To become a king and a magician

She is Olga Marie Asmirette Animusfia, the daughter of the Celestial Sovereign, the current Sovereign's Regent, and the sole heir to the next Sovereign—not one of those sheltered little girls who need to be protected at all times.

She's not that delicate.

“It’s really a great help that you had this idea, Mr. Natsukawa. I am very grateful that you are willing to provide me with shelter.”

"You're welcome."

Xia Chuanhu waved his hand, took a bite of rice, and glanced around: "However, what surprises me is that your attendant isn't with you? Why would someone leave you alone like that?"

“I’m not someone who can’t live without Tereza. Because there were some things she wanted to confirm, Tereza went to see the conductor of the train.”

Did you go see that train attendant-like man from last night?

Natsukawa Tora bit his spoon: "A deal about the Magic Eye?"

"I have no obligation to explain this matter to you. Guard duties should not include digging into every detail, right?"

"Yes, I was too abrupt... Well, let's end this exchange here."

Halfway through his sentence, Natsukawa Tiger suddenly paused, then quickly finished his lunch and stood up: "I have some things to take care of, so I must take my leave first. Please enjoy your lunch here, Your Highness."

"Princess--?!"

When Olga Marie was suddenly addressed like that, her face instantly turned red, and a feeling of shyness welled up from the depths of her heart.

(Call me princess... what a frivolous person!)

Is this how he seduces women? Olga Marie knows a thing or two about the tricks men usually use. No wonder rumors spread that Natsukawa Tora could say such sweet words so naturally.

"Don't think I'll fall for your tricks, Mr. Natsukawa."

——————————————————————————————————

In the corridor of the carriage next to the dining car.

Following closely behind Natsukawa Torata, Sajou Rei suddenly asked, "Master, are you harboring some wicked intentions towards that Lady Monarch?"

"Why would you have such thoughts?" Natsukawa Torama tilted his head in confusion. "What kind of person am I in your eyes? How could I possibly make you think like this... Where is your respect for me as your master?"

"My loyalty and respect for my master are absolutely genuine, and I believe my master has felt their weight countless times last night."

As Sajou Rei spoke, she placed her hand on her chest. Although it looked flat now and it was hard to tell whether it was her chest or back, Natsukawa Torato had almost suffocated there last night, so it was quite heavy.

"However, it is my duty as a maid to pull my master's thoughts back onto the right track. If you really have any bad intentions towards that lady, then Lingyi can only keep you in bed for the rest of the train journey."

"Of course, Master, please rest assured, we will always be by your side. A qualified maid is one who accompanies you at all times."

Sajou Rei smiled as she uttered words of terrifying intensity. When others try to bring someone back on track, they either use words of wisdom or a personality-correcting punch; but she, in her case, intended to keep him bedridden forever?!

If that were to happen, Xia Chuanhu felt that he was very likely to develop some psychological trauma after this trip, which would be a real problem. No matter how good his health was, he couldn't withstand the strain of these two perpetual motion machines.

"I really didn't have any bad intentions towards her, I swear, really, it was just a casual remark," Xia Chuanhu said, raising his hands. "Besides, what kind of thoughts could I possibly have about a thirteen-year-old girl? If I had any ideas, I could have just come to you."

"Yes, that's exactly right."

Sajou Rei was very satisfied with her master's answer. Wasn't she just a proud little white-haired loli? She could perfectly recreate the exact same appearance to satisfy Natsukawa Torama's desires, and even fulfill all of her master's excessive demands.

"However, Master, why did you suddenly leave your seat? You seem to have sensed something?"

“You could say that.” Natsukawa Tora stopped in front of a door. “I sensed a few familiar presences. Normally I wouldn’t have missed them, but I must have been too engrossed in our conversation last night, so even though I sensed them, I didn’t pay much attention.”

"A familiar aura... Could it be someone the master knows?"

"It's been six or seven years since we last met."

Recalling that figure from the past, Xia Chuanhu opened the door and stepped into the carriage.

The moment he stepped inside, a figure immediately came into his view—a church agent's uniform, a youthful face about the same age as a high school student, short azure hair, and sky-blue eyes.

"It really is you, Hiel."

"Long time no see, do you still remember me?"

26. Lingyi: I know a little about magic.

Unlike the dining car where there weren't many people, the car where Natsukawa Tora and Sajou Rei were now was quite crowded. Although the seats were scattered in twos and threes, it was normal for magicians to distrust people outside themselves and not like to gather in groups.

Among so many magicians, the only one wearing church uniform stood out quite conspicuously, further highlighting his alienation in this already unsociable atmosphere.

That person was none other than Hier.

In Natsukawa Torato's memory, the last time he met her was in Misaki City, which was about seven years ago. However, compared to seven years ago, Hiel looks exactly the same as she did seven years ago.

The effects of being possessed by Roya seem to have not completely faded even now. Of course, Natsukawa Torato himself is the same in that his appearance has not changed.

Upon hearing Natsukawa Tora's voice coming from the doorway, Hiel immediately turned to look at him: "Natsukawa?"

There was some doubt and uncertainty in their tone. It was inevitable that they would feel a little estranged from each other since their last meeting seven years ago.

He sat down in front of her and said with a smile, "What? Seven years have passed, don't you recognize me? I should look the same as you, not much different from seven years ago."

"I do recognize you, but it's precisely because I recognize you that I'm a little unsure." After a brief moment of surprise, Hiel smiled with a hint of nostalgia. "Long time no see. I didn't expect to run into you here. The Magic Eye Collection Train... Are you here for that auction?"

"Well, you could say that. Just think of me as someone attending an auction—but you probably aren't, are you?"

The Eye of the Demon train was established by one of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles, while the Holy Church to which Hiel belongs is a mortal enemy of the Twenty-Seven. It's hard to imagine that Hiel would be here to attend the auction.

"Has the church decided to eliminate the patriarch at the back of this train?"

"Never mind, it probably won't matter if I tell you."

After hesitating for a moment about whether to explain to Natsukawa Tora, Hiel said, "The Church has no intention of dealing with the ancestor behind this train—the Fifteenth Ancestor, Rita Roggean. I am here for another purpose."

"Another purpose?"

"It's no problem for me to explain, but this is a confidential matter, something that can't be said in public."

Upon hearing what Hier said, Natsukawa Torama immediately understood her meaning: "Zero, it's up to you."

"Yes, Master."

Nodding, Sajou Rei turned to the other magicians in the carriage: "[I'm sorry, my master doesn't like gatherings, please leave here]."

"Buzz————————!"

A magical vibration, like the slapping of a mosquito's wings, spread throughout the carriage. As Sajou Rei's voice faded, the magicians in the carriage stood up one after another, leaving the carriage like puppets on strings.

In the blink of an eye, only Xia Chuanhu and his two companions remained in the carriage.

Sajou Rei turned around: "It's all taken care of, Master. I've also set up a barrier to prevent interference, eavesdropping, and spying. Please feel free to do as you please."

"You've worked hard—can you tell me now, Hield?"

"she is?"

Without responding to Natsukawa Torata, Chiel's gaze was fixed on Sajou Rei, his eyes and expression somewhat grave. As the reincarnation of Roja, Chiel, though a member of the church, possessed top-tier magical knowledge even within the Clock Tower.

Therefore, she behaved as she did. What Sajou Rei had just done was undoubtedly the result of magic. Using language to perform charm magic was something Chierel could also do, but to control more than fifteen magicians with just a single sentence, leaving them completely unable to resist, and even having the leeway to prepare a barrier—

"She doesn't seem like a simple maid."

“You flatter me, Ms. Hiel. In the past, I did have some impressive titles, but now I am just an ordinary maid serving my master. I only know a little about magic and don’t have any remarkable abilities,” said Sajou Rei with a smile.

Just know a little about magic?

Hier recalled the scene from earlier. If someone only had a superficial understanding of magic, then there probably wouldn't be any real magicians in the world. You know, nine out of ten magicians who could board this train were extraordinary monsters.

After staring at Sajou Rei for a while, Hield finally looked away: "I think so too—but you haven't changed in this respect either, you always have one or two women by your side, no matter what."

"After all, Master is a bit too popular with women, which is something that troubles me a lot," Sajou Rei said with a smile. "When will you be able to tone it down a bit?"

"Don't ask me... By the way, Hiel, you still haven't told me why you're on this train."

Seeing that the two were about to launch a verbal attack on him, Xia Chuanhu quickly steered the conversation back to the main topic. After composing himself, Xier explained, "I came here because of a mission given to me by the church... the Burial Agency."

"You should know the seventh ancestor among the twenty-seven ancestors, right? Fuhailin Anashu, who appears once every fifty years. He is a monster born after a certain blood-sucking plant absorbed the blood of the first Anashu. When he appears in the world, he will pull everything around him into the Blood Forest to prey on it. The blood he collects will gather on a big tree in the center of the forest and condense into a real red fruit. Legend has it that the person who eats this fruit will become immortal."

"It has been almost fifty years since it last appeared, and every time it appears, the church organizes a team to fight it. Although it fails every time, leaving it alone will cause huge losses."

At this point, Xia Chuanhu had a general idea of ​​the situation.

"In short, you're here to deal with Fu Hailin?"

"Yes, the church has some means of knowing where it will appear next. This time, it is certain that it will appear on the train's route."

"That's truly remarkable... But, so-called church's punitive expedition, is it just you alone?"

"That's right. It's just me."

After a moment of silence, Hiel nodded.

27. The tiger in Xia Chuanhu's name is a tiger that borrows the tiger's power.

The burial agencies are full of monsters with superhuman combat abilities, as Natsukawa Torato knows. Even someone like Siel, the last seat holder, can fight against Servants to a certain extent.

Even so, sending Hier alone to deal with one of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, the Fifteenth Ancestor whom the Church had failed to defeat despite assembling its forces several times, was basically sending Hier to his death.

"Hiel...do you really think the Church believes you can defeat Fuhailin?"

Xia Chuanhu couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know how much stronger you've become in the past seven years. Perhaps you really are strong enough to single-handedly eliminate an ancestor, but sending you alone is a bit much... Besides, you probably don't have an immortal body anymore, right?"

The former Siel was immortal. This is because she was once the reincarnation of Roja, born as Roja. She was both Siel and Roja. As long as Roja exists, the world will view her death as a resolution to this contradiction.

However, seven years ago, Roya was completely destroyed by Sajou Ayaka, and as a result, Chiel lost his immortality. Even though he still retains a certain degree of regenerative ability, it is far from the level where he could be resurrected on the spot after being killed in the past.

If he were still immortal, it would be understandable for Hiel to fight Fuhailin alone. Even if he couldn't defeat it, he should be able to bring back a considerable amount of information or weaken it significantly thanks to his immortality.

But now...

“This was supposed to be my last mission,” Hiel said. “I was given this mission shortly after I returned to the Burial Agency headquarters seven years ago, after Roya was destroyed. However, because Fuhailin Anashu’s time of manifestation had not yet arrived, I had been dealing with Fuhailin’s son until then.”

The Child of Fuhai Forest—a subspecies born from the fruit of the Fuhai Forest according to legend. When the fruit is ripe, it drips blood, and some of these blood drops turn into seeds. After sleeping underground for a period of time, these seeds choose to evolve differently from their mothers, and the individuals that evolve from them are the Children of Fuhai Forest.

Depending on the different evolutionary processes, the final appearance will vary, but they are basically all forests.

"I learned of this fact shortly after accepting the mission. Although dealing with Dead Apostles and Ancestors is the norm, the fact that they didn't provide me with any support and only maintained contact with me unilaterally speaks volumes about their behavior."

"Moreover, the biggest reason I joined the Burial Agency was because I was immortal. Now that I have lost my immortality, I have naturally lost my greatest value and am considered worthless in that agency. It is only natural that I have been abandoned."

"This mission is my last mission, and the burial agency made one last contact with me before I boarded the vehicle. Whether the result is success or failure, I will be completely abandoned."

If something is valuable, it will be utilized; if it is not, it will be decisively discarded—that's basically what the burial agency is like. Originally, all the members there were people with personality disorders, so it was impossible to expect them to have compassion or camaraderie.