A month ago, she had broken down her own Magic Circuits and performed a thaumaturgical formula substitution.
That was everything Justeaze could do at present.
Since the research began, the Einzbern family's direction had never changed. And with their final "success," Justeaze suddenly discovered something—a route to communicate with the ROOT.
...
Zolgen Makiri.
A magus who had devoted his entire life to excising all the evil of humanity—to wiping away this world's every last stain of sin.
He poured everything he had into it, and still never achieved his goal.
Perhaps today would end the same way.
Seated in a carriage, he had the driver take him to the "City of Winter"—Einzbern. Even though he'd nearly given up, perhaps deep down, there was still a tiny, stubborn sliver of hope left in him.
Because he'd sent word ahead of time, the Einzbern knew he was coming.
He was let in smoothly, without a hitch.
And if the rumors said the Einzbern researched homunculi… they weren't wrong.
Even on the way in, he saw many of them. But their construction felt a little different from what he'd imagined.
When they reached the destination, Zolgen Makiri stepped down from the carriage.
Someone soon guided him further inside.
And then he saw her.
A woman who would truly change his life.
She was so holy—so dazzling just standing there—that she looked like the pure white snow itself.
The head of the Einzbern family: Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern.
The moment Zolgen Makiri laid eyes on her, he realized he couldn't pull his gaze away.
Even so, he forced himself to rein it in.
It wasn't love. Not that kind of feeling.
It was her existence itself.
The Third Magic—
"You can tell, can't you?"
Justeaze didn't look surprised. For a magus—especially someone like Zolgen Makiri, who specialized in this field—seeing it at a glance was hardly strange.
"Yes. This is…"
Einzbern's masterpiece?
Justeaze's expression didn't change. She was used to this by now.
Very few people knew she was a successful realization of the Third Magic, but everyone who did couldn't help but marvel.
And some… couldn't help but mourn.
"It isn't success," she said. "All it means is that I'm locked in this place called Einzbern, repeating the same day over and over."
Her brow knit faintly. Then she immediately shifted topics.
"Enough small talk. I know why you came. And I happen to need something from you, too."
Zolgen Makiri looked at her, puzzled. He couldn't imagine what that could be.
The next moment, her question made his pupils constrict.
"Zolgen Makiri… have you heard of the ROOT?"
"The RO—"
"Yes. I tried breaking down my own Magic Circuits and performing a thaumaturgical formula substitution. And I found a place we might be able to reach—the Outside of the World."
"But I realized something. I can't do it with my magical energy alone. Even all of Einzbern's magical energy won't be enough."
"We can gather it all, then have a vessel—a Greater Grail—store it. After that, we release it in one burst, to reach the key that can open the Root."
"And because the Greater Grail requires far too much magical energy, we'll have to divide it further—into Lesser Grails for storage."
"You mean…"
"Possibly," Justeaze said carefully, "we could realize the Third Magic for all of humanity—or more precisely, we could grant any wish."
"In essence, it would be like connecting to the ROOT."
The hunger in Zolgen Makiri's eyes was obvious. More than anything, this was why he'd come here in the first place. He'd arrived almost expecting disappointment.
But now, it felt like he'd grabbed a last straw.
"But the vessel…"
Zolgen Makiri hesitated. If it required such massive magical energy, an ordinary person couldn't endure it. To be blunt, in the whole world, there was no magus who could hold that much magical energy.
And it also had to be released all at once.
From Justeaze's words alone, it was clear: even Einzbern's total reserves weren't enough, let alone a single magus's body bearing it.
At that, Justeaze finally smiled. She extended her hand.
"I modified my Magic Circuits. Einzbern can't produce another homunculus like me—but I can."
"In theory, I am eternal. So I can serve as the vessel to endure the enormous magecraft the Greater Grail would require. And since I have already realized the Third Magic, after decades of research, I've found a way to connect to the ROOT."
"What remains is how to pierce through—how to open the hole and force a path."
"We can build the core, but the key is still magical energy."
"No. That's not right."
Zolgen Makiri cut her off sharply. "Even putting aside the suffering of a body bearing that much power—what about the Lesser Grails? What do we do about the Lesser Grails?"
"Don't forget," Justeaze replied, "Einzbern's homunculi may not be able to produce one like me, but they can still produce Lesser Grails capable of containing magical energy."
"And right now, what we lack is a method—a way to obtain magical energy."
Zolgen Makiri was finally shaken.
"Tell me… why are you willing to sacrifice yourself for this?"
He had to admit it: if it meant sacrificing himself to achieve it, he would do it without hesitation. His dream was to become a hero of justice—to destroy all the evil in the world.
But the homunculus before him… how could she possibly have a heart like a human?
More than that, by Justeaze's Third Magic framework, her memories and everything tied to her should have been sealed into a single day, endlessly repeating.
So why would she want to help humanity achieve immortality?
Justeaze went still, not answering for a moment.
Then, after a long pause, she said quietly,
"If you meet someone named Laurent later… don't tell him anything."
"If the Greater Grail truly succeeds, it may be able to grant any wish humanity desires."
"When I was created, I was set—fixed—to strive for humanity's sake. So there's nothing strange about this. Even if Einzbern has been abandoned by the magi, I have no emotions. I will only follow their final wish and continue working forever."
"I see."
Zolgen Makiri didn't doubt her. The original purpose of creating homunculi had always been exactly that.
"Then let's work together. And there's also the matter of location—This place isn't suitable, not with its leylines."
"Yes. I hope our cooperation will be pleasant."
Poor Zolgen Makiri still didn't know he'd been deceived from the very start.
A Holy Grail didn't just need magical energy.
It needed the souls of Heroic Spirits.