To become a king and a magician

"This is... Hmm, I see."

Morgan glanced through the documents and smiled slightly.

“Merry, instead of playing pranks here, I think you should first fulfill your responsibilities as the overseer of the Holy Grail War.”

"Huh? Why?"

"Because there may be Masters who have lost their Servants and need your help."

63. In a sense, this is also a form of talent poaching.

"Ouch... Orange, this isn't what we agreed on."

In an empty room in Shinto, Ryougi Shiki clutched her drooping arm and complained to Aozaki Touko, who was leaning against the door.

"That Caster is way too strong. Forget about testing him, Rider and I are already struggling to keep up with his attacks."

"Alright, alright, I saw Caster's fight with you guys, and it was indeed barely a stalemate." Aozaki Touko lit a cigarette. "Rider, what do you think of Caster?"

Odysseus frowned slightly: "He is a rather difficult enemy to deal with in every sense of the word, not only himself, but also the special entities he summons."

Last night's battle with King Solomon was just a test, so Odysseus and Ryougi Shiki didn't fight with all their might. At the beginning, they just wanted to use their numerical advantage to force him to use some magic or Noble Phantasms.

But as soon as the battle began, the two were suppressed by one of the seventy-two demons summoned by King Solomon.

Each Demon Pillar requires multiple Servants to suppress or even defeat, but Aozaki Touko only has Odysseus and Ryougi Shiki. Without using Noble Phantasms, relying solely on Aegis in armor mode would be a stretch to deal with a single Demon Pillar. Furthermore, Aozaki Touko also instructed Ryougi Shiki not to reveal her Mystic Eyes at the beginning.

This is what led to their current injuries. Fortunately, Odysseus was not injured because of Aegis's presence, and Ryougi Shiki has almost recovered and will definitely be fully recovered before nightfall.

"However, this also confirms the other party's real name completely: Master."

"Yes, I've confirmed it too... no, I should say that the other party never intended to hide their real name. When they summoned that spirit, it was as if they were revealing their real name to us."

Aozaki Touko and Odysseus both heard clearly what Caster said before summoning that powerful spirit—

"The Thirty-Seventh Pillar, Phoenix. That's the name of the demon recorded in that legendary grimoire. To use such a spirit as a familiar, its true name is undoubtedly that one."

Solomon, the King of Magic.

He is the greatest magician of all time, arguably the progenitor of all magicians. It was because he established the system of magic that magic was able to develop; before him, magic was a privilege reserved only for those connected to the divine.

Taking a drag of her cigarette, Aozaki Touko gave a wry smile: "They actually summoned that one. The monarch of the Astrophysics Department really drew the strongest Joker card. If this were a normal Holy Grail War, the outcome would probably be certain the moment Caster was summoned."

With King Solomon's power, he only needed to summon a few demons to wipe out all the enemy Servants in one night. In terms of the scale of the Holy Grail War, there was simply no one who could fight King Solomon.

but--

Odysseus understood the implication in his Master's words: "Do you have a plan, Master? A plan on how to defeat Caster?"

"I suppose so. While Shiki's Mystic Eyes aren't entirely useless, there's someone who can take care of Caster much more easily than Shiki hacking away with his sword, without even lifting a finger. Shiki probably thought of that too, right?"

"Is Natsukawa that idiot...?"

The Soul-Eating Demon Eye is a demon eye with an absolute special attack on spirits. Its effect is so great that even beasts cannot avoid it. Even if the target is a demon god commanded by King Solomon, Natsukawa Tiger's demon eye can still erode it and take it away one by one after the erosion!

"Shall we go find that idiot now?"

“No, it’s not a good time to go. He’s probably busy right now.” Aozaki Touko shook her head. “Besides, we’re not exactly free right now—Rider.”

"Understood, Master."

The moment Aozaki Touko finished speaking, Odysseus immediately appeared in front of her and deployed several layers of hexagonal protective barriers. The next moment, from outside the room, a beam of azure magic cannon blasted through the door!

"Boom—!"

With a deafening roar, the entire room was instantly destroyed, and a huge cloud of smoke filled the room.

Leaning on her staff, Mary walked in from outside, covering her nose as she looked around. "Morgan, couldn't you have gone a little easier? What if you'd killed Orange and Shiki?"

“If the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception were destroyed so easily by me, then it proves she’s nothing special. I might as well take the Mystic Eyes from her corpse and transplant them into myself.” Morgan replied casually, following closely behind Mary.

"You'd better watch your backside if you say that—Orange, Shiki, are you still alive?"

"laugh------!"

The response from Meryl was a whooshing sound as a short, gleaming blade swiftly pierced through the smoke and dust, heading straight for Morgan's chest. Within the smoke and dust, a faint, icy blue light could also be seen.

It is a two-stage ritual.

However, just as the dagger was about to touch Morgan, a large number of magical chains suddenly rushed out from the void, blocking the dagger and binding Ryougi Shiki's entire body.

"Whoosh~~~ Excellent technique, Morgan. So it's because you've experienced it firsthand? Next time, I'll have His Majesty the King try the tortoise shell bondage on you, the kind that makes your buttocks and chest stand out really much."

"Shouldn't we test it on you first?"

As Morgan spoke, he looked at Aozaki Touko and the others who were gradually being revealed as the smoke and dust dissipated: "I apologize for any rudeness caused by this hasty visit, Puppeteer."

"Your way of greeting people is quite unique, Merry, and the other one... is he called Morgan?" Aozaki Touko frowned, staring at the two. "What brings you here? Berserker has been defeated and disappeared. Do you still want to continue participating in the Holy Grail War?"

"It's not that I haven't had that thought, but unfortunately, if I did that, the child might hate me. I already have a criminal record, and if I misbehave again, the consequences will be severe. So right now, I'm in the process of reforming myself."

“Everyone else is the same,” Meryl said with a grin. “So Orange, I’m really sorry for turning down your request before. For my personal safety, I need to behave myself for a while.”

Thinking they could behave themselves, why did they just barge in with the magic cannon?

Someone needs to come and teach them what it really means to be "well-behaved"!

Aozaki Touko sighed: "So, what's the reason for this sudden visit?"

“It’s nothing, I just came to vent my anger for that child.” Morgan raised his staff and lifted Ryougi Shiki’s chin. “That child doesn’t care, but I do. I’m the only one who can manipulate King Arthur openly and secretly.”

“Using that child to achieve your own goals—you can’t do that without reporting to me first, you puppeteer.”

There might be a Master who has lost a Servant and needs Merry to take care of them.

That's exactly the situation Morgan was referring to.

64. Two sides with completely different art styles

Natsukawa Tora was unaware that Morgan had directly confronted Aozaki Touko and the others, and even if he had, he probably wouldn't have been able to get there in time.

If you ask why...

"Come on, Tiger, ah~~~~"

"Lydel, are you treating him like a child? Tiger, do you want some?"

Watching Lydia and Aozaki Aoko frantically serving him food, practically stuffing it into his mouth, Natsukawa Tora realized for the first time how painful eating could be. He wanted to tell them he had hands and could eat by himself, but even if he did, the two beside him probably wouldn't listen.

The two of them are currently competing with each other.

The group was having lunch at the base of Sajou Rei and the others in Fukayama Town. Although the hotel itself provided lunch, Natsukawa Torama and the others decided to come back for lunch because they wanted to protect Lydel, who had lost her Servant.

Seeing this, Sajou Rei shook her head helplessly: "Master is really popular, but I really hope you can be a little more considerate and think about how we feel. Gray can't even finish the lunch she worked so hard to make."

"You think I want this... Lydia, Aoko, I can eat by myself, please stop doing this."

“No, let’s treat this as a rehearsal for what will happen when we go to my house later. If we don’t get closer, those old folks won’t believe us.” Lydel said as she stuffed a piece of fish into Natsukawa Tiger’s mouth.

Seeing this, Aozaki Aoko didn't wait for Natsukawa Tora to swallow before stuffing a piece of fish into her own hand.

"Pfft~~~"

Mordred couldn't help but laugh. Seeing her usually domineering Master being dominated by a woman like this was a novel experience for her. Meanwhile, Artoria frowned when she heard Mordred laughing during the meal. "Lord Mordred, you should be quiet during the meal. Have you forgotten this etiquette?"

"I know, I know, Father, you're so annoying—ah! That pork chop is for me! Father, save some for me!"

"The dining table is like a battlefield. You must be vigilant at all times while eating. Lord Mordred, you are too careless—Zero, please have another bowl of rice. A large one."

"Gurgle~~~ I want some too! Zero, give me more rice!"

"Alright, alright, Xiao Mo, please sit down first."

Calming Mordred, whose fighting spirit had been aroused, Sajou Rei took the two people's rice bowls. Just as she was about to turn around to serve them rice, she saw that Gray, who was next to her, was holding her rice bowl and hadn't touched a single grain of rice.

"Grey? What's wrong? You haven't eaten a single bite of food. Aren't you hungry?"

"what--!"

Upon hearing what Sajou Rei said, Gray seemed to be startled awake and cried out sharply. She then apologized and said, "Rei-neechan, what did you just say? I didn't quite catch that."

"Why aren't you eating? You haven't touched a bite. Don't you have an appetite?"

"No... I was just thinking about some things."

Grey's voice was somewhat low, and everyone present, even Mordred, could tell that Grey was preoccupied, which was not her normal state.

After swallowing the two pieces of fish in his mouth, Xia Chuanhu asked with concern, "What's bothering you, Gray? If it's convenient, could you tell me and see if I can help you solve it?"

"You must tell me if you're feeling unwell, Gray. If you're unhappy, your Master will also lose his temper." Mordred comforted Gray in her own way.

“Brother, Miss Mordred… umm, I’m really fine, don’t worry about it.” Gray smiled and shook her head. “By the way, Miss Atalanta is still keeping watch on the roof, I have to go and bring her lunch.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Grey hurriedly left the dining table, ran to the kitchen to get a lunchbox, and went upstairs.

Watching Gray's departing figure, Natsukawa Torama frowned and turned to Sajou Rei, asking, "Rei, what happened while I was gone? Gray...?"

"You don't need to worry about her, Master. After all, every girl has her own little secrets. Just continue to treat her as always, and I'll help Grey with any problems."

"That's right. You're all girls, so you know Grey better than I do in some ways. I'll leave Grey to you from now on."

I hope Grey is really alright.

Seeing the worried look on Natsukawa Tora's face, Lydel and Aozaki Aoko exchanged glances across him, each understanding something from the other's eyes. Lydel then stood up: "I'm going to the restroom. Tora, where are you?"

"Just go up the stairs."

Thanks.

——————————————————————————————

The second floor.

Next to the bathroom, near the staircase leading to the rooftop, Grey walked down the stairs at a somewhat slow pace, her brows slightly furrowed, and sighed softly.

"Thinking about your brother, little Grey?"

Unexpectedly, Lydel's voice suddenly came from the side. Gray looked to her side in surprise and saw Lydel leaning against the wall, waving at her, as if she had been waiting for her for a long time.

"Sister Lydia, what are you doing here?"

"I came to use the restroom and also to offer some guidance to my adorable but somewhat confused younger sister," Lydel laughed. "It's been years since we last saw each other. I was hoping to reconnect with Grey, who's now a beautiful young woman, but it seems things aren't going so well. Has she become a little distant from me after all these years?"

"No, that's not true..."