Holy Grail
by Afuhfuihgs
The day the giant World Tree took root in the city of pleasure, Ludwig.
Morning had arrived in Eldorado, the largest and most beautiful city in the western part of the continent.
Comparable to the capital, the parks and portal stations were well-maintained, and there were beautiful magic towers, the Elysium Academy, and buildings of historical value that attracted tourists, all thanks to the clean roads.
The city’s ruler, the Golden King, collected low taxes from the citizens and made massive investments in the city based on his enormous wealth, earning Eldorado the reputation of being the best city on the continent.
Naturally, the citizens liked the Golden King more than the empire’s emperor. The Golden King never stepped forward and never forced or demanded anything. Just like the saying that the era when you don’t know who the emperor is, is the golden age, the citizens don’t know the Golden King’s face but they trust him.
That was why the residents who lived around the old mansion where the Golden King lived, seeing black smoke rising as if a fire had broken out, rushed to the mansion early in the morning, without even wiping the sleep from their eyes, filling buckets with water as if it were their own business.
However, they couldn’t approach the mansion. Suddenly, giant plants that had grown from somewhere completely surrounded the mansion. They weren’t plants big enough to make a path with an axe, so the residents could only pray that nothing bad would happen.
Roel, who was looking down at the scene from the mansion’s window, turned around. The Golden King’s vassals had appeared in the hallway again to stop the intruders. Roel unconsciously brought the Holy Sword to his left forearm. It was an old habit that he couldn’t even remember when it started. But it was a meaningless action, as his whole body was already covered in blood, and he couldn’t wipe the blood off the Holy Sword.
Knights and mages rushed to stop Roel. Swords were swung, and magic was fired. And Roel moved. Subduing eight people in just three steps, Roel passed through the hallway and reached a massive door.
As Roel opened the door and entered, several people who had been hiding jumped out and ambushed Roel, but they were quickly subdued and fell to the floor. And finally, after passing them, Roel was able to meet the owner of this mansion, the ruler of the city.
Roel met the Golden King in a beautiful room. It was filled with old relics and decorations, but thanks to being well-maintained, it didn’t feel old at all. Rather, it possessed a classic elegance that could only be gained over time.
Under the vertically stretched window, the owner of the room was leaning against the plush-looking sofa in a languid pose, reading a book, as if he could fall asleep at any moment if he closed his eyes. The Golden King exuded an atmosphere as if he wouldn’t care at all what was happening in the mansion, or even if the world was ending.
In fact, he didn’t seem to care at all that an intruder had entered his room without permission. No, it would be more accurate to say he had no interest.
,Golden King, I’ve come.,
At Roel’s voice, the Golden King, who had been fixed on the book, slowly turned his head. Their gazes met in the air. The Golden King’s eyes were the same golden eyes as Bella’s beautiful and brightly shining golden eyes, but they felt darker and more turbid.
The Golden King, who had been slowly observing the other person, looked at Roel’s face and tilted his head slightly. Because of that, his long, unkempt hair flowed down his shoulder.
,Do you know me?,
At that question, Roel smiled. She wouldn’t know how much he had been looking forward to reuniting with the Golden King ‘her’. Roel didn’t bother to say out loud that he had come to Eldorado and turned back in disappointment tens of thousands of times.
Roel slowly approached her. Even though a bloody stranger was approaching with a greatsword, the Golden King didn’t show any wariness, like a herbivore. Roel, sitting on the sofa, looked straight at the Golden King and said.
,I know. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.,
Roel paused for a moment. And finally, he said the name he had been able to call.
,Lumiel.,
Lumiel’s eyes, which had been full of lethargy, widened slightly. Lumiel, who was blinking blankly like someone who had woken up from a long sleep, muttered.
,…I thought I would never hear that name again.,
At Lumiel’s eyes, which were demanding an explanation, Roel gave a faint smile. Roel, who had placed the Holy Sword on the sofa, crossed his legs in a comfortable position and clasped his hands on his knees. And he began to tell the story as if he were talking to himself.
,In most of the worlds I knew, the Golden King wasn’t you. He was a man with ambitions to become the new emperor by taking advantage of the chaos on the continent.,
Lumiel, who had pulled her legs out of the sofa and gathered them in front of her chest, leaned her face on her knees and looked at Roel with slightly interested eyes.
,Very rarely, there was a world where the Golden King was a woman. I called that world a special world. It was similar to most worlds, but it was a world with many differences from what I had known. For example, a world where the Golden King is Lumiel, who misses her lover from a long time ago, rather than Lujan, an ambitious transcendent.,
Lumiel didn’t express her emotions on her face. But she was listening to Roel’s words with concentration for the first time in almost hundreds of years.
,Among those special worlds, there was only one time when you, Lumiel, were a comrade. And I heard about the Holy Grail from you. The Holy Grail that grants any wish if you fill the cup with its contents.,
Lumiel leaned forward and stared at Roel.
,The Holy Grail… you want to have it?,
,Yeah. I really need it right now.,
As Roel answered with a smile, Lumiel replied with a expressionless face.
,I’m sorry, I can’t give you the Holy Grail.,
,…I thought so. You said that to me before.,
Roel, who was rubbing his forehead as if he was disappointed, leaned back on the sofa.
,As I continued to dream endlessly, I thought. There is cause and effect in everything.,
Saying that, Roel held up the Holy Sword so that Lumiel could see it.
,You know what this is, right?,
At Roel’s question, Lumiel slowly opened her mouth and answered.
,…The Holy Sword used by the hero.,
,That’s right, but the Holy Sword always stays in the same place in any world. In Midas’s Dungeon, hidden beneath Phrygia, one of the cities ruled by the Golden King.,
There was no answer. Lumiel was just staring at Roel with curious eyes.
,I’ve thought about why the Holy Sword is there, why it has to be there…,
Roel, who had been looking at the Holy Sword, turned his head and met Lumiel’s eyes.
,The reason why the Holy Sword used by the hero was in the hidden dungeon of the city you rule is… because your lover was the previous hero. Just before he died, he hid the Holy Sword he had been using in the dungeon.,
,…,
Lumiel didn’t show any emotion. She was just fidgeting with her fingers, waiting for Roel to say next.
,The last person to be called a hero has been passed down like a legend for hundreds of years and has not been forgotten in people’s memories. Because he was a hero who sacrificed himself to save the continent. The story of that hero has also been made into a book. When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a hero while reading that book.,
Lumiel gave a faint smile. As if she was amazed that such a connection that she didn’t even know existed was intertwined like this.
,The name of that book is Edio and the Golden Dragon. And the name Edio is the name of the previous hero officially recognized by the church. The ending of the book usually ends with Edio, who was cursed by the witch, promising to return to the Golden Dragon who became his lover before dying. Sometimes there are books with happy endings… but the oldest book I found in the academy library ended like this.,
Roel paused for a moment. And he turned his head towards the window between Lumiel and himself and said.
,The Golden Dragon believed in that promise. She cherishes him in the city where her beloved grew up, and she is still waiting for him. It’s been a time when humans would forget their emotions and memories, but she was a dragon.,
Lumiel, who became Roel’s comrade, didn’t reveal who her lover was or what her identity was. She only said that she was waiting for her loved one to return.
Roel gathered the scattered clues. And he uncovered the truth of the story related to Lumiel according to cause and effect.
,You’ve been waiting, haven’t you? For him to return here.,
At Roel’s question, Lumiel readily admitted.
,That’s right. This city is a gift for him to return to.,
,Even though hundreds of years have passed… do you think he’ll come back?,
,Yeah. Because he promised. That person always kept his promises.,
At Lumiel’s voice full of trust, Roel reached out to the window. Roel, who had been caressing the window with his fingertips, said.
,So this is a deal.,
,…A deal?,
Lumiel looked at Roel with a puzzled expression. Roel, who had been looking down at the city, slowly turned his head and looked straight at Lumiel.
,I’ve hidden the Saintess of the Order somewhere in this city. There’s something called the Worm of Chaos inside her body. The Worm of Chaos lives as a parasite, and when the host dies, it immediately devours the host’s body and grows huge. The monster that can easily swallow a city is the Worm of Chaos.,
Roel’s sincerity was clearly conveyed to Lumiel. So Lumiel could feel that what he was saying now was not a lie.
,And before I came here, I poisoned her.,
Roel said quietly with a face without any emotion.
,If you don’t hand over the Holy Grail to me, this city will disappear without a trace.,
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