The Prince Of Magic

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Hadrian's bright cyan eyes widened as his ears pricked the old magician's thoughtful murmuring.

"Opa, did you just said that you helped three mages create a Holy Grail?" The young mage asked, suspicious.

The old magician blinked, then barked out a laugh that only annoyed Hadrian.

"Ahahahaha, I have, but that was a looooong time ago. Don't worry 'bout it!" Zelretch grinned, one hand waved as if to slap away the issue.

"Exactly, that was years ago! So, how is it you –" Hadrian stopped his tirade.

Then, he slapped his forehead with his right hand before pulling it down to cover his eyes as the realization dawned on him.

"It's through the Kaleidoscope, isn't it?" The young mage guessed in deadpan tone.

"Ahahaha, correct! Sadly, there's no prize!" Zelretch joked, still grinning. "I was bored that time, so I used the Kaleidoscope to travel back in time and find something interesting. I didn't know that it was past 300 years that time, so I just went with the flow and took in the sights. I just happened to come upon these three aspiring mages from the noble families and lend them a bit of help."

"Lend them a bit of help, huh?" Hadrian repeated, looking up to give the old magician a glare.

"Hahaha, to think that grail that those three made would give us trouble like this! It truly is a small world!" Zelretch laughed, looking sheepish.

The Schweinorg scion looked as if he was seconds away from throttling the old magician.

In response, his grandfather continued to laugh, amused by the situation and unfazed by his grandson's glare.

Relenting, Hadrian sighed.

"And to think that you were the magician that helped those three. What a shitty predicament…" The young mage grumbled under his breath.

The Holy Grail wars on earth were quite well-known in the history of magi.

It was a ritualistic event that was as well-known as the three mages who had created the artifact that was used for the wars.

But, there was one that was left unknown.

The identity of the magician that helped them.

At first, when Hadrian came upon the information, he had thought that it was Aoko Aozaki, considering as the red-haired magus had a tendency to travel back and forth through the benefit of her own true magic. Hadrian didn't expect that it would be his own grandfather to be one of the instigators that led to the creation of the previous Holy Grail wars on earth.

For some reason, he felt a headache incoming, despite having taken a suppressant before he left his chambers earlier.

"Come now, that's in the past. So, let's leave it at that. We have other things to discuss, enkel." Zelretch grinned, changing the topic.

"Go on…" Hadrian prompted in a deadpan tone.

"You won't be landing in the other world through Kaleidoscope directly." Zelretch stated, causing the young mage's gaze to snap to him.

"Huh? How then?" Hadrian asked, bewildered.

"Through soul transfer, just as you had done when you joined the Holy Grail war. The process still requires a bit of assistance from the Kaleidoscope, but only your spirit would go to the other side. Not your real body." Zelretch answered.

"Oh. Then, what about the others?" Hadrian frowned.

"Your servants will have to be transferred to the other side through the Kaleidoscope directly. The reason for this is because you are still alive, while your servants are not. They might have the custom bodies I made for them, but any adept magus can tell that they are Heroic Spirits just by being near them." Zelretch explained.

"And how is it different for me?" Hadrian inquired.

"It's different because Prelati has his eyes on you. This just might be my paranoia, but I wouldn't put it past that wretched pedo to have managed to find a way to detect your presence once you arrive to that world. Probably through some eldritch spell or whatever. Besides, through this method, you'll still have the element of surprise and also remain under that shithead's radar." Zelretch smiled in satisfaction.

"Hmm… alright." Hadrian relented, unsure but accepting anyways.

The grandfather and grandson spoke some more about the assignment.

The two of them talked about their theories on Prelati's goal, his possible allies, and whereabouts. They also discussed strategies, and who should Hadrian choose to accompany him in the mission. The two of them discussed such subjects that lasted for nearly two hours, though they were interrupted once by a call from his mother to notify them about breakfast.

With their bases covered, the discussion was about to close when a thought came to Hadrian's mind.

"By the way, opa, how goes your research on the Blood Beads that I gave you the other day?" Hadrian inquired.

In response, the contours of his grandfather's countenance brightened and his crimson eyes flashed brightly once at the mention.

"Oh, it is going absolutely splendid, enkel! You should see the things I made from it and what I discovered!" Zelretch exclaimed.

The exuberance in his tone and the wide almost childish-like grin startled Hadrian in his seat.

The combination of the two made his grandfather looked like a kid high on sugar rush.

"Okaaay…." Hadrian said slowly, wary and a bit suspicious. "So, what did you made and what did you found?"

"I found plenty of things! But most importantly, I made some weapons out of them too!" Zelretch harrumphed, crossing his arms with a prideful expression.

Hadrian blinked as his mind processed the words.

"You what?!" He exclaimed, surprise.

Zelretch laughed evilly.

No, the old magician giggled. Like a perverted old man perusing a dirty magazine.

The mere comparison was enough to make Hadrian feel a bit ill.

The young mage snapped back to reality when the old magician stood up from his chair, almost jumping up from how fast the movement was.

"Wait here! I'll go get them!" Zelretch ordered before he dashed into his lab.

Bewildered, Hadrian simply looked on as he was left in the study with his two familiars playing in the background.

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