-176- Another reunion

The next morning, Rozen woke up feeling aches and pains all over his body, likely a result of sleeping outdoors.

"Is this the result of camping in the wild?"

Rozen couldn't help but grimace, feeling like his body was falling apart after sleeping leaning against a tree trunk last night.

However, compared to his persistently fragile constitution, Rozen's magical energy had completely recovered, filling his magic circuits and indicating their excellent condition.

Even bystanders could notice Rozen's current condition.

"Although camping outdoors isn't ideal, at least your magical energy has fully recovered. Congratulations, Master."

Jeanne, who had guarded him all night, turned to face Rozen, giving him the same serene and gentle smile as yesterday.

Servants didn't need to eat, let alone sleep. As long as they had a supply of magical energy, they could stay vigilant all night, making Jeanne the perfect choice for night watch.

Of course, seeing Jeanne's serene smile just like yesterday, Rozen felt a bit restless.

It was because he felt embarrassed.

Recalling his involuntary outpouring of emotions yesterday and the scene of the saint holding his hand in prayer until nightfall, Rozen felt an itch all over, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

Despite his intelligence, Rozen still lacked life experience, so facing this kind of situation, he naturally felt uncomfortable and uneasy.

At the moment, he quickly sought a topic.

"Where are Rider and Caster?"

He was referring to Marie and Amadeus.

In the next second...

"I'm right here, Master."

Marie jumped out from the side at just the right time, wearing a happy and understanding expression.

"Please don't mind me, you two can continue interacting like before, okay?"

It seemed that the romantic and naive queen had taken great interest in the interaction between Rozen and Jeanne.

"Don't say such strange things, Maria."

Jeanne immediately commented, but a slight blush also appeared on her cheeks, showing she was a bit embarrassed too.

Regarding this, Amadeus spoke up.

"Forgive her, Jeanne."

Amadeus walked out from the woods ahead and seemed to understand what was going on without even looking at the scene.

"Without curiosity, Maria wouldn't be Maria."

Amadeus offered this remark, which could be interpreted as praise or slight mockery.

These Servants were still as unique as they were yesterday.

Rozen unknowingly felt more at ease, and his discomfort and unease lessened. He stood up from the ground.

"I absolutely won't camp in the wild next time."

Rozen complained as he twisted his sore waist, speaking as he did so.

"Now that everyone is here, and my magical energy is mostly restored, shall we go meet my contracted Servant?"

Naturally, nobody objected to Rozen's suggestion. In fact, some were quite enthusiastic.

"Your contracted Servant, huh?" Marie seemed to anticipate something, saying, "I can feel a new encounter coming. How wonderful!"

With a curious expression, the ever-curious queen displayed her eagerness.

And so...

"Let's go then."

Rozen made a decisive decision.

"If my hunch is correct, the situation over there shouldn't be good."

Having said that, Rozen activated his magic circuits and released his magic.

"<Summon Giant Fowl>!"

Magical energy surged from the corners of the forest.

Before long, four enormous eagles swooped out of the woods.

"Fou!"

Fou stood on the back of one of the eagles, as if leading the group of birds, and let out a pleasant sound, marking the beginning of their journey once again.

The four eagles soared across the sky and flew in a specific direction.

"Roar..."

"Roar..."

Only then did the wyverns occasionally fly over the forest from above, perfectly missing the timing of Rozen's departure, and continued to wreak havoc throughout the land of France.

...

To avoid encountering the wyverns, Rozen had the eagles fly up into the clouds, concealing themselves between the layers of clouds as they headed toward the predetermined meeting point from the day before.

Along the way, they encountered scenes of wyverns hovering in the sky below and saw several ruined cities.

Furthermore, they witnessed the wyvern legions descending upon cities, engaging in battles with the city's defenders, and even scenes of slaughtering the general population.

The current state of France was displayed directly in front of the group.

"... Why would they do such a thing?"

Marie, perched on the back of an eagle, gazed at the scene below. Her smile couldn't be maintained any longer, replaced by sadness and grief.

"This so-called 'Dragon Witch' truly hates France," Amadeus calmly commented from his position on another eagle.

"..."

Jeanne remained silent, her gaze fixed on the scene below. Her beautiful eyes were filled with complex emotions, as if she wanted to engrave every detail into her memory.

Rozen didn't say much either, just a single sentence.

"We just need to defeat the 'Dragon Witch'."

It was the most straightforward conclusion.

In other words, if they didn't defeat the 'Dragon Witch', nothing could be stopped.

Even if they charged down now to rescue the cities under wyvern attack, they could only provide temporary relief, not a lasting solution.

Only by defeating the 'Dragon Witch' could they truly save everyone.

The three Servants didn't respond verbally, but nodded in succession, prompting Rozen to shift his gaze and urge the eagles to fly toward the meeting point.

Thanks to France's significantly reduced territory, and the limited places where forces hostile to the 'Dragon Witch' could hide, Rozen's group quickly arrived at the designated meeting place.

It was the wilderness area where Rozen, Mash, and the French army had camped before.

After arriving here, Rozen already noticed that the surviving French forces were setting up camp near the edge of the forest.

"That is..."

Jeanne, who saw the scene as well, reacted to the sight. Her eyes showed a mix of nostalgia and hesitation.

It was as if she had seen her home but was too afraid to enter.

At this moment, within the camp below, a shield-bearing young girl seemed to sense something. She raised her head and looked at the sky.

Then, the scene of several massive eagles descending from the clouds entered her sight.

"Senpai!"

Mash's eyes immediately brightened.

"W-What is that!?"

The French soldiers, who had never seen eagles this large, grew restless, thinking enemies were attacking. Each of them started to panic.

Under normal circumstances, Gilles, who led the troops, would have spoken up to restore order.

However, at this moment, Gilles also stared upward, his eyes fixed on the saint perched on one of the eagles, his usually pale face filled with excitement.

"Jeanne...!"

Gilles shouted loudly.

"Gilles..."

Jeanne's expression was complicated.

At last, these two friends who had fought side by side in this era were truly reunited.