To become a king and a magician

"Well, let's not get into those digressions. In short, the Holy Grail War is practically over now. All we have to do is reveal the Holy Grail and let whoever wants to make a wish do so—if there's someone here who wants their wish granted... Lia, it's only you."

As soon as Melly said that, everyone's attention turned to Artoria.

After a moment of silence, Artoria looked at Natsukawa Torato: "Is it alright, Master? If I make a wish, will it affect the things you and Caster were discussing about the future?"

"Who knows? Besides, since it concerns your wish, why don't we try it out now?" Natsukawa Torama laughed. "There's more than one Holy Grail, right, Zero?"

"I understand, Master."

Sajou Rei nodded, then closed her eyes. When she opened them again, there was no emotion in her eyes. She stood there blankly, like a robot.

[Personality switch, consciousness connected to the Greater Grail, wish-granting function activated, all processes normal, connection complete, ready to operate]

The scene before them left the unsuspecting people in the room speechless with astonishment.

"Master, this is..."

“The Greater Grail—it's another Holy Grail War that Mordred and I participated in in a parallel world. After obtaining the Grail, I hid it within Zero's body. With sufficient magical energy, it's possible to recreate the Greater Grail's wish-granting function,” Natsukawa Torato explained. “However, Zero's magical energy isn't quite sufficient right now. Rather than granting wishes, Ria, it would be better if you asked some other questions, such as…”

"How much magic will it take to fulfill your wish?"

It's true that the Holy Grail can grant wishes, but to achieve those wishes, it's necessary to expend an equal amount of magical power. Just as a skilled cook can't make a meal without ingredients, the Holy Grail works the same way. Ultimately, the Holy Grail grants wishes by using immense magical power to skip the process and directly reach the result.

Looking at Sajou Rei, who had switched to the Greater Grail Mode, Artoria took a deep breath: "Holy Grail, I, Artoria Pendragon, hereby make a wish—please let me return to the day of the selection of the king, truly return to that day."

[Wish accepted, execution initiated... Execution failed, insufficient magic power]

"How much magic power exactly is needed?"

[Best conclusion - Achieving an unlimited supply of magic power using a second spell is sufficient]

“Ah… I see.” Natsukawa Torama chuckled. “Indeed, if it’s the old man with the gem’s magic, any amount of magic power would be possible, but that also means… it can’t be done without magic power that’s close to infinite, right?”

[Definitely. Drawing an analogy based on existing information—fulfilling Artoria Pendragon's wish is similar to the incineration of human reason, suggesting it would have an irreversible negative impact on the foundations of human reason.]

"That's the conclusion, Lia."

Natsukawa Tora looked at Artoria.

"If you want to, I will stop you first, even if it means using a Command Spell to make you commit suicide."

"Tiger--"

"Yes, I understand, Master." Before Aozaki Aoko could speak, Artoria nodded first, then took a deep breath, as if trying to swallow back anything stuck in her throat, and stared at the ceiling for a very long time.

Then—

"I am very sorry, Master. It seems that my wish was a bit willful and will affect humanity... I did not expect my wish to have such an impact. I only wanted to prevent Britain from being destroyed in such a tragic way."

“You can’t say that, Leah,” Melly suddenly said. “Britain was destroyed in such a tragic way—well, from your perspective as someone who was there, that’s certainly true, but in reality, that kind of destruction was actually the best possible outcome.”

"The best... result?"

Merlin pointed to her eyes: "I have the same all-seeing ability as the Merlin you know. I did try my best to save Britain in the past, but at least within the scope of what I can predict, Arthur has done the best he could. You here should think the same way."

"Even if you are a chosen one created to save Britain, you may not be able to change your destiny. Britain's destruction was inevitable at that time. The only thing that could be changed was the manner of destruction. You tried your best, but in the end, you chose a destruction that was relatively inseparable from you."

"That's already amazing. No one but you could do that."

Neither Morgan nor Mordred spoke at this moment. As those who had brought about the destruction of Britain, it would be inappropriate for them to say anything now. But Merlin was different. As Merlin from another world, she must have had many exchanges with the Merlin here. What she was saying now was probably what the Merlin here had always wanted to say.

"This is what the Merlin you know asked me to convey—he foresaw the destruction of Britain before your expedition to Rome, but he did nothing, he didn't try to change fate, but instead abandoned you and hid away to watch you collapse."

“He regretted it afterwards—unlike me, I just found it funny, and I even stood in front of Arthur watching him die without wanting to save him at all.”

"But he feels very regretful, regrets what he did to you. He wants to apologize to you, but he is trapped in the tower of Paradise and cannot come out, so he just asked me to pass on his message."

“【Well done, Artoria. You’ve worked so hard all this time. Get some rest.】”

97. Another War on the Way (DATE)

Paradise - Starry Sea.

That is a realm that only the innocent may enter.

Inside a somewhat out-of-place tower on its border, Merlin, watching everything unfold through the only window, reached out and touched the animal at his feet.

"I suppose what I'm doing is hypocrisy, Cathy Par**."

"I did those terrible things to Artoria before, and now I'm trying to make amends by giving her a belated apology and praise. If that's not hypocrisy, then what is? I'm not some kind older brother by nature."

"Fufu~~~"

The cub at Merlin's feet cried out twice and scratched at Merlin's hand with its paw, as if resisting his touching.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch... You beast, you really show no mercy! Can't you see I'm feeling down? Comfort me a little!"

"Fu~~~"

That expression was as if to say, "You wish, you damn Merlin doesn't need comforting."

What an ungrateful beast! We've been locked up together here for a thousand years, and he shows absolutely no affection for us.

【Ahhh~~~~ Testing, testing, can you hear me? Me over here? If you can hear me, say something】

Merlin's voice suddenly came from inside the tower. He put down his fight with Cathy Parr and looked up: "Yes, I can hear you. Please pass on my message. I'm sorry for causing you trouble, my other self."

There's no trouble at all, it's just a matter of saying a few words. It's just that your kid wants to talk to you directly—okay, here's the phone, Leah. Go ahead and yell at him, give him a good dressing down.

"Huh? Artoria wants to talk to me? Wait a minute, my other self, this is too sudden—"

Is that Merlin?

The same voice, but with subtle differences, made Merlin freeze in place. After a moment, Merlin stood up and said, "Yo, Artoria, long time no see. It's great that you look so energetic."

[Are you still using your far-seeing eyes to observe the present, Merlin?]

"This is my only source of joy. So, what do you want to tell me?"

I do not accept your apology.

"Huh?"

Merlin stood there, stunned, blinking. Not accept? He had agonized for most of the day, plucking the petals off hundreds of flowers before finally deciding to ask his other self to apologize on his behalf. That other self had even laughed for a while.

You don't accept the result?!

Merlin was extremely disappointed!

If you truly want to apologize to me, then come before me, Merlin. Otherwise, I will never accept your apology.

"Oh dear... this is a bit of a problem. I'm currently imprisoned inside the tower and can't get out."

[You can come out anytime you want, you can easily travel from Avalon to Uruk.]

Natsukawa Tora's voice came through.

"Hey, when was that? Did I do something like that?"

[About ten years later]

"Don't bring up things about the future in the present!"

Merlin sighed helplessly, "I understand what Artoria means, but I'm sorry, locking myself in here is my punishment for myself, and I really can't bring myself to apologize in person."

"I see... Then I'll come to you someday and give you a good beating. Be prepared for that, Merlin."

“No, we have to escape, Cathy Par**. We need to move this tower to a different location.”

"Fu!"

"Ouch! Don't bite me! Don't scratch my face!"

————————————————————————————————————

The present world.

Seeing Artoria hang up the phone, Merlin couldn't help but ask, "Is that all?"

"Well, let's talk about the rest when I get to him. Besides, Merlin has always been like this. As long as I think, 'It's normal since it's Merlin,' I will naturally accept it. It's a habit I've had for a long time."

During her pilgrimage across Britain after acquiring the Sword in the Stone and embarking on her journey to become king, Artoria had already grown accustomed to Merlin occasionally causing her trouble and then shamelessly returning to apologize.

Then just go to him and beat him up; Brother Kai told her that this is the most effective way.

"More than that, I've caused you trouble earlier, Master. Regarding my wish... although I'm still somewhat unwilling, I've officially given up. If it truly is the best possible outcome I could achieve after giving it my all, then I shouldn't deny the effort I've put in."

"Okay, that's good—Zero, end the link with the Greater Grail."

[Command accepted]

Her lifeless eyes gradually regained their luster, and the moment the connection was severed, Sajou Rei collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Natsukawa Tora quickly reached out to support her: "Are you alright? Did you use up too much magic power?"

"Um... I'm sorry, Master, my apologies."

"bring it on."

With her arms wrapped around Natsukawa Torama's neck, and under the envious gazes of those present, Sajou Rei kissed Natsukawa Torama's lips directly, like a gourmet beginning to savor a dish, unceremoniously demanding his magic.

After exchanging glances with the people around her, Mary stood up and said, "Then let's all leave first. Everyone must be tired, so let's go and rest. Let's leave this space for them... I feel like this isn't something that can be over in just a minute or two."

"Ah... I'm sorry, everyone, I'll have to keep the master to myself for a while. Miss Aoko, Miss Lydia, please understand."

Both of them felt a little uncomfortable being looked at apologetically by Sajou Rei. She was being affectionate with her man right in front of them, and even apologizing to them...

"It's alright, it's alright. As long as the child doesn't mind, we're pretty much used to it."

With that, Merry was the first to leave the room. Following her, after glaring fiercely at Natsukawa Tora, Aozaki Aoko and the others also left one after another. In just over ten seconds, the previously crowded living room was left with only Natsukawa Tora and Sajou Rei.

"I'm sorry, Master, I may have been a bit willful."

"What's so capricious about it? Don't be shy, just take my magic."

"Then...may I ask you to lie down first, Master?"

She pushed Natsukawa Torata down onto the sofa, then came up above him, lay on top of him, and looked down at him. Then she lowered her head and began to draw magic power from him again.

In order to speed up the replenishment of magic power, while Sajou Rei was absorbing magic power herself, Natsukawa Tora was also actively transferring it to her.

A large amount of magic was transferred to the other side through their lips, which were pressed together.

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

"This is the last time, my other self. If we're going to do it, let's wait until the Holy Grail War is completely over."