To become a king and a magician

93. Another version of yourself in the world

Tokyo Tower, also known as the Japan Radio Tower.

Before the Tokyo Skytree was built, it was the tallest building in Japan and a symbol of Tokyo. For tourists visiting Tokyo, it was basically a must-visit place.

While visiting was certainly one factor in Natsukawa Tora's desire to come here, it was primarily for another purpose.

The top floor of Tokyo Tower.

"Wow! It's so high, Master! This is even higher than the tallest point in Camelot City!"

Like a country bumpkin, Mordred ran excitedly to the glass window and looked down at Tokyo.

"Master! Is that where we came from? That place called the station?"

"Yes, yes, tone it down, you idiot. Can't you see everyone around you is looking at you?" Xia Chuanhu sighed helplessly, then nodded slightly to the people around him. Judging from the smiles on their faces, they probably mistook the two for foreign tourists visiting Japan.

Standing beside Mordred, Natsukawa Torato looked down—indeed, it was a first-rate view, and it must be even more beautiful at night. If the Tokyo Skytree were built in a few years, the view would be even more stunning.

but......

"From this angle, there doesn't seem to be anything unusual..."

"Master?"

Hearing Natsukawa Tora's whisper, Mordred frowned: "Are you still thinking about that strange thing in the car?"

Natsukawa Tora nodded: "Something's definitely not right in Tokyo. The anomaly we felt on the train, and the paranormal phenomena in Tokyo that Sajou Ayaka just mentioned... don't you think there might be some connection between the two?"

"Really? Could it be that you're overthinking it, Master?"

"I have a pretty good intuition in this area, or you could say it's based on experience. I've gotten used to encountering some things every time I go to a new place."

Having just transmigrated, he immediately participated in the Holy Grail War; upon arriving in London, he encountered various unexpected events; and in Paris, he ran into a dragon... With such obvious anomalies in Tokyo, Natsukawa Torato was certain that he would be drawn into something in the next couple of days!

"So, Master, your coming to such a high place... is also related to your intuition?"

"I guess so. From this height, you can see most of Tokyo, making it a great location for a search."

As he spoke, Natsukawa Tora took out several gems and a roll of parchment from his pocket.

This is a magic trick he stole from Rin Tohsaka; it can be used to check the condition of spiritual veins and, to some extent, to search for them.

(Anyway, I'll go invisible first...wait, what?)

Just as Natsukawa Tora was about to use a magic trick to hide his figure in order to avoid attracting attention, he suddenly froze and stood still.

Seeing that he didn't move, Mordred patted him: "Master, what's wrong?"

"Can't you use magic?"

"Aha?"

Natsukawa Tora's expression turned serious—he couldn't use magic.

No, it's not so much that he can't use magic, but rather that using magic is exceptionally difficult. He can clearly sense and use magic, but the formation of magic spells is incredibly slow, like a computer loading and getting stuck.

"Little Mo, can you conjure armor?"

"Let me try—wait, what?"

A layer of armor-like phantom flashed on Mordred for a moment, then immediately dissipated—similar to the situation with Natsukawa Tora.

(This greatly limited the use of magic... Was it curbed in the final stage of the project?)

"Xiao Mo, how do you feel?"

"Hmm... It feels like you're using a lot of force when you're squatting, but you just can't get out."

The young men who had been secretly glancing at Mordred immediately looked away upon hearing this—it was too damaging to their image. They had initially thought that Mordred, dressed in revealing clothing, was easy to approach, but now they had completely lost interest.

It's a pity it has a mouth.

Xia Chuanhu said with some helplessness, "Lord Mordred, I think I'll have to send you to an etiquette class later."

"Ugh...no, I'll change, okay?"

Mordred really didn't want to touch etiquette classes again. She used to feel uncomfortable when her mother forced her to attend them. Every part of her body was stiff, especially her face. That standard fake smile was unbearable for her!

Natsukawa Torato lightly tapped his son's head with a chopstick and said seriously, "It seems that using magic in Tokyo will be extremely difficult. That makes it easier to understand why this place has become a wasteland for the magic world."

If a magician can't use magic, then he's nothing special, so naturally no magician would want to come here, and local magicians would leave. Only those who don't need to use magic would come on their own.

(But why is Ayaka Sajou still here? Doesn't she sense this abnormality?)

In a place where magic is almost impossible to use, Ayaka Sajou is the only magician—this combination is like a flame burning in the middle of a pool of water.

"I remember...it was at night, wasn't it?"

After muttering to himself, Xia Chuanhu turned and walked towards the elevator: "Let's go, Xiao Mo, let's go play somewhere else first, before nightfall."

"Ah, wait for me, Master!"

——————————————————————————————————

Sajo Aika's consciousness is sinking deeper and deeper.

As if sinking into a depth deeper than Tokyo Bay, a sense of weightlessness gradually enveloped my entire consciousness. The sound of flowing water lingered in my ears, and the sound of bubbles bursting reached every corner of my consciousness.

All the eyes could see was darkness, and all they could perceive was an endless abyss.

How much time has passed?

How long has it been since I arrived in this place?

Is this the place?

As if tied by a rope, her gradually sinking consciousness stopped, and she could feel something around her.

It seems we've arrived at the place we wanted to go.

My feet touched what could be called the ground. Even though there are no boundaries in the world of consciousness, if you think about it carefully, you can still figure out a place to stand.

As Sajou Aika stood still, she looked ahead and, as expected, saw an endless dark world with faint lights and shadows, like a fragile dream or a mirage that could be shattered at any moment.

It seems this is indeed the place.

Continuing forward, ignoring the darkness that threatened to engulf her, Ayaka Sajou stepped into the deepest part of the darkness with ease, as if returning home.

—You've arrived.

Words containing such meaning are projected directly into the depths of consciousness.

Sajō Aika looked ahead, her gaze piercing through the layers of darkness, clearly seeing the presence at its end, a version of herself that seemed unrecognizable to her.

94. The World on Both Sides

Dusk—before night falls.

In the classroom at sunset.

Ayaka Sajou was packing her schoolbag after finishing a day of classes.

"Another day has come to an end... No phone calls yet."

Half a day had passed since then, and in terms of progress, she had completed nearly half of her surveillance work. But even so, perhaps because of the short time, Ayaka Sajou still didn't feel like she was the one monitoring. Could surveillance that only required making a phone call really be considered surveillance?

(Wouldn't it be better to ask for leave from school and go to his side to monitor his every move? That would make me seem more like a monitor.)

"Sand strips".

The voice of her senior from the upperclassman drifting in from the doorway pulled Ayaka Sajou back from her thoughts. Looking up, Ayaka Sajou found that Ciel was already standing at the door waiting for her, as always.

During the day, the two are upperclassmen and underclassmen at the same school, but as night approaches, they become magicians and agents working together to protect Tokyo. This might sound a bit immature, but Ayaka Sajou thinks this clandestine operation is pretty cool.

Carrying their schoolbags, they walked out of the school together. Their destination was not home, but a place where several urban legends had recently spread.

Have you seen the magician who saw the moon set?

While waiting at a traffic light at an intersection, Hier suddenly asked.

"I saw him. I went to the station during my lunch break and bumped into him as he was getting off. If I had gone any later, I probably wouldn't have seen him."

"What kind of person is he? Is he as vicious as the rumors suggest?"

vicious?

Ayaka Sajo thought about Natsukawa Torato and Mordred, whom she had met at noon, and then shook her head: "The girl with him might be a little bit, but he himself is very different from the rumors you told me. How should I put it... he gives off a very sunny impression."

"A very sunny magician?" Hier couldn't help but laugh. "I thought the adjective 'sunny' was completely unrelated to magicians."

"He doesn't give me the impression of a magician."

This was just a gut feeling; Ayaka Sajou believed that Torakawa Natsukawa was very different from herself, who had grown up as a magician since childhood.

Hiel looked at Ayaka Sajou with some surprise, then smiled and said, "Since you've said so, I'll trust your assessment of him for now. Anyway, our surveillance mission ends tomorrow at noon, so as long as he doesn't cause us any trouble before then."

"I've already reminded him, and he promised me, so it should be fine—so, senior, what's the first target to deal with tonight?"

“The Phantom Truck at the Crossroads.” Hiel said, taking a stack of papers out of his bag. “Recently, a rumor has started circulating among students that when crossing a crossroads, they will see a truck coming towards them, but just when they think they are about to be hit, they find that the truck or nothing is there.”

So that's why it's the Phantom Truck?

When did this rumor start?

"The earliest point the church can trace is three months ago. Of course, at that time it was just some scattered rumors, more like topics of conversation after dinner. It wasn't until the last two days that they started to increase."

These past two days?

Come to think of it, it seems that in the last week or two, the frequency of these paranormal phenomena has suddenly increased. In the past, it only happened once or twice a week, but in the last two weeks, it has increased to four or five times a week.

"Could someone be manipulating things behind the scenes?"

"Only magicians can do something like this, but as you know, since the last magic family moved away five years ago, you have been the only magician in Tokyo. In the past five years, the only magicians to enter Tokyo are those who just arrived today."

Indeed, if it were to be said that it was Natsukawa Tora, the timing wouldn't match.

Ayaka Sajou shook her head: "I guess I'm overthinking it. Senpai, how much longer until we arrive?"

We've arrived.

Upon hearing this, Ayaka Sajo realized that the crowd around them had thinned to almost nothing, and there was no one around them at all—it seemed that the church had unknowingly set up a barrier to repel people again.

The sky had almost completely darkened; it was the night when magicians were most active.

With a slight sigh, Ayaka Sajou opened her schoolbag, took out a feather-like ring, and put it on.