To become a king and a magician

At this point, Natsukawa Tora smiled slightly and then stood up.

Are you leaving?

"Ah, since the ley line anomaly request has been resolved, there's no need to stay here any longer."

“Indeed, before you leave, there’s something I need to tell you—rewarding those who have made contributions is a rule that has been around since ancient times. And for you, who helped me solve the LogosReact problem, I have naturally prepared a gift. However, it’s a slightly complicated gift, so I’m still making final adjustments. It will be mailed to you in a while. Remember to sign for it when you receive it.”

A gift?

Natsukawa Tora smiled and said, "I really wanted to say that it wasn't necessary, since it's not a big deal—but there's no point in saying that anyway. I'll just thank you for your kindness in advance. Well then, until we meet again, Dean of the Atlas Institute."

"Well, see you again sometime, magician of the clock tower."

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

They said they were leaving the village, but in reality, Natsukawa Tiger couldn't leave immediately; it would probably take another two or three days.

The reason is simple: because of the LogosReact issue, the entire village is on high alert. Everyone is tense and racking their brains to find the troublemaker who ruined their plans.

As the most unusual outsider in the village, Xia Chuanhu was naturally the most suspicious person. The day after the outsider arrived, LogosReact, which had been running smoothly before, started having problems. It would be hard to believe that there wasn't something going on between the two.

So for the past two days, Xia Chuanhu has been under constant surveillance by the villagers wherever he goes, and some of the more radical ones have even interrogated him. And this morning, the village's most respected matriarch came over in person and gave him a very targeted interrogation.

Finally, Xia Chuanhu roared and yelled at her before kicking her out—partly out of resentment from the previous interrogation and surveillance, and partly out of acting. He was quite confident in his acting skills.

"Sigh... Will this kind of thing continue for several more days?"

Lying on the wooden bed, Natsukawa Tora looked at the ceiling and sighed helplessly.

And at that very moment—

"Boom boom boom..."

A knock sounded at the door, and before Xia Chuanhu could open it, the person outside barged in.

It's Belsak.

Sitting up in bed, Natsukawa Tora frowned. "Is something the matter, Gravedigger?"

“It could be considered an emergency—you’re in danger, Magician.” Belsac looked somewhat anxious. “Because the culprit who caused the problem with that thing underground hasn’t been found yet, and that old woman is preparing to make your move in order to appease the public.”

"Huh?" Natsukawa Tora was taken aback for a moment, then spread his hands. "So you still did it in the end. You made the decision really quickly."

“Everyone in this village is incredibly devout to King Arthur and wouldn’t do anything to disturb the village. So, you, as an outsider, are the most suspicious—though the logic is a bit weak, it’s a lucky guess.”

"So, you came here to tip me off so I could pack up and run away?"

“If you get caught, and you're afraid of dying, you might betray me, and I'll be in trouble too—leave here with Grey and never come back.”

"Okay, okay—hmm?!"

Xia Chuanhu, who had just agreed, was suddenly startled.

What did that old man just say?

"Going with Grey? You just said that, right? What's going on? Why does Grey want to come along?"

“She doesn’t need to stay here any longer,” Belsack said. “The underground thing has stopped working, and the village’s goal of resurrecting King Arthur can no longer be achieved. As a result, Grey no longer needs to fulfill her mission as a vessel. But even so, she can only end her life as a vessel for a past hero, as it was before, and even more so now.”

"You mean, because of the disruption caused by LogosReact, the villagers might become even more fanatical in their faith in Grey than before, driven by their inner panic?"

Belsak nodded in agreement with Natsukawa's statement: "Originally, I designated her as the next gravedigger because I couldn't bear to see her such a tragic life, but now, even my actions can no longer help her."

"So you want me to help her? To get her out of here once and for all?" Xia Chuanhu paused for a moment. "...The outside world isn't so great, especially where I am. The world of magicians isn't a good place."

"That's still better than a place where dead people gather. Besides, one day she should go and see the world outside the village."

What are her thoughts?

"Someone has already convinced her—leave after nightfall, and never come back with her."

After saying that, without giving Xia Chuanhu any time to reply, or simply tacitly acknowledging that Xia Chuanhu would agree, Belsak turned around, slammed the door, and left.

27. Kenneth, My Superman

Two days later, at the Clock Tower, in Kenneth's office.

After reading the report submitted by Natsukawa Torato regarding this commission, Kenneth nodded to Natsukawa Torato in front of him: "Yes, I understand the details. In this way, the magical anomaly incident at the Blackmore Cemetery is considered resolved. Thank you for your hard work, Torato."

"It's my duty—if I really have to say, I should thank the teacher."

Xia Chuanhu smiled.

Kenneth put the report away and chuckled. "If we really want to get to the bottom of this, I should also bear some responsibility for you blowing up the lab. Strictly speaking, I'm just paying for my actions. So let's call this matter over. I'll continue to assign you a few more cases that you can handle. If all goes well, you should be able to pay off your debts within a year."

One year.

Hearing this, Natsukawa Tora couldn't help but sigh: "Studying, working, and commissions... I have a feeling I'm going to be exhausted in the coming year."

"You can relax a bit on the academic side. The assignments completed by students will be recorded in your practical credits, and when you graduate from all the basic courses in the future, the credit pressure will be much lighter."

Kenneth explained.

"Alright, now that we've finished talking about you, let's talk about the child behind you."

"Awoo..."

Noticing Kenneth's gaze, Grey, who had been hiding behind Natsukawa Tora since earlier, quickly shrank even further behind him, pulling down her hood to cover her entire face.

Seeing Grey's performance, Kenneth immediately looked at Natsukawa Tiger with an even sterner gaze: "You brought back such a young child from the Blackmore Cemetery. I don't recall raising you to be like those lowly nobles, Tiger."

"Actually, Mr. Kenneth, almost all the lessons you taught me were self-defense techniques..."

Natsukawa Tora muttered something, then cleared his throat: "Ahem—Regarding Gray, I remember I already wrote about it in detail in the report..."

"[Entrusted by Grey's mother, I took Grey away from that secluded village to see the outside world] - I did see the part you wrote in the report, but you don't think I would ignore her face, which is almost exactly the same as Caster's, just because of that one sentence, do you?"

Even though more than a year had passed, Kenneth still remembered his experience in last year's Holy Grail War, and among those experiences, Caster—Morgan—undoubtedly left a deep impression on him. The woman before him, Grey, bore an uncanny resemblance to her; Kenneth would never believe it was a coincidence.

Faced with Kenneth's questioning, Natsukawa Tora sighed slightly: "Teacher, first I want to confirm one thing, your office won't be eavesdropped on by others, right?"

“Of course.” Although he didn’t understand why Natsukawa Torato asked that question, Kenneth immediately nodded. “This office is also a workshop for me, and there are no oversights in the preparations.”

"That's good—actually, I withheld some information from the report about the Brackmore Cemetery because it wasn't something that could be included in the report. If the Legal Affairs Department, which is in charge of reviewing reports, found out, it wouldn't be a good thing for that village."

Kenny frowned immediately at Natsukawa Tora's words—this wasn't something the Legal Affairs Department could know about? Although there were many taboos in the Clock Tower that the Legal Affairs Department couldn't know about, how many taboos could a simple investigation into magical anomalies possibly uncover?

Looking at Gray behind him, Natsukawa Tora explained, "For hundreds of years, that village has actually been plotting to resurrect someone, and for this purpose, they have even made some connections with the Atlas Institute."

“Resurrecting someone? That’s unexpected—but it’s understandable. According to the rules of the Clock Tower, resurrection is indeed one of the most serious taboos. If it’s written into the report, the Legal Affairs Department certainly won’t sit idly by when they come to conduct their routine investigation.”

"Yes—Teacher, you also know the three elements that make up the human body, right? Body, mind, and soul. That village has already completed one of them in the last few hundred years."

"you mean......"

Kenneth instantly understood what Natsukawa Torato meant, and his gaze toward Grey also carried a hint of strangeness: "So that's how it is. This child is the only successful individual created to accommodate the souls of past heroes, a vessel with an extremely high compatibility. Is this the only successful individual after hundreds of years?"

"Yes. That's why she looks like Caster. As for the magical anomaly mentioned in the request, it was actually a malfunction in the village's resurrection ritual that caused the ley lines to become abnormal. Although I managed to sabotage the ritual a second time while completing the request, it will still be held again in a few years, and Gray will become the vessel for resurrection once more."

"So, to avoid this situation, Grey's mother and her master asked me to take Grey away from that village and made me and her make a vow never to go back."

Natsukawa Torama gave his final explanation—but even so, he still concealed part of the truth, such as one of the seven great weapons of the Atlas Institute, the reappearance of Arthur's possession, and the existence of Atlas Institute Dean Tsbia... Although Kenneth had been kind to him and was currently on his side, Natsukawa Torama was not prepared to reveal all of this information, which was too explosive for the magic world and could even cause a major earthquake.

[A village tried to resurrect a hero from the past but failed] - Now all we need to do is spread this message.

After listening to Xia Chuanhu's explanation, Kenneth Stokes pondered for a moment, then leaned back in his chair: "Alright, I understand the situation. I'll allow the child to come. As for accommodation, I'll arrange for her to stay in your apartment, just like you. I'll also have someone forge her identity."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Kenneth."

"If you want to express your gratitude, then quickly put your talents to use and join the El-Melloi School and the Minerals Department to serve me—go down."

“Yes. Well then, I’m sorry to have bothered you, teacher—come on, Grey, let’s go.”

Taking Grey's hand, Natsukawa Tora led her out of the office.

After watching the two leave, Kenny sighed helplessly and turned to look out the window: "Immature brat, hasn't anyone told him that his storytelling ability is terrible?"

"Then the legal and political department... needs to come up with an explanation to get by."

28. Children should never go near Meryl.

After leaving Kenneth, Natsukawa Tora took Grey directly to his apartment by taxi.

Although Kenneth hasn't officially approved the notification yet, there are only Webber and Mary in the apartment besides himself, and they can both be considered his own people. If the situation is explained, they should both be able to accept Grey's move-in.

Grey's luggage was minimal—in fact, practically nonexistent, consisting of just a set of clothes and the cage containing Ad.

Standing in front of the apartment building, carrying a birdcage, and looking at the luxurious living space before her, Grey couldn't help but rub her eyes: "Is this...is this where I'll be living from now on?"

“Well, barring any unforeseen circumstances, you’ll be living here for a long time to come. You can treat this place as your home if you want,” Natsukawa Tiger said with a smile. “This is also where I live. There are only two other people here besides me, and they are… well, I wouldn’t say they are all good people.”

At least Meryl is definitely not. The hellish training she endured a few days ago had already confirmed her nature as a troublemaker and a source of amusement.

"Anyway, let's go inside first. You must be tired after two days, right?"

The two left the village before nightfall. It would take five hours to travel from Blackmore Cemetery to the Welsh capital by car, but there were no cars available at night. So, Natsukawa and Grey walked almost the entire way to Cardiff, until they finally hitched a ride.

Because of the magical enhancements he received, Natsukawa Tora wasn't as tired, but Gray, being a little girl, had to travel such a long distance late at night. Even though Natsukawa Tora carried her on his back halfway through, the mental fatigue was still very real.

(Let Mary arrange a room for her to sleep in first, and then we'll explain the details.)

Thinking this, Xia Chuanhu stepped forward, took out his key, and opened the dormitory door. And just as he opened the door—

"Sizzle—!"

A clothesline pole suddenly pierced straight into his face!

Almost reflexively, Xia Chuanhu did a backflip without thinking, then nimbly somersaulted and landed safely. Only then did he realize, "Holy crap! You scared me! What the hell—damn! Here we go again?"

Looking at the illusion knight puppet standing at the door like a guardian deity, holding the clothesline pole like a spear, Natsukawa Torato suddenly remembered that he was actually still undergoing physical training with Meryl.

"Oh my, that was a good dodge. I thought I'd become sluggish after a few days without training, but it seems I was just worrying."

Emerging from behind the illusion puppet, Meryl crossed her arms and greeted Natsukawa with a smile: "Good afternoon, Natsukawa. Welcome back. Lunch is ready. You must be hungry after just getting back."

"You mean your lunch wasn't about stabbing me in the stomach with a clothesline pole? If I hadn't dodged it, I would have gone blind!"

"It's okay, it's okay. As long as you don't die, I can save you, so getting a little injured is nothing."

Looking at the carefree and laughing Meryl, Natsukawa Tiger suddenly felt an urge to hit her, but after thinking it over carefully, he suppressed his anger—because he couldn't beat Meryl, or rather, it would be pointless to hit her. After all, in front of Meryl, who could use illusion magic, no matter how hard Natsukawa Tiger fought, he would only end up getting hurt.

It would be better not to fight at all.

After taking a deep breath to calm down, Natsukawa Tora pushed Grey in front of him: "Let's stop fooling around. I have something important to tell you, Merlin."