To become a king and a magician

"Now we can be sure that a barrier, or rather a domain, has been set up over there to isolate everything. Although we don't know who did it, it's probably to hide everything that happened there."

"This will definitely be the most difficult restoration of humanity to date."

“That’s why I’m going there,” Artoria said. “Since we don’t know anything, I’ll go there first to investigate and establish an outpost there so that it will be a little easier for the Master and the others when they go.”

Artoria needs to go to the Sixth Singularity first.

This was a suggestion she herself had made not long ago. At the time, Merlin politely declined, saying, "Let's observe further; perhaps there will be progress." But now, she really couldn't refuse.

Regarding Chaldea's itinerary, after the Fifth Singularity concludes and they rest for a week, they will set off for the Sixth Singularity. Artoria hopes to pave the way for them before that.

Looking at Artoria's determined face, Merlin gave a helpless bitter smile: "I understand. I'll take you there later, Artoria... I can't persuade you any further now. Be careful when you get there."

“Thank you for your concern, Merlin, but I have Avalon with me now, so there’s no need to worry about safety,” Artoria said with a smile, taking something out from behind her. “Besides, I don’t plan to go alone. Ayaka and Ciel have already prepared this for me.”

What was brought out was a scroll the size of a map, with a magic circle engraved on it.

Merlin chuckled and stroked his chin: "Hmm, it's a Servant summoning magic formula, I see. Are you planning to gather the Round Table over there? That's quite a luxurious lineup."

If King Arthur himself summoned the servants, then all the Knights of the Round Table would surely respond to the summons.

To rally under the King's name and fight to save humanity—this must be the most exhilarating thing for those knights.

"You've changed, Artoria," Merlin remarked. "If it were you ten years ago, or even in your previous life, you probably wouldn't have thought of doing this. It's all thanks to meeting Natsukawa... The knights would surely be moved to tears if they knew you were willing to rely on them, but sadly, I won't be able to see it..."

"I will relay these words to all of you verbatim."

"Hahaha~~~ Don't do that, they might come straight here to hunt me down. Your Majesty, you can be really cruel sometimes."

After giving a wry smile, Merlin stood up and stepped aside: "Then, I will escort you there, my king."

"Thank you for your help, Merlin. Now, only Ayaka and Ciel are left here. Please take good care of them."

"Yes, Your Majesty's command."

————————————————————————————————————

Within the sixth singularity.

Inside a pure white castle.

On the deepest throne among the thrones, a sleeping person opened their eyes, and after a moment of silence—

Merlin.

"Yes, what are your orders, my king?"

A sweet voice came from behind the throne, and a figure could be vaguely seen appearing in the shadows there.

"An intruder has come to the southeast of my territory. Go and deal with him."

Intruder.

It's been so many years since I've heard this word from him again.

The woman hidden in the shadows nodded slightly: "Your subject understands. However, considering our combat strength, I request Your Majesty to allow one of your knights to accompany me."

"Approved. I need good news within ten days."

"Rest assured, whoever the intruder may be, he will be banished from your domain—your rule is eternal, my beloved king, [King Arthur]."

Three Holy Sword Wielders

1. Escaping one tiger's den only to fall into another wolf's lair

The fifth singularity has been conquered.

This is the most difficult singularity Chaldea has ever conquered. Not only are they facing unprecedentedly strong enemies in combat, but the battlefield spans the entire United States, causing even greater physical and mental exhaustion for the three repair personnel who went there to fight.

However, this is also one of the relatively easy singularities that Chaldea has conquered so far.

Because at the very end, in the most difficult time, Chaldea's greatest trump card returned to everyone's side just in time.

"Minister~~~~!"

The moment Natsukawa Torato returned to Chaldea after finishing his duel with Scáthach, he was greeted by a strong bear hug from Fujimaru Ritsuka.

He quickly reached out and caught the crazy girl who was rushing towards him. Xia Chuanhu said irritably, "Why are you running so fast? And why are you rushing at me? Are you a child?"

"Who told you to be gone for over five months, Minister!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka, hanging around Natsukawa Torata's neck, cried out, laughing and crying at the same time.

Five months, four singularities.

Even with the support of Mashu, Hinako Akuta, and Aoko Aozaki, Fujimaru Ritsuka's battles were still not easy. In fact, it could be said that without Natsukawa Tora as a reliable senior, Fujimaru Ritsuka had to exert an immense amount of effort to overcome those terrible realities.

The departure of her companions and Servants, battles not fought for justice, conflicts caused by misunderstandings... Compared to the hardships of battle, Fujimaru Ritsuka suffered more mentally, although thanks to this she made considerable progress in her mental state.

"It's been a long time, brother."

Mashu then walked over and said, "It's really great that you're back from that Tokyo Singularity... It's really, really great."

I've made those two worry about me.

Seeing the two people with tears welling up in their eyes, Xia Chuanhu sighed softly: "I'm sorry, it was indeed my oversight this time. I didn't notice that time inside and outside the singularity is not the same, and I've caused you trouble."

"Yes, yes, that's right, they've really caused us a lot of trouble!"

Hinako Akuta, who had also come over, glared at Natsukawa Torato with annoyance: "You were so confident when you asked Fujimaru to deliver the message, but you've been gone for more than five months. I thought you were dead over there. If you're not dead, come back sooner! You damn junior!"

"I'm really sorry, Akuta-senpai." Natsukawa Torama lowered his head earnestly.

Seeing this, Hinako just pursed her lips and said nothing more. In her case, whether Natsukawa Tora lived or died was not of much concern to her. After all, spirits don't die under normal circumstances, and even if they do, they will regenerate after a while. The only difference is the length of time it takes to regenerate.

So even if he's completely dead now, after a while—whether it's hundreds or thousands of years—the immortal Hinako will still be able to see him again, it will just be a slightly longer separation.

"Cough cough!"

Just then, Roman's cough came from the control room.

"Welcome back, Fujimaru, Mashu, Akuta, and Natsukawa. Apart from that last bastard, the other three of you have all had a tough time this time, fighting across the entire United States. You must all be exhausted by now. My advice as your doctor is to take a shower and go to sleep. You all need to rest, both mentally and physically."

(What do you mean by "except for that last bastard"?)

Natsukawa Tora raised an eyebrow helplessly. Even though he was somewhat resentful of Roman's way of addressing him, he had indeed returned late this time, causing a considerable impact on Chaldea as a whole. He really didn't have any grounds to refute it now—he would just vent all his dissatisfaction on the culprit who caused this situation later.

But that's too early; now...

"Alright, Fujimaru, get off me first, or people will laugh at us." Natsukawa Tora patted Fujimaru Ritsuka's back. "Roman is right. Putting aside Akuta-senpai, you and Mashu really should go and rest. Go and get a good night's sleep. By the time you wake up, it will be time for dinner. Consider it my apology; I'll cook tonight."

"real!?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had been burying her face in Natsukawa Torato's chest and wiping her tears with his clothes, suddenly brightened up!

"Then I'll be waiting! Minister, you absolutely mustn't lie! You absolutely have to keep your promise this time!"

"Yes, yes, yes—I can't just disappear while I'm making dinner, can I? Go ahead, go ahead."

"it is good!"

After waving to Natsukawa Toramaru, Fujimaru Ritsuka grabbed Mashu and ran out of the control room. Akuta Hinako also rolled her eyes at Natsukawa Toramaru before turning around and leaving together.

At the same moment the three left the control room, three more figures rushed in one after another from outside the opened control room door.

Gray, Atalanta, Sajou Rei/Aika.

Upon seeing the three people who appeared, Roman, who had originally wanted to say something more to Natsukawa Tora, simply shut his mouth and went to the side to pour coffee. The other staff members also left their seats without prior arrangement, either to go to the restroom or, like Roman, to stand as far away as possible.

Otherwise, if you get too close, you might get a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).

"elder brother!"

Grey was the first person to throw herself into Natsukawa Torato's arms.

The absence of more than five months, even though she had long been used to Natsukawa Tora's occasional absences over the years, still made Grey feel noticeably lonely, isolated, and afraid.

Natsukawa Tora gently stroked Grey's hair: "I'm sorry, Grey, I've been away for quite a while this time."

"No...it's okay...it's good that you're back, brother..." Gray whimpered softly, clutching her brother's clothes tightly, as if she had turned back into the little shadow she used to be when she was a child. Ad, who was hanging around her waist, also swayed slightly.

Well, that's settled then, buddy. Remember to spend more time with that idiot Grey afterwards, and make up for the five and a half months of missed meals.

“I know, Yard, you’ve comforted Grey a lot these days, haven’t you? I’ll make it up to you later and give you more QP.”

"Oh! You're pretty savvy, buddy! This time I'll take a million!"

"You'll die from overeating, Yad."

Sajou Rei smiled and said, "However, this is what Master should do, so I won't say anything this time—welcome back, Master. You've been away for a little longer this time, haven't you? You left without a word for more than five months, and you've only been back for five minutes before running off again. Not only that, but you've also brought back two people we know and one we don't..."

"I suppose you're prepared to be bedridden for three days and three nights? During this time, Ata and I will make sure our master explains everything clearly."

"Wait a minute, Zero, why are you dragging me into this?" Atalanta blushed slightly. "Besides, three days and three nights is a bit much... I think two days and two nights is enough."

(No matter which one, I'll probably end up half-dead, right? And won't that leave me with psychological trauma?)

Not far away, the Chaldea employees watching the scene, seeing Natsukawa Tora's visibly embarrassed expression, all revealed gloating looks—this is the price of having a harem, Minister Natsukawa!

As someone who had been through it all, Roman didn't gloat; he simply offered Xia Chuanhu a look of encouragement.

(Hopefully we'll see Natsukawa safe and sound again... Let's talk about the Fourth Singularity after he's finished dealing with it.)

2. It's really just temporary help with childcare!

Normally, only four or five people visit Natsukawa Tora's room.

Sajou Rei has been here the longest and has come the most times. Although she has her own room in Chaldea, that room has basically become her storage room. Usually, when she says she wants to go back to her room, she comes directly to Natsukawa Tora's place and stays there all night.

Next is Olga Marie. Like Sajou Rei, she comes here almost every day, but always in the middle of the night.

As the director of Chaldea, Olga Marie is not actually trusted by the Chaldea staff. The doubts of her subordinates and the accumulation of work put a lot of pressure on her. Her way of relieving stress is to sneak up on Natsukawa Torata in the middle of the night after Sajou Rei has fallen asleep and cry and complain.

From her own perspective, she thought she had concealed it well, but in reality, Sajou Rei was fully aware of her little tricks. If it were Merry lying there, Sajou Rei would definitely have recorded every episode for later amusement.

Besides these two, the remaining ones are Gray and Atalanta.

Whether it's a matter of convention or chance, these people rarely appear in Xia Chuanhu's room at the same time. If there are no accidents, there are usually only two of these people in Xia Chuanhu's room at most.

It should be described as a tacit understanding between them.

However, this time, such tacit understanding would definitely not be able to be maintained, because three new people have joined this time.