Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 1029: Near Death? Faker?

"Fiore... Mommy..."

The girl, who had a name commonly associated with Western boys, excitedly threw herself into Fiore's arms. Her small nose nuzzled into Fiore's clothes, messing up the once-neat shirt. Fiore, however, didn't mind at all. Instead, she gently stroked Jack's head with a doting smile.

Jack squinted her eyes and continued to nuzzle against Fiore. After a while, she suddenly lifted her head and sniffed near Fiore's neck.

"Hmm, it smells like not just Fiore Mommy, but Jeanne Mommy too."

"You little girl, how can you even smell that?"

Fiore didn't deny it, flicking Jack lightly on the forehead.

"It's because Jack has a sharp nose!"

Jack chuckled, looking up at Fiore with an expectant gaze.

Fiore let out a helpless smile, closed her eyes, and whispered, "It's your turn now, switch."

When she opened her eyes again, her entire demeanor had changed. If before she resembled a saint, now she was the embodiment of a true saint—her current presence was devoid of any trace of a magus aura, radiating a noble and awe-inspiring grace that would make ordinary people feel ashamed in her presence.

Of course, Jack didn't fall into the category of ordinary people."She didn't care whether the person in front of her was a magus or a saint; all she knew was that this was her Mommy. She hugged her again and rubbed against her affectionately.

"Jeanne Mommy, it is Jeanne Mommy..."

"Yes, it's me, Jack." Although it was the same mouth speaking, the voice was now much lower.

"Can you tell me why you're here? Only Fiore and I were supposed to come to this world. Why is your class Assassin?"

"Because this Jack isn't the original Jack," little Jack explained.

"Could you elaborate? I don't quite understand what you mean."

"Let me explain. Our situation is much more complicated than yours," said a third voice, this time also female. The woman's outfit was the same style as Jeanne's—or rather, Fiore's—but on her, it exuded a dark allure, stirring up primal desires in men.

Hearing this, Jeanne let go of Jack and looked up to meet the gaze of the newly arrived woman.

"You're here too, Miss Reika."

"Technically, I'm not exactly here."

The woman shook her head and then pointed behind her.

"It's hard to explain in just a few words. Let's discuss this inside. Jack, close the door and bring out the box from the cold storage. Let's make a feast for Jeanne Mommy and Fiore Mommy."

"Okay, Mommy."

Jack quickly shut the door, twirling a small knife she had pulled out from who knows where, and then ran off to the kitchen.

Watching Jack's practiced actions, Jeanne's confusion grew deeper.

"You... knew we'd come?"

"I wasn't sure, but I knew that if you did come, you wouldn't miss out on the Holy Grail War. There's only one church in Fuyuki City, so the odds of meeting you near here were high. Did you notice the restaurant's sign? It's Jack's favorite food—hamburg steak."

"You're as sharp as ever," Jeanne complimented.

"But we don't need a feast. We're short on time and have friends waiting for us to bring groceries back to cook dinner."

"Oh? It's been a while, and now you've taken up cooking?"

Reika teased.

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"I wonder if your cooking is as good as Jack's feast."

"Miss Reika, stop teasing me."

The tone shifted as Jeanne transformed back into Fiore. This teasing was aimed at the latter—Jeanne, being a farm girl, couldn't possibly know how to cook.

"Alright, I'll let you off for now. But we don't meet often, so I can't let you go so quickly. Here's a compromise: tell me what you're planning to cook, and I'll have Jack make it for you to take back. It'll take the same amount of time."

Fiore readily agreed to this suggestion.

"Alright, let's do that."

"Tell me what's on the menu."

"Meat, curry, mapo tofu."

"...Your friends have unique tastes."

Reika's comment resonated with Fiore.

"I thought so too."

"For the meat, we'll make hamburg steak, including a portion for you. We'll also prepare a curry dipping sauce. As for the mapo tofu, it's a bit tricky to make right now. How about we substitute it with another spicy dish?"

"I'll leave it to you."

"Alright, let's get started—Jack, it's time to work!"

"Okay, Mommy! Hamburg steak, hamburg steak..."

Jack enthusiastically responded, humming a tune as she deftly opened the cupboard. Inside, there was a neatly arranged collection of various knives, at least a dozen of them.

Soon, the sound of blades slicing through ingredients filled the air, accompanied by the rhythmic chopping of vegetables.

Meanwhile, in the break room just beyond the kitchen, occasional sighs or exclamations from the women could be heard.

Oddly enough, the contrast between the sharp sounds from the kitchen and the relaxed atmosphere in the break room created a strange but harmonious symphony.

...

While Fiore was catching up with old friends and enjoying pleasant conversation, things were not going so smoothly back at the church.

Especially for Riesbyfe, who, with her stomach growling, had become a fountain of negative energy, constantly complaining, "I'm so hungry! Why isn't she back yet?"

She was practically the embodiment of one of the Seven Deadly Sins—Gluttony.

Okay, that might have been an exaggeration, but given that Ciel and Caren weren't that hungry to begin with, they were now forced to listen to Riesbyfe's complaints, which had them rubbing their rumbling stomachs. Naturally, the two non-conventional nuns weren't too pleased with this.

Unfortunately, since they needed to stay hidden, they couldn't just go out. Helpless, they resorted to grumbling about how long Fiore was taking, wondering if every shop in the area had closed while retreating into the basement to avoid further frustration. There, they passed the time by watching the Spirit Board.

It was at this moment that the data on the Spirit Board changed.

One of the Servants' indicators shifted from white to a dull gray—the color that symbolized death.

Ciel noticed it and remarked, "Another one down. I wonder if it's because there are too many Servants in this war, or maybe the Holy Grail War has always been this intense—Is the so-called omnipotent wish-granting machine really that miraculous?"

"I don't know," Caren replied with an expressionless face, shaking her head.

"But this Servant may not have exited the stage just yet. This isn't Berserker's death—it's near death."

"Near death?"

Ciel's head snapped up, her eyes fixed on the newly dimmed display bar. "You're right, it's near death. How is that possible? According to Miss Fiore, the Spirit Board is only supposed to show whether a Servant is alive or dead. How could...?"

"It could be a unique ability of the Servant, or perhaps something specific to their class. An unknown extra class, with a name that's likely fake. It wouldn't be surprising if it blurred the line between life and death."

As Caren spoke, she raised her hand, pointing to the side of the Spirit Board. The class name displayed in gray was unmistakably: Faker.