To become a king and a magician

Upon hearing this explanation, Sajō Ayaka, who had been feeling somewhat heavy-hearted, immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "I see... I never expected something like this to happen. It's really unfortunate, Pendragon."

"Thank you for your concern, Sajou-kun. I'm fine now. Also... um, I should tell you that I'll probably be staying at Torakawa-kun's house for a long time from now on. Please take care of me."

"Huh? For a long time?"

"Ah."

Sajou Aika's mood turned heavy once again.

12. Who is the one who can't win?

"Have you heard? About Wei Yuanchuan's place..."

"Oh, the morning news said it was quite big."

"An explosion, right? I saw it last night."

"Everyone could see it, right? A gas explosion?"

"It seems so... When was the last gas explosion?"

"Who knows..."

Before Xia Chuanhu and his two companions entered the classroom, news about the gas explosion in Weiyuanchuan last night kept reaching their ears. This was not only because of the scale of the incident last night, but also because the news had been playing this story on a loop this morning.

After all, gas explosions are rare these days, and safety facilities are very comprehensive, making accidents almost impossible.

(This has really caused a huge uproar.)

(But this is for the best; at least our existence won't be exposed.)

After exchanging a glance, Natsukawa Torato and Artoria communicated with each other through their eyes.

Holy Sword Armor: King Arthur – This is the name that Natsukawa Torama tentatively gave to his gigantic form combined with Artoria – Neither Artoria nor Natsukawa Torama wanted to expose that version of himself to the world.

There's a feeling that once things are exposed, society as a whole will turn in a bad direction. Since someone has managed to cover it up, Natsukawa Tiger and Artoria are happy to have some peace and quiet.

It's better than being exposed, investigated, and then constantly having to live in constant fear.

"Speaking of which, where did Pendragon sleep last night?"

After putting down her schoolbag and sitting down, Aika Sajou suddenly asked Artoria, "Although there are many rooms in the Torato family's house, they are basically all filled with things that Auntie and Auntie sent back, right? Do you sleep on the sofa?"

"No, we sleep on the floor of Tiger's room because there are extra blankets."

(One room!)

“Tiger…” Sajō Ayaka looked at her childhood friend with a gaze filled with all sorts of complex emotions, “You didn’t do anything bad to Pendragon, did you?”

“Definitely not, otherwise she wouldn’t have come to school today.” Natsukawa Tora said, resting his chin on his hand. “Speaking of sleeping, let’s go to the supermarket after school and buy Pendragon some clean clothes. He can’t keep sleeping in my pajamas, can he? Pendragon probably can’t fit into Aika’s clothes either.”

She's still wearing Natsukawa's pajamas?!

The moment those words were spoken, not only Sajou Aika, but the entire class fell into an eerie silence for a moment.

(Is this how aggressive a transfer student is? We just met yesterday, right?)

(Foreigners are indeed unrestrained; I hope Sajō-kun won't lose.)

(No way, no way! Ten years of childhood friendship can't possibly lose! Go, Sajou-kun!)

(If the attributes overlap, it depends on which side has a stronger offensive; Sandspot is at a significant disadvantage...)

Although everyone seemed to be chatting about their own things, in reality, almost the entire class was thinking about the blonde trio! Natsukawa Torato and Sajou Aika were the school's undisputed couple; even without an official announcement, it was tacitly accepted. Now, suddenly, a transfer student appeared...

To be honest, most people in the class are quite interested in how things will develop!

However, judging from the current situation, the transfer student accomplished in just one day what Sajo Ayaka hadn't been able to do in ten years. Rather than saying that a Cheng Yaojin appeared out of nowhere, it's more like a super nuclear bomb was dropped out of nowhere!

This can't be explained away with just the word "crisis"!

"Oh, I see. Pendragon was wearing tiger pajamas last night... Well, we'll have to buy quite a lot of things at the supermarket this afternoon."

(Satiao is pretending to be calm)

(You can sense the calm before the storm)

(Just find an opportunity to confess your feelings and you'll win!)

(Natsukawa, you bastard, at least say something!)

"Waaaaah—!"

Natsukawa Tora, who was sitting in his seat, suddenly shuddered.

"Tiger, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, probably someone is cursing at me—if you're going to the supermarket, Aigo, you can come to my house for dinner tonight, since no one's home anyway. But you have to help me out today, my hands were sore last night."

"I'm really sorry, Natsukawa-kun, I've eaten a bit too much."

"Then please eat less. I feel like I need to put three days' worth of food in the fridge just to feed you for one day—that's it, Aige. Could you do me a favor tonight... Aige?"

"Huh? Huh? I'm listening."

Unaware that a smile was creeping onto her face, Ayaka Sajou quickly replied, "Cooking with Tora, right? Yeah, leave it to me. Speaking of which, is this our first time cooking together? I'm kind of looking forward to it."

"It's just cooking together, what's there to look forward to? Didn't we make curry rice together back in the forest school?"

"I mean, it's just the two of us. What are we planning to eat tonight? Let's make it a bit fancy to welcome Pendragon."

Seeing Sajō Aika beaming with joy, the whole class couldn't help but facepalm—just cooking could make her this happy. Sajō-san was surprisingly innocent; no wonder there had been almost no progress in her life over the past ten years.

(However, as for the kitchen... hmph, it looks like a lot of things will happen there.)

(I'll recommend a few kitchen-themed anime to Xia Chuan later.)

(Unfortunately, there was a third wheel present.)

Artoria: "Eek~~~!"

"Huh? Pendragon, what's wrong?"

"No, it's just that I feel like someone might be talking about me, and it's giving me a chill down my spine." Artoria scratched her back. "More importantly, dinner doesn't need to be lavish. You already went to so much trouble last night, and I'm really sorry to be so rude again today. Just have something normal for you two."

Is this a normal level?

Natsukawa Torara and Sajou Aika both recalled Artoria's eating habits from last night. Although her movements and posture were quite elegant and impeccable, she ate faster than Natsukawa Torara and Sajou Aika combined. If she were to eat at the same pace as the two of them, it would be hard to say whether she could even get a third of her full.

"What you're saying sounds completely unbelievable."

“Pendragon, you don’t have to be so polite.”

"Is that so? Then... I'll have to trouble you two."

Artoria, her cheeks slightly flushed, shook the ahoge (cowlick) on her head.

at the same time--

"Alright! Everyone, please return to your seats! Let's begin the lesson!"

(Tch! Tiger, what are you doing here!)

The entire class showed expressions of disgust, leaving Fujimura Taiga, who had just entered, looking completely bewildered.

13. Who is the legendary angel?

Natsukawa Tora, Sajou Aika, and Artoria spent their entire school day under the subtle gazes of the entire class and even the whole school.

Although Artoria and Natsukawa Torato both sensed something was off about the atmosphere around them and considered investigating, they couldn't find any clues at the school no matter how they observed. So they had to give up and waited until school was over.

"Finally, we're liberated..."

"Is going to school really this tiring?"

Outside the school, on the street leading to the supermarket, Natsukawa Tiger and Artoria both wore bitter expressions, sighing as if they had just finished a tough battle.

Beside the two, Ayaka Sajou couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong with you two? You look so tired. Was today's lesson difficult?"

"It's not about that aspect, it's mainly the atmosphere."

"Atmosphere?"

"I don't know why, but the atmosphere at school felt strange today, like walking into a forest full of hunters. Didn't you feel that, Aika?"

Because all her attention was on you, she didn't notice the atmosphere at school at all—Sajō Aika didn't say this to Natsukawa Torama, but just shook her head: "No, no, isn't it the same as usual? Torama and Pendragon are just overthinking it, aren't they?"

"Perhaps... So, as we agreed before, shall we go to the supermarket now to buy Pendragon some clothes?"

"Hmm, and the ingredients for tonight's dinner—" Sajou Aika hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Also...don't we need to buy some bedding? Should we let Pendragon sleep on the floor again tonight? Should we tidy up Uncle and Aunt's room and make room for Pendragon to sleep in?"

"No need, I'm fine sleeping on the floor."

Artoria shook her head and said, "I can sleep anywhere, and it also saves me the time and effort of cleaning the room."

"No, that's not what I meant..."

I always feel a little uncomfortable if the two of you sleep in the same room.

Sajō Aika really wanted to say that, but she was still a little embarrassed to say it so bluntly...

Sajou Aika looked like she was about to say something, but then swallowed her words. Natsukawa Torama suddenly spoke up: "Cleaning the room doesn't take much time, and it's really not good to let you sleep on the floor all the time... How about this, you two go to the supermarket to buy clothes and groceries, and I'll go home and clean the room?"

"Tiger?" Ayaka Sajou's tone suddenly became slightly delighted.

"Is it okay? Won't it cause trouble for your parents?" Artoria asked.

"Don't worry about them. They only come back during the first month of the year. You can move in without worry. That's all for now. I'm going home now. You two go to the supermarket."

After saying that, Xia Chuanhu quickened his pace and walked straight to the intersection, then headed in the opposite direction from the supermarket.

After watching until his figure was completely out of sight, Ayaka Sajou finally looked away: "Well then, let's go to the supermarket, Pendragon-kun."

"Ok."

————————————————————————————————————

(Hopefully, the two of them can get along well.)

After returning home, Natsukawa Tora threw his schoolbag into his room and walked into his parents' bedroom, which he hadn't been to in a long time.

This was the first time in ten years that Natsukawa Tora had parted ways with Aika Sajou on their way home. In the past, he would have definitely gone to the supermarket with her, but today, he felt it was better to leave the space to Aika and Artoria.

He could tell that something was off about his childhood sweetheart's emotions. Even if she hid it well, he had spent ten years with her day and night. What changes couldn't he see? He could even smell it if Aika Sajou suddenly changed her shampoo.