At this moment, only Emiya and others were left in the conference room.

"...Teacher? Do you have anything to say?"

Metatron was silent for a moment, then replied, "They are right. Strengthening yourself is the key. I suggest you first obtain the reward from the Ritual of Truth."

This was also the plan of Emiya and the others, but Emiya still said: "... Before we set off, teacher, I have something to tell you."

He glanced outside the room with his peripheral vision, then carefully pried open Yin's hand: "Private."

"...?"

Metatron was stunned for a moment. He opened the door to the demiplane in the conference room and brought Emiya in. After closing the door, a smile appeared on her face. "What's the matter? You actually have a secret that you can't even tell your teammates?"

She was still in the mood for jokes.

But Emilia knew that she probably wouldn't be able to laugh after hearing that.

"No, they already know." Emilia said, "There is something, although you have always denied it, but I guess you must know it."

"So what exactly is it?"

"I'm with Silver."

"——————"

Metatron paused, blinked, and twitched his ears.

"...You're with that silver elf? You've only just met for a short time." Her smile faltered. "But you can't say that Tymora's priest isn't a good match..."

"I'm with Yin." Emiya repeated.

"Not every poet is a silver dragon. And if she really is a dragon, given her size, she's not yet of marriageable age as a dragon. Maybe she's about the same age as you as a dragon. So you and Sig should still..."

"I'm with Yin." Emiya repeated it for the third time.

Metatron fell into a long silence, and Emiya seemed to see the feathers of a furry animal drooping in frustration.

It was as if a volcano was about to erupt.

Finally, Metatron took a few steps forward, her steps incredibly heavy. She slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with disbelief and terror. "You're with her? Why would you choose to be with her? How could you be with her? How could you be with her? You might as well confess your love to me! Break up with her now and I'll marry you!"

"...Teacher. You are my teacher..." Emiya sighed.

Metatron's emotions were rarely this out of control, but now she was completely out of control: "She's worse! She's—! She's—!"

"Is she also your teacher?"

"She's so reckless, how could she be my teacher? I'll tell you again, I taught myself all the arcane arts! Wait? That's not right... That's not right..." Metatron was silent for a moment, thinking for a moment, and then his eyes suddenly lit up. "Answer me honestly: Does she usually listen to you? Or is she completely in control?"

"Uh... she listens to me completely on small matters." Emilia hesitated. "If I fight tooth and nail for something she insists on, will it have any... effect?"

"Great! That's great! Finally, someone can take care of her!" Metatron couldn't help but raise his arms high and cheered heartily, "Feren... No, Toril is finally saved!!!"

What image does Silver have in Metatron's mind?!

Five Questions About Death

"What did you say?"

Yin was originally in a good mood, but whenever he saw Emiya and Metatron together, the corners of his mouth kept drooping, even if Metatron left quickly. "Can't you tell me? Why is she smiling so happily? It makes me panic."

"There's nothing to hide—just what happened between us."

But Metatron's reaction was honestly beyond Emiya's expectations. He had expected the teacher's reaction to be more serious and dramatic. Now, Metatron was actually happily patrolling outside. This result actually made him feel a little overwhelmed.

"Oh." Yin's anger faded a lot, but she still curled her lips in dissatisfaction and said, "Tsk, why tell her? She has no right to control me. And what's so funny about this!"

"Anyway, let's get busy with our own affairs." Emiya clapped her hands and called out to her teammates, "Let's go collect the rewards from the Ritual of Truth first. On the way, let's discuss the distribution of those six powerful magic books."

Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma.

Each person can use multiple books, but each book can only be used by one person.

——If it is a team with overlapping responsibilities, at this stage they may quarrel fiercely and even break up the team.

But their team is barely balanced - or mysterious.

Emiya and Silver are two mages, Mars is a paladin, Sig is a bard, and Elastrid is a priest.

"Let's start with the uncontroversial part—our principle of allocation is to strengthen rather than weaken. Give it to those who can use it the most and are most proficient in it. Is there a problem with that?"

Of course not. Giving mages more strength and priests more intelligence is ridiculous.

"Ms. Elaster, the Book of Knowledge that enhances intuition and insight will be given to you. You are the only priest in the team. Mars, the Manual of Fitness that enhances strength will be given to you."

Before leaving, Lude told them the location to pick up the magic book. They walked through the dark corridors in the castle.

"If you ask me, the Manual of Agility should be given to you, Emya," Mars said. "Alestria and I both wear heavy armor, so the benefits of the Manual of Agility are really limited. You are the strongest archer in the team, so you should take the Manual of Agility."

This was also unanimously adopted.

So that makes three books.

Charisma, physique, intelligence.

Mars couldn't help but sigh.

Paladins and bards competing for the same book—this is practically throwing itself at the door, and the bard would be derelict in his duty not to give the paladins a good rip.

As expected, Sig shook his finger and said, "We are all rich people, so I won't hide it. Sir Mars, give me 100,000 gold coins and you will get the spot. Otherwise, we will play rock-paper-scissors."

Mars calculated for a moment and said, "One hundred thousand gold coins... OK, deal. Emilia, you be the witness."

"This is what they call inflation," Emilia complained.

Everyone has more money than they need on a daily basis, so when they really need to exchange money, prices skyrocket.

Although magic items themselves are indeed difficult to price.

At this moment, Yin suddenly spoke up, "I'm not interested in the magic power these books possess, so I'll give it to you. But I'm interested in the contents of these magic books and the process of reading them."

"Huh?" This surprised Alestria. "A powerful spellbook that can enhance one's own strength... aren't you interested?"

"Not interested." Yin answered very straightforwardly.

"...Heh." This answer made Elastri tap her cheek thoughtfully. "In that case, how about we do something special with the distribution of the physical fitness manuals?"

"Oh?" Emilia was stunned.

Pastor Lucky stopped and shook a finger: "Let's play rock-paper-scissors."

"Play rock-paper-scissors with the Lucky Priest?" Sig rolled his eyes. "This suggestion is quite biased."

"No." Alaster laughed. "In short, I'm actually somewhat interested in how lucky I am. In short, I'm playing rock-paper-scissors with four people. I need to win twice in a row to win, while you win as long as I'm tied or win once. In the end, I have to defeat all four people to get the magic book. If I lose, you guys can discuss it."

"Of course, I hope this time it's just pure rock-paper-scissors." She clasped her hands together and smiled. "No tricks like observing movements and getting used to them, nor any enhancement spells. Just rock-paper-scissors."

Emiya calculated and sighed, "If it's really just a matter of luck, your chances of success are about one in 6561."

"Hmm, that's about it." Alestria looked excited, as if she cared more about this adventure than the magic book itself. She raised her fist and said, "Want to compete?"

Emiya, Mars and Sig's eyes were focused on one place.

Mars was silent for a moment, then said, "I can sense that I'm about to be knocked down cleanly, but I still don't believe in evil. I want to give it a try."

Sig didn't seem to be planning to grab the book at first, but now his eyes lit up: "I think this is quite interesting!"

Seeing that Yin's eyes had rarely lit up, Emiya was silent for a moment, then nodded: "I think it's okay."

At almost the same time, they arrived at their destination.

——It was strange. The place where such valuables were stored was a small room like a storage room, with an unassuming sign saying "Storage".

Emiya was silent for a moment, then raised her hand as well: "Well, I'll go first. If I lose, I'll go in and get the book first, how about that?"

"Okay." Alestria's smile grew.

With a slight movement of her hands, Emilia raised her hands decisively. Mars's expression became more serious, and Sig even whistled.

Emiya defeated the second time in a row and became the first stepping stone for the lucky priest: "Okay, as expected, I'll go in and get the book."

He turned around and knocked on the door of the storage room. "Hello, is anyone here? We are the winners of this year's Ritual of Truth. We are here to claim our prize at the invitation of the Luddite Keepers!"

After a while, amid Sig's exclamation, an old voice came from the room: "Ah, please come in."

Emilia pushed open the door and frowned at the smell of mildew accumulated due to lack of air circulation.

Two shelves piled with various tools filled up the already small room, and the various small parts scattered on the ground made it difficult for Emiya to even find a place to stand.

He could only cover the pen with one hand and said loudly: "What is your name?"

"Call me gravekeeper." At this moment, the voice in the room gradually became clearer, "The people of Candlekeep are reluctant to do this kind of chores, so many servants have multiple roles -

"And there's really no difference between this place and the grave: everything here is waiting."

Emilia frowned, walked around the corner, and saw the true face of the so-called "gravekeeper".

If it is disrespectful to say so, it looks like this gravekeeper should not be here, but inside the tomb.

His body was as emaciated as a mummy, but he miraculously still retained his vitality.

"Waiting for what?" he asked subconsciously.

"Waiting to be forgotten," the gravekeeper said calmly. "Mr. Emia of Lunya, right?"

"Yes." As she said that, Emiya took out the crystal book that their team won.

The gravekeeper didn't even look at it. He just said to himself, "I don't care about the Ritual of Truth. I'll give you the book, that's all."

"Aha……"

There was something wrong with the gravekeeper, and Emiya felt a little cold.

Now, only Mars's wailing and Sig's gloating laughter coming from outside the door could remind him that he was still alive.

"Why would such a treasure be kept in... a place like this?"

"So?" The gravekeeper patted a wall, sending dust and ashes cascading down. "What do you mean?"

"...inconvenient to live in and lack of maintenance?" Emilia considered her words carefully.

"Only living things need maintenance, allowing them to be delayed by a brief moment on the long scale of death." The gravekeeper smiled. "What do you think I should do?"

"..." Emilia frowned, "I don't know you, so I can't answer this question."

"Then let's change the question." The gravekeeper paused. "If it were you, what would you do?"

"doing what?"

"As you can see, how to be a regulator."

“Regulate what?”

The gravekeeper shook his head. "What's the difference? There are so many things in this world that are under supervision, from keys, books, and tools to magic, time, and even death. Even the gods themselves are supervised by the gods."

Emiya sighed: "At least do your duty?"

"Anyone would say something like that. What I'm asking is how to balance individual desires with one's responsibilities," said the gravekeeper.

Emiya sighed: "First do your own work, and then do your own things in the free time you are allowed?"

"Well, keep your public and private lives separate. You don't seem like a habitual liar. But the key is how to persevere in the face of temptation." The gravekeeper seemed satisfied with the answer. He casually pulled a book from the pile of miscellaneous items and placed it in Emiya's arms. "This is your volume of meditation. You've done well in Elturgard. Keep it up."

"Our Meditation Volume," Emiya corrected. "The Rite of Truth is a team competition."

At this moment, the competition outside the door reached its final stage, and Emiya couldn't help but tilt her head.

Silver cheered, Mars and Sig marveled, and Elastrid sighed.

——It was obvious that Elastrid fell at the last level.

This result is somewhat unexpected but also reasonable.

Emilia shook her head, suddenly thought of something, and immediately turned around: "Mr. Gravekeeper, have we seen--"

Then his voice caught in his throat.

Where is the figure of the withered old man at the original place?

At this moment, a series of rapid footsteps approached from afar, accompanied by a sharp and rapid shout from a middle-aged woman: "Hey, what are you doing in front of my room?"

Signa's confused voice rang out, "We? We are the winners of this Ceremony of Truth. The Keepers of the Scripture sent us here."

"Oh, so that's how it is. So this year is the time for the Ceremony of Truth. I'm the night watchman here, come with me..." Then, the middle-aged woman exclaimed, "Why is the door open? Didn't I lock it?! Someone got in?"

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