A Certain Multiverse's Holy Right

Roy reclined in his ornate chair, his fingers idly caressing the ancient ring in his hand. Its aura of mystery made him contemplative.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The door behind him sounded with rhythmic tapping.

Without turning his head, Roy said calmly, "Come in, Erica."

He didn't need to look to confirm. Only Erica dared enter his quarters unbidden. The other staff aboard the yacht were far too afraid of disturbing their king.

As the door opened quietly, a faint, sweet fragrance wafted into the luxurious cabin. Roy's sharp senses recognized the scent—it was Erica's perfume, mingled with the subtle aroma of her favorite bath soap.

Turning to face her, he saw the young Italian knight standing poised in the doorway. Her usual red ceremonial dress had been replaced with casual attire due to its damage. Her golden hair, still damp from her bath, clung slightly to her shoulders, steaming faintly in the cool air. Her freshly bathed skin glowed, soft and dewy, with a faint blush accentuating her youthful beauty.

"Your Majesty, I've finished cleaning up. Should you require my service…" she began, her voice clear and lilting, tinged with an elegant allure that was somehow more mature than her age suggested.

Roy smiled faintly, leaning back further into his chair. "No rush. The salty scent of the sea isn't pleasant, but it's not intolerable."

His gaze boldly swept over her. Erica's skirt revealed slender, ivory legs free of the stockings she usually wore, her bare feet adorned in red heels. Even the faint blue veins on her feet were visible under her fair skin.

Confidence came naturally to Roy, and his elevated status only amplified his composure.

Erica, catching sight of the ring in his hand, tilted her head slightly, sensing its subtle magical aura. "Your Majesty, the object you're holding emanates faint traces of magical energy. It looks ancient—could it be a divine relic?"

Roy nodded. "It's something I found at the site of what may have been Solomon's Temple. If the excavation reports are accurate."

"Solomon's Temple?" Erica's eyes sparkled with recognition. "Isn't that the archaeological discovery in ancient Jerusalem that made headlines recently? The so-called First Temple? It caused quite a stir, though many questioned the authenticity of the findings. Despite his reputation for wisdom, there's been so little concrete evidence of King Solomon's existence. He's revered for his achievements, yet many doubted he was a real historical figure."

A spark of excitement lit up her face as she spoke. As a representative of the magical elite, Erica took great interest in ancient relics and historical mysteries.

"I was on-site when the excavation was happening," Roy remarked casually. "It seemed interesting, so I used an authority to tear open a hidden section of the ruins. That's where I found this ring."

Hearing his nonchalant admission, Erica forced a smile. Typical of a Campione—heedless and audacious, even toward historical treasures.

"You first appeared publicly in Jerusalem, Your Majesty," Erica mused. "That event marked the start of your notoriety. At the time, a mage from the Greenwich Assembly was involved in the archaeological work and caught wind of your actions. Since then, you've become a mystery to the magical community. Every association has tried to investigate your origins, but no one has found anything."

Her tone was candid, but she seemed unafraid of offending Roy. As his knight, she felt an obligation to share what she knew. Besides, she trusted that her king was already aware of these efforts.

"Does that include the Copper-Black Cross?" Roy asked, his expression unchanged.

"It does," Erica admitted without hesitation. "But the Greenwich Assembly conducted the most thorough investigation. They meticulously profile every living Devil King."

Roy chuckled, unfazed. "Let them investigate all they want. Even if they use witches or mike to divine my past, they'll come up empty."

His certainty intrigued Erica, but she knew better than to pry.

Whatever secrets lay in his past were beyond her reach—and perhaps beyond this world's comprehension.

"Miko and witches have a fascinating ability called clairvoyance," Roy remarked, shifting the topic. "They claim to receive divine visions, glimpsing both the past and the future. Do you know where their so-called 'revelations' come from?"

Erica furrowed her brow thoughtfully before shaking her head. "My ancestors included a Devil King like yourself, and he also had faint traces of witch blood. However the blood was weak, so the secrets of clairvoyance have always eluded us."

"That's fine," Roy said with a wave of his hand. "Just listen closely. This world can be divided into three realms. First is the Material World, where we live. Beyond it lies the Boundary of Life and Immortality, a realm magicians call the Netherworld. And beyond that, you'll find the Realm of Immortality, home to the gods."

Roy's voice grew steadier, tinged with authority. His studies under Aiwass and his own deductions had unveiled much about the nature of this world. He had come to see it as a flawed yet internally consistent version of the Kabbalistic Four Worlds.

"The so-called Realm of Immortality isn't what most imagine. It's not a place where gods live as we do. Instead, it's more like a repository of information—a seat of records for all divine myths and stories. These records adapt and change based on how they're remembered in the Material World."

"If one could truly reach the Realm of Immortality," he continued, "they wouldn't find living gods. What they'd see are incomprehensible streams of data—concepts, not beings."

It has a similar concept to Throne of Heroes and Heroic Spirits from Fate, but Erica won't understand that.

Erica was listening to Roy intently, her blue eyes wide with curiosity.

"The Netherworld," Roy explained, "acts like an Akashic Record, storing all events that have ever transpired in the Material World. When witches or miko perform clairvoyance, they're tapping into these records. Their visions of the past come directly from this stored information."

"And the future?" Erica asked, her interest piqued.

Roy smiled. "Their glimpses of the future are less divine prophecy and more probabilistic prediction. By analyzing patterns and trends within the Netherworld's data, they extrapolate the most likely outcomes. It's essentially a form of Laplace's Demon. They use complete knowledge of past events to predict future possibilities."

As he spoke, he twirled the ring between his fingers. "In the end, what some call clairvoyance or divine foresight is just a more advanced form of logical deduction."

Roy shook his head and said in a leisurely tone, "Sometimes the more you learn, the more ignorant you feel. But sometimes when you know enough, you will find that things are just that simple."

"That… explains so much," Erica murmured, her voice tinged with admiration. "The mystery of witches' powers, reduced to such elegant simplicity. Your knowledge, my King, is truly extraordinary."

For magicians, knowledge was the ultimate pursuit. Erica couldn't help but marvel at Roy's insights, her respect for him growing with each revelation.

Roy chuckled. "The Vatican library is a treasure trove of ancient texts accumulated over the past 2000 years, many of which delve into these topics. Its archives are far more valuable than their priests, in my opinion."

Then, his tone shifted. "Now tell me, Erica. Where can I find the most gifted witch or miko in this world?"

Erica blinked, caught off guard by the question. After a brief pause, she answered, "If you're looking for Europe's most powerful witch, there's no one more renowned than Lady Alice Louise of Navarre. She's the daughter of the late Duke Gordon, former leader of the Greenwich Assembly."

"She is known as the White Princess," Erica added with reverence, "a title that befits her unparalleled spiritual talents."