A corner of the capital.
The Chaldea Heroic Spirit residence.
A dozen or so Heroic Spirits had gathered.
Some were meditating in the dojo, others sparring in the courtyard.
In the study, Johanna held religious texts from other worlds, reading with rapt attention.
Next to her, a golden-haired, orange-eyed goddess of justice was hunched over a desk, writing fervently.
Stacks of hardcover books, taller than a person, surrounded her—all containing the laws of various Earth nations.
Astraea occasionally flipped through legal codes, pondering thoughtfully, then scribbled furiously on paper.
Setsuna had given her a formidable task:
To draft a legal system for the Starsea Empire and all of its vassal worlds.
In theory, it was a task perfectly aligned with the justice goddess's expertise.
But in practice, Astraea found it far more complex than expected.
When it came to judging cases, she could use her Authority to handle everything effortlessly.
With her two Noble Phantasms, she could deliver fair and impartial rulings without fault.
But compiling legal codes for multiple worlds was a different story.
Earth, as the main world, was relatively simple—its crime rate was practically zero, a utopia shared by shipgirls, Heroic Spirits, Spirits, and others.
Vassal worlds were trickier.
Each required a tailored legal approach. For example, the Akamae ga Kill world and the Azure world couldn't be governed under the same laws.
Astraea's sense of justice pushed her to aim for perfection.
But the tedious process made her want to suplex someone out of frustration.
...
In the living room, Jeanne d'Arc, Artoria, Nero, and a few other Heroic Spirits were lounging together.
They were the ones who often went on expeditions with Setsuna and were the most familiar with him.
Gudako sprawled across the couch, repeatedly playing a holographic video of herself rampaging through the imperial capital in Barbatos.
"...I am Chaldea's Master, Ritsuka Fujimaru! Who dares fight me to the death?!"
"...Teigu users? Where the hell are all the Teigu users?!"
Watching herself swing Teigu users around like golf clubs, Gudako clicked her tongue in satisfaction.
"I'm so cool."
"...That was your eleventh time watching it today."
Jeanne d'Arc muttered.
She couldn't understand why, as fellow Masters, Gudako was so unserious.
Why couldn't she learn from Setsuna?!
"Hmm... come to think of it, I didn't expect the player's favorite Heroic Spirit to be that Dragon Witch."
Nero reclined on the sofa, reminiscing.
She hadn't interacted much with Jeanne Alter—they weren't from the same singularity.
Before leaving the Akamae ga Kill world, Jeanne Alter had proudly declared her new identity to the Chaldea crew.
Her exact words: "I will accompany the Master to the ends of hell."
Which, considering her slightly chuuni personality, translated to: "I'm his wife now."
"So the Master likes that type, huh?"
Stheno, lying lazily on the sofa, combed her purple twin-tails.
"I thought it would be you."
Artoria looked at Gudako while munching snacks.
The Chaldea companions used to discuss privately who Setsuna would choose if he picked a Heroic Spirit lover.
Most thought it would be either Jeanne d'Arc or Gudako.
"Do you have to dig up that topic again?!"
Gudako choked, then cleared her throat.
"I only want to restore the Human Order. I have no other desires."
"Do you believe that yourself?!"
"...There's one more thing."
The King of Knights paused.
"The Dragon Witch has gotten a lot stronger."
"Haven't you noticed how her magical energy has been increasing every day?"
Her comment stirred a strong reaction among the Heroic Spirits.
"She's improving way too fast. I can't even guarantee I can block her Noble Phantasm anymore."
Jeanne d'Arc nodded.
She sparred frequently with Jeanne Alter.
The holy flag could once block city-level Noble Phantasms, but after Jeanne Alter's "mana replenishment," it was getting harder to withstand her endless attacks.
"Is mana replenishment that effective?"
Gudako asked curiously.
"..."
Jeanne d'Arc blushed and nodded.
She and Formidable both knew exactly how Jeanne Alter was getting her mana replenished.
They had eavesdropped on the entire process.
God knew why such a bizarre ritual was necessary.
"Then why don't you go get replenished too?"
Gudako asked innocently, thinking mana replenishment was just some kind of skill-transfer technique.
"Eh?! Me?!"
Jeanne d'Arc jumped.
"Yeah, you and Jeanne Alter are technically the same person, right? Now that she's gotten so much stronger, shouldn't you do something too?"
"If you don't replenish mana, how will you improve, grow stronger, and get closer to the Commander?!"
"Also, I heard the Commander has a rice bowl kink—maybe he's into some black-and-white pairing thing..."
Gudako muttered thoughtfully.
"???"
"Don't slander the Master!"
Artoria said coldly.
She was shocked by the bottomless depravity of this embodiment of human evil.
"...I'm just telling the truth!!"
"..."
As the two bickered casually.
Jeanne d'Arc looked up at the Eternal Snowfall floating above and fell into contemplation.
The lights on the starship were still on—Setsuna was likely still awake.
As one of the earliest Heroic Spirits to meet him, she couldn't deny she had feelings.
He was strong—and interesting.
He'd taken her across battlefields, shown her the vast wonders of the multiverse, and taught her so much.
Jeanne wasn't a hopeless romantic—she'd originally planned to just continue like this, quietly accompanying the Master.
Maybe someday, it would happen naturally.
But Jeanne Alter had already beaten her to it, which left her a bit surprised.
After Gudako's not-so-subtle encouragement, her mind was full of that one line: If you don't replenish mana, how will you improve?!
"I wonder how the Master sees me..."
"He should still be awake now, right? If he's on the Eternal Snowfall, maybe he's just working..."
With that thought, she impulsively stepped out and flew toward the sky in a small shuttle.
"This is... for growth. Yes."
She convinced herself inwardly.
...
Allied members didn't trigger the Eternal Snowfall's auto-defense or isolation shields.
Jeanne d'Arc soon approached within two to three hundred meters of the starship.
Thud—
The moment she landed outside the bridge,
She was hit with a sudden, intense wave of dizziness, as though time itself had distorted.
"Weird? Am I just tired from earlier?"
She frowned in confusion.
Had she looked down at that moment, she would have seen that everything in the capital was moving in slow motion.
But Jeanne didn't notice.
Checking the time—just past midnight—she assumed Setsuna hadn't gone to bed yet.
Knock knock knock—
She knocked on the bridge door.
A faint murmur of voices could be heard from within.
"The Commander? Why is someone else here?!"
"It's Jeanne d'Arc. I let her up. Relax, she's one of us."
"Huh?!"
Click—
When the hatch opened, Jeanne was greeted by Tohru in a maid outfit.
"Commander, sorry to intru—"
She froze mid-sentence.
There were far more people than she expected.
Chen Hai, Richelieu, and several other elegant shipgirls lounged on sofas, draped in alluring negligees, sipping wine and nibbling desserts.
Their expressions were calm and leisurely.
Kurumi and Mio were already sound asleep nearby, covered with silky thin blankets that did little to hide their figures.
Delicate arms rested over their bodies, revealing snowy-white shoulders.
Swish—splash—
The sound of running water came from the bathroom.
Moments later, Setsuna emerged along with Nagato and Jeanne Alter, both wrapped in towels.
He was gently drying Nagato's hair with a towel, rubbing her fox ears softly.
"Commander, just take a proper bath..."
"It's your fault—I had to wash my hair all over again..."
The shrine maiden pouted, her face flushed red.
"The bathroom isn't very soundproof."
Belfast tilted her head.
"?!"
Nagato's face turned even redder.
"???"
Jeanne d'Arc's eyes widened in shock.
"What were you all doing?!"
"Vacationing, obviously. It's only day two."
Tohru answered matter-of-factly.
"Huh?!"
Seeing Jeanne d'Arc's confused face, the dragon girl pointed to the window.
Outside, the capital moved in slow motion due to time dilation.
Jeanne quickly pieced it together.
This was an independent space created within the Eternal Snowfall, where Setsuna could freely manipulate the flow of time.
Everyone was enjoying a ten-day vacation.
To the outside world, it was just a single night.
"Master, so you were with them all this time doing—doing—doing—?!"
Jeanne looked at the shipgirls, then at the towel-wrapped Nagato and Jeanne Alter, her face steaming.
Her thoughts scrambled. She couldn't form a proper sentence.
"Gudako said it was one night—so it was actually ten whole days?! TEN DAYS?!"
"..."
"That might be part of the motivation, but I think you have the wrong idea."
Setsuna tapped her forehead with a karate chop.
"I'm just here to relax with them. Don't assume I'm doing indecent things all the time, alright?!"
"Anyway, what brings you here?"
"..."
Jeanne was momentarily speechless.
She glanced at Jeanne Alter, then stammered:
"Master, after she replenished mana, she got a lot stronger..."
"I want to replenish mana too..."
"Oh?!"
The shipgirls nearly burst out laughing.
The Commander had long used "mana replenishment" as an excuse to engage Jeanne Alter in all kinds of questionable activities.
They'd explored nearly every kind of play.
And now Jeanne d'Arc had come knocking voluntarily.
"This mana replenishment... you serious about it?"
Setsuna looked at her pure, innocent face, suddenly unsure if he should really go through with it.
Maybe he should explain the Type-Moon version of mana replenishment to her.
"I... I know what it means."
Jeanne lowered her head, recalling everything she and Formidable had overheard.
"Master, I hope you understand—I want to become stronger too..."
"Alright, alright."
Setsuna pulled Jeanne d'Arc into his arms and embraced Jeanne Alter as well.
"There are still eight days left."
"Let's replenish mana together—and grow stronger together."
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