To Become a King and a Magician 536-540

Title: Don’t Be Too Relaxed, or You’ll Get Outpaced

A short while later, in Naoki’s room on the second floor of the apartment.

Watching her younger sister sitting in front of the mirror, her face filled with tension, Rei sighed resignedly: “Hah, Merry really had to go and say something like that just now... Ayaka, you could’ve just refused.”

“I can’t.”

Ayaka shook her head slightly. “It was Naoki who took care of me. It wouldn’t be fair if my older sister repaid his kindness on my behalf. Besides, I might be staying here for a long time. I can’t keep letting Naoki take care of me forever. So, becoming a maid... Well, think of it as a part-time job.”

“A part-time job...” Rei smiled faintly. “Ayaka has really changed from how she used to be. Back then, Ayaka would never have said something like this. But... you’re going to stay here for a long time? Don’t you plan to return to that world, Ayaka?”

“At first I wanted to, but now I’m not so sure.”

Ayaka paused in thought, then looked at her sister. “It’s probably because I saw you... that I don’t want to go back anymore. Eh, Sister... are you and Naoki...”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but seeing the slight blush on her cheeks, Rei knew exactly what her younger sister was trying to ask.

Smiling, Rei picked up a hairbrush. “I’ll talk while I style your hair. Let me brush it first. Look, it’s completely messy.”

“Because two hours ago I was still on a plane.”

As she brushed Ayaka’s hair, Rei began telling her about her relationship with Naoki.

“My relationship with the Master—no, with Naoki—is just as you’re thinking, Ayaka. To outsiders, we could be considered a couple. I love him, and he loves me in his own ways. Though at first, I didn’t follow him because I loved him.”

“Eh? At first?” Ayaka looked slightly confused. “Sister, did you... only start loving Naoki recently?”

Rei nodded. “It happened after I truly interacted with him. When I first entered this body and met him, I only intended to repay a debt. Not just because he helped you a lot, but because he helped me too.”

Six years ago, in that vast underground cave, Rei—who always understood Ayaka in her own way—was directly rejected by her younger sister for the first time. She truly loved Ayaka, but her love was too heavy, too intense, making her unable to understand Ayaka’s feelings. She never truly cared about her sister’s thoughts, only doing what she believed was right.

If not for Naoki’s intervention and support, Ayaka would never have defied her sister’s will for the first time—and afterward, a serious mistake might have occurred.

In that sense, Rei was helped by Naoki, even if it was help she herself barely acknowledged.

“Also, the body I’m using now originally belonged to him. I essentially took it over. That’s why I willingly became his follower and helped him. But not long after, I started to fall for him.”

The trigger was the Holy Grail War two years ago.

On the second day after the Holy Grail War began, due to the schemes of Merry and Morgan, Naoki was brought to the brink of death. The Heroic Spirit’s power sustaining him was taken away, his mana was critically depleted, and his body was so weak he couldn’t move at all.

When Rei learned this, she felt not only furious, but also thought Naoki might die there.

All the other Holy Grail War participants at the time were high-tier or S-rank Heroic Spirits. Not to mention Grand-rank Heroic Spirits like Solomon. Naoki, having lost nearly all his power, had no chance of surviving such a situation.

That’s what Rei truly believed back then. After all, if it weren’t for Arcueid’s power keeping Naoki alive, he would have died.

But to her surprise, Naoki—who shouldn’t have been able to move even a single finger—stood up again and defeated his former friend who had gone berserk, using only his own strength.

“Even though he was betrayed by the person he trusted most, even though his enemy was his most important friend, he accepted it all in his weakest state and overcame it through his own power.”

The strength Scathach gave Naoki was merely enough to let him move again. It didn’t enhance his combat ability at all. At best, it restored him to the level of an ordinary human.

Yet, in the end, he won.

Because they were the same person, Rei could feel Manaka’s feelings toward Arthur. And when she saw Naoki directly defeat Arthur through Magecraft, Rei merged the images of Arthur and Naoki in her mind.

No—she replaced them.

She replaced [Sajyou Manaka] with [Sajyou Rei], and [Arthur Pendragon] with [Natsukawa Naoki].

“That’s when I, Sister, began to love Naoki.”

“Yes. After that, my feelings spiraled out of control. Using ‘replenishing mana’ as an excuse, I asked for kisses from him, and engaged in intimate physical contact with him on the sofa... Since he’s quite slow in some ways, he didn’t notice anything strange about me at all.”

Remembering how Naoki had blindly trusted every word and action she took back then, Rei felt delighted. It was truly wonderful to have a master so naively trusting—it allowed her to advance their relationship without him even realizing it.

“Then, I worked a little over these past two years, developing our relationship into that of a lover and follower. Sometimes, we even play roles like this to experience new sensations—Alright, stand up. Time to change clothes.”

“Okay.”

Listening to her sister’s story about the development of her relationship with Naoki, Ayaka began to notice a pattern. In their relationship’s progression... was it always her sister who took the initiative?

“Sister, has Naoki never once taken the initiative with you?”

“In normal situations, no. It’s hard to admit, but all his initiative basically goes to that succubus. But he never rejects my advances either—Ayaka, you should keep that in mind too, if you plan to make a move later.”

“Eh? M-me?!”

Ayaka panicked immediately. “I-I can’t. Besides, Naoki is your boyfriend... I don’t even have feelings like that for him...”

“But you like him, right?” Rei ignored her sister’s denial and tossed aside her shyness. “If you like him, you need to act fast. If you’re too relaxed, someone random might just swoop in before you do.”

“So, cheer up, Ayaka. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can always ask Sister—there, that’s good enough.”

After fastening the final ribbon on Ayaka, Rei gave her sister’s back a firm pat, as if giving her a push forward.

-

Title: The Rest of My Life

When Ayaka came downstairs, there weren’t many people left in the dining room. Gray and the others who had gathered there earlier had all left. Only Naoki remained, sitting alone on the sofa, eyes closed as if asleep.

“Is he sleeping?”

Ayaka sat down beside him. And whether it was the movement that woke him or not, Naoki suddenly opened his eyes, looking at Ayaka who had just taken her seat.

“Ayaka? Already changed clothes?”

“Ah... yes, just finished. Sister helped me.”

The maid uniform Ayaka now wore was the same as the one Rei wore—only without modifications. Ayaka’s uniform was completely unaltered. It was a very standard maid outfit.

As she adjusted a few parts of her clothing, Ayaka asked shyly, “So… what do you think? Do I look… bad as your maid?”

After being outshone by her own sister, then by Merry earlier, Ayaka now felt defeated twice in a row. She was truly lacking in confidence.

After a brief pause, Naoki said, “No, you look good. Very fresh. Well, Rei’s maid uniform is also great, but that might just be my personal bias. I feel she has more captivating qualities. This is the first time Ayaka’s worn a maid uniform. That pure, innocent feeling is wonderful. I really like it.”

“U-uh~~, r-really? If you like it, that’s good…”

Being directly praised by Naoki, Ayaka’s cheeks instantly flushed red all the way to her ears. Unlike Rei, who had high offense and low defense, Ayaka was typically low offense and low defense. She only became high offense and high defense when pushed to her limits. Right now, she was clearly not under that kind of pressure. Therefore, she had absolutely no strength to resist Naoki’s direct attack.

“Then, as Miss Merry said earlier, from today onward, I am your personal maid, Naoki. So, if you… if you need anything, just tell me…”

After calming herself, Ayaka imitated the mannerisms of a maid she knew and spoke to Naoki.

Seeing her half-hearted attempt at being a maid, Naoki couldn’t help but laugh. “Ayaka, you… don’t need to be so stiff. I’m not some noble with a terrible temper. You don’t need to act like this.”

“Eh… but Sister advised me to…”

“You don’t need to listen to Rei. She takes her role too seriously—though of course, I love her exactly like that. But you don’t have to copy your sister, do you? Not anymore.”

“Y-yes, that’s true.” Ayaka patted her chest. Because it had been so long since she last saw her sister, and because she had just arrived and wasn’t familiar with the place, she had become shy again.

After returning her mindset to normal, Ayaka looked at him. “Then, I’ll be your maid, Naoki. But I’ll probably be very unskilled, so I might not do a good job.”

“I don’t mind. Besides, there are already plenty of people taking care of me. If there are even more, I’ll truly turn into a lazy good-for-nothing.”

One Gray, one Rei, occasionally Merry reverting to her old job, and Riddell determined to maintain her position—these four had already pampered Naoki into near helplessness.

“By the way, Ayaka, are you planning to stay here for a long time? Don’t you need to return to that parallel world?”

Naoki asked another question.

Ayaka’s main reason for following Naoki to London had been to find Zelretch, so the other party could send her back to the parallel world. But judging from her actions now, it seemed Ayaka didn’t plan to return.

Meanwhile, Rei nodded under Naoki’s gaze. “Yes, I don’t plan to return there for now… I feel that if I go back, when I come again, there might be several strangers by your side, Naoki. I’d feel left behind and unable to catch up.”

“You’re overthinking it.”

“Maybe. But at least for now, I still want to stay here.”

Ayaka said as she shifted her position slightly closer to Naoki.

Hearing Ayaka’s confession, Naoki sighed resignedly. Without thinking, he wanted to reach up and ruffle her hair, but he quickly realized Ayaka wasn’t Gray. He pulled his hand back awkwardly.

“If that’s what you want, fine. It doesn’t matter how long you stay here. I can have someone arrange your identity documents.”

“Okay, thank you, Naoki.” After saying that, Ayaka paused briefly. “By the way, where are Gray and the others? Why is everyone gone?”

“Merry went back to sleep. Ciel too. The others have their own work. Artoria and Souji are currently teaching at the Clock Tower for me. Tomorrow, when they return, it’ll be my turn to teach. Gray went to wake up Tohsaka.”

Tohsaka?

(It must be Rin-senpai here, right? I remember this world is a few years ahead of mine. That means Rin-senpai is still studying at the Clock Tower now.)

Recalling the earlier conversation, Ayaka suddenly said, “So, in this apartment, besides you, there aren’t any other men?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Nothing. Just thinking… you really have a lot of relationships with women… Are they all your lovers?”

“…”

After a few seconds of silence, Naoki’s expression turned slightly awkward. “Eh, why is Ayaka asking such a thing?”

“Because Sister said you have many lovers. And besides the ones here, you also have lovers in Japan, right? So I was wondering if everyone in this apartment is also…”

“No, no! Of course not! Don’t just say things like that! Gray especially is definitely not!”

“…”

“Don’t look so disbelieving!”

(How can I believe that?)

Facing Naoki’s defense, Ayaka refused to believe a word. In her opinion, Gray was the most suspicious one—back in the parallel world, she had seen glimpses of it. Sometimes, Gray’s gaze toward her older brother was a little strange. A purely sibling relationship like that must have shifted slightly by now.

Perhaps it only needed one more trigger to change completely.

(But if the situation is like this, then my chances… hmm, there should be some. Just not yet.)

For now, Ayaka wanted to maintain things as they were.

“Naoki.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“From now on… no, perhaps… [I’ll be relying on you for the rest of my life].”

-

Title: Come Here, Beryl, Your End

While Ayaia subtly expressed her feelings to Naoki at the apartment, in a small alley in London—

A blood-soaked man was desperately running for his life.

It was a man wearing a black suit, red trousers, and glasses. If not for the wounds covering his body, one’s first impression would have been that of an elegant gentleman.

But now, anyone who saw him would only avoid him. Blood flowed from large and small wounds across his body, leaving a clear trail on the ground behind him. His once-neat clothing was torn, as if slashed by sharp knives.

This man’s name was Beryl, Beryl Gut. He was a magus from the Department of Botany. His reputation wasn’t good—though most magi did have poor reputations, Beryl was one of the most notorious.

He was a pure-blooded magus. After learning all the Magecraft and spells from his mother, he blinded her and abandoned her. He started a murder business, making assassination his profession. Due to his cruel methods, he struggled to survive even in the underworld.

“Werewolf”—that was how the Clock Tower referred to Beryl.

Judged purely by combat strength, Beryl was among the most exceptional of magi. But at this moment, if any magus saw his current state, they would never connect him to the infamous reputation he held in the Clock Tower and the underworld.

Because the famously ruthless killer was now in the position of his enemies.

“Hah… hah… Damn, damn… Where did that cruel woman come from…?”

Without time to erase the blood trail behind him, the wounded Beryl staggered into the alley, leaned against the wall, and collapsed helplessly to the ground.

He had been attacked ten minutes ago.

He had been going about his usual routine—after assassinating several people in the unseen shadows of London, he planned to enjoy a delicious breakfast. But on his way to the restaurant, a female magus, appearing from nowhere, suddenly attacked him.

Beryl knew he wasn’t popular. He had many enemies within the Clock Tower. So at first, he assumed he’d simply encountered someone seeking revenge.

But he quickly realized he was wrong—and it was a grave mistake. The female magus attacking him was incredibly strong, nothing like an ordinary magus!

Beryl still understood the level of modern magi. He had a rough idea. But the woman attacking him was different. She was far too powerful!

“Morfei le Jean… a name I’ve never heard. Where did this old woman come from? Did I have a grudge with her? Or was someone I killed before a relative of hers?”

“Neither.”

As Beryl was thinking, at the entrance of the alley, a figure wearing a white cloak blocked the sunlight.

Holding a royal staff, Morgan—who was using the name Morfei le Jean—gazed at Beryl hiding in the shadows of the alley: “Those who live in darkness instinctively flee into darkness when threatened. It’s because they’re more familiar with the dark than with the light. Isn’t that right, Werewolf?”

“But you’re not very lucky. This alley is a dead end. There’s no manhole ahead either. You walked yourself into a trap.”

Though she said that, Morgan had also deliberately driven him in this direction. There was no special reason—she just wanted to toy with this man who had a slight connection to her.

Three weeks ago, Morgan, who had originally lived near Glastonbury with her daughter, was visited by Merry for the first time. At that moment, Morgan was utterly shocked. The strongest hikikomori in human history had willingly left her apartment. For a moment, she wondered if she was dreaming.

And upon arriving, Merry frankly revealed her purpose—Naoki had received a list from Chaldea. It contained several magi selected by Marisbury to assist Naoki against the Human Order Burn. One of them was particularly disliked by Naoki, so he hoped Morgan could eliminate him.

Hearing Merry’s request, Mordred was extremely enthusiastic. The girl had become very obedient. There was no trace left of the rebellious knight. Essentially, she would obey 100% of what Artoria and Naoki said—even her own mother couldn’t compare.

But Morgan was slightly curious why Merry had asked her for help. As an answer, Merry gave Morgan a fragment of memory—while sneaking into Naoki’s dreams daily to interact with him, Merry had also glimpsed parts of the [Root Knowledge]. Within it was content about something called [Lostbelt Britain].

“After seeing this memory, you should understand why I asked for your help. Well then, I’ll be going. Don’t tell the King I was ever here. This time was my own initiative.”

After Merry finished speaking, she left. And afterward, after reviewing the clearly-edited memory, Morgan truly understood why Merry had asked for her help.

(A source of tragedy in many ways… It wouldn’t be a problem to eliminate him. It might even resolve things for that child—well, let’s think of it that way for now.)

Thinking this, Morgan aimed her royal staff toward the alley. With one more magical cannon shot, Beryl and the entire alley would be obliterated.

But just as Morgan began gathering mana—

*PU-CHI!*

Beryl, who had just stood up in the alley to make his final stand, suddenly had his chest pierced from behind. A blade stabbed straight through his heart without warning, then split his body in two. Both halves collapsed to the ground.

And behind Beryl, seeing the pale blue figure emerging from the deepest part of the alley, Morgan sighed with slight regret: “I didn’t expect you to steal him. Was this the child’s order, Miss Guardian?”

“No. This was my personal decision.”

Okita wiped the blood clinging to her body with magical tools and sheathed her sword: “And this method is better. Your Magecraft would cause a huge disturbance. Even though this area is deserted, it could still attract attention.”

“I see. If you kill him like this, even if the corpse rots completely, it’ll never be found, right?” Morgan smiled. “Extremely thorough. Truly the professionalism of the Shinsengumi.”

“…”

Unconcerned with the meaning behind Morgan’s words, Okita simply stared at her. After a moment, she turned her gaze away: “Deliver this message to Miss Merry—if you want to do it, do it. There will be someone to clean up after you. If you don’t do it, you’ll be the last one.”

A sentence that made no sense.

But Morgan understood why Merry wanted Okita to deliver that message. After laughing helplessly, she replied: “Then, give her this answer—whatever happens, I don’t care.”

-

Title: Team A Disbanded

One month after Beryl’s death.

Antarctica, Chaldea.

Naoki and Gray returned to visit this polar observatory.

After greeting Romani and Mash, and leaving Gray with Mash to keep watch, Naoki went to find Marisbury alone.

“It’s been over a month, Mr. Natsukawa. How have you been?”

In the guest area, Marisbury warmly welcomed Naoki’s arrival.

“My daughter hasn’t been troubling you, has she? I’ve heard from her letters—she wrote about your meeting on the Mystic Eyes Collection Train.”

“We only encountered a Dead Apostle Ancestor. Nothing too serious happened.”

Naoki said casually.

Seeing his indifferent attitude, Marisbury couldn’t help but be impressed: “Only that? Einnashe Forest. Even the Animusphere family, who live in the mountains, have heard of its name. And yet, in your eyes, it’s just an insignificant existence?”

“It’s not exactly that. How should I put it… I’ve seen far too many unbelievable and strange things. Compared to that, meeting an Ancestor isn’t particularly special.”

Thinking back, the events Naoki had experienced over the years—there was the Beast Baby incident, the Great Misaki City War, more recently the Holy Grail War, and the rebirth of the world in a parallel world… which of these hadn’t left a deep impression?

Compared to those, merely meeting an Ancestor truly couldn’t be considered anything too serious.

“Compared to that, Marisbury, my reason for coming today—aside from visiting Mash—is that there’s something I’d like to discuss with you. Look at this.”

Naoki suddenly pulled a document from behind his back and placed it on the table. Marisbury picked it up and looked it over. He recognized it as the list of candidate Masters he had given to Naoki a month ago.

There were no changes to the document. Aside from signs of having been read, it looked as if it were brand new.

“Is there a problem with this document?”

“It’s not the document itself. It’s about the forty-eight candidate Masters you wanted. I think… there’s no need to select so many.”

“I might be enough on my own.”

On his own?

Marisbury paused in thought: “Do you mean, Mr. Natsukawa, that in the process of restoring the Human Order, you don’t need the assistance we’ve prepared for you? You can handle it alone?”

“More or less.”

Abandoning the original candidate Masters and resolving future issues with Gray and the others—this was the idea Naoki had come to after a month of internal struggle.

Of the forty-eight Masters, Naoki didn’t know the circumstances of the others, but for several members of Team A and Fujimaru Ritsuka, Naoki had decided not to involve them. Though perhaps somewhat subjective, he felt it would be better for them.

At the very least, they could continue living peacefully within Human History.

Kirschtaria, Ophelia, Arou Myourenji—aside from Beryl, who was already dead, Naoki didn’t want them to die one by one in the Lostbelts. Whether it was the Burning of the Human Order or the Freezing of the Human Order, as the bearer of the Star Holy Sword, he would do his best to resolve it.

Of course, Naoki believed he had the ability to save them all. With Beryl now dead, Kirschtaria and Myourenji should be able to survive. He would also do his best to defeat the fire giant Surtr. Even if other accidents occurred, with himself involved, it shouldn’t be a problem.

However, this was only the ideal scenario. Naoki himself didn’t know what would actually happen. It might truly come to pass that situations arose which he couldn’t handle in time, resulting in their deaths one by one—rather than that, it was better to disband Team A from the start, and he would take full responsibility.

After all, the Bearer of the Star Holy Sword was meant to do this kind of work.

Marisbury fell silent, staring at Naoki. After a while, he said, “May I ask for your reasoning? Mr. Natsukawa, why do you want to take on everything alone? I know you’re strong, but isn’t this too much to bear? What if something were to happen to you…”

“I won’t be doing it alone. Otherwise, when I return, I’ll be punished by kneeling on a washboard again.” Naoki said with a bitter smile. “I’ll bring a few people I trust—say, Artoria, say, Aoko… Compared to the magi you’ve chosen, our team is clearly more reliable, right?”

Indeed, if they were Magicians, they were far more dependable than any magus. Given the connection between the Fifth Magician and Naoki, there was no way he’d refuse to help.

“Then, what’s your reason for doing this…?”

Still, Marisbury didn’t understand why Naoki was doing this.

After a moment of reflection, Naoki said, “Do you still remember the Root Knowledge I told you about earlier?”

“Whether by coincidence or not, I saw several people from this list within that Root Knowledge. For example, your beloved student, the young heir of the Wodime family—frankly, I witnessed their deaths in the knowledge I obtained. I find it deeply regrettable if they were to die so pointlessly. So now, I want to avoid that future in my own way.”

“Call it my own will.”

Will?

A self-assessment perfectly suited to the actual situation.

Simply because of the knowledge he had obtained, he felt these people didn’t belong in such a future, so he wanted to make changes now to alter their destinies—Naoki’s actions could truly be called an act of [will].

Resting his chin on his hand, Marisbury fell into deep thought, then—

“Canceling everything entirely might not be possible.”

“The construction of Chaldea relies heavily on support from the UN and the Mage’s Association. Even if just to appease them, I can’t fully entrust such an important task to you alone. You might not care, but for us, negotiations and maintaining trust with various parties are absolutely necessary.”

“However, what you’ve said also makes sense. Forty-eight people—now that I think about it, that is indeed too many. How about reducing it to two people?”

Two people?

Naoki frowned. “Who are these two people?”

“One you choose from this list, and the other—I’ll initiate a global selection of candidate Masters. At that time, we’ll choose the one with the highest adaptability as the second. How does that sound?”

One person already decided, and he had to choose the other?

“Fine.”

-

Title: Senior Akuta Hinako, Are You Interested in Saving the World?

Akuta Hinako—or Yu Meiren.

Right now, she was quite displeased.

As a fairy whose existence resembled that of a True Ancestor, she deeply despised humanity. Therefore, throughout the thousands of years she had lived in this world, she continuously hid and isolated herself, staying far from human settlements.

But now, she had been found.

Although this wasn’t the first time she had been discovered, this time the people searching for her seemed to be deliberately seeking her out. Not only did they figure out her whereabouts, but they also shamelessly conducted a thorough search, as if they would dig her out from every possible corner!

Yu Meiren didn’t understand. Who could possibly want to meet someone named Akuta Hinako so badly? Her identity as a fairy should have remained hidden.

Though she didn’t understand, the discomfort in her heart was real. If she could, she wanted to blow up the place and send the people searching for her flying into the sky!

“But… what’s with that woman? Is her brain equipped with a radar?”

Hiding inside a house, Yu Meiren observed the blonde girl outside. Her name seemed to be Sajyou. For some reason, her tracking ability was extraordinary. No matter where Yu Meiren moved, the girl could quickly find her.

In the past two weeks, she had been caught more than ten times. Each time, she had nearly been captured.

Over thousands of years, Yu Meiren could be considered an expert in hiding. If she truly wanted to disappear, even hundreds of bloodhounds wouldn’t be able to track her. Yet, the woman outside had a nose sharper than any dog—she had even forced Yu Meiren to flee into this city, a human gathering place!

Now, Yu Meiren felt deeply uncomfortable from head to toe.

(This place might not be safe anymore. I should move now, before she finds me.)

Thinking this, Yu Meiren prepared to rise—when suddenly, Rei’s voice came from outside.

“Master? You’ve finally arrived. Are your matters at the Clock Tower finished?”

“Yes. How’s your situation?”

“Almost got her, but she’s about to run again. She’s quite a difficult opponent.”

Two weeks ago, after discussing with Marisbury, Naoki had decided on one of the two candidates—Akuta Hinako. He had assigned Rei the task of finding her, while he returned to the Clock Tower, visiting the Department of Archaeology, the Department of Spiritual Evocation, and other departments.

Because the matters he had to handle were quite troublesome, arguing with the Lords was exhausting. Combined with his main job as a teacher, only today had he managed to find time to check on Rei’s progress.

Listening to Rei’s report, Naoki thought for a moment, then said, “Rei, do you have a rough idea of where she is?”

“There.”

Rei accurately pointed to Yu Meiren’s location. “Master, do you want to go find her directly?”

“No. Let her come out herself. Actually, it’s very easy to meet her—I just forgot to tell you earlier.”

Clearing his throat, Naoki looked toward the house where Yu Meiren was hiding. Amid the confused stares of the people around him, he shouted loudly: “Senior Akuta Hinako! I have a clue that can help you reunite with Xiang Yu! If you’re willing, can we meet? By the way, I’m also a fairy! Just like you!”

*CRASH!*

In a room not far away, a series of crashing sounds echoed.

A few minutes later, at a restaurant near the street.

Looking at Yu Meiren sitting across from him with a displeased expression, Naoki smiled and extended his hand: “Hello, Senior Akuta. Sorry to meet like this. I’m Natsukawa Naoki… As for my identity, you should be able to sense it, right?”

“Yes. Quite surprising. I never expected the person who forced me into hiding like this would be my own kin.”

Upon meeting Naoki, Yu Meiren immediately sensed it. Though not completely, the young man before her was indeed the same as her—a fairy born from the planet itself. Afterward, she also faintly sensed information conveyed directly by the world.

A later-born fairy, the third Star Holy Sword Bearer…

That was indeed an impressive identity, but it wasn’t enough reason for Yu Meiren to stop being angry at him. If Naoki weren’t her own kin, and hadn’t mentioned something about Lord Xiang Yu, Yu Meiren wouldn’t have sat here. She would have left with a disgusted expression.

“No need for formalities. About the clue you mentioned—reuniting with Xiang Yu… is it true? And how do you even know who I am?”

Yu Meiren thought she had hidden well. She had used the name Akuta Hinako for thousands of years without raising suspicion. Isolating herself in sparsely populated areas also greatly reduced the chance of exposure. Yet this junior in front of her had immediately revealed her identity.

How did the other party know?

“I once interacted with the Root and gained a great deal of knowledge. Including information about you, Senior.”

Naoki used his all-purpose excuse, one he’d used for years.

The Root—Yu Meiren knew of it. The existence that collected everything. The origin from which all things flowed. It was only natural that information about her existed there.

“The Root, huh… To coincidentally learn about me from that boundless knowledge, your luck truly leaves me speechless. If that’s the case, I have no choice. So, is what you said true? Do you have a clue to reunite with Lord Xiang Yu?”

“Yes. I think your goal can be achieved through Heroic Spirit summoning.” Naoki explained. “Xiang Yu is one of the most important figures in Chinese history. I find it unlikely he wouldn’t have a place on the Throne of Heroes. After all, even Li Shuwen from the modern era became a Heroic Spirit. There’s no way Xiang Yu couldn’t, right? He was the only Hegemon King in Chinese history.”

(This kid is good at talking.)

After listening to Naoki’s explanation, Yu Meiren’s dissatisfaction toward him drastically decreased.

(True. Lord Xiang Yu couldn’t possibly fail to become a Heroic Spirit. No one is more deserving than Lord Xiang Yu.)

“Then, do you mean that just by performing a Heroic Spirit summoning, I can call forth Lord Xiang Yu?”

“Yes. Normally, to summon a specific Heroic Spirit, you’d need a sacred relic connected to them—like a fragment of a weapon they used in life… But I don’t think Senior needs that, right? After all, you are Yu Meiren herself. The strong bond between Yu Meiren and Xiang Yu is more than enough to serve as a sacred relic.”

(This kid is really good at talking!)

Yu Meiren, usually solitary and never communicating with others, now genuinely found the junior in front of her quite likable!

Yet, Yu Meiren wasn’t naive. She still understood human relationships. Since Naoki was willing to tell her this, it meant he must want something from her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t go through the trouble.

“Judging from your tone, it seems you can help me with this so-called Heroic Spirit summoning. I assume this isn’t free, right? What do you want from me?”

“Just something very simple.”

Naoki smiled. “Senior, are you willing to save the world with me?”

The Holy Sword Bearer began saving the world.