Saintess, Appearance and Change

The Winter Saintess, full name Justeza Lizreich von Einzbern.

Over two hundred years ago, she voluntarily sacrificed herself as a vessel to construct the Greater Grail and became its core.

She did this to fulfill her wish of saving all of humanity.

However, after some persuasion from Shiki yesterday, she abandoned that wish, which could have destroyed the world.

But, a new direction Shiki inadvertently mentioned gave the Winter Saintess new hope.

Thus, she fully supported Shiki in winning the Holy Grail War and planned to execute the Eye of the Moon Plan together, which would make the world better and allow Earth to be reborn.

"Sigh, this plan was just something I said casually. Who would want to go through all that trouble again? It's so tiring, but..."

Shiki sighed inwardly.

He hadn't expected this Winter Saintess, who had a somewhat twisted nature, to appear in Irisviel's body, and moreover, wearing that slightly risqué divine dress.

At this moment, the Saintess, who was lying on Shiki's back, was happily touching and poking things here and there, as if rediscovering the world, chuckling to herself.

Then, she said to Shiki, pouting like a spoiled child, "Shiki, aren't you happy to see me?"

Happy?

Shiki's mouth twitched. How could he possibly be happy?

Besides, Your Excellency Saintess, your character seems to be a bit off. Where did that indifferent, holy image go?

Uh, come to think of it, from the very beginning, this Saintess didn't seem to have much to do with holiness.

"Justeza, why are you appearing in Irisviel's body?"

This was Shiki's question. He remembered that the Saintess couldn't just appear; she would only manifest after the Holy Grail was dismantled, triggering its hidden rules and liberating her soul.

"Also, Justeza, get up first. I need to reapply medicine. My right eye needs immediate attention," Shiki added.

Hearing this, the Saintess reluctantly got up, making space, and prepared to answer Shiki's questions.

"Shiki~ When you extract the Holy Grail, a void will appear in the junior's body. I just woke up and really didn't want to stay inside the Greater Grail anymore, watching those disgusting things, so I followed the altar to the junior's body. These juniors are all made based on my prototype, so they can perfectly accommodate my soul without any rejection."

Justeza's explanation was very clear, and Shiki understood immediately.

As for the disgusting things she mentioned, they referred to the World's Evil, which filled Shiki with suspicion.

During the Third Holy Grail War, a portion of the Greater Grail's magic was corrupted by the Eighth Class Average.

After the Holy Grail War ended, this Average did not return to the Throne of Heroes but continued to contaminate the Holy Grail system.

This was clearly the work of the Counter Force, with the aim of preventing the Holy Grail War from succeeding.

Up to now, only the core area where the Saintess resided remained uncorrupted; all other areas were contaminated by the Average.

The Einzbern Family unexpectedly recreated the Third Magic within the Saintess, making Justeza a half-mage. Driven by the Counter Force, the Average couldn't contaminate the Saintess's territory with its abilities.

Shiki wiped the blood from his face and stood up, letting the Black Knight, who was waiting nearby, apply medicine.

While applying the medicine, the Black Knight said with a hint of reproach, "Master, you pushed yourself too hard this time. Your eye damage is more severe. Your vision has likely suffered considerable permanent loss."

The eyeballs are one of the most important and fragile tissues in the human body.

Shiki had only recently awakened, his physical abilities were still weak, and when using his powerful Magic Eye abilities, the pressure on his eyeballs was immense, making damage inevitable.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lancelot, I have my own solutions. You don't need to worry. Besides, I must keep my promises. That's my principle for living, and it's worth paying the price for."

Their conversation was not kept from the Saintess, and Justeza naturally overheard it.

She approached Shiki with a look of surprise, pushed the Black Knight aside, and leaned in close to Shiki, examining his eyes from a short distance. She exclaimed, "Shiki, your eyes are so beautiful. I know some healing magic, would you like to try?"

"Justeza, you're too close."

Shiki said helplessly. They were indeed too close; they were practically pressed against each other, and Shiki could smell the pleasant scent emanating from her.

Uh, but speaking of which, do bodies materialized from souls under the Third Magic really have a scent?

This became a question.

Shiki snapped back to reality and shook his head at the Saintess before him. "Justeza, healing magic won't work. For my eyes, ordinary magic is less effective than medicine. Mystical powers are interfered with by the eye's Magic Circuits, invalidating the magic."

"Eh? Is that so?"

The Saintess didn't quite believe it. She placed her hands over Shiki's eyes and cast healing magic, the light of which flowed around his eyes. However, the magic that could heal physical injuries had no effect on Shiki's eyes. Instead, due to the conflict of mystical powers, his eyes started bleeding again.

The Saintess seemed at a loss. She took a few steps back, watching the Black Knight tend to his injuries, and nervously fiddled with her fingers, apologizing in a small voice, "I'm sorry, Shiki. I was too willful and caused you trouble. I'm sorry."

"..."

Shiki thought, is this Saintess a bit off?

He looked at the childlike Justeza with his left eye, finding it awkward no matter how he looked at her.

Moreover, he just noticed something: the Saintess was speaking fluent Japanese, not her original German.

"Justeza, tell me honestly, did you absorb any knowledge inside the Holy Grail?" Shiki asked.

The Saintess looked surprised, covering her face as she said, "Shiki, you guessed it exactly. To communicate with you smoothly, I absorbed quite a bit of knowledge recorded in the Holy Grail. Don't worry, it's all ordinary knowledge, nothing strange."

"..."

Isn't that basically admitting it yourself?

He sighed again. This Saintess was truly bold, daring to do anything and acting so rashly. Could knowledge really be absorbed and utilized so casually?

Shiki said earnestly, "Justeza, promise me you won't directly absorb others' knowledge anymore. It's not good for you. All that knowledge carries the original owner's worldview, spirit, and will. Absorbing too much will change your true nature, and I don't want to see that happen."

No wonder the Saintess had changed so much now, exhibiting many feminine reactions. It was all the influence of absorbing the Holy Grail's knowledge.

Just as Shiki said, absorbing knowledge might seem wonderful, but the actual price was often unbearable.

Knowledge definitely came with the person's worldview. Listening or looking had a smaller impact, but absorbing it directly was no different from overwriting your own with someone else's.

Shiki explained all these potential dangers to the Saintess and finally cautioned her, "Justeza, you'd best sort through everything you've absorbed. Discard anything that goes against your true nature. That way, you can return to your original self and not become someone else."

The Saintess nodded vigorously and happily rushed forward, giving Shiki a hug. "I know what to do now, thank you, Shiki~"

"..."

Shiki's only thought at that moment was how troublesome this Saintess truly was.

Inside the Great Chasm, the atmosphere was a bit delicate. He hoped it would all end soon so he could rest properly.