To Become a King and a Magician

In front of Tokyo Station.

It was already two o'clock in the afternoon. With the return to Fuyuki City approaching, quite a few kids had already gathered here.

Among them were Naoki and Mordred, who had just finished their adventure in Akihabara.

Seeing her brother fully embracing his otaku side—buying piles of anime figures, various wall scrolls and posters, and several large bags filled with manga and magazines—even Gray was momentarily at a loss for words. She had so much to say that she couldn't open her mouth.

"Hmph hmph hmph~ I really bought a ton of good stuff. Too bad my hands weren't enough, or I could've kept shopping."

Naoki now regretted not being a Magus with an imaginary attribute. If he were, he could just stuff everything into an imaginary space and buy as much as he wanted.

Quietly approaching Gray, Mordred extended her hands with a hint of resignation: "Sorry, I tried to stop him, but Master said he bought all this for research purposes. They're all materials and templates needed for his magecraft research project…"

"Materials… Oh, I see."

Gray understood immediately. She knew Naoki's puppet-making had reached its final stage, only needing enough Mana to complete the last step. He must have bought these items for that.

When you thought about it that way, it made sense.

Approaching Naoki, Gray took a few bags: "Let me help carry some, Big Brother."

"Oh, careful. There's a lot, and they're kinda heavy."

"This much weight I can handle."

Seeing Gray's sudden understanding, Mordred quickly ran to Atalanta's side, asking with a shocked expression: "Gray gets it? Could those things actually be related to Magecraft?"

"Don't ask me, I wouldn't know." Atalanta replied. "But I can think of similar things. Like idol worship or something. Those little dolls might have an effect similar to divine statues, and the posters could be like wall paintings…"

"Really?"

Mordred was half-convinced, half-doubtful, then glanced back at Naoki.

At that moment, Ayaka, wearing her school uniform, suddenly appeared behind Naoki: "Natsukawa-sama, are you leaving?"

"Oh, Miss Sajyou." Naoki turned around. "Yeah, it's time. I haven't caused you any trouble these past two days, have I?"

Ayaka nodded. Lately, spiritual phenomena and school matters had already consumed her time. If Naoki had caused more problems, she might've been overwhelmed.

Fortunately, as he'd promised, Naoki hadn't caused any major chaos these two days.

"You came to say goodbye?"

"Yes, I was your temporary overseer. I thought I should know where you're headed, though this task will soon be handed back to Tohsaka-san." Ayaka said. "Despite what happened before, I hope you had an enjoyable time in Tokyo."

Enjoyable?

Naoki thought about what he'd done these past two days and smiled: "It was pretty fun. I felt a bit relaxed, which is rare. There were some things I wanted to dig into, but since I'm leaving, I won't pursue them too deeply. I doubt you'll need it, but I'll give you my phone number anyway."

"Eh?"

Looking at the phone number handed to her, Ayaka blinked in slight surprise: "This…"

"How should I put it? Call it me being nosy. If you run into trouble, don't hesitate to call me. If the situation allows, I can help—consider it repayment for troubling you these two days, and for the coffee."

"Coffee… You're too kind." Ayaka smiled.

"Hey! Master, get ready to board the train!"

Mordred's voice called from a distance. Naoki waved, then said to Ayaka: "Well then, see you again if we get the chance, Miss Sajyou."

"Safe travels."

Waving to Naoki, Ayaka let out a sigh of relief only after watching him enter the station.

With that, it was over.

"Feeling unsatisfied?"

"Wah!"

Ciel's sudden voice from behind startled Ayaka. Turning around, she said irritably: "Senpai, please don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, sorry." Ciel grinned. "He's gone?"

"Yeah, just entered the station. With that, this temporary oversight duty is over… It feels unreal."

For Ayaka, these two days had passed like any other. She'd expected to be a bit busier with the added oversight task.

Ciel smirked slyly: "So, feeling unsatisfied?"

"Unsatisfied about what?"

"What do you think? But anyway, him not adding to our workload is good enough. If something like Fuyuki City or Romania happened, we'd be exhausted—oh, what did he give you earlier?"

"His phone number. Said I could call if I'm in trouble. Though I doubt I'll need it." Ayaka said. "By the way, Senpai, about yesterday's incident, any results?"

Ciel nodded: "About that, actually…"

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

On the train.

"Master, why'd you give her your number?" Mordred asked curiously. "Don't tell me you like her?"

"It's just Arthur's idea. In another parallel world, the Ayaka there was Arthur's previous Master before me. Meeting her here, his foolish kindness kicked in, and he couldn't help wanting to look out for her out of affection."

Naoki tapped his chest.

"Well, I don't care. For things he wants to do, I generally won't object, though he's never too vocal about it himself."

"I see… I thought I was getting another Mother Queen."

"What are you talking about?" Naoki flicked her forehead in annoyance. "It's a four-hour trip back. I'm gonna nap. Wake me up later."

With that, Naoki closed his eyes and dozed off. Though he'd only woken up not long ago, after getting so excited in Akihabara, plus the hangover, he felt a bit sleepy.

(Just a short nap…)

With that thought, Naoki fell into a deep sleep. In his dreams, he vaguely heard what sounded like a train announcement—

[The next stop is Tokyo, the next stop is Tokyo.]