To become a king and a magician

"Stop!"

Before Sajou Rei could finish speaking, Natsukawa Tora hurriedly crawled out of bed—or rather, escaped.

"Didn't I just give you almost half a month's worth of magic last night? Why do you need it again today? Does your magic run out so quickly?"

"It's just for emergencies. After all, the magic power of the Great Source is completely unusable in the Fuhai Forest. If I want to construct a barrier, I can only use the magic power that my master has instilled in me. Since I don't know how much magic power will be consumed at that time, I want to store up as much magic power as possible."

As she spoke, Sajou Rei changed her stiff maid outfit into a slightly revealing and cute one, then got off the bed and slowly approached Natsukawa Torato.

"Of course, what we really want is to continue to be close to our master. Does our master really think that two weeks of patience can be resolved in one night? We will replace all the smells you picked up outside with our own during this trip."

Taking Natsukawa Torami's hand and moving it to the bow tie behind her back to secure her clothes, Sajou Rei smiled and said, "Or, Master, you can treat this as practice. After all, you'll be unbuttoning someone's clothes like this countless times in the future, so practicing beforehand isn't a bad thing, is it?"

"Hey, isn't there a bit too many places you've attached this bow?"

The maid outfit that Sajou Rei is wearing right now, I wonder if it was designed this way on purpose, the whole outfit is held together by just one bow.

Like a rickety piece of rotten wood, it would collapse completely with just a gentle push on the already rotten parts, and now, Natsukawa Tiger's hand was already on that rotten part.

If Natsukawa Torato used even a little force, the bow and the entire maid outfit would fall apart—and then he would become a completely shriveled lemon again the next day, the kind that really can't be squeezed out of any juice.

"Lingyi, it can't be like this every night, right? We might have to deal with Fuhailin tomorrow morning. What if I'm so exhausted that I don't have the strength to fight?"

“Regarding that, I can use a stamina-enhancing magic for you, ensuring you won’t feel any fatigue.” As she spoke, Sajou Rei unbuttoned her clothes and used her mouth to hold the ribbon at her chest to prevent them from falling down. “Or…does Master want to use it now?”

Under Sajou Rei's deliberate manipulation, the body that was originally somewhat barren in Natsukawa Torato's eyes gradually approached the level of Aozaki Aoko.

Taking a deep breath, Natsukawa Torama untied the bow on Sajou Rei's back, picked her up, and threw her onto the bed: "In that case, once we enter the area where Fuhailin is located, the task of protecting this train and Olga Marie will be yours."

"Yes, please rest assured and leave it to me, Master. But please don't forget about magic. You don't want to come back to find me transformed back into my spherical form, do you?"

That's for sure. Compared to their original forms, Natsukawa Torato undoubtedly prefers the current Sajou Rei and Sajou Aika.

How much more magic do you need?

"With the current reserves, setting up and maintaining the highest-level barrier should last for a whole day—just to be on the safe side, please give me the same amount of magic as last night."

"Isn't this plenty of food? Is there any need to store it?"

"Just in case. Besides..." Sajou Rei's legs, which had become fuller, arched slightly and pressed against Natsukawa Torata's body. "Master, you're not really suited to the tsundere trait. It's not a good habit for your body and words to be inconsistent."

--------------------------------

At the same time, in another carriage some distance from Natsukawa Tora's room.

Olga Marie and Teresa sat quietly in the corner of the carriage as if they were waiting for someone. As the carriage door opened, a red-haired woman immediately came into their view.

"Looks like you were waiting for me. Is there something you need?"

“If there was nothing else, we wouldn’t be waiting for you here.” Olga Marie said, looking at the newcomer. “Interested in making a deal with the Celestial Science Department? [Grand Puppeteer] Aozaki Touko.”

30. Fu Hailin, you lack martial ethics.

"You didn't show up until noon today either, Mr. Natsukawa."

The next day at noon, as usual, Olga Marie greeted Natsukawa Tora, who was as listless as the day before, in the restaurant, and glanced at Sajou Rei, who was following behind him and was as radiant as the day before.

"You two really are a master and servant who know nothing of propriety, righteousness, or shame. While it's true that one shouldn't gossip about other people's lives, your behavior is really going too far. At least tidy up your appearance before appearing in public, okay?"

"Thank you for the lecture, but please do it to Lingyi. I am the victim here."

Natsukawa Tora's voice sounded weak and listless.

He didn't fall asleep until dawn last night. He was mentally exhausted, but physically he couldn't take it anymore. Lingyi was in the first half of the night and Aige was in the second half. Later on, the two of them took turns appearing, like they were playing a game of musical chairs. Since their bodies were dolls, there was no such thing as fatigue, so the two of them didn't get any rest at all.

However, thanks to this, the magical power accumulated within Sajou Rei has now reached an unbelievable level. At that time, the barrier she releases, Fuhailin, will be impossible to break through. In this way, Natsukawa Tora can leave with peace of mind.

You, a mere Fu Hailin, could possibly break the barrier of the Root Princess?

He patted the table to bring out a lunch, and while eating, Natsukawa Tora looked out the window: "What a beautiful day."

After a night's drive, what was a pastoral landscape yesterday has now transformed into a lush, dense forest. Sunlight filters through the gaps between the branches and leaves, casting scattered rays that resemble stars.

This is the view from the window on Natsukawa Tora's side, while on the other side are continuous mountain ranges. It looks like the train is now at the foot of the mountains.

(No abnormalities are still detected within the sensory range. Has the Fuhailin not appeared yet?)

With his chopsticks in his mouth, Natsukawa Tora focused his attention on finding the characters.

(Hiel is still in the guest carriage, probably in her room. What she's holding is... the Seventh Holy Scripture? It's already been half-abandoned, why is the Burial Agency letting her carry this? Aren't they afraid that the precious Holy Scripture will be lost in the battle with Fuhailin?)

If Hiel succeeds, retrieving the Seventh Holy Scripture will be straightforward. But if he fails, it might be permanently lost... Could it be that he already had a method prepared for its retrieval?

(Never mind, it has nothing to do with me. I'll just protect Hiel from now on.)

Regaining his attention, Natsukawa Torato continued looking out the window, and just then—

"Om~~~"

In Natsukawa Tiger's perception, a burning sensation, like being poisoned, suddenly spread!

(This feels like...this situation?!)

Immediately afterward in the real world, the Eye-Collecting Train, which had been traveling at a steady speed, suddenly slowed down and stopped without warning! The sudden deceleration caused everything in the carriage to slide off the tables, and the passengers who were sitting down quickly grabbed whatever was next to them to avoid being hit.

"It hurts, it hurts..."

Olga Marie, who was lying on the table, shook her head and was bumped on the head.

"What happened? Why did the train suddenly..."

"This is truly an extraordinary situation, such a sudden event."

Sitting opposite her, Natsukawa Tora suddenly said something out of the blue. Olga Marie glanced at him and found that his eyes were staring straight out the window. When she followed his gaze to the window, the scene that came into view made her freeze on the spot.

The forest, which had been bathed in sunshine not long ago, had vanished. The midday sun overhead was now blocked out, replaced by a pitch-black world, like the Black Forest inhabited by a witch in mythology. Countless black trees stood tall, seemingly trying to obscure the sky, their surfaces adorned with numerous blood-red veins resembling blood vessels. Even deep within the forest, whether it was a hallucination or not, faint, low humming could be heard.

At the same time, the train conductor Rodin's slightly trembling voice came over the train's loudspeaker.

[We regret to inform all our guests that our train has unfortunately entered the territory of Fuhailin Anashu...]

Fuhailin Anashu?!

Upon hearing the name announced over the loudspeaker, almost all the magicians on the train turned deathly pale!

"No way... the Forest of the Dead? Why would the Demon Eye Collection Train enter a place like this?!"

Olga Marie covered her mouth, her eyes and expression revealing disbelief and unconcealed terror. And she wasn't the only one; the other magicians showed the same reaction to varying degrees.

This is understandable. Unlike the other twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, Fuhailin Anashu is one of the few Ancestors who appears regularly, manifesting once every fifty years and preying on everything within its range to become its own nourishment. Since its birth eight hundred years ago, countless people from the Church and the Clock Tower have perished in the Dead Apostle Forest.

As for such a natural disaster, the Church and the Clock Tower did consider fighting against it and destroying it. Hiel also said that the Church would organize an expeditionary force every time the Fuhai Forest appeared, but neither the Church's knights nor the Clock Tower's magicians seemed too powerless in the face of the Fuhai Forest.

The knights were overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies, while the magicians were powerless because they could not use the Great Source within the Fuhai Forest's domain.

As a result, for eight hundred years, Fuhailin has not only not been destroyed, but has grown stronger with the passage of time. Therefore, regardless of the Church, magicians have always held Fuhailin Anashu in a state of fear.

After all, in its presence, a magician is as powerless as a chicken. Without the Great Source, one cannot perform magic, while the magic performed by a human with a weak Small Source is utterly insignificant.

Panic began to spread among the magicians. Even in the dining car, Natsukawa Torato could hear various noises coming from other carriages, as well as the voices of the two people in charge of collecting the Magic Eyes on the train questioning him.

(It's really a mess... But then again, even I didn't expect Fu Hailin to manifest in this way.)

Xia Chuanhu originally thought that Fu Hailin Anashu might have already manifested, so he could sense it in advance and prepare to fight back, but that's not the case now.

Fuhailin Anashu had not manifested in the world before, but has only just begun to manifest now, and the location of his manifestation is right where this train is!

Well...

"What a coincidence, and what bad luck, this train..."

31. What did Natsukawa Torata sacrifice?

Inside Hierle's guest room.

He placed the last black key into his close-fitting robes, slung the Seventh Temple, which was in a box, over his shoulder, and went to the window to look outside.

The dark forest seemed to be devouring everything—she had seen similar scenes many times over the years, though in different forms, but the children of Fuhai Forest were all forests.

Of course, she didn't think this time would be as easy as when she dealt with Fu Hailin's son. She had already memorized all the records about Fu Hailin over the years, and it was no secret how troublesome he was.

I'm afraid I'll be attacked from all directions as soon as I leave this train. This forest is essentially an "otherworld" that's close to a bounded barrier. Fighting here is tantamount to making an enemy of the world.

No, there's no need to go out. It'll probably be a while before the train itself becomes a target. After the train is destroyed, the passengers inside will be devoured and become nutrients for its growth, turning into its blood.

"Phew~~~~~ No matter what, this is my last battle."

Taking a deep breath, Hiel walked out of his room.

The train was eerily quiet. Just a minute or two ago, the sounds inside the train were audible even in a room. The magicians, who had panicked because of Fu Hailin's sudden appearance, could hardly hear anything now.

"Have they all hidden in their rooms?"

Normally, magicians would set up a barrier around the room to protect themselves, but now that they are in the Fuhai Forest, the Great Source is completely unusable, which makes it impossible to construct a barrier.

In reality, these magicians hiding in their rooms are just escaping from reality. They might as well find a place to gather together. If there are multiple magicians, it wouldn't be impossible to create a barrier.

After all, the Fu Hai Lin would disappear on its own after appearing for a while; all that was needed before that was to desperately maintain the barrier. But judging from the current situation, Xier was certain that these magicians would eventually be caught and consumed one by one by the Fu Hai Lin.

To be honest, Hier didn't care what fate awaited these magicians. She was in dire straits herself and didn't have the time to worry about others.

Just as Hierre was about to leave through the car door, a figure she had expected stood by the door.

Hiel sighed helplessly: "I should have said that this is my own business, Xia Chuan."

“Yes, you did say that.” Xia Chuanhu smiled. “But the current situation doesn’t allow me to stand idly by, does it? If it were the son of Fu Hailin, I could at least watch the show from the sidelines, but the fifteenth ancestor’s true form is not something I can just watch. You know, there’s someone on this train that I have to protect.”

"So you don't need to think of me as someone who's here to help you. If I had to say, you're just an afterthought."

"By the way..."

Seeing the nonchalant expression on Natsukawa Tora's face, Hiel gave a wry smile, looking exasperated: "So I was just a side effect... Well, if that's how you put it, then I'll take it that way. But let me make it clear beforehand, it's very dangerous outside for a magician like you, so don't expect me to save you."

"You don't need to worry about that. I can't really be considered a magician anymore."

"Bang----!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Chuanhu turned around and kicked open the tightly closed car door, jumping out of the car first.

(Still the same old habit of taking the wrong path.)

Hier remembered that Natsukawa Tora used to like doing parkour on the roof, but he never expected that after so many years, he would upgrade it to kicking down the door. It was something that could have been done by simply contacting the train staff to get out.

Despite his thoughts, Hier jumped down as well.