How About... Going Straight to Grand?

He muttered to himself, then gave a cold laugh. Finally, without any more Lev, he stuffed the last document in his hand into the box and sealed it away completely.

At the same time, he completely lost faith in the original 72 Demons.

"—You idiot, what are you doing?!"

' Lev! You useless bastard, how could you abandon the plan to restore the King because of that kid?!'

'Flauros, you damned, useless traitor! How dare you betray us, the 72 Demons!'

Just as he put down the documents in his hand and completely abandoned the project.

Suddenly, he felt a dizzying sensation before his eyes, followed by a cacophony of angry curses and wails that echoed in Lev's ears and mind.

For a moment, Lev seemed to see countless fleshy pillars with scarlet eyes staring intently at him, posing questions that went straight to his soul.

But the next moment.

Buzzing—!

The four Pillars of Angels in the workshop erupted with blinding, four-colored light, pulling Lev's consciousness out of his hallucination and preventing the wildly twisting pillars from further distracting him.

In just a moment, Lev's thoughts returned to reality.

"Whoosh... What is this?!"

Back in reality, Lev looked horrified and started backing away, accidentally breaking a few cups and knocking over the bookshelf behind him.

But when he came to his senses, he realized that nothing seemed to have happened. He hadn't gone to a strange hall, and there were no messy flesh pillars around him. Everything just now seemed to be an illusion, and he was still in his laboratory.

"An illusion..."

Touching the cold sweat that had broken out on his body, Lev let out a long breath and muttered to himself.

"But this is too realistic! What's with those pillars and the questioning?"

Suddenly, he remembered Rovey's advice.

If I continue this research, problems will definitely arise.

He hadn't taken those words seriously at first, thinking his body could handle it, but now...

How can this possibly hold up? They're already hallucinating.

It seems he really needs to rest now, otherwise if he has a few more hallucinations like this, his soul will have to go up and meet God before he can help Rovey become a god.

Thinking of this, Lev dared not continue researching anything. He quickly continued tidying up his room, completely covering the information about King Solomon and the 72 Demons under the workshop, choosing to avoid seeing it altogether.

Just as he was about to leave and go back to get some rest, Lev suddenly seemed to realize something before he left.

"Oh right, there's that thing too."

So Lev turned back again and took out an extremely exquisite little box from his drawer.

He checked the box's exterior and, after confirming it was intact, carefully opened it.

Then, a Gilgamesh gold ring was seen inside, shimmering with a faint golden light.

"Phew, I almost forgot about you. It's a treasure I finally found, one of the Magic King's Ten Rings."

Stroking the gold ring in his hand, Lev sighed deeply.

This was a valuable item he had acquired in the Middle East several years ago by leveraging the influence of the Crowley Family.

It appeared at an auction house, supposedly unearthed in Israel, and many Magus were present. However, the others didn't recognize its value; most thought it was just an old gold ring and didn't realize it was one of Solomon's Ten Rings. Since their prized possession was a fossilized shed skin of the oldest serpent, this item was overlooked, and he stumbled upon it.

Honestly, the appearance of this thing was beyond everyone's expectations; no one realized it was one of the legendary Ten Commandments. At the time, he had simply followed his intuition, buying it unconsciously, and at a very high price, even using up a large sum of money that Rovey had advanced him, causing the experiment to stall. Rovey assumed he had overspent on materials purchased in the Middle East and, trusting Lev, didn't think much of it, nor did he inquire about the situation, instead focusing on finding a way to fill the gap. Later, he personally went to El-Melloi and obtained a large sum of resources to fill the void, allowing the experiment to continue.

If we had known earlier that Lev had this amazing item, this Holy Grail War wouldn't have been so difficult.

However, this wasn't Lev's fault. Rovey hadn't asked, and he himself didn't know it was one of the Ten Commandments. It wasn't until his continued research into Solomon that he realized this thing wasn't so simple. After countless tests, recently he was finally able to confirm that this ring was indeed one of the Ten Rings bestowed by God.

This discovery thrilled Lev, who saw it as a prelude to his revival as the Magic King. He had originally planned to reveal the good news to Rovey after his return and help him become the Magic King, but now that was no longer necessary.

However, this ring is still a good thing.

Wanting to become a Holy Son or Holy Spirit, wearing the robes of a chosen king is nothing unusual, after all, it was originally a gift from God.

With that in mind, Lev decided to go out and give this to Rovey first.

Although Rovey wasn't particularly interested in the Magic King, he would definitely be surprised and excited when he saw this ring.

(Why didn't you take this out sooner?)

"It's time to leave."

Thinking of the surprised expression on Rovey's face when he saw the item, Lev smiled, put away the glittering gold ring, and left his room.

In the darkness, an invisible force was still trying to influence something, targeting Lev, but it was completely suppressed by the four Pillars of Angels of different colors, and then could only fall silent again.

After a long while, Lev left.

The white light throughout the space dissipated at that moment, leaving only four pillars that, like hearts, beat with different lights in the darkness.

Meanwhile, when Rovey returned to his mansion, the first thing he did was change into a more comfortable set of clothes, rest for a bit, and then prepare to write down what Lev wanted.

When he returned to his workshop, Rovey found Reines asleep on his desk, with the magic notebook he had given her lying next to her.

Seeing her sleeping so soundly, Rovey felt somewhat helpless.

Didn't I ask the housekeeper to find her a room? Why is she sleeping here? His study isn't very comfortable...

Sleeping like this can harm your health.

It's good that she's so young and passionate about Magecraft, but she shouldn't get too obsessed with it and harm her health.

If she really is like Lev, then Rovey will have to worry about her.

"Butler... sigh, never mind, I won't wake you up. Anyway, go to my room and rest for a while. I hope you won't mind."

After touching Reines's little face, Rovey abandoned the idea of calling the butler to make arrangements.

He stretched out his finger and gently traced a levitation Magecraft with a breeze attribute on the table. Then a gentle breeze lifted Reines's petite body and placed her in his arms without waking her.

"It's so light... but it seems to be much heavier than Sakura."

Feeling the warmth and weight of Reines' petite body on his arm, Rovey couldn't help but sigh. Meanwhile, Reines, still asleep, unconsciously twitched her eyebrows.

Unaware of what had happened, Rovey quickly led her to his bed in his room, covered her with a blanket, and whispered in her ear, "Sweet dreams, my lovely little princess."

Then, Rovey smiled and turned to leave.

What he didn't know was that shortly after he left, Reines, who hadn't been sleeping well to begin with, woke up upon sensing the magic. She hadn't made a sound until now, when she suddenly opened her eyes.

The happiness on her face and the warm attachment to her brother vanished completely at that moment.

The only thing echoing in her mind was, "Heavier than Sakura, much heavier, much heavier?!" And her face turned extremely pale.

"Ugh... No, it must be because I've been eating too much cake lately, that's why I've gained weight?"

She pinched her tummy and chubby cheeks, and felt a deep sense of self-doubt.

"I have to give up cakes recently, but..."

Recalling the cherry blossom that Rovey had mentioned, Reines suddenly remembered what Kenneth had told her, and the timid little girl he had brought back.

She remembered Uncle Kenneth saying that the other woman was an adopted daughter of Rovey's brother, meaning Rovey was her adoptive father, and so on...

Wouldn't that mean I'd become her adoptive mother?!

Belatedly realizing this possibility, Reines looked puzzled and suddenly felt uneasy.

After all, for a girl her age, becoming another girl's adoptive mother is undoubtedly too much for her.

She hasn't even experienced much of her own mother's love, yet she's expected to give it to someone else?

Isn't this making things difficult for her?

The thought of officially meeting Sakura here soon filled her with immense anxiety. She couldn't help but wonder: how should she approach her? How should she introduce herself? How should they get along in the future...?

In just a few minutes, countless questions came one after another, making Reines' little head feel incredibly headache-inducing.

She couldn't sleep because she had too many worries, so she simply stopped sleeping and sat by the window, seriously thinking about how she should get along with her nominally adopted daughter.

Thump thump thump—!

Meanwhile, Rovey, who had just returned to his study, was not idle either. He had just picked up his pen and was about to write something.

Suddenly, the butler announced that a distinguished guest had arrived.

Upon learning the identity of the visitor, Rovey had no choice but to change into a well-fitting suit that he didn't particularly like wearing, and then head to the family's reception room to greet him.

If it were just a regular Magus making a visit, Rovey, exhausted from all that time, would have had his butler reply, "The Crowley Patriarch is not here. Please come another day," and send the visitor away.

However, if it were this person, he felt he really needed to come out and take a look.

After all, the other party is not a nobody, so we have to be mindful of etiquette in every aspect.

One of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower at the Mage's Association headquarters, in charge of the Spiritual Evocation Department (Yulifis), his name is Rufreus Nazele Yulifis. The other party is also Kenneth's teacher, or in layman's terms, his mentor.

Because of the Hallcraft, and because he learned and accepted that he had been chosen by Kenneth as his successor, plus the fact that Rovey was indeed of noble blood—bloodline and talent, a perfect Aristocratic Faction candidate—after his buffs were fully stacked, the other party really took good care of him.

So much so that Kenneth discovered his attempt to poach someone's wife, which led to a huge argument between Kenneth and his father-in-law and teacher. It was the first time Kenneth had ever argued with his teacher.

However, the other party's actions were rather unethical, so in the end, Yulifis took the initiative to apologize. For more details, you'll have to ask Kenneth.

Based on the information Kenneth revealed before his return, Rovey probably had a guess about the purpose of this advisor's visit.

First, ask yourself and confirm more inside information about the Holy Grail War.

Secondly, there's his own advancement ceremony.

The last promotion ceremony was prepared by Kenneth and Yulifis, who wanted to create a buzz and invited many important figures to attend, but he skipped it.

This infuriated Kenneth and Yulifis, even though he had already dealt with Kenneth's situation. He hadn't finished dealing with Euryphus's.

This time, he most likely came because of this matter.

To put it simply, it means that I deserve a promotion.

The specific reason is that his abilities and techniques have long surpassed his current Festival Rank. Furthermore, he is Kenneth's chosen successor and one of the next leaders of the Aristocratic Faction. What would it look like if he remained Festival Rank? This would undoubtedly be used against him by the other, less prestigious schools. Therefore, they are urging him to complete his promotion quickly.

As for his return, it wasn't a big secret since he had visited El-Melloi, after all, the Mineralogy Department and the Spiritual Evocation Department could be considered one family.

However, Kenneth probably wouldn't tell the other party more of the inside story. He would definitely tell the old man to come to him in person if he had any questions, thus giving himself more room to maneuver and decide what he wanted to say.

To put it simply, it's just going through the motions.

Actually, I came here to get promoted.

Although Rovey wasn't particularly interested in advancing, with his current strength, he could easily conquer the Albion Spirit Tomb and, without considering the Dean and the Jewel Magician, sweep through the Clock Tower and reclaim his identity.

However, it's best to avoid unnecessary trouble if possible.

Putting aside the fact that the other party had also done him a favor, they could be considered to have some kind of inheritance relationship.

Maintaining this current situation is actually quite good; I'm developing stealthily and haven't become arrogant just because I have some power.

I'm going to single-handedly destroy this entire world!!

Since that's the case, it wouldn't be bad to show off a few skills and elevate my rank, relieving these elders of their worries and anxieties. That way, they won't keep thinking about me, but rather how to use my rank to effectively strike at the enemies of the opposing faction.

"Let's go take a look."

After straightening his suit, Rovey pushed open the door to the reception room and stepped inside.

"You... you've come, Crowley."

"Um."

Chapter 108 How about... reaching the Grand Rank directly?

As is widely known, the Clock Tower is a very bizarre and sinister organization.

The distribution of forces within is extremely complex, encompassing thirteen different departments with intricate and chaotic relationships. Each department, or the great magical nobles within it, has countless, inexplicable connections and grudges.

Although it looks incredibly complex, in reality, the relationships within can be simply summarized as follows: there are only three major factions – Aristocratic Faction, democracy, and a group of Neutral Faction who only care about their own interests and are always opportunistic, siding with whoever offers the most benefits.

Rovey's family ancestors rose to prominence during the Renaissance. Later, one generation was influenced by the Law Book left by Aleister, who secretly revered him as a master. By forcibly deciphering the Law Book, they obtained and improved the family's inherited techniques, allowing Alchemy with the connotations of the Silver Star and the Golden System to be passed down within the family and used as the foundation of the family.

Originating in the Renaissance period and passed down through six generations, its expertise and reputation have continued to grow to this day.