What?! My anime figurines have all come true!

After seeing the two divine marks on the Black Queen's hand, François's attitude was clearly different from what he had initially thought.

"Is it possible?"

The Black Queen shook her hands.

"Of course I can't do that with my strength..."

François scratched his head somewhat awkwardly.

Black Queen: Then why did you say 'I can help you'?

"But there are still solutions!"

Seeing the Black Queen's distrustful expression, François quickly added an explanation.

"Aside from reconciling with the parties involved/God, the only other option is to use greater power to expel these two marks."

Black Queen: ...

What are you doing here?!

If they could reconcile, she would have already knelt down and begged for mercy. But if her sinful soul were to see the other party, she would probably be grabbed and refined in an instant!

As for the latter...

If there were a real way, she wouldn't have had to flee the Federation and return to Europe.

"Why don't you think about how to grant me power comparable to that of the gods?"

The Black Queen gave up entirely.

"That's a bit difficult..."

François answered after careful consideration.

He's actually seriously considering the feasibility of this request?!

Have you ever heard of a 'wish-granting machine'?

Then François whispered to the Black Queen, his expression one of extreme caution, as if he were afraid of being overheard, as if it were some earth-shattering secret.

"An all-powerful wish-granting machine?"

The Black Queen looked puzzled.

What kind of thing dares to have such a name?

“If you call it by another name, you’ll understand—the Holy Grail.”

"what!"

The Black Queen's expression changed drastically upon hearing this.

The Holy Grail—the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to have received the blood of Christ during his martyrdom and possessing divine power.

But she had never heard of the Holy Grail having any wish-granting function.

Galahad, who found the Holy Grail in the Arthurian legend, went to heaven.

There's also a series of archaeological films produced by the Federation that portray the Holy Grail as something that grants immortality.

But these things have nothing to do with making a wish, right?

"It seems you've already figured it out, haven't you? Of course, the Holy Grail I'm referring to isn't from some guy who can't bear to see suffering and wants to cover it up but is powerless to do so. It's a [special magical device]. Explaining the details would be too complicated, but you just need to know that the enormous magical power stored inside can indeed grant wishes that alter reality! For example... granting yourself countless riches that could destroy the world."

Although François's example was somewhat abstract, the Black Queen felt that someone had actually caused trouble, which was why he specifically pointed it out.

As for whether this all-powerful wish-granting machine is real or fake...

To be honest, she didn't know which of François's words were true; he might be deceiving her just like his ancestors had deceived her years ago.

"So, if I obtain this Holy Grail... I can not only remove the marks of these two gods of the underworld, but also gain power comparable to that of the gods?"

The Black Queen looked on with a skeptical expression.

"I can't guarantee that. After all, there are differences between gods. I don't know what kind of god you're going to fight. If it's a mage god who likes to stab people with a knife, then you can certainly fight him!"

François responded half-seriously and half-jokingly to the Black Queen's skeptical attitude, even bringing up a reference to a Federal superhero movie, leaving the Black Queen speechless.

People from hundreds of years ago actually kept up with the times...

Wait a minute! How did he know about superhero movie references from this era?!

"You didn't die in history?"

Chapter 268 François's Little Gift

"I did die in history~ As I just said, in order to follow Jill's madness, I followed him to the end and was judged and died without a doubt."

Faced with the Black Queen's questioning, François Plelatti stood tall and answered matter-of-factly, as if 'committing suicide' with Gilles de Rais was something to be proud of.

"Then where did you get your information about modern civilization?"

The Black Queen didn't care whether this guy had a relationship with her ancestors or not; she only cared whether this guy had really lived from the 14th century to the present.

"Oh dear... You're clearly a dark magician, yet you've forgotten even the most basic 'common sense'? Physical death isn't the end of everything. You've 'resurrected' quite a few dead people, so why are you making such a fuss?"

François did not give a direct answer to this, but instead used the Black Queen's own "miracle cure" in the poker organization to illustrate his point.

"They even know that..."

Either he can see into the outside world from within this dream, or he has actually lived from the 14th century to the present.

"Well? Now you should believe me... or at least half believe me, right? I don't lie."

At the end, François even made a shushing gesture.

"Alright, since what you're saying is true, why don't you go and get the Holy Grail yourself? Even I didn't know it existed, which means no one else in this world knows. You could have easily gone and gotten it by yourself... Obviously, you didn't. Why is that? Is it because some necessary condition is required? Or is it because... the Holy Grail (wishing machine) is controlled by people from 'that world'?"

At this moment, the Black Queen's intelligence finally prevailed, and her words left François with an embarrassed smile.

"Well... I'd say it's a combination of both."

Then François raised his hand, and an illusion powerful enough to deceive the world once again changed the surrounding space, turning it into a huge chessboard. Seven huge chess pieces surrounded the two of them, and the background of the chessboard under their feet was still a huge city.

"To obtain the Holy Grail, a certain ritual must be performed, which I cannot perform alone. In addition, a suitable place (spiritual vein) is needed to support the manifestation of the Holy Grail."

Upon hearing this, the Black Queen first glanced at the seven different pieces around her.

These seven items are likely the materials needed for the ceremony.

Swordsman, Knight, Spearman, Archer, Berserker, Mage, Assassin.

The imagery of the chess piece shapes is quite easy to guess.

I just don't know what the specific functions are.

She then looked down at the city background and discovered that François had used an aerial view of Paris, in which she could see the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.

So, the venue is in Paris?

only……

"François, given the current state of pollution in Paris, can it afford the ritual of summoning the Holy Grail?"

Although it may be hurtful to say this, in the Black Queen's view, Paris today is more of a "cesspool" than a "romantic" city.

Putting aside the 'beautiful scenery,' the hygiene alone makes it hard to even think about carrying out the ceremony. We still vividly remember the swimmers who came to compete before vomiting and having diarrhea shortly after entering the water.

"Of course it is possible. Although the development of the land does damage the underground spiritual veins, the urban network of more than two million people is enough to make up for it. If you include the Greater Paris region, the population is in the tens of millions, which is enough to support the manifestation of the Holy Grail."

The Black Queen nodded slightly upon hearing this.

"Can we change to another city?"

After all, she has many 'old acquaintances' here.

It would be troublesome if they came knocking on our door.

"It's possible, but the effect might be greatly reduced. After all, the Holy Grail ceremony held in the capital of a country has a higher margin for error."

"Then we won't change it."

Perhaps influenced by the reputation of the 'omnipotent wish-granting machine', the Black Queen did not change her plan and chose a safer option with a lower margin for error.

"The final question is, will people from 'that world' get involved?"

This is what the Black Queen is most worried about.

She couldn't think of any way to deal with a force that could easily send out a superhuman and turn superheroes into a speed bump.

"Don't worry! Unless it's a catastrophe of world-ending magnitude, they won't get involved in ordinary Holy Grail rituals. As long as we keep the intensity of the war within a certain range, it'll be fine."

François said confidently.

Black Queen: ...

Hearing him say that, the Black Queen sensed that something bad was bound to happen.

And isn't 'a world-destroying disaster' a bit of an exaggeration?

Rumble rumble rumble...

Just as the Black Queen was about to ask for more information about the Holy Grail ritual, the dream space suddenly trembled, as if something had happened in reality.

"The plane in the real world is about to land? Time really flies... Sorry, I'll explain the Holy Grail ritual to you 'later'."

With that, François dispelled the illusion, restoring the environment to its original state as the alchemy workshop interior.

"But before that, in order to make you believe me more... I've prepared a little gift for you in reality. Don't be so happy you cry when you see it! Well then, see you in reality, Jill's descendant."

Before the Black Queen could speak, François yanked her out of the dream.

"what……!"

The Black Queen opened and closed her eyes and found herself back in her seat in the cabin, with Bazett and the others sitting next to her. Apart from the view of the Paris nightscape outside, it was as if nothing had happened.

“Ms. Andrtoise, if you are going to do a disguise, please do it after you get off the plane. You look very different now than the photo in your passport.”

At this moment, Bazett, who was beside the Black Queen, suddenly spoke up and whispered a reminder.

Black Queen: ?

What is this guy talking about?

What kind of appearance disguise?

At first, the Black Queen was a little confused and didn't know what Bazette was talking about. Then she saw that Kyoka and the other two were also looking at her with surprise. The 'little gift' that François had mentioned earlier flashed through her mind, and she immediately took out a makeup mirror from her bag and looked at herself.

André Toy de Rae

[This uses the illustration style from Sword Art Online. I'll try to create a separate map for any character that's even slightly important in the future.]

The reflection did not show the aged face ravaged by black magic research, but rather a reflection of oneself as seen in a dream.

A young, beautiful, and vibrant face.

"My face—this, how is this possible!"

The Black Queen couldn't help but touch her cheek.

The touch is real, without any magically disguised fluctuations.

It's as if I was born looking like this.

"This little gift is such a wonderful surprise."

Although the Black Queen didn't quite burst into tears of joy, the feeling of returning to her youth still stirred up a great deal of emotion within her, and she believed more of what François had said in her dream.

Before we get excited, we need to change back to our old-age appearance, otherwise getting off the plane will be a problem.

Chapter 269 The Origin of the Holy Grail Ritual

The feeling of regaining her youth made the Black Queen so excited that she couldn't wait to remove her disguise as soon as she left the airport and step onto her homeland as a young girl. This made Bazett wonder if her soul had been replaced.

Even the rotten smell permeated by black magic disappeared.