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IBP 44
Chloe suddenly recalled the day she first met this small child.
“Don’t call me sister. I don’t care whether you get adopted into our family or not.”
“.......”
“You’re not my sibling. There is only one person I recognize as my family.”
......She had said that and chased her away.
Chloe looked down at the child.
The child had a look of desperate longing in her eyes.
As the silence stretched on, the child even squeezed her eyes shut.
Watching the child clasp her hands together as if in prayer, Chloe slowly spoke.
“......Fine.”
“Huh?”
“Do whatever you want.”
The child snapped her eyes open.
The way those violet eyes looked at her was just so.......
Out of habit, Chloe averted her gaze.
And so.
She failed to see a brilliant, waterfall-like stream of pure white light flickering out from Coco's hand.
“You know what! I really, truly think I can come back and become your real little sister!”
Coco gave a wide grin and clenched her fist tightly.
“So, I’m definitely going to call you sister! For real, definitely!”
* * *
“Greetings, Priest.”
“Then, I shall enter the subspace for a while to prepare for tomorrow's ceremony.”
The priest Pygmalion's supernatural ability was 'Warehouse Creation.'
It was an ability that allowed him to create his own warehouse, within which he could exert god-like powers.
In terms of rank, it was Cidian-class, roughly intermediate.
However, because it was so rare, it was classified as a special ability.
“Holding the holy grail to create a holy stigma is a sacred act called the ‘Divine Ritual,’ after all.”
“Priest, you are truly amazing.”
The servants whispered, noting that it made sense for him to enter the subspace to recharge his divine power.
Leaving them behind, Pygmalion activated his ability and wore a benevolent smile.
But that smile vanished without a trace the moment he created a subspace the size of a small room.
He looked around his surroundings.
“Here it is, the real holy grail.”
He let out a low, sinister chuckle.
Lucrezia had no intention of adopting Coco as her daughter.
She had keenly judged that whether the child was a blessed child or not, she would only stand in her way.
Thus, she had enlisted the help of a master craftsman to create a fake holy grail.
However, all ability users could feel a faint divine blessing emanating from a holy relic.
There was no way a mere fake grail could mimic the blessing of God.
“Therefore, Priest Pygmalion is the only one fit for this task.”
“Pardon? Why is that?”
“Because your ability is Warehouse Creation.”
He would keep the real holy grail inside his warehouse and always remain near the grail.
Then, the faint divine blessing leaking from his warehouse would be mistaken as emanating from the fake grail.
It was a plan that exquisitely exploited human cognitive error.
But there was a problem with this plan.
As the old saying goes, birds hear the words of the day, and mice hear the words of the night.
“Since that child's ability is animal affinity, be cautious of all animals.”
He burst into a mocking laugh.
‘But they say there is always a flying ability above a running one.’
There was no way a mere girl with animal affinity could overwhelm him.
‘It doesn't matter if she uses animal affinity to tail me.’
Pygmalion was confident that no animal would catch him.
He pushed out his fat belly and straightened his back.
He only had to stay in this subspace and then walk out carrying the swapped fake grail.
‘I planned it, but it really is an exquisite trick.’
He closed his eyes with a satisfied smile.
Once all this was finished.
Soon, the financial reward sent by Lucrezia, under the guise of a divine blessing, would reach him.
‘Then, I’ll be done with this tedious priest business and leave for overseas.’
Pygmalion's eyes glinted.
* * *
The next morning, inside the hall where the ceremony was to be held.
Duke Ardos, the grandfathers of the Senate, and the direct descendants of the family had all gathered.
Having prepared myself with utmost determination, I was scrubbed clean, dressed up, and led before the grandfathers of the Senate.
I pressed my tired eyes shut as I watched the Senate grandfathers chatter away.
Anyway, I stood proudly before the family hall.
The holy grail sat atop a lavish table.
“Can I hold it now?”
“Yes.”
Priest Pygmalion, who had been staring at me, soon wore a sneer.
The way he didn't even explain the detailed procedure made him seem like a total villain.
My heart hammered in my chest.
‘Finally, the day I become sister's real sibling!’
I'm going to run to her and call her "Sister!" right away!
And so.
I quietly, but firmly, grasped the holy grail.
“Ah.”
......But even after holding the grail, there was no change around me.
“It seems there's no feeling at all, is that correct?”
“.......”
“Oh dear, if it were real, you would have been drawn in by the mana stream inside the grail.”
“.......”
“It must be a fake.”
At those words, I could hear the senators huffing and adding their own comments.
“.......”
“It is truly unfortunate, but this was a predicted result. After all, no holy stigma appeared even during the brief contact.”
As Priest Pygmalion kept talking, public opinion shifted heavily against me.
However, I gripped the handle of the grail tightly with an expressionless face.
The cup was intricately engraved.
The feeling of receiving a faint divine blessing—something any ability user would unconsciously feel when faced with a holy relic.
But this was.......
“About this holy grail.”
I dropped the grail onto the floor with a loud thud.
“How dare you......!”
“What on earth are you doing!”
“Even so, how dare you desecrate a holy relic in such a sacred place!”
The elders rose like a swarm of bees to condemn me.
My heart raced at the loud shouts of the adults.
But I spoke slowly.
“I didn't desecrate the holy relic. Not at all.”
“What! You just dropped the grail—”
“About that grail.”
“.......”
“It's a fake.”
Priest Pygmalion's triumphant expression distorted.
And at my words, a commotion broke out.
At the sight of me openly targeting the priest, a young elder muttered toward me.
“And yet, the holiness of the grail was clearly felt in this place......!”
“How do you intend to prove it, little one?”
Amidst the chaos caused by my accusation.
I remained calm.
And I looked at only one person.
Then, my sister, who had been standing like a ghost behind Duke Ardos in the seats for direct descendants, stood up and spoke.
“I will prove it.”
I grinned as I watched Sister Chloe walk toward the table.
Right then.
I saw a pitch-black shadow flickering behind her back.
* * *
Thus, the whole story goes back to last night.
Unlike Coco, who was peacefully eating dried persimmons and napping, Caligo was tailing Priest Pygmalion.
Because it was strange.
‘She can clearly talk to spirit beasts and light is visible, so why hasn't the holy stigma manifested?’
It was clear that Coco possessed an outstanding supernatural ability, so the fact that no holy stigma appeared during the brief contact with the holy grail was puzzling.
And.......
‘I feel an ominous energy coming from inside that warehouse.’
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