The True Holy Grail
"Is this the real Holy Grail?" I examined the pure white chalice with great care. Its surface, embossed with distinctive patterns, gleamed beautifully beneath the sun. It carried an entirely different presence from the fake Holy Grail Tolphea had crafted. If I had to put it into words, it simply didn't feel like an object from this world. The clarity was roughly three times sharper, as though someone had turned up the resolution. I spun the chalice in my hands a few times before passing it to Leon, then muttered,
"It's a shame this one is empty too."
"Bais used the last of its power to create the Vessel of Greed," he replied.
Like the fake, the real Holy Grail stood completely empty. The difference was that the genuine article could expend itself entirely to trigger one final miracle even after its contents ran dry. When I first heard that, I had paused to consider whether it might be more profitable to simply consume the Grail for immortality and worry about healing later. Unfortunately, the rumors were wrong. The Holy Grail did grant a form of immortality, but not the usual kind. Having held the real one in my own hands, I learned its version of eternal life resembled rejuvenation. It restored an elderly person to youth rather than extending their lifespan. Since I was still young, the ability held no value for me. Therefore, I decided to hand the Holy Grail over to the Holy Kingdom without regret.
Unlike its counterfeit, the true Holy Grail replenished its power naturally. At its current charging rate, however, it would require a full century before it could perform even a single miracle. In every respect, it was an item with terrible cost efficiency.
"Still, I'm glad we secured the real Holy Grail instead of the fake. This removes any chance of the Holy Kingdom stabbing us in the back."
"Lady Ruina. You were still worrying about that?"
"The Holy Kingdom demands caution." It was a place drunk on money, where seven divided factions waged chaotic wars for dominance. Nothing strange that happened there would truly be strange.
"Leon. We'll pursue the remaining remnants. You should attend to your own duties."
"Thank you."
Hyble gave Leon a couple of firm pats on the shoulder and departed. Bais was dead, but the remnants of Greed still lingered. Cleaning them up would tie off every loose end. I had considered helping, but Hyble believed transporting the Holy Grail took priority.
After watching him leave, I inspected the magic drifting through my body. My unique magic, Labyrinth. It really was a fascinating spell. Labyrinth remained linked to me at all times without requiring any conscious effort. It was permanently active. The magic offered various functions, but its core ability could be summarized in one phrase: precedence over all phenomena. A specially created dimensional space that absorbed every incoming effect in place of the user. As a result, simply possessing Labyrinth caused defensive power to skyrocket, and this applied far beyond physical defense. It encompassed mental and magical protection as well.
The reason I had been so helplessly overwhelmed by Raizel, the previous holder of the Greed element, and Bais, the third finger of Greed, was simple. My stats were malformed. As I had explained before, even if I could shatter limits in certain parameters, my other abilities fell far behind in comparison. Thanks to Balance I could use unique magic freely, yet the fact that I wasn't truly a 5th-circle mage created problems. Had I been a proper 5th-circle mage, I wouldn't have fallen so easily to Raizel's Distortion mental attack or become trapped inside Bais's Labyrinth of Greed. High-ranking mages possessed that degree of completion.
I had only reached 3rd circle until yesterday, when I finally advanced to 4th. There were still many deficiencies. In truth, everything except raw offensive power was lacking. Of course, my attack strength alone was enough to make even veteran mages concede, but hadn't I already demonstrated twice what happens when you travel the world relying solely on offensive power? Therefore, if I wished to avoid falling for another mental attack and suddenly wanting to trail after some stranger while calling him my dear older brother, I needed to reinforce my other stats. In that area, Labyrinth performed brilliantly. I could now defend against most mental attacks and unusual magical assaults.
The utility of Labyrinth was considerable. True, it left my other parameters hovering near zero, but I preferred it this way. Better to dig one well and become unmatched in that field than to spread myself thin and achieve nothing. My only regret was acquiring Labyrinth through the Greed element. At this rate I wouldn't be able to grow any further here. That Bais really stayed useless until the bitter end. How does someone fall half-dead after taking one spell? That was exactly why he couldn't even initiate a trade with Balance. Honestly.
I let out a small sigh, then summoned a flame. Fire bloomed inside the lantern. I had uncovered multiple traits within the elements. From flames I sensed fairness and predation. From water, the trait of change. From wind, the trait of connection. Through predation I had grasped the principles of digestion and decomposition to reach 3rd circle. Through fairness I had understood the principles of rules and restrictions to become 3rd circle. This time I had taken another step forward. True fairness meant being able to demand from an opponent exactly what I desired. By discovering the principle of Covenant, I had risen to 4th circle.
This advancement was entirely thanks to Bais. Wandering inside the Labyrinth of Greed had given me ample time to contemplate fairness. The memories I lost within that maze returned, and along with them came layered realizations about fairness. The moment I returned to reality, everything exploded at once. Without Bais, I might have needed several more years to reach 4th circle.
Teach me magic. Swap the Grail for the real one. Give me your unique magic. I'll place you beside Kelton and the head nun. You've worked hard all this time. Bais. If we meet in the next life, please give me money too. Thank you.
"Lady Ruina, sometimes you seem even more obsessed with money than I am."
"I'm not obsessed with money. I simply appreciate money that facilitates smooth magical activity."
"That's the same thing."
"It's different. When I say someone likes money, I mean people like Lady Chris."
"Money is the best."
I drained my cup of honey mead. Aromatic steam rose from the roasted pig. I savored the rich, savory aroma that tickled my nose, then sliced the meat with a knife and placed it on my plate. There were few pleasures as pure as good liquor and roasted meat after finishing a job. I popped a piece into my mouth and said,
"Sir Leon has become a proper paladin now. A holy relic descent, no less."
"I was merely fortunate."
"What sort of desperate prayer did you offer the gods to succeed in summoning a holy relic?"
"I was fortunate."
"Was it perhaps the desire to save someone?"
"I said I was fortunate."
Victory. Satisfied with our little bout, I nodded. Now that was a proper conversation.
"Lady Ruina. That was not a conversation. You're under a serious misconception."
"There's no way that's true."
I brushed off Chris's criticism, pulled out my pipe, and lit it myself. I exhaled slowly, sending smoke drifting toward the ceiling. A gaze pricked at me from the side. Jerry.
"Sir Jerry. Did you have something to say?"
"No."
"Are you perhaps disappointed that you missed the chance to light it for me?"
"No."
It clearly wasn't nothing. As our exchange continued, Chris cut in.
"Lady Ruina, why are you stealing Sir Jerry's job? If you light your own pipe, what is the poor man supposed to do now?"
"I'm sure he has plenty of other tasks. If a 5th-circle mage has nothing to do but light pipes, that would be concerning in its own right."
Speaking aloud made me newly aware of how high our party's overall level had become. Leon, a paladin capable of holy relic descent. Jerry, a 5th-circle mage. Muran, a genius alchemist. Chris, a high-ranking demon and succubus. Noa, disciple of a future archmage. And myself, the youngest archmage in history, bearer of three unique magics. Nothing could stop us now.
"Master."
"Yes?"
"What will we do now?" Noa asked.
What would we do? The answer was obvious.
"We must deliver the Holy Grail to the Holy Kingdom."
"Really?"
"Why the sudden decision?"
"It's nothing special."
Noa took a sip of water and continued.
"It just feels like things rarely go the way you want, Master."
"Which is exactly why we're leaving tomorrow. This way there won't be any variables."
I stood face to face with the enemy who had stolen the Holy Grail. The creature radiated the distinctive aura of the demon race, an alien energy that scraped against human nerves like nails on slate. Demon race. Inhabitants of a world other than this one. Why had something like this occurred? To understand, I would need to rewind time by one week—.
"Lady Ruina? What are you doing?" Chris's voice suddenly pulled me back.
I lifted my head, emerging from my thoughts.
"I was just imagining something for a moment."
"What kind of imagination?"
"The scenario where the Holy Grail gets stolen by demons no matter what we do."
"Why would you imagine something like that? We haven't encountered so much as a single bandit, let alone any demons."
Why? Because it would be entertaining, of course.
"Lady Ruina really does strange things sometimes."
"Sometimes?"
"My mistake. You do them constantly."
"Thank you."
I stretched my arms overhead, then turned to Noa.
"Even for me, sometimes events do unfold exactly as I intend."
"That's surprising."
"Lady Ruina! Look over there!"
At Chris's call, I calmly shifted my gaze. In the far distance rose solid, pure-white castle walls. A bright smile spread across my face.
The Holy Kingdom, Bartrian. We had finally reached the end of our long journey.