To become a king and a magician

At the same time that Ryougi Shiki saw the two people walking towards them, Natsukawa Torato and Atalanta also saw her walking out of the alley.

"What a coincidence, Shiki, we were just about to head over to your place." Natsukawa Torato waved to her. "The alleyway... is this the Ryougi family's daily routine? Another group of thugs causing trouble on your turf?"

"Anyone with that kind of guts is either in the hospital or in a detention center. This area has been very quiet for the past few years. But there's been a suspicious person loitering around here recently, so I came to check on things—did he also take leave to come back this time?"

"Yeah, I got back yesterday and met up with Ta-Miao first."

Did you approach Atalanta first?

Ryougi Shiki looked at Atalanta, who was holding his hand: "It's quite rare to see you two holding hands like this, on a date?"

"You could say that for now." Atalanta leaned closer to Natsukawa Torato. "We're on our way to lunch now, Shiki, would you like to come along?"

"Where?"

Tiger said he wanted to go to a buffet restaurant.

"That can."

After Ryougi Shiki finished speaking, she naturally stood on the other side of Natsukawa Tora—this was the default position when the three of them were together, one on each side. Compared to the situation in England where things were often unruly because of the troublesome Mary, Atalanta and Ryougi Shiki were both rather aloof and taciturn, so there was no chance of any dramatic confrontations.

Actually, the British side could have achieved the same result by simply kicking Merry out, but unfortunately, she often seems to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

The shop that Natsukawa Tora mentioned is on the next street, and you have to cross two intersections to get there.

While waiting for the green light at the first intersection, Ryougi Shiki glanced at the two still holding hands and nudged Natsukawa Torato's waist with her elbow: "You two, you're not planning to separate, are you?"

"Huh? Separate... Oh, you mean me and Ta-Miao?"

Natsukawa Torama and Atalanta exchanged a glance, then Natsukawa Torama leaned down and whispered in Ryougi Shiki's ear about their last running race. As Natsukawa Torama listened to his explanation, Ryougi Shiki's eyebrows twitched visibly, and her eyes gradually turned cold.

"—That's about it. Uh... Style? Are you listening? Are you angry?"

"No."

That's what she said, but Ryougi Shiki decisively pulled out a short sword from her sleeve and stabbed it out, startling Natsukawa Tora into quickly dodging to the side.

"Don't suddenly pull out a knife and hurt someone on the street, it's quite dangerous."

"Anyway, it won't hurt you."

"What about the impact on society?"

"Didn't you already take care of it?"

Cognitive interference, mental manipulation... Ryougi Shiki remembers something like that. Before she even drew her short sword, she sensed that feeling emanating from Natsukawa Torato.

This guy clearly sensed he might be stabbed, but he still dodged just before being stabbed, and even had the energy to deal with the impact on the surroundings. He really looks down on people.

“I can handle you, but this won’t do, Shi. As a woman, you should at least learn what gentleness and restraint are. Always stabbing people with a knife, if it were anyone else, they would have been dead long ago.”

"Don't worry about that, stabbing you is your special treatment."

Ding--!

Just then, the streetlights across the street turned green, and Ryougi Shiki, who had just finished speaking, put away her short sword and walked across without looking back.

Seeing her like this, Natsukawa Tora sighed helplessly: "Special treatment... I don't want this kind of preferential treatment. Who would want her like this?"

“Merry is absolutely right,” Atalanta suddenly blurted out, “You really are an idiot in some ways.”

Given his stubborn personality, it's a miracle he's become the womanizer he is today, juggling multiple relationships.

——————————————————————————————————————————

It was already 1:30 in the afternoon when Xia Chuanhu and his two companions came out of the buffet restaurant, and they had been practically rushed out.

The reason is that Natsukawa Tora ate too much.

However, Atalanta and Ryougi Shiki were already used to his behavior of eating an entire buffet restaurant clean. It was because he always had to do this every time he came back. No restaurant he went to ever saw him off with a smile; they all looked like they wished he would never come back.

"You're probably already on that company's blacklist."

Ryougi Shiki smiled, a rare occurrence for her: "That makes twenty-three families. If I hadn't known it was you, your name would probably be on the Ryougi family's list of those to be dealt with—where are you going next?"

"It's up to you two. Anyway, I always come back to spend time with you. Your thoughts take priority." Xia Chuanhu decisively handed over the choice to the two ladies.

Atalanta took out her phone and glanced at it: "It's already this late... Sorry, Tiger, Shiki, it'll just be the two of you from now on. I have something to take care of."

"Huh? From school?"

"Pretty much, it's a routine home visit, basically just going to talk to the students' parents about educational content and such."

"You must be very tired, teacher."

"Since I've worked so hard, you'll cook dinner tonight too. As for the three households... I'll probably be back around 5:30." Atalanta flicked her husband's forehead. "Then I'll be going now. Please take care of my husband, Shiki."

Ryougi waved to Atalanta as she left, then looked at Natsukawa Torato: "You two really do look like a couple, don't you? Her identification document also uses your surname, right?"

"When we were helping her get the necessary documents in that other world, we used her current name, so she probably just moved over there herself."

Has the other world begun? It's hard to imagine that this man didn't do it on purpose, but his intention was probably to play a prank. He's surprisingly playful.

"So where are we going next? Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

"Come with me."

After a pause, Ryougi Shiki turned and walked in one direction.

12. Admin: I still have to be the one to provide the assist.

Ryougi Shiki said that the place she was going to was not in Kanbushi City, but on a road outside the city leading to the mountain.

Leaning against the railing and gazing at the panoramic view of Kanbushi City not far away, Natsukawa Tiger was somewhat surprised that Ryougi Shiki had brought him to such a classic scene.

"This place has a great view. I discovered it during a night out once, and I come here to stay for a while when I'm feeling down."

Also leaning against the railing next to Natsukawa Torato, Ryougi Shiki bent down, supporting her body with her arms, and gazed at the city below.

Do I come here when I'm feeling down?

"Does this mean you're feeling a bit upset?" Natsukawa Torato asked. "What's bothering you? Tell me, what could be making our Miss Ryougi so unhappy?"

"What do you think?"

Ryougi kicked Natsukawa Tora with her foot and glared at him fiercely, looking like an enraged cat—which proved that there was a reason why she and Atalanta had become so close.

"Didn't you say you possessed primordial knowledge and were omniscient and omnipotent?"

"I never claimed to be omniscient and omnipotent. Besides, the knowledge I obtained from the source is not all-encompassing; there are some things I genuinely don't know."

"Is that so... With those two children by your side, I thought you were already very close to being on my side, [Natsukawa-kun]."

Halfway through her sentence, Ryougi Shiki's tone changed as if she had suddenly become a different person.

Natsukawa Torama's eyes widened slightly—[Natsukawa-kun]—many people called him that, but in Ryougi Shiki's case... it would only be her.

Is it the Ryougi Shiki?

"Yes, it's been a long time, Natsukawa-kun."

With a gentle smile, like a mother, Ryougi Shiki waved to Natsukawa Torato: "It's been twelve years since we last met, hasn't it?"

"It really surprised me; I didn't expect you to show up at this time."

"Because there are some things I want to tell you, and it's been a long time since we've seen each other. I should say I miss you, right? After all, a child's emotions will inevitably be reflected back to me to some extent. Although it doesn't have a big impact, I don't deliberately reject this feedback, and as a result, it has accumulated a bit too much."

The words spoken by Ryougi Shiki startled Natsukawa Torato for a moment—or rather, because their content was so unexpected that he couldn't understand them for a while.

Ryougi Shiki misses herself?

That Ryougi Shiki?

And this feeling of longing even affected [Ryougi Shiki]?

"You're quite the joker."

“I’m not joking, but it’s okay that you reacted this way. It’s not like this child would do something like that, is it?” Ryougi Shiki said with a smile.

Indeed, missing someone is quite unlike Ryougi Shiki, or rather, it's quite unlike the Ryougi Shiki that Natsukawa Torato remembers. The capable and free-spirited Ryougi Shiki, who could easily be mistaken for a man, would miss him... It's a bit out of character.

"But no matter what, Shiki is still a girl. Even if she acts like Oori, she is still a woman and will have the same thoughts as a normal girl."

"The feeling of liking someone and wanting to be with them—this kind of thought will arise naturally even if you are not aware of it."

"Ryougi Ori? If I'm not mistaken, he should have been there when Shiki was attacked by Araya Souren..."

"Yes, although nothing happened at the time, Shiki's personality was actually severely injured and died during that person's attack," Ryougi Shiki added. "After that, Shiki's heart has always been empty, and it has never been filled, even though she acts like she doesn't care."

"After meeting you, perhaps because he wanted to get revenge on you for the stolen prey, or perhaps because he had been unable to kill you and had been defeated by you repeatedly, Shiki's competitive spirit was aroused by you."

"So, driven by his competitive spirit, he gradually started to care about me?" Xia Chuanhu roughly understood, and at the same time, he was somewhat amused and exasperated. This development was truly beyond his expectations.

[Ryougi Shiki], like a mother troubled by her daughter's performance, shook her head with a wry smile: "That's generally true, but if I had to say, it would be after you left. In the five years since you left, her original desire to beat you has changed somewhat, and once it has changed, it's basically unstoppable."

"Normally, Shiki's personality is one that she would never show it on her own, but because of your interactions with that cat lady, she's gotten a little anxious. That's why I'm here now."

At this point, [Ryougi Shiki] came to Natsukawa Torata and gently tapped his forehead with her finger: "If I don't say it, it would take a very long time for either of you to realize the other's feelings, which would make people a little impatient."

"So you showed up just to tell me that directly?"

"That's it."

Influenced by Ryougi Shiki's longing and unable to bear watching the two people struggling with each other so obliviously—these two factors prompted Ryougi Shiki to suddenly appear at this time.

Normally, someone as omniscient and omnipotent as her connection to the Root would not do such a thing. However, Natsukawa Torata is the only exception that she, being omniscient and omnipotent, cannot know. Coming from outside this world, he is an object that even the Root Vortex has never recorded. Therefore, Ryougi Shiki can only see his past and present; his future is a fog that no one can see.

As for the scene beyond that mist, [Ryougi Shiki] wanted to see it for herself.

"Natsukawa-kun, I'm entrusting Shiki to you. She's a bit slow-witted and doesn't express her feelings easily, so she'll need your help in many ways."

"Yes, I will." Natsukawa Tora nodded, then smiled and said, "Actually, it wouldn't matter if you were included in addition to Shiki."

"Huh? You mean... you don't even want to let me go?"

Ryougi Shiki couldn't help but be surprised: "You really are a bit greedy, Natsukawa-kun. [Eating what's in your bowl while eyeing what's in the pot], that's not good. Miss Susume really corrupted you."

"It's not entirely Meryl's fault. I'm actually quite greedy myself, otherwise I wouldn't be in this state now."

To have one foot in four boats—only a greedy person could do such a thing.

Ryougi Shiki smiled and said, "However, it's a bit early if you want to take care of me. At least wait until you've taken good care of Shiki before thinking about how to take care of me. Well then, goodbye, Natsukawa-kun. Remember not to tell Shiki about this."

"She herself wouldn't have any memory of this, would she?"

Reaching out to support Ryougi Shiki, who had collapsed due to the accumulation of [Ryougi Shiki], Natsukawa Torama stroked her hair: "It would be better if you could be more frank, Shiki."