To become a king and a magician

[You're completely infatuated with a mere doll, completely unresponsive to the nightmare and the True Ancestor? You don't actually have a thing for dolls, do you? Using the knowledge in your head... is there something wrong with your XP?]

"I no longer want to dwell on how you know what's in my head, and besides, I'm not in pain!"

A sudden, unexplained sharp pain shot through his mind, causing Xia Chuanhu to immediately cover his head.

This pain...

(Is it Merry again?)

Just as Aika Sajou was unhappy because she saw Natsukawa Toraku being brutally killed by Angelica, Meryl didn't openly express her displeasure, but she secretly made countless small moves during this period. In fact, because of the backdoor program, Natsukawa Toraku had no idea when she would do something ruthless to him!

For Natsukawa Tora, things like giving him nightmares, setting deadly traps in his dreams, and using stimulating magic to give him splitting headaches were commonplace.

(She says she doesn't care and tells me to go find my Guinevere, but she reacts so strongly when I develop feelings for someone else... Meryl, when did you add a tsundere attribute to yourself?)

Crack!

A sensation as if struck by lightning suddenly spread throughout Xia Chuanhu's body, causing him to roll off the bed in pain!

No doubt, this is another one of Meryl's doing.

[Hehehe, you really deserve it, you vixen! Look at yourself now. This is the retribution you got for embarrassing yourself in public with the prince's appearance. Do you know you were wrong now?]

"Arquette, can you hear me? Can you mute Ayaka Sajou?"

"It's no use. Unless you enter that state, that vampire can't interfere with me."

Clang!

The crimson moon mark suddenly shone brightly, and Xia Chuanhu immediately entered the Moon Princess Armament Mode without saying a word!

(Arquette—)

I refuse.

Before Xia Chuanhu could finish speaking, Arcueid directly rejected him.

[Tiger, you idiot who falls for a tattered doll should just die a thousand times over.]

"..."

How can you be like this too?!

42. Counterforce: Boss, please help me!

"Waaah..."

Opening her eyes from a daze, Gray shook her head to clear her mind a little, blinked, and looked around.

"here it is......"

It must be in her own dream world—because she has a dream demon sister in her family, Grey has been to the so-called dream world many times, sometimes because of Mary's pranks, and sometimes because of other things.

Is it that Sister Meryl needs to talk to me again?

Grey thought so, but she quickly dismissed the idea, because in Mary's dreams, no matter what the content was, there would always be a floral scent, whether strong or faint, but it would definitely be there.

But now, there is no fragrance of flowers in this dream, only a warm feeling, a veil of holy light that makes one feel as if they have returned to their mother's embrace.

"Where exactly is this place...?"

"Hello."

Just as Grey was feeling puzzled, a gentle voice suddenly rang out in the golden space, and then a girl appeared in front of her as if she had emerged from the space.

"you are?"

“I am Joan of Arc,” the girl replied. “I’m sorry to meet you in this way; I’m sure it has caused you a lot of trouble. But please don’t be nervous. I mean you no harm; I just want to ask you for a favor.”

"Have you heard of the Holy Grail War, Miss Grey?"

The Holy Grail War.

Needless to say, Gray must have heard about it. Not to mention that she herself has some connection with the Holy Grail War, her brother was someone who directly participated in the Holy Grail War a few years ago. Gray had already heard about all sorts of things related to the Holy Grail War from Natsukawa Tora.

"I heard my brother say that it's a magical ritual in which seven mages summon seven Servants to compete for the Holy Grail, which can grant wishes, right?"

“You know that? That makes things easier.” Jeanne breathed a sigh of relief. “Actually, there’s a Holy Grail War coming up soon. Although the Holy Grail Wars happen very frequently in this world, they’re still within the ‘normal’ range.”

"But something unusual has happened in this upcoming Holy Grail War."

"abnormal?"

Gray frowned subconsciously, but calmed down the next moment—Natsukawa Tora had said that it was normal for anomalies to occur in the Holy Grail War; it would be abnormal if no anomalies occurred at all in a Holy Grail War.

Any violation of the Holy Grail War rules, any serious situation that cannot be handled due to unforeseen circumstances... whatever the situation, as long as the Holy Grail War itself becomes special and the outcome is completely unpredictable, then the Holy Grail, as the center of the Holy Grail War, will summon a Servant to intervene as a referee in order to maintain the normal conduct of the Holy Grail War.

"I am the Ruler summoned by the Holy Grail this time."

Joan of Arc explained.

"However, the anomaly of this Holy Grail War seems to be more serious than I imagined. I was summoned by the Holy Grail, but I cannot manifest naturally as a Servant. I can only manifest by attaching myself to people in the real world."

At this point, Joan of Arc's meaning is quite clear.

“Miss Grey, this may be a bit of an unreasonable request for you, but could you lend me your body temporarily during the Holy Grail War? I assure you, it will not have any negative impact on your health.”

Joan of Arc spoke in a very solemn tone.

Although it was a choice made for the Holy Grail War, Jeanne still felt a little uneasy about making such a request to a little girl who was not even ten years old.

Even if it is the will of the Lord.

After hearing Joan's request, Grey fell silent for a while before gently shaking her head: "I'm sorry, Miss Joan, I can't make this decision on my own. If possible, I'd like to discuss it with my brother."

"Okay, I understand your thinking, that's no problem at all."

Joan of Arc nodded.

......

then.

A few minutes later, in the Natsukawa family's dining room.

"That's how it is, brother. What do you think? Should I grant Miss Joan's request?"

After briefly recounting Joan of Arc's story, Grey asked Natsukawa Torato in front of her a question.

Xia Chuanhu tapped the table, took a deep breath, and then asked, "This is really... something that didn't expect to happen."

Why would Joan of Arc choose Grey as her human form?

Logically, shouldn't she have chosen a French high school student? Even if Grey is an excellent priestess, someone with exceptional talent even in the Age of Gods, she shouldn't have been chosen by Jeanne d'Arc so easily, right?

What's more, she's not even ten years old yet! How can they send a nine-year-old to participate in the Holy Grail War?

“Grey, can you contact Joan of Arc? Give her your body temporarily, and I will communicate with her directly.”

"Hmm, I'll give it a try."

Grey closed her eyes, and specks of holy light immediately appeared around her. Soon after, as she reopened her eyes, Natsukawa Tiger keenly sensed that something about Grey had changed; her dull silver hair now had some golden highlights.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Grey's brother. I am Jeanne." Jeanne, possessing Grey's body, greeted Natsukawa Torato. "Things are just as Grey said. May I borrow Miss Grey's power for a while?"

Why Grey?

"Xia Chuanhu asked."

To be honest, he wasn't worried about Gray's safety. With Jeanne's abilities, Gray wouldn't be in any danger. In fact, if she were to fall into a real crisis, Gray could use her privilege of teleporting directly to a safe place and leaving the battle.

What Natsukawa Torato is worried about is, why is it Grey?

“It is the result of revelation,” Joan of Arc replied. “I received a revelation from the Lord, who told me that Miss Grey is the most suitable person to be my assistant, and that Miss Grey’s presence is necessary if I want to fulfill the duties of the arbiter.”

Is Grey a must?

These words made Natsukawa Tora frown even deeper. (A revelation from the Lord...)

[Perhaps the inhibitory force intervened?]

Sounds emanated from Sajou Aika inside her body.

That child is indeed very talented, but talent, if left undeveloped, is just talent; she's still a young girl with little real power at this stage. The reason she was chosen is probably because you're by her side.

Natsukawa Tora dotes on Gray, a fact known to everyone who knows him. So, if Gray is dragged into this, Natsukawa Tora will follow suit to ensure her safety. With Natsukawa Tora's abilities, resolving the unusual situation in this Holy Grail War wouldn't be easy, but it wouldn't take too much effort either.

(In other words, I'm being forced by inhibitory forces to do his work?)

[They exist in this way: they don't act directly, but rather influence someone to resolve a problem by orchestrating various events—so, should we participate? A doting older brother to his younger sister?]

43. What does "roundtable connections" even mean?

Clock Tower, Summoning Department.

In the world where Natsukawa Tora originally lived, Summoning was a discipline that was not highly regarded. Although it was not exactly declining, its status was not high either, placing it in a rather awkward position.

However, in this world, due to the frequent occurrence of subspecies Holy Grail Wars around the world in recent years, the status of Summoning Studies has also risen, and it has almost become the most valued discipline in the Clock Tower.

Today, however, the Summoning Department welcomed a rather special guest.

"Dong dong dong."

Walking through the familiar corridor that remained unchanged even in a parallel world, Natsukawa Tora stopped at the door of the Minister of Science's office and knocked.

"Please come in."

"Sorry to bother you."

Pushing open the door and walking in, Xia Chuanhu immediately saw an old man sitting behind his desk, leaning against the window, as if waiting for him.

In fact, he was indeed waiting for Xia Chuanhu to come over.

"I've heard so much about you, [Moonfall]. I am Locke Belfebon, the Dean of the Summoning Department."

The moon sets.

This is the title given to Natsukawa Torama by the Clock Tower after the moon-falling incident. Although it has no official status, no ceremony was held to bestow the title, and Natsukawa Torama was notified, most magicians in the industry now refer to Natsukawa Torama as such.

Sitting down on the sofa in front of Locke Belfebund, Natsukawa Tora looked at the old man, his mind automatically recalling their previous meetings.

A few years ago, because Kenneth had been trying to get him to marry into the family, he would often intentionally or unintentionally take him to meet important figures in the Department of Spirit Conjuring or the Department of Mining. Locke Belfebon was one of them. The two had met three or four times and were considered nodding acquaintances.

Of course, in this world, the two are complete strangers.