To become a king and a magician

With her hands behind her back, Meili looked at Natsukawa Tora with a smile.

"It's been several days since I last saw you. Have you missed me?"

"Hmm...no." Natsukawa Tora thought about it carefully for a moment. "Ah, no, I have thought about you once or twice."

"Only once or twice?!"

Mary was on the verge of tears, wiping away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes with both hands.

"You were so passionate about me before, saying you couldn't live without me, but you never even thought of me, Your Majesty, you heartless bastard!"

"You think this kind of acting can fool me?"

Xia Chuanhu sighed helplessly, then walked up to Meili, raised his hand and gently patted her head—then chopped her down with a chop!

Boom!

The sudden attack immediately made Mary cover her head and crouch down!

"What are you doing! It hurts!"

“Yesterday I heard something from Yad. It seems there was a rumor that I like being stepped on?” Natsukawa Tiger squatted down in front of Meryl and smiled kindly.

Mary's dissatisfaction froze instantly: "Well... did he say it or not? He's getting old and can't remember many things. It was probably just something Yad made up."

"Smack!"

Natsukawa Tora delivered another chop to Meryl's head.

"If you keep talking nonsense, it won't be a chop to the neck, it'll be a punch."

"Yes, yes, I am so sorry, my dear King."

Brushing the petals off her clothes, Mary pouted as she stood up: "Sigh, I finally came all this way to spend some time alone with you because I missed you, and you just chopped me twice right away. Tiger, you've become so rude ever since you left me."

"Really? I think this is better for you. For someone like you who's always looking to cause trouble, you need to be toughened up to teach them a lesson."

"Waaaaah~~~ Tiger, you're bullying me~~~ I'm going to tell Little Grey on you!"

"How old are you? Still tattlering... Who do you think Grey will believe?" Natsukawa Tora sighed, walked to the tree in the sea of ​​flowers, took Mary's hand and sat down together, and then put his arm around her.

Ever since that time when Merry went too far in his dream, Natsukawa Tora has become a little bolder when he's with her, and he's gradually gotten used to things like holding her hand and sitting with her in his arms.

How are things going on your end?

"Not so great, just like always," Meryl laughed. "The Mage came by a couple of days ago, visited your room, and then disappeared again. The two in Misaki City are still running Garan no Dou. The Clock Tower is the same as always, no one has changed much. If I had to say something, it would be that Little Waver is working overtime more often, and that little girl named Reines keeps coming to ask when you're coming back, right?"

It seems that nothing has changed.

"And what about you and little Grey?"

"Nothing has changed over there, just like over there, but some interesting things happened today."

"Hmm? Something interesting? Tell me about it!"

Mary immediately perked up.

Seeing her interest, Natsukawa Tora had no choice but to recount what had happened in the mall to her. After hearing the retelling, Meryl couldn't help but show a rather aunt-like smile.

"Hmph~~~ So that's how it is. You've charmed so many people just by changing your clothes... Tiger, you really are showing signs of becoming more like Arthur."

"Save my breath, I can't be a prince charming."

"That's Gawain. It's quite unusual that you would go out to buy clothes."

"Buying clothes was just a side thing; the main purpose was to buy a swimsuit. The eighth class card appeared at the beach. I was thinking that I had never taken Gray to the beach before, so this was a good opportunity to take her there."

The seaside.

Mary nodded: "Yes, that's true. Kids should definitely go to the beach. But I have to remind you, don't get any bad ideas about little Grey in her swimsuit."

"Who would? If I were to have any thoughts about you, they would be about you."

Natsukawa Tora's casual remark caused Meryl to pause for a moment before she smiled and said, "So, would you like to see it? In a swimsuit."

"Huh? Is that okay?"

“This is someone’s dream. Although it exists because it’s attached to your spirit, in a dream, someone can do whatever they want. Changing clothes is just a matter of a thought.” As she spoke, Meili leaned close to Xia Chuanhu’s ear. “Want to see? Just say so, and I’ll show you.”

Is there even a question?

Of course I want to see it!

But based on Natsukawa Torato's understanding of Meryl, he knew that while she was saying she'd show him a swimsuit, she was definitely plotting something against him! He was far too experienced in this regard; he'd been through similar situations many times before.

Admittedly, Meryl had given him a lot of perks, such as accidentally showing his panties or his cleavage, or accidentally having intimate contact. These kinds of things had happened many times over the past few years. But behind each of these perks, Meryl had actually planned how to mess with him.

For example, the time she had close contact with him, it was one of the few times she happened to have time to pick him up from get out of class and take him home. Then the next day, during self-defense class, he was attacked by the whole class and had to beat the entire class to a pulp, leaving him exhausted.

This time too.

(Thinking carefully, what kind of trap did Meryl set? She was definitely trying to trick me into thinking I wanted to see it, but she would never actually show it to me, that's a certainty. So where are the clues and evidence?)

Natsukawa Tora carefully recalled what Meryl had said.

Want to see swimsuits?

“Merry.”

"Ok?"

"You said you were going to show me your swimsuit, right?"

"correct."

"Where's the subject?" Natsukawa Torato countered. "You said you were going to show me a swimsuit, but you didn't say whose. I don't think it's possible, but you wouldn't just conjure up a swimsuit out of thin air to fool me, would you?"

"..."

silence.

Approximately equal to the default.

Then Mary sighed helplessly, "Sigh, I've been seen through. I didn't expect you to become so smart, Tiger. It seems I can't use such simple words anymore."

"So you really weren't planning on showing it to me!"

"Yes, after all..."

Merry gently bit Natsukawa Tora's ear.

"A dream is just a dream. No matter how realistic it is, it can never be as good or real as the real thing, right? -- Oh, by the way, Morgan came by again yesterday. Apparently, she found a valuable relic in India, and since she couldn't fit it in her house, she dumped it over here..."

After that.

As always, Merry and Natsukawa Tora talked in their dreams all night.

31. It's impossible for Natsukawa Torato to get caught in a chaotic situation.

When you talk about summer, you naturally think of the sea, and when you talk about the sea, you naturally think of swimwear.

If it were a few years ago, especially before he met Arthur, Natsukawa Torato would undoubtedly have been quite excited about going to the beach, because back then he was still a simple, ordinary person who couldn't help but want to see the beautiful scenery on the beach and couldn't suppress his urge to be a pervert.

However, for him now, whose life has undergone a complete transformation since meeting Arthur—

"generally."

This was Natsukawa Tora's only thought as he sat under the parasol.

Although one after another young girls in flashy swimsuits walked past him, Xia Chuanhu's heart was completely unmoved. Not to mention that he was already twenty-three years old this year and had long passed the age of being easily swayed by lust, his experiences in the past few years had already made him indifferent to ordinary women.

He doesn't even look at the kind of women he's been spending time with these past few years.

Putting personality aside, every single one of them is an incredibly beautiful girl, especially those like Meryl and Arcueid who are practically professional players or even coaches...

[This guy's standards have gotten much higher! How are you going to find a wife if you keep this up?]

Because Grey was going to change into her swimsuit, and in order to prevent Yad from falling into a situation that would be quite advantageous to him, Natsukawa Torama detained him, along with Ruby, who was now locked in a cage with him.

To be honest, I've always been curious. My brother looks like the kind of playboy who would indulge in debauchery, so why is he still single?

[You might not believe it, but although he's very popular with women, they're all stuck at the same pace, neither high nor low, which is ridiculous. The only one who's in the lead is a total tsundere who's always playing hard to get with him.]

"What are you talking about, Yad?" Natsukawa Tora poked him, full of doubt. "Why don't I feel like I'm popular with women? Although I do know a lot of women, it's not to this extent, is it? And who was that person you were pulling at?"

Do you understand what I mean? Ruby

OK, I completely understand.

"So what exactly are you talking about?"

It's nothing, I just feel a little hopeless about your attitude towards relationships.

Brother, I have a feeling you'll definitely find yourself in a love triangle someday.

A battleground?

Is that Xia Chuanhu?

Natsukawa Torato couldn't help but laugh: "How could that be? A love triangle needs at least two women together to get started, right? If I'm the center, where am I going to find two people who like me?"

[That's right]

After thinking about it carefully, Yad realized that it seemed to be true.

Although Natsukawa Tora has quite a few female friends, it seems that not many of them truly like him. At most, there's only one, Lydia, and the others are just people he has a decent relationship with.

For example, the Aozaki sisters, one treats him as an apprentice, and the other treats him as a junior.

For example, Ryougi Shiki, who always carries a knife and thinks about how to defeat him.

Grey does seem somewhat interested, but she's not old enough to compete, so she's a pass.

The same applies to Arcueid.

As for Morgan and Merry... forget it.

The rest are all limited to friends with whom they have a decent relationship.

So, by all accounts, he really won't get caught in a love triangle?!

Hey buddy, you didn't do this on purpose, did you? You've ruined your relationships like this.

"What are you talking about? By the way, aren't Grey and the others a little slow?" Natsukawa Tora looked towards the locker room.

Unlike women, men don't spend ten or twenty minutes changing clothes. He just takes off all his clothes and changes into his swim trunks. But he's been in the sun for almost ten minutes now, and Grey and the others are still nowhere to be seen.