Holy Grail War

Miss Gokou Ruri was a veteran chuunibyou with extensive knowledge of gods and spirits from various countries, and a regular among the park's fortune-tellers, often seeking divination and luck readings—which was precisely why she felt Luo Shu was unreliable.

In folk tales, protagonists often encounter an enlightened master before disaster strikes.

A high monk would give them a Buddha statue or relic for protection, a Taoist priest would offer talismans, a missionary would hand over a silver cross...

No one had ever heard of anyone giving a gemstone for protection!

Was this some new kind of scam?

The young man casually smiled and handed over the string of ruby necklace.

"Mr. Luo, this is...?"

Haruno was also puzzled by the necklace at first, but then her pupils sharply contracted, her face filled with shock.

Under the sunlight, a vivid and bright red light suddenly appeared.

"Gurgle gurgle..."

Small bubbles suddenly emerged inside the ruby, as if boiling water were bubbling.

The blazing red light grew more dazzling and radiant.

This scene startled everyone, men and women, young and old, all watching intently.

After a few minutes, the tiny bubbles became densely packed, spreading across the ruby's surface.

That fair, clean hand suddenly released the gemstone necklace, yet buoyed by the bubbles, the dazzling red light still floated in midair. The people stared at the miracle before them, stunned and speechless.

Was this magic, a trick... or superpowers?

Everyone was deeply captivated by this string of ruby necklace.

The thumb-sized ruby shifted from dull to strikingly vivid, radiant and eye-catching, as countless bubbles began to burst, rising into wisps of mist that seemed to form some pattern above.

Just then, a man tried to squeeze in for a look, letting in even more sunlight.

In an instant.

A patch of cloud and rosy glow appeared, rolling currents swirling around above the ruby.

Holy crap!!

"It's an illusion!"

Gokou Ruri gasped, quickly closing her eyes and opening them again.

Still there.

Not an illusion?!

At that moment, the red light shifted, and the gem began to slowly rotate clockwise.

A lifelike image instantly materialized before everyone's eyes.

Within the currents, a magnificent giant ship appeared, countless men and women, young and old, like ants, carrying it forward, representing all living beings struggling across the bitter sea of mortal life.

Aboard the giant ship.

A beautiful Goddess leaned against the sail, hands hanging down, eyes closed in contemplation.

Who?!

Who was it?!

The crowd's hearts stirred with excitement.

The next instant, the beautiful Goddess opened her eyes, suddenly revealing a captivating smile.

"Ah!!"

A girl let out an involuntary scream, and those around her widened their eyes.

"Crack—."

The image shattered, and strands of magnificent red light burrowed back into the gemstone necklace.

A divine object conceals its own brilliance, once again becoming dim and lackluster.

Without the buoyancy of the bubbles, the dull ruby necklace fell from midair.

Haruno jolted sharply, quickly reaching out to catch it, then breathed a sigh of relief.

This thing was likely priceless!

Thank him!

She had to sincerely thank Mr. Luo!

Haruno felt grateful in her heart, but noticed many people around her closing in, their gazes at her palm filled with obsession. This startled Haruno into a fluster, and she frantically stuffed the necklace into her skirt.

After hiding the treasure, this young lady finally relaxed.

If someone snatched such a peerless gem, she'd have nowhere to cry about it.

The onlookers looked regretful.

Damn it, why couldn't they get one more look?

One more glance and you'll explode, right?

5. Black Hole Phenomenon, Evil Spirit Appears!

A moment later, Yukino Yukino put on a smile, quickly pulled ten ten-thousand-yen bills from her wallet, and stuffed them into Luo Shu's hand with a hint of respect.

She didn't try to be clever—if Luo Shu asked for one hundred thousand, she gave one hundred thousand.

This wouldn't spoil his goodwill.

But tucked among those bills was a Yukinoshita Family check that could be filled in for any amount.

If Mr. Luo chose to use it, it would create another link with the Yukinoshita Family.

If Mr. Luo chose not to, Yukino wouldn't lose anything either.

It was a high-EQ move.

After settling the payment, this scheming young lady asked with a beaming smile.

"Mr. Luo, how should I give this to my useless little sister?"

"Grind it into powder and brew it in tea," the youth said flatly.

The surroundings instantly fell silent.

Yukino's smile froze on her face, and the crowd around them was stunned.

"Pfft."

Yukino was just drinking water to quench her thirst when she heard this—her eyes flew wide open, and she spat out a mouthful.

How could there be such a bizarre method in the world?

No... thinking carefully, there were historical examples of people drinking talisman water to cure illnesses.

Yukino took a deep breath, barely comforting herself that her life was the most important thing.

But then she saw the youth in his feathered robe curl his lips and tease:

"This Humble One was just joking—you two young ladies needn't take it seriously."

"As long as Miss Yukino wears the necklace around her neck and never takes it off, her life will be safe."

"Phew, then thank you, Master Luo," Yukino said, relieved.

After that, she secretly poked her sister in the back, and Yukino immediately caught on, sincerely thanking Luo Shu as well.

Whether the treasure worked or not, the proper gratitude still had to be shown.

Then, learning that Luo Shu didn't have a phone, Yukino immediately gave him her spare device, establishing a way to contact him, before cheerfully taking Yukino's hand and leaving.

After the two left, countless eager gazes instantly fell on Luo Shu.

This was a real master!

He had looks, he had presence, he had treasures.

How could the charlatans in the park compare to Master Luo!

"Master, do a reading for me!!"

"Move aside, I was here first—Master Luo should read my fortune first!"

"No, no, no, I was the first one here, I'm Mr. Luo's biggest fan—let me go first!"

"I'm prettier, so me first!"

"My wife cheated on me—I'm more urgent, let me go first..."

"..." For a moment, the noise was deafening, incredibly lively.

Luo Shu watched this scene and chuckled helplessly: "Line up, one by one."

Seeing him start to organize order, the crowd wisely quieted down a bit.

After they lined up in sequence, Luo Shu began checking the fate information of his customers, speaking generously and divining accurately—truly astonishing!

This made everyone admire and believe in him even more!

[Divine Authority Jade +0.16, Divine Authority Jade +0.18, Divine Authority Jade +0.06, Divine Authority Jade +0.9, Divine Authority Jade +0.21...]

Not only did the Divine Authority Jade grow steadily, but he also earned plenty of yen.

By evening, when Makuhari Seaside Park reached closing time, the crowd reluctantly dispersed.

Luo Shu yawned lazily.

He silently recited "Void" in his mind, and a silver ripple appeared on the left side of his vision.

[Divine Authority Jade: 25.95]

"Not bad."

Luo Shu smiled in satisfaction, patting the bulging wallet at his waist—there was roughly three hundred thousand yen inside.

Now, it was time to find a place to live.

With this thought, a faint smile hung on his face as his figure gradually faded into the darkness.

"Luo-kun, right?"

"Yes."

"I can't believe you're out living on your own at such a young age—that's really impressive!"

At Happiness Villa, the beautiful Landlady smiled warmly as she chatted, her silky black twin-tails falling like drills over both shoulders.

Luo Shu smiled back, pulled out the key, and opened the door to the room he had just rented.

After arriving in this world, he finally had a little nest to shield him from the wind and rain.

Though he was an undocumented resident, the hundreds of thousands of yen in his wallet would be enough to last him a few months if he lived frugally. The Divine Authority Jade could produce hard currency like gold, but that would be too wasteful.

When a critical moment came, he might just be short by that many Divine Authority Jades.

This rental was located near the city center, and the rent was relatively cheap.

But after rushing over, Luo Shu was genuinely taken aback.

The moment he laid eyes on the house, his golden finger, the [Void], began to tremble inexplicably. A silver ripple, visible only to him, rippled through the air, and countless pieces of information surfaced before Luo Shu's eyes, buzzing with warnings.

code
[Haunted House]

[Age: 20.4 years (wall deterioration)]

[Description: An unremarkable old house, but half a month ago, a Black Hole Phenomenon was born here. A ghost is attempting to descend through the passage of the Black Hole. 2.3 Divine Authority Jades can be spent to forcibly seal the Black Hole.]

It was only after seeing the Void's prompt that Luo Shu finally understood.