Chapter 36 : Millennium Height (10)

“Why is Lady Ruina like that?”

“Sir Leon. You’re finally back. Did you gather the information well?”

“Yes, I gathered it well. So why is Lady Ruina like that?”

With my head resting on the table, I raised my hand to greet Leon.

“Welcome back, Sir Leon. Judging by your gloomy face, I guess there wasn’t any special success?”

“And you’re checking my face color in that position—have you grown eyes on the back of your head now?”

Leon sat down with a look of disbelief.

Chris explained.

“Her Grace’s blessing was stolen, and it’s in a tough situation to get it back.”

“Why?”

“The one who took it is suspected to be the Second Prince, and there’s no evidence. So even the Alchemy Guild has pulled out. If someone who’s hostile to the Second Prince hadn’t told us, we wouldn’t have noticed at all.”

“Oh no.”

In Happy Medieval Land, nobles are transcendent beings.

And royalty, who stand above such nobles—what more needs to be said?

They truly reigned above the law.

In fact, the laws themselves were made for the royals.

I raised myself and asked,

“Sir Leon, what were the results of your investigation?”

“Same as before. There’s no evidence that the Second Prince has the Holy Grail, and none that he doesn’t.”

“There probably won’t be any.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Would someone who has a supreme artifact like the Holy Grail really bother to steal a slightly fancy blessing?”

If you already have all the wealth in the world, why would you steal honey wine?

You could just buy it.

Same with the Holy Grail.

Once you have the Grail, things like blessings or Phoenix Feathers lose their value.

With the Holy Grail, everything can be resolved.

Leon furrowed his brow.

“We’re back to square one.”

“We’re in the negatives. I lost the blessing, after all.”

“…If I become a Paladin, I’ll make sure to—”

“I have to take revenge with my own hands. That’s the only way it’ll feel satisfying.”

I bit down on my pipe.

Immediately, Jerry lit it with magic.

Phew… I exhaled a long plume of smoke toward the ceiling.

Then Chris muttered, “Has Jerry officially joined our party? Why does it feel so natural?”

“It’s confirmed the Grail isn’t in the capital. That means we have only one thing left to do.”

Decide our next destination.

That’s what we had to do now.

Chris crossed her arms.

“The Holy Grail has the powers of immortality, healing, abundance, purification, and wisdom, right? We’ve confirmed immortality, abundance, and healing, so…”

“It’s fine even if there’s some overlap. We didn’t gather to check off a list.”

“Then it’d be okay to visit another fertile region related to abundance, but one thing came to mind.”

“What is it?”

To my question, Chris raised her index finger and said,

“Have you heard of the Witch of Wisdom?”

“If you mean the magician residing in East Elrn Forest?”

Leon was the one who answered Chris’s question.

Chris nodded.

“Yes. Just like Leon said, the Witch of Wisdom lives there. And as you know, one of the Grail’s powers is wisdom, right?”

“But as far as I know, the Witch of Wisdom has no connection to the Grail.”

“You never know. And even if she doesn’t, maybe she can give us a clue about its whereabouts.”

It was a pretty solid strategy: probe for info, and if that fails, ask for help.

I spoke up.

“Whether she’ll help us willingly is another matter, but the structure of the plan is sound.”

“Right? And I’ve heard she’s surprisingly helpful to visitors.”

“Really?”

Then we truly had our next destination.

“Let’s head to East Elrn Forest next.”

“A rural village, huh. Doesn’t look like there’s much to sell there.”

“Thinking about profit already? You’re going to be rich, Chris.”

“I will be rich.”

“I lost my blessing, so I’m basically a beggar now.”

I said with a laugh, and Leon asked worriedly,

“Lady Ruina, are you okay?”

“Of course I’m okay. What are you talking about?”

It’s not like I’m a child.

I wouldn’t throw a tantrum over losing a mere toy.

I was completely fine.

Really.

“Excuse me.”

In the middle of our conversation, someone approached our table.

It was a server.

They placed a dish on the table and said the usual line, “Here’s your order of potato salad for one.”

“Huh? Who ordered this? It’s just one serving—Jerry?”

“It was me.”

I accepted the potato salad and took a bite.

Delicious…

Chris narrowed her eyes at the sight.

“Lady Ruina. This isn’t all you ordered, right?”

“Of course it is. What are you talking about?”

“Just one serving, and no honey wine? You call that a full order?”

“Oh, Chris. I don’t have any money. How could I order freely? I have to be frugal.”

It’s not like I’m a millionaire who can feast every time.

Meals like that were reserved for once-a-year special occasions.

Chris shook her head.

“You should’ve accepted the reward from the Alchemy Guild.”

“How could I? It was partly my fault too.”

“Lady Ruina. Are you really okay?”

“Come on, Leon. Of course I’m okay.”

I was born the child of a poor farming family.

I was used to meals like this.

In fact, I couldn’t even enjoy food unless it was like this.

I smiled brightly.

“Everyone, go ahead and order as much as you want. I’m fine.”

“Lady Ruina’s broken. Jerry, what do we do?”

“Huh? Me?”

While everyone was laughing and chatting, I finished my food and stood up.

“Miss Ruina? Where are you going?”

“I don’t have any money. What’s the point of sitting around here? I need to think about how to make some.”

“Miss Ruina, you’re really falling apart.”

Leaving even Jerry behind in the inn’s hall, I walked the streets.

Saying I’d think about how to make money was just an excuse—I really just needed to clear my head for a moment.

Tap.

I lifted my head at the sensation of something brushing my hair.

Snow was falling.

Already?

I intensified the flame in my lantern.

Immediately, a kind of temperature shield formed around me.

Now I wouldn’t be hit directly by the snow.

The memory of first meeting Leon was still vivid, and yet it was already snowing.

Time had flown.

It had been months since the Holy Grail exploration began.

But we had no real results yet.

I had been inching closer to my goal by trading various spells, but from Leon’s perspective, he’d had nothing but failures.

He even failed in the capital, making it a third consecutive failure.

Of course, it was natural—the Holy Grail was never going to be easy to find.

Still, people are fickle.

A loss always feels like a loss.

I felt empty inside.

To be precise, my heart felt empty.

My holy blessing…

My special-grade holy blessing…

Growl.

A strange sound came from my stomach.

Maybe it wasn’t my heart that was empty but my stomach.

Time for a snack.

Happy Medieval Land had all sorts of winter treats—

Roasted chestnuts, warm pies, mulled ale and wine, dried fruits, puddings, breads…

Basically, if it was hot, people ate it.

In Sad Medieval Land, winter food was reserved for Christmas or carnivals, but this was Happy Medieval Land—food was relatively abundant.

People enjoyed these treats even on ordinary days.

I stopped by a decent shop and ordered pie.

“Five apple pies, please.”

“You with a group?”

“Just me.”

“…Wait a moment.”

As soon as I filled my stomach with apple pie, my head cleared.

It was a shame I’d lost my holy blessing, but it wasn’t a catastrophic loss.

As long as I made sure the person who took it paid later, it’d be fine.

Besides, what would they do with a special-grade holy blessing?

Break it?

Alter it?

No way—they’d use it as is.

So if I tracked them down under the right conditions, I could probably get it back intact.

It wasn’t a big deal, really.

Now that my thoughts were sorted out, I felt thirsty.

I needed some mead.

I raised my hand to order.

“…One apple pie to go, please.”

A familiar voice caught my ear.

I turned my gaze.

Brown hair.

The brown-haired figure took the packaged pie and stepped into the street.

She sighed.

“How did I end up doing this…”

“Seems like the princess wanted to experience commoner winter food, huh? But winter street food has to be eaten hot, or it’s pointless. Why not ask a chef directly instead?”

“That’s what I said, but she insisted—”

Hayes came to a halt.

So did I.

I spoke.

“Are we trapped in a barrier or something? Why’d you stop?”

“Who are you?”

“The witch of vengeance, Ruina—the one who even makes crying babies stop.”

“Not what I meant.”

Hayes looked around and leaned in to whisper.

“How did you know I serve the princess?”

“That tickles. I’ve activated a soundproofing spell, so please back off.”

“I asked how you knew.”

“It was a simple deduction.”

Hayes, who guarded a high-ranking person like Tashia, seemed hostile to the second prince?

There was only one possible answer.

It was practically a bonus-level puzzle.

“…Don’t go telling people.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t even know which princess she is.”

“Then fine.”

Hayes replied softly, shivering.

Well, that’s what happens when you dress lightly.

The palace was magically warm all year round, so she probably lost all sense of weather.

I extended the range of my warming spell.

“Don’t tell people you’re from the lower class. What kind of lower-class person thinks winters are warm?”

“I was just stepping out for a bit, so I didn’t dress properly. I didn’t forget it’s cold. Anyway, thanks.”

“Thanks?”

I held out my hand.

Hayes looked down at it.

“What is this?”

“If you’re thankful, give me a spell.”

“You’re seriously persistent.”

“It’s my only redeeming quality.”

This deal fell through too.

What a shame.

Hayes stared blankly at the sky, still clutching the packaged pie.

I spoke to her.

“Did Tashia ask for more?”

“She said she wanted roasted chestnuts too.”

“Shall I guide you?”

“That’d be great. Just so you know, I’m still not giving you a spell.”

“Too bad.”

Taking quick-witted Hayes along, I headed to the market.

Might as well fill the rest of my still-hungry stomach too.