To become a king and a magician

Natsukawa Tora breathed a sigh of relief—Kenneth's name still worked.

“Then how about this, Lord Natsukawa,” Tokiomi Tohsaka continued, “Although you have Lord El-Melloi’s protection, that is ultimately in England. Japan is far from England, and even the monarch cannot easily influence it. If you ever need anything in Japan in the future, I will do my best to assist you. What do you say?”

"this--"

Just as Xia Chuanhu was about to refuse, an idea suddenly popped into his mind and made him stop speaking. He then nodded: "This... is possible. Rather, I was just thinking of asking an expert about some things."

"Lord Tohsaka, do you know where in Japan there will be a doll exhibition recently? To be honest, one of the main reasons I came back to Japan this time is for this."

Doll exhibition?

Tokiomi Tohsaka frowned, thought carefully for a while, and then replied, "As for the doll exhibition, I heard Kirei mention it not long ago. It seems that there is a magician of a good skill holding a doll exhibition in Kanbuko City near Tokyo."

"Viewing Buzi Market..."

"Are you planning to buy an automaton? To be honest, this is not a good choice, because the concept of human body simulation magic has declined since the 17th century. Even the most skilled magicians cannot compete with antiques from hundreds of years ago when it comes to automata. At best, they can only be collected."

Xia Chuanhu shook his head: "I'm not buying the dolls. To be honest, I don't have the money to buy them. My goal is the doll maker."

"A Grand Puppeteer named [Aozaki Touko]".

7. Male Desire

Aozaki Touko.

This is a name that resonates throughout the magic world, not because her surname is Aozaki or her ridiculous experiences, but because of her contributions to the magic world.

【Grand Puppeteer】—This is a title often used by people in the industry when referring to Aozaki Touko. As mentioned earlier, since the decline of the magic concept of human body imitation in the 17th century, the performance of later puppets has been far inferior to that of antiques from hundreds of years ago. No matter how skilled a puppeteer is, they cannot create works that surpass those of their predecessors.

However, Aozaki Touko did it. Not only did she create combat automatons comparable to those of the Middle Ages, but she also broke the absolute rule left by her predecessors during the golden age of medieval magic: "Even if you create an automaton that surpasses human beings, it is impossible to create something that is exactly the same as a human." She created an automaton that was exactly the same as herself.

In other words, Aozaki Touko completed the replication of herself, using extremely unconventional methods to give herself multiple, or even infinite, lives.

In addition, she revived the runic magic that had long since declined, not only magically regenerating the common twenty-four runes that served as the foundation, but also deciphering several primordial runes that had disappeared in the Age of Gods.

Therefore, in recognition of her contributions to the development of magic, the Clock Tower granted her the rank of Grand—and then immediately assigned her a sealing designation.

It's said that it was Aozaki Touko's teacher who personally applied for it for her, truly highlighting the deep bond between teacher and student.

After being designated for sealing, Aozaki Touko immediately disappeared from the Clock Tower and even the magic world, and was completely missing for nearly ten years. The people from the Sealing Designation Execution Bureau searched almost the entire world but could not find her.

"If the association finds out that Aozaki Touko is holding a doll exhibition in a place like this, the Department of Law and Politics and the Sealing Designation Execution Bureau will definitely come after her like mad dogs."

In front of a mansion in Kanbuko City, looking at the sign outside that read "Orange Doll Exhibition, Welcome to Visit," Natsukawa Tora couldn't help but smile wryly.

It is now the fifth day since Natsukawa Torato and Gray returned to Japan. After confirming with Tokiomi Tohsaka that there was indeed a doll exhibition in Kanbuko City, the two of them rushed to Kanbuko City the next day and used magic to search for two whole days before finally finding the doll exhibition in a corner of the city.

"Brother, is the person you're looking for inside?"

Gray glanced curiously into the mansion, frowned at the somewhat eerie interior, and slightly tightened her grip on Natsukawa Tora's clothes.

"It feels... a bit like a village at night."

"In a sense, this is already someone else's workshop, so it's understandable that people feel this way when they're outside. But it's okay, as the sign says, this is just a doll exhibition."

As they were talking, Xia Chuanhu had already pushed open the door of the mansion and gone inside.

"Ding-a-ling~~~~"

As the door was pushed open, the doorbell hanging inside immediately rang, followed by a series of footsteps coming from deep within the mansion. The footsteps were clearly quite hurried, like those of a detective who had spent days searching for evidence and clues and was finally about to uncover the truth.

And very quickly, within seconds, Natsukawa Tiger and Gray saw the person who brought the footsteps around a corner ahead.

"Oh dear, we finally have guests. It was definitely the right decision to apply for an extra day of rental."

Sporting bright red hair that looked like it had just been styled, and dressed like an office lady, Aozaki Touko approached the two with a smile. As she handed them her business card, she said with a smile, "Welcome to Touko's Doll Exhibition. My name is Aozaki Touko, and I am a professional doll maker. Are there any dolls that catch your eye?"

If the Magic Association saw this, they'd be furious.

Even the crudely made dolls made by Aozaki Touko are still considered masterpieces; analyzing any one of them could advance existing doll magic by a significant margin—but she's actually selling them! Selling them with clearly marked prices! And regardless of whether the customers are magicians or not!

By the standards of the Clock Tower, this already violates some of the ironclad rules of [concealment and mystery].

"Miss Aozaki Touko."

After accepting the business card, Xia Chuanhu took a deep breath: "Nice to meet you. I am Xia Chuanhu. I am very sorry to have taken the time to visit you despite your busy schedule."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Natsukawa. It's not that I'm too busy, but to my shame, you two are the only two guests at this exhibition," Aozaki Touko said with a smile. "So, is there any doll that catches your eye? Or even if you don't, I can order one according to your requirements."

"I am the magician of the Clock Tower, and I have come here hoping to become your apprentice."

"Excuse me, what did you just say? I didn't quite catch that." Aozaki Touko's professional smile froze.

Natsukawa Tora repeated decisively, "I am a magician from the Clock Tower. I want to learn puppet making techniques, but for some reason, I have been pre-selected for the Spirit Conjuring Department and cannot transfer to the Creation Department, so I can only come to you to learn."

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, Aozaki Touko took off her glasses, instantly transforming from a kind older sister into a cold and aloof older sister. The chill emanating from her body made Gray instinctively shrink her neck.

Looking at Natsukawa Tora's sincere face, Aozaki Touko asked, "You really told a super lame joke, so lame that I can't even laugh. Because you couldn't transfer to the Creative Studies Department to study doll making, you came after me?"

"Yes."

"I won't ask how you found me for now. What I'm more curious about is why you thought of asking me to teach you?" Aozaki Touko leaned against the wall and asked with a smile. "If you just want to learn how to make dolls, there are many other famous doll makers."

“But you are the strongest puppeteer, right?” Natsukawa Torato said seriously. “I didn’t want to learn puppet making out of interest or on a whim. I don’t think my half-baked puppet making skills can achieve my goal, so I tried every means to find you.”

These words plunged Aozaki Touko into silence once again.

To be honest, Aozaki Touko only found Natsukawa Torama's words and actions suspicious. While what he said was indeed reasonable—she was undeniably skilled at making dolls—to do it just for that...

"May I ask, why do you want to learn doll-making techniques? Do you want to create excellent dolls?"

"I'm not ashamed to say it's for male desire."

8. How to win over Aozaki Touko

Aozaki Touko had heard all sorts of reasons for learning magic, but this was the first time she had ever heard of someone like Natsukawa Tora learning magic for their own desires.

After a moment of stunned silence, Aozaki Touko couldn't help but laugh and said, "That's quite an unexpected answer. Men's desires, huh... I mean, you're not trying to comfort yourself by making a doll because you can't find a girlfriend, are you?"

"How could that be? I can't even guarantee my own food, clothing, and shelter, where am I supposed to find a girlfriend?" Xia Chuanhu helplessly spread his hands like a bear. "Alright, since I'm here to become your apprentice, I do need to show some sincerity."

After saying that, Natsukawa Torama took out the replay device from his pocket.

Looking at the small red sphere, Aozaki Touko frowned: "What... kind of Mystic Code is this?"

“One of the seven weapons of the Atlas Institute, a replica of LogosReact,” Natsukawa Tora said without hesitation. “Essentially, it is a hypothetical experimental device that simulates various situations by inputting various parameters, and it is not impossible for it to evolve on its own depending on the situation.”

"You really did come up with something that really surprised me."

Although it wasn't visible on her face, Aozaki Touko was completely stunned.

She had heard countless rumors about the seven great weapons of the Atlas Academy, each of which was said to be capable of destroying the world. She never expected that a replica of one of them would one day appear in front of her.

However, this also made Aozaki Touko understand why Natsukawa Torato wanted to become her apprentice.

"You plan to systematically learn puppet-making techniques, and then use this reenactment device to create puppets without any cost or time, right?"

"Yes."

Making a doll is quite time-consuming and laborious. It not only requires special materials that have been treated with magic, but also requires long periods of focused operation. If any step in the production process goes wrong, the final doll will deviate significantly from the original design.

Even for Aozaki Touko, it would take several days to create a complete doll.

However, if Natsukawa Tora possesses the re-enactment device, he only needs to input the steps, engineering, and technology required to make the doll, and the re-enactment device can immediately simulate that doll.

Even if only one doll can exist at any given time, that would still be a remarkable, even excessive, result.

After pondering for a long time, Aozaki Touko asked, "By casually taking out this magical artifact, didn't you ever think that I would pretend to take you as my apprentice first, and then take it for myself?"

“You can’t beat me.” Natsukawa Torato said bluntly. “I don’t mean any offense or contempt, but I’m just stating the facts. You are no match for me, Ms. Aozaki Touko. In terms of magicians, your sister and I are the same type.”

With physical abilities approaching those of a Servant, extraordinary magical output efficiency, and Arthur's various abilities awakened over the past two years—a modern mage can never defeat a Servant; this is an ironclad rule acknowledged by all mages. Not to mention, Aozaki Touko is not a mage known for her combat prowess.

"Furthermore, this reenactment device was created by Dean Atlas. To prevent it from falling into the wrong hands and being abused, he set a restriction that only I could use it. Any other magician who gets it will only get a ball."

Although she wanted to refute it, for some reason, Aozaki Touko felt that there was nothing false about what Natsukawa Tora said.

only--

"You really dare to say that, and you even mentioned that guy (Aoko)... Aside from my title, the thing I can't stop wanting to hear is that guy's name."

Aozaki Touko's eyes and expression clearly revealed her displeasure and anger.

But she quickly calmed down again: "Forget it, these are all my works. If we fight and they get damaged, I'll be the one who suffers. No wonder you've been so calm all this time... Your name is Xia Chuan, right?"

"Yes."

"If you want me to take you as my apprentice, how much tuition fee can you pay me?" Aozaki Touko asked coldly. "Knowledge is not free. If you want to acquire knowledge, you have to pay the corresponding price. In Japan, there is a custom of giving gifts when you become an apprentice. If you want to become my apprentice, you can't do it without paying a substantial amount of tuition fee."

"If it's about money, I can't afford to give you a single yen, because I'm also struggling financially."

The concept of "being rich" has never existed for migrant workers.

“But if it’s a price, then this is my price.” Natsukawa Torara held up the re-enactment device. “Although only I can use it, if Miss Aozaki Touko wants to do something with it, such as conducting a magic experiment, then I can do it for you.”

"So, you can use this reenactment device according to my requirements?"

Xia Chuanhu nodded: "It doesn't require consuming any existing materials, nor does it involve any risk of experimental failure. I think this is a good suggestion for you, whose financial situation is also somewhat tight."

"Who's short of money?!"

Aozaki Touko was instantly overwhelmed.

She doesn't have much money, but she's far from being strapped for cash!

but--

(This condition is worth considering. With such a perfect simulation prop, we wouldn't need to worry about the cost of materials when making new dolls in the future. Thinking long-term, it could save us a lot of money.)

The conditions proposed by Natsukawa Tora were perhaps incredibly tempting to Aozaki Touko—and to any magician.

But this is not enough.

"Anything else? Don't tell me this is all the price you can pay?"

"Is there anything else you'd like?"

(We can't come up with anything else... Well, that's true. For a kid this age, it's already unexpected that he could produce a re-enactment device. We really can't ask for too much.)

"By the way, although I don't know if this counts as a price—if you want to have another showdown with your sister, I can temporarily act as your familiar to help you. In terms of firepower, I shouldn't lose to anyone."

"really?"