Chapter 37: The Contract
Judging from the old priest's attitude, it was clear that getting a discount would be difficult.
Su Xiao wasn't sure if he would have the chance to return here again. Even if he did, accumulating merits with the Holy Church wasn't easy.
"Father, you want the Holy Grail, don't you?"
"The Holy Grail?!"
The smile on the old priest's face gradually faded, and his gaze instinctively fell on Su Xiao's hand.
"As I thought, you're connected to the Holy Grail War. I didn't notice a Command Seal when we first met. Could it be that you are..."
Thinking of a certain possibility, the old priest's heart began to pound.
"You don't think I'm a Servant, do you?"
Su Xiao leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs with a relaxed demeanor.
"Heh."
The old priest let out a dry laugh. He had seen many Servants before, and their speech and behavior were distinctly different from modern people. Moreover, a Servant's body was constructed from energy, and the old priest had ways to identify them.
"Not a Master, not a Servant either. Could it be that you intend to participate in the Holy Grail War?"
The old priest's gaze grew somewhat fervent. Su Xiao had managed to blow up Ryuudou Temple, which showed he had extraordinary abilities. If he joined the old priest's faction, he would certainly be a powerful asset.
"Who knows? But you might need my help in the future."
Su Xiao looked at the old priest with a smile. When communicating with non-hostile plot characters, he usually wore a smile, as it helped conceal other emotions.
"I'll think it over..."
The old priest fell into inner conflict. After a long while, he nodded.
"Consider it a five percent discount for you. Wait a moment."
The old priest left the church, presumably heading to the secret room beneath it. After a short while, he returned, holding three items in his hands.
"These are Soul Crystal Ore, Holy Water, and finally, the Wraith Hunter."
The three items were placed before Su Xiao. He directly put away the Soul Crystal (Large) and the Holy Water. As for the Wraith Hunter, it was a finely crafted crossbow, entirely metallic, pitch black, with a somewhat antique design.
Just as Su Xiao was about to pull the bowstring, the old priest handed him a small winch.
"You need this. It's impossible to draw it by human strength... What the hell?!"
The old priest's eyes widened.
Creak~
Su Xiao pulled the bowstring. The attack power of this crossbow was comparable to the Spider Empress, so one could imagine how heavy it was.
After stringing the Wraith Hunter by hand, Su Xiao's mana points slowly began to deplete as an energy bolt gradually formed on the crossbow.
"What did you say just now?"
Su Xiao had been focused on studying the Wraith Hunter and hadn't caught what the old priest said.
The old priest glanced at the small winch in his hand and shook his head.
"Nothing. Where were we before?"
"The Holy Grail."
Su Xiao leveled the Wraith Hunter. Its accurate range was within 150 meters; beyond that, it couldn't hit the target. Don't underestimate that 150 meters—for a crossbow, that range was already supernatural.
"Right, the Holy Grail. Are you interested in helping me seize it? I can give you..."
The old priest looked somewhat hopeful.
"No."
Su Xiao put away the Wraith Hunter. This thing was good—powerful, silent, and suitable for mid-range assassinations.
"Rejecting me so bluntly, have you considered the feelings of this old man? I just gave you a five percent discount."
The old priest was a bit displeased.
"It's precisely because I considered your feelings that I refused."
Su Xiao's words clearly choked the old priest up quite a bit. The old priest's expression began to sour.
"Father, given your physical condition, living to 80 or 90 years old is no problem. Why are you in such a hurry to go die?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... everyone who tries to seize the Holy Grail will die!"
"You..."
The old priest's anger surged. After glancing at Su Xiao, he turned his head away.
"Father, don't misunderstand. You helped me once before. Without that gun, I wouldn't have made it out of Ryuudou Temple."
Su Xiao took out an apple, took a big bite, and the abundant juice dripped down the corner of his mouth.
"Then why won't you help me?"
The old priest's anger subsided a bit. He could tell that Su Xiao was implying something.
"Some things can't be said outright. As far as I know, Father, you participated in a Holy Grail War before?"
"Yes, I supervised the Third Holy Grail War."
"Did you see the Holy Grail?"
"I did."
The old priest rubbed his hands on his trouser legs, his gaze somewhat vacant.
"Since you've seen it, why are you still pursuing that thing? You should know its principle. The first two Greater Grails were indeed priceless treasures. As for the third, I don't need to tell you—you can guess. Now it's the fourth Greater Grail. How much malice do you think has accumulated in that thing? Do you... want to die that badly?"
Su Xiao stared at the old priest, the apple in his hand now just a core.
"Who would be willing to give up without pursuing it? Not only do I know, but the Matou family, the Tohsaka family, and the Einzbern family all know. That's a universal wish-granting device. So what if it's been tainted? Just give up like that?"
The old priest exhaled and reached out to Su Xiao.
"Give me a cigarette."
Su Xiao handed him one.
"Even though I still don't know your name, compared to some of my collaborators, I trust you more. At least you have no hostility toward me."
The old priest blew out a puff of smoke. Under Su Xiao's influence, the old priest's smoking habit had relapsed, or perhaps it was because there had been too many troubling things lately.
Under the interference of Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao's relationship with the old priest wouldn't become hostile. That was why the old priest trusted Su Xiao. After Su Xiao successfully blew up Ryuudou Temple, this trust had noticeably increased.
"Not seeing it with your own eyes makes you unwilling to give up, huh? That's right, the allure of the Greater Grail is indeed irresistible."
Su Xiao stopped speaking. The reason he was still in the church was that he had another purpose.
"From what you're saying, you're completely uninterested in the Holy Grail?"
"No, I'm interested. I'm curious about its texture."
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The old priest coughed dryly, puffs of smoke escaping from his mouth with each cough.
"Curious about its texture? What a peculiar thought..."
The old priest seemed dismissive. In his view, Su Xiao wasn't entirely uninterested in the Holy Grail.
"By the way, Father."
"What?"
After a bit of conversation, the two had clearly become more familiar.
"Can you get in touch with the Einzbern family?"
"This... is confidential."
The old priest played coy, vaguely sensing something was off.
"If you can, I plan to make contact with the Einzbern family. Don't worry, I won't team up with them against you. If I successfully establish a connection, I'll do my best to prevent them from causing you trouble."
"I'll think..."
"There's no time to think about this. I'm in a hurry lately."
Su Xiao needed to speed things up. Brother Umbrella could kick the bucket at any moment.
"Can I take that to mean you can help me contain the Einzbern family?"
"Yes, but I need some leverage to negotiate with them."
The old priest began to struggle. His ideal outcome was for Su Xiao to join his faction and help him seize the Greater Grail.
"Fine, but there's one prerequisite: you cannot ally with them against my faction. I don't know how you found out about my situation, but my plan to seize the Holy Grail cannot be leaked."
The old priest took out a piece of white parchment, wrote something on it, and then handed it to Su Xiao. This was a "Self-Compulsory Edict," a kind of oath-like document.
The old priest was truly cunning; he had already prepared this in advance.
After scanning the contents of the "Self-Compulsory Edict," Su Xiao signed the contract. There was one thing the old priest didn't know: this "Self-Compulsory Edict" had limitations. It only targeted beings with magic power within their bodies, or more precisely, it was only effective on the native inhabitants of the Holy Grail World.
Su Xiao was not a native of the Holy Grail World, and he didn't have a trace of magic power in his body. Signing this thing was essentially no different from signing his name on toilet paper.