To become a king and a magician

"Here, take this, your room key."

"Ah... thank you—no, no, wait a minute, Grey and I aren't planning on staying here yet."

"Huh? Weren't you supposed to stay here? If not, what are you doing here?"

"That's a long story, actually—"

Before Xia Chuanhu could finish speaking, Monarch Acherlot interrupted him, "Alright, consider it my treat to stay here. It won't cost much anyway. Take your room keys and come with me. There are a lot of people here, let's go to the room upstairs and talk."

"Huh? Chat? Chat about what?"

“Of course, that’s why I approached you,” Monarch Acherlot chuckled. “You don’t think I’m offering you a free stay, do you? Do I look like a kind woman?”

(What a self-absorbed woman!)

With just one glance, Natsukawa Torama got this impression. Although not as good as Merry, this Monarch Acherlot was probably the type who would cause trouble for others. And now that she had already helped book a room, to be honest, Natsukawa Torama felt embarrassed to refuse—if he refused, he and Grey would have nowhere to stay.

"elder brother?"

"Let's follow them, Grey. It seems our trip to Paris might not be very enjoyable."

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

The monarch, Archerlot, booked a VIP suite for two people on the top floor for Natsukawa Torato and Grey.

Looking at the extremely luxurious decorations inside, Natsukawa Torato and Gray, who were used to living in rented rooms, apartments, and even wooden houses, froze at the doorway as if they were under a petrifying spell. Unlike the two, Monarch Acherlot entered the house with ease and sat down on the sofa.

"Don't just stand there at the door, come in and sit down. Or are you feeling a little lost because it's your first time staying in a place like this?"

"You're absolutely right. I feel like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden right now."

Natsukawa Tora gave a wry smile and led Gray to sit down opposite Monarch Acherlot: "Let's get straight to the point, Monarch Acherlot, you—"

“Mei Lydelle Acherlot.” Monarch Acherlot—Lydelle—interrupted Natsukawa Torato once again. “This is not the Clock Tower, and you are not from my plant family, so there is no need to call me Monarch. Just call me Lydelle or Mei.”

“Well… excuse my intrusion, Miss Acherlot.”

Natsukawa Tora maintained basic respect.

"First of all, thank you so much for solving our housing problem. If it weren't for your help, we would probably be sleeping on the streets."

“It was nothing, and as I said, I’m not helping you for free. I just happen to need someone to do something for me, and you just happened to be there,” Lydia said.

Xia Chuanhu nodded: "I understand. So what kind of help are you referring to?"

Mentioning this, Lydia's professional smile vanished instantly, and she sighed heavily: "Sigh... You saw what happened below, didn't you? Reporters and media have completely surrounded the hotel."

"Wow, quite a big entourage... Could it be that you're here to interview me about your upcoming concert tour?"

"Ah."

"Is there a problem with this? You're a globally popular idol, I think you should be used to this kind of situation by now, right?"

Lydia frowned upon hearing this: "I'm used to it, after all, I've been an idol for a long time. Besides, it's not like I can't handle those reporters. If I really wanted to, I could just do a magic trick and have someone cooperate and they would all scatter."

"So, what's your matter?"

"The concert is in four days. Before that, there are still things to deal with, such as mock performances. In addition, I have a new song that is in the final stages of creation, so it is a time when I need to concentrate and not be disturbed."

"Although dealing with reporters is a simple matter, there have been some problems in the plant science department recently. I don't know which bastard blew up one of my labs, which has caused problems with funding and the schedules of various magicians. As a result, I don't have many people around me who can help me deal with reporters, and I really don't want to argue with them."

At this point, Lydia's meaning is quite clear.

"Before the concert starts, please act as my stand-in and attract all the reporters. You don't need to do anything, just pretend to be me and walk around outside for a day or two each day."

"Could you please do me this tiny favor, Natsukawa Torato?"

53. Meryl, you better wash your neck clean and wait!

After hearing Lydia's request, for a moment, Natsukawa Tora felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles, not on a sofa.

Did someone blow up Lydia's plant science lab?

Does this sound familiar?

Because it was Xia Chuanhu who blew that up! He's the bastard Lidel was talking about!

(How can these things be connected? This is too much of a coincidence!)

Natsukawa Tora found it hard to believe.

The initial cause was Kenneth's self-defense course. In order to get credits, he asked Meryl for special training, but the training made him mentally unstable. Then, those noble children came and attacked him, causing him to break through his defenses and blow up the laboratory.

After that, he started working odd jobs to pay off his debts to the plant science department, which is how he met Grey.

Xia Chuanhu originally thought that all that was left was to pay off the debt, but now the owner of the laboratory he blew up has actually come knocking on his door? He's even a little overwhelmed by the aftermath of the laboratory explosion?

(Isn't this too much of a coincidence? It's almost too coincidental!)

(However, judging from her tone, it seems she only knows that the lab was bombed, but doesn't know who specifically did it?)

Thinking of this, Xia Chuanhu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hmm? What's wrong? You seem relieved all of a sudden?"

“Ah… because it was something the Lord asked me to do, I was a little nervous because I thought it would be something very important. But I was relieved to find out that it was just to be your substitute.” Natsukawa Tora explained, “This kind of task is no problem at all. In fact, it’s enough to offset the favor you did for us by helping us solve our housing problem. It feels like we’re the ones who got the better deal.”

Even though she was unaware that her lab had been blown up, Xia Chuanhu still felt somewhat guilty.

(Let's see if we can help her resolve something else? Just consider it... well, in case she holds a grudge later, we can try to get a lighter sentence.)

Looking into Natsukawa Torato's eyes, which seemed to conceal other thoughts, Lydia couldn't help but laugh: "Hmm? I didn't expect you to be so enthusiastic. But—unsolicited kindness must have ulterior motives. What are you plotting, aren't you?"

"If I had to put it that way, I guess you could say that." Xia Chuanhu scratched the back of his head. "I'd say it's about taking precautions. If I ever offend you in some way in the future, and I've already helped you out, maybe I can ask you to be lenient with me—that's what I'm thinking."

The unexpected answer left Lydia stunned.

She never expected it to be for this reason.

Lydia had met many people with ulterior motives towards her. Some coveted her beauty, some her wealth, and some her status in the Archerlot family... There were all sorts of fools. Having seen too many, Lydia even felt a certain disgust for them.

She had assumed that Natsukawa Tora would say something similar.

But I didn't expect it to be like this.

"Is that so? You're preparing your indulgences first? You're quite aware of potential crises—no, that's not quite right. It's more like you're treating a conflict with me as an inevitable occurrence? Do you perhaps possess the mystical eye of future vision?"

"How could that be? Although I wear glasses, it's just because I'm nearsighted. Just take my actions as a way of making good connections."

"Hmm~~~~~"

After giving Natsukawa Torata a second look, Lydel chuckled twice: "Alright, since you have this idea, I won't be polite about accepting this free labor. However, I don't need your help right now, so for the time being, you can just do your job as a stand-in."

"My room is right next to yours. Well, I still need to prepare my new song, so I'll be going now. I'll have someone send you the disguise clothes later."

——————————————————————————————

After watching Lydia leave, Natsukawa Tora lay back on the sofa—or rather, on Grey's lap.

"elder brother!"

Grey blushed and cried out, then quickly lifted Natsukawa Tora's head and put a cushion under it.

"I'm sorry, Grey, this whole series of events was quite shocking, and I just instinctively... Is your thigh okay? Does it hurt?"

"No, I'm fine, I was just startled," Gray said, her face slightly flushed. "Speaking of which, brother, have you really decided to be that lady's double? I remember the magician's double is..."

"A shadow warrior. A stand with magical properties, who erases their own name to protect someone real, and accepts all the curses and harms directed at that person—Wave mentioned this before when he talked about Iskandar's deeds. It seems that you've taken some of it to heart, Grey."

"Because Mr. Weber looked very sad at that time, that left a deep impression on me."

“After all, that guy… is considered Iskandar’s subordinate.” Natsukawa Tora sighed. “But don’t worry, the Stand I’m going to become isn’t the Shadow Warrior type. Not to mention that becoming a Shadow Warrior requires a long time to accumulate experience and conduct intelligence operations, but as things stand, I don’t need to use such advanced methods. If I had to say, it would be more similar to your sister Meryl’s illusion magic.”

"All I have to do is change my clothes, dress up a little, put on a wig, and walk around the streets a couple of times. It's really just cross-dressing, just to look more like Miss Acherlot—and speaking of Meryl."

Xia Chuanhu's eyebrows twitched violently. He sprang up from the sofa with a somersault, took out his phone, and dialed Meryl's number.

[Huh? Xia Chuan? What's up? Why are you calling me all of a sudden? By the way, you guys should be in Paris by now, right? How's it going there?]

"Before I tell you about the situation here, Mary, explain to me why there's no reservation information for me and Grey at the hotel? Didn't you say the TV station had already booked the hotel for us, and Grey and I just needed to check in with our bags?!"

【Huh? No reservation? That can't be, I've already confirmed it—could it be because I won the lottery that the reservation was made in my name? Have you checked in yet?】

"I've encountered the monarch of the plant family. She's incredibly wealthy and generous, so she booked a room for me. The only problem is that I can't just play around like this anymore. I have to spend some time helping her with things every day. Also, I just found out that the lab I blew up almost two months ago actually belongs to her."

[Wouldn't that be incredibly awkward? She's using this against you, holding something against you?]

"No, she didn't know I was the one who blew it up."

That's good... Well, it seems like a lot has happened on your end, but I still hope you have a great time in France, and remember to bring your hands back...

"Hello? Meryl? Your voice isn't very clear."

【...】

"Merry?"

Hearing the static on the phone, Xia Chuanhu frowned: "What's going on? Bad signal? Even though it's an international call, it shouldn't be like this after just a minute or two, right?"

"Well, at least we can be sure it wasn't Merry who did this. Now we can just enjoy ourselves in Paris—Grey, come and pack your things."

"Okay, brother."

——————————————————————————————

Meanwhile, in London.

Setting down the microphone, Mary looked towards France, a slight smile playing on her lips: "The signal was actually cut off. That's quite unexpected. Has someone set up a barrier over Paris?"

"But that's good too. It's more interesting to add more unexpected things to make things more difficult for him."

54. How come you're so skilled at it?

On the morning of his second day in Paris, Natsukawa Tora was awakened by a series of urgent knocks—or rather, banging on the door.

"Who is it... so early in the morning...?"

While yawning and scratching his hand inside his clothes, Natsukawa Tiger went to the door and opened it. At the very moment the door opened, he must have thrown a punch. Lydel, unable to stop in time, immediately fell forward uncontrollably.

He reached out and grabbed the back of her collar, pulling her back to her feet and helping her stand up straight. Natsukawa Tora said irritably, "Banging at the door so early in the morning... what earth-shattering event has happened, Miss Acherlot?"

"Early in the morning? Do you even know what time it is?"

"Huh? What time? Isn't it only eight o'clock?"