Year 1415 France - Paris
Citizens!
Harfleur has fallen, but do not fear!
France is blessed with God's divine protection!
The day we repel the English army
and put an end to this prolonged war is near!
#01 Oath
Who's there? You can't just walk in here!
Sorry, but the store's not open yet!
And just when are you going to be open?
Oh, it's just you again.
I don't have new grimoires in yet.
Don't you get sick of coming here looking for those every day?
What's that?
Whoa!
Hmph. That's not a book you could read.
Put it on my tab!
For crying out loud...
Thanks, Master!
I'm not your master!
The Beast of the Apocalypse, eh?
Our nation has been under invasion by our neighbor,
England, since the last century.
The two nations have been at war since the year I was born.
That's nearly eighty years now.
One day, historians will refer to this conflict as the "Hundred Years' War."
This war between two Christian nations
for the rule of the kingdom has resulted in bloodshed and devastated earth,
creating much hardship for the peoples of both France and England.
Good grief.
Ow!
Guess that's as far as I can get on my own...
Montmorency.
Oh... Richemont!
Can't you knock?
You left the door open.
You have the lowest marks in the class in the military arts,
martial arts, and equestrian arts.
On top of that, your poor attendance puts you at risk of failing.
And this heresy you study...
It's not heresy!
Call it "alchemy"!
Montmorency!
Richemont must have gotten here first.
I-I'm sorry!
Hmph!
Ah, um...
I-Is Montmorency...
Bah! Why is a guy like him so popular?
Transmutation with the Philosopher's Stone!
This is the ultimate secret art!
They say the Stone turns its owner immortal!
Which means, if we master alchemy—
If we master alchemy,
no one will have to die in battle anymore.
No reaction?
I've heard this a hundred times.
So you want to buy up all the grimoires you can find...
That's just it!
I've read a bunch, and it's like they're written in code!
I'm not gonna get anywhere unless I get that old man to teach me!
Nicolas Flamel...
The alchemist rumored to have learned the secret art of Kabbalah.
I don't know what rumors you've heard, but I'm just an old bookseller.
Ask someone else.
Who does he think he's fooling?
Are you done talking now?
Then let's talk about reality.
Our nation has already let the English army come in
and take control of Harfleur.
As a noble, it's your duty to become a knight and end this war.
I'd rather have a job that saves lives than one that takes them.
Montmorency...
Oh, yeah!
Are you free tonight?
Huh?
What am I doing, exactly?
Hold it!
Charlotte?
Philip?
Fairies?
Yeah! I saw them, plain as day!
Hey, were those—
As you know, fairies are seen as retainers of demons
and are hunted down by the church.
So why does Nicolas Flamel keep a bunch of them?
Fairies must be connected to alchemy somehow!
Alchemy...
If the old man won't teach it to me,
I'll just have to ask the fairies.
It could at least help me start to understand.
F-Fairies don't bite, do they?
I once heard of someone who had a finger bitten off by a fairy.
Cut it out, Charlotte.
One might have even gone in through someone's mouth and eaten their innards...
Charlotte...
Hmph!
Quiet. The fairies will run away.
Why are you only ever nice to Philip?
Because you're always causing trouble—
I have a little sister, so I'm used to this. Don't worry about it.
Sorry.
He's not just nice to Philip.
He's nice to everyone.
That's why it makes me so mad.
Montmorency!
What is it?!
Th-They're...
English soldiers!
What?!
Richemont!
Your fight is with m—
He's weak!
A-Are you okay?
I'm... fine...
Oh, no!
Take this!
You did it! What was that?
Pepper and ash.
It's not even poison?!
I can't make anything that dangerous!
Oh, honestly!
Play along.
Huh?
You'd best turn back!
Do you know who this man is?
He is the first pupil of the famous Nicolas Flamel,
The Alchemist of Black Death, Montmorency!
The one and only!
That's right!
And my next trick will be to turn a man to stone!
Sorry, though. My master hasn't taught me how to turn them back yet!
I have to buy time until Richemont takes that guy out...
Ph-Philosopher's Stone!
By your limitless magical power,
turn this mortal into an invincible berserker!
Let's die here together, shall we?
I didn't realize the English had made it this far into France.
There. You should be fine now.
It's not like our mock battles.
Be proud!
You're strong, Richemont!
Montmorency...
We won because of my strategy!
Yes, I know. Great job.
I-I'm pretty sure I played a significant role, too...
You guys should be praising my Philosopher's Stone too, then!
It's just a rock.
This stone was buried deep in my family's storehouse.
There are piles of ancient treasures in there!
I think it's just a rock.
You don't have to be so blunt about it!
I wish things could stay like this forever.
We all study side by side,
but I am of the noble house of Brittany,
Charlotte is of the French royal family,
and Philip is of the house of Burgundy.
We live in mad times.
We may one day face each other as political opponents,
or even fight on opposing sides of the battlefield.
But if possible,
I would love it if we could stay friends forever.
We can, if that's what we want.
We're the strongest team around!
We can do anything!
We even beat up English soldiers.
Yeah, that's ri—
Curse all you French bastards!
Shut up!
The stone!
Oh, crap!
Hey, why don't we swear an oath?
To stay friends forever.
Let's do it, then!
We will...
...even after we graduate from school...
...remain best friends forever!
Please try to remember the position you're in.
You are a noble lady in line to succeed the throne.
I have two older brothers.
I won't be succeeding the throne.
Then you should have taken me with you!
I am your attendant.
It's my duty to put my life on the line for you.
Oh? How very manly of you.
Yes!
As of tomorrow, you'll wear women's underwear, too.
Are we clear?
What?!
Honestly...
Just because I'm already overflowing with womanly appeal in my childhood...
All men are just wild animals in heat!
That's not what I meant...
A duel!
All you're doing is darting around.
And you call yourself a knight in training, Montmorency?!
I challenge you to a duel!
Why do we have to duel?
You put my Philip in danger out there in the forest!
She's not yours.
Wrong!
No man is a true knight until he swears his love to a lady.
I've made up my mind to devote all my love to Philip!
You heard Alençon.
What do you think?
I-I'm sorry, but I must decline.
Can I go now?
B-Blast you!
That's enough, Alençon.
Sister!
I went into the forest with them.
You want a duel with me, too?
N-No, I wouldn't do something that dastardly...
Honestly... What does a child like you know about the love
between a man and a woman, anyway?
I do know!
I've read erotic books, too— Oh, crap!
Alençon, this is clearly a result of my own negligence.
I'll need to harden my heart and provide you with some tough discipline.
W-Wait, Sister!
We need to talk.
I received word from my brother
that the English troops at Harfleur have been stricken by an epidemic
and intend to retreat to Calais.
The French army will lie in wait at Azincourt to initiate the decisive battle.
I see.
I'm leaving for Azincourt tomorrow.
I'm joining the battle as a representative of the household of Brittany.
But why you?!
Because my brother despises the battlefield.
By sending me, my family can save face.
I'll go, too!
Wh-What?
I remain undefeated in the knight tournament,
and you've lost every round.
Hey, come on!
Just because you're slightly strong, smart,
come from a noble bloodline, and were born with a pretty face
doesn't mean you can talk to a failure like me with pity in your eyes!
I'm glad I got to talk to you.
I know this blazing sunset
will become one of the most beautiful memories in my life.
You want to use the Philosopher's Stone to make your childhood friend immortal?
There's not much time! Please! I'm begging you!
If one becomes something more than human,
one will be banished from the church as a heretic.
Still...
Immortality means running away for eternity
and living alone for eternity.
Then I'll—
I'm just an old bookseller.
Ask someone else.
Montmorency...
I had hoped that you would remain a blockhead until your dying day, but...
Fight against fate, Beast of the Apocalypse.
Brother!
Coming?
Yes!
The French knights will mock us, saying we sold our souls to the devil.
Even down in Hell.
There is no Hell.
That's just the rambling of the priests.
In my world, there is only the realm of Earth and the realm of Heaven.
Now, let us give them the finest hospitality we have to offer.
Damn you!
What Catholic monarch would bear the heretics' crest of the devil?!
Henry V!
God, if you truly exist, I beseech you!
Please... Save Richemont!
Richemont!
Welcome back.
Father...
There is nothing to fear.
We've already made all the preparations to join forces with the English army.
The only way to rescue Richemont, now that England's taken her,
is to become immortal myself!
If there is no God, then I'll sell my soul to the devil.
If you are a relic of a civilization that fell before Christianity existed...
If you are a product of alchemy...
Please, guide me!
I offer you my soul in return!
I am Astaroth,
queen of the fairies.
Was it...
Was it you who woke me from my slumber?
The queen of the fairies will never be kept by a human,
no matter how bad things are.
So you will be my servant—
Fine.
You accepted without hesitation...
I want the power to protect lives.
After I prayed for that, you appeared,
as if someone were ordering me to be that protector.
Very well. I will grant your wish.
I am the guardian of the Philosopher's Stone, after all.
If you swallow the Philosopher's Stone,
its immense power will be yours.
King Solomon, Clovis I, Otto the Great,
and Jesus Christ...
They all achieved great works through the power of the Stone,
earning them the title of "Ulysses."
Wait! Where is the Philosopher's Stone, anyway?
You truly are a fool.
That's it.
One of your ancestors must have been a member of the Knights Templar.
Their true goal was not to reclaim the holy land of Jerusalem.
It was to find the Philosopher's Stone that lay there.
But, Montmorency, do be careful.
If you swallow the Philosopher's Stone as is,
it will turn into poison and kill you.
You must first transmute it into a special liquid called the "Elixir."
Once you drink it, your body will be able to withstand the poison.
Damn it!
This just isn't working.
You have no talent.
Shut up!
How long has it been?
Seven years.
Huh?
To be continued
Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight
#02 The Girl Called Jeanne
Small breasts are dangerous!
Should you fall for their appeal, you're done for!
It's straight to effeminate boys from there!
You aren't the sort of perverts who'd lust after
the smooth trunks of little girls, are you?!
Episode 2: "The Girl Called Jeanne."
You'll all be fine, right? Right?!
Surprisingly useful French lesson
"Like an animal during mating season!"
Use it when someone gives you a leering look!