To become a king and a magician

"work to earn a living?"

"Uh-huh."

"You've had a tough time too."

With a wry smile, Natsukawa Torama countered, "Speaking of which, the classroom seems a bit quiet. It shouldn't be Fujimura there usually..."

"The kendo club called her over for something."

"Thank goodness, I can finally have a peaceful afternoon nap."

Fujimura – full name Fujimura Taiga – is the school's most energetic student and the daughter of the Fujimura Group, the largest yakuza gang in Fuyuki City. She is one of the few people that Natsukawa Tora doesn't want to associate with because she is so disruptive that the school is filled with a cheerful atmosphere every day because of her.

After glancing at the clock, Liu Dongling said, "Then it's about time we left."

"Huh? Where to?"

"Afternoon classes? The first period this afternoon is cooking class, you haven't forgotten, have you?"

"......"

Natsukawa Tora really forgot.

Frankly, why does Japan have so many strange subjects? They even allow students to cook at school. Aren't the schools worried about accidents?

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

After finishing school, Xia Chuanhu went to work, and by the time he finished work and returned home, it was already nine o'clock in the evening.

Pushing open the door, Natsukawa Tiger saw Arthur already sitting inside waiting for him and placed the rice ball that Ryuudou Reikan had sent him at noon on the table: "I'm back. We'll have rice balls tonight."

"Rice balls? Master, did you make them yourself?"

"How could that be? Do I look like someone who would make rice balls? They were a gift from a classmate. I haven't been eating properly these past few days, and they noticed. Out of kindness, they made some rice balls for me."

"Then the other person must be a good person."

A good person, yes, Ryudou Reikan is definitely a good person. In fact, not only in the school, but also in the streets and alleys of Fuyuki City, he has helped many people. In his words, he is accumulating fame in order to become the abbot of a temple in the future.

There were quite a lot of rice balls, enough for one person, but unfortunately, there was also Arthur in Natsukawa's house, who ate most of the rice balls, so Natsukawa only ate five in the end.

"Arthur, couldn't you have left me a few more?"

"I've eaten so much without even realizing it. If you're still hungry, Master, I borrowed the restaurant's kitchen while I was working and made some food."

What did Arthur cook?

(I remember British cuisine being something like...)

Before Natsukawa Tiger could even recall those rather awful dishes, Arthur had already brought out what he had made.

"Camelot-style mashed potatoes, Master, please enjoy." Arthur smiled and pushed a full bowl of mashed potatoes in front of Natsukawa Tora. "This is what Gao Wenqing taught me. Since I didn't know Master's taste, I just made it the normal way. Please try it."

(I forgot about that.)

Looking at the bowl of mashed potatoes, Xia Chuanhu swallowed hard, then forced a smile and said, "Oh~~~~ (in a flat tone), it looks delicious. I'll take it to the refrigerator now."

"Huh? Aren't you going to eat?"

"We definitely can't finish all this! We might as well store it for tomorrow's meals!"

Putting the taste aside, this amount would be enough for Xia Chuanhu to eat for two days without any problem. Given his current financial situation, this is a real lifesaver.

After putting the mashed potatoes in the refrigerator, Natsukawa Tiger sat back down opposite Arthur: "Alright, now that you've eaten and drunk your fill, let's get down to business. Arthur, do you remember what I told you at noon? Tonight I need your help to do something for me, right?"

"I remember. Are we going to fight other Servants?"

“No, I want to save two people,” Xia Chuanhu said. “A while ago, I was passing through a place and I happened to see a family abusing a little girl. The little girl’s… well, her uncle was also being abused. I want to help them, but for some reason I can’t get close to them. Whenever I get close, I involuntarily walk in another direction… So, I want to ask you for your help.”

“They move away as soon as you get close... That must be a barrier that repels people, a fairly common one. Master, you're not a magician, so it's only natural that you'd fall for it.” Arthur said as he stood up. “Then let's go, Master. Since this journey is for justice, I have no reason to refuse.”

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. It's my duty as a Servant. Also... Master, to be honest, your storytelling skills are really terrible."

"I'm sick!"

7. Blow up the Matou residence to the sky.

The Matou family's residence is located on the outskirts of Fuyuki City, far from the city center. Because they couldn't afford a taxi, Natsukawa Tora borrowed his neighbor's bicycle to ride there, while Arthur followed behind in his spirit form.

Although Arthur said he could carry Natsukawa Tora forward, Natsukawa Tora vetoed the idea because it was too embarrassing—being carried by a grown man was something he couldn't accept, both psychologically and physically! What's more, there was Sajou Aika watching him; if she saw Arthur carrying him... just thinking about it terrified him!

Aside from the factors mentioned above, choosing to travel by bicycle was also to confirm one thing.

"Arthur, can you hear me?"

[No problem, Master. This distance is still within an acceptable range.]

"Then I'll try to increase the distance further."

【it is good】

A top-tier Master can supply magic power to their Servant even when they are far apart, enabling them to communicate remotely. For example, Kenneth and Diarmuid. Natsukawa Torato is currently testing the limit of his communication distance with Arthur, so that he can maintain a relatively safe distance during battle while still giving Arthur some instructions.

He didn't want to end up like Waver Velvet, being dragged into battle by his own servants; that kind of treatment was something you couldn't possibly survive with multiple lives.

After increasing the distance between himself and Arthur to 500 meters, Natsukawa Tiger, who had tried to contact Arthur again but received no response, stopped riding and waited for Arthur for a few seconds until Arthur's voice rang out again.

Master, are you alright? Our connection was almost lost just now.

"It seems the limit is 500 meters. In the Holy Grail War, the distance between you and me should ideally be around 400 meters, plus I need to observe the battle... I need to buy a telescope. How much does a telescope cost again?"

Feeling a pang of regret for his wallet once more, Xia Chuanhu looked towards the top of the slope not far away, where the shadow of a gloomy old house was already faintly visible. Perhaps it was a standard feature of every gloomy old house, but the harsh, piercing cawing of crows could be heard intermittently.

That's the Matou family's place.

"Arthur—"

“I understand, Master.” Arthur stared at the Matou family mansion. “A rather ominous and evil magical aura. The person living in that mansion is undoubtedly an extremely evil magician. I can go up there by myself. Master, you stay here.”

"Be careful, and let me know if you need my Command Spell support."

Arthur smiled. "Please have faith in me, Master. I am not so weak that you need to worry about me. Also, I will rescue those two people you mentioned, Master."

After saying that, Arthur once again entered spirit form.

Pushing his bicycle to the roadside, he found a tree to lean against and sat down, where Natsukawa Tiger began to think about what to do next.

"If Arthur makes a move, there's no need to worry. No matter how many trump cards the Matou family has, they won't pose a threat to him. The only exception is that Matou Kariya may have already summoned his corrupted father-in-law."

In terms of combat power, Lancelot and Arthur should be evenly matched, and Arthur might even be slightly stronger. After all, the Arthur on their side is not the Saber King, but the Knight King of another world. Judging from FP's performance, he is at the level where he can compete head-on with Gilgamesh.

However, if war actually breaks out, then Jiang Chengming's purpose for this trip will have to be declared null and void. Summoning Lancelot is essentially a death sentence for Matou Kariya. Like Natsukawa Torata, Kariya's use of Servants is akin to risking his life, and Lancelot's mana requirements are even higher than Arthur's. Furthermore, Kariya has been tormented by the Crest Worms for a whole year, leaving him completely exhausted.

"The best outcome would be to rescue Sakura, but by this time... it's already far too late. It can only be described as justice delayed—hmm!"

The sudden, sharp pain made Xia Chuanhu's body tremble. Then, a sensation as if something had been pulled out of his body spread throughout his entire being. The indescribable pain made Xia Chuanhu unable to even scream.

(It hurts... How can it hurt so much... It feels like my whole body... my soul is being ripped out...)

If I had to put it into words... it's similar to pulling out a finger, the kind of finger-pulling that everyone does and makes a sound. But if you multiply that feeling by hundreds or thousands of times, that's roughly the pain Natsukawa Tiger is experiencing now.

I'm going to die! I'm really going to die!

Without using any Noble Phantasms, and not even fighting against Servants, how could it consume so much magical energy just to deal with an ordinary magician?

"Ugh...uh ...

His legs twitched violently, and the subsequent cramps almost made Xia Chuanhu faint from the pain.

When I watched the anime before, I wondered why Matou Kariya screamed so miserably. Now that it's my turn, Natsukawa Torato finally understands a bit of Matou Kariya's pain.

It's truly worse than death!

————————————————————

at the same time.

"Pfft—!"

Wielding an invisible blade, Arthur swiftly suppressed the swarming insects. He then glanced out the window, as his contract allowed him to sense Natsukawa Tora's condition to some extent.

"Master...we need to finish this quickly, otherwise Master won't be able to hold out."

Thinking of this, the invisible sword in Arthur's hand suddenly shone with a golden light, and the raging winds wrapped around the sword were completely released at this moment!

Wind King Barrier - Variant Application: Wind King Hammer!

"Why did this unknown Heroic Spirit launch a night attack on my Matou family?!"

Amidst the swarming insects that had gathered once more, an aged voice rang out. Matou Zouken, hiding among the insects, now only regretted why Matou Kariya hadn't been more helpful. The modification of his body would take another day or two. If Arthur had returned in two days, the Matou family, who had already summoned Servants, would definitely not have been defeated so easily!

"I have nothing to say to a heretical magician like you. Just die and pay the price for what you've done!"

Wielding the unsheathed Excalibur, a raging gale unleashed its power. The terrifying wind pressure, like a siege hammer, instantly crushed all the Crest Worms in the road ahead, blasting away most of the Matou family's residence! Luckily, this was in the suburbs, far from the city center, otherwise it would have attracted a lot of attention!

Ignoring the remains of the insect horde, Arthur headed straight underground—he had already searched the entire Matou residence and found no one except for an old man. In that case, the person Master wanted him to save must be underground, not to mention he had already sensed the magical energy gathering there.

"Please hold on a little longer, Master."

8. The yandere is gone!

I dreamt of that vast, empty cavern filled with corpses once again.

I dreamt of Arthur betraying Sajou Aika once again.

Natsukawa Torama stood atop countless skeletons, looking at Sajō Ayaka, whose chest was pierced, and Arthur standing behind her. Because of the hood, Natsukawa Torama couldn't see what Arthur's expression was like at that moment.

But as a knight, he ended up betraying his master, which must have been extremely painful for him.

"Click..."

Instinctively, he wanted to walk forward and talk to Arthur, but after taking only one step, Natsukawa Tora's limbs stiffened in mid-air as if they were chained. Not far away, the corpse of Sajou Aika, who had been stabbed by Arthur and fallen, strangely stood up again.

"Don't move, you vixen."

Sajō Aika smiled and said, her voice as sweet as heavenly music, believing that even men without special fetishes would become perverted because of her voice. Natsukawa Torato wasn't sure if this was because her voice was naturally like that or if she was using enchanting magic, but he understood at least one thing.

Sajō Aika's smile is the smile of death.

"This must be a dream. You are a remnant in Arthur's memory, a past image of a girl named Ayaka Sajou."

There's nothing wrong with what I say.