To Become a King and a Magician 518-520

Title: Because of a Personal Grudge

A few hours later.

Inside the apartment.

When Touko, having finished her business, and Ciel, done with her investigation, returned, they saw Naoki sitting on the apartment’s sofa. Ayaka had just come out of the bathroom, wearing pajamas and drying her hair.

[Accidentally walking into the room of a young couple who just finished doing something.]

That impression immediately crossed both their minds. It wasn’t that they deliberately thought this way, but Naoki and Ayaka’s appearance perfectly fit the scenario, especially given Naoki’s attitude toward women…

Touko took two steps back. “Naoki, are you so desperate that you brought home a girl you just met?”

“Why would you even think that, Touko?” Naoki shot her an exasperated glance. “Let me introduce you. This is Sajyou Ayaka, my friend from a parallel world. She’s Rei’s younger sister.”

Rei’s younger sister?

The younger sister of the maid who followed Naoki in the Train Collection Mystic Eye incident?

Touko’s gaze toward her student grew even stranger. A hint of shock also appeared in Ciel’s eyes.

“Naoki, you… uh… forget it. As long as you’re happy, it’s not like this is the first or second time.” Touko said.

“I think you need to reflect on your actions, Naoki.” Ciel added.

Hearing their sudden and strange remarks, Naoki felt a bit confused, completely unaware of why they said such things.

Unlike Naoki, who was as dense as a block of iron, Ayaka, who already had certain thoughts in her heart, perfectly understood the meaning behind their words.

After giving Naoki a meaningful glance, Ayaka bowed slightly to Touko and Ciel. “Hello. I’m Sajyou Ayaka. Due to an issue with the Wizard Marshal, I’ve temporarily come to this world from a parallel one. I’ll be staying here until I can return. Please guide me.”

“You’re really a polite kid. I’m Aozaki Touko, a puppeteer. You can just call me Touko.”

Honestly, Touko rarely met such well-mannered kids. Besides this Ayaka, only Gray had been like that. The others—whether Naoki or someone like Ryogi Shiki—well, it was partly because Touko herself didn’t enjoy befriending others.

“Hello, Miss Ayaka. I’m Ciel, formerly a member of the Church, but now just an ordinary person with nowhere to go, taken in here.”

Ciel responded politely as well.

(Ciel… is she a senior from this world?)

Ayaka had heard from Zelretch that in different parallel worlds, there might be people who were the same but not entirely identical. The person before her now might be the same senior she met during high school in her parallel world.

Compared to the Ciel in her memories, the current Ciel seemed more mature. Though her appearance hadn’t changed much from her school days, her overall aura was different.

(She has the aura of a warrior who’s been through a lot. If she was once part of the Church… she must be an Executor.)

Over the past two years, Ayaka had had some dealings with the Church. She knew a fair bit about Executors and had even interacted with them a few times. Frankly, those were tough experiences, as the Executors never spoke to her kindly.

This was the first time she’d met one she could talk to amicably.

“By the way, Touko, Ciel, you’re back, so your business is done?” Naoki asked.

“Yeah, nothing major, just meeting an old friend to reminisce.” Touko said, sitting on the sofa and lighting a cigarette. “That Magus’s existence is so strange. No matter how much time passes, they don’t change. Exactly the same as when they were young. Beowulf hasn’t changed either. But for a Phantasmal Species, a few years are probably like a blink of an eye.”

She visited the Kuonji residence and then met Beowulf?

Seeing Touko like this, Naoki knew her meeting with the Magus had gone harmoniously.

“What about you, Ciel? Any progress on the Dead Apostle investigation?”

“No specific progress. I could only gather some small clues, like the recent vampire attack incidents.”

Since one of the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors had mentioned there was an Ancestor here, Ciel didn’t think the vampire rumors were mere gossip. But if it was an Ancestor, after all this time, the impact shouldn’t be so minimal.

Back then, Vlov had only appeared for two days and already put the entire Misaki City on edge, even causing numerous casualties afterward. Nero Chaos was the same—almost no one in the hotel survived.

Among the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, aside from those whose locations were already known, the rest were unpredictable. Whenever they appeared somewhere, they caused chaos. It should be the same this time.

Yet, in reality, Misaki City was calm. The vampire rumors remained just that—rumors, mixed with many others, merely one of the city’s many urban legends.

“No leads… That’s normal. After all, Tatari’s nature is different from other Ancestors and doesn’t cause constant disturbances.” Naoki said.

“Tatari?”

The name from Naoki’s mouth made Ciel frown. “Naoki, you know which Ancestor we’re dealing with?”

“Though I only found out recently. After we parted ways, I ran into some things.”

Naoki explained to Touko and Ciel about being attacked by Tatari disguised as Arthur and about Tatari itself.

After hearing his explanation, both Ciel and Touko showed deep, contemplative expressions.

“A Dead Apostle that doesn’t truly exist… and comes from a parallel world. As Rita Rozay-en said, this is a very unique situation.”

“It exists as a phenomenon, appearing temporarily in places where rumors gather—this Dead Apostle will be very difficult to handle.”

Over the past few years, Ciel had defeated Ancestors before, but that was thanks to sufficient information from the Church and experiences gained from prior victims. Tatari was different. It was an alien Ancestor from a parallel world, one that didn’t exist in this world. Or rather, a newly born Ancestor.

To deal with it, they’d have to start from scratch. But its existence was limited to these few days. If they couldn’t defeat it now, who knew when they’d get another chance?

“Are you thinking of ways to deal with Tatari?” Naoki asked Ciel. “Your way of thinking hasn’t changed, Ciel. No, it’s changed a bit, but you still prioritize handling things alone—think about me being here too.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Tatari—because of a personal grudge.”


Title: Rei: Why Did My Little Sister Come?

Naoki’s words made Ciel pause for a moment.

She wasn’t surprised that Naoki would step up to face Tatari. But hearing what he said, Ciel felt a bit exasperated.

“Naoki, you just told me not to act alone, and the next second you say you’ll take down Tatari… Aren’t you doing the same thing as me?”

“Huh? Am I? Maybe it’s just a habit of mine.”

It wasn’t that Naoki was unwilling to work with others; it’s just that the opponents he’d faced in recent years didn’t require teamwork. He could handle them on his own, so he had fallen back into his old habits.

“In that case, let me rephrase. Ciel, if you want to deal with Tatari, I’ll gladly help you. I think Touko and Ayaka feel the same, right?”

“Yes, I came here specifically for this issue.” Ayaka replied firmly.

Touko scratched her head awkwardly. “Don’t just drag me into this without asking… Well, I don’t mind lending a hand, but I’m not interested in fighting Tatari myself. You guys can handle it. With Naoki around, you can take down anyone, right?”

“Touko, you really have faith in me. There are beings in this world even I can’t handle.” Naoki said with a wry smile. “Besides Touko and Ayaka, Ciel, don’t forget who owns the apartment we’re staying in.”

“The True Ancestor… Arcueid.”

Ciel hadn’t forgotten. As an enemy, Arcueid was undoubtedly the strongest and most difficult type to face. But if they could make her an ally, the battle situation would be heavily in their favor.

But was that even possible?

“Naoki, do you think the True Ancestor would help us?”

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem. If she refuses, I’ll threaten to not take her out for a walk.”

A threat?

Not taking her out for a walk?

What kind of threat was that?

(No, considering that True Ancestor’s personality… Naoki’s threat might actually work.)

Arcueid was a True Ancestor who had lived for 800 years. But during those 800 years, her active time was probably only about a month. Plus, she rarely interacted with others, making her childlike in some ways.

And to deal with a child… just use the carrot-and-stick approach.

“In short, we don’t need to rush to deal with Tatari. Our combat strength is more than enough. We just need to wait until the night it fully manifests. Until then, let’s take it easy.”

“But one thing to note: Tatari will create fake existences based on the information lingering in this city. For example, impostors disguised as people you know. Touko, Ciel, if you encounter them, be careful.”

Disguising as acquaintances?

Touko scoffed. “I’d love to see what it looks like. I have plenty of complaints and grudges against my acquaintances.”

Normally, she couldn’t act on them due to keeping up appearances, but with an impostor, she wouldn’t need to overthink it. Even if Tatari disguised itself as Aoko, Touko would be delighted—if True Magic wasn’t factored in, Aoko might not even beat her.

Ciel, meanwhile, maintained a calm expression. “Understood. I’ll be cautious when I go out to investigate later.”

“Good—then, it’s getting late. Everyone, get some rest.” Naoki said, standing up from the sofa. “But we might need to rearrange the room assignments. There’s no separate room for Ayaka… Ayaka, would you rather sleep on the sofa or share with someone?”

The apartment had only four rooms, originally enough for one person each. But with Ayaka here, someone would need to share.

“Touko, Ciel, could either of you share with Ayaka?”

Naoki asked this deliberately, excluding himself.

Ayaka felt a bit disappointed but said, “I can just sleep on the sofa. There’s a blanket here I can use.”

“No need, Miss Sajyou. You can sleep with me.” Ciel said, shaking her head. “Even though it’s summer, you could catch a cold sleeping under the AC in the living room. And it’s not polite to let a guest sleep in the living room. If you don’t mind, sleep in my room.”

“Well… in that case, I’ll be troubling you.”

(Sleeping with my senior? That never happened in my world either… but my senior disappeared after that, so there was never a chance.)

Ayaka didn’t have many memories of Ciel. After all, they hadn’t known each other for long, just a year or two. And after the major incident caused by her sister was resolved, Ciel disappeared soon after. The Church said she was transferred elsewhere.

Now, meeting her senior again in a parallel world, Ayaka felt a bit nostalgic.

“Looks like the arrangements are settled.” Naoki smiled. “Then, everyone, head back to your rooms to sleep. See you tomorrow.”

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

At the same time.

In London, England, on the other side of the world.

Inside Camelot Apartment.

“I wonder how Master is doing in Japan now.”

While cleaning Naoki’s room with Gray, Rei let out a slightly worried sigh.

Before he left, she had secretly contacted Ciel, asking her to keep an eye on her master’s behavior to ensure he didn’t do anything strange in a place she couldn’t monitor. But for some reason, starting today, Rei suddenly felt an odd premonition.

She felt that something big would happen after Naoki returned.

Seeing her like this, Gray suggested, “Rei, why don’t you ask Sister Merry? She has Clairvoyance that can see Big Brother’s situation from London, right?”

“I don’t really want to owe that Succubus a favor… If I do, it’ll be hard to repay.”

“Then I’ll ask for you.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, please.”

In Camelot Apartment, Gray basically acted as the mediator. As the apartment’s darling, she got along with everyone. So, asking her to check with Merry was the most suitable choice.

Gray left quickly and returned just as fast, coming back to Rei’s side in about a minute.

“How did it go, Gray? What did Merry say?”

“Sister Merry said Big Brother is fine, but because of the Wizard Marshal, he’s temporarily taking care of Sister Ayaka there.”

“Thank goodness… wait, Gray, who did you say Master is taking care of?”

“Sister Ayaka. I remember she’s your younger sister, right, Rei?”

Rei: “…”

(Why did Ayaka come to this world?!)


Title: The Vengeful Arcueid

Naoki was used to waking up and finding a woman lying beside him.

No need to look far—just take the most recent example. During the Train Collection Mystic Eye incident, Rei was almost always by his side. It would’ve been strange if he woke up and didn’t see her.

But that was because Rei had been following him for a long time. Naoki distinctly remembered that last night, there was no one beside him when he went to sleep. So why, when he woke up now, was there a woman next to him?

And—

“Why are you staring at me, Arcueid?”

At this moment, the person lying beside Naoki was none other than Arcueid herself. But rather than lying down, she was sprawled on the edge of the bed, gazing at him as if studying him, with the innocent smile of a girl, as usual.

“Observing you.” Arcueid said with a perfectly natural expression. “I’m a True Ancestor. By nature, I’m an individual of the same race as you. But compared to you, who will surely become a perfect fairy, I’m an individual with flaws.”

That flaw was her blood-sucking urge. Every True Ancestor had this flaw, and Arcueid was no exception.

“So, I want to observe a true fairy to see how I should fix my flaws. That way, I won’t have to keep sleeping in the Millennium Castle and can come out to play with you anytime, Naoki.”

As she spoke, Arcueid reached out with both hands, shamelessly feeling Naoki’s body as if trying to find the differences between them.

However, as Arcueid’s hands moved, Naoki could clearly feel them creeping toward a rather dangerous area. He hurriedly jumped out of bed and swatted her hands away. “Alright, that’s enough. Stop there.”

“Huh? Why? Did I hurt you?”

“No, it actually felt kind of nice when you touched me… Anyway, it’s not your fault, it’s mine. Unlike you, who’s so natural, we humans have a bit of shame. There are some parts we don’t want others to touch.”

“Is that so?” Arcueid looked slightly puzzled. “Well, if you say so, I guess that’s how it is. I see, shame… I need to pay attention to this knowledge if I want to live in the modern world.”

Though she could access all sorts of knowledge from Gaia, Arcueid mostly used it to track Roa’s location and gain basic understanding of modern society. Beyond that, she didn’t care much for other knowledge. After all, in the past, her mind was solely focused on eliminating Roa, and she didn’t care about anything else.

Seeing Arcueid’s thoughtful expression, Naoki suddenly felt she might have misunderstood him, but also not entirely.

(Whatever, as long as she stops. If Rei and the others aren’t around, I need to be more careful.)

Naoki wasn’t an automatic flirt machine.

Getting out of bed, Naoki put on the clothes hanging on the chair. “By the way, when did you get back, Arcueid? I sensed you came here a few days ago, but you returned really late last night, right?”

“It’s all your fault! Stupid Naoki!”

Arcueid, who had been as quiet as a literary girl a second ago, instantly transformed into an extremely annoyed cat-like girl. “Do you know how long I waited for you at that factory? Since we hadn’t seen each other in so long, I deliberately planned the best way for us to reunite. I wanted a memorable reunion with you!”

“In the end, I picked the perfect spot and waited under the moonlight for hours. Instead of you showing up, I got ambushed by a bunch of small-time ghouls. After dealing with them with minimal effort, I decided to come back and sleep. I didn’t expect you to already be fast asleep!”

Arcueid grew angrier. She strode forward, cornering Naoki against the wall. “I’m so mad! I’m really mad right now! Stupid Naoki! I tried contacting you through our connection, but you didn’t respond at all! You could’ve at least picked up the phone!”

“Or do you want me to cut you into eighteen pieces?!”

(That would actually kill me!)

Naoki was now the inheritor of the Holy Sword. The Avalon within his body could heal any wound quickly, as long as it wasn’t fatal—just minor injuries. But that didn’t mean he could survive being cut into eighteen pieces. The Holy Sword couldn’t bring him back to life.

“Arcueid, calm down. I had a reason for not meeting you last night. Honestly, I’m not lying!”

“Hmm~?” Arcueid’s brow twitched slightly. “Tell me. If it’s not a convincing reason, I’ll send you to the Mariana Trench.”

(Isn’t that the deepest trench in the world?!)

Naoki felt a chill. He didn’t think Arcueid was joking, because she was fully capable of doing it—not sending him to the actual trench, but creating one on the spot. Though it would take time, she could manifest a trench with her empty imagination.

Probably.

“Listen, Arcueid. Last night, I actually ran into some things…”

To avoid being sent to soak in Mount Fuji’s lava tomorrow, Naoki recounted in detail his encounter with Tatari last night. Naturally, he also mentioned Ayaka.

After listening to Naoki’s explanation, Arcueid, with her arms crossed, fell silent for a moment. Then, she instantly dropped her angry expression and smiled brightly. “Hmm, I can accept that reason. Naoki didn’t intentionally stand me up. I’m satisfied knowing that.”

“But based on what you said, you really didn’t sense me calling you last night?”

Naoki nodded. “Not at all. I think there are two reasons. One is interference from Tatari. I don’t know how it works, but it wasn’t just our connection—my fairy senses were blocked too.”

“As for the other reason, it’s definitely the parallel world issue. The Wizard Marshal said there’s a problem with the axis of the two worlds, causing them to overlap. That might be the cause.”

“I see…”

After thinking for a moment, Arcueid clapped her hands. “Alright, then. Let’s take down that Dead Apostle called Tatari, Naoki.”

“How dare it interfere with our reunion and create a bunch of fakes last night. Even if it’s an Ancestor, it’s so low-class—I don’t like it.”

“So, Naoki, let’s take down Tatari~~~”