To become a king and a magician

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Meanwhile, in the residential areas of Kanbuko City.

Atalanta stopped in front of a house and rang the doorbell: "I'm Natsukawa, here for a family visit. Is Fujimaru home?"

13. I'm back, Chaldea

"—That's how it ended up being something like this."

"You've really had a tough time."

In the dream world, as Natsukawa Tora recounted the events of his week-long stay in Kanbuko City, Meryl comforted him verbally, but in reality, she was quite happy.

"But speaking of which, I didn't expect Ata to fall for it too. Judging by her timeline, you two have known each other for six years now. It's amazing that you two can both hold back."

"Am I some kind of walking, talking cannon that pounces on every pretty woman I see?" Natsukawa Tiger rolled his eyes at her, annoyed. "I admit I'm a bit promiscuous, but not to the extent you described."

"Replacing 'some' with 'especially' is also acceptable—Your Majesty, you've gone beyond just 'some' being promiscuous. Judging by the current trend, it's not impossible for them to completely recreate the 'Knights of the Round Table (Harem)', and the scale might even be larger."

"Are you kidding me?"

“I’m not kidding,” Meryl laughed. “Speaking of which, regarding Miss Ryougi… since that nobleman said such things, has your relationship progressed at all? Like, perhaps with some close physical contact or something?”

"If that were the case, wouldn't Shiki open his Demon Eyes and chop me up? It's pretty much the same as before, let's take it slow."

"Don't forget there's another Root Lady waiting for you. But you already have two Root Ladies at home. As a specialist in conquering Root Ladies, you shouldn't have any problems, right?"

"Don't label me with weird titles. Instead of talking about me, tell me about your situation, how's your family doing?"

Without answering immediately, Melly snapped her fingers, and a scene appeared before Natsukawa Tora's eyes, showing the various daily activities inside the Camelot Apartments.

"Nothing's changed much. If I had to say, it's just that it's a bit deserted since you left. It's not as fun to tease little Aika anymore. But the new girl, Ms. Tsuru, is quite interesting. She says she has the potential to be an idol. Do you think I should try being an idol too?"

An idol? Merry?

Magical Merry?

"I think you could discuss this with Merlin from this world. You two should get along very well, really."

"Really? Then I'll go and discuss it with him later. It seems like it would be a very interesting project."

Hearing what Meryl said, Natsukawa Tiger felt that after he woke up, it would be best to remind Roman to be wary of online scams.

It has been eight days since he left the Clock Tower. After spending a week with Atalanta and Ryougi Shiki in Guanbuzi City, he and Gray flew to their third destination on this trip—Antarctica.

Or, to put it another way, Chaldea.

In fact, his body is currently sitting in a plane bound for Antarctica.

"Brother... Brother..."

Just then, some of Gray's voices rang out in the dream world.

"We're almost off the plane, brother, wake up."

"Oh dear, it seems it's time. It's still quite cold in Antarctica. Your Majesty, you should be careful not to get kicked into the sea by a penguin and freeze into an ice block."

"If you want, I can put you in the Arctic Ocean when I get back."

"How scary~~~ I'll go first then."

With a wave of her hand, Mary's figure immediately disappeared from Xia Chuanhu's sight. As she disappeared, Xia Chuanhu felt his consciousness rising, and the scene before him seemed to be in complete disarray.

Once the scene returned to normal, what came into Natsukawa Torato's view was Gray's face, which was very close to his.

Upon seeing Natsukawa Tora wake up, Grey immediately smiled and said, "Good morning, brother. Did you have a good sleep?"

"I was tormented in my dream by your sister Meryl, so I can't say I slept well."

"Sister Meryl...sigh, I'll give her a good talking-to when we get back."

[Grey, are you sure you won't be the one getting teased later? Also, dude, it's not good morning, it's afternoon local time now. You slept really long, did you stay up all night before boarding the plane?]

Staying up late...

Natsukawa Tora gave a wry smile: "If it's just staying up all night, then that's fine. I really underestimated Ta-Miao's fighting power... As expected of someone who can last for three days and three nights in mythology, this is the first time I've ever felt like I'm really going to be drained."

Compared to Atalanta, both Aoko and Lydel are incredibly weak; even combined, they can't defeat Atalanta alone.

Hearing her brother's words, Grey blushed instantly.

She arrived on the second night after Natsukawa Tiger arrived in Kanbuko City. She knew about her brother and Atalanta's affair because the two of them had no intention of hiding it—you could even say she was eavesdropping every day.

(Now there are more competitors...)

[Who told you to be so idiotic, Grey, not to make your move sooner? You got overtaken again!]

Lowering his voice, Yad swayed and bumped into Grey, speaking in a tone of utter disappointment that made Grey almost bury her head in her clothes.

at the same time--

Attention passengers, this aircraft is about to land.

Such a message came over the airplane's intercom, but in reality, there were only two passengers: Natsukawa Tora and Gray. The plane itself belonged to the Animusfia family and was generally used for cargo transport. Chaldea, located in Antarctica, was not yet fully operational, and supplies needed to be transported by plane or ship.

This time, at Marisbury's behest, the plane was specifically used for purposes other than transporting supplies.

Pulling back the curtains beside him, Natsukawa Tiger looked down at the vast white snowfield. After passing through the howling blizzard, a white building shaped like a "U" quickly came into his view.

That was his destination, an institution that had just been completed some time ago, located on the Antarctic continent, an observatory overlooking the entire Earth from the void in order to ensure the survival of humanity.

Phineas Chaldea, an organization dedicated to ensuring the survival of human beings.

"Are we finally almost there?"

Gazing at that familiar place, a hint of nostalgia appeared in Xia Chuanhu's eyes. Twelve years had passed since he arrived in this world, and after experiencing numerous events and meeting countless people, he was finally returning.

"I'm back, Chaldea."

14. Rafe From the Heart Floros

The reception room of Chaldea.

"It's been two years, Lord Natsukawa."

Opposite Natsukawa Torata, the monarch of the Celestial Science Department—Marisbury Animusfia—shaked him with a rather warm handshake.

"Although I did send you news that Chaldea had been successfully completed, I didn't expect you to come at this time. The combat department is not yet fully established."

"I'm just here to check things out. After all, I'll probably be staying here for a long time, so it's not a bad thing to get familiar with the environment first."

Natsukawa Tora replied, "But we have fewer people than I expected. I didn't meet many people on my way here. Haven't you started recruiting yet?"

Marisbury nodded: "That's right. The project was only recently completed, and everything is just getting on track. To be honest, I still have quite a few documents in my office that haven't been signed and processed yet."

Chaldea's territory in Antarctica is actually quite large, and such a large territory could not possibly be kept secret from the countries that have already built research stations in Antarctica.

Why would such a huge organization suddenly appear in Antarctica? What power does this research institution belong to? And what research projects is it undertaking?

Questions like these will undoubtedly arise one after another after Chaldea is discovered. Due to its mysterious secrecy, even in order to ensure the survival of human reason, the existence of the Clock Tower cannot be exposed. How to maintain Chaldea's existence without revealing its mystery, and how to make the world recognize Chaldea's autonomous operation... These are all questions that Marisbury needs to solve.

Of course, Natsukawa Torara knew that Marisbury had basically been taken care of. It's worth noting that the original Chaldea project had UN recognition, and its initial funding came from various countries, amounting to about 30%. Now that Chaldea was complete, Marisbury probably only had some documents left to prove his claim.

For example, those certificates that have no real effect but must be signed as a formality.

After making a cup of black tea for both Natsukawa Tora and Gray, Marisbury sat down on the sofa: "Speaking of which, if you're coming to check on things, what exactly are you planning to see? The various experiments currently underway at Chaldea? Or are you looking into the equipment and devices you might need to access in the future?"

"Partly, and partly to see if there are any acquaintances here. I met with Roman in Paris before, he should have arrived by now, right?"

"Yes, the doctor did arrive five days ago. He's currently in charge of checking the daily lives of the Chaldea staff. He should be in the infirmary right now. Should I call him over?"

Xia Chuanhu shook his head: "No need, I'll go find him later, it'll be good to give him a surprise. Besides the doctor, I think there's another acquaintance here too."

“Rafe Lenore Gusin—I heard during my two years working at the Clock Tower that he, who usually stayed at home in the archaeology department and never went out, suddenly left his research room last year and disappeared without a trace.”

"He's with you now, right?"

Professor Rafe – the spark that ignited the fuse of the Human Incineration bomb, the incarnation of the Demon Pillar Flauros. Originally, he was supposed to commit suicide in 2015 to prevent the Human Incineration from happening, but now that Chaldea has been built, he has probably been possessed by the Demon Pillar.

After taking a sip of black tea, Marisbury paused for a moment before nodding: "Professor Rafe's words are indeed true. One of Chaldea's core pieces of equipment—the Near-Future Observation Lens Sheba—requires his abilities to ensure its proper functioning."

"Where are the others?"

"Now that you know, are you planning to eliminate him, Lord Natsukawa?"

Marisbury hadn't forgotten what Natsukawa Tora had told him during the Holy Grail War two years ago: Professor Rafe would use a bomb to engulf everyone in the control room after the incineration of humanity, just before the salvation of humanity was about to begin, in order to cut off any hope of the restoration of humanity.

"If that's the case, please don't worry. To avoid the future you mentioned, the control room is built with special materials that ordinary bombs cannot affect it."

"I haven't said I'm going to destroy it yet. I just want to say hello. After all, he's an employee I'll be working with in the future, so it's always good to say hello first, right?" Natsukawa Tora laughed. "Don't worry, I won't do anything to demolish Chaldea before the Human Order Burns. I can guarantee that. After all, Chaldea is essential for the restoration of Human Order."

Looking at the gentle smile on the face of the Holy Swordsman before him, Marisbury felt a slight chill. He knew that he was able to fulfill his clan's long-cherished wish largely because of the compromise reached between King Solomon and Natsukawa Tora. If he had persisted in obstructing the process, Chaldea would not exist.

Frankly speaking, in the real world right now, there is no one who can stop Natsukawa Tora.

“If that’s the case, then that would be wonderful. You two are both important talents in Chaldea, and if you two are not on good terms, it will affect the operation of Chaldea. But unfortunately, before you arrived, Professor Lev said that he wanted to readjust Sheba, and it is currently in a state where it cannot be disturbed.”

"I see... That's a real shame."

Setting down his empty teacup, Natsukawa Tora glanced around, sighed, and stood up. "I really wanted to meet Professor Rafe, but since he's not available right now, let's talk about it another time. I'm going to see Roman. Where's the infirmary?"

“There are maps all over Chaldea, including outside this room, with the locations and routes of various important areas marked on them.”

“What a thoughtful arrangement—see you later, Maris Billy. Let’s go, Grey, to see the doctor.”

Watching Natsukawa Torama leave the reception room with Grey, Maris Billy sat there for a while before picking up his teacup and drinking the rest of his black tea in one gulp: "I guess I was just trying to get something out of nothing. One wrong step and I could fall into the abyss."

"But even tigers can be dealt with normally if the methods are right... There have been quite a few interesting rumors coming from the Clock Tower in the past two years, and I hope they can be put to use."

15. Doctor, that's hell ahead!

Chaldea, Medical Room.

After organizing the data on the computer in front of him, Roman rubbed his eyes and said, "Phew, I'm a little tired. It's really a stretch to organize and memorize all the health data of all the Chaldea employees."

The medical department is currently short-staffed. Although Marisbury has begun recruiting staff worldwide, Roman still needs to take the lead. As a doctor, understanding each patient's physical condition is the most important thing to do.

During his few days in Chaldea, aside from giving each employee a brief medical consultation, Roman devoted almost all his remaining time to this matter, and spent his limited free time learning foreign languages.

Chaldea is an institution open to the whole world, and the medical department will definitely have doctors from all over the world. Even though Roman has already mastered three languages—English, French, and Japanese—he still wants to master as many as possible, just in case.

"Phew... But right now, it's okay to take a short rest, right?"