To Become a King and a Magician

Ayaka was awakened by a scent.

Or more precisely, she was woken by her alarm, and on her way to the bathroom, she caught a whiff of it—the aroma of food.

Was someone in the kitchen making breakfast? But it should just be her alone in the house. Where did another person come from?

(It feels… off. I remember last night I…)

Arriving at the first-floor kitchen, Ayaka peered inside. She saw Naoki busy at the stove, wearing an apron.

Last night, she had let him stay over.

"Huh? You're awake, Ayaka."

Hearing footsteps behind him, Naoki, who was preparing breakfast, turned to look at her: "Sorry, I used your kitchen without asking. Breakfast will be ready soon, so you can go freshen up first. And please change your clothes—wearing just a nightgown in the morning might make you catch a cold."

"Oh… Ugh, huh?!"

After Naoki's comment, Ayaka realized she'd come out without even changing out of her nightgown! Since she'd always been alone at home, she'd gotten used to it. But now, with Naoki here…

(So embarrassing!)

Seeing Ayaka rush back upstairs to change, Naoki gave a small smile, turned back, and continued preparing breakfast.

Perhaps it was Arthur's influence, but when it came to making breakfast for Ayaka, he'd started doing it unconsciously before he even realized it. Even the breakfast menu was the same as what Ayaka usually made for herself.

(Sigh… Something like this got ingrained in you, Arthur?)

Maybe—a response like that came from within him.

But Naoki himself didn't mind the situation. Since he was staying over, doing something small like this was only natural. He couldn't possibly freeload at someone's house and expect them to cook breakfast for him.

Right now, rather than this minor issue, he was more concerned about something else—last night, he didn't meet Merry in his dreams.

Given the special circumstances, Naoki wanted to discuss things with Merry first. But strangely, despite falling asleep while thinking of her, he couldn't enter Merry's dream. Normally, Merry would actively pull him in.

Could Merry be having issues too?

Moreover, Manaka showed no reaction at all. Naoki had even taunted her, bringing up her dark past to provoke her. Under normal circumstances, she would've appeared to argue with him, but there was no response whatsoever.

(The Mystic Eyes seal is fine; I can feel it functioning normally… She just doesn't want to respond? Has her patience improved? Or is she plotting something?)

Right now, he was undoubtedly at his weakest. Unable to use summoning Magecraft was like having his ace card torn away. Naoki could only rely on his physical strength. Handling an entity like the Shadow Servant from last night was no problem, but if he encountered something stronger, it might be a bit tricky.

Footsteps came down the stairs from behind.

Taking the perfectly cooked bacon and sunny-side-up eggs from the pan and placing them on a serving plate, Naoki temporarily set aside his thoughts, brought the breakfast to the dining room, and smiled at Ayaka, now in her school uniform: "Sorry for the wait, let's eat."

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Ayaka was shocked, utterly shocked.

"Naoki, you can cook too."

Though it was just a simple breakfast, not much different from what she usually made herself, in Ayaka's memory, men generally didn't step into the kitchen. And strangely, she didn't find it odd that Naoki was cooking.

Naoki, who was washing dishes, turned and smiled: "Well, back when I was studying under my teacher, one of my friends was super picky about food. If I didn't cook well, she'd chase me with a knife, so I made a point to learn."

"Isn't that a bit extreme, getting chased just for not cooking well…"

"For others, maybe, but for me, it wasn't much different from a little spat. Besides, I learned to cook so that when I get married, I can make good food for my wife."

Wife?

Ayaka couldn't help but ask: "Does Naoki have someone you like?"

His hands paused briefly, then Naoki nodded slightly: "Yeah, though she's the kind of woman who's troublesome and annoying in every way."

"Annoying? But don't you like her?"

"It's not contradictory. Humans are very contradictory creatures. On cloudy days, people think, 'If only the sun were out,' but in the scorching summer, they think, 'If only there were no sun.' My situation's kind of like that."

So, overall he likes her, but she's annoying under certain conditions?

Ayaka sipped the warmed milk Naoki had prepared: "I hope you and she are happy in the future."

"Thanks for the well-wishes—Oh, it's almost time for school, right? It's nearly 7:30."

"Huh? It's the weekend…"

Ayaka was about to say she didn't have school today, but mid-sentence, she recalled what Naoki said yesterday—time in Tokyo was locked to 'today' and wouldn't move forward, meaning the 'weekend' would never come; it would always be 'Friday.'

So, she had to go to school today!

(By the way, the alarm went off this morning…)

Hurrying from the dining table, Ayaka rushed back to her room to pack her school bag. The morning assembly started at 8:40, and there were only ten minutes left—she'd be late!

"Will you make it in time?"

"M-Maybe not…"

"Then I'll take you."

Ayaka, preparing to head out the door, froze at his words: "You'll take me?"

"Yeah, though the method might be a bit rough and impolite. If you're okay with it…"

Rough? Impolite? What did he mean?

Ayaka hesitated briefly, but after glancing at the clock, she quickly decided: "Please, take me to school."

"Then wait a sec."

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Two minutes later.

On the rooftops of Tokyo.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH—!"

Clinging tightly to Naoki's neck in his arms, watching the city below zoom by, Ayaka couldn't help but scream: "Y-You're too reckless! Who does it like this?! Running across rooftops is too—ah!"

"Hold on tight, I'm going a bit faster."

"No—AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"