Conditions (Renovations Are Such a Hassle, I Might as Well Stay in the Mountains a Few More Days)

"I never expected Thousand Tree Clan to be planning this."

Back in his room, Lord El-Melloi II let out a heavy sigh, then flopped onto the sofa like a salted fish and lit a cigar.

"Master?"

Hearing Lord El-Melloi II speak, Gray looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. I'd been wondering why Thousand Tree Clan had come all this way to wade into this mess. Turns out they're here to poach people."

"Poach people?"

"That's right. Ashurbanipal used the restoration of Magic Crests as a pretext; that wasn't exactly a secret in the magecraft world. It was obvious that his legacy had to contain secret methods for repairing Magic Crests. In fact, most of the people who came here had their eyes on that."

At this point, Lord El-Melloi II sighed again. In truth, he was no different. The reason he had been willing to come to this godforsaken place was also Ashurbanipal's Magic Crest restoration techniques. Magic Crests were the most vital part of a family's inheritance, but Kayneth, the previous head of the El-Melloi Family, had died in the Holy Grail War. Of course, if it had merely been death, that would not have been such a problem.

The issue was that Kayneth's Magic Crest had suffered severe damage during the Holy Grail War. Only ten or twenty percent of it could still be used, and that was clearly nowhere near enough. That was why he had come here, placing his hopes on Ashurbanipal's Magic Crest restoration techniques. If he could obtain Ashurbanipal's legacy and the methods to repair Magic Crests, perhaps he could restore the damaged Crest. Even recovering half of it would be a blessing.

He imagined he was not the only one. Most of the