To become a king and a magician

"Welcome back, Lord Natsukawa."

"You must be tired from your journey, Master."

"Welcome...Mr. Natsukawa..."

Just as Natsukawa Torama was being dragged back to his room by Sajou Rei and Atalanta, Okita Souji and the other two, who had been waiting there, greeted him.

Seeing this, Xia Chuanhu frowned: "Why are you all here? Didn't Roman arrange rooms for you?"

“I did make arrangements, but I still think it’s better to wait for the Master to return in his room,” Okita Souji explained. “Besides, I was summoned by Rei, who said there’s some kind of briefing meeting.”

"Yes, it was indeed me who gathered them."

Sajou Rei smiled and said, "Originally, only Gray and I accompanied Master, so there was no problem with the time arrangement. However, now that so many more have suddenly appeared, I think it is necessary to arrange the time allocation as before. At the same time, I would also like Master to properly introduce this little sister he brought back to us."

As she finished speaking, Sajou Rei looked at Asama Kaname, who was huddled next to Okita Souji.

Xia Chuanhu scratched his head helplessly: "I see... Well, you guys can handle the timing and stuff. Anyway, it won't matter if I raise any objections. As for what I need, it's actually very simple. It's just that I was asked to do this and I'm meddling in other people's business."

"If I were the Master of one of the Servants in the Holy Grail War I participated in during the Singularity. But being called a Master is really just a pitiful child who was randomly chosen. The Servant who was summoned killed her original Master as soon as she appeared in the world, and then randomly chose someone else to be her Master."

"I will compile a report about that singularity and upload it to Chaldea's database later. You can check it out if you're interested, or you can ask Souji. Anyway, on the eve of almost everything being over, the Servant I wanted entrusted her to my care in a way similar to entrusting her to someone else."

That being said, Oda Nobunaga's intention at the time was merely that Natsukawa Torara take care of Asama until he left the singularity; he did not mean for him to take care of her indefinitely.

It was Natsukawa Torato's own choice to bring Asama out of the singularity.

If Asama had been taken back to the Ministry of the Army by Mawatsu, although it wasn't a good place, it would have been her only refuge. After being wiped out there by Natsukawa Torato and Okita Souji, she would have had nowhere else to go.

Given the situation in postwar Japan, if Asama were to remain on the streets, his future life would likely be incredibly difficult. He might soon suffer an unexpected disaster or be tricked and lured into some kind of trap...

His unintentional actions had left her with nowhere to go—after realizing this, Natsukawa Tora decided to bring her back to Chaldea, where she would no longer have to worry about her future.

"In short, it's about helping people to the very end, seeing things through to the end."

Natsukawa Torara summarized it this way, and said to Asama Kaname, "Kaname, you will live here from now on. If you encounter any trouble, you can come to us anytime. There will definitely be someone here."

"I...I understand..."

Still somewhat reserved, Asama Kaname nodded timidly, then, as if summoning her courage, stepped out from behind Okita Souji and bowed to the crowd: "I am Asama Kaname. I look forward to your guidance from now on."

"Hmm, nice to meet you, Kaname." Sajou Rei smiled, then leaned close to Natsukawa Torami's ear, "Master, you really like this type, huh? Baby face and big breasts. Shall I simulate this look tonight? And maybe modify the sailor uniform too?"

"I'm talking to you..."

Natsukawa Torato couldn't say he wasn't tempted by Sajou Rei's proposal, but he still managed to roll his eyes at her: "The kids are still here, let's talk about this in private later."

"Oh, Master, do you think there are outsiders here? And if we're talking about children, there shouldn't be any minors here, right? Xiao Yao doesn't look like one either."

Sajou Rei licked her lips.

"Compared to this, don't they think it's about time to start settling accounts?"

"Wait, wait, there's still important business to attend to!" Natsukawa Tora quickly grabbed Sajou Rei's restless hand. "I still have things to do to see Touko and Da Vinci. At least wait until I've finished dealing with everything. I can't run away this time."

Is there anything more important to do?

Sajou Rei frowned: "Is there anything else that hasn't been taken care of?"

"Yes, it's something I brought back from the singularity. I didn't know what to do with it there, so I put it in Angelica's vault for now, planning to bring it back for Orange and the others to deal with—right, Angelica!"

Angelica nodded expressionlessly when asked by Natsukawa Tora.

Seeing this, Sajou Rei could only reluctantly withdraw her hand: "Since that's the case, there's nothing I can do... Hurry back, Master. If you make me wait too long, I'll change it back to three days and three nights instead of two days and two nights."

3. A coffin that might come in handy.

"So, you fled to our side?"

Inside the largest workshop in Chaldea.

Looking at Natsukawa Torato and Angelica sitting across from her, Aozaki Touko, smoking a cigarette, revealed a gloating expression: "This is karma, kid. Who told you to be unable to control yourself back then? Now you're suffering the consequences, aren't you?"

"It wasn't my choice. I've always been passive when it comes to Lingyi..."

"Then blame it on your own popularity with women. Don't you think about how many people you've offended over the years?"

"Well... there probably isn't that much...?"

Xia Chuanhu himself wasn't very confident in saying this. Thinking about it carefully, it seemed that there were indeed more women among the people he knew, but most of them were just acquaintances. He believed he had done a good job of maintaining his integrity.

Seeing that this guy seemed to have no clue what was going on, Aozaki Touko sighed helplessly.

Meanwhile, turning his attention away from the workbench, Leonardo da Vinci joked, "You two really do flirt every time you meet. Could it be that you two are secretly in a... you know each other for over a decade? It doesn't seem impossible..."

"If that were to happen, Aoko would hunt me down to the ends of the earth. For my personal safety, please don't say anything irresponsible, Da Vinci, dear." Natsukawa Tora said with a serious face.

"Tsk..."

Aozaki Touko pursed her lips softly.

Da Vinci gave a helpless, wry smile: "Yes, yes, I'll be more careful next time—by the way, you can't actually die, can you? You're a higher-level elf than a fairy, so unless you commit suicide, it's almost impossible for external forces to kill you."

"That's what I say, but it still hurts. I'm not Roman."

“That’s true~~~ Let’s get down to business, starting with Angelica.”

The reason why Natsukawa Torato is here now, besides the Holy Grail bomb that was mentioned before, is also because of Angelica's matter—although this was only dealt with by Da Vinci and Aozaki Touko after he arrived here.

Da Vinci was quite interested in Angelica, who came from a parallel world and was a doll made by a family that had been developing for thousands of years. He said he wanted to study her carefully.

Now, Da Vinci pulled out a newly compiled report from his side: "Her condition is not optimistic. According to your explanation, Xia Chuan, she died decades ago and is only able to continue existing now because she is possessing a puppet."

"Even if I am a genius, I must admit that this technique is truly remarkable. The person who came up with this method was really extraordinary. I doubt anyone would have thought of using substitution magic in this area."

"However, no matter what type of magic it is, its duration is not permanent, and no matter how sophisticated a puppet is, it will be damaged after a long period of use. She has been active as a puppet for decades, so I can understand even if she is completely destroyed."

But Angelica is doing well now—at least on the surface.

“To put it bluntly, she needs a complete overhaul and maintenance, Natsukawa,” Da Vinci said. “Although she is essentially a doll, she also has her own thoughts, so I will treat her as a human being. Before performing the surgery, I need to consult with you, her family member.”

"Yes, thank you for your trouble."

"That's quite decisive of you. But it's also possible to reconsider."

Xia Chuanhu smiled and shook his head: "You are an all-around genius, I have 100% trust in you, Da Vinci. And Orange is the same, you are a magician who is even better than Da Vinci in terms of puppets, I believe you can fix Angelica."

"Ara la la~~~"

Upon hearing these straightforward words, both Leonardo da Vinci and Touko Aozaki couldn't help but smile.

"Well, since you've said so, I swear in the name of genius that I will definitely heal her—and then there's another matter, about that modified Holy Grail you brought back...that's really a bit tricky."

Leonardo da Vinci said with a frown.

"Aside from the First and Fifth Singularities where not a trace of the Holy Grail remained, Chaldea has recovered all three Holy Grails so far, and their analysis is nearly complete. I compared that data with the modified Holy Grail you gave me..."

"That can't be fixed anymore."

"Simply put, it's a completed bomb. There's no possibility of using it as a source of magic or as the Holy Grail again."

This means it's unmanageable.

Although it was expected, this result still made Natsukawa Tora sigh helplessly: "Since that's the case, there's really nothing we can do. Let's just keep it in Angelica's treasure vault. Who knows, it might come in handy somewhere in the future."

"We need to put that thing to good use... How about we smash it in the face when we deal with that Demon King?" Aozaki Touko suggested. "The boy said that thing is powerful enough to blow up the whole of Tokyo, so wouldn't it be good to use it to deal with the Demon King?"

"Hmm, good idea. I'll think about whether we can increase its power."

Watching the two begin discussing how to persecute Goetia, Natsukawa Torama smiled wryly. It seemed that Goetia was in for a rough time at the End Singularity.

(Although we probably won't need bombs.)

After touching his eyes, Natsukawa Tora said, "Then I'll head back first. Orange, Da Vinci, Angelica is in your care. Please make sure she recovers from her problems."

"OK! Let's leave it to the almighty Leonardo da Vinci!"

"Remember to cook me a meal later."

"I want one too!"

Xia Chuanhu nodded: "No problem, I'll make whatever you two want to eat. Also, I might be unavailable for the next two days... or even the day after tomorrow and the day after that, as I have some things to take care of. Please inform the others afterward."

Aozaki Touko frowned: "What are you going to do?"

"Uh... well... go fight the end of the world for three days and three nights—that's about it."

The end of the world?

(Oh, those two people.)

Giving Natsukawa Torato a pitying look, Aozaki Touko waved her hand: "That's alright then, go quickly. Also, for Da Vinci, we'd better start preparing a coffin for him now, we might need it in a couple of days."

4. It must have been miHoYo who did it!

Seventy-two hours passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed since the fifth singularity was conquered.

The control room was as busy as ever.

In a brief moment of contemplation, Roman paused his actions, rested his chin on his hands, and let out a soft sigh: "Phew... still not working..."

"What's wrong?"

"Whoa!"

The sudden voice behind him startled Roman, who hurriedly turned around to look at the person who had entered: "Chief!"

Standing behind Roman was Olga Marie, holding two cups of coffee in her hands.

Seeing Roman's flustered state, Olga Marie glared at him: "You've already lost your composure? This isn't how the Commander-in-Chief of Chaldea should be. Get serious, Romani. Drink your coffee and pull yourself together!"

"Ah... thank you, Director."

Roman took the coffee from Olga Marie with some surprise.

"That's quite rare, Director. Did you come to the control room to see Xia Chuan?"

"Is there a problem with me, as the director of Chaldea, coming to inspect the work?" Olga Marie retorted. "I once asked Natsukawa how to get along better with his subordinates, and he said to come over from time to time to check on things and ask about the situation. It seems that's how companies in the general world operate."

(What are you teaching the director, Natsukawa...?)

Roman thought helplessly.