Chapter 25: The Return of the Black Prince
Regarding the individual known as Alexander, Hikigaya's definition of him was as follows:
His true nature is written as "Archaeology Enthusiast" but read as "Shameless Phantom Thief"; whenever he has spare time, he guest-stars as a Campione.
Hikigaya felt this definition was quite grounded in reality. Other God-slayers were either focused on being "edgy" (chuunibyou) or focused on finding a fight. The more fickle ones like Voban managed to focus on being edgy, finding fights, and being an "African Chieftain" whose luck was so bad his hands were practically stained black.
Wait—thinking of this, Hikigaya felt he had missed something, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was. So, he logically ignored it and continued mentally roasting Alexander.
In short, Hikigaya didn't really care about Alexander's habit of "borrowing" things; it wasn't his business. However, when he became the target of someone else's complaints because of it, he felt things had turned bizarre. This happened now, just over a week after Hikigaya had dealt with the Holy Grail.
About ten minutes prior, Alexander had just rendezvoused with Hikigaya. Two people had lodged complaints: one was Annie from America, and the other was Touma from the Committee. Hikigaya didn't take the latter seriously, but the former was quite awkward. God knows what Alexander said while he was pilfering stuff that made Annie think she needed to "mention" it to Hikigaya.
This fellow Alexander truly refused to change his ways. When he left, he said he was going to investigate the details of Athena being stabbed, but he ended up running off to America. Hikigaya had waited over a week without a single text; if Annie hadn't called, he wouldn't have known this guy was making waves across the ocean again.
But one had to admit, when it came to stealing things, all the other God-slayers combined probably weren't as skilled as Alexander.
After chatting with Annie for a while, Hikigaya learned that Alexander had brought along a divine artifact he had "borrowed" from the Committee. The victim was that old man Hikigaya had previously thought had great "homemaking" potential. What was "borrowed" were the remains left behind by a Heretic God, which North American mages call the "Angel's Remains."
What was quite funny was that Annie was present at the time. Alexander seemingly didn't know Annie's true identity; even though Annie spent half the night "cosplaying" and climbing through his window, he still didn't recognize her.
This made Hikigaya feel quite smug about his own sharp eyes.
That Annie managed to hold back from shooting the guy was beyond Hikigaya's expectations. No matter how you looked at it, even if he didn't recognize her, it was a severe provocation. How to put it... Annie really was a "good person." If it had been Hikigaya, and someone tried to rob him or his friend to his face, he would have blasted them with a "Sun" first and asked questions later.
After listening to Annie's nagging and finally promising to go drinking with her next time, Hikigaya hung up and directed an unfriendly gaze at the man before him.
As the culprit, Alexander was currently observing a cooking pot on the ground with great interest. A little over a week ago, this pot had a prestigious name: the Holy Grail. Now, it could be renamed the Divine Wok.
Becoming like this was simple—Hikigaya did it. The Holy Grail, whose essence is life, had no fixed form to begin with; the controller could make it look like whatever they wanted. Hikigaya's inspiration came from the theory of Celtic origins, where the prototype of the Holy Grail imagery is the Divine Cauldron of Irish mythology.
There are many types of Irish cauldrons; not only do they possess divine power to bring wealth and vitality, but they can also provide an endless supply of food and drink. Hikigaya figured he'd first check if the myths were true about the Grail granting unheard-of delicacies and fine wines.
As it turned out, once Hikigaya turned the Grail into a cooking pot, the food it produced was indeed incredibly delicious. The quality of the ingredients and the cooking technique didn't matter; as long as it came out of this pot, it became a super-delicacy. Clearly, the essence of the Grail could be used for more than just buffing health bars, and Hikigaya's meals over the past week had been exceptionally good.
However, even though Hikigaya had turned a divine object that Western mages had craved for generations—and even fought wars over—into a cooking pot, Alexander (who was himself a European mage by origin) didn't feel a hint of heartbreak. On the contrary, he was very intrigued and even asked to taste how good the food from this pot actually was.
To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that he now inexplicably owed Annie a drinking session, Hikigaya would have been happy to grant this small request. Now? Forget it.
The moment Hikigaya hung up the phone, he recalled the pot and spoke to the stunned Alexander: "Steal what you want, but why drag me into it?"
Sending letters and being all talkative while stealing... do you think you're Kaito Kid? That guy does it to farm fame, but as a Campione, do you really have that need? Kaito Kid has been chased by Nakamori lately until he's lost several pairs of pants; do you want to try that?
"Oh, I just wanted to avoid trouble. Isn't this great? As fellow people who take Gods as opponents, although we have a non-aggression treaty, it's effective to express our stance to
prevent misunderstandings," Alexander licked his lips, seemingly still fixated on the Holy Grail-turned-Divine Wok.
"Then it seems you didn't know—when you were 'borrowing' things, she was right in front of you." Hikigaya saw the look of surprise he expected on Alexander's face.
"That assistant? I thought 'John Pluto Smith' was a man's name."
"Someone who frequently uses pseudonyms should be well aware of how that works, right?"
"Yeah, I was careless..." Alexander started scratching his head vigorously, clearly quite shocked by the news.
"I can't believe someone actually has that kind of hobby..."
'Look who's talking? Regarding weird quirks, you aren't any better...'
While he thought this, Hikigaya was too lazy to remind him. The world of "weirdos" is different from that of normal people. However, certain things Annie told him made him curious.
"What did you get? Annie said you made an island in Los Angeles emerge and then sink again. Is that your Authority?"
"I don't have an Authority like that," Alexander laughed. "It was the effect of the divine artifact I 'borrowed' from Japan."
With a wave of his hand, two objects floated before Hikigaya. One was a small, milky-white stone, and the other looked like a large, pitch-black nail. Setting the nail aside for a moment, Hikigaya felt the power of a Great Mother Goddess emanating from the milky-white stone.
"This is the 'Angel's Remains'?"
Hikigaya took the small stone into his hand. There are many ways the physical body of a Heretic God can collapse on earth—turning into sand, dissipating like mist, or turning into stone and shattering. Regardless of the method, it is rare for "remains" like this to be left behind.
But this thing wasn't particularly useful to a God-slayer. Why did Alexander bother borrowing it?
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