To become a king and a magician

"Please forgive me for refusing, Meryl. This would cause trouble for the master. The master is still just a child and it is not appropriate for him to have too much contact with women. Please keep your distance from the master for the time being."

(No, you should also watch your behavior!)

Watching Sajou Rei, who was making such a statement while subtly increasing her bust size and pressing it against Natsukawa Torato's head, everyone was unsure of what expression to make or how to speak.

With the weight on his head, Natsukawa Tiger knew he couldn't resist for the time being, so he had no choice but to give up.

"Let's get down to business first. The reason I became like this is actually a kind of aftereffect."

"In order to suppress Arcueid's berserk state, I used up all the power I had at that time, which resulted in part of my body being used as fuel."

After nearly fifty hours of non-stop, all-out output, Natsukawa Tora's judgment and control were definitely lacking. In addition, in order to suppress Arcueid in time, he attacked relentlessly without thinking.

"In the end, sixty percent of our existence was burned away, and after we reassembled, we could only reappear to this extent. You could consider our situation as a return to our youth."

"Hmm... I see. I understand the situation now. Thank you for your hard work, Holy Sword Wielder. You have indeed sacrificed too much for Uruk this time."

Gilgamesh said with a solemn expression, "But this is indeed a bit troublesome. Originally, we hoped that after you rested for two days, you would continue to be the main force against Tiamat, but now... has your condition affected your strength in any way?"

Natsukawa Torato nodded: "Of course. First of all, my magic output is only about one-tenth of what it used to be, and my physical abilities have also declined significantly. In terms of Servant level, it's roughly equivalent to D in all stats. However, my durability and magic power are not affected, and the planet's support is still effective."

To put it bluntly, Xia Chuanhu's ability to fight head-on has decreased significantly. Compared to his previous all-around skills, he is now more suited to be a traditional mage providing support from a distance.

"In addition, my mental state may also be much younger."

(No, you've always been young at heart, haven't you?)

Everyone couldn't help but think of it.

"Is there a way to recover?" Gilgamesh asked. "Consider it as you delaying Tiamat's reward. Is there any way to restore you?"

"Just give me that Holy Grail from your treasury."

Gilgamesh's Holy Grail.

"The reason I've turned into a child is due to a lack of scale. To solve this, all I need is a lot of magic power. The key is to shorten the [time]. With the Holy Grail, the years that would normally take to recover could be reduced to a few days. Considering that I have to fight Tiamat in two days, I think I can recover to around twenty years old at the earliest."

Upon hearing Natsukawa Tora's words, Gilgamesh readily took the Holy Grail from his treasury and tossed it to Natsukawa Tora—this was the reward he deserved, and Gilgamesh was never stingy when it came to rewards and punishments.

but......

Stop right there!

"Okay, I'll catch it!"

A voice suddenly rang out on Fujimaru Ritsuka's wrist, and then the Holy Grail that was being thrown at Natsukawa Torato was intercepted by Merry halfway.

[Wait, Ms. Orange?! Why did you suddenly barge into the control room? Leonardo—sorry, Romani, Orange said she absolutely doesn't want to see that innocent little boy turn back into an adult with a head full of white filth—what? Wait, what about Miss Atalanta, Gray, and the Director?!]

Amidst a series of violent commotions, communications from Chaldea were forcibly cut off.

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

"It seems like something bad has happened over there?"

"Is the doctor... alright?"

“After all, it’s Orange and Ta-Miao, so it’s only natural,” Melly said with a smile, playing with the Holy Grail.

In Sajou Rei's arms, Natsukawa Torama stretched out his little arms forcefully: "Merry, what are you doing? Give me the Holy Grail!"

"Hmph~~~ Should I pay it back or not? Should I or shouldn't I~~~~~"

With a wicked grin, Merry approached Natsukawa Torato with the Holy Grail: "If you want it..."

This guy is definitely thinking something bad!

Xia Chuanhu immediately shouted, "Zero! Rob it!"

"Ah~~~~Speaking of which, I was planning to sleep with Little Tiger tonight, if someone wants to~~~"

Sajou Rei, who was about to make a move, suddenly froze, then looked extremely hesitant.

Seeing this, Natsukawa Torato couldn't help but shout, "Hey! It's still wartime! Save your little schemes for after the battle! And Zero, don't be swayed by a single sentence. I'll sleep with you later! Now, get the Holy Grail first, waaaah!"

Before he could finish speaking, Natsukawa Tora was covered in the mouth by Meryl.

Mary chuckled softly, "Okay, be a good boy, little king. Don't worry, I have no bad intentions."

"Waaaaah (Liar)!"

Natsukawa Tora struggled violently for a moment.

"Arquette's condition is also very bad, but they have a way to help her return to normal. Just think of it as Arcueid's sake; you wouldn't want her to not be able to return to normal, would you?"

"..."

Looking at Arcueid, who was still sleeping soundly in Mashu's arms, Natsukawa Tora, who was struggling violently, hesitated for a moment, glared at Merry, and then stopped.

(Hehe~~~ Done!)

Like a wicked older sister who had succeeded in her scheme, Mei smiled and rubbed Natsukawa Tora's little face before looking at the others: "Then, Tora will be temporarily taken care of by Ren and Rei."

"Uh...wouldn't this...?"

Looking at the reluctant Natsukawa Toramaru and the two mature women flanking him, Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly felt that her teacher was heading down a path of crime from which there was no return.

On the throne, Gilgamesh, seemingly having seen through something, sighed helplessly: "Is this the end of the farce? Then I entrust the task of taking care of the young Holy Sword Wielder and the True Ancestor to you, Flower Magician, and the Princess of the Root. Make sure they are in time for the battle against Tiamat in two days!"

"Yes, yes, yes~~~"

65. Send them all to the police station!

Chaldean Embassy in Uruk.

After Gilgamesh confirmed that he would take care of Natsukawa Torato and Arcueid, Merry and Sajou Rei brought the two back here.

Inside the embassy, ​​Merlin and Morgan, who remained behind, were astonished to see Natsukawa Tora and Arcueid, who looked like children brought back by the two. They only understood the situation after hearing Merlin's explanation.

"So, the next thing to do is to get you back to your original state as quickly as possible within two days?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, but the problem is that the Holy Grail that Gilgamesh gave me was taken by Merry."

Forced into Meryl's arms, Natsukawa Tiger nodded somewhat unhappily and nudged Meryl's stomach hard: "Now you can tell me, right? Meryl, what exactly do you want? Although you're usually the kind of person who doesn't care about anything but having fun, you should understand the situation now, right?"

Tiamat will arrive in Uruk in two days. Although even without Natsukawa Tora, our current fighting strength is probably enough to deal with Tiamat, sacrifice is probably inevitable.

If possible, Natsukawa Torato does not want anyone to leave this time, so it is necessary to quickly return to the original state.

Hearing Natsukawa Tora's words, Meryl smiled and quickly kissed the little boy in her arms: "Of course I know, but compared to such big things, I still prioritize satisfying my own interests. After all, that's just the kind of person I am."

Like Merlin, Merly is one of the world's premier king-creating machines. If she were to manifest as a Servant, she would possess the skill "Hero Creation." However, unlike Merlin's EX-level Hero Creation, Merly's "Hero Creation" level is only B.

The reason for this weakening is simple: because of Meryl's personality, which is that "of course the big picture is important, but the fun aspect is even more important."

Just like now.

Knowing that Natsukawa Torama's power would be crucial for the upcoming battle, Meryl couldn't resist teasing him when she saw the shrunken Natsukawa Torama in her arms.

After all, the last time he interacted with a child like this was when he was a young Grey, which was more than ten years ago. Going back further, the only other time was when he was a teenager Arthur.

Now that she has gained such a potential source of fun, how could she possibly let it go to waste?

"Don't worry, I'll keep things in check and make sure you make it to the final battle. So don't fret, just leave everything to me from now on!"

As she spoke, Mary completely disregarded the fact that Natsukawa Tiger was still a child, and her hands went straight inside Natsukawa Tiger's clothes.

Seeing this, Morgan, who was watching from the sidelines, quickly stepped forward, grabbed Mary's hand, pushed it away, and pulled Natsukawa Tiger out of her clutches.

Blinking, Mary looked at Morgan with some surprise: "Morgan, what are you doing?"

“I was about to ask you what you’re going to do,” Morgan said coldly, glaring at Mary. “This child is only about eight years old in terms of physical age. What are you planning to do to an eight-year-old?”

"Of course, it's about doing what a nightmare should do."

Meryl said matter-of-factly, "This guy is no longer a nightmare, but a succubus."

No, aren't nightmares and succubi actually the same creature?

"Besides, they've been the ones being bullied in that area for so many years. Now they finally have a chance to turn the tables and bully Tiger. They have to seize this opportunity!"

Being called "stamina noob" and "stamina newbie" every day, even if it's true, still makes Mary feel a different kind of anger every time she gets instantly killed. She has to vent her anger now.

Looking at Merly's serious expression, which didn't seem like she was joking, Merlin thought for a moment: "But are you sure that if we do this, Natsukawa won't retaliate after he recovers?"

"Gurgle—"

Mary made a slightly ominous sound.

Judging from her expression, she hadn't even considered that this succubus was completely beyond saving.

Merlin looked to the other side: "Speaking of which, Lady Zero hasn't said a word since just now... What are you doing? Resting with your eyes closed?"

"No, it's about stopping another version of myself that has already begun to lose its mind."

Sajou Rei, who was sitting not far away with her eyes closed, replied: "Since just now, my other self's mental state has been very unstable. You could say she's frantically fighting for control of my body. To prevent my master from being harmed, I've been trying my best to suppress her."

(Is it the same over there?)

Merlin gave a wry smile: "Sigh... This is the consequence of not paying attention to relationships with women. Natsukawa, now you're starting to suffer the consequences, aren't you?"

"Instead of making sarcastic remarks, you should lend me a hand." Xia Chuanhu rolled his eyes at him irritably. "Considering the situation of Meryl and Zero, I'll stick with Morgan for the next couple of days. Merlin, you hold Meryl down."

"Yes, leave it to me. I'm actually quite good at taking care of kids."

Morgan, who had given birth to half of the Round Table and was also disliked by the other half, confidently stated that Merlin didn't know where she got this confidence from, just based on the fact that she had cultivated a good relationship with Mordred over the past ten years.

But just as Morgan was about to take Natsukawa Torato back to the second floor, Merlin spoke up: "Ah~~~ well, actually, my situation is also a bit bad."

"Huh?"

Natsukawa Tora turned his head: "What's wrong?"

"It's Avalon. I set up a magic spell there to observe singularities. After all, there are only flowers there. Although they are beautiful, you get tired of seeing them after a while. I don't care, but others don't."

The others—referring to Artoria, Mordred, Ayaka Sajou, Aoko Aozaki, Ciel, and Lydel, who currently reside in Avalon.

"They all saw you like this, and they've been clamoring to come here ever since, especially that certain mage, she's practically turned into a Berserker."

"..."

Honestly, Natsukawa Tiger wanted to kick Merlin in the head. Why did you set up a technique to observe singularities for no reason?

(So ​​now we're caught in a pincer movement? Seriously though...)

Feeling Morgan's heartbeat gradually quickening as it pressed against his head, Natsukawa Tiger knew that he probably couldn't escape this time and was really going to be caught by these women.