To become a king and a magician

"Besides, I think you're pretty and beautiful no matter what."

The answer was exactly what she expected. Lydia gave a wry smile: "You're not trying to comfort me, are you?"

"You don't need my comfort. That would only make me look down on you. A monarch of the plant family wouldn't be so dejected as to be crushed by a moment of sadness, would he?"

“Lydel, my refusal is not because of you, but because of me.”

At this point, Xia Chuanhu scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly: "Actually, there's something you don't know yet, and Orange doesn't know either, so she didn't tell you... I'm currently... you could say I'm juggling two relationships at the same time."

"you?"

"Well, besides Aoko, there's also Merry. In order of preference, I should have liked Merry first, and Aoko was an accident that happened midway. The reason I participated in the Holy Grail War was because Merry had said she would agree to it if I won in the end."

Previously, Natsukawa Tora was stunned by the shocking words spoken by Lydia.

Now it's the other way around.

What Natsukawa Tora said left Lydia stunned.

"You...like Mary?"

"Ah."

"That Qingzi...she knew?"

"Yes. Of course, I told her after that magic replenishment, and I also expressed my desire to have them all... So, what I want to say is that I'm not completely rejecting you, Lydel. To me now, two or three make no difference, I'll just be trash anyway."

"However, my feelings for you, Lydia, haven't changed yet. It would be unfair to you to marry you in this state."

“You spent nine years of your life on me, but I didn’t. Our circumstances are not equal, so I have to give you back those nine wasted years first. Please wait for me a little longer before that.”

Natsukawa Tora spoke very sincerely, and the content was largely the same as what Lydel had thought.

(You really haven't changed at all, Tiger... Only you would think this way, and it's only because you think this way that I...)

Lydia gave a wry smile: "So, you want me to wait for you for another nine years? Making a woman wait for you for eighteen years... You really have a lot of nerve. I'm starting to think about whether I should fall for someone else."

"In that case, the Clock Tower will probably lose a considerable number of excellent magicians. Also, regarding your family, after the Holy Grail War ends, I can go back with you once... As long as it lets the older generation in your family know that the family line has successors and won't die out, that should be enough, right?"

"Sigh... I really give up."

As if admitting defeat, Lydia sighed heavily. If she had known he would turn out to be such a scumbag who wanted to have his cake and eat it too, she should have made her move five years ago. She shouldn't have listened to Meryl and tried to win him over back then. If she had been more direct, she might have succeeded!

"So, is this answer acceptable to you, Lydia?"

"What can I do if I don't accept it? Let me meet with Aoko and Merry later, you can contact them, right?"

"Uh...actually, I've been staying at Aoko's place for the past two days. I just gave Meryl a good scolding yesterday and dragged her over."

At this moment, Lydel felt the gap between herself and Aozaki Aoko deeply—as fellow participants, the two who should have been enemies had actually ended up living together... Could you please have some self-awareness about participating in the Holy Grail War?

(No... I'm not really in a position to judge them. Proposing to the enemy during the Holy Grail War is just the pot calling the kettle black.)

Lydia poured herself and Natsukawa Toramaru another glass of wine, then raised her glass: "Well then, I'll be waiting for the day you actually marry me, Toramaru—but as payment for making me wait this long, shouldn't you spend some quality time with me tonight?"

"I'll call Aoko and the others later..."

--------------------------------

Click!

Hearing the cracking sound coming from beside her, Atalanta glanced at Aozaki Aoko, who had crushed the telescope to pieces, and couldn't help but ask Sajou Rei.

(What do we do now? Lingyi and Qingzi are furious.)

[I don't know either. It's the master's decision, and I'm a bit overwhelmed right now. I'm about to explode with worry about the other one. I need to comfort her. You handle things on your own for now, and keep an eye on Mordred. She's a ticking time bomb too.]

Are you just going to handle it yourself? And keep an eye on Mordred too?

Atalanta felt that Sajou Rei was making things difficult for her. How could she possibly keep both of them calm at the same time?

"Although I knew it all along, although I knew it all along, although I knew it all along... you really intend to go all the way down this path, Tiger, just you wait—Lancer, let's go!"

"Hey? Aoko, where are you going?"

Atalanta quickly got up and came to Aozaki Aoko.

"If you're going to kill Natsukawa... I'll have to stop you."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill him. I'll have plenty of time to teach him a lesson later. But right now, I need to have a friendly chat with my best friend!"

Aozaki Aoko shook her phone, which had already started vibrating.

Tonight, there may be bloodshed.

—Thus thought Atalanta.

57. Anyway, let's go for a flight first.

Looking at the phone in his hand, which he had no intention of answering, Natsukawa Tiger scratched his head in confusion: "Strange... Why isn't Aoko answering the phone? Is she still sleeping? That shouldn't be the case, we only got up at noon."

"noon?"

Lydia's brow twitched violently.

"You two slept together last night?"

"To be precise, I passed out right after the battle last night, and Aoko carried me back. Come to think of it, that might sound a bit jarring..."

Xia Chuanhu glanced around.

"I thought Gilgamesh would be there too."

“Archer? It’s understandable that you have such concerns, after all, it’s the Holy Grail War. But you don’t need to worry now. As long as you haven’t left here, he won’t make a move against you,” Lydel said. “I’ve discussed it with him. He can’t interfere while I’m talking to you about serious matters. After we finish, he can do whatever he wants.”

"And the sign that the business is over is that you leave this hotel."

As she spoke, Lydia took a room key from her bag: "This is the key to the top floor. It's a coincidence, it's the same room you stayed in before. If you don't want to fight tonight, come up with me in a bit."

Although Lydia trusts Natsukawa Tora, it's best to create some fait accompli first, just to be on the safe side.

She's already fallen far behind Aozaki Aoko, and then there's Merry... Now she has to find the motivation to compete with those old fogies in the Clock Tower for resources; otherwise, she won't even get a taste of the spoils.

"You really are a bit impatient."

"Who told that heartless blockhead to make me wait so long?" Lydia laughed and pressed the room key to her lips. "Don't think you can leave here easily tonight, Tiger."

"I didn't say I was leaving."

Natsukawa Tora gave a wry smile, hung up the unanswered call, and instead sent a text message to Aozaki Aoko. If she didn't answer the phone, this was the only way he could notify her.

"And there's Zero... Lydel, wait a moment, I have another call to make."

One more?

I never imagined that after just a few years, I would have so many rivals for love.

Unlike Aozaki Aoko, Sajou Rei answered the phone quickly: "Hello, Master?"

"Lingyi, I have some things to take care of here tonight, so I'll stay at the hotel. Also, Qingzi isn't answering her phone. Could you please talk to her later, okay?"

"Alright, Master, I understand."

On the other end of the phone, Sajou Rei sounded somewhat helpless, her tone carrying a hint of...pity?

"But Master, this is just my speculation. I think I don't need to inform Miss Aoko. You'd better prepare to welcome her immediately, as she's probably still quite angry."

"Eh? Qingzi?"

"Beep beep beep beep beep~~~~~"

Hearing the busy tone from his phone, Natsukawa Tiger scratched his head in confusion, but before he could figure out why Sajou Rei would say that, a change within his perception range made him understand everything.

Two people are taking the elevator up.

"Tiger?"

Seeing the troubled look on Natsukawa Tora's face, Lydia couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No...it's just...Aoko is coming."

"Crunch—"

Just as Natsukawa Tora finished speaking, the elevator doors opened not far away, and Aozaki Aoko, her face contorted with various emotions and exuding an aura of menace, stepped out of the elevator. Behind her, Natsukawa Tora could still sense Scáthach, who hadn't yet dispelled her spirit form.

Aoko Aozaki glanced at Natsukawa Tora, whose face looked somewhat embarrassed, and at Lydia beside him, whose eyes seemed to be pointing something, and gave Natsukawa Tora a smile that made him shudder.

"Hey, good evening, Tiger. And Lydia, long time no see."

"Yo......."

"It's been a long time, Aoko. Is this the first time since that incident in Misaki City?"

Before Natsukawa Tora could speak, Lydel stood up and walked to Aozaki Aoko, greeting her directly from the front and asking, "Did you suddenly appear here because of some urgent matter? Or are you just here for a meal?"

"Stop trying to fool me, Lydia. You've been completely corrupted by the Clock Tower these past few years," Aozaki Aoko sighed softly. "Trying to get married before me? I've never seen you so decisive and brave before."

"You're really well-informed."

“Because I witnessed the whole thing from that rooftop over there.” Aozaki Aoko pointed to a building outside the window facing the dining table, then glared fiercely at Natsukawa Torato. “Aren’t you going to give me an explanation, Torato?”

"Uh...that..."

Natsukawa Tora hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Aoko, you seem... not angry?"

"What's the use of me getting angry? I've known what kind of person you are for the past four years. You want everything, right?" Aozaki Aoko said irritably.

Four years ago, when Natsukawa Tora told her that he wanted both her and Merry, Aozaki Aoko knew and foresaw that today's events might happen. Merry had hinted to her more than once that there would definitely be someone competing with her for food in the future.

So, Aozaki Aoko had prepared herself mentally a long time ago.

But as good as she was, when this actually happened, Aozaki Aoko still wanted to give this greedy guy who wanted to have his cake and eat it too a couple of punches. Otherwise, if she didn't teach him a lesson and let him run wild, who knows when the number of his "ships" would reach double digits!

That's outrageous! Just now, including the potential ones, it's already in the double digits.

"That really surprised me, Aoko."

After a moment of surprise, Lydel said to Aozaki Aoko with a hint of admiration, "I thought we'd have to argue for a while to decide who's older or younger, but I didn't expect you to be so open-minded."

"You'll have to ask your super wingman for that."

As Aozaki Aoko spoke, she raised her hand, and several magic spells appeared on her arm: "Alright, Tiger, stand there and don't move. I'll just throw one punch, a symbolic punch. I'll settle the score with you when we get back tonight!"

“No, Tiger is going to sleep here with me tonight.” Lydel came to Tiger’s side and hugged his arm. “Aoko, I’ve been waiting for nine years too, much longer than you. It’s one thing for you to beat me to it, but I’m the leading lady now, so don’t try to steal my spotlight—right, Tiger?”

This is a question that could cost you your life.