The Fool and the God of Wine

Although Sherlock looked nervous and more guilty than ever before, Iver didn't let him off the hook.

Or rather, Iver didn't let go of this rare opportunity to tease Sherlock.

He casually asked Hypatia, "What's wrong with the Fool's Eulogy Grimoire? I heard it's a pretty good Grimoire."

"It's really good, or rather, it's excellent."

Hypatia nodded. "In my time, seekers on the Path of Wisdom longed for the legacy of the Fool. But not everyone could be suited to it."

"The Path of Wisdom must be at least at the Fourth Level, while the Path of Authority must reach the Third Level and have the adaptability to Path of Transcendence in order to master 'the praise of fools'."

"The author of this book is Dionysus the Fool, a half-mad dragon. He transformed into an elf, wearing Fox and a flower crown, with a cheerful personality and charming appearance. He was skilled in brewing wine and was also proficient in various musical instruments and singing."

"Influenced by his personal charisma, he had many female followers who accompanied him on his travels and parties. They would get drunk, dance, and sing with him. He was generous and gentle to his friends, but extremely aggressive to those who questioned or persecuted him."

"In reality, the Fool is an unbridled dragon. He always walks the earth drunk, criticizing everything he sees, even the Cardinal and Pope of the time... At the same time, earthly monarchs, wise men, prophets, and shamans are also under his criticism."

He called these revered people "wise men" and sang their praises, but in reality, he was mocking their foolishness, arrogance, and greed in a sarcastic way; he also called ordinary people "The Fool" and sang their sympathetic praises, helping them solve their various difficulties. It can be said that he was the earliest bard.

"The era of the Beast Lord had not yet ended, and the rule of the Supreme Heaven still existed. Violence, darkness, and evil were everywhere on earth, but the Fool was like a ray of light, uniting people together and re-establishing a new order of harmony between man and God—the reason why the apostles are called apostles, rather than from Subordinate God ... began with him."

"The Fool stripped the apostles of their divine aura and denied the Holy Land of the celestial authorities, so that they would no longer be gods. So that people would not look up at the heavens and find that all the stars were gods..."

At this point, Hypatia paused. "... and his followers and believers wrote the ' Fool's Eulogy Grimoire ' to commemorate his story."

"Sounds like an amazing person."

Sherlock was finally relieved.

Although this book deals with the Path of Transcendence, it doesn't seem like a bad thing. At least I won't be subjected to the Fox's sarcastic remarks anymore.

Rather, Dionysus the Fool was undoubtedly a hero with an eccentric personality.

But he was puzzled. "Why didn't someone like that become an apostle?"

He noted that Hypatia referred to the Fool as "he" rather than "He".

If the Fool were to become a Celestial, he should be respectfully addressed as "So-and-so Celestial"... But even if he were merely elevated to the rank of Apostle, he would still be Subordinate God and should be respectfully addressed as such.

"The Fool certainly had the opportunity to become an apostle or a celestial being... even Constant Self was once his follower."

"When he died, he was first invited by Wei Zhe and the Twin Mirrors. Then he was invited by Ring Angel and Song Angel, but he refused them all. He also had the opportunity to become a Tian Si Path of Transcendence and the Path of Beauty, but he refused again—he himself refused eternity. He was also the only one who refused to ascend, so people still call him the Fool."

"Because he did not want to obey anyone, not even the supreme Nine Pillar Gods; nor did he want to become a celestial official, one of those unrestrained external gods whom he criticized."

Hypatia replied, "The last thing he did in his life was to challenge the Beast Lord in the body of a dragon."

"Naturally, he was completely torn apart and devoured. But the Beast Lord kept his most delicious heart as a precious collection."

"Later, the heart was stolen by the Fool's friend. This friend was the Banquetor. The Banquetor ate the heart and allowed Dionysus to be resurrected within him. He sublimated with Dionysus into the Constant Self Dancer."

"Therefore, the Banquetor is a dragon with two souls in one body; on one side he is the Banquetor, and on the other side he is the God of Wine."

"... How ironic."

Sherlock took a deep breath, his feelings a mix of emotions. "The Fool who spent his entire life trying to deny the 'generalization of God,' even actively rejecting eternity. Yet, in the end, he was revered as God of Wine..."

"Yes. If the Fool had chosen to ascend through the Path of Transcendence, he could at least have become a great Celestial on par with the Fallen Angel," Hypatia said with a sigh. "His followers back then were still celebrating, speculating and discussing what kind of honor he would have after the Fool to Celestial status. The God of Wine Angel, the Rebel Angel, the Mad Angel ... But as it turns out, none of his followers truly understood him."

At this point, Hypatia's gaze dimmed slightly, and his voice softened.

Sherlock suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Previously, it could be said that Hypatia was erudite and knowledgeable, knowing many secrets from before the beginning of the "Forbidden Fruit" era. But her perspective on this matter seems a bit off...

If the Fool did not ultimately ascend to become a Celestial Official... then how did the discussion about honorific titles get out?

"... You wouldn't be in there, would you?"

Sherlock was taken aback.

Although she already knew from Iver that she was a reincarnated apostle...

But this little girl, who looks even shorter than the counter, is actually from the same era as Pillar God Constant Self?!

For a moment, Sherlock felt a strong sense of unreality, as if a mythical age had descended upon him.

—It turns out that the stories Hypatia told before were not stories she had learned or heard, but stories she had personally experienced!

"Yes. I was one of the authors of this book," Hypatia. "That's why I said this book is absolutely out of print—only I have it in my possession. I haven't hidden this fact at all; you are the first person recognized by this book... If you can't tell, I'll be disappointed."

"After all, although the Fool is called the Fool, he is not a fool. On the contrary, he is a truly wise man."

She looked at Lily with a complicated expression. "And coincidentally... I also wrote this Grimoire."

"The full moon is the egg of the monster—this is the original Qidian of the Full Moon Ritual for nurturing the strong, and it also symbolizes the birth of the Child of the Moon. In a sense, this book is the legacy of the Constant Self."

"... Constant Self?!"

Lily was taken aback.

Even someone as calm as her was shocked by this fact.

But Hypatia laughed instead, "Don't get too excited... Although this is the inheritance of the Constant Self, it is a part that she discarded. When ascending to the status of Pillar God, one must always cut off an unnecessary part of oneself that would contradict the divine self. The Child of the Moon is the madness that she cut off."

"She used the skill of creating monsters to expel the skill of creating monsters from her body... like putting the key to a safe inside the safe. I felt it was a pity, so I kept it."

"... Then what's the use of this book?"

Lily somewhat uneasily, "Does learning this mean I'll be able to have children?"

"...ha?"

Hypatia paused for a moment, then laughed, "How could you think that way? Well... however, if you see children as 'extensions of the self,' this understanding isn't wrong. The Inheritors of this tantra must be a twisted person, then have monster blood, and at the same time have the adaptability of love and adaptation."

"By initially studying this tantra, you can completely separate your ego from your path, transforming it into two different personalities. With further practice, you will be able to separate the ego from the different paths... In your case, this means that the you who Path of Adaptation and the you Path of Love will split into two people."

"—Just like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, isn't it?"

Sherlock murmured.

That was a novel that was popular in Avalon a few years ago, called "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." It depicted a madman who constantly switched between good and evil personalities... On one hand, he was a wealthy yet gentle and kind alchemist of the Equilibrium Path; on the other hand, he was a Demon Scholar indiscriminately killed innocent people, was insane, and had no humanity.

Later, the book was inexplicably banned— Sherlock thought it was because the descriptions of Demon Scholar were too explicit and would be uncomfortable for minors.

... In retrospect, it is probably because this book inadvertently coincided with a lost tradition, and therefore the author may be regarded as "subtly describing a lost mysterious art".