To become a king and a magician

3. Rin Tohsaka: Have I entered someone's harem?

When Rin Tohsaka arrived at the restaurant with Merry, there were already five people sitting inside.

In addition to Artoria and Okita Souji, whom we already knew, there were three other people.

One was a silver-haired girl with a somewhat petite build, wearing a gray cloak. Rin Tohsaka felt that her face, Artoria's face, and Okita Souji's face were all cut from the same mold, whether it was her imagination or not.

No two leaves in the world are the same. Even twins will look somewhat different. But Rin Tohsaka really couldn't see any difference in the face shape of these three people.

Upon noticing Rin Tohsaka looking at her, the silver-haired girl smiled and said, "Hello, Rin-neechan. I'm Gray."

"Sister? Big sister? Eh....."

“Just let her call you that,” Mary explained. “Grey is only 17 years old, the youngest of us, so it’s fine for her to call you ‘sister.’”

Another reason is that they're used to calling her "older sister" in parallel worlds. Not to mention Rin Tohsaka who's only 19, Gray has seen Rin Tohsaka in her twenties before, and Gray is already used to calling her "older sister."

"Grey is one of the two housekeepers in our apartment. She's also responsible for waking us up and preparing breakfast every morning. This is just a suggestion, though. It's best not to think about staying in bed or going back to sleep after being woken up by Grey. You'll get a beating. Someone has gotten a beating on the head for this all the time."

"Don't you even think about who's to blame for my inability to get up in the morning? If it weren't for some nightmare that comes to bother me in my dreams every night, would I be suffering from sleep deprivation every day?"

Upon hearing this, the man sitting next to her glared at her irritably, then looked at Rin Tohsaka: "Long time no see—you probably don't know the situation either. I'm Natsukawa Torato, one of the Clock Tower's self-defense instructors. I'm an old acquaintance of your father, so let's get along well from now on."

"Ah...yes, please guide me."

(An old acquaintance of my father? So young?)

“Tiger is thirty years old, you know,” Meryl added.

Thirty years old?! You're kidding me?!

Rin Tohsaka stared at Torata Natsukawa with utter astonishment—he looked only seventeen or eighteen! At most twenty! He didn't look thirty at all!?

Could it be that they used a potion from the plant family? Rin Tohsaka had heard before that the plant family was secretly developing a potion to preserve youth, and it was said that the plant family's ruler, the witch from the Archerlot family, was leading the research.

Seeing her surprise, Natsukawa Tora waved his hand shyly, "Well, I am indeed about thirty years old. I look young because of my physical condition. Don't look at me like this. I saw you when you were a child. I remember it was January of 96, right? Back then, you didn't even have my waist. You've grown up quite a bit in the past ten years."

(Is this an older colleague I met when I was a child?!)

The fact that he was an old acquaintance of her father was already surprising enough for Rin Tohsaka, but she never expected that he had actually met her when she was a child, back in January 1996...

(It seems... I do have a vague memory of that? I did see a blond man during the first month of the lunar calendar...)

"what!"

The image in her mind gradually became clearer, and after comparing it, Rin Tohsaka's mouth gaped open even wider: "You...you...you haven't changed at all in over ten years?"

“My situation is a little special—by the way, Rei, why don’t you say hello to Rin too?”

"Yes, Master."

On the other side of Natsukawa Torata, Sajou Rei stood up and gave Tohsaka Rin a curtsy: "[Nice to meet you], Ms. Tohsaka Rin, I am the master's doll, my individual name is [Sajou Rei], and I am another [butler] in this apartment building. Please take care of me from now on—come on, Aika, it's your turn."

Under Rin Tohsaka's surprised gaze, Rei Sajou paused for a moment, then her aura changed slightly: "[Nice to meet you], Rin Tohsaka, I am Ayaka Sajou. Just think of me and Rei as having two personalities. However, I don't usually appear very often, so you don't need to pay too much attention to me."

(A doll? A split personality? This...)

"Is this a puppet magic trick? But the level of completion... this is a puppet with self-awareness! Isn't puppet magic supposed to be declining?"

"That's a long story... Well, just think of Zero as the product of various miracles combined. Her situation is unique and can't be replicated, so don't worry about it too much."

(How can I not care about this!)

It was only her first day living in this apartment, and Rin Tohsaka already felt like her worldview was about to collapse. The three people who looked almost identical were fine, but Natsukawa Tora, an old acquaintance of her father whose appearance hadn't changed in ten years, and Sajou Rei, a doll who was almost indistinguishable from a real human, were really hard for her to accept.

Whether as a normal human being or as a magician, both of his worldviews have been completely shattered!

(Have I stepped into some other dimension?)

Looking at it now, the most normal person in the whole apartment is that little girl named Grey, who is only two years younger than her. You could say she's her peer. I should spend more time with her in the future.

"That way, you've gotten to know them all."

Meryl said with a smile, "It would have been even more lively if some other people hadn't been here. Rin's surprised expression just now was quite amusing. She's already collected them all."

"collect?"

"Don't worry about her bad habits. Just give her a couple of slaps with a slipper later." Xia Chuanhu said nonchalantly.

Upon hearing this, Mary immediately pounced on him: "How could you do this to your fiancée? I'm not going to meet you in your dreams tonight."

"You call that a rendezvous? Turning my dream into a zombie apocalypse, and then making me carry you and fight the zombies—that's quite a unique way to have a rendezvous." Natsukawa Tora grabbed Meryl's head and lifted her up. "Do you know how many times I've wanted to throw you into a horde of zombies?"

"Isn't this just someone wanting to experience what it feels like to be protected? To travel to the ends of the earth with your loved one during the apocalypse—isn't that romantic?"

"Then why don't you just build the Titanic?"

"Not exciting enough, so pass~~~"

"Merry, how long are you planning to stay on your master? You can get off now."

"It's almost time for dinner, brother, Sister Meryl—Sister Lia, can't we start eating yet!"

"Sorry, I'm really hungry. I'm quite tired from working all day."

"Me too, pfft—"

"Miss Okita!"

......

Looking at the suddenly bustling restaurant and the five women surrounding Natsukawa Tora, Rin Tohsaka couldn't help but have an idea.

Could it be... that this apartment is Natsukawa Torato's harem?

4. Self-defense techniques passed down through a single lineage within the Mineral Science Department

Time always flies, and a month passed quickly after Rin Tohsaka officially moved into the Camelot Apartments.

During this month, she gained a profound understanding of two things about Xia Chuanhu.

The first thing—he's so strong he's practically inhuman!

"Thump—!"

Inside the self-defense classroom on the basement floor of the Clock Tower, Natsukawa Tora casually punched a seemingly strong student into the wall, then smiled and looked at the others queuing up not far away: "Alright, next one—Tohsaka, that's you, don't run away."

"Could you... could you go a little easier on me?"

In the past, Rin Tohsaka was quite confident in her self-defense skills. After all, she had been training in Bajiquan with her father's old friend Kirei Kotomine since she was a child. She could pass most self-defense lessons perfectly if she paid a little attention.

But it's different for Xia Chuanhu. If she doesn't take it seriously, she'll end up like the person who got smashed into the wall, and be bricked into the wall too!

And even if she gets completely serious—

"Shh-!"

Rin Tohsaka only felt a blur before her eyes, and Natsukawa Tora, who was about five meters away a second ago, was already in front of her, punching her directly in the stomach! The force from the fist sent her flying into the wall!

"Boom!"

Anyone with eyes could see that the wall shook slightly—you have to understand that this classroom was specially made. Ever since Lord El-Melloi began advocating the importance of self-defense ten years ago, the Clock Tower has also attached great importance to the course of self-defense. The classroom itself has been renovated once or twice, so its sturdiness is absolutely reliable.

However, under Natsukawa Tora's command, this sturdy classroom would frequently shake, and it was common for the floor and walls to be dented. It would be abnormal if his class didn't have a dozen or so dents.

As Rin Tohsaka, clutching her stomach, climbed out of the wall and stood up, Natsukawa Torato immediately appeared before her.

"Don't stop, Tohsaka. Your father has asked me to teach you properly."

(That doesn't mean you have to beat me so badly I can't move in every self-defense class, does it?)

During this past month, whenever Natsukawa Tora took a self-defense course, Tohsaka Rin never walked back on her own; she was always carried back. This person in front of her showed absolutely no mercy and hit her hard. To be honest, Tohsaka Rin felt that she would be beaten into the hospital by him sooner or later.

However, despite the beatings, Rin Tohsaka had to admit that Natsukawa Torama's lessons were truly effective—at least in order to get beaten up less and to make the beatings less painful, Natsukawa Torama's students showed significant improvements in both their dodging ability and their ability to withstand blows.

At first, Rin Tohsaka was knocked down with just one punch, but now she can withstand two or three hits and even dodge one or two if she's lucky.

"Come on, let's see if you can take another punch."

"Well--"

Thump!

Seeing the iron fist hurtling straight toward her head, Rin Tohsaka disregarded her manners and lunged to the other side without a second thought, then ran without looking back toward the place furthest from Natsukawa Tora.

Before she could run a few steps, she was kicked hard in the back—

"Waaah!"

With a scream, Rin Tohsaka flew off skimming the ground, finally coming to a stop after crashing into a pillar not far away.

The remaining students watching from a distance gasped in shock, their faces paling slightly. Even though they had all been slammed into the wall by Xia Chuanhu several times, they still couldn't help but tremble every time they saw this.

Except for one person—

"Excellent! As expected of the Tiger of the Clock Tower! Your movements are clean, crisp, and powerful! Perfect!"

Suddenly, a golden drill appeared out of the crowd, looking very excited and even clapping.

Luvia Celinta Edelfelt is an acquaintance of Natsukawa Torama in the parallel world, but here she is a student in the Mineral Department and a regular in his self-defense classes. She is, besides Tohsaka Rin, the one who has been beaten up the most by Natsukawa Torama.

Looking at her, Natsukawa Tora smiled and waved: "So, are you next, Luvia?"

"Yes, I'd be happy to, Natsukawa-sensei, but please don't think I'll be taken down by you in two moves like that female gorilla over there."

"Huh? Who are you calling a gorilla, you golden drill! Didn't someone get knocked down in two moves last time?" Rin Tohsaka, who had never gotten along with Luvia since then, jumped up immediately after being mocked so directly by Luvia.

“I don’t deny that. So, after that crushing defeat last time, I’m a completely different person now. This time, I’ll show you, teacher, the true strength of the second head of the Edfeldt family—”

"Boom--!"

Before Luvia could finish speaking, she was sent flying by a sudden punch from Natsukawa Tora.

Shaking his hand, Natsukawa Tora said helplessly, "Don't talk too much nonsense in my class. Talking during battle will distract you and make it easy to give yourself away. I've told you two this point more than a dozen times, haven't I? Luvia, Tohsaka."

"Yes......"

"It seems so..."

"Good to know—by the way, Tohsaka, you seem to have quite a bit of energy left. You can even jump up and argue with Luvia."

"This...this...that...I..."

Rin Tohsaka is now filled with regret, deep regret. She regrets being provoked by Luvia's provocation; she could have gotten away with it by simply lying down.

"Snapped!"