The fluttering flowers vanished.
The surroundings returned to Garan no Dou. Seeing the letter in his hand turn into flower petals and disappear, Naoki sat on the sofa and sighed softly, "Honestly, this could have been explained with just a phone call, instead of using such a troublesome method."
"Don't say that, at least I got to see something very interesting." Touko said, lighting a cigarette, "However, compared to the illusion used through the letter, I'm more interested in what you just mentioned about the Holy Grail War."
"Before that, could you two explain to me what the Holy Grail War is?"
The only person who had almost no connection to the world of mystery, Shiki, interrupted with a frown.
Exchanging glances, seeing Naoki extend his hand towards her, Touko knew she was the one who had to explain.
Exhaling cigarette smoke, Touko asked, "The Holy Grail War, a contest for the omnipotent wish-granting device—the Holy Grail, held every sixty years in Japan as a magic ritual. Seven Magus each summon a hero whose name is recorded in history or myth, and they fight each other. The last surviving winner will obtain the Holy Grail."
"It's that simple."
An omnipotent wish-granting device.
Shiki raised her eyebrows, "That Holy Grail is such a great thing?"
"Who knows? I've never actually participated in a Holy Grail War, so I don't really understand the Holy Grail, but I don't think it's a truly omnipotent object. What I do know is that the Holy Grail War has been held four times, and in each war the Holy Grail has never appeared, so its truth is increasingly questioned." Touko said, taking a drag from her cigarette, "Next, let the person involved explain it himself."
"What Master said is basically correct."
Naoki took over the conversation, "The Holy Grail is indeed not an omnipotent wish-granting device. The way it grants wishes is by consuming the accumulated Mana, directly bypassing the intermediary process, and presenting the result to the requester. The reason why it's held every sixty years is to allow the Holy Grail to gather sufficient Mana."
"However, with sixty years of Mana, as long as it's not an overly absurd wish, everything should be able to be granted."
"You say that, and suddenly I feel the Holy Grail isn't that great." Shiki immediately lost a lot of interest, "An omnipotent wish-granting device, turns out it's just that."
"It can't be said that way either. Directly calling it an omnipotent wish-granting device is indeed a bit of an exaggeration, but if it's said to be an omnipotent wish-granting device for Magus, then there's no problem at all. After all, as long as he's a true Magus, his wish is the same."
Reaching the Root.
This was the common desire of almost all Magus. Therefore, after obtaining the Holy Grail, they would without exception make this wish, and coincidentally, the Holy Grail was indeed created to reach the Root.
Naoki said so, and Shiki's already diminished interest decreased further, "What the heck, it can only be called omnipotent if it's restricted by various rules, then it can't be called omnipotent at all. Anyway, it's impossible for something truly omnipotent to exist, right?"
Hearing Shiki say this, Naoki couldn't help but chuckle, "Who knows? Maybe something truly omnipotent does exist."
"My gut feeling says there's a hidden meaning in your words..."
"There isn't."
Seeing Naoki start to evade, Shiki pouted slightly in dissatisfaction, then changed the topic, "Then what about your business? I already know the concept of the Holy Grail War, next it's your turn to tell us about yourself."
Although Naoki had only mentioned it briefly before, and his explanation was also very short, but such a simple sentence contained a huge amount of information, so much so that Touko and Shiki felt a strangeness.
What exactly did this twenty-one-year-old young man in front of them experience three years ago?
"Could you two not look at me with such expectant gazes? It's not a big deal, compared to me, Master Touko's experiences in her youth must have been more interesting."
"I'm still very young too!"
Jokingly, Touko immediately threw a pen at Naoki.
Shrinking his neck to avoid the sudden attack, Naoki put on a flat face, "Master, I told you not to throw things around carelessly! Habits like this won't make anyone like you—eh eh eh! Don't throw don't throw! I'll be quiet I'll be quiet!"
"Brother, I've prepared all the ingredients."
At that moment, Gray wearing a pink children's apron, pushed the door open and entered. Seeing her, Naoki immediately felt relieved, "Thank you, I'll take care of the rest—by the way, about my business in the Holy Grail War, let's talk about it over dinner later."
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Honestly, regarding the Holy Grail War, Naoki personally didn't feel there was much to tell. If he were to summarize it himself, he could only say that most of his time was spent retreating, and the small remainder was used to risk his life.
But—
"So in the end, the Holy Grail War was just an unexpected disaster caused by a little girl who loved you too much?"
After listening to Naoki's story, Touko shook her beer can while chuckling.
"Accidentally summoning the famous King Arthur, but because of that being targeted by King Arthur's former Master, and coincidentally she was a genius Magus, the result was you being tortured until you couldn't live in peace—your Holy Grail War wasn't what I imagined."
Shiki also agreed, "That's right, like playing around with a child."
'If you two said that to Sajyou Manaka, she would definitely be very angry... or rather, she's already very angry now.'
"How could it be, who told me to be just an ordinary person back then who knew nothing about Magecraft." Naoki rubbed his eyes and sighed with a bitter smile, "But... it was precisely because of that Holy Grail War that I became who I am now. Honestly, if I could choose again, I might still participate."
"Why?" Touko couldn't help but feel a little surprised, "If you were just an ordinary person, participating in the Holy Grail War wouldn't that be the same as seeking death?"
"The reason is indeed like that, but even so... I don't want to lose the memories of fighting alongside that person (Arthur). If I had to mention one thing I never regretted, it would definitely be my meeting with her—why are you two looking at me like that?"
"Nothing..."
Taking a sip of beer, Touko slightly turned her face away, "Just a little surprised, you showed such an expression... but anyway it's not too surprising, right, Shiki?"
"Um."
"So what kind of expression? Gray, did I show a strange expression again just now?"
"No, that was Brother's usual expression."
'Completely unaware, this guy... when mentioning King Arthur, his expression was truly full of pride.'
'But. Sajyou Manaka, Sajyou... a surname I've never heard of, the famous Magus families in the Japanese region are only a few, most have connections with the Aozaki family, but when I was little I never heard of the Sajyou surname.'
Then, who exactly is Sajyou Manaka?
"Alright, I won't interfere in young people's affairs."
"What did Master say?"
"Nothing—by the way, what's your plan regarding that Lord El-Melloi matter?"
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At the same time.
"How dare he talk about the Prince with such a proud and arrogant tone! You vixen, if I can get out of here, I will definitely torture you until you can't live in peace!"
Because of Naoki's tone of voice, which was completely unaware of the situation, Manaka was extremely angry and furious.