To become a king and a magician

Because Merlin said he wanted to talk to him about something on the way, Natsukawa Torato agreed to walk with him to Kusa. However, during the afternoon's journey, Merlin only talked about various unrelated things.

Merlin smiled slightly: "Well... that's true. Let me think about it. Let's talk about Lia first, that's more important."

"To put it bluntly—Natsukawa, when are you planning to marry my Liya?"

"puff--------!"

Natsukawa Tiger sprayed Merlin directly in the head.

There was no way around it; the statement he suddenly made was simply too shocking.

After wiping the soup from the corner of his mouth, Natsukawa Tora frowned and asked, "Why are you suddenly asking this? And what about telling you I'm going to marry Lia?"

"Because you said before that you liked Leah, right?" Merlin said while wiping the water off his face. "When you expressed your love to that samurai in the Tokyo Singularity, you also said that you had feelings for Leah, didn't you? At that time, we people in Avalon were all watching the live broadcast."

(Oh, it was that time with Souji.)

After understanding the cause and effect, Natsukawa Tora calmed down: "You really do like to peep."

"That's called enjoying stories, after all, my only pleasure is observing the present," Merlin laughed. "So, when exactly? I can reluctantly play the role of Lia's father."

If that happens, Artoria will definitely kill you first.

Natsukawa Tora sighed slightly: "Now is not the time to talk about this kind of thing... And to be frank, although I like Lia as much as I like Meryl, there is actually nothing between Lia and me. We have been good friends for ten years. It is really inappropriate to suddenly jump to talking about marriage."

"Besides, we don't even know what Liya means. It's not good for you to play matchmaker like this."

(Hmm... I see. So that's how Natsukawa is. Even if she likes someone, she won't force them if they don't want to be. She's the type who likes to be the one who makes the first move.)

In reality, apart from Meryl, Natsukawa Tora is passive in all other situations, a pure emotional blockhead with a submissive exterior and an overbearing interior.

"So why did you suddenly bring this up?"

“Because that’s quite interesting,” Merlin laughed. “I’m a nightmare, and I basically don’t have the emotions of you humans. Even though I’ve always tried to understand, I’ve never been able to—Leah is the only exception.”

Artoria was someone Merlin watched grow up, and to her, she was like a father figure. Initially, Merlin's attitude towards Artoria was nothing special; he simply treated her as a tool for his amusement.

However, at the moment Artoria died, he felt genuine remorse.

“I feel really bad for Lia, that’s true. And it was with that feeling that I… I wanted her to have a better ending. To put it bluntly, it’s like a parent wants their child to have a better life.”

Artoria has been stuck in the real world for ten years.

For the past ten years, Natsukawa Tora has been taking care of her, providing her with shelter, satisfying her enormous appetite, teaching her how to survive in modern times... and freeing her from her long-cherished wish to save Britain.

To be honest, seeing the Knight King living a carefree life in the modern world after shedding all her burdens, Merlin felt his guilt towards her deepen. Back then, he had actually watched her walk towards destruction without doing anything... He really should slap himself twice.

"So, could you please take care of my Liya? Also, she seems to like you quite a bit; she blushed terribly when she heard you say you liked her, and asked me how to reply to you~~~"

“Of course, no problem.” Natsukawa Tora nodded with a smile. “I’ve already taken care of her for ten years, so there’s nothing wrong with continuing to do so. Besides, she’s still my Servant, isn’t she? So it’s only natural for me to take care of her.”

"As for the marriage you mentioned... let's talk about it after the Human Retribution is over. I still have a lot of unresolved issues to deal with, and I plan to take care of them all at once then."

(Ah, it must be those guys...)

Merlin smiled slyly: "As someone who's been there, let me warn you, Natsukawa, getting close to a lot of women can easily get you killed, or at the very least, you'll end up like me, imprisoned because of a woman's schemes."

"Do you think I'm like you? I'm not like you; I haven't been messing around with other women."

Xia Chuanhu, who considers himself a devoted and good man, says that he and the womanizing Merlin are completely different types of people.

"So, that's settled about Leah's situation, right? And what about Melly? What happened to her?"

"Ah~~~ Hmm, her situation is probably just my guess."

Merlin pointed to himself: "As you know, I left Lydia before she reached her end, and another version of myself seems to have done the same, leaving Arthur Pendragon before his end, for reasons I think are similar to hers."

"Although you and she are about to get married now, but... who knows, one day she might suddenly leave you, just like I and she did in the past."

Perhaps before Natsukawa Torama goes to face a powerful enemy, or perhaps before all the possibilities with Natsukawa Torama are exhausted—if Meryl feels that she can no longer feel pleasure from Natsukawa Torama, then she will probably make the decision to leave.

She really can do it.

Merlin didn't like seeing a tragic ending. If possible, he would prefer to see Natsukawa Tora reach a happy ending, since he was the one who liberated Artoria, and Merlin didn't want his final fate to be tainted with darkness.

"Is there a possibility that Meryl will leave? It's not impossible, but even if she leaves, I will bring her back."

Xia Chuanhu laughed and said, "No matter where she escapes to, even if she escapes to the other side of countless parallel worlds, even if she escapes to the end of the universe, I will still bring her back to warm my bed."

"No, I should say—if she dares to run away, I'll break her legs."

"Is that so...? That's good."

Merlin smiled wryly and opened his hand, revealing a flower blooming in his palm.

"For the past ten years, I have been watching your journey, and I will continue to do so. I sincerely hope that the ending you reach will be beautiful, Natsukawa."

28. This is the determination of an opening magician!

The next day, around 2 p.m.

Natsukawa Tora and Merlin finally arrived in the city.

"It really is a desolate city."

Feeling the utter lifelessness of his surroundings, Natsukawa Tora sighed softly.

Merlin explained the situation in Kusa City from behind: "It was destroyed without warning after the Three Goddess Alliance appeared. One day, contact with Kusa City was suddenly cut off, and when Leonidas led the team there, there wasn't a single living person left in Kusa City."

"There was no sign of struggle, no bloodstains, no wounds, no trace whatsoever. All the residents were dead as if they were asleep."

"Was it caused by the Three Goddess Alliance?" Natsukawa Torato said. "Such widespread death... could only be caused by the goddess who lives right beneath our feet?"

In the Age of Gods, the Earth, the Underworld, and the Heavenly Realm were all situated on the same fabric, existing only on the surface of the world, until the Age of Gods began to part ways with humanity, at which point they disappeared and faded away. Therefore, one could reach the Underworld simply by digging a hole underground.

On this land of Mesopotamia, the entrance to the underworld is located in Kusa.

"The goddess beneath our feet...you mean Ereshkigal, the mistress of the underworld?" Merlin frowned. "The only remaining Sumerian divinity in the mortal realm is Ishtar, and she has joined the Three Goddess Alliance...ah, isn't that the truth?"

"That's it."

You don't need to say everything. If the person you're talking to is Merlin, he'll figure it all out on his own with just a little hint.

In Sumerian mythology, Ishtar is the mistress of the sky, while Ereshkigal is the mistress of the underworld. They are sister goddesses and can also be regarded as the same deity, one inside and one outside.

Ishtar manifested as a pseudo-Servant by possessing Rin Tohsaka, who came to this singularity for unknown reasons. At the same time, Ereshkigal, who was one with her, also manifested and joined the Three Goddesses Alliance, returning to the Underworld to begin his own "destruction of humanity".

The first city she destroyed was Kusa.

"So, we've been wrong all along? Ishtar isn't actually one of the pillars of the Three Goddesses Alliance?"

"Well, judging from her behavior, it's quite normal for her to mistake it for someone else."

After all, she's the silly goddess who comes to Uruk to cause trouble from time to time, and since she herself doesn't seem to have any intention of explaining, she's been completely misunderstood.

“When we get back, let King Gilgamesh give the announcement. Now…” Merlin tapped the ground with his scepter, “Since one of the pillars of the Three Goddesses Alliance is underground, why don’t you go and take care of her now? Just like you did with Quetzalcoatl.”

Ereshkigal is an invincible being in the Underworld. Both Servants and gods lose their power in the Underworld. This is a privilege that Ereshkigal received because he was forcibly bound to the Underworld from birth.

Only the living can stand against her, and Xia Chuanhu fits that description. However, in terms of divinity and authority, her strength is only average among the gods. In front of Xia Chuanhu, who can even contend with a chief god, she would probably be defeated very quickly.

This would dismantle two pillars of the Three Goddess Alliance, leaving only the Beast Goddess outside the North Wall.

“That makes sense… After you find the Tablet of Destiny, Merlin, you should take it back first. I will open the door for you and send you back. After that, I will go to the Underworld alone to visit the goddess of the Underworld.”

"Oh?" Merlin stroked his chin, then revealed the kind of amused smile often seen on the faces of mischievous friends: "Could it be... Natsukawa, you even want to make a move on the goddess? You really don't hold back."

"Get lost!" Xia Chuanhu gave him the middle finger. "Gilgamesh gave us three days, plus we need to investigate the water quality in the Persian Gulf. We have to find the Tablets of Destiny and send them back today. I also need to rush to the Persian Gulf after I've dealt with the Underworld. The schedule is very tight."

Merlin chuckled: "Oh dear, this is what they call 'the capable are always given more work,' Gilgamesh really trusts you. As for the Persian Gulf... you wouldn't recklessly go and directly defeat 'that,' would you?"

"I know my own limitations; that's not someone I can defeat alone."

Xia Chuanhu gave a wry smile: "Besides, that's not someone I can defeat. It would have been easier ten years ago, but I can't do it now."

Human evil is evil that can be defeated by humans; only humans can defeat it.

Natsukawa Tora is an elf.

As a price for becoming an elf and gaining the powerful ability of imaginary manifestation, he lost his human identity and thus lost the right to truly save the world.

That's why Goetia said when they first met that Natsukawa Torato's hand could not possibly have touched it.

"So, will you regret it?" Merlin asked. "You, who once had the potential to save the world, are now completely deprived of that qualification."

"How could I? If I were to regret something, I wouldn't have chosen to become an elf ten years ago. I'm very satisfied with the current situation and don't have the slightest regret. Besides, saving the world isn't something that I have to do."

Fujimaru Ritsuka.

In this final battle where humanity is burned, Natsukawa Torama will do everything in his power to create an opportunity for her to defeat Goetia. He will not let Roman sacrifice himself, nor will he let Mash sacrifice herself, and Fou will not lose her intellect.

"My thoughts are the same as yours, Merlin. I prefer a happy ending to a bad ending. I've already experienced a bad ending once, and now I want to rewrite it into a happy ending. I will do my best to achieve this."

Natsukawa Tora made this decision ten years ago.

"Well then... let's start looking for the Tablet of Destiny. We seem to have been talking about some irrelevant topics. Time is running out, so let's split up and search. I'll share my perception with you, Merlin, through magic, so the search will be faster."

"Okay, let's do it that way."

Merlin continued speaking, following Natsukawa Tora's lead.

Once the other party has made all the decisions and preparations, this bystander who has already left the stage doesn't need to do anything more. He can simply watch silently until the end as usual and offer some help when appropriate.

For example, you could tie up another version of yourself that might run away at any moment and throw it onto Xia Chuanhu's bed.

(Okay, from now on, I'll just keep focusing on this other version of myself.)

Meli, far away in Uruk, was unaware that she had already been assigned to a task.

——————————————————————————————————————

"They've arrived, a little later than expected."

Aren't you going to meet him? Is he your friend?

"It's okay, he'll come on his own, you heard that, right? So just wait. Besides, I'm quite looking forward to seeing his expression when he sees me."

[Does it mean surprise?]

"Ah."

"Well... I'll go say hello to him first, is that alright?"

"Sure, but let's wait until that troublesome guy leaves first."

That makes sense.