To become a king and a magician

"This is the only goal that can be confirmed at the moment."

"And in this process, you are the most important person. Chaldea can lose anyone else, but it cannot lose you."

Here we go again, Natsukawa Tora said.

Fujimaru Ritsuka was still completely confused: "So why me? Compared to me, the department head, the director, Akuta-senpai... and Dr. Roman, you are all much more important than me, right?"

"The reason is simple: Fujimaru, you are the only human in Chaldea with the ability to adapt to spirit transfer, and you are also the only one who currently has the potential to defeat King Solomon."

25. Actually, we have plenty of firepower here.

Is he the only one who has a chance to defeat King Solomon?

Fujimaru Ritsuka felt that Natsukawa Torama might be joking with her.

"Minister, you must be joking, right? How could I possibly defeat an enemy that... that kind of overwhelmingly strong? Minister, aren't you the one most likely to defeat him?"

As Sajou Rei mentioned before, Natsukawa Tora defeated King Solomon once ten years ago. If that's the case, there shouldn't be any problem in defeating him again, right?

Xia Chuanhu shook his head: "If it were just King Solomon, then there would indeed be no problem, but this guy is not the real King Solomon."

"It's not true?"

“I met King Solomon ten years ago. He was an absolute fool who would never do something like destroying the world. On the contrary, he would be a fool who would willingly give everything to protect the world. He would never do something like destroying the world.” Natsukawa Tora said, tapping the full-body statue of King Solomon. “So, I can be sure that this guy is definitely not the real King Solomon.”

“If not… then who is he?” Fujimaru Ritsuka asked.

If it wasn't King Solomon who wanted to destroy the world, then who was the King Solomon who appeared before them?

Natsukawa Tora replied, "Then he must be someone related to King Solomon, since he was indeed using King Solomon's body... or rather, his remains. Of course, his identity is also easy to guess, since he brought out something like the Demon God Pillar, which is basically announcing his identity."

"The seventy-two demons that King Solomon possessed during his lifetime, or rather, their king—Goetia."

"This is what this guy really is."

Goetia.

The King of Demons.

Listening to Natsukawa Torato's explanation, Fujimaru Ritsuka felt that this was someone she needed to express considerable fear to, but unfortunately, she was still a complete novice when it came to magic and had no real understanding of this aspect.

“But… what does this have to do with me?” Fujimaru Ritsuka asked. “Why would you say that only I can defeat it?”

"Because of its nature."

"Well, explaining it in detail would take a long time, and I'd also need to explain some related terminology, so let's just use light novels, which you can understand, as an example, or games, okay? Which one do you prefer?"

Why have you suddenly become so carefree again?

Shouldn't we be discussing something very important right now? Why is the minister suddenly speaking in a tone that makes it sound like it's nothing serious?

"Games?"

"OK~~~ So, let's assume that Goetia is a super big boss, and it will be placed at the end of the RPG game's plot, the final enemy that the protagonist group will face. But to defeat this enemy, regardless of the previous process, the final blow must be delivered by the [protagonist] personally, or by using a specific weapon, otherwise the enemy will never die no matter what."

"Do you understand now? What you need to defeat Goetia is not enough combat power to defeat it, although that is also important, but what is more important is a weapon that can deliver the final blow."

At this point, Fujimaru Ritsuka understood: "That's...me?"

"Yes. While being the Demon King, Goetia is also a great calamity that humanity as a whole will face. In nature, it is a monster that has appeared and grown alongside human history, born from human malice. It is a stain on humanity, the sludge in human history."

"Therefore, only humans can destroy it, which means that the one who tied the knot must untie it. So now do you understand? Why you are the most important person."

Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded heavily.

Since Goetia is an evil that can only be defeated by humans, then within Chaldea now, the only one who can defeat her is indeed herself.

"but......"

Seeing the serious expression on Fujimaru Ritsuka's face, Natsukawa Torama suddenly patted her back hard: "I said I was going to hand it over to you, but it's not like I'm handing it over completely. Although I can't completely destroy it, I can at least beat it half to death."

"Huh? So that means..."

"Well, when we meet it again, I'll beat it half to death first, break all its limbs and nail it to the ground. You just need to go over and finish it off. And if all else fails, I have a few backup options. I just need to commit some crimes later."

As he spoke, Natsukawa Tora gave a thumbs-up.

"..."

The tension vanished instantly, and the overwhelming sense of loss even left Fujimaru Ritsuka with a feeling of emptiness inside, but she could understand why Natsukawa Torato would say that.

(She probably didn't want me to be too nervous...)

Don't take on all the pressure that you can't handle. If you're alone, you're really helpless. But in Chaldea now, there are many people who can share the pressure with Fujimaru Ritsuka. She won't really go to Goetia alone to fight it.

"Thank you, Minister."

"I haven't done anything that you need to thank me for." Xia Chuanhu smiled and patted her head. "I'm your department head, your senior. It's only natural for a senior to pave the way for a junior. Even if it's a crisis of world destruction, I will definitely handle it for you."

He will save the world.

If it were anyone else, Fujimaru Ritsuka definitely wouldn't have believed what Natsukawa Tora said, but for some reason, she felt that her captain really could do it. If it was about obtaining the Starlight at the end in Fuyuki City, then surely he could, right?

"Now that we've finished talking, it's time to take you to the next place. They should be waiting for you there for quite a while."

"Huh? Are we going somewhere else?"

Seeing Natsukawa Toramaru stand up, Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"I originally sent Mash to find you to explain some things and take you to a few places. When we visited Chaldea before, we were short on time, so there were quite a few places you didn't get to see. Those are the core of Chaldea."

"Also, I think that's a place you'll be visiting frequently in the future. Although I'll take care of you, I won't do everything for you. You'll have to train hard and grow into an excellent warrior."

"Um...I...I understand!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka could understand Natsukawa Torato's intention in saying that. If she was always being protected, even if she was eventually brought to Goetia, she probably wouldn't be able to deliver a fatal blow.

She can't be protected forever; she has to become strong herself.

"So, Minister, where are we going next? The training ground?"

"That's indeed the place we need to go, but let's go somewhere else first—anyway, I'll buy you some nice clothes for the future!"

"Huh?"

Are they going to... buy clothes?

26. Fujimaru Ritsuka, now unclean

Miss Klein's Custom Clothing Shop - Chaldea Branch

Led by Natsukawa Torata, after walking for several minutes, Fujimaru Ritsuka arrived at the entrance of the shop with this plaque hanging on it.

She was already incredibly surprised to see such a high-class cafeteria in Chaldea, but now Fujimaru Ritsuka's surprise was even greater than before.

"Chaldea... even has clothing stores? Minister."

"Because there are a lot of abandoned spaces in Chaldea, such as warehouses, which have been covered in dust because they haven't been used for a long time. I thought since they were just sitting there, I might as well renovate them. It just so happens that the shop manager here is an old friend of mine, so I simply turned it into a clothing store and asked her to look after the store."

As he spoke, Natsukawa Tora pushed open the door.

Fujimaru Ritsuka followed closely behind and went inside.

Because it was originally a room converted from an abandoned warehouse, the interior space is not exactly small, about the size of three or four bedrooms. However, despite its size, there are not many items in the room, only a large number of clothes hanging on the walls and a sewing machine placed at the far end of the room.

In front of the sewing machine, you can see a woman intently sewing clothes.

It seems they didn't hear them come in.

"Is she the store manager here?"

“Hmm, her name is Klein… Actually, just call her ‘Crane’,” Natsukawa Torara said. “Fujimaru, you must have heard the legend of the crane repaying a debt of gratitude, right?”

That's for sure; every Japanese person has heard of this legend.

There's a genre of stories called animal gratitude tales, which typically tell the stories of birds and animals rescued by humans who, in return for that kindness, experience corresponding happiness. In Japan, the story of the crane repaying a debt of gratitude is particularly famous.

"She is the crane from the legend of the crane repaying a debt of gratitude."

"Huh?"

"To be precise, it should be that her existence is formed by the crane as the core image, which is why she is able to exist as a Servant. I met her about eight years ago when Roman rescued her when she was in trouble and asked me to find her a place to stay."

"You know the legend of the crane repaying a debt of gratitude. Because Roman and I helped her, she has always wanted to repay the debt. But Roman and I didn't need her help with anything, so she hasn't left yet... Until recently, I had her come here to make spirit clothes and help make magical costumes. That's why I brought you here."

"That voice... is it Lord Natsukawa?!"

Just then, Miss He, who was sitting in front of the sewing machine sewing clothes, suddenly turned around and looked at the two of them.

Natsukawa Tora waved to her: "Long time no see, Tsuru. I'm sorry, I haven't come to see you much since I called you here. Are you settling in well here?"

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Natsukawa. I'm doing very well here, and Chaldea is handling my mana supply without any problems," Miss Tsuru said with a smile. "But why did you suddenly... Ah!"

Before she could finish speaking, Miss Tsuru suddenly shouted, then jumped up and sprinted to Fujimaru Ritsuka's side: "What an adorable girl! Her face looks ordinary at first glance but actually gets prettier the more you look at her, that innocent and naive feeling unique to underage girls, and you can feel her energetic vitality. Her body is also very healthy—an energetic girl! This is what an energetic girl is all about! This is the first time I've ever seen one!"

Because when she met Natsukawa Tora, the people around him were all mature women, and Gray was a rather introverted person, Miss Tsuru had never seen this type of person who only appeared in Japanese animation before.

Upon seeing Ms. Tsuru's sudden and incredibly enthusiastic demeanor, Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly took a few steps back in fear: "Captain, who exactly is this Ms. Tsuru...?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention, she really likes beautiful girls, especially... well... idol types. She's the kind of fanatic who would see a beautiful girl and want to make her pretty clothes, then watch her appear wearing her clothes, and be so moved by it that she almost returned to the Throne of Heroes."

"Huh————————!?"

The stark contrast in appearance and personality immediately caused Fujimaru Ritsuka to exclaim in surprise. When she wasn't talking, she thought Tsuru-san was a quiet literature major, but it turns out she's an idol fan!?

As for Miss He...

"A sailor uniform is definitely the most suitable for an energetic girl, but if she's underage, we also need to consider her student status, and it has to be a size that highlights the innocent and tender body of a teenage girl..."

"Minister, I'm suddenly a little scared."

"Haha..."

Natsukawa Torama smiled somewhat awkwardly. In fact, he was also quite helpless with Miss Tsuru in this state: "Ahem! Miss Tsuru, please restrain yourself, please restrain yourself. Fujimaru is still a newcomer. Please wait until you get to know him better before revealing your true colors, okay?"

"Ah! That's true. It wouldn't be good if we scared our new guests. I'm so sorry." Miss Tsuru, as if she had come to her senses, immediately bowed deeply and apologized. "However, seeing this lady, I understand why Lord Natsukawa brought her here. It's for those formal dresses, isn't it?"

"Creative attire? Come to think of it, the minister mentioned spirit robes and creative attire before... what are those?"

Natsukawa Torara explained with a smile, "Mystic Codes are magical tools used by magicians. A typical example is the flying broomsticks used by witches, which is a type of Mystic Code. As for Spirit Clothes... that's something only Servants need to consider, Fujimaru, you don't need to worry about it."

“Mystic Codes come in many forms, such as brooms, swords, and even bullets or pistols. Clothing is no exception.”

"Because of her legendary status, Miss Tsuru is particularly skilled at making clothes, so I would like to ask her to collaborate with another Servant in Chaldea to create a Mystic Code of clothing."