To become a king and a magician

"How many times have I told you! Stop calling me 'old lady'! Call me 'King'!"

Looking at her underlings, some crying, some laughing, some playfully bidding her farewell, Princess Mordred, the delinquent queen of Fuyuki City, was at a loss for words. Normally, she could give them a few punches if she liked, but it was better not to do that when she was leaving.

Ever since Mordred announced her departure and vowed to give up her life as a delinquent, these people have been crying harder and making more trouble than ever. These people were all followers that Mordred had taken in by chance after skipping school. Although they were all delinquents, under her Camelot-style discipline, they now resembled soldiers.

"boom!"

Mordred slammed his Excalibur baseball bat into the ground, silencing the surroundings, and then shouted, "Listen up, guys! I'm leaving now, but don't forget the rules I'm leaving behind. I don't want to come back to find you guys slacking off."

"Yes, boss!"

"Alright! Everyone, stick your heads out so I can hit you! Let's see who dares to call me by the wrong title again!"

......

Luvia's house.

The sudden news that Natsukawa Tora's family was leaving this world left Rin Tohsaka and the others somewhat bewildered.

"Did they come so suddenly, and leave so suddenly?" Luvia stood by the window looking at the villa next door. "Rin Tohsaka, do you remember when we first met that guy?"

"You can't forget someone even if you try, and then suddenly something like that falls from the sky really startled me..."

Rin Tohsaka smiled wryly.

"More than four years have passed in the blink of an eye. I guess it will be a little hard to get used to without him making headlines all the time. By the way, Vice Minister, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Don't order my butler around so casually, Rin Tohsaka!"

"Please speak, Ms. Tohsaka."

"Could you prepare a fireworks display before they leave?" Rin Tohsaka said. "When friends are leaving, it's definitely time for a grand farewell."

6. The contestants are gradually taking their positions.

Visit Buzi City.

The Two Elements Family.

Dojo.

Ryougi Shiki is practicing the swordsmanship passed down in the Ryougi family.

Five years have passed, and Ryougi Shiki, now twenty-four, looks no different from five years ago. Time seems to have left no trace on her, except for her increasingly aloof temperament.

"Miss Shi."

At the entrance of the dojo, Ryougi's steward, Kenki Aki, knelt on the ground and reported to Ryougi.

“Your friend in England, Ms. Lillian May, has sent you a letter.”

"Whoosh—!"

The blade slashed through the air, leaving ripples and several cracks on the dojo wall. Sheathing her sword, Ryougi Shiki grabbed a towel and wiped away the sweat.

That letter from the nightmare...

(It's probably some kind of trouble again.)

With that thought in mind, Ryougi Shiki put on a coat and left the dojo. As she passed by Akira Kenki, she casually picked up the letter from his hand: "Go downstairs. I won't be back tonight. I'll stay at Touko's place."

"Yes, miss, please take care."

Although she has been recognized as the second head of the Ryougi family for some time, it is still a long way from her formal succession. In addition, she has not yet returned from her previous life as a ronin who left early and returned late. Even though she has moved back to the Ryougi family, Ryougi Shiki still often goes out as night is about to fall.

Of course, no one in the Ryougi family objected to her actions. They didn't care what their young lady wanted to do; the only concern was about Ryougi Shiki's accommodation while she was away.

Orange—full name [Aozaki Orange]—the Ryougi family is aware of the puppeteer's situation. Her agency, to be frank, isn't exactly outstanding. The Ryougi family members are somewhat unclear about why the young lady frequents that place.

If it were for work, I would have resigned long ago...

[Fine, let the young lady do as she pleases. We don't need to worry.]

Often, any speculation made by the servants of the Ryougi family would end with such a conclusion.

Meanwhile, after taking the letter from Akira Kenki, Ryougi left the Ryougi family and walked the same path she had been taking for several years, while still reading the letter.

[To Ryougi Shiki. It's been a long time. How have you been?]

(The fact that you sent me a letter already made me feel bad.)

[I am writing this letter to express my longing. Several months have passed since our last correspondence, and my admiration is hard to suppress. Unfortunately, our countries are far apart, and I cannot visit you in person, which is truly regrettable.]

Ryougi Shiki felt that Merry was just here to annoy her this time—she should stab her next time they meet in London.

[Secondly, I have important news to share: the day our beloved returns is approaching, and the Holy Grail Ceremony will begin soon. Please be well-prepared and attend on time.]

[PS: They've started using a slightly more elegant style to write letters. What do you think? Does it feel refreshing and impactful?]

"Tear!"

After casually tearing the letter into shreds and throwing it into a roadside trash can, Ryougi Shiki sighed softly.

He's coming back, huh?

(Five years... I thought it would be a long time, but it went by pretty quickly.)

Ryougi Shiki touched the dagger behind her back, and her steps became slightly lighter.

(This time, I should be able to stab him, right?)

————————————————————————————————————

Clock Tower, plant family.

Inside the monarch's private office.

Setting down the letter in her hand, the Plant Kingdom Monarch—Lydel Archerlot—sighed with some emotion: "Finally back. Five years have passed since you left. You've really been running around, Tiger."

"Now that I'm back, I demand an explanation from you."

At the Clock Tower, the question of when the Plant Goddess will get married has always been a topic of great interest. After all, she is a witch who is famous all over the world in an unprecedented way. Even though she has been retired for a long time, there are still many magicians who admire her—although a large part of them are after her family fortune.

However, Lydia never gave a second glance to those suitors who used all sorts of tricks. She wouldn't even let them step inside the door, let alone give them a chance. Even when the elders of the Archerlot family urged her to start producing offspring for the family, she remained unmoved.

As a result, all sorts of rumors gradually spread within the Clock Tower. Fortunately, there were quite a few magicians who did not get married, and after two or three years, no one mentioned Lydia's marriage anymore.

Therefore, apart from Meryl, her top wingman, almost no one knew that Lydel was just waiting for some jerk who ran off to a parallel world without saying a word to come back—who told her to be late five years ago! By the time she arrived in Misaki City, Natsukawa Torato and Gray had already run away!

She didn't even receive any news that they were leaving!

If Mary hadn't told her later, she would still be in the dark!

Now that they've finally returned, Lydia is determined to get an explanation and then kidnap Natsukawa Tora and take him home.

"Knock knock knock~~~"

A knock sounded from the outside, then the door opened and a young girl walked in: "Did I disturb you, Lord Acerlot?"

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time, Miss Reines.”

Princess Archibald smiled slightly and brought a box to Lydel: "This is the holy relic we agreed on before. It took quite a bit of effort to get it. I never expected it to end up in a rural area in the Far East. If I hadn't received the news from my brother, I probably would never have been able to find it."

"However, on the other hand, the lineup for this Holy Grail War is really impressive, with two monarchs participating. The Church is said to be very eager to participate."

In the Clock Tower's view, the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City was nothing more than a regional magical ritual, and one that took place in the far east, a rural area. It could only be considered barely respectable. Even after Lord El-Melloi participated ten years ago but ultimately failed, the Clock Tower simply attributed it to bad luck and did not take it seriously.

But this time, not only was it convened again after a ten-year hiatus, but it also attracted two monarchs to participate in the war, so the Clock Tower could no longer afford to underestimate it.

"Botany and Celestiality, two monarchs participating in a magical ritual, where they will fight to the death, the outcome of the Holy Grail War will surely cause great turmoil in the current situation. If needed, Minerals can provide assistance—this is what my elder brother asked me to convey."

"Thank you for your trouble, Lord El-Melloi. With this relic in hand, victory is practically in my grasp."

Lydia opened the box and stared at the piece inside that looked like the molted skin of some creature.

This is said to be the shed skin of the first snake unearthed in Mesopotamia. Ten years ago, during the Holy Grail War, a local magician in Fuyuki City used it to summon what was considered the strongest Servant.

“Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, a formidable enemy who defeated my elder brother ten years ago, is undoubtedly the strongest familiar.” Reines smiled. “Then, I wish you success in obtaining the Holy Grail in advance, Lord Acherlot. Please also give my regards to my second elder brother, whom I rarely see. He often talks about him.”

"I will."

7. The Aozaki Sisters' Preparations

In the Holy Grail War, the most important factor affecting the outcome is the strength of the Servants. Although factors such as the compatibility between Servants and the Master's personal abilities also play a role, generally speaking, the stronger the summoned Servant, the greater the chance of winning.

—This is common knowledge among magicians.

The same applies to Aozaki Aoko. Although she has come to understand that the Holy Grail War is not a guaranteed win simply by summoning a Servant, she still wants to summon a powerful Servant for personal reasons, thanks to having an incredibly strong junior by her side over the past few years.

It was partly her personal motive.

Therefore, in order to find a catalyst that could summon a powerful Servant, she went straight to London as soon as she returned to ask Merry if she had any information about powerful relics, and after receiving the information, she rushed there without stopping.

And now, somewhere on a beach in Western Europe.

"boom--!"

Soaked to the bone, Aozaki Aoko emerged from the seabed, shook her wet hair, and sat down on a rock on the shore, looking at the object in her hand.

It was a fragment, which looked like a section of a handle, and was as red as blood. There were some strange patterns on the surface, like blood vessels.

This is what Aozaki Aoko obtained after venturing deep into the ocean. It is said to be a fragment of the skeleton of some kind of extinct sea beast. Although it is not a holy relic, according to Merry, two very powerful Servants have a connection with this fragment. Using it as a medium, it should be possible to summon one of them.

"The Child of Light in Celtic mythology, or perhaps the Queen of the Land of Shadows...?"

Merry mentioned the two candidates, and Aozaki Aoko sighed slightly. If she had to choose Natsukawa Torato as her opponent, she wondered if a Servant of that caliber would be up to the task. She knew his strength; he was as strong as a monster, both day and night.

"Well, whatever, we don't have much time anyway, and it's impossible to find a better artifact, so let's just use this one."

There's about a month left before the Holy Grail War begins. We need to hurry up and summon our Servants, and use this last bit of time to build synergy. If we go into battle without any synergy, we'll just be wasting our lives.

Glancing at the red bruise on the back of her hand, Aozaki Aoko stood up and left the beach.

————————————————————————————————————

Visit Buzi City.

The Hall of the Sangharama.

"Shiki, aren't you going to participate?"

Looking at the former employee leaning against the door drinking coffee, Aozaki Touko, who was fiddling with a doll, suddenly asked.

Shaking her head, Ryougi Shiki's tone was full of indifference: "I'll just be your assistant and go with you. Besides, I can't summon Servants anyway."