Episode 106
When Lillian made the decision to infiltrate the temple, she first went to Asher.
It was only natural. Since it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, she needed to minimize the chances of failure as much as possible.
And Asher, feeling deeply regretful that he couldn’t accompany her to directly meet the numerous relics he had only encountered through documents, handed Lillian several items.
The first among them was this lighter.
“The flames from this lighter react to divine power. No, it would be more accurate to say that they illuminate divine power. It’s the simplest tool for discerning relics.”
— But can we confirm if the Platinum Chalice is there using something like this?
— At least we should be able to determine whether there are relics there or not, to some extent. It’s quite common to display forgeries to prevent theft.
It was a tool that helped reduce the possibilities of stumbling. Moreover, it could also shed light, killing two birds with one stone. Holding her breath, Lillian slowly followed the path illuminated by the lighter.
‘But… it seems like there’s not only one relic here.’
The interior of the building exuded an atmosphere more akin to a place of worship or a chapel than a space intended for displaying something.
Thus, the items seemed to serve more as decorative elements of the building rather than being exhibited, and among them, relics were cleverly hidden. Perhaps if an ordinary person had come, they wouldn’t even have been able to identify what was a relic.
After circling the interior of the building, Lillian quickly scanned around.
— At least, it doesn’t seem like the Platinum Chalice is here on the surface.
In that case, rather than assuming the Platinum Chalice is placed elsewhere, she needed to consider the possibility of it being hidden by some mechanism.
When Lillian first stole Agnes’s pendant, she had opened a device hidden in the principal’s office bookshelf to retrieve it.
— If it’s truly an important item, it must have been hidden more securely.
Naturally, Lillian had considered this scenario as well. She took off the gloves she was wearing. As she did, the ruby ring worn on her middle finger emitted a sparkling light.
— This is the Ring of Attraction. When infused with divine power, it detects objects with similar properties and guides you to them. It’s an item made by Victoria, and it should still be usable.
— Then, wouldn’t it be better to use this from the beginning instead of the lighter?
— I’ve never used it myself because I don’t possess divine power, so it’s difficult for me to say, but there seems to be a significant issue with that. Victoria called it a failure. That’s why I was able to obtain it.
— What’s the issue?
— Well…”
Recalling her conversation with Asher, Lillian infused divine power into the ring. Instantly, she felt a sinking sensation beneath her feet, followed by a tightness in her head and a severe nausea.
“Ugh.”
The problem with the Ring of Attraction. It was a severe motion sickness.
It was so severe that the usable time was extremely short. Lillian retched while repeatedly infusing divine power into the ring a few more times, eventually managing to find out where the temple had hidden the relic.
Or rather, she found the entrance.
Lillian raised her hand and pointed to the statue at the center of the chapel’s innermost part.
‘There’s a passage beyond here.’
What the Ring of Attraction pointed to was right below, in the underground.
At first, she thought it might have been a mistake and checked several times, but the location remained the same. However, ironically, the path indicated by the ring was right below this statue.
So, there was only one answer. There must be a mechanism on this statue that revealed the passage only when the statue was moved.
But understanding how that mechanism worked was beyond Lillian’s ability right now. Unlike the rough and simple divine power barrier, the mechanism might not be powered by divine power.
Breaking the statue was the easiest way in this situation.
‘I need to open the path as quietly as possible.’
In that case…
It seemed as if a silver light was sparkling at the tip of Lillian’s fingers, and soon, with the sound of stone being crushed, the statue turned into dust.
The statue, now turned to dust, silently settled on the marble floor, and what it had been hiding was revealed before Lillian’s eyes.
“…!”
It was a staircase leading underground.
* * *
Once she descended the stairs, there was no need for Lillian to retrieve the tools Asher had given her.
She could feel it in her bones that everything inside was genuine relics.
The divine power contained within seemed to prick her skin. If her goal hadn’t been to learn about the past, Lillian might have lost herself in touching various relics just like Asher.
‘The day I think I can understand that eccentric.’
Asher was sincere in his research of relics to the extent that it was unclear whether he loved God or the relics. Sometimes, Lillian couldn’t fathom his blind and fanatical love.
What’s so great about relics that even a god who couldn’t give any answers loves them?
As Asher couldn’t hide that gaze, he smiled slightly.
— You’ve fallen in love. Is there any other reason?
Love. Thinking like that, it seemed somewhat understandable.
After all, she knew a girl who could only love like encountering a summer drizzle.
‘Swan.’
Somehow, she couldn’t stop thinking about her. Was it because of an inexplicable attraction? Perhaps it was due to the strange nostalgic atmosphere of this place. It couldn’t be anything but strange. She was ignorant about relics, so why did she feel this way here?
With the pendant tightly grasped in her hands, Lillian stepped through the shelves.
And when she went deepest inside, Lillian’s steps halted. Before her lay a large goblet, almost as tall as an adult man. In fact, it was more accurate to call it a statue than a goblet in terms of its size.
It was recognizable at a glance. Even in the dim light, the enchantingly glowing object was unmistakable.
‘…The Platinum Chalice.’
At the end of her words, Lillian pulled the pendant hanging around her neck. Her hand trembled, and she fumbled a few times, but on the third try, she managed to lay it down. Finally, she had reached her goal. Her heart, which had barely calmed down, began to beat loudly.
‘Calm down. You have to calm down, Lillian.’
She couldn’t mess everything up at this point. She had memorized the usage of the Platinum Chalice like the back of her hand.
The caster’s blood is smeared on the engraved crown of the goblet, and with one hand holding the object one wishes to remember, and the other hand holding the crown smeared with blood, divine power is sent forth. It was a simple method that required no incantation or syntax.
The only difference from other relics was that it demanded the caster’s blood.
Lillian pricked her fingertip and smeared blood on it, then followed the instructions exactly. As she infused divine power, she was reminded of Asher’s warning she had heard in the past.
“As you delve into the past, you wager your life force as collateral. That’s the only thing to be careful of.”
I know.
— Don’t linger too long in the past, Lillian.
I know.
— I’m waiting for you to remember.
Yes, I’ll go back. Even if it’s just for Swan.
If I go back, then…
What awaits me?
As she pondered this question out of the blue, the sensation of divine power, which had been flowing endlessly, disappeared.
Instead, Lillian felt the currents around her change.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a familiar room. No, it was an unfamiliar room. Both were correct.
Because this was.
‘I resent you. If this is my fate, I would have preferred not to be born at all…’
This place was the Maynard Duchy, where Agnes had lived once upon a time.
