Why didn't I notice it sooner?
Asakura sighed helplessly in his heart, returning the book, which had lost its magic power, to little Eriri. Although the latter didn't quite understand why Asakura didn't open it to look, she immediately hugged the book protectively.
"What's wrong?"
Fujiwara Chika asked, seeing Asakura's expression seemed a bit strange.
"Could it be…"
Asagumo Chihaya, on the other hand, had some guesses.
"It's exactly that 'could it be'. Eriri is the one who won the prize from the Manga Club. The book in her hand is the Manga Club's Holy Grail, and the magic power on it has already disappeared… In other words..." Asakura raised the plastic World Cup trophy ornament in his hand: "This should be the last usable 'Holy Grail'."
"Nani nani? Has little Eriri already had her wish granted?"
Yuigahama Yui curiously leaned next to the little one and asked.
But little Eriri clearly didn't know what was happening. She seemed to be startled by the overly enthusiastic Yuigahama Yui and hid behind Asakura again, though her two bun hairstyles exposed her figure, completely unable to conceal her.
"The home address she gave was converted into a park a long time ago, and despite her young age, her parents didn't come to Soubu High School with her… And the decisive point is that this child is completely different from the person who won the prize according to the Comic Club's testimony…"
Yukinoshita Yukino pondered for a moment and then came to a conclusion: "Perhaps her wish was to 'become smaller'… No, it was something like 'return to childhood'."
"It's also possible that she had some regrets from her childhood, and subconsciously wanted to go back and fix everything. However, since the Holy Grail is a cursed item, it transformed her mindset and way of thinking into that of a child, making her completely forget about the whole thing."
Asakura also nodded and added, "Let's head back to the clubroom first. There are too many people here, and it's not convenient."
"Aren't we going directly to save Kaguya?"
Fujiwara Chika asked hurriedly.
"Don't worry, your friend is in good condition right now, there's no need to rush."
Asakura comforted her, "The Fox Spirit is looking after her, so you don't need to worry."
Fujiwara Chika remained silent. Even after experiencing many things, she still didn't understand much about the supernatural, so she could only place her hope in Asakura.
Upon returning to the clubroom, Asakura pulled out the whiteboard from the corner, which he rarely used.
"All seven Holy Grails have appeared. I destroyed one, Chihaya destroyed two, Amakusa, Fujiwara's friend, and Eriri all obtained them and made wishes, which means three have been consumed, and the last one is the one Yanami just won. This is currently the only Holy Grail left that can grant a wish."
He wrote the current situation on the whiteboard.
"So the task is completed now, right?"
Yuigahama Yui asked happily, a little slow on the uptake.
"No, I'm afraid the most troublesome part is yet to come."
Yukinoshita Yukino seemed to realize something and said in a deep voice.
"Using the Holy Grail to wish away an already granted wish… This was the method Fujiwara and I discussed earlier to resolve the wish and its after-effects without harming the wish-maker's mind. But currently, there are three curses that need to be resolved… Well, not counting Amakusa's wish, there are still two, which clearly requires some choices and trade-offs."
"Before that—" Asakura extended his finger towards little Eriri, "Snake."
The next moment, little Eriri transformed into a golden Snake without any warning.
Immediately after, Asakura swiped his finger: "Curse removal."
And so, the little one changed back. She rubbed her small face, still startled, and looked at her body wrapped in the kimono, puzzled by her sudden transformation into a Snake.
"It's still in this state, then. It seems it's not just a simple illusion, but a physiological change…"
Seeing that the magic 'Snake' didn't refresh the girl's state and turn her back to normal, Asakura couldn't help but sigh. Even though he had prepared himself mentally and knew it wouldn't be that simple, he was still a little disappointed.
After all, this meant the simplest solution was ineffective.
All that was left was…
"To burn away her wish with 'Candle'."
But in that case, just like the alternate dimension formed by burning Shinomiya Kaguya's wish with 'Candle', it would affect the little one's mind.
Fujiwara Chika also seemed to realize this, looking at Asakura worriedly, unsure of what he would choose.
To this, Asakura replied: "Choose what? I'll just burn them all if I have to."
He had no psychological burden.
However, before burning them, it wouldn't hurt to try any other methods available.
For example…
"Fujiwara, your friend won the prize by playing Concentration, right?"
Asakura asked abruptly.
"Mm."
"Is she very good at Concentration?"
"If I don't cheat, I can never beat her. That's how good she is."
Fujiwara Chika said solemnly.
So Asakura silently took out two decks of playing cards and spread them on the table.
A few minutes later.
Yukinoshita Yukino: "I won."
Fujiwara Chika: "Huh?"
A few more minutes later.
Asagumo Chihaya: "Sorry, it's over."
Fujiwara Chika: "Huh huh?"
A few more minutes later.
Yuigahama Yui: "Ahaha, just flip this one over, right?"
Fujiwara Chika: "Huh huh huh?!"
"You lost all three matches, why did you say you were so good…"
Asakura couldn't help but retort.
"But, but I won against Yanami and Eriri!"
Fujiwara Chika argued forcefully.
"Is there anything to be proud of in beating an idiot and a child?"
Asakura glanced at her sideways.
"Who's an idiot?! I just ate too much by accident, and sleepiness came over me, so I couldn't concentrate!"
Yanami tried hard to save face.
Little Eriri, on the other hand, didn't understand what was happening at all, only watching the others' conversation with great interest.
"But what does this have to do with what Asakura was just talking about?"
Yukino asked, puzzled.
"I don't know, but we can try."
Asakura put away the playing cards: "Since the other party won the Holy Grail through Concentration, I will challenge her with Concentration, with the Holy Grail as the stake."
"But doesn't the Holy Grail turn into an ordinary object after granting a wish once?"
Asagumo Chihaya also joined the inquiry curiously.
"The key isn't the Holy Grail itself, but the concept of 'winning the Holy Grail'. If we're lucky, we might be able to reverse her wish through this concept… In any case, it's better than doing nothing and just burning it directly."
Asakura responded.
"But Shinomiya Kaguya is really good at Concentration. She has an excellent memory; even if it's not photographic, it's definitely not far off."
Fujiwara Chika was still worried about Asakura's plan.
"Don't worry, setting aside other games, when it comes to Concentration—" Asakura smiled faintly, as if light flashed in his eyes.
"I have a surefire winning method."