Angel Descends? / My Sister's Wish / A Man Under the Rainy Night

"Angel...?" Pierre looked at his younger sister Jeanne with a hint of doubt.

As someone who didn't believe in any religious sect, he understood what an angel was, but he also knew that such things didn't actually exist.

After all, if there really were angels—

With so many people praying to Him, He should have already descended upon this world and driven out all those detestable Burgundians and Englishmen from this land.

Now Jeanne was saying she saw an angel?

No matter how he thought about it, it was highly unlikely.

"Jeanne, don't joke around like that," Pierre said, his voice firm.

"I'm not joking," Jeanne said, waving her hand at Pierre with a serious expression.

"Brother, you'll understand once you come and see!" she insisted, her blue eyes wide.

[Although Jeanne was usually a bit mischievous, she was very honest when facing you.]

[You could feel that she wasn't lying.]

[You followed her request and went to the window by the bed.]

[This was something you had specially arranged for Jeanne—so that she could see the stars in the sky at a glance on clear days.]

[You looked in the direction she was pointing, and then witnessed an extremely shocking scene.]

It was a pillar of light.

A pillar of light originating from the ground and rising upwards.

In this stormy, rainy night, it was so dazzling, so eye-catching.

However, Pierre still didn't quite understand one thing—how did Jeanne connect it to an angel?

He asked directly:

"Jeanne... although this is indeed not a normal phenomenon, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with angels, does it?" he inquired, his brow furrowed.

"It does!" Jeanne anxiously reached out and pushed Pierre's head little by little towards a certain angle.

"Brother, look carefully one more time!" she urged, her voice filled with excitement.

"There's a figure there!" she exclaimed, pointing towards the light.

"Huh?" Following Jeanne's words, Pierre looked again at the location of the pillar of light.

His pupils widened slightly.

Because he indeed saw what his younger sister called an "angel."

It was a figure within the light.

And—

It was floating in the air?!

[How is this possible?]

[You couldn't believe the sight your eyes were seeing.]

[Even though this was an era where magecraft existed, such a situation was still too outlandish.]

[You realized that Jeanne had taken this figure to be an angel.]

"Brother, I want to go see it!" Jeanne exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement.

"This is the Lord's response to me!" she declared, her blue eyes shining.

"What kind of response is this?!" Pierre also became anxious. "Besides, we can't even be sure if that's an angel!" he pointed out, his voice rising.

"And it's raining so heavily outside—Jeanne, I won't let you go!" he said firmly, his gaze worried.

Hearing this, Jeanne immediately shook her head.

"No!" she insisted, her voice filled with determination.

"If I don't go see that angel now, the Lord will think I'm not sincere enough," she argued, her gaze pleading.

"If that happens—"

"My previous wish to have children with Brother..." she started to say, but realizing it was something she shouldn't have said, she quickly changed her words.

"Brother, you said I couldn't confirm that it's an angel," she continued, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"But you also can't prove that it's not an angel, right?" she countered, her blue eyes wide.

"I have to go meet Him!" she declared, her voice resolute.

"..."

[You have always been very doting on your younger sister Jeanne.]

[And to be honest, you were also a little curious about what exactly was floating in the air.]

[You wavered.]

"...Sigh," Pierre sighed. "I understand," he said softly, his gaze gentle.

"Since you're so insistent on going, Jeanne—"

"Then I'll go with you," he offered, his voice filled with concern.

"But let's get one thing straight, if it's not what you call an 'angel,' we're coming back immediately," he added, his gaze firm.

"Okay~!" Jeanne smiled happily.

"Let's go!" she exclaimed, her excitement palpable.

[To be fair, you felt that you were indeed too doting on Jeanne sometimes.]

[But what you couldn't deny was that seeing her smile was very important to you.]

[Although you sometimes made some irrational choices because of it, you still felt it was all worth it.]

*Rumble*—!

*Rumble*—!

Thunder roared in the sky, and the crimson and white light seemed to shatter the endless darkness.

The cold wind and the freezing rain mixed together, surging through every road in Domremy village.

The pitter-patter of water soaked the earth, forming patches of muddy soil.

In this weather where one shouldn't go out, Pierre was walking against the wind, carrying his younger sister on his back, step by step.

He didn't want her to get her feet dirty in this weather—he could bear that himself.

"Brother, you're so kind~" Jeanne, on Pierre's back, held an umbrella in one hand, while the other arm was tightly wrapped around her brother's neck.

In the cold rain, the two of them slowly moved towards the location of the light.

Pierre took a deep breath, then said as calmly as possible:

"Jeanne, don't move around so much," he warned, his voice gentle.

"If you fall off later... it'll be troublesome," he added, his brow furrowed in concern.

"Hmm?" Jeanne might be a bit slow on the uptake in other matters, but she had an exceptional talent for analyzing her older brother's actions.

The golden-haired girl quickly realized that her brother didn't want her to get her feet dirty because of the rain.

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and she immediately became more careful with her movements as per her brother's warning.

After confirming that she wouldn't affect her brother, she asked proactively:

"Brother... like this, it should be okay, right?" she inquired, her blue eyes looking at him.

"Yeah, this is very good," Pierre replied, a gentle smile on his lips.

"I'm sorry, Brother," Jeanne said, reaching out and gently wiping the rainwater from Pierre's hair.

"Even though it's a time when we shouldn't go out, I made Brother come out with me," she said softly, her voice filled with a hint of guilt.

"..."

Pierre was silent for a moment, then smiled slightly and replied:

"Jeanne, if you think like that, you're being too inconsiderate of your brother, aren't you?" he said gently, his gaze kind.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Jeanne asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Because Brother should accompany his younger sister out like this, shouldn't he?" Pierre said, his voice warm.

"Brother, you..." Jeanne's eyes filled with clear gratitude.

"I really hope Brother won't find a girlfriend in the future..." she mumbled, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Eh? Jeanne, why would you say something like that?!" Pierre was a bit taken aback by Jeanne's sudden "attack."

"Is it really a good thing to place a 'curse' like that on your brother?!" he exclaimed, a surprised look on his face.

"..."

Jeanne turned her face away and muttered in a voice only she could hear.

"It's not a curse at all."

"Brother not finding a girlfriend or anything... is clearly a wonderful wish," she mumbled, a small smile on her lips.

[After some lighthearted banter, you and Jeanne arrived near the pillar of light.]

[This close-up observation caused some changes in your perception again.]

It wasn't a pillar of light emerging from the ground.

But rather a path formed by the gathering of pale blue light emitted by something.

But—

What could emit such light?

And speaking of which...

The "angel" seemed to have disappeared too?

Pierre couldn't figure it out for a moment.

In stark contrast to her older brother's caution, Jeanne became even more excited after seeing such light up close.

"Brother, let's go over there quickly!" she urged, her voice filled with anticipation.

"I'm afraid He'll leave later!" she exclaimed, her blue eyes sparkling.

"..."

There was no way around it.

Since they had already come this far, they should indeed figure out what was going on.

Pierre didn't say anything more.

He carried his younger sister closer to the place where the light was.

It was a hillside.

The rushing water soaked the boy's shoes.

But at this moment, he didn't have the mind to pay attention to these minor details.

Because he saw something more concerning.

In the towering pillar of light, a large golden cup was lying quietly.

The light in the rainy night was emitted by it.

"This..." Pierre never dreamed he would see such a thing.

And Jeanne's eyes were filled with surprised delight as she exclaimed:

"Isn't that the Holy Grail?!"

"Holy Grail?" Pierre repeated, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yes!" Jeanne began to explain. "That's the cup that our Lord, um... Jesus, used!" she declared, her voice filled with excitement.

"He really is responding to me!" she exclaimed, her blue eyes shining.

"..."

[You know that Jeanne doesn't like to read.]

[Most of what she knows comes from the conversations of the villagers in the church.]

[So you have no way of knowing if what she "confirmed" in this way is actually the so-called "Holy Grail."]

[And more importantly, you don't think this kind of response makes any sense.]

[Throwing a cup over, that counts as responding to one's believers?]

[You found this hard to understand.]

[However, you did have a more realistic thought.]

[This golden cup looked quite valuable.]

[If you could take it back, you might be able to smash it and exchange it for money later.]

[This way, you could provide a better life for Jeanne.]

[You knew this idea sounded a bit foolish.]

[But even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance of it happening, you were willing to try.]

Wanting to exchange the Holy Grail for money was true, but not wanting his younger sister to get close to strange things was also true.

Pierre put Jeanne down on the ground.

"Jeanne, wait for me here, I'll go get that..."

"Holy Grail," Jeanne reminded him.

"Right, the Holy Grail, I'll go get it," Pierre said, his gaze fixed on the golden cup.

"Okay~" Jeanne replied cheerfully.

Having temporarily settled Jeanne down, Pierre took a deep breath and braved the rain, heading towards the place where the Holy Grail was.

Whether it was psychological or the "Holy Grail" really had some special power.

Pierre could feel that the closer he got to it, the faster his heart beat.

It was as if it was warning him not to come over.

But he wouldn't stop.

Jeanne was expecting a response from the Lord, and he needed funds for their livelihood.

He reached out.

He grasped it.

Pierre felt his heart suddenly jolt.

He looked at the "Holy Grail" in his hand.

This wasn't right—it was emitting some strange substance!

Before Pierre could figure out what was going on, a scream came from behind him.

"Ah—!"

It was Jeanne's voice.

"Jeanne!"

[You turned around.]

[You saw an unexpected scene.]

[In the pitch-black night, a man with a tall hat and squinted eyes appeared in the cold rain, arriving beside Jeanne.]

[This was the reason for her scream.]

[He was a very eerie man.]

[His expression looked like he was smiling, but you only felt a chill run down your spine.]

[You realized he was dangerous.]

"Jeanne, come here quickly!" Pierre said immediately, his voice filled with urgency.

Although she was startled by the man's appearance, Jeanne quickly reacted upon hearing her older brother's words.

However—

Jeanne had only run two steps before stopping.

She found that she couldn't move.

More specifically, it felt like she was being firmly grasped by something.

"How annoying," the man said, looking at Jeanne. His amiable expression instantly crumbled.

Followed by a roar:

"You two little brats, didn't your mother tell you to sleep soundly at night?"

*Rumble*.

The sky was awakened by the lightning, temporarily brightening.

But soon, it plunged into darkness once more.

[You realized that the man in front of you was closely related to the "Holy Grail."]

[The figure that Jeanne mistook earlier was probably also presented by him in some way.]

"Who are you?" Pierre asked, looking at the man in front of him, a hint of fear in his eyes.

He could clearly feel that in his current state, he was no match for the man.

"Hahahaha!" The man with the tall hat laughed loudly.

"According to the plan, I shouldn't tell my name to a little brat like you," he sneered, his eyes gleaming in the darkness.

"However—"

"Seeing your courage in daring to ask me a question in this situation."

"I'll give you a little reward!" The man raised his hands high, his eyes wide, looking quite mad.

"Lev Lainur Flauros!" he declared, his voice booming.

"This is the last name you will hear in this world!"

After saying these words, the man who called himself Lev stared at the unmoving Jeanne.

With a slight clench of his fist, she slowly lifted off the ground, rising into the air.

The golden-haired girl clutched her neck, her legs kicking back and forth, looking quite uncomfortable.

"Brother... save me..." Jeanne instinctively cried out for help from her older brother.

"Let go of my sister!" Pierre roared—however, his voice was immediately drowned out by the rain.

"Don't worry," Lev said, his expression somewhat contemptuous.

"I'm not an unreasonable person either."

"I'll let you reunite," he added, a sinister smile on his lips.

"However—"

"It will be after you're dead."

[You realized that going out with Jeanne was a very wrong decision.]

[You witnessed something that this man didn't want anyone else to find out.]

[He was going to kill Jeanne first, and then kill you.]

No way!

Absolutely not!

He had promised Father that he would protect his younger sister well!

He couldn't let her die!

Pierre's mind went blank.

The only thing he remembered—was to protect his younger sister.

The next moment, flames erupted from his throat.

[Talent Endless Fury has been activated: You have once again erupted with powerful flames.]

[However, this time, the man was not burned like the previous Burgundians.]

[His strength was not to be underestimated.]

Lev dodged to the side, avoiding the surging flames.

And Jeanne fell to the ground, unconscious.

However, the man no longer seemed interested in her.

He turned around, looking with interest at the panting Pierre in front of him.

"Heh, this is unexpected," Lev remarked, a curious glint in his eyes.

"This era... does it actually have dragons?" he mused, his gaze sharp.