of the special circumstances of this case, right?" Jeanne's expression turned serious. "Although the ritual for the Holy Grail War, which was supposed to determine its ownership, hasn't yet taken place, the Holy Grail itself has already fallen into the hands of a Servant, not only failing to function as a prize of war, but also affecting my summoning process."

A Ruler is summoned by the Holy Grail to maintain order in the Holy Grail War.

However, the so-called Holy Grail War that Jeanne wanted to protect didn't even begin yet and had inexplicably ended, yet it was still being exploited to cause harm, thus affecting the world.

In such circumstances, Jeanne's summoning process became incomplete due to these contradictions. Her abilities were significantly weakened, and she even lost the privileges of a Ruler.

"Of course, it's also possible that my incomplete summoning is due to the fact that the Holy Grail has fallen into the hands of another 'me'," Jeanne added with a wry smile.

According to the saint's explanation, she had been summoned just yesterday, learning that she had been summoned to the era and country of her lifetime. Moreover, there was another version of herself here causing trouble.

In this situation, Jeanne set off towards Orleans, holding a mixture of shock and doubt, attempting to find the other version of herself, uncover the truth, and ultimately encountered the situation of Rozen and the others attacking Orleans.

Recognizing this as a favorable opportunity, Jeanne utilized the help of friends she met during her journey to infiltrate Orleans, and she encountered the other version of herself.

As a result, they found themselves locked in combat, and amidst the intense battle, Rozen entered the scene.

Jeanne's explanation confirmed one of Rozen's speculations.

"So you do have companions."

When Jeanne revealed that the dragons in the hall had been hypnotized by magic, Rozen had already guessed that Jeanne might have allies assisting her.

Otherwise, given Jeanne's current abilities, even in the midst of chaos, she wouldn't have been able to infiltrate the castle, and the dragon wouldn't have been hypnotized.

And since Jeanne's companions possessed such capability, it was highly likely that they were other Servants.

In other words...

"Besides you, have other Servants not aligned with the 'Dragon Witch' faction been summoned?"

Rozen asked this question.

The answer he received was affirmative.

"Yes." Jeanne nodded and continued, "They should have been summoned as neutral Servants due to the Holy Grail's reaction."

Jeanne stated this fact.

"I will take you to meet them."