“Really?!”

I looked at Martha with wide eyes.

As expected, gathering the most talented individuals in the empire led to quick progress.

“What do we need to do?”

“Mages from the magic tower have come in person. They’re in the reception room. It would be best to ask them directly.”

Martha, who spoke gently, glared at the interrogation room door again with a chilling atmosphere.

“As you know, I have work to do now.”

“Haha… Then I’ll go meet the mages.”

Martha nodded, brushed her hair back once, and headed into the interrogation room.

“Let me give you some advice. I get crueler the more my work piles up. Finishing quickly would be better for everyone—”

Bang-

The sound of the iron door closing reverberated like a sound effect to Martha’s final words.

It was a sound that made her warning twice as chilling.

I looked at the firmly closed iron door with a faint smile.

‘Well, she won’t kill him. Let’s go meet the mages.’

As I turned around, an inexplicable annoying premonition ran down my spine.

‘What’s this? Just my imagination, right?’

It must be my imagination.

Thinking that, I arrived at the reception room and realized my premonition had been correct.

“Goddess—!!”

“Shut up and stop being noisy.”

Raku, who had been sitting on a long chair, jumped up when he saw me.

Arkle, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, glared at him and warned in a low voice.

Regardless, Raku approached me hurriedly with shining eyes.

“Ah, Goddess…! I’ve been waiting for the day we’d meet again. I, I listened well to the Goddess’s words. I didn’t cause any disturbances and researched diligently. Goddess, please give me a reward… Guk—!”

“That’s enough. Sit down now.”

When the man with a calm impression sitting next to Raku spoke, Raku actually stopped in his tracks.

“That’s right. Well done, Raku. Well done.”

The man, who spoke as if praising a child, felt my gaze and rose from his seat. Then he bowed and greeted me.

“I’m Marvin, who oversees the research.”

“I’m Lize Cayenne.”

Marvin, who smiled politely, turned to Raku.

“Now you should sit down.”

“Don’t order me around—! I only listen to the Goddess’s commands and serve only the Goddess….”

“Then let’s keep standing.”

“Tsk—”

Raku clicked his tongue and sat back in the chair with a sullen expression.

I looked at Marvin with an impressed gaze.

“Wow, I’ve never seen Raku so obedient before. You’re amazing! Like a dog trainer….”

“If the Goddess wishes, I can be a dog anytime…!!”

“I heard a wild beast was caught in Cayenne territory, I’ll tame it.”

Raku and Arkle, who spoke almost simultaneously, looked at each other with displeased faces.

“Underestimating a beast could lead to trouble. Being eaten might be quicker than taming it.”

“A dog, you say? I should show you who’s higher in the hierarchy.”

I silently smiled watching the two men glaring at each other.

‘Arkle, why are you even here? And Raku, have you forgotten how Arkle beat you up last time….’

I was thinking I should sort out the situation when Marvin stepped in first.

“Raku, you can’t use such language with your employer. My lord, my lady. Please forgive his rudeness.”

Marvin apologized to Arkle and me after scolding Raku sharply like someone disciplining an ill-mannered dog.

Arkle silently nodded. His attitude suggested he didn’t particularly care.

“So, did you come to tell us something?”

Marvin looked at me and spoke politely.

“I reported about the research to the head of the family. We were about to leave when this fellow made a fuss saying he had to see the lady….”

Marvin trailed off, and Raku smiled proudly.

Arkle’s expression soured further as he kept his mouth tightly shut.

‘Could it be that he’s here because Raku meeting me bothers him? Or maybe….’

I glanced at Arkle and asked.

“Arkle, did you hear about the research?”

“I’m just here because I like this room.”

For someone who claimed to be here because he liked the room, his expression didn’t look particularly happy.

He seemed unaware that the “research” Marvin mentioned was aimed at removing his magical resonance.

Nor that Marvin and Raku had come in person because they had found a clue.

It seemed Martha didn’t want to tell Arkle until they had definite results.

‘I agree with that.’

As I thought before, even if Arkle heard about the research, he probably wouldn’t have much hope… but still, I didn’t want to see the moment when even that thread-thin expectation shattered.

‘Is it because I experienced similar things often in my previous life….’

It seemed better to send him away first and then hear what they had to say.

“Arkle, could you check if the movie is showing well? Whether there are any difficulties with running the theater, what the reviews are like…. I’m a bit nervous to do it myself, could I ask you?”

“Of course.”

Arkle readily answered, turned around, gave Raku a look as if to say ‘did you see that,’ and left the reception room.

When Arkle left, Marvin stroked his chest with a relieved face.

“Thank you. The head of the family told us not to say anything about the research to the young master.”

“I want to serve the Goddess too…! Goddess, please give me an order….”

Ignoring Raku, who was crying out desperately, I asked Marvin directly.

“What’s the clue the magic tower found?”

“Though it’s not certain yet….”

Marvin, whose face had become serious, continued carefully.

“After conducting various experiments, we concluded that the curse passed down through Cayenne bloodline cannot be broken by human abilities. Not even with the techniques of the most powerful mages.”

“I see.”

This was a moment when I was glad I had sent Arkle away.

“Of course not. ‘Its’ power is completely different from that of humans.”

Raku added as if it were obvious.

‘It’ seemed to refer to the demon that contracted with the first head of Cayenne.

“So, do we need to borrow the power of a being other than human?”

At my words, Marvin looked surprised.

“That’s right. We need the power of a being one dimension ahead of humans, the power of a god. A holy artifact imbued with divine power.”

Marvin took out a small piece of paper from the pocket of his gown and showed it to me. It was a list of holy artifacts, with most of the names crossed out.

“So we sorted through the existing holy artifacts in the empire that have holy power strong enough to counter a demon’s power. But as we calculated repeatedly, this one, this one, this one… were all woefully inadequate.”

Marvin pointed to each of the crossed-out holy artifacts from top to bottom.

“As you can see, they were all insufficient. But….”

Marvin’s finger pointed to the name of a holy artifact at the bottom of the list, circled multiple times.

“The Chalice of Valera. We concluded that this holy grail, blessed by ancient gods, might be able to defeat the demon’s power.”

“Then let’s get it right away. Where is this holy grail now?”

“That’s the problem.”

Marvin narrowed his brow as if troubled.

“The exact location of the Chalice of Valera is currently unknown. It was originally kept by the imperial family, but was stolen a hundred years ago.”

“Are you sure it exists?”

“Definitely. It’s clearly recorded in imperial documents.”

“Hmm… So there are no clues about its location?”

“Not exactly none.”

Marvin looked around, hesitated, and then spoke quietly.

“Since it happened a hundred years ago… the investigation was extremely difficult. We tried various methods without effect, so as a last resort, we asked Raku to….”

“I summoned a dead soul into my body for the Goddess!!”

Raku shouted with his hand raised high. Then he looked at me with sparkling eyes, as if expecting praise.

“You performed necromancy? But that’s illegal….”

“Ah, of course it’s prohibited by law. If it were allowed, it would cause tremendous chaos— Haha!”

Marvin, who spoke quickly, laughed good-naturedly and lowered Raku’s raised hand.

“But please don’t misunderstand. We did it purely for public benefit— without harming anyone— and cleaned up afterward so there would be no consequences—”

I wasn’t sure how it served the public interest, but as long as they cleaned up without leaving traces, it didn’t matter.

However, perhaps due to the Allenheim’s clean image, Marvin seemed to feel that I was uncomfortable and tried desperately to reassure me.

“Ahaha… I’m sorry if I’ve caused you unnecessary concern, my lady. Please don’t misunderstand. Many people have negative perceptions about that technique, but…..”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Pardon?”

“What technique are you referring to? I didn’t hear anything.”

When I smiled innocently, Marvin, who understood my meaning after a beat, returned a good-natured smile.

“Oh my, I apologize. I must have confused you, my lady. The magic tower has never performed any such technique.”

“What are you saying? I clearly summoned a dead soul! You bastard, afraid I’ll get all the praise from the Goddess— mmph!!”

Marvin, who had been exchanging smiles with me, covered Raku’s mouth without changing his expression.

“Mmph! Mmmmph!!”

“Haha. Anyway, we ‘coincidentally’ discovered clues that might help us guess the location of the holy grail.”

“My, what a wonderful coincidence! So what’s the clue?”

Marvin handed me the piece of paper he was holding.

“Please look at the back side.”

I followed Marvin’s instructions and flipped the paper to check the back.

“This is….”