EP.5 [The Grand Duke's Second Daughter Jeanne d'Arc is a Crazy Woman]1 

EP.5 [The Grand Duke's Second Daughter Jeanne d'Arc is a Crazy Woman]1 

'What the hell...!!!' 

When the clear sound of the shower room door opening and 

Jeanne d'Arc's excessively energetic voice pierced both my eardrums, 

The shape of my mouth, 

And the words filling my head were "she's crazy." 

Despite clearly knowing the state of her now-adult younger brother, unlike before, 

How on earth should I deal with this insane sister who opens the shower door without any hesitation? 

'I was wise to have turned around just in case.' 

Amid all this, I also wore a slightly relieved expression. 

Jeanne d'Arc, who had raced like mad up to the third floor of my room, 

My rational thinking circuit thought that no matter how boisterous Jeanne d'Arc was, 

She wouldn't go so far as to open the shower room door. 

On the other hand, my subconscious danger alarm had a different opinion. 

It advised me that Jeanne was not someone who would follow such common sense, 

So I should at least be turned away from the shower door. 

As a result, 

Jeanne d'Arc ultimately flung open the shower room door, 

And since I had accepted the advice of my subconscious danger alarm and was already turned around, I was able to prevent the disaster of showing my erect front. 

Thanks to my pilgrim's path training, 

Or perhaps due to my past life memories, 

I feel that my intuition has also improved. 

Just as I was briefly praising myself, 

"W-Who are you!! What kind of guy are you!!!" 

Jeanne d'Arc's voice, which had been so bold and confident just moments before, 

Suddenly changed, 

And her voice filled with sudden confusion and wariness filled my shower room. 

'Heh, of course she'd react that way. Instead of a delicate 170 cm body, there's a 190 cm, over 100 kg muscle mass standing in front of her.' 

When I heard that voice, the corners of my mouth rose with a sense of satisfaction. 

Having unexpectedly experienced the outrageous behavior of a boisterous noble family's second daughter, 

It was a smile of triumph because I thought I had immediately delivered a proper counter. 

Of course, 2 years and 4 months is not a short time. 

It's enough time for many changes to occur, 

So regarding the possibility that my appearance had changed, 

Jeanne d'Arc must have also considered it to some extent. 

But that would only be within certain parameters, wouldn't it? 

I had grown a whole 20 cm taller, 

My weight had increased by about 50 kg, 

And that increased weight was pure muscle, not fat. 

It's like I've gone beyond being just a person to having my species changed. 

Therefore, I think what Jeanne d'Arc is perceiving now is enough to make her feel like a ferocious barbarian has invaded the Grand Duke's mansion in a naked state. 

"Who else would it be? It's Eugene Schneider, the one who got lost in the forest while looking for a cave hideout with you, Jeanne, and got scolded by the Grand Duchess." 

Eventually, I slightly turned my head and upper body 

And spoke sharply to the confused Jeanne d'Arc. 

I could choose this posture because my erection had considerably subsided. 

"Think about it. Is this mansion a place anyone can enter? Who else could be here besides me?" 

Having perfectly executed my plan with Jeanne after Sister Charlotte, 

A cool and relaxed attitude that might seem prickly was blooming in my heart. 

But unfortunately, that attitude of mine didn't last long. 

'What? Why does Jeanne look like that????' 

The moment I turned my head and saw Jeanne standing at the shower room door, 

I was brain-frozen by her appearance, which was so different from before. 

'Did she go to war somewhere??????' 

Meeting Jeanne d'Arc de Sel Orléans after 2 years and 4 months, 

Her appearance had completely transformed from a boisterous Grand Duke's daughter to that of a warrior. 

She had discarded even activity dresses and was wearing leather battle gear, 

And at her waist, she carried a longsword instead of a defensive dagger. 

What made it clear that this attire was not just for show was that 

Her skin, which had been as white as a noble's though not as much as Sister Charlotte's, 

Was slightly tanned as if she had spent considerable time outdoors. 

Most decisively, her hairstyle was a sight to behold. 

Her hairstyle was no longer red hair with slight waves, 

But rather a boyish short cut. 

"I-Is it really you, Eugene? The guy who was shorter than me and had a frail body has become this barbarian-like physique???" 

However, Jeanne didn't seem to notice my confused gaze. 

That's probably because the impact of my transformation was so great. 

Jeanne d'Arc de Sel Orléans, the second daughter of the Grand Duke family of the Imperium Empire, 

With a dumbfounded expression as if her soul had left her body, 

She kept stammering, trying to confirm if I was indeed the frail Eugene Schneider who used to be helplessly led around by her in the past. 

'Still, she seems to have recognized me somehow.' 

Despite her external appearance, 

Judging from Jeanne's words that burst out like a machine gun, she seemed to be gradually acknowledging me as Eugene Schneider. 

According to Sister Charlotte, despite my drastically changed appearance, 

When you meet my eyes that occasionally peek through my bushy hair covering half my face and exchange words, you can immediately see my former self. 

I think Jeanne is going through that process too. 

"If you've had enough of admiring your grown-up brother's muscular body, close the door and go downstairs. A marriageable Grand Duke's virgin doesn't even know to be embarrassed. Sister Charlotte didn't eat breakfast because of prayers, and I've only eaten enough to stave off urgent hunger. Lunch time itself has been delayed because we were waiting for you, Jeanne." 

Looking at Jeanne, whose mental state had collapsed, 

I quickly recovered from my previous confusion. 

This is why I act so haughty towards Jeanne. 

Of course, I don't act haughty without reason. 

It's done under sufficient justification, 

Although Jeanne arrived a bit earlier than the appointed time, 

The current lunch time is already late by original standards. 

If it were just me, it wouldn't matter, 

But since it affected Sister Charlotte as well, I strongly appealed as if scolding her. 

"Ah, okay, I'll wait downstairs..." 

Creeeeak...! 

Perhaps her mental state was more shattered than I thought, 

I expected Jeanne to retreat, but 

I didn't expect her to look so dispirited. 

I thought she would close the door while rebelling with "How dare you talk to your sister like that!" 

As I was about to focus back on my shower after she left, 

Jeanne made me feel that she was indeed not someone who would betray my expectations. 

"Just because he got bigger, talking to his sister like that... Insolent Eugene Schneider..." 

As she closed the shower room door and left my room, 

Jeanne grumbled loudly enough for me to hear. 

Indeed, her habit of complaining after the fact hadn't changed at all with time. 

"Mercenary group?" 

About 30 minutes later, 

I, Sister Charlotte, and Jeanne d'Arc, who had removed her leather battle gear, began lunch. 

Jeanne was still speaking very little, perhaps because her mental state hadn't recovered from the shower room confrontation. 

So I first asked Sister Charlotte about Jeanne's changed situation. 

Sister Charlotte answered that Jeanne had started mercenary work, 

And that's why she looked like that. 

She had become a real warrior, not just cosplaying as one. 

At Sister Charlotte's words, I looked with slightly rounded eyes at 

Jeanne, who was silently cutting her steak, and reacted. 

"So after you left on the pilgrim's path, around the end of the year before last, Jeanne created her own mercenary group and started activities. That means Jeanne is not just a mercenary now, but a mercenary group leader." 

Sister Charlotte also looked at Jeanne and provided additional explanation. 

Judging from Sister Charlotte's expression, apart from blessing and supporting Jeanne's path, 

She was full of considerable concern. 

Jeanne had been boisterous since childhood, 

And although the Orléans family is thorough with internal security, 

Everyone who should know in noble society knows about it. 

We thought she might improve with time, 

But even in her late teens, she didn't improve; rather, she got worse. 

So eventually, even the Grand Duchess and Sister Charlotte 

Began to think that Jeanne's future would certainly not be ordinary. 

As a result, the two tried to watch over Jeanne with a much broader perspective than the general standard. 

The result was that Jeanne chose to start from scratch rather than entering an existing prestigious noble-centered mercenary group. 

How could Sister Charlotte not be worried? 

'Whew... Both Uncle Hans and Sister Charlotte, Jeanne really made them keep their mouths shut. She's made quite a move while I was away.' 

When I asked about Jeanne d'Arc's recent situation, 

I vividly remember Uncle Hans fidgeting as if his mouth was severely itching. 

So that's what it was about. 

I don't think I could have held back. 

Uncle Hans has been connected to the Orléans family for quite a long time, 

And I see that it wasn't for nothing that he could do so. 

"So that's how it is." 

Nod, nod, nod... 

After that, I turned my gaze to the middle of the long table 

And slowly nodded as if understanding Sister Charlotte's words. 

What my gesture meant was 

That I roughly understood why Jeanne had made such a decision. 

'She really followed through on the promise she made to me?' 

The reason is related to me. 

'Don't worry! Even if you can't awaken, Eugene, you can work under me. I'll create a mercenary group myself. I'll go out and fight, and you can take care of the mercenary group members just like you took care of Elizabeth.' 

Around the time when I entered puberty, 

That is, when I found out that I had almost no possibility of awakening. 

I tried my best to manage my expression and not reveal my feelings of uncertainty about the future. 

But Jeanne, who spent the most time with me during that period, noticed. 

During my childhood, I was mostly with Elizabeth, 

But around that time, Elizabeth had started studying to go to the academy, 

Which created this relationship dynamic. 

Having looked into my heart like that, Jeanne boasted that she would take responsibility for me. 

She said that she, for whom awakening was a foregone conclusion, would fight as a mercenary leader, 

And I, who couldn't awaken, would manage the household as the mercenary group's general affairs officer. 

'I thought with Jeanne's personality, she would eventually do something... But even so, I didn't expect her to start exactly as she said, or rather, to start at the age of 20.' 

Honestly, I thought that after feeling the harshness of reality, 

Jeanne would set her initial direction towards the knightly order rather than a mercenary group. 

Because she could also create a mercenary group after building a sufficient foundation through fame gained in the knightly order. 

But the truly romantic second daughter of the Orléans family, Jeanne d'Arc de Sel Orléans, 

She carried out what she had boasted to me without the slightest deviation, like making a lump sum cash payment. 

"By the way, you haven't told Jeanne yet, have you, Eugene? About your awakening?" 

Sister Charlotte, thinking that enough had been said about Jeanne, changed the focus of the topic to me. 

"I haven't said anything, but I think Sister Jeanne has already noticed?" 

If she's been active as a mercenary leader for about a year and a half, 

Just looking at my physical condition, I think Jeanne would have immediately sensed that I had achieved awakening. 

"Yeah, I know that Eugene has awakened." 

Jeanne, who was still eating her meal with an expressionless face while looking at her steak, 

Had indeed noticed the fact of my awakening. 

'Hmm... I feel another storm coming.' 

Jeanne's consistently expressionless mood was quite ominous. 

Apart from anticipating how the Orléans family would react to my changed appearance, 

I had also considered in advance the repercussions that would occur due to my awakening, which is a considerably important matter for nobles. 

My subconscious sensor, which was calculating that aftermath, flashed an alarm in my mind like an emergency light. 

And it didn't take long for an event matching that sensor warning to occur. 

'With Sister Charlotte gone, should I try to create a more positive atmosphere?' 

Due to business at the Holy See, Sister Charlotte had to return urgently in the evening. 

Tomorrow would be a situation where Jeanne and I would be alone, 

It seems I should try to improve our relationship with her, who had closed off communication after lunch. 

And just as I was lying on my bedroom bed deeply pondering such thoughts, 

"Hey?" 

From beyond the quiet, darkened door, Jeanne's ominous voice was heard.