This much is easy (3)
"Rejoice, Isaac!"
Isaac dropped his milk bottle at the familiar voice.
When he turned his head, he saw Rilai approaching from the nearby garden with her arms wide open.
Seeing that bright, flower-adorned head of hers again, she must be here to read him another goddamn book.
Well, whatever. Books are fine.
Early education for raising a fine child—great mindset!
Though reading a history book as thick as an encyclopedia to a baby who doesn't even know the words "Mom" or "Dad" might be a bit much, it's not a big deal!
In fact, learning history helps one understand the origin of various magical arts.
And knowing the origin helps you master them faster and better.
So this book-pushing auntie bringing a history book is actually a good thing!
The problem is that it just had to be a story about the Skeleton King getting utterly destroyed by a saint, damn it!
[My lord… Robbing the saint's wallet and fleeing, even in poverty? That's not a Demon King, that's a petty thief.]
Ugh, these petty-minded brats.
Why did they have to write that in a history book? Damn it.
Whisper, who had listened to the whole story while Isaac dozed off, narrowed his eyes at him.
[Have some pride in your demonic heritage…]
Shut up! The saintesses who chased me down just for stealing a wallet and tore off my leg are worse!
Anyway, just when he thought she brought another book, Rilai instead pulled out a small box.
The one who was surprised upon seeing it was Asili, who was taking care of Isaac.
"Oh my, a ring!"
What? A ring?
Could it be a first birthday ring? A gold one?
Isaac's lips twitched in a pleased little smile.
Sure enough, when Rilai opened the ring box, a beautiful item…
"Here, this is a gift from your uncle."
"..."
…which looked so old and worn-out it could've been a relic from the Iron Age.
And if it was supposed to be a birthday ring, it sure didn't look like it had even 1mg of gold in it—more like a hunk of junk.
So Isaac gave her a glare in protest.
Crunch.
He felt a gaze full of jealousy from not far off.
It was his other uncle, Goel—no, that rude bastard.
And why he was staring daggers at a poor, innocent ring, Isaac had no idea—but the expression said it all.
He looked like he'd just heard his cousin bought land. Which meant that ring must be something more than ordinary.
As proof, Goel was grinding his teeth while staring at it.
"Damn it, why that one, of all things…"
To be fair, Goel hadn't expected things to go this way either.
As the fifth son of the Eshua family and a member of the Holy Empire's papal faction, he had been gradually consolidating power within the family.
He'd brought the papal faction into the Eshua family to claim the headship.
And with the firstborn son—technically a marquis—gone, it was finally their chance to take over.
Until that flower-headed Rilai had to butt in.
With Isaac, the child of the firstborn and the saint, still around, they couldn't take control. Even worse, it blocked the path for his own son, Shuri, to become pope someday.
So they'd planned to get rid of the infant by using the treasure vault that held demons and dragons.
—"What? What did you just say?"
Goel nearly lost his mind when the elders summoned him over the birthday grab matter.
—"So you're saying you'll support Isaac how?"
—"Why act surprised? It's customary to shower blessings from the treasure vault during the first birthday grab. It's dangerous, after all."
Blessings from the vault.
In simple terms, it was a lifeline given to those entering the treasure vault.
You weren't allowed to bring helpful items due to cheating concerns, but basic protection was permitted.
Knowing this, Shuri had already secured the best blessings from the papal sanctum.
—"Didn't Shuri already receive blessings from the Papacy?"
—"Yes. A child's life is precious, after all. As long as it's not an item, it's not against the rules."
Blessings from the vault?
They were garbage, really.
"Warriors do not fear death. The closer to death the trial, the more they prove themselves!"
Classic saint stuff.
The blessings from the saint's vault were all basic, low-tier ones.
That's why Goel had spent a fortune and called in every favor to get the top-tier Papal blessings.
Because Papal blessings were the strongest in the entire Holy Empire!
"So Rilai, your nephew with no papal backing will just have to make do with cheap stuff. My kid will be the one who gets the good stuff."
Even if she had complaints, so what?
It's not like the saint's child would reject the saint's vault blessings, right?
What could she even do?
Just as Goel was smirking at Rilai—
—"Oh, right. The vault's blessing system is broken."
—"So Lady Gamo said to lend a saint's treasure instead, just this once."
—"?!"
What the hell did you just say?!
—"Oh! Yeah, yeah, something from the saint herself would be just as good as a blessing."
—"Better than the Papal blessings, even."
—"So Rilai, go ahead and pick an item from the Saint's Sanctuary."
Cough!
A saint's treasure?!
No matter how powerful the Papal blessings, how could they compare to an actual relic from a saint?!
Goel, eyes wide, immediately shouted.
—"Please lend one of those treasures to my child as well!"
—"Eh? But didn't you already get what you needed from the Papacy? Plus, Shuri has a divine mark."
—"W-Well, that's…"
—"Didn't you yourself say we should send Isaac into the vault because he has no divine mark?"
—"Even if it's a saint's relic, it's probably just a low-tier one. Are you trying to steal your nephew's lifeline too? A priest shouldn't act like that."
—"Tsk tsk, I expected better of you."
No, damn it! That's not what I meant!
And so, Rilai got to choose a saint's treasure.
Without hesitation, she picked that one.
[Eldering]
A ring containing a small miracle from the Divine.
It was an object that had fought the Skeleton King for hundreds of years, and now its time was almost up.
It was a worn-out item that might only be usable once or twice more. But there was no way he didn't know that the Pope had been secretly coveting it.
"I had originally planned to slip it to the papacy under the guise of a donation."
Anyway, that was the situation.
Goel had no choice but to grind his teeth and glare at Isaac.
And sure enough, the one who had been glaring at him disapprovingly walked over with a sweet smile.
"You're always adorable, my dear nephew."
"?"
"Are you settling in well at this house? This uncle was so worried that his precious nephew might be crying."
"???"
Isaac looked at Goel like he was insane.
The hell? Did this bastard finally go nuts?
How is it that all of Eshua's bloodline are like walking beauty filters? But this guy looks creepy smiling like that, especially since he looks like the Pope.
"Rillai. If you're going to give a gift, make it a proper one. How could you give such junk?"
"Junk? This item belonged to the Saintess…"
Asilla tried to interject, but Goel glared at her like, how dare a mere servant butt in, and then turned to Isaac with a smile.
"Isaac is also my very precious nephew. He's going into a dangerous place. He deserves something far better than a discarded item that might not even activate."
Saying that, Goel pulled out a box of similar size from inside his coat. As a bonus, he casually swapped it with the one Isaac held.
Ah, so this bastard was planning to switch the item.
"Little brother, this is an occasion where candidates from other noble families will gather. You need to maintain appearances. Giving something like this will make the name of a Duke cry. Take you, for example—talking about the Saintess's ideals? Because you joined the frontline troops that don't even pay well, this junk is all you can give."
"...!"
The ring Goel offered looked exponentially more expensive than the one Rillai gave.
Even just from the design, it was obvious it was crafted with the latest techniques. For Rillai, it was probably near-impossible to acquire something like that.
"This one even carries a special blessing from the Holy See. It'll be more helpful in tomorrow's treasure vault."
Rillai bit his lip at the gleaming ring.
In his heart, he knew the Saintess's item was no less powerful. But one looked like a shabby old relic, and the other sparkled like something brand new.
What's worse, the Saintess's reputation was declining, while the Holy See and the Five Great Dukedoms were on the rise.
It wasn't hard to see which one looked better for his nephew.
Seemingly reading that expression, Goel smirked and reached to retrieve the Saintess's ring.
"I'll just return this to—huh?"
Goel looked at Isaac, startled.
Grip.
Isaac wasn't letting go of the Saintess's ring.
His face practically screamed, Who the hell are you to take this from me?
Goel awkwardly tugged, trying to take it back.
"Isaac…! I gave you something better. This one's not—AAAGH!!"
Isaac smacked Goel in the face with the ring case he'd given him, like he was telling him to get lost.
Whack!
"Y-Young Master!"
Asilla quickly hugged Isaac and pulled him back. Goel clutched his bleeding face.
Even Goel's servant ran over in shock.
"Are you alright? I'll get a healer right awa—"
But Goel, who would normally explode with rage, just forced a smile.
"It's fine. I understand. He doesn't have the eye for relics yet. But that ring was gifted by the Pope. It's far better—"
Yeah, screw that. I don't need it.
Isaac chucked the Pope's ring straight into the pond.
Splash!
"Aaaagh!"
Everyone gasped as Goel's ring hit the water, and Goel ran to the pond in a panic.
It might've seemed insane, but Isaac just laughed bitterly.
"You think I'd use something imbued with the Pope's power?"
Hell no. Even if they begged me, I wouldn't take it.
And sure, the ring had lost much of its original color, but he could tell at a glance.
This was the sacred item of the Saintess, who had risked her life fighting the Demon King for hundreds of years. You think someone like him wouldn't recognize it?
Why was the Saintess being treated like some washed-up relic anyway? …Not that he didn't know. Damn it.
Anyway, compared to dozens of mediocre relics, the Saintess's item was worth a thousand times more!
They knew it too—that's why they tried to switch it on the sly.
Sure, they called it worthless earlier, but that was just its value as a mere ring. As a sacred relic, the story was completely different.
Yeah, in the eyes of modern people, it might look like junk.
"This is a top-tier relic you couldn't buy even with money, what are you doing?"
What Goel gave him didn't even come close.
And that's not all.
Its durability might be low now, but the Skeleton King had a way to restore it to mint condition.
"Probably could restore all the other faded relics too."
But Rillai, not knowing that, stood there speechless with emotion.
The little boy had chosen the Saintess's item over the flashy one from the Holy See, as if to say it was more valuable, even if it looked old and battered.
The Holy See already treated the Saintess like garbage. So for her son Rillai, this gesture was deeply moving and grateful.
Even if it was just a child's whim.
Goel, on the other hand, was furious.
"That thing—do you know what it was? Go fish it out right now!"
On Goel's command, his servant scrambled with a wooden stick, stirring the water.
"S-Sorry! I can't find it!"
"What do you mean you can't find it? It just went in!"
"I-It must've sunk into the deeper part…"
"How does something a kid throws end up that deep?! Don't give me excuses—find it!"
You think you'll find it, dumbass?
It might've looked like a casual toss, but it wasn't.
Isaac had secretly cast a weight spell on it so it'd never be found again.
It probably broke through the pond bottom and ended up embedded in the bedrock.
Whisper, unaware of this, proudly declared:
[As expected of my Master! Even the leader of the Holy Faction can't sway your principles! You won't touch their filthy tools even if they work well! A true role model for all demons…!]
"Come back at night and retrieve it."
[Excuse me?]
"I'm gonna sell it later at a premium."
[…]
Whisper paused, then muttered in disbelief:
[…Do you really want me to go fetch it?]
"You think I'll go?"
Whisper was crushed.
***
"So in the end, the Saintess's ring belongs to Young Master Isaac?"
At the knight's question, Goel exploded.
"Don't even mention Isaac!"
Just hearing his name set Goel off.
Meanwhile, the knight who had taken all the scolding fidgeted.
"But wasn't that ring one that activates automatically by absorbing the holy power of those nearby? And since the Lady invited all the Saint candidates… it would be very…"
"Advantageous for Isaac?"
"Y-Yes…"
The knight was careful, but Goel scoffed.
"Yeah, that ring. It doesn't use your own holy power, so it's perfect for a kid who doesn't even know sacred arts yet. Smart choice. But."
"!"
"To use it properly, you need at least 20 people nearby. How many do you think will come to that grab ceremony? All the Saint candidates?"
"Well…"
"Public opinion about the Saintess is bad. And this whole thing was proposed by Eshua. All the nobles think it's a trap. We're not saying anything because it doesn't harm us, but… you think even 10 people will show up?"
The grab ceremony was even being held in Eshua's own estate. To other noble families with Saint candidates, it would feel like a challenge—they'd probably all boycott.
Once they see the pitifully empty banquet hall, they'll realize their place.
So Goel sneered, blaming Rillai's foolishness for giving him that ring.
But then…
"What? How many?!"
On the day of the grab ceremony, Goel couldn't believe his ears.
"148?! You're saying 148 Saint candidates showed up? Here?!"
"Yes. To be precise, 148 candidates, and along with their attendants and noble companions, the total attendance is 3,789… They seem to be taking quite an unexpected interest."
Goel grabbed the back of his neck. He wanted to scream but held back.
"They're probably all nobodies. Just moths drawn to the flame."
"Well, actually… there are marquis houses and even some well-known central nobles…"
"What?!"
Goel's pupils trembled.
His servant glanced at him nervously and added,
"And also…"
"What now! Who else?!"
"His Majesty the Emperor… has also arrived."
Goel was left speechless.
Why the hell are all these prideful nobles here?
What the hell is with these numbers?!
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