To become a king and a magician

Morgan put down his teacup, his gaze towards Meryl turning cold: "For the past few years, you've always used the excuse that 'the crisis we've encountered isn't serious enough to warrant using Avalon' to avoid returning it to him. This sudden return... do you know what's about to happen in Japan?"

"Hmm... I'm not really sure, I just have this feeling."

"Are you still not going to unleash the all-seeing eye?"

"That's so boring! The most interesting thing is what you don't know, isn't it?"

Mary looked out at the darkness of the night.

"Giving Avalon back to him is just a precaution. Although it doesn't really matter whether Xia Chuan lives or dies, I still hope he lives right now. If he dies, this world will be very boring."

27. A man's duty is to shoulder the responsibility for his lover's future.

"Junior! What do you think of this outfit?"

On a shopping street in downtown Misaki City, inside a designer clothing store, Aozaki Aoko was admiring herself in a blue dress with the label still on, while calling her subordinate behind her for feedback.

"To be honest, I don't think you suit wearing dresses, Miss Aoko. If I were to choose, this denim outfit might be quite nice."

"I'm so tired of wearing jeans. Even I sometimes want to wear a skirt."

Aozaki Aoko went into the dressing room, changed into her original clothes, and came out saying, "Let's go, next place. None of the ones I've seen here are quite suitable."

"Yes Yes Yes......"

Natsukawa Tora sighed helplessly and followed Aozaki Aoko: "By the way, Miss Aoko, is this alright for us?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Going out shopping for clothes now? Aren't we supposed to be dealing with Nero tonight? Shouldn't we be using this last bit of time to focus or prepare?"

An hour and a half ago, after handing the scabbard to Ryougi Shiki, Natsukawa Torama bumped into Aozaki Aoko, who was out shopping for clothes, on his way back and was temporarily taken in as her bag carrier.

Even though it's been almost an hour, he still doesn't have a single bag in his hand.

Aozaki Aoko smiled and said, "That's true, but if you're too nervous, you might feel tired before the battle even starts. It's necessary to relax a bit. Also, because I left in a hurry last night, I left my luggage and change of clothes at the hotel. I'm still wearing Arcueid's clothes."

"Why not just go back to the hotel and get it? Is it really necessary to buy a new one?"

“Ah… how should I put it…” Aozaki Aoko scratched her head, “To put it bluntly, I’ve been wearing those clothes in that suitcase for four or five years, and I want to get new ones, so I might as well take this opportunity to throw them away.”

"..."

Natsukawa Tora remembered that Aozaki Aoko had said she didn't have much money either? She casually threw away her old clothes and then spent a lot of money to buy new ones. It would be a miracle if she had money. This is not how you spend money!

(I can't get along with these rich people.)

"Junior, over here, over here." Aozaki Aoko's voice came again, this time standing in front of a jewelry store. "Which of these necklaces do you think suits me best?"

"Miss Aoko, why are you asking me? Just buy whichever one you like." Natsukawa Torato shrugged. "You're not buying the necklace because of me, are you?"

"You're really stupid. A girl dresses up to get others to notice her."

"But Miss Aoko, you certainly don't have that thought, do you?"

Aozaki Aoko was speechless.

(Hmm...that's true...)

Even if she puts effort into dressing up, people who know her will probably be shocked and ask if she has some serious illness that makes her think about dressing up. In addition, she doesn't have a sweetheart and doesn't want to seduce men, so there is really no need for her to dress up.

Even so, she is still a young girl (27 years old)!

"Junior, you probably don't have any female admirers, right?"

"Uh...why do you say that?"

"Your way of speaking and thinking is clearly not attractive to girls. I'm sure you don't have many female friends, right?"

Is it too little?

Xia Chuanhu carefully considered his interpersonal relationships.

"No, actually, among me and the people I know, women make up the vast majority, and there are only a few men, none of whom have hands."

"real or fake?"

"It's true. I don't know why, but every time I go to a new place, I almost always meet women. I do meet men, but the number of times I interact with them is overwhelmingly small. Since graduating from high school, I haven't made any new male friends except for Weber."

Looking back now, Natsukawa Tora finds it unbelievable, yet it doesn't seem so unbelievable. After all, in Type-Moon, even if someone looks like a man now, they might turn into a woman someday, resulting in a severe gender imbalance.

(Does this child have some special physical quality that attracts girls?)

Aozaki Aoko was stunned, then her eyes lit up with curiosity as she asked, "Is there someone you like in there?"

"No."

"Isn't it?"

"Hmm... I wouldn't say there's no. After all, I'm a man, and I can't help but take a second look when I see a beautiful woman. Just like now, I like you, Miss Aoko."

"Huh? Really? You won't get a reward for making me happy."

"Miss Aoko, you're so beautiful. Unless someone has a special fetish, I don't think there's any man who wouldn't like you."

Xia Chuanhu smiled.

"However, my liking is only this much, and I have no intention of developing it further. In fact, I have no plans to find a girlfriend right now."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because I also have to take care of Grey, well, although it always seems like I'm the one being taken care of by her. Grey's hometown is a small village deep in the Welsh mountains, and her family asked me to bring her out and take care of her. Since that's the case, I want to at least take care of her until she can live independently."

Aozaki Aoko finally understood: "Hmm, so he's a silly older brother—what if there wasn't Gray? If there wasn't Gray, would you start dating right now?"

"No, not at all. This might sound funny to you, but I'm the kind of person who believes that if we're going to date, we should date with marriage in mind. Once I truly fall for someone, I'm responsible for her future and take it all on my shoulders. That's what a man does."

"But this kind of awareness is too early for me right now. I'm only twenty-two years old this year, and I can't even guarantee my own basic needs. If I go looking for a girlfriend in this state, wouldn't that be dragging someone else down with me? That would be too unfair to the person who likes me."

"So, I want to wait until Grey is completely independent, and I'm financially secure enough to spend money freely before I start looking for a girlfriend. I just don't know if anyone will still want me when I'm already in my forties."

How could no one want it?

Aozaki Aoko gazed at Natsukawa Torato's profile and suddenly laughed: "You'll definitely find one. As long as you keep thinking this way, you'll definitely find a woman who truly loves you back. I promise you."

We'll definitely find it.

No, I should say I'll definitely be attracted to you.

Women will surely come to you drawn by the brilliance of your will.

"Well then, although it's still a bit early, let's go have lunch now."

"Huh? Now? It's not even eleven o'clock yet."

"I'm hungry. I didn't eat much for breakfast, and with all that shopping just now, my energy was used up quickly. Don't worry, you won't have to pay. Lunch is on me."

"really?"

The sudden sharp gaze made Aozaki Aoko shrink back involuntarily: "W-what's wrong? Your gaze seems a bit off. Is my treat making you this happy?"

"There's some. Where should we eat if we're not going to eat here?"

"Let's go to the place I used to frequent."

--------------------------

An hour later, Aozaki Aoko finally understood why Natsukawa Torato's eyes lit up when she mentioned that she was treating him to dinner.

Because that was a rare opportunity for him to truly eat his fill.

Aozaki Aoko: "My wallet!!"

28. I am enough on my own.

Night fell unexpectedly.

As agreed beforehand, Arcueid arrived at the park under the cover of night.

It was already past nine o'clock at night. This area was a residential area, and not many people would come to the park at this time. Even if there were, the barrier set up by Natsukawa Torato and Aozaki Aoko would drive them away.

"Tiger, Qingzi, I'm here. Are you there?"

Sitting on a park bench, Arcueid shouted into the seemingly empty park. Shortly after her voice faded, the air in front of her began to distort abnormally, gradually revealing the silhouette of Natsukawa Tora.

Blinking as if she had noticed something, Arcueid couldn't help but laugh, "Looks like you're in excellent shape. Did you experience anything good while you were out with Aoko?"

"It's not exactly a good thing, it's just that we finally got to have a full meal after a long time."

Snapped!

A straight punch landed squarely on the back of Natsukawa Tora's head. Aozaki Aoko pressed his head down with a look of indignation: "You still have the nerve to say that? I did say I was treating, I really did say I was treating... but how could you eat almost the entire restaurant like that!"

At noon, Aozaki Aoko treated everyone to lunch, which ended with Natsukawa Tora almost making the restaurant manager cry, and then he was forcibly kicked out.

"Well, you can't blame me for this, Miss Aoko. You said you were going to treat me. Of course I thought I shouldn't eat too much and should restrain myself, but I just couldn't help it. I haven't had a full meal in so long."

"Huh? Didn't you eat enough? Didn't you get enough to eat at the hotel last night?"

"I can only say I ate about 50-60% full. If Shiki hadn't come then, I was planning to keep eating. I even used a hint magic trick so as not to scare the others."

(So ​​that's what that magic trick was for!)

Even Arcueid was speechless for a moment. His appetite was so huge; it was amazing that he could usually hold back his hunger.

"Hey Tiger, why don't you eat your fill usually?"

"I have no money. As you can see, Miss Aoko is already so upset about her wallet after I just had a full meal. If I were to eat my fill, I would already be washing dishes to pay off my debts."

"You should go wash dishes right now to pay off your debt! I'll have to save money for my next trip for the next year!"

Aozaki Aoko grabbed Natsukawa Tora's head tightly: "And another thing, now that you've had your fill, you'd better put in more effort, understand? If you slack off, I won't let you off the hook!"

"You don't need to remind me so many times, Miss Aoko, I know it myself."

As he spoke, Natsukawa Tiger had already looked toward the entrance of the park.

As if emerging from the darkness, Nero Chaos, dressed in all black, stood there.

Looking at the three standing together, Nero's cold face showed a hint of relief: "The princess's behavior is different. I thought she was prepared to die, but it turns out she is preparing to start the third round?"

"So you knowingly came to a trap?"

“It’s alright.” Nero showed no fear whatsoever. “Princess, mage, or one of my own kind. Whoever it is, in the end, they will all be devoured by me.”