To Become a King and a Magician

In front of Fuyuki Station.

"Still no sign of him?"

Seeing Atalanta running toward her, Mordred asked with a worried expression.

Atalanta shook her head: "No, I've searched every train car we were on, and there's no trace of him. You?"

"I've scoured the entire station, but it's the same as you."

It had been half an hour since they returned to Fuyuki City via Shinkansen, and it was now seven in the evening. Half an hour ago, as per Naoki's request, Mordred intended to wake him just before they got off, only to find that Naoki, who had been sitting beside her, had vanished at some point.

At first, Mordred thought he'd gone to the bathroom, so she didn't think much of it. But even after she, Atalanta, and Gray exited the station and waited a few minutes at the entrance, Naoki didn't show up. Realizing something was wrong, they tried calling him, but strangely, his phone was completely unreachable.

Even now, despite Atalanta and Mordred searching the station and the train, they found no sign of him, as if Naoki had simply vanished into thin air.

Atalanta glanced at Gray in the distance, who looked utterly dejected. Since confirming Naoki's disappearance, Gray had been like this. For Gray, who lived with him, losing Naoki was like losing a family member.

Sighing softly, Atalanta said, "Let's take Gray back first and calm her down. Even though things are like this, that guy's… well, him. I don't think anything bad will happen."

"Y-Yeah…"

This was a man who could defeat a Servant head-on and even pull down the moon—practically a quarter of her kingly father. Mordred genuinely couldn't imagine Naoki in trouble… For now, she could only assume he was caught up in something he couldn't escape.

(You jerk Master, where the hell did you go…)

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Meanwhile, at Tokyo Station.

Standing amidst the bustling crowd in front of the station, Naoki closed his unreachable phone and couldn't help but sigh: "Do I really have a body like Conan the Detective? Every time I go somewhere new, there's always trouble. Can't I even take a family vacation in peace?"

Half an hour ago, after waking from his nap, he thought he'd soon arrive in Fuyuki City. He prepared to get off, but when he did, Naoki realized he was back in Tokyo.

He was certain he hadn't boarded the wrong train. It was definitely the one headed to Fuyuki City, yet the destination was here.

"Spatial transfer Magecraft? Or…"

His gaze shifted to the clock in front of him. Though it was indeed evening, if his eyes weren't mistaken, the date displayed was yesterday's.

Time reversal?

Was existence in this area reset to a specific point in time?

"No, that's not right either. If time in this area was reset to a specific point, I wouldn't have left the station. Last night at this hour, I should've been with Mordred at the barbecue restaurant."

Was it an incomplete time reversal?

Or just a time alteration?

After pondering for a moment with his hand on his chin, Naoki turned, dragged his suitcase, and re-entered the station—let's try again. Whether it was spatial transfer or time reversal, two or three more attempts should clarify things.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Four hours later.

Back at Tokyo Station once again, Naoki found a bench, sat down, and rested his slightly sore legs.

"Damn, this is actually happening?"

This was the third time he'd returned to Tokyo Station. In those four hours, Naoki first boarded another Shinkansen, staying awake the entire trip and watching for any anomalies, but nothing seemed off. Yet, when the Shinkansen stopped, he found himself back at Tokyo Station.

The second time, Naoki didn't take the train. Instead, he tried running back to Fuyuki along the Shinkansen route. But the place he ended up at was still Tokyo.

(Now I'm sure.)

This wasn't time reversal or spatial transfer. Nor was it mental interference. Ordinary mental Magecraft wouldn't affect him, and even high-level mental Magecraft would be automatically countered by the ritual left by Merlin.

This was a closed loop, a kind of barrier. He didn't know if it applied to everyone, but for Naoki at least, no matter how he tried to leave, he'd end up back at Tokyo Station. It was like a spiral staircase—climbing upward but always returning to the starting point.

There were no influencing factors in between. The path he took was fine, the passage of time was real, but the destination and starting point were set to be the same.

Easier to understand if you called it a Möbius Strip, right?

(Conceptual interference Magecraft affecting all of Tokyo?)

A grand idea.

Who did this? What was the purpose? What was the point of trapping him in the Tokyo area?

Naoki didn't know, but there was something else he needed to figure out urgently.

"11:57 PM, three minutes left."

The clock was nearing the next day. If his guess was correct, when it struck exactly midnight, the date wouldn't change—it would reset to today.

Or perhaps even earlier.

Three minutes passed quickly. After glancing at his phone, Naoki's ears caught the sound of the midnight bell.

In the bustling night streets, the bell's chime was quickly drowned out by the crowd, but it didn't stop Naoki from noticing the flow of time. Looking up at the clock, seeing the date unchanged, he sighed softly.

"As expected? Tokyo right now will keep repeating this day—what a hassle."

At that moment, his ears picked up a sound like metal scraping against the ground, as if something was being dragged.

Looking toward the source, Naoki's eyes narrowed briefly before he stood: "Looks like it's coming for me. Though this situation is a bit beyond my expectations. Using something like this against me—I really don't know what's going on in the mastermind's head."

A black horned armor, flickering like a mirage.

A pitch-black demonic sword, wavering between illusion and reality, wrapped in dark lightning.

A body appearing and disappearing like a misty cloud.

"Father… Father… Father…"

Like a Rebel Knight, a shadowy phantom invisible to ordinary humans appeared before Naoki, radiating a murderous aura.