"Huh? It's been less than a day, and Alaya has already uploaded a second video?"
Kirina was genuinely shocked.
The first video, Witch of Vengeance, was absurdly high in quality. It utterly crushed 99.9% of all movies on the market.
It was so realistic that it felt like someone had traveled back in time and filmed everything with a handheld camera.
It had an immersive, eye-witness kind of authenticity.
Countless people online speculated that Jeanne might have secretly spent tens of millions of euros to shoot the video, hoping to recreate the daily life she once shared with that nameless Heroic Spirit who had saved her.
They believed what had been released so far was just a compilation of highlight clips—teasers, really—to show the world a love story too grand to hide.
A confession, romantic beyond compare.
"Shouldn't they have released it as a full-length, uncut movie?" Kirina muttered, puzzled.
It had only been less than a day since Jeanne had publicly confirmed at the press conference that the video was authentic.
Even the best marketing campaigns needed time to build momentum.
If they waited for the hype to peak before releasing the full movie, it would absolutely break box office records. Tens of billions—maybe even over a hundred billion euros—wouldn't be impossible.
"Unless… this uploader, Alaya, isn't even from France?"
Illya, rubbing her round little belly, casually answered her best friend's doubts.
"Oh? That could actually be true!" Kirina's eyes lit up.
That theory was among the more popular ones too.
With the rise of the Heroic Spirit Era, many people had speculated that Alaya—the collective unconscious of humanity—was trying to trigger humanity's next great evolution.
To elevate them from mere biological life to beings of pure energy.
Now, with Chronicles of the Nameless Heroic Spirit as its medium, Alaya had begun revealing the pasts of various Heroic Spirits.
Was this the sign that the true Heroic Spirit Era—where anyone could become a Heroic Spirit—was truly upon them?
Kirina shouted toward the kitchen, "Sanjiro, come see this!"
"What is it?"
Sanjiro, holding his chopsticks, turned his head and answered absentmindedly.
The cheerful voice of the little rascal echoed back, "Alaya just dropped a second video!"
Clatter~
The chopsticks fell from his hand and hit the floor.
His previously relaxed expression froze instantly.
Two videos in one day?
Sanjiro felt a vein throb madly on his forehead. Good grief—not even the donkeys in a labor camp work this hard!
"Alaya, seriously… even capitalists would bow before you. Can't you just let me rest for a few years?"
He was totally exasperated.
It felt like no matter how many times he woke up, someone would always be crouching by his bed whispering:
"Master, you're not allowed to rest yet~"
He'd walked through the whole of human history, crossed countless parallel worlds, worked for Alaya for what felt like eons, guarded humanity again and again… and yet the damn thing still wouldn't let him go.
Damn it!
I have something very important to say to you, Alaya—FUCK YOU.
Sanjiro wiped his hands, pulled out his phone, and opened the brand-new video that was already dominating the trending charts.
The opening was the same as before:
[Chronicles of the Nameless Heroic Spirit!]
[No one knows your name, but your deeds shall live on forever!]
Two bold lines of text filled the screen—evoking a storm of mixed emotions within Sanjiro.
If they really cared so much, would they squeeze him dry like this?
The caption made it feel like he could hear Alaya whispering:
"Being on call 24/7 is a blessing! Tons of people wish they could work non-stop like you!"
"What? You want affordable housing? Easy jobs? No pressure? A girl you like who actually says yes when you confess?"
"Seriously? No way, right? Right?"
Goddammit. One day, I'm going to track you down, Alaya!
So… who's the protagonist of this second video?
Sanjiro took a deep breath and pressed play.
Countless barrage comments instantly exploded across the screen:
CatEarsPrincess-[First!!!]
Blorbo-[Alaya you genius, I freaking love you—who's the next Heroic Spirit being exposed?!]
AlmightyMiddleFinger-[This is the kind of grind we expect from the real MVP—no more lazy updates, people! @CatEarsPrincess I'm talking to YOU—get back to posting!]
177103-[Holy shit, look what I just found!]
Masterbaiter69-[Brother from above, what's the meaning of your name @177103?]
177103-[Its a code my brother! Lets immortalized this 'manga' forever!!!]
FateShit-[....You're a fucking scum, you know that?]
...and on and on, the barrage comments flooded like a tidal wave.
Sanjiro had to crank the filter up to max just to see the actual video content.
The screen faded in slowly.
This time, a steady and powerful narration began:
"In the 5th century, the British Isles descended into chaos following the fall of the Roman Empire."
"Defeated by King Vortigern, King Uther placed his hopes in the next generation."
"Together with his court mage Merlin, Uther used the sacred bloodline of Britain and its Red Dragon incarnation to create a child destined to be king."
"Her name—Artoria Pendragon."
A petite armored figure wearing a helmet appeared at the center of the screen. Through the helmet, you could see long golden hair...
And a pair of emerald green eyes.
"Heh. So it's you after all." Jeanne sat on her throne, swirling a glass of red wine.
Her lips looked as if stained with blood—captivating in a haunting, almost dangerous beauty.
Ever since Alaya released the first video, Jeanne's sealed memories had been returning.
Countless battles... countless moments of life and death... countless times—
Competing for that impossibly charming, infuriating man.
All of it had come back.
Jeanne had said what she did at the press conference precisely to provoke the others—to flush out the man who had always been content to remain nameless.
"Tch. That bastard always had this damned charisma… Could he really be a Grand Caster of Seduction or something?"
She took a delicate sip of wine.
Previously, when Nameless had sacrificed his spirit origin to reboot Earth...
He vanished from everyone's memories.
But now, with Alaya's video releases, everyone involved was starting to remember again.
Jeanne's golden eyes were fixed on the screen.
With this second exposé, even more people would learn about the nameless Heroic Spirit…
================
Britain – Prime Minister's Office
After a full day of handling national affairs, Mordred finally dropped everything in frustration.
Even a Heroic Spirit couldn't work non-stop!
What, did they think she was that king who'd work herself to death?
Her assistant, Gawain, suddenly projected a video onto the office screen, "Alaya just posted a second video."
"Oh? Who is it this time?"
Mordred crossed her legs, fully relaxed and casual.
"Seems like… it's our king."
Gawain narrowed his eyes as he stared at the golden-haired figure in armor on screen.
Ever since the Battle of Camlann fifteen centuries ago...
He'd always blamed himself for the king's death. And in the moment of his own death, he had sworn—
"If there's a second chance… a second life… I will give everything I have to the king!"
So now, Gawain absolutely would not tolerate anyone slandering the king.
Not anyone. Not ever.
"I see now—it's that French saint's twisted scheme!"
Mordred suddenly jumped up, eyes burning with fury.
"That first video—she made up some fake 'nameless Heroic Spirit' to fulfill her single-hag fantasy of romance! And now, this second video—it's a smear campaign against Father!"
Once she figured it out, Mordred's hatred for that dark saint burst forth.
That woman had marched to war at age sixteen—never even dated.
Then, after descending into the modern world as a Heroic Spirit, she went straight to becoming Emperor of France.
Someone like her—who specialized in that signature 'Jeanne-style scorn'—was definitely capable of this kind of nonsense!
"Uh… but what if the video really was posted by Alaya?"
Bathed in sunlight, Gawain raised a thoughtful doubt.
After all, in the sun, his strength tripled—and even his intuition sharpened immensely.
"Hahahaha—no way!"
Mordred laughed confidently, staring at him with smug certainty.
"If the Nameless Heroic Spirit is actually real, I'll eat your mashed potatoes every single day!"