To become a king and a magician

After cleaning up, he lay down on the bed and looked at the ceiling in the dim light. Xia Chuanhu stretched and yawned: "From cheap rental rooms to old British-style apartments, and then to dilapidated wooden houses... After a seven-hour drive, having to stay in a place like this is really torture."

Moreover, it seems that bathing is not allowed in this village. Although it is late autumn and winter is approaching, and the temperature has dropped significantly in England due to its geographical location, a simple wash should be enough. However, Natsukawa Tiger still wants to take a bath if possible.

Who can resist taking a hot shower in the dead of winter?

However, given the current situation, we can't ask for too much from Natsukawa Tora.

"Well then, before dinner, let's consider the commission for the Blackmore Cemetery."

He turned over and took out the letter of authorization from his backpack, and Natsukawa Tora read it again.

The request is roughly as follows: Some time ago, about half a year ago, the ley lines surrounding the Blackmore Cemetery suddenly became abnormal. Compared to other places, the Blackmore Cemetery has relatively abundant magical energy, so the abnormality of the ley lines also caused anomalies in the magical energy, resulting in health problems for some villagers. Therefore, Belsak hopes that the Clock Tower can send someone to investigate the cause of the ley line anomaly and restore it to normal.

This is a task that is simple in some ways, but difficult in others.

It's simple because it's a completely effortless task for the magician. After all, every magician has their own workshop, and workshops with fixed locations are mostly built on ley lines. If the ley lines become abnormal, the workshop's operation will also be affected. Therefore, in order to ensure that their workshops don't have problems, magicians will always solve some issues related to ley lines.

The difficulty lies in the fact that Xia Chuanhu has never built a workshop before, and he has absolutely no idea how to solve the problem of the earth's veins.

Well, it's just awkward.

Just like a math problem, the teacher just explained a problem yesterday, and everyone knows how to solve it, but you don't know how to solve it because you missed the lesson yesterday—that's probably the mindset of Natsukawa Tora right now.

"However... it's not like there's no way out. I've heard Weber say that most of the abnormalities in the ley lines are due to blockages and pollution. As long as the blockage that has entered the ley lines is cleared away, or the source of pollution is eliminated, the ley lines will basically return to normal after a period of time."

In that case, all Xia Chuanhu needs to do is investigate where the ley lines are going wrong, and then go and fix what's causing the problem.

Thinking about it this way, it's actually quite simple.

As for how to locate the problematic ley lines—a magician's magic circuits are connected to the Great Source; if there's a problem with the magic in the air, the magic circuits will also react adversely. At that point, Natsukawa Torato only needs to walk around the village; wherever he feels uncomfortable, that's where the problem lies.

Of course, this is just a makeshift solution, and unfortunately, this is the only method Natsukawa Tiger knows. Hopefully, it will work out smoothly.

"magician."

Suddenly, Belsak's voice came from the doorway.

He was seen returning, holding a lamp and a simple dinner plate, standing at the door.

"I've brought dinner over. Please excuse the simple conditions in the village."

"It's okay, I'm not a picky eater, thank you."

As he spoke, Natsukawa Tora accepted the dinner—a simple meal consisting of thick soup and stew.

"Just leave your dinner at the door, and I'll come to collect it first thing tomorrow morning. I'll also provide you with three meals a day during your stay. Is that acceptable?"

"Absolutely no problem."

Natsukawa Tora's unexpectedly agreeable nature pleased Belsaac somewhat. Magicians were generally disobedient and self-willed, and Belsaac had initially assumed Natsukawa Tora was similar, but now it seemed...

"Also, if possible, I hope you can abide by a few of the village's rules."

"Rules...is that right? Specifically?"

Barsak held up four fingers: "First, you must worship the image of the Virgin Mary. You have already done that."

"Second, do not go out late at night. Third, do not approach the cemetery alone. Fourth, although multiple people may enter the cemetery, never approach the swamp. I hope you will strictly abide by these rules."

"These are really strange rules, they give me a horror movie vibe. But okay, I understand, I'll follow these rules."

"Thank you for your understanding. I won't bother you any longer. I wish you a peaceful sleep."

After speaking, Belsak disappeared from Natsukawa Tora's sight once again.

Thinking about what Belsak had just said, Natsukawa Tiger leaned against the doorframe and chuckled, "This village really has a lot of mysterious things about it..."

16. A quiet, untroubled Merry might only exist in Lostbelts.

When Natsukawa Tora opened his eyes again, it was almost noon the next day.

"Ouch... I have a stiff neck... Ah... Ouch... Ouch..."

Holding his neck, Natsukawa Tiger groaned as he got out of bed. He had slept on soft beds in Japan and London, but last night he had slept on a hard wooden plank bed. The sudden change was hard for Natsukawa Tiger to adjust to, and being in an unfamiliar place, he didn't sleep well all night.

As a result, I got a stiff neck, and now my neck area is killing me.

"I should have learned healing magic from Webber. I wonder if it would even work for a stiff neck... By the way, is that breakfast?"

Natsukawa Tora said this while looking at a meal placed on the table.

The porridge made from grains, along with sliced ​​bread, was as simple as dinner, after all, it was in a small, almost isolated village.

Supporting his neck, Natsukawa Tora walked to the table and sat down.

"After breakfast, let's take a walk around the village first. If the magic circuits are working, we can quickly detect any magical anomalies in any area. Then we can investigate the details of the ley lines in that area... By the way, is there anything underground in this place?"

While not absolute, and ley lines are not physical entities, they are mostly located underground. Therefore, when magicians build workshops, they often choose to build them underground to be closer to the ley lines.

If you want to investigate the earth's veins, the most direct and straightforward method is to go directly to a place like the basement.

But regarding the Brackmore Cemetery... Natsukawa Torato can only hope that some residents have basements in their homes.

"Boom boom boom..."

Just as Natsukawa Tiger was thinking this, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Which one?"

"I...I'm the tour guide the teacher assigned to give you a tour of the village..."

A soft, sweet voice came from outside the door, which sounded like a young child.

But, a tour guide?

(Could it be...?)

Frowning, Xia Chuanhu stood up, supporting his neck, and went to open the door. A petite figure then came into view.

It was a little girl wearing a black cloak, with a few strands of silver hair hanging down from the gaps in the hood. Just as Xia Chuanhu had thought, she wasn't old, you could even say she was very young, not even reaching his waist, her whole body was wrapped in the cloak.

She was probably only five or six years old.

Looking up at Natsukawa Tora with her emerald green eyes, the little girl said shyly, "Y-you...hello...good morning, I'm Gray...my teacher asked me to show you around the village..."

(Grey... I knew it...)

Although he had suspected it, there are two different things between guessing and actually seeing it. In addition, Natsukawa Tiger was not sure whether the situation here would proceed as he knew.

As far as he knew, in 1994—last year—after Artoria was summoned in the Fourth Holy Grail War, the little girl before him would transform into someone almost identical to Artoria, thus being revered by the entire village as a divine child capable of resurrecting King Arthur. And shortly thereafter, she would become the next Gravekeeper chosen by Belsac.

This is what would have happened in the original timeline.

But things are different now. In last year's Holy Grail War, it wasn't Artoria who was summoned, but Arthur. Therefore, in theory, Gray's appearance shouldn't change; it should only maintain a resemblance of about 50-60% to Arthur.

however--

(So ​​it's still like this? Also, the teacher she just mentioned... has he been chosen by Belsak as the next gravedigger?)

In other words, the situation here has not changed despite the different Holy Grail Wars...

No, in a sense, the Holy Grail War was not actually any different. Although it wasn't Artoria who was summoned, Morgan was.

Gray's appearance changed because her body resonated with the summoned Artoria. During last year's Holy Grail War, Morgan, who shared the same bloodline as Artoria, appeared in the world, as did another King Arthur from another world. From a magical perspective, their coexistence can be roughly considered as Artoria's manifestation in the world.

Although this is a rather far-fetched explanation, much like lumping peaches and apples together as the same fruit just because they both belong to the fruit category, it is the only explanation that Natsukawa Torato can think of.

“Grey... Is that so? Hello, nice to meet you, I am Natsukawa Torato.”

"N-Nice to meet you." Grey nodded quickly. "Um, am I bothering you?"

"No, I was just having breakfast. By the way, you're here to be my tour guide, right? Then let's talk after I finish breakfast. Don't stand there, come in and sit down."

"OK, thanks....."

Just as Grey lifted her foot to follow Natsukawa Tiger into the hunting lodge, an untimely voice suddenly rang out—

"Aaaaaah—! Wait a minute, you idiot Gray!"

Unlike Grey's voice, this one sounds quite lively.

Upon hearing this, Grey quickly pulled something out from under her cloak: "Yard, this is in front of guests, please keep your voice down."

It was a cage shaped like a birdcage, inside which was something with special patterns and textures, resembling a Rubik's Cube.

【Yad】

That's what Grey calls it.

"Ah, of course I know I should be quiet, but I can't be quiet in front of this guy. I feel something so familiar about him, it even feels like I'm dreaming!"

"Does it give you a sense of familiarity?"

Grey frowned: "Didn't you say you've never left this village? And you also said you were asleep before I woke you up... Could it be that Mr. Natsukawa is someone you know?"

"It's not him! Although they look somewhat similar, what makes me feel familiar and nauseous isn't him, but something about him. Ugh, I'm going to die, these bad memories are coming back."

Yad looked at Natsukawa Tora.

"Hey buddy, you have something related to that nightmare demon, right? Something related to that nightmare demon who deserves to die even if he's beaten to death hundreds of times, right?"

17. A Little Secret with Grey Carbon

A nightmare demon that deserves to die even if it's beaten to death hundreds of times?

The description was so accurate that Natsukawa Torara immediately realized who Yad was referring to.

"You mean Merlin?"

"what!!"

Yad immediately let out a strange cry—or rather, a wail.

"I knew it was that idiot! That guy was still alive? He escaped from that tower a long time ago? Hey, buddy, tell me, is it the end of the world outside?"

"Isn't your reaction a bit too extreme?" Natsukawa Tiger was somewhat frightened by Yad's attitude. "Is it necessary to be so afraid of Merlin? Although she does often do inhuman things, such as stealing toilet paper and popping balloons in my ear while I'm sleeping, it's not the end of the world, is it?"

"Wouldn't that already be the end of the world in a sense—wait, wait, wait, wait, did you just say 'her'?"

Yad, you've noticed a key point.

After a long silence, like a ship suddenly sunk, Yad asked in a somber voice, "That guy... Merlin finally made up his mind to cut off his thing down there?"

"..."