To Become a King and a Magician 531-535

Title: One Strike!

The fading light of the shattered moon slowly vanished from sight.

The completely collapsed Millennium Castle disappeared into the glow. The surroundings reverted back to the rooftop of the shrine as it had been before.

Arcueid’s eyes shifted from gold back to their usual crimson. She exhaled in relief, looking up at Tatari hovering in the air: “Did you feel it deeply? That—was the true Moon Fall.”

“Deeply enough that I will never forget it.”

Tatari answered with a trembling voice.

When the Moon Fall struck him, he—something that should have been incapable of death—had felt a fleeting shadow of mortality he hadn’t experienced in ages. It was like being shoved to the edge of a cliff and forced to stare into an endless abyss.

Yet, he did not die.

“The Night of Wallachia will not end here. Though it is regrettable that the Princess’s Executor has been lost, I will not perish. You have no means to stop me. The ritual will continue throughout the night, until this entire city is consumed by me.”

“And all of you... unfortunately, I must invite you to be devoured alongside this city. You have defiled my stage, polluted my backstage. Your sins cannot be forgiven. So please, descend into hell and witness my eternal ceremony.”

As he spoke, Tatari’s body once again emitted thick black mist. An immense gravitational force formed a storm atop the roof, pulling everything around it mercilessly into the abyss within his form.

Just as he declared, he would consume Misaki City by any means necessary—until the city vanished completely, or until sunrise the next day.

However—

“No. Your ceremony ends tonight.”

Naoki, who had been shielding Ciel, stood up, embracing her. He turned to Arcueid: “You just used the Moon Fall once. Are you going to push yourself to use it again now? If not, we can switch roles.”

“Who are you underestimating?” Arcueid smiled faintly. “I only used the Moon Fall once. I’m still full of energy! As long as Naoki is by my side, my strength feels inexhaustible!”

As she said this, Arcueid gently snapped her fingers.

It was a simple, ordinary gesture. Nothing in the surroundings seemed to change.

“What are you—“

Tatari was just about to mock Arcueid for such a meaningless, powerless act. But before he could finish, an anomaly struck without warning!

Tatari’s main body floating in the air—the strange, orb-like mass of light—began rapidly shrinking! Compressing violently inward toward its core!

Blinding light suddenly erupted. And when the radiance faded, a human figure stood alone on the empty ground.

An elegant cloak, soft golden hair, a handsome face—his appearance was undeniably identical to Zepia Eltnam Atlasia.

“T-this... my body has taken physical form?!”

Tatari immediately grasped his situation. But overwhelming confusion quickly flooded his heart and mind.

“Impossible. Walachia returned to his original form?! How could such an absurd thing happen? Could it have been that direct strike earlier...? No, impossible. Even a True Ancestor noble couldn’t possibly revert me, a phenomenon, back to my original form!”

In truth, it wasn’t the Moon Fall that reverted Tatari to his original form—it was merely Arcueid’s finger snap.

What secret lay within that simple gesture?!

“Five hundred years ago, you made a contract with that Eclipse Princess of Black Blood to achieve the Sixth Magic, right?”

Naoki suddenly spoke. His words touched upon a distant past for Tatari.

“Altrouge Brunestud, the ruler of blood and contracts. You made a pact with her to attain the Sixth Magic and absorbed the power of the Red Moon. But that power isn’t eternal—it only lasts until the Red Moon descends again. That’s how it works, isn’t it?”

“I’m truly curious how you know this. That should have happened five hundred years ago in a parallel world unrelated to you.” Tatari paused, then replied. “Yes, it’s true. That’s exactly why I’m confused. The Red Moon should still exist in the future. The Night of Wallachia ritual I created should end a thousand years from now. Until then, I should remain in the form of Tatari!”

“What did the Princess do?!”

Tatari was bewildered—deeply, utterly confused. What was happening now should not occur for another thousand years. Why was it happening now?

Crossing her arms, Arcueid sneered: “It’s simple. When the magic ritual ends, you return to your original form, don’t you?”

“If a thousand-year-long ritual fails to allow you to complete your challenge for the Sixth Magic, then Night of Wallachia reverts to the Dead Apostle Zepia—wasn’t that the contract you made with Altrouge?”

“Lift your head and look to the sky, foolish kin. This is the end of your tiresome journey. In truth, this scene should have taken a thousand years to witness.”

Following Arcueid’s cue, Zepia looked up at the sky.

There, hanging in the heavens—the Red Moon.

“T-this... the Red Moon... a thousand years into the future?!” Zepia’s voice trembled with terror. “Impossible! Even time travel lies within the domain of True Magic. How could a moon from a thousand years ahead be brought here—Imaginary Manifestation?!”

“Yes, exactly. This is the Red Moon from a thousand years in the future, manifested by Arcueid.”

Naoki gripped the Holy Sword and stepped forward toward Zepia.

“Now, you can no longer transform into a phenomenon and escape as if nothing happened. This is your end, Tatari—time to finish it.”

Manifesting the moon from a thousand years in the future.

This was the strategy Naoki had explained to Arcueid beforehand. In truth, it was an idea Arcueid herself had conceived; he had merely informed her earlier. Had Arcueid said she couldn’t do it, Naoki would have attempted it himself—though he couldn’t have guaranteed success.

Stepping back several paces to lean against a pillar, Arcueid waved her hand: “From here on, I leave it to you, Naoki. I need to focus entirely on maintaining this state, so I can’t move. Ciel, assist Naoki as needed.”

“Assist... Sigh~ I understand.”

Ciel, who had been struggling to keep up with the rapidly shifting situation, finally found some calm—

“No. Ciel, just protect Arcueid. I’m more than enough on my own. Arcueid can’t move. Guard her there, so none of my stray attacks hit her.”

“Well... even though I said that—“

Lifting his arm, Naoki swung the Holy Sword horizontally, channeling mana into the blade, forming a colossal beam of light shaped like a sword.

Naoki smiled faintly: “There probably won’t be any stray attacks anyway—because this will end in a single strike. Probably.”

Raising the sword, he brought it down in a sweeping arc.

A slash of light, dozens of times stronger than an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, suddenly descended from the sky!

*BOOM!*

The aura of a star tore through the dark night sky.

And within the stream of light, Tatari’s form appeared pitifully weak and helpless—like a small boat caught in a storm. Easily overturned by the waves, he sank into the vast ocean.

Indeed, it ended in just one strike.

-

Title: Two Who Departed

Tatari was completely destroyed.

After Arcueid forcibly severed his contract with Altrouge, causing him to revert from a phenomenon back into a single individual, he offered almost no resistance when Naoki’s attack obliterated him.

No—perhaps it wasn’t entirely accurate to say he offered no resistance. He must have resisted.

To avoid the inevitable apocalyptic fate, and to seek hope for preserving this planet’s existence from countless ruined futures, he would never have abandoned his pursuit of the Sixth Magic—the pursuit of miraculous acts.

After Naoki attacked, he surely tried every possible method to resist or even escape. Yet, despite all his efforts, he could not escape. From the outside, he was utterly defeated in a single strike by Naoki.

Though it was merely a pure mana slash, its power was sufficient to rival an Anti-Army-class Noble Phantasm. It was not something a Dead Apostle could withstand directly with his physical body.

Therefore—

“That’s roughly the report. There are a few minor details, but essentially, that was the final outcome.”

Inside a room in the Clock Tower, Lord El-Melloi II presented a written report to the old man before him.

“Is that all, sir?”

“Yes, that’s all.”

Seated in his chair, reading a book in his hands, Zelretch showed no change in expression. Seeing this, Lord El-Melloi II could only sigh in resignation: “I understand. I’ll record it exactly as it is... Then, about Ayaka. Is it really alright to leave her there?”

“It’s fine. You don’t need to worry about that. In fact, it’s better that she stays there.”

Better there?

El-Melloi II reflected on the events of two years ago and Ayaka’s behavior over the past two years, then nodded in agreement.

Indeed, compared to staying here, going there should better align with Ayaka’s wishes.

At the very least, Naoki was there.

He just didn’t know how his students would react once this news spread. El-Melloi II, who knew his students’ personalities well, already felt a stomachache coming on.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

At the same time, in Naoki’s world.

Since Tatari had been thoroughly destroyed, as soon as Sion learned of his death, having completed her mission, she immediately bought a plane ticket to return to the Atlas Institute.

Naoki, Touko, Ciel, and Ayaka came to see her off.

“Thank you all for taking care of me these past two days. I’m truly grateful.”

Pushing her suitcase, Sion, standing at the station entrance, thanked the four people before her.

“I was supposed to defeat Tatari myself, but everything ended up in Naoki’s hands. Now I feel a bit embarrassed... How should I report this to the Headmaster?”

“Just say I did it, how about that?” Naoki said with a laugh. “Zepia should be able to accept that. And judging from our understanding, he already intended to ask me to help you. Just report the truth.”

“I’m still a little nervous. This was my first mission outside, and I didn’t do anything... But since Naoki says so, I feel more at ease. If the Headmaster gets angry, I’ll use you as my shield.”

Hearing Sion’s words, Naoki couldn’t help but laugh.

“Whatever you want.”

“Alright~~~ Ah, I need to board soon. This is goodbye for now.”

“I remember—you take a train to Tokyo, transfer to another train to the airport, then fly to Egypt, right? That’s really troublesome.”

“What can I do?” Sion said, putting on her backpack. She pushed her suitcase and waved at the four of them. “Then, I’ll go ahead. See you again if we have the chance, Naoki, Ciel, Ayaka, and Senior Touko.”

With that, Sion quickly entered the station, disappearing into the crowd.

Watching her from behind until she was out of sight, Touko extinguished the cigarette butt in her hand: “Such an energetic young girl.”

“Touko-san, saying that makes you sound old.”

“I’m still young.”

After responding to Ayaka, Touko also patted Naoki on the back: “Then, I should be going too.”

“Eh?”

This sudden statement left the three of them speechless.

Touko was leaving too?

“Why so suddenly?”

“What? I think this is the perfect farewell.” Touko laughed. “Did you really think I came here just to see the little girl off? I’ve already bought my own ticket—I’ll be boarding the next train.”

“I originally came back to Misaki City because of Tatari. Now that you’ve dealt with him, I have no reason to stay, right?”

Touko’s casual words surprised Naoki and the others slightly, but considering her personality, it wasn’t too shocking. After all, the two Aozaki sisters were alike—people who could never stay in one place for long. They always vanished without a trace.

Now, at least she had announced her departure—that was already extraordinary.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Naoki shook it: “I get it. But before you go, at least give me your phone number. So it won’t be like two years ago, when I wanted to find you but couldn’t contact you at all.”

“Finding me wouldn’t help you anyway... Well, alright. That way, I can occasionally crash at your place for meals.”

After entering her number into Naoki’s phone, Touko ruffled his hair vigorously: “Then I’m off. Just like Sion, see you again if we meet. Ciel, Ayaka, Naoki.”

Watching Touko’s figure fade into the crowd once more, Naoki rubbed his hair: “Seriously... why did she suddenly ruffle my hair? Does she still see me as a kid?”

“In some ways, yes.” Ciel laughed. “Now Sion and Touko are gone. What will you do next, Naoki? I’m under your command now, so I’d like to ask about our next objective.”

“Our next objective, huh...”

Naoki scratched his head.

“That’s right. Let’s return to the Clock Tower first. My leave of absence there is almost over, so I need to go back to work. Then there’s Ayaka’s situation. If the Old Man of Jewels can’t return her to her world, I’ll need to find her a place to live.”

And then there was Arcueid too.

She was just sleeping soundly now. Last night, maintaining the Red Moon from a thousand years in the future had required rare, intense effort from her. So as soon as they returned, she collapsed into sleep and hadn’t woken up yet.

In previous times, Arcueid always appeared, saw the problem resolved, then immediately returned to the Millennium Castle. This time, Naoki wanted to ask if she wanted to stay.

After all, letting her return to the Millennium Castle alone wasn’t ideal.

“Alright. For now, let’s go back and wake up the big lazybones, Arcueid.”

-

Title: Next Time, You Should Come Alone

Inside Arcueid’s apartment.

When Naoki and the others returned, Arcueid was already awake. Seeing the three of them come back, she immediately waved her hand.

“You’re back, hmm... I guess Sion and Touko have already left?”

“Yeah. I’m about to leave too. I can’t stay here much longer.” Naoki said. “Arcueid, what will you do?”

“Of course, I’ll return to the Millennium Castle.”

Arcueid answered with a natural expression: “Originally, I came out this time because I sensed Tatari’s emergence, and vaguely felt that you might come. So I left the Millennium Castle. Now that the problem is resolved, it’s only natural I should return to sleep.”

This was the same ending as always. In the past, Arcueid would leave the Millennium Castle to hunt Roa, and once finished, she’d immediately return. Now it was the same, even though she no longer had to face Roa.

“Then, have you ever thought about not returning to the Millennium Castle?” Naoki suddenly asked. “After all, you’re just going back there to sleep. Wouldn’t it be better to live outside instead of being alone in that castle?”

Live outside?

This was a choice Arcueid had never considered.

“Living outside... Well, how exactly would I do that? I’ve never tried living outside continuously. Do you really want me to stay outside, Naoki?”

“Yes, I do.”

Naoki spoke frankly: “Honestly, I can’t keep letting you stay in the Millennium Castle forever. Back then, when your power still resided within my body, it didn’t matter. You could see the outside world through my eyes. But now, not even a trace of your power remains in me. If you go back, you’d truly only be able to sleep.”

“To be honest, I think that kind of life is terrible. Maybe by living outside, you could experience more enjoyable things.”

“I see... Hmm, I can feel a very genuine emotion from you, Naoki. This is truly what you think.”

With Tatari gone, the vague connection between Arcueid and Naoki had returned to normal. Being in the same room like this, they could clearly sense each other’s state.

So Arcueid could tell that Naoki genuinely hoped she would stay in the real world.

After a moment of thought, Arcueid shook her head: “No, it doesn’t seem necessary. I’d rather return to the Millennium Castle.”

“Why?”

“As for the reasons, hmm... specifically, there are two.” Arcueid raised three fingers. “One, my own condition.”

“Even though the urge to drink blood was suppressed once by Ryougi Shiki seven years ago, that only eliminated the portion accumulated over the previous eight hundred years. The underlying thirst itself hasn’t disappeared. It’s still building up even now. Remaining in sleep is the best way to suppress that thirst. So I must return to the Millennium Castle and sleep to keep it under control.”

“The second reason—do you really have that much free time to spend with me, Naoki?”

While the first reason was understandable and acceptable to Naoki, the second one left him slightly confused.

Not because he didn’t understand it, but because he was surprised Arcueid would even ask such a question.

Arcueid began counting on her fingers: “Let me think. First, there’s the succubus you like the most. Then, there are two Root magi who are extremely possessive. Then there’s Gray, and Lord Riddell, your fiancée. Plus, there’s that Magician who shows up from time to time... Oh right, here in Japan, Ryougi Shiki and Atalanta also demand you return for one week every month.”

“And you have your own daily responsibilities too. I feel like if I stayed here, I’d actually end up feeling lonelier—“

*PLAK!*

Before Arcueid could finish, Naoki suddenly slapped her head.

After a brief silence, Arcueid immediately started complaining: “Naoki, why did you hit me!”

“Are you really Arcueid? That doesn’t make sense. Are you really smart enough to understand things like this? Shouldn’t you be dumb?”

“You’re the dumb one! Extremely dumb! Stupid Naoki!” Arcueid stomped her foot in frustration and punched Naoki’s chest hard. Unfortunately, despite the forceful appearance, Naoki only felt it like a light drizzle.

Meanwhile, listening to Arcueid’s analysis, Ciel and Ayaka stared at Naoki with various expressions.

“Succubus, Magician, Lord, Magus... Naoki, you really have a lot going on.”

Ciel, as a member of the Burial Agency, knew a fair amount about the Church’s corruption. Some of the Church’s high-ranking officials were little more than beasts in human form. She never expected Naoki would have a tendency to head in that direction too?

Even though she knew Naoki was a good person, such an extensive network of romantic relationships...

“Maybe I should’ve left with Touko earlier.” Ciel faintly sensed danger.

Ayaka felt the same.

She knew Naoki and Aoko were a couple, but she never imagined that besides Aoko, Naoki had so many other lovers. One of them was even a Lord who was already engaged!

Even a playboy wouldn’t be like this!

At the same time, Ayaka also realized an important piece of information for her—among Naoki’s lovers, there were “Root magi.” If she remembered correctly, her older brother seemed to be connected to the Root. And on top of that, Naoki had previously mentioned that her brother worked as a maid in his household...

“Naoki.”

“What is it, Ayaka?”

“You’re a pervert.”

“Eh?! Why are you suddenly insulting me!”

“Because you deserve it, stupid Naoki! Why are you corrupting so many women?”

Arcueid laughed and said: “So, Naoki, you’d better stay in the real world with them. Our next meeting will have to wait until another time. I hope that next time I leave the Millennium Castle, you come alone to keep me company! This time there were way too many people!”

“And don’t worry about me feeling lonely in the Millennium Castle. Even if I can’t speak, I’m always watching over you.”

“I see.”

After a soft sigh, Naoki laughed: “If that’s what you want, I won’t force you to stay. Goodbye, Arcueid. I don’t know when we’ll meet again.”

“Yeah, goodbye, stupid Naoki—next time, you must come see me alone!”

-

Title: Sister-in-Law? Brother-in-Law!

Morning arrived, accompanied by the sound of an alarm. In Naoki’s room, faintly lit by sunlight, Rei awoke from her master’s bed.

Drawing the curtains and seeing the bright morning outside, she stretched her body.

“Another sunny day—did you wake up too, my other self?”

[Woke up at the same time as you. Good morning.]

“Same to you, good morning.”

Rei and Manaka always had a good relationship. Though they occasionally argued over time-sharing, usage rights, and hierarchy, overall their relationship was quite harmonious. After all, they were essentially the same person. Currently, they even shared one body—they had no choice but to get along.

Of course, a more important reason was that they didn’t want to worry others. If they caused their master to worry, that would be backward. Though admittedly, making their master worry did feel nice sometimes.

Rei didn’t have her own wardrobe, nor did she need to wash her face or brush her teeth. As a Mystic Code made from a Philosopher’s Stone, she only needed to reconstruct her body to clean herself.

Clothing was the same. She didn’t need to wear clothes—she could manifest any outfit anytime, anywhere. This was also one of the reasons she was so beloved by her master. Unexpectedly, he had a deep fondness for various uniforms. And since these were manifested clothes, he never had to worry about waste. Even if they tore, he could just summon a new one instantly.

A duplicate of one of the seven main weapons of the Atlas Institute—Rei knew exactly what her original body was now. But she cherished the abilities that came with it more than her weapon-like nature.

Because her master loved her.

“What should I wear today? The master is returning today. Should I wear the maid uniform like during the Mystic Eyes Collection Train incident, pretending to be a servant to welcome him home? What do you think, Manaka?”

[Isn’t that too cliché? We wore the maid uniform just a week ago. It’s too soon to repeat it.]

“Then, how about changing the stockings to black-and-white thigh-highs?”

“The white ones with garters would be better, and just white.”

“That’s true. But that means we’ll need to slightly adjust our body shape—otherwise, we can’t fully express that feeling.”

Because of the other self within her, Rei didn’t spend much time dressing up like other women. Moreover, she had only one fashion principle: as long as the master liked it.

So—

“Hmm, this should be enough.”

A white lace-trimmed apron, a black dress with a slightly shorter skirt, white gartered thigh-highs, a hair ribbon, and a subtly modified girl’s figure.

Standing in front of the mirror, she held her skirt and spun several times. After confirming there were no major issues, Rei smiled contentedly: “Good. Today, I’ll welcome the master home in this outfit. Coincidentally, tonight is our turn. It’s quite troublesome that our ‘coincidental’ turn happened to fall on today.”

[Midnight is mine.]

“Okay. But if you can’t handle it, I’ll come out myself.”

“You too. Don’t make me come out earlier than planned.”

Rei was the earliest riser in the apartment. Though she was a maid, she was also the caretaker of the entire Camelot Apartment. She had to prepare three meals a day, clean the apartment, and wake everyone up.

In Camelot Apartment, there weren’t many lazy people. Rei and Gray, as caretakers, went without saying. Artoria and Okita, as swordswomen, were always disciplined. They would wake up on their own for morning training without needing Rei to wake them. In their opinion—even in times of peace, physical training must never be neglected.

Both of them were now Heroic Spirits who had obtained real bodies. They had tangible forms. If their bodies weren’t trained regularly, they would weaken—a result they refused to accept.

And the newly arrived Miss Crane was similar. But compared to those two punctual risers, Miss Crane didn’t “wake up”—she simply never slept at all. She was indeed a huge fan of beautiful girls. Seeing so many lovely girls in Camelot Apartment, she was extremely excited. She constantly worked overtime designing new outfits.

If no one supervised her, she might work overtime until every outfit was complete. Besides, she was also a Heroic Spirit, so the concept of dying from exhaustion didn’t apply.

Therefore, Rei didn’t need to wake Miss Crane. On the contrary, she had to force her to sleep and rest—specifically by physically knocking her out.

Thus, the only two people Rei needed to wake were two: the apartment’s sole tenant, Tohsaka Rin, and the apartment’s “landlady” Merry.

The first because she often stayed up late researching Magecraft, so she couldn’t wake up on her own in the morning.

The second simply because she was lazy.

And for such a lazy succubus, Rei’s method of waking her up was slightly special—almost the opposite of what she used on Miss Crane.

Pushing open Merry’s bedroom door, the first thing Rei saw upon entering was Merry lying in bed in disheveled clothes, as if having a rather inappropriate dream.

Succubi didn’t need sleep. It had always been that way. When her master was around, Merry wouldn’t sleep. Every night, she would sneak into her master’s dreams in various forms to have fun. But now that her master was gone, she could only satisfy herself.

[She’s most likely daydreaming. Give her a heavy blow, my other self.]

“Agreed.”

Rei raised her right hand high, reconstructing her right arm into a large hammer. Then she slammed it down on the lazy heap in the bed!

*BAM!*

Accompanied by a loud crashing sound, Merry, who had been enjoying a pleasant dream, instantly woke up. She looked at Rei, who had returned to her original form, with slight resignation: “Can’t you use a gentler method to wake me up, Rei?”

“All my gentleness belongs to the master. Nothing is left for you.” Rei said with a smile. “And today is the day the master returns. As his first greeter, don’t you plan to wake up early to welcome him?”

“But it seems you’re already ready.” Merry looked Rei up and down. “You’re always ready to attack.”

“Hmm—hmm? This reaction...”

Rei, who had just agreed, suddenly froze, then her lips slightly curled upward: “It seems the timing is perfect. Merry, hurry up and get dressed. I’ll go down first. The master has returned.”

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

In front of the Camelot Apartment.

Pulling his suitcase, Naoki looked at the building before him: “Sigh~~ finally back. I didn’t pay attention to the time difference, so when we landed, it was still dark... Sorry, Ayaka, Ciel. We can sleep now.”

“It’s fine. I can still endure this level.”

“Me too. I slept on the plane.”

Ciel and Ayaka said they were fine. Then, both of them also looked at the Camelot Apartment before them.

This was the place that would become their future home?

(Called an apartment, but in reality, it’s this guy’s harem palace.)

(My older sister is inside...)

With different thoughts, Ciel and Ayaka both felt slightly tense. Of course, the reasons for their tension were different.

As for Naoki, he was completely unaware of their tension. He walked toward the door, took out his key, and naturally opened it. And as the door opened, a shadow immediately appeared in their view.

“Welcome back, Master.”

Rei said this to Naoki with a smile on her face.

Normally, Naoki would respond and give her a hug. But now...

“You... my sister-in-law?”

“Eh? A-Ayaka?”

Seeing Ayaka appear behind Naoki, Rei, who had initially been overjoyed, froze in place.

-

Title: Personal Maid

Rei had once been an all-knowing, all-powerful magus. In principle, there was nothing in this world that could surprise her. Nothing like that existed, nor could it ever happen—even after she was severed from the Root.

But now, something truly shocking and unexpected had actually occurred.

In the apartment’s dining room.

Seeing Ciel and Ayaka sitting across from her, eating the freshly prepared breakfast, Gray—who hadn’t seen them in a long time—smiled and said, “Long time no see, Sister Ciel, Sister Ayaka. I never expected you’d come here. I’m quite surprised.”

“Because we don’t have anywhere else to go for now.”

Ciel answered while eating breakfast. There had been food on the plane, but it was barely edible. Compared to that, Gray’s breakfast tasted far better.

“I’m no longer part of the Church. Moreover, I’ve been helped by your older brother and am indebted to him. Until I can repay that debt, I probably won’t have a place to go.”

“I see… What about you, Ayaka?”

“I’m more or less in the same situation.”

Ayaka, when asked, momentarily averted her gaze from the person sitting across from her: “I suddenly ended up here because of the Marshall Wizard. If I want to return, I can only ask the Marshall Wizard for help. Originally, I came to London with Naoki because I wanted to look for him at the Clock Tower.”

“But now I’m a little… hmm… not too eager to go back…”

Rubbing her temples with a headache, Ayaka turned back to the person standing beside Naoki across the table: “Sister… what are you wearing? And earlier, I heard you call Naoki ‘Master’… What have you done to my sister, Naoki?”

“It’s not me who did something to her. If anything, you should ask your sister.”

Naoki put down his noodle chopsticks.

“Well… I guess I need to explain from the beginning.”

After gathering his thoughts, Naoki explained in detail about himself and Rei.

Starting from ten years ago, when he went to Blackmore Cemetery and obtained a copy of Logos React from Zepia. Then, he learned Puppet Magecraft from Touko. Later, he won the Holy Grail War in a parallel world, using the Greater Grail as an energy source for Logos React and charging it with the leyline of Fuyuki City…

“—Then, two years ago, before I left, I planned to retrieve the Logos React stored within Fuyuki’s leyline. But when I returned, the Logos React had already transformed into Rei’s form.”

“She herself claims that, after being defeated back then, her soul and consciousness didn’t perish with her body but managed to escape into the leyline. She naturally entered the Logos React, and when she awoke, she had already merged with it.”

“Since then, she’s been following me. She says it’s because I helped her greatly back then, so she wants to repay me this way—well, if you call it repayment, it’s true enough.”

Only now, that repayment had taken on a different flavor. In fact, Naoki himself now felt slightly afraid of her “repayment.”

After listening to Naoki’s explanation, Ayaka finally understood her sister’s current situation. The heart that had initially shattered slightly upon seeing her sister become a maid now healed a little: “I see… Sister, you’ve done something for me again without my knowing. Actually, I myself could repay Naoki too.”

“Ah… Ayaka, that part…”

Rei, who had just been touched for a moment because her sister understood her, heard the second half of Ayaka’s sentence and immediately changed expression. But before she could say anything, a somewhat indistinct voice came from outside the door.

“Oho, oho, oho, so that means… little Sajyou also wants to become our King’s personal maid?”

Along with the voice, Merry appeared before everyone’s eyes. And whether intentional or not, she was only wearing a shirt—one that wasn’t properly buttoned. Half her shoulder was exposed, seemingly for someone’s benefit.

Come to think of it, Naoki remembered that shirt was his.

Seeing this suddenly appearing beautiful woman with white hair, Ciel and Ayaka—both meeting Merry for the first time—froze in place.

(She’s incredibly beautiful…)

(A super gorgeous woman… ugh, I can’t compare.)

Unlike Ciel, who didn’t care much about appearances, Ayaka had, over the past few years, started to care about her looks like any normal girl. Initially, she’d been fairly confident in her appearance and often dressed according to fashion magazines.

But the moment Merry appeared, she felt utterly defeated!

“Good morning, everyone. Sorry, last night I got too carried away with my fantasies in my dreams. When I woke up today, I couldn’t help but reminisce again.”

Walking past them as if no one else existed and greeting casually, Merry immediately sat on Naoki’s lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

This sudden physical contact shocked Ciel and Ayaka deeply.

“Eh… eh? T-this…”

“English people really are as bold and open as rumored.”

“These two are exceptions.” Rei corrected Ciel’s misunderstanding. She reached out, grabbed Merry’s collar, and pulled her away from Naoki. “Merry, I know you want to be close to the Master, but the Master is still eating. Restrain yourself a little.”

Wiping saliva from the corner of her mouth, Merry smiled: “You say that, but Rei, you’re also holding back pretty hard, aren’t you? I hope I won’t have to buy a new bed at the furniture store tomorrow.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll take responsibility for fixing it.”

“Good.” Brushing aside Rei’s hand still gripping her collar, Merry looked at Naoki: “So you’ve finally decided to come back, my dear King? After the Mystic Eye Collection Train ended, you immediately flew to Japan with Touko. I thought you’d been kidnapped.”

“I remember I called… So, shall I keep you company tonight?”

Naoki asked hesitantly.

The corner of Merry’s lips slightly lifted: “That’s a very tempting offer. Unfortunately, tonight is Rei’s turn. So I’ll take tomorrow—so, are these two girls here your new little sisters you’ve brought home? I just heard little Sajyou also wants to become your personal maid?”