Tamamo and Johanna walked along the road.
At the end of the road, the two came face to face with a massive barrier that soared high into the sky.
The outside was soft like white silicone, but the inside was as hard as reinforced concrete.
Johanna, who had thrown herself at the barrier and even tried hitting it, eventually raised both her arms in surrender.
“It seems impossible to break through.”
“We‘ll have to go back the other way.”
Tamamo lifted her sunglasses. From the moment the outline of the barrier first appeared, she had given up on breaking through it physically.
The barrier was higher than the clouds. It was so long and massive that it was impossible to even guess its thickness.
“Could it be a Singularity? Have you discovered anything, Your Excellency Tamamo?”
“Not at all. Please keep in mind that I, like you, Your Holiness Johanna, am currently a powerless, ordinary woman.”
“Ah… right.”
The two turned their backs on the barrier and began to walk back the way they came.
It wasn't just a road. There were sidewalks on both sides of the road, and several buildings.
“There‘s not a single person in sight…”
Johanna‘s voice scattered into the empty air. The silence was so overwhelming it was almost lonely.
“What could have happened? I‘m ashamed to say, but I was defeated immediately after Her Majesty Morgan‘s attack, so I don‘t know anything.”
“A Singularity created by the Holy Grail… I suppose we have to think of it that way for now.”
Tamamo took advantage of her sunglasses covering her eyes to secretly glance at Johanna.
Johanna walked with her eyes fixed forward, as if she had no worries in the world.
Unlike Tamamo, who was examining everything that came into her sight.
“You seem quite confident, Your Holiness Johanna? Aren‘t you scared?”
“Scared… you say?”
Tamamo realized her mistake. She hadn‘t intended to ask.
It seems she had been too anxious. To make such a basic mistake.
Johanna‘s bright eyes turned to Tamamo. Tamamo, letting out a deep sigh, decided to ask everything after all.
“You and I are civilians right now. We‘ve become so weak that we can‘t resist if a strong adult male attacks us. And yet, you don‘t seem worried at all, in fact, you look confident, so I find it strange.”
“Ah, so that‘s what you meant.”
Johanna laughed awkwardly. Her shy appearance was very human-like.
It was a completely different sight from Tamamo, who was still trying not to show her true feelings.
“Actually, I‘m very scared too. I‘m worried that something might suddenly pop out, you know?”
“…You don‘t look like it?”
“I‘m a little excited. That‘s probably why.”
Excited? Tamamo couldn‘t understand.
Tamamo remembers the fear she felt when she was being chased by Abe no Seimei.
To Tamamo, who remembers the powerlessness she felt due to her lack of strength, Johanna‘s words felt like the prank of a child who doesn't know her place.
“…Ah, I see.”
Instead of scorning Johanna, Tamamo put on a mask and smiled.
’She‘ll be the first to die.‘
She had been curious, but who would have thought she was such a naive woman.
Tamamo couldn't understand how Father could have fallen for a woman like this.
No matter how she thought about it, she was a woman inferior to herself. That‘s what Tamamo thought.
But she had no choice but to change her mind after hearing Johanna‘s next words.
“If all I do is be afraid, nothing will be solved. Rather, if I think of this as an opportunity, there‘s nothing to be afraid of.”
“Is it the power of religion? If you are full of God‘s grace, please share some with this humble girl.”
“…It‘s not just that.”
Johanna tapped the tips of her index fingers together.
“Why are you looking at me like that…?”
“Actually, I admired you, Your Excellency Tamamo. Not just you, but everyone else too.”
Tamamo‘s expression contorted.
“What is this? This gloominess in your words? I feel a sarcasm that would follow me even if I hid in a cave~.”
Her tone was light, but her expression was fierce.
Tamamo pushed her face, with a vein popping on her forehead, towards Johanna.
“Do you think you‘ve become something just because you‘ve taken Father‘s side? I was just unlucky, you know? You just luckily got mixed in and bewitched Father‘s broken heart. Don‘t get the wrong idea.”
Tamamo didn‘t know how she looked.
It was an ugly jealousy, but Johanna didn‘t raise her guard and retort.
Instead, she lowered her voice and looked straight into Tamamo‘s eyes.
“Would you like to say something?”
Tamamo was pressed by Johanna‘s spirit, which pierced through her sunglasses.
If we're just talking about rank, she is below me.
Johanna is close to being incompetent compared to Tamamo. Not to mention magic, her domestic skills are also lacking.
The only thing Johanna has an advantage in is her physical strength. And physical strength is actually a demerit.
Tamamo had been subconsciously looking down on Johanna.
But now, everything is the same.
They can‘t use magic, and they don‘t have the physical abilities of a Servant.
The only ones here are two women in love with the same person.
“I‘m not trying to fight with you, Your Excellency Tamamo. The words of admiration were not meant to be sarcastic, but were said with pure meaning.”
“Is that so? It didn't sound like that at all… what should I do? In a situation where everyone has become incompetent, I don't know why the one who spent a passionate night with Father right before would admire me?”
Tamamo‘s words were as fast as if she were using a high-speed incantation. Each and every word pierced Johanna‘s ears.
Johanna slowly mulled over Tamamo‘s words. And then she answered.
“I am weak. I wanted to protect Lupus, but I couldn‘t.”
“Indeed, you are very weak.”
“The pain of having to let go of the person you love is something I think you know well, Your Excellency Tamamo.”
Tamamo, who was about to lash out, shut her mouth again.
She‘s right.
The pain of Tamamo, who had to send Father away right before her eyes.
The sadness Johanna felt for not being there for him when he needed her.
It was the same feeling.
“That‘s why I admire you, Your Excellency Tamamo. I‘m envious of all of you, who are stronger than me and can not only be by Lupus‘s side but also help him in many more ways.”
But at the center of Father‘s heart is Johanna. Tamamo has not forgotten that truth.
Tamamo, while looking down on Johanna,
Is also envious of her.
“My barrier arts, my curses. They are all for Father. But, what meaning is there when the Father who should receive them rejects me?”
“So that was your heart, Your Excellency Tamamo. Thank you for opening up to me.”
Johanna smiled.
Tamamo hurriedly adjusted her sunglasses and averted her gaze.
Continuing this conversation is a loss for Tamamo herself.
The other party is a rival in love. What good is there in revealing her true feelings like this?
“We don‘t need to fight each other. Rather, I think of us as comrades who share the same pain.”
“…Comrades, you say?”
“Yes. My position in Lupus‘s heart and your position are different. Just as I cannot replace you, you cannot replace me.”
Johanna cannot become the daughter of the foreigner, Mr. Yi.
Conversely, Tamamo cannot become the lover of the agent, Lupus.
History was as such.
Johanna said.
“I don‘t know if you‘ve read the Bible, but the Lord says so as well. The body is one, but it has many members, and all the members, though many, are one body.”
“Will Father acknowledge the many members?”
“Of course. Even if he‘s done many wrong things… if he sincerely apologizes, he will listen.”
Tamamo thought deeply about Johanna‘s words.
And she said cautiously.
“Does that mean you are permitting polygamy? I believe the doctrine of your god is not so?”
“……….”
Johanna fell silent.
“The Pope is promoting polygamy, I see…”
“Just a moment, Your Excellency Tamamo. This is in the context of there being no need to fight…”
“This is getting interesting. Tamamo-point three hundred level of interest.”
Johanna tried to grab Tamamo. Tamamo turned her body slightly and easily dodged Johanna‘s arm.
“Aah!”
“Your Holiness Johanna‘s words. They were very precious. I shall cherish them in my heart.”
“Uh… thank you?”
“The position of the main wife is still undecided. Is that what you meant?”
Johanna denied it. Tamamo simply protected her eardrums by folding her fox ears.
“Then I‘ll be on my way. The one who finds Father first will be the victor, I suppose.”
“Huh? Lupus is here?”
“No matter how I think about it, the only reason for me, who was eliminated, to be summoned to a Singularity is Father.”
Johanna looked at Tamamo with an expression full of betrayal.
“Why didn‘t you tell me!”
“I just finished my calculations.”
“Th-that‘s a lie, isn‘t it?”
“Mikon~ Who knows~?”
Johanna ran to catch the lying fox.
Tamamo, teasing Johanna, began to race down the road.
A little, but she felt much more at ease than before.