I Stole the Heroine's Holy Grail

Thrill, anger, and long-held hatred dyed Ivan’s vision red.

He managed to keep his head above water, and secretly pursued Kale. He does not want to miss him. He was a hint. 

Kale headed to a secluded back alley.

I need to hide my presence.

As the crowd decreases, his presence would be easier to notice. Ivan took a breath and completely hid his presence.

Whether he didn’t notice that he was being tracked or if he knew and pretended not to know, Kale entered a small building in the back alley with a light step, 

“Is it a bar?”

The Holy Land represents Vishna. Naturally, many people visit the Holy Land every year. Although their purposes varied, they could be broadly divided into two categories. Faithful believers and those who enjoy corruption.

As Vishna had the largest number of believers on the continent, many wanted to become priests. However, in order to become a priest, they had to possess sacred power above the standard. Unless they are from a noble family, most of those who wanted to become priests were commoners in difficult situations.

Those who felt frustrated by the wall in front of them, leave. However, among them, those who could not give up their lingering feelings often stayed in villages outside the holy land. And the end of those who made those choices was not good.

Sacred power is innate in the first place. It was simply the realm of talent. Of course, they can increase their sacred power through bloody training, but only in a few cases, and most of them realize their limitations and fall behind.

It was this black area where those who were so left behind settled. The only place where black exists in the Holy Land that is madly obsessed with pure white.

It was the dirty side of the Holy Land that Vishna wanted to erase.

Why is Kale Ferris in the Holy Land?

The timing was not good. It was in the midst of Selcred period, and Adelia is playing a major role.

I’m sure there’s something.

One thing is for sure, he wouldn’t have come to the Holy Land simply to enjoy the festival.

Ivan pulled down his robe and followed Kale into the bar.

Rattle~

The bar was noisier than he thought. Apparently, there were quite a few people who came from outside for the festival.

“Hahaha! This is the taste!”

“The wine tastes really good.”

“It’s best to eat secretly.”

“Here’s another drink!”

The noise echoed here and there. Ivan frowned and looked for Kale. Finding him was difficult because of the people huddled in a small space, but Ivan recognized Kale like an instinct.

“There he is.”

Kale was on the stairs to the second floor.

Keeping a proper distance, Ivan followed him. But just before stepping into the stairs to the second floor, a rugged-looking middle-aged man blocked his way.

“Hey, this isn’t a place for anyone to climb.”

Ivan wriggled his brows and agonized. Whether to tell a proper lie or deal with the man in front of you.

The answer was already set. Looking at the situation, there was only one specific person who could go up. The trouble is, Ivan didn’t know the condition. In this situation, lying was likely to make the situation worse. So he has no choice but to deal with the gatekeeper.

Ivan glanced away and checked the inside of the noisy bar again. No one was interested in this area because everyone was eating and chatting.

When Ivan turned his head and looked around, the gatekeeper easily let his guard down as if he had misunderstood that he was looking for a seat on the second floor. Ivan didn’t miss the gap. He overpowered the gatekeeper in an instant.

“Ke-up!”

Ivan put the fainted gatekeeper out of sight and went up to the second floor.

Unlike the first floor in the form of a wide hall, the second floor was lined with several rooms in a long hallway.

Ivan walked slowly down the hallway and looked for someone’s presence.

At last his feet stopped in one place.

– It’s coming soon.

– I’m perfectly prepared, so don’t worry about it.

– You’re so peaceful. Don’t be at ease. Are you sure you prepared it?

Kale Ferris’ voice and low voice he had never heard before was having a conversation. Their voices did not leak out loud even though the door was old. It seemed that there was a magic device that blocked the sound inside.

But Ivan was an Aura user. He focused on the waves of the sound made against the magic barrier.

– Of course. Now that you’ve come forward, it’s safe to say that the plan is going well.

– I don’t trust you.

– Then you should move on your own. Ah, that’s right. I forgot. With your broken body, you couldn’t even move properly, let alone have divine power. 

Amid the war of words, he could feel the fierce energy fluctuating over the door. 

Are they having a conflict?

It was good for Ivan. It’ll be easier for him to deal with than with two people who are in sync.

However, contrary to Ivan’s thoughts, the fluctuating energy soon subsided.

– Ha… I can’t communicate with you.

– That’s the same for me too. 

– Tsk. You know, the ‘real’ is important in our plan. Without it, there will be a big setback. We need to deal with it quickly and surely.

– I know. That’s why I stepped out of here. Don’t worry. The moment the torch burns, hell will unfold.

He uttered ominous words. Ivan was greatly agitated.

Torch. The sacred flame that will mark the end of Selcred. The symbol announcing the end of the festival.

People believed that the more splendid and beautiful the torch blooms and the closer it is to pure white, the more God’s blessing will fall on the continent. It’s just a superstition, but if something goes wrong after Selcred, it’s highly likely that the blame will be put to the guardian for not making a beautiful flame. Furthermore, the whole continent was sickened by the fear of disaster now.

They’re after Adelia. 

A cool glare flashed over Ivan’s eyes. He wanted to catch them right away, find out what they were planning and who they were working for. However, there was something that had to be solved before this.

Ivan clenched his teeth, putting the half-picked sword back in.

– Wait. I feel something.

– What? What’s that…….

Tremble!

The man who had been talking to Kale opened the door roughly. Unlike his gray hair, the man’s body was as hard as an experienced swordsman. The long cut in his right eye made his impression even more harsh.

“There’s no one here”

Kale, who followed the man out of the room, looked around and said peacefully.

“The air is different.”

“What are you talking about? The air is different. What is that supposed to mean?”

The man quickly went down to the first floor with his limp leg. Soon after, he found a man lying unconscious under the stairs.

“The rat has gone into hiding.”

Seeing the man’s subordinates, Kale finally agreed with the man.

“……That’s right. Then we should search quickly.”

“The plan may have been leaked.”

“Don’t worry. Unless it was a Sword Master, no one could have listened to our conversation.”

Kale was confident. He had no doubts about his ability. He was actually a capable man.

“I will catch it.”

***

Hestine could not hide her excitement and looked out the window.

“There are a lot of people today.”

Peloche smiled softly at Hestine’s words full of expectations.

“Yes, because today is the last day of Selcred.”

“Ugh… Peloche, I’m nervous. Will I be able to do well today?”

Hestine had to deliver a congratulatory speech in front of many people tonight to mark the end of Selcred. Of course, it was not her intention. All of this was the will of the Duke of Valkyr. Giorgio Valkyr thought that she must finish the festival that symbolizes Vishna.

His stubbornness, which she couldn’t refuse, forced Hestine to prepare a congratulatory speech.

Having noticed Hestine’s anxiety at once, Peloche went to her side and met her eyes.

“Of course. Didn’t you do something more difficult than this? So you’ll do well this time.”

Hestine smiled awkwardly at his straight voice, which didn’t contain a slightest bit of doubt, and expressed her gratitude. He felt embarrassed to hear a high evaluation of herself right in front of her eyes.

“……thank you, Peloche.”

A subtle silence followed.

Hestine looked around, thinking she should turn her attention elsewhere. She memorizes the congratulatory address again; she already read it hundreds of times and memorized it to the extent that she spoke in her sleep.

Then she remembered the bracelet she had previously bought through her servant.

“Ah! The present for Adelia!”

“Come to think of it, you left something to me before. I was just about to tell you.”

“There’s still time before the ceremony starts, so I hope to give it to her now!”

Peloche took a small, luxurious box out of his pocket and handed it to Hestine.

“Oh!”

As soon as the box touched Hestine’s hand, she felt a sting at her fingertips that made her almost drop it.

What is it? I think I saw something like a dark blue lightning for a moment.

As Hestine stared at the box without saying anything, Peloche asked with a puzzled face.

“What’s wrong, Saint? Are you not feeling well?”

Peloche’s voice was full of worries. Hestine hurriedly waved her hand because she didn’t want to worry him for no reason.

“It’s okay! Then I’ll go to Adelia quickly!”

“Have a safe trip.”

Peloche turned around bowing to Hestine, who was running in a hurry. Then he opened his mouth out of the window.

“Come out.”

He looked so cold that you wouldn’t even think he was the one who had a friendly conversation with Hestine.

At Peloche’s call, a person who covered himself with a dark blue robe and mask appeared.

“Report that the catalyst was delivered safely.”

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