A heavy silence filled the room. Alexandre's eye twitched, a muscle in his jaw flexing as the realization sank in.
He had been played.
Asahi, still grinning like a fox that had outwitted the hounds, leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms behind his head. "Hehehehe, Man, Alex-nii, you should've seen your face! That was priceless!"
Alexandre exhaled through his nose, his fingers drumming against the table. "I see. You were the maker all along."
Princess Alice covered her mouth, barely hiding her amusement, while Sir Iceman simply sighed, shaking his head. "Honestly, I should have seen that coming."
Lucretia couldn't help but laugh outright, her amusement bubbling over at Alexandre's predicament.
Princess Alice took notice and turned to her with curiosity. "Madam… don't tell me you already knew?"
Lucretia nodded, still chuckling. "Yes. Asahi told me before."
Alexandre clicked his tongue in annoyance but leaned back, his frustration again giving way to curiosity. "Alright, fine. I'll admit, I underestimated you." He glaring at him. "How the hell does a nine-year-old kid know craft something like that?"
Asahi's playful demeanour didn't waver, but something flickered behind his eyes—something far older than his years. "That's a secret. Also just so you knew if you tried to blackmail me for exposing me into public was useless as my [Authorities] is absolute even were are campione."
Sir Iceman, looking at Asahi, smiling at them, only one thought on this kid 'What a terrifying kid.'
Alexandre's smirk returned, but this time, there was an edge to it. "You're hiding more than just your identity, aren't you?"
Asahi simply shrugged, sipping his tea like nothing was wrong. "Everyone has their secrets, Alex-nii."
Alexandre's dark eyes studied him, calculating. "And yet, you want to keep yours under wraps while knowing everyone else's."
"Exactly!" Asahi said cheerfully. "See, you do get me."
Alexandre narrowed his gaze. "Tch. Annoying brat."
Asahi beamed. "You sure love me."
Lucretia chuckled again while Alice just smiled, enjoying the show. Sir Iceman remained neutral, but even he couldn't deny the amusement in his eyes.
Alexandre exhaled and leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand. "Alright, fine. I'll let it go—for now. But that sword of yours… you really think I won't figure out how to use it?"
Asahi tilted his head, eyes gleaming with mischief. "You can try decipher or use my clothes But let me give you a little hint, Alex-nii."
"Shunsui or my clothes doesn't just choose its wielder. It tests them. And trust me—you won't pass. "
The confidence in his voice was unmistakable.
Every tool Asahi forged had strict requirements—only him or Tet's acknowledgment could wield them freely.
That was his rule.
Alexandre clicked his tongue, irritation slipping through his smirk. "We'll see."
Sir Iceman sighed.
As the laughter faded, Alexandre sat straighter, tone shifting. He was done with Asahi—for now."Anyway. Let's get back to what I came for. Lucretia Zola."
"We shall," Lucretia said, eyes cooling. "We were discussing the Holy Grail. And the Divine Ancestor… Guinevere. What would you like to ask?"
Lucretia's expression turned solemn.
?!
"Holy Grail…?" Asahi went stiff up inwardly silent, sensing the weight of the conversation.
Tet quickly replied, 'Its not our star grail. I made sure hidden well during our battle.'
Asahi was relieved inwardly, seeing that his brother was so obsessed with the holy grail.
If he found out they have one too.
It was pain in the ass dealing him.
Princess Alice quickly explained Asahi's reaction to him.
As Asahi understood.
Before the Great Disaster, Black Prince Alexandre and Princess Alice had come to Lucretia Zola's house seeking clues about the Holy Grail and the mysterious white princess, Guinevere.
Divine Ancestors are former mother earth goddesses reincarnated into Divine Ancestors they are witches of the highest order, having enormous magical power.
Guinevere was considered a queen among the Divine Ancestors, a sacred demigoddess transcending human and female boundaries.
She rarely appeared before others, yet she had sought out the Black Prince multiple times, trying to recruit him for a grand objective—to revive the strongest [Steel], known as the '[King who manifests at the end of eras].'
After fighting some fake god, Guinevere managed to escape from them along with his escort white shining armor knight.
Alexandre was curious about Lucretia's connection to Guinevere begun to ask in neutral tone. "Lucretia Zola, what is the nature of your relationship with Guinevere?"
Lucretia exhaled. " As i said before we were fellow researchers in the past. When that princess had just reincarnated, she came to me made a suggestion to me once."
— If you are interested in [Steel], would you like to search for the 'King who manifests at the end of eras' together?
"Guinevere invited me like that, so I accepted."
'King who manifests at the end of eras? Is that…' Asahi thought, his mind racing, still listening in their conversation.
Alice begun to ask, "Madam, why did you join her?"
Lucretia's eyes gleamed. "The reason? Simple. During my research I became question myself, what would happen when that 'Strongest Steel' will appeared in these world."
Alice became more thoughtful of what Lucretia said, came conclusion. "...Really, is there an actual end of the world?"
"Yes. And surprisingly, there is little evidence to disprove such a prediction. I don't consider it a fool's delusion." Lucretia nodded at Alice's comment.
'I see, indeed it is so.' Alec was beginning to understand
Every God who escape their mythology became heretic god manifesting in mortal world cause of disaster with them.
If a god of fire arrived, the surrounding territory would be engulfed by flames.
If a god of darkness descended, the area will be enveloped by eternal night.
The manifestation of [Heretic Gods] always followed this kind of principle.
Hypothetically, if this god that appears at the end of eras surfaced —
It could very well be the beginning of an apocalypse.
Even though incredibly ridiculous notion, it was a persuasive one.
"After finding out something like that, I gave up my long-time search. At the end of the day, it is impossible to maintain indifference towards the destruction of the world. I am not slow or insensitive, after all... Unlike you Black Prince."
"— What's that supposed to mean!?"
Lucretia smiled knowingly in response to Alec's anger while Alice shrugged. However, after saying the joking first sentence, Lucretia continued with the following:
"In truth, there is still a point of doubt. Is the 'King who manifests at the end of eras' really King Arthur? As my research dug deeper, I began to notice that it should be a much more ancient existence that transcends oriental and occidental divisions."
Lucretia, once fellow researcher with the Divine Ancestor, sighed at this point.
"I suppose I count as an Arthur novice. The thought of finding out that the long sought king in my heart was someone else... This was the biggest reason why I stopped the search."
"However, that Divine Ancestor believes in it firmly, right?"
"Yes. She calls herself the same name... as the queen consort who betrayed King Arthur and had an adulterous relationship with Sir Lancelot. Well, the King of the End's identity is still uncertain at this point. If that fellow turns out not to be Arthur, I wonder what that Guinevere would do?!"
Meanwhile, Asahi, despite listening intently, remained silent.
Who knows what he was thinking...
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