To become a king and a magician

......

Tokyo Station, entrance.

"Natsukawa! Miss Aoko!"

Hearing the shouts behind them, Natsukawa Torato and Aozaki Aoko, who were dragging their suitcases and about to leave, turned around and smiled.

"Ayaka, what brings you here? Didn't we say goodbye yesterday?" Aozaki Aoko smiled and hugged Sajou Ayaka. "Want to say goodbye again?"

"I just feel that as the host here, I should personally see the guests off when they leave."

Ayaka Sajou smiled and asked, "Are we about to depart?"

Natsukawa Tora nodded: "They're coming soon. Although I've already called back, I've been here for almost half a month. If I don't go back soon, Mordred and Atalanta will probably kill me for Gray's sake. Well, even though I've gone back, I'll probably come here often in the future. There are still so many places in Akihabara that I haven't been to yet."

“Ayaka, if you have time, you can come to Fuyuki City. Gray and I would love for you to come.”

"Me too, I'll be staying here in this world for a while."

"No, Aoko, you'll definitely run off somewhere else in a few days, right?" Natsukawa Torato knew Aozaki Aoko's personality; there would be a problem if she could stay put in one place.

Aozaki Aoko smiled slightly after being exposed.

"Well then, goodbye, Miss Aoko. Natsukawa, take care on your journey."

"Well, goodbye—oh right, I almost forgot something."

Just before entering the station, Natsukawa Torama suddenly remembered something very important. He stopped and looked at Ayaka Sajou again: "Ayaka, although I'm not entirely sure, and this is just a guess, but... your sister is probably still alive."

"Huh?"

——————————————————————————————————————

Fuyuki City, Mount Enzo, large underground cave.

Within a certain node of the spiritual vein, the re-enactment device is continuously drawing upon the vein's magical power in order to activate the Greater Grail hidden within.

Is this what it is?

Within the surge of magic, something connected to the replay device.

Thankfully... I made it in time.

[A second death...]

I'll... take a nap first this time.

The Fifth Holy Grail War

1. Four years later

London, England.

Clock Tower.

The highest institution of magic, the den of magic that has trained countless magicians, the base of magic—before arriving here, Ayaka Sajo had hardly heard any good reviews about the Clock Tower, at most it was a mixed bag, mostly slander and contempt.

At first, she thought these comments were a bit too exaggerated, but now, after a year at the Clock Tower, she has to admit that those comments from someone were quite fair, and even a bit too kind.

Factions, disciplines, departments, individuals, groups... countless conspiracies and schemes have settled within the Clock Tower, corrupting and devouring almost every magician here, turning it into a filthy and poisonous crucible.

For Ayaka Sajou, the year she spent at the Clock Tower was both a year of learning magic and broadening her horizons, and a year of enduring various conspiracies, schemes, and backstabbing.

"I wish I hadn't come to the Clock Tower after graduating from high school."

In the Clock Tower Minerals Department, Lord El-Melloi II, hearing his protégé's complaints, sighed in exasperation: "You're saying that again, Lady. If you're tired of this place, you should leave sooner rather than later. You're capable of doing what you say."

Ayaka Sajou is a celebrity at the Clock Tower.

Part of the reason is her appearance. Since experiencing that night that was comparable to the end of the world four years ago, she decided to be independent and began to change her image little by little. She grew her hair a little longer, and she usually wears light makeup when she goes out. Some time ago, she was even dragged by the princess of the El-Melloi family to dye her hair blonde—as a result of losing a punishment game.

Therefore, her beauty, which had always been hidden by her glasses and gloomy aura, was inevitably exposed, attracting many suitors and causing her a lot of trouble—this happened half a year ago.

Another reason she became famous stemmed from six months ago. Because Ayaka Sajou entered the university through a recommendation system, people within the Clock Tower had been trying to find out who her supporters were in order to determine which side she was on.

Although it couldn't compare to the things her older sister had done, the various intrigues and power struggles involved caused Ayaka Sajou a lot of distress at the time, and she was even forced to seek help from someone far away in Japan.

Then, after the huge commotion that nearly led to the demolition of the Clock Tower, Ayaka Sajou became a celebrity, and one that was considered indispensable and someone to be provoked within the Clock Tower. In addition, she was chosen as a disciple by Lord El-Melloi II a month earlier than expected... to the point that now there is not a single magician in the Clock Tower who has any interest in her.

After all, whoever wants to mess with her must first consider whether they can afford to offend the monarch, the mage, and that monster from the Far East at the same time.

Therefore, for Ayaka Sajou, the clock tower is actually a place she can leave whenever she wants.

"But wouldn't that be letting Xia Chuan down? He helped me get into the Clock Tower and even recommended me to be your disciple. I can't leave like this until I produce something that can be considered an achievement. I was just complaining earlier."

"I'm glad you understand—so, speaking of that gentleman, Lady, I just received a message saying that he has come to the Clock Tower again and even went to the Master Chef's room."

"Excuse me, teacher, I would like to request to leave work early today."

"......"

Seeing his disciple already packing his things to run off to see that person, Lord El-Melloi II couldn't help but feel a little helpless—this was something that always happened every time that gentleman came to the Clock Tower.

He put down his quill, lit a cigar, turned to look out the window, and after carefully calculating the time, El-Melloi II exhaled a puff of smoke.

"It's been four years already. Time really flies."

——————————————————————————————————

The Jewel King's room is different from other rooms. Although the door to the room is indeed located inside the Clock Tower, as soon as the visitor steps through the door, he will be teleported to a room of unknown location.

After knocking on the door a few times, and without waiting for the old man inside to respond, Natsukawa Tiger and Grey went in together. After a moment of weightlessness, the two found themselves in a rather dark room lit only by candlelight.

Walking to the table and turning on the desk lamp to slightly dispel the darkness, Xia Chuanhu said to the old man with his back to him, "It's always like this when I come here. What's wrong with turning on the light? Be careful you don't go blind if you read in such a dim room every day, old man Gem."

“My eyesight is still fine, kid—you’re right on time.”

"Didn't you call me here? Speak, what important matter is it this time?"

Over the past four years, being summoned to the Clock Tower by the Gem Elder has been an occasional occurrence, totaling about four times. Each time, something rather troublesome has happened somewhere that requires Natsukawa Torato to resolve.

Of course, it's not really that troublesome. It's at most similar to the class card incident, and there's no huge conspiracy like Einzworth behind it. So whenever something like this happens, Natsukawa Torama treats it as a paid trip and always takes Gray with him.

"Don't rush, young man. Things aren't that urgent. I called you here mainly to discuss your situation," the Gemstone Elder said with a smile. "You've been here for about four years now, haven't you?"

"Yes, that's true. But since nothing major has happened in these four years, I don't really feel the impact."

That's the truth. Apart from the first six months after he arrived, when he dealt with the class cards, the Holy Grail War, and the world's rebirth, Natsukawa Tora didn't get involved in any particularly significant events for the next three years, and he had a rare few years of peace and quiet.

On the contrary, Aozaki Aoko has been having a lot of fun here these past few years.

"What, are you starting to lament the passage of time as you get older?"

"You should know that time means nothing to me. I just find it incredible that you were able to get through four years peacefully."

"Looks like you really want me to give you some big news every day? Well then, I'm going to smash Big Ben right now—ouch, Grey, don't hit me! By the way, where did you get that paper fan?"

Standing behind Natsukawa Tora with a paper fan in hand, Grey tapped her brother's head again: "Please don't joke around like that, brother."

“That’s how you keep him in check, Grey, good job.” Gemstone cheered. “But it’s good this way too. If you don’t cause me any trouble, I’ll have some peace and quiet, and I can happily send you back in the end.”

"Happy now, kid? You can go back to that world."

2. You probably won't need to get married in your lifetime.

—Back to that world.

When Gemstone mentioned it, Grey remembered that there was such a thing. Because she had been living so comfortably here for the past few years, she had almost forgotten that she was supposed to go back.

Of course, Natsukawa Tora remembered—how could he not remember something that involved marriage!

"I can go back now? I remember it was supposed to be five years? It's only been a little over four years, right?" Xia Chuanhu frowned. "What, someone bailed me out so I can be released early? My sentence reduced?"

"No, it's just that there's a slight difference in time between the two sides. After all, in what happened four years ago, the girl from the Aozaki family used magic to greatly influence time."

(Oh, it's about Aoko using magic to project the effects of the world's rebirth into the distant future.)

"Because of that incident, time has changed between here and there. Five years have passed over there—to be precise, Fuyuki City over there is about to start the Fifth Holy Grail War."

The Jewel Elder chuckled, “You’re going to participate in that Holy Grail War, right? If you don’t go back soon, you might miss your spot. And since it’s almost time, I don’t see any need to keep you here any longer.”

The Fifth Holy Grail War is about to begin.

Natsukawa Toru couldn't help but think of the Fourth Holy Grail War.

(Has almost ten years passed since then? Time really flies...)

"Can we go back now?"

"Theoretically, you can go back whenever you want. How so? Do you want to go back now?"

Are we going back now?

After pondering for a moment, Natsukawa Tora shook his head: "No, there's no rush. If we're going to leave, we should at least say goodbye to everyone we know here. By the way, does Aoko know about the situation?"

“She came to me last week and asked me to send her back, saying she needed to prepare for the Holy Grail War.”

"what?"

Natsukawa Torato was momentarily stunned—was Aozaki Aoko going to participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War? How come he had never heard of her before? And why didn't she tell him before leaving?

"That's just like Aoko-neechan's style," Gray said with a wry smile. "She always disappears without warning, leaving only a note or something when she leaves."

"That's just the kind of person she is. I guess she'll be better after she gets married... Well, since she's gone back, that's fine. I'll say goodbye to everyone I know before I leave, and I'll let you know then."

"can."

After nodding, Gemstone tapped the table. Natsukawa Tiger and Gray blinked and found themselves in a corridor of the Clock Tower.

"It's happening again—" Natsukawa Tora scratched his head, went to the window to look outside, and after confirming his location, said to Grey, "Looks like everything's fine here in London. Wouldn't going straight back to Japan be too rushed?"

“We just got off the plane an hour ago, brother,” Grey said.

“Yeah, the next flight probably hasn’t arrived yet… Anyway, how about we wander around a bit? It’s been a while since I’ve been to London, so I might as well check on Ayaka’s situation.”

Because he doesn't come to London often, Natsukawa Torama can only learn about Ayaka Sajou's affairs through her letters or phone calls. The last time they contacted each other was half a month ago, and the last time they met was half a year ago.

I haven't seen her for half a year, and I wonder what changes have occurred in her.

Just as Natsukawa Torama was thinking of going to find Sajo Ayaka, a somewhat dissatisfied voice came from not far away.

"Oh, I was just doing this on the side." Carrying a schoolbag that looked exactly the same as in high school, Ayaka Sajou stood not far away and noticed the brother and sister. "Well, it seems I came at the wrong time."