The contract was established, and Shinji left Kenneth's room with the parchment scroll containing the contract of geis.
The document became effective as soon as both parties signed their names, and the parchment scroll, serving as the vessel, lost its value. However, Shinji had no intention of discarding or destroying it. He planned to store it in the family's secret vault as a commemoration of his first achievement for the Matou family.
In the corridor outside the room, a man with the same hair and eye color as Shinji leaned against the railing, looking lazy.
He was Shinji's father, Byakuya, who had just returned from a business trip abroad. As the most intelligent man in the Matou family in a certain sense, he wasn't particularly shocked or resentful towards his family after learning everything. He simply muttered a few complaints and accepted the reality, calmly immersing himself in his subsequent work.
The first task was to help Shinji draft the contract. A covenant was also a type of contract, and no one in the Matou family knew better than Byakuya, a seasoned businessman, how to formulate a rigorous contract.
Considering the irreversible nature of the contract of geis, Shinji waited until Byakuya returned before finalizing the contract after several discussions between the two.
There were two copies of the document in total. One was the contract just signed with Kenneth, and the other was the contract with Waver—a difference of a single word, reflecting Shinji's attitude towards the two individuals, despite the identical format of the incantation and the document.
"How is it?" Byakuya yawned and asked his son. He hadn't slept all night while revising the document.
"It's all taken care of. Thank you for your hard work, Father." Shinji made an "OK" gesture towards his father.
"It's not a matter of whether it's hard or not. We're all working hard for this family. There's no reason for you to exert yourselves while I just stand by. By the way, how do you plan to handle that woman?" Byakuya referred to Sola, Kenneth's fiancée. Ever since losing Lancer, she had locked herself in her room, going through the motions of life like a puppet.
Shinji glanced at the room adjacent to Kenneth's and let out a sigh. "She's just an insignificant ornament. Let's leave her be. If Kenneth doesn't make any requests, we shouldn't meddle."
In Shinji's eyes, Sola was nothing more than a decorative vase. She had no abilities and a terrible personality. Apart from being somewhat attractive, she had almost no redeeming qualities. Shinji couldn't understand why Kenneth would be interested in a woman like her when he had seen plenty of beautiful women himself. Kenneth came from a noble background, was young and promising, and if he had the intention, there would be countless women waiting for him to choose from. The fact that he had chosen Sola could only be attributed to love making people blind.
Byakuya muttered under his breath, "A vase doesn't know how to use magecraft."
"Even if she knew how to use magecraft, it wouldn't have any impact on us who have consumed 'that.' So she's still just a vase," Shinji scoffed.
"Speaking of which, why do I feel like there hasn't been any change in my body? Is this the effect of the legendary golden apple that can drive goddesses crazy?"
Just as Byakuya finished speaking, Shinji gave him a big, disdainful eye roll.
"And what if it did? After consuming it, do you become incredibly strong and invincible?"
"Well, it doesn't need to be that exaggerated, but there should at least be some changes."
"But there have been changes. Haven't you noticed?"
"Where, where?" Byakuya rubbed his head and turned around. "I haven't noticed."
Shinji pulled his father to the bathroom and pointed at his face in the mirror. "See, there used to be a mole here, but now it's gone. And there used to be a scar here, but now it's gone too. And look at the white hair here—"
"W-wait, wait a minute. Are you saying these are the changes? This is the effect of the golden apple?" Byakuya's face reflected in the mirror showed his confusion.
"Yes," Shinji nodded seriously, "Father, think about it. What is the most famous legend about the golden apple?"
"Women, including goddesses, desire it."
"Yes, what do women desire the most? Power? Obviously not. Compared to power, they value their appearance and figure more. You should know that women love beauty. That's why they all want to obtain the golden apple. Not only because the golden apple is a symbol of 'beauty,' but also because it can make them more beautiful."
"Are you saying that the true effect of the golden apple is—"
"Scar removal for scars, acne treatment for pimples, more radiant skin, and softer hair. In simple terms, it's beauty and skincare."
Although he had already had a vague idea of the answer, Shinji's words left Byakuya both laughing and crying for a while.
"Well, that's true. It indeed is a divine object that women can't resist... But, is that the only use it has?"
"No, it's not. After all, the golden apple was a wedding gift from Gaia, the Earth Mother, to Zeus and Hera. It can't have just that effect. The true power of the golden apple is self-optimization. Beauty and skincare are just the first steps in compensating for bodily defects. It will then internally adjust your body and enhance various aspects of your abilities. It's expected to take two to three weeks. But don't expect to become a Superman. No matter how much you optimize, it's still based on your physical foundation. Father, the most you can expect is an increase in magical resistance, going from twice that of an average person to the level of resisting one or two levels of magic."
"That's not bad. Health is more important than anything."
Upon hearing Shinji's explanation, Byakuya's last trace of regret vanished.
The golden apple, a famous treasure in Greek mythology, once caused a dispute between the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, indirectly leading to the ten-year Trojan War. Gilgamesh used it in exchange for the "Golden Babylon" from Scáthach's hands.
This treasure had no meaning for the bodies of the Servants Gilgamesh and Scáthach. If Scáthach were alone, she would never agree to give up her beloved motorcycle. But her four disciples needed it, and for the sake of their development, Scáthach eventually agreed to the deal.
It's worth mentioning that the treasures extracted from the Gate of Babylon are crystallizations of "materialized souls." Without a supply of magical energy, they eventually turn back into spiritual particles and vanish.
To prevent such a situation, Scáthach specially made a Rune Box to store the "golden apple" and prepared magical potions to be taken together with the apple, tailored to the specific characteristics of each disciple's body.
The four disciples, Shinji, Sakura, Kariya, and Byakuya, each had their shortcomings.
These shortcomings would limit their future development. However, the characteristic of self-optimization provided by the golden apple, combined with the targeted strengthening effect of the magical potions, could effectively compensate for their deficiencies and allow them to go further on their respective paths.
Scáthach hoped for a bright future for her disciples, and she hoped that they could carve out their piece of the sky.
This was Scáthach's expectation for her disciples and the expectation of every qualified teacher for their students.
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