A Godslayer Maid for Five Hundred Euros / Searching for the Holy Grail

Lady Aisha said sorrowfully.

This was not a lie, but the truth. Although she was a Campione, Lady Aisha did not wish to fight Disobedient Gods. She had not become a Campione of her own accord. From Lady Aisha, one could see that Campiones relied entirely on luck to slay gods.

"Although the scent on you makes me want to vomit, my freedom no longer belongs entirely to me. Until Roy gives the order, I will not attack you."

Athena merely glanced at Lady Aisha with disgust and showed no sign of attacking.

Roy looked at Athena in surprise. This proud Goddess had actually admitted, in front of everyone, that she would listen to him. She was really giving him plenty of face. Could it be that Athena also knew the secret of giving a man face in public?

"Do not look at me like that. I am a Goddess who understands the greater good. Be grateful."

Noticing Roy's astonished gaze, Athena turned her head slightly and spoke in a haughty tone.

Roy did not expose her pride. He merely smiled and said, "...Just as Athena said, as long as you do not attack her, Lady Aisha, she will not attack you either. Of course, if you truly cannot restrain yourself and attack her, then as someone on the Goddess's side, I will have no choice but to regretfully kill you here."

Roy openly stood up for a Disobedient God against her Campione enemy, issuing a declaration of slaughter against his own kind.

At this, a beautiful, charming smile unconsciously appeared on Athena's face. She was very satisfied with Roy's declaration.

"Eh? Sir, are you and this... Goddess Athena friends?"

Lady Aisha looked at Roy in astonishment. Although a Campione could not sense another Campione, she had already identified him when Roy used his Authority to attack earlier.

"You may describe us that way, Lady Aisha."

"You're actually friends! That's wonderful! So Campiones really don't have to be enemies with Disobedient Gods. I've met several Disobedient Gods in the past and eagerly tried to befriend them every time, but those gods started hunting me as soon as they saw me. It was terribly unfair. In the end, I had no choice but to kill them to save my life."

Lady Aisha looked relieved, as though her wish had finally come true. She looked at Roy, then at Athena, her emerald-like eyes filled with excitement.

"Lady Aisha, the commotion here has already attracted the attention of ordinary people. Shall we find somewhere else to talk?"

Seeing that Lady Aisha was quite old yet as gullible as a country girl visiting the city, Roy lured her in.

"Sure! I have many questions I want to ask you, sir."

Lady Aisha had no idea how people in the city operated and happily nodded.

Chapter Ninety-Five: Five Hundred Euros to Trick a Campione into Becoming a Maid

(There is a chapter in the supplementary material about ideas for the next world. Please take a look~~ And help vote~)

In a small shop by the roadside in Athens, two of the world's current Campiones and one Disobedient God sat together. Erica and Liliana sat reservedly to the side without saying a word. This was a conversation between two "Kings"; it was not their place to speak. In the presence of outsiders, they would never do anything that violated their status.

The local magician of Athens sat as if on pins and needles. He wanted to leave, but did not dare to. He could only sit upright, watching his nose and his heart, doing his best to make himself invisible.

Athena, meanwhile, did not want to say much. Being with a Campione made her uncomfortable. To a Disobedient God, speaking enthusiastically with ordinary people was preferable to staying with a Campione. If not for Roy's Authority being able to alter her nature, Athena's pride would never have allowed her to associate with someone "reeking from head to toe."

"Lady Aisha, about the money I paid for you earlier..."

Roy looked like a merchant covered in the stench of money. After ordering several drinks, he immediately brought up the vulgar subject of "money."

Bringing up money with any other Campione would have been useless, but Lady Aisha was the sole exception. Thus, Roy did not hesitate to strike directly at her weak point.

"Ah, the money. I'll pay you back later, sir. It's just that I'm rather short on funds right now—I don't have a single coin on me. Once a few days have passed and I find a job, I'll pay you back... By the way, sir, you know my name, but I don't know yours. That seems a little unfair."

Lady Aisha's face flushed. Fortunately, her skin was dark, so the blush was not too obvious.

"Roy Crowley. That is my name. More than a year ago, I slew a god and became your fellow Campione, Lady Aisha."

Roy introduced himself. Even the reclusive Eastern Cult Master had learned his name over the past year, yet Lady Aisha did not know it. It seemed she had spent the past year away from the present world, living in ancient times.

"By the way, the stall owner earlier was struck by your Authority. He probably won't be able to work today, so I gave him five hundred euros as compensation! In other words, Lady Aisha, you owe me five hundred euros. Given your current situation, you can probably only work in Athens. But Greece's economy has been doing poorly lately. Five hundred euros... If you only do odd jobs, you probably won't be able to pay it off in less than a month."

Roy was like the miser Grandet, carefully calculating every last cent with Lady Aisha.

"One month..."

Lady Aisha's body stiffened. Then she gave an awkward laugh. "...Um, although that is rather long, if you can wait a month for me, Mr. Roy..."

"I do not mind waiting a month for you, Lady Aisha, but the people of Athens may suffer because of it. I know how uncontrollable your Authority is. Just look at what happened on the street earlier. If you stayed in Athens for a month, it would be a disaster for the people here."

"...Or are you thinking of using your Authority to extort money from ordinary people? Given its effects, all you would have to do is speak, and your fanatical believers would surely hand over their entire family fortunes. The people of Greece are already suffering terribly, and the government went bankrupt not long ago. Once your Authority's effects disappeared, the poor people who had donated everything to you would be left with nothing, unable even to support their wives and children. Surely someone as kind as you would not want to see that."

Roy's tone was full of compassion. Under the effects of Face of God, he seemed to be a savior who truly pitied all living beings and grieved over the world's many hardships.

The local magician of Athens hurriedly nodded as well. What a joke—if Lady Aisha stayed in Athens for a month, the city would probably be finished. The magicians all knew how terrifying she was. She was a disaster-level figure even more frightening than a Disobedient God.

"Mr. Roy, how can you say that about me? I'm very angry, you know~~~"

Lady Aisha's face reddened. She waved her hands like a tiny kitten throwing a tantrum.

"But I am telling the truth."

"Mm..."

One sentence completely deflated Lady Aisha.

"I don't want this either. I want to control my Authority properly, but I simply can't."

Lady Aisha lowered her head, her voice filled with sorrow.

Someone as kind-hearted as her truly was unsuited to becoming a Campione. After becoming one, she could have been a Lord of Rakshasa who saved people from suffering like a Saintess. Yet fate had played a cruel joke on her, making her unable to control her Authority and turning her into a natural disaster feared by everyone.

"So, I have a suggestion. Would you like to hear it, Lady Aisha?"

Roy finally revealed his fox's tail.

"Anyone who can be friends with a Disobedient God is my idol now, Mr. Roy. Please speak frankly."

Lady Aisha was open and cheerful.

"Repaying debts is only right, but given your condition, Lady Aisha, you truly are not suited to earning money. How about this? Come work for me. The pay is generous, so you can quickly repay the five hundred euros you owe me, and you can also save up money for your future travels. I have learned a little about you and know how much you love adventure and travel. What do you think of this proposal?"

"If you work by my side, I can use my Authority to suppress Queen's Curse, the Authority that would most affect your daily life, should it activate, just as I did earlier. And if Passage of the Fairy Realm, your other Authority, acts up, I, as a Campione, will not fear it either. See? This way, you will not cause trouble for anyone."

Roy spoke persuasively, like a Big Bad Wolf luring Little Red Riding Hood.

No one else present said anything. Erica, Liliana, and the Athenian magician all knew Roy was deceiving her. Athena merely cast Roy a sideways glance, her amber eyes filled with approval. In the Goddess's view, this was wisdom...

Lady Aisha of course knew that Roy was deceiving her, but her personality meant she did not care about such things. That was precisely why Roy had her firmly in his grasp.

"Mr. Roy, how do you know so much about me? Could it be that you have been waiting here for me all along, planning to do something to me?"

Lady Aisha crossed her arms over her chest. Her beautiful face filled with fear, and she shrank backward.

"I have no interest in a one-hundred-and-fifty-year-old woman."

Roy blurted it out without thinking.

The instant the words left his mouth, he knew he had misspoken. He quickly raised his left hand in surrender.

As expected, Athena glared furiously at him, while Lady Aisha said indignantly, "...I'm not one hundred and fifty! I'm a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl this year!"

"I misspoke."

At a time like this, Roy did not cling to a man's dignity. He apologized at once.

"Your proposal does sound good, but what would I have to do?"

Lady Aisha quickly composed herself, leaned forward, and asked.

Roy's proposal actually suited her perfectly. He had already shown her how to eliminate the Authority that caused her the most trouble. That Authority was the reason she lived in seclusion most of the time and had difficulty interacting with people—the one that turned people into fanatical believers.

If that Authority could be neutralized, she could enjoy a period of ordinary life among people and legally, reasonably earn money for travel. It fit her hopes far too well.

"I remember that you worked as a maid in the past, Lady Aisha. I wonder if you still have the skills?"

Lady Aisha's eyes lit up, and she spoke excitedly. "...You want me to be a maid? That is absolutely no problem! I have always been an excellent maid!"

She said this proudly, not considering being a maid the work of a servant at all. Instead, she viewed it as a noble profession, because becoming a maid was what had changed her life.

Aisha had been a low-caste Indian woman a hundred and fifty years ago. Born into a low caste during that era, her life had seemed utterly bleak. Yet she had been incredibly fortunate to become the maid of an English noble. That allowed her to escape India, and the noble family treated her well, teaching her to read and write and allowing her to leave illiteracy behind.

After becoming a Campione, she had even worked as Marquis Voban's maid. It was also during that time that she had tricked Marquis Voban and the Cult Master, who had gone to fight the Marquis.

Thus, she did not mind becoming another Campione's maid in the slightest.

Roy chuckled without saying anything. Having the ability to look back into the past, he naturally knew what Lady Aisha's maid skills were like. They could not be called bad, but they certainly could not be called good either. She was an average maid, at best.

Still, tricking a Campione into becoming his maid for five hundred euros—there might never be a better businessman than him in this world.

Chapter Ninety-Six: Searching for the Holy Grail

Seeing how easily Roy had lured Lady Aisha away, Erica, Liliana, and the Athenian magician all sighed in admiration.

As the future head of Bronze Black Cross and the head of Athens's local magical society, Erica and the magician were both truly shrewd people. For someone like Lady Aisha, they had a hundred ways to deceive and manipulate her.

But neither of them dared to do so, simply because Lady Aisha was a Campione, a devil king on earth, a "King" whom humanity could never resist.

Regardless of a Campione's personality or how easy they seemed to deceive and use, ordinary magicians still dared not act against them. Countless events throughout history had proven one thing: any magician or magical society that dared to exploit a Campione would meet a miserable end.

Especially with a disaster-like Campione such as Lady Aisha, magicians could barely keep away from her. Who would dare speak with her, let alone use her? They would probably be toyed to death by her rampaging Authority after only a few words.

Watching Roy deceive Lady Aisha into coming to his side, the Athenian magician instead felt relieved, as though the disaster had finally been restrained. At the very least, with Lady Aisha beside Roy, the "King," the disaster she brought to the world should be greatly reduced.

"Why did you suddenly appear in Athens, Lady Aisha?"

After keeping Lady Aisha by his side, Roy was no longer excessively respectful toward her. Instead, he spoke much more casually.

"Most of the time, when I return from ancient times to the modern era, the Teleportation Gate should appear at its original location. But occasionally, something goes wrong, and the gate opens randomly in some corner of the world."

Lady Aisha answered awkwardly at Roy's question.

Passage of the Fairy Realm could not be controlled. It might suddenly run wild at any time, sending Lady Aisha to some period in the ancient past. The passage created when her Authority ran wild would remain at its original location, and occasionally, an unlucky ordinary person would enter it and travel back to ancient times as well.

But unlike those wish-fulfillment novels, in this world, it did not matter how brilliant a scientist a person was or how much advanced technology he possessed. If anyone dared to change history in the ancient past, he would trigger the Historical Correction Force of Plutarch's Hall in Yomi, restoring history to its proper course. In other words, someone transported to the ancient past could accomplish nothing. He would either live out a mediocre life as an ordinary person or die miserably along the way.

Athena's aura as a Disobedient God probably attracted Lady Aisha's Campione instinct, causing the gate's return point to change.

Disobedient Gods and Campiones possessed a powerful attraction for each other. Fate would always arrange for them to meet.

"That's why I said I'm definitely not one hundred and fifty. I spend most of my time traveling through ancient eras. Sometimes, when I return, a long time has already passed. I'm actually only a little over fifty this year—just a little over fifty."

Women always cared about their age. At this moment, Lady Aisha was still arguing against Roy's earlier estimate.

"A woman in her fifties is still an old woman."

Roy muttered it softly, making sure Lady Aisha could not hear.

"Lady Aisha, you look so battered. Did something happen to you in ancient times? Could you have encountered a Disobedient God or an ancient Campione?"

Lady Aisha looked quite miserable at present, clearly having suffered injuries. In this world, besides Disobedient Gods, probably only other Campiones could injure one of their kind. That was why Roy asked.

"Mm... I ran into something incredibly troublesome."

Lady Aisha said gloomily, "...This time, I returned to Gaul fifteen hundred years ago. Because my Authority ran wild, I gained a large group of believers. They were fighting an enemy at the time, and after I helped heal them, I somehow gained the reputation of a 'Saintess.' That reputation attracted a Campione called the 'Sword of Mars.'"

"The Sword of Mars? Attila, the Whip of God?"

Roy's interest was piqued. The Xiongnu king Attila had been a figure who terrified all of Europe. According to legend, Attila possessed a sword belonging to the God of War and used it to smash his way across the continent.

Roy had not expected Attila to be a Campione in this world's history. Yet it made sense. If he had not been a Campione, how could he have established such a vast empire and conquered lands across Europe and Asia? His title alone suggested that the first god he slew had been Mars, the Roman God of War—Ares in Greek mythology.

Not long after the Whip of God died, his vast empire fell apart. If that empire had been held together by a Campione's power, its rapid collapse after Attila's death was only natural.

As for how Attila had died, there was no need to think about it. He had obviously been killed by the Last King.

"I don't know whether that man himself was Attila or whether he created Attila. In any case, that Campione found me. He was incredibly lustful. He already had twelve wives, yet he still proposed to me. I refused, but I couldn't defeat him, so I could only keep running. In the end, I returned here while fleeing."

As she spoke, Lady Aisha paused. She suddenly crossed her arms over her chest and looked warily at Roy. "...Mr. Roy, could it be that you also plan to attack me, and that's why you made me your maid?"

"If I said yes, what would you do, Lady Aisha?"

Roy teased her.

"Mm-mm... I probably couldn't beat you either, so I'd have to keep running! Maybe I'd end up returning to some ancient era while running around."

As she spoke, Lady Aisha looked around, as though truly searching for an escape route.

"Rest assured, Lady Aisha. I have no interest in you for the time being, so you need not run away. Just stay by my side obediently and stop causing trouble for other people."

"Now that you put it that way, I feel even sadder. That was such a hurtful thing to say to a beautiful girl's heart."

Lady Aisha clutched her chest and looked heartbroken.

Roy rolled his eyes and could not be bothered with her. Women were such a nuisance. No matter what one said, they always had a pile of excuses.

"All right, Lady Aisha. Go change your clothes first. After that, we'll leave Athens and take a trip to North America."

Roy instructed Aisha, then turned to the magician beside them. "...Go help Lady Aisha find a suitable set of clothes."