Grand Foreigner (Chapters 1- 200)

Chapter 197

Scáthach watched her new acquaintance, Jacques, and Medusa with some wariness. The two newly acquainted Servants suddenly, seemingly instantly, found common grounds between each other, something that pegged her paranoia levels about the Undead involvement. At least it was somewhat buffered by being in the relatively familiar surroundings, allowing her to somewhat relax.

Well, somewhat.

It was incorrect to say that she was in a familiar environment – neither the crusaders, the cities, nor even the presence of people around her was familiar. But when comparing the current situation to the previous one, that is with enemies and allies that she was unsure of. Namely, the presence of Ainz behind her back and the undead monsters, who were also not her opponents, or maybe they were, Scáthach herself was no longer particularly sure of that. The current situation was at least clearer to Scáthach than before.

That was why Scáthach felt a little more relaxed – which, however, had no effect on her readiness for battle. Scáthach had long ago reached the point where she no longer needed to be tense for battle, her fighting abilities and skills existed separately and independently of her emotions or thinking. So, at any time, as soon as Jacques showed any ill-intent, Scáthach could deal with both her and the people around her in a moment.

As long as it wasn't required, Scáthach could devote her time to observing the Crusaders trying to go about their chores amidst the apocalypse.

With some surprise, she noticed among the warriors of Christ glimpses of people with non-European figures.

She paused for a few moments, seeing the figure of a tired middle-aged man with a distinctive red cross on a white cloak over his other clothes, helping a man with a striking Arab appearance to pull his bumpy wagon.

'For obvious reasons, I cannot vouch for the completeness and accuracy of my knowledge of this time period and the relationship between the Crusaders and the people of these places. But I must say, I imagined the situation to be considerably less idyllic than such.'

Of course, there have been examples in history of the peaceful coexistence between different religious denominations, different nationalities, even between the conquerors and conquered. In addition, given the situation of the coming apocalypse, previous disagreements between different peoples might now seem to be nothing more than echoes of bygone days.

But they might also have been the catalyst for even more violent persecution or escalation of hatred.

From fighting for the rest of the resources, to mutual accusations that those different from themselves had been the original cause of the catastrophe.

Even given the overwhelming power of the Servants compared to ordinary humans, it was hard enough to keep people from choosing the second option – simply because that was the nature of humanity.

Therefore, watching such an idyllic scene, Scáthach found it a bit strange. Or was the problem being that she saw the bad in people, and didn't see the good?

Scáthach watched the people's actions for a few more seconds before she heard Jacques' voice unexpectedly. "Is something wrong?"

Scáthach, with all her incredible ability in combat and her stealth, couldn't hide her social ineptitude even if she has Presence Concealment. So, needless to say, her attempt to furtively watch the goings-on of the humans failed miserably, which made Scáthach inwardly swear. "Nothing, just... surprised at how the Crusaders seem to be getting along with the locals."

"Is there any reason to be surprised?" Jacques, who had left Medusa unchecked and unsupervised, as if she had complete confidence in her, had made her way to Scáthach. Which had made her stumble into watching the badly hidden Scáthach and her interest.