To become a king and a magician

“I can go out and show it to you, but it would be best to find a more open place, like in the mountains, because I’m afraid it will cause too much of a stir.”

This offer was even more appealing to Aozaki Touko than the previous one.

Even though ten years had passed, Aozaki Touko still felt a pang of resentment at her crushing defeat at the hands of her younger sister. If Natsukawa Torato truly possessed the power he claimed, then...

(Looking at Aoko's crushing defeat is quite something!)

Thinking of this, Aozaki Touko immediately nodded: "Okay, but let's wait until tonight. It takes quite a while to get to the mountains from here, and what if we have guests—"

"Don't worry about that. If I go at full speed, including the time to demonstrate for you, it should only take about five minutes round trip. Gray can keep an eye on things for me during that time." Natsukawa Tora said, glancing at Gray, "Is that alright, Gray?"

"Yes, you can leave it to me, no problem, brother, and Ms. Aozaki too."

"If that's what you all say... then fine."

(It's only been five minutes, it should be fine. Besides, I've set up defensive magic. How could a little girl possibly demolish this place?)

While thinking about it, Aozaki Touko went outside with Natsukawa Tora and asked, "So, how do we get there? You just said full speed, are we driving?"

"No—please allow me to be a little rude."

After finishing speaking, Natsukawa Tora scooped Aozaki Touko up in a princess carry and stomped his foot on the ground.

"Bang----------!"

With a loud bang, before Aozaki Touko could fully react, she was already being carried into a high-speed world by Natsukawa Tora!

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

Three minutes later, all the residents were stunned as they watched the fireworks rise from the mountains and forests on the outskirts of the city.

(Who's setting off fireworks in broad daylight?)

9. Please do not loiter on the streets at night.

"It's simply unbelievable."

Inside a restaurant in Kanbuko City, watching Natsukawa Tora enjoying his meal across from her, Aozaki Touko still finds it hard to believe what she witnessed not long ago.

She didn't use any of the major sources, but simply converted the minor sources within her body into magic power, and from this she launched a [Magic Bullet]—Aozaki Touko herself knew this technique; it was a very basic protective magic and one of the introductory magics for learning the flow of magic power. However, the Magic Bullet used by Natsukawa Torato far exceeded common sense in both power and scale.

Those magic bullets that bloom like fireworks... Thankfully, Natsukawa Tora suggested beforehand that it would be best to display them in the suburbs; if they were displayed in the city, it would definitely cause a huge commotion.

(He's just like Aoko...no wonder he said he and Aoko are the same type of magician.)

If this guy were around, she might actually be able to give Aoko a hard time the next time she met her—thinking of this, Aozaki Touko couldn't help but laugh and downed the drink in her glass in one gulp.

"Seriously, you can really eat."

"Hmm?"

"You ate five big bowls of fried rice alone... Are you a pig?"

"Mmm-gurgle!"

After swallowing what was in his mouth and taking a big gulp of water to calm himself down, Natsukawa Tora said with a hint of apology, "Because I used my own magic during the demonstration, I got a little hungry. Plus, I have a big appetite, so I ate a bit too much... Will this cause you any trouble?"

"No, I can afford this amount of money. Consider it a gift for accepting you as my apprentice."

Yes, I accept apprentices.

After witnessing Natsukawa Tora's strength, Aozaki Touko decided to take him as her apprentice. Of course, formally accepting an apprentice required signing a magic contract and holding a simple ceremony. Even though neither of them cared much about such things, it was the rule for magicians.

In the past, it was common for apprentices to betray their masters, or for masters to kill their apprentices, for reasons ranging from coveting the master's wife's beauty to being jealous of her talent. Therefore, starting a hundred years ago, the master-apprentice relationship between magicians had to be based on a contract.

Of course, this applies to two complete strangers. If they are father and son, or family friends, then it doesn't matter if they don't sign a contract. After all, a contract exists to prevent betrayal.

"Speaking of which, I haven't asked yet who this little girl is?" Aozaki Touko looked at Gray, who was quietly eating next to Natsukawa Torato.

“Oh, her name is Grey. She’s my adopted sister and also kind of my attendant,” Natsukawa Tora explained. “She’s eight years old this year. I was worried that she would be led astray at home, so I got her to join the Clock Tower through Kenneth-sensei’s connections.”

This refers to a follower who carries out this meaning.

Aozaki Touko smiled and said, "I thought you two were like a noble young master and his maid."

Do I look like that kind of rich young master?

"Judging by your face alone—no, not young master, but young lady. If you were a little shorter, no one would doubt your gender if you wore women's clothes."

"I would never wear women's clothes in my life—excuse me, waiter, three more bowls of the extra-large grilled meat fried rice for table number six!"

You really are a pig!

————————————————————————————

An hour later.

On the streets of Guanbuzi City.

"Ugh... I'm so full..."

Touching his noticeably larger belly, Natsukawa Tiger let out a burp: "I guess I ate too much after all."

"You ate ten bowls in total, brother. Even if you were starving, eating ten extra-large bowls of fried rice at once is really too much. Can your stomach handle it?"

"Since it was my master's treat, it was basically free, so I subconsciously ate more than I should have, since I haven't had a full meal since I returned to Japan."

In England, knowing that Natsukawa Torama already possessed some of Arthur's traits, Meryl would prepare enough food for him to eat his fill. However, after returning to Japan, after deducting the airfare back to England and accommodation costs, the remaining money had to ensure that Natsukawa Torama ate less to make do with his meals.

"Well, I can eat more from now on. After all, I won't be going back to England for a long time. Then I'll find a place to work and start earning money, and gradually improve my life."

"Huh?" Grey was taken aback. "Brother, aren't you going back to England?"

“Now that I’ve become an apprentice, I definitely need to learn everything I can before I graduate. Besides, it’s not like I’ll never go back. There are things like final assignments and activities I have to attend, so I still have to go back.” At this point, Xia Chuanhu looked at Grey: “Grey, do you want to go back to England?”

Grey shook her head: "No, I just want to be with my brother, but... I do miss him a little."

It's my hometown, after all.

"Speaking of which, is it really okay to show that to Miss Orange? I remember you said before that it's only shown to very close people... Even Mr. Weber doesn't know the actual function of that device, right?"

“Master’s words… I think there should be no problem. Just take it as my intuition; my intuition is always very accurate,” Xia Chuanhu said with a smile. “As for Weber, knowing less is actually a good thing for him. Sometimes, knowing more can be a mistake.”

Seeing that Natsukawa Tora was speaking in a way she couldn't understand, Grey simply ignored her brother's words and focused her attention on the road in front of her.

Unlike the Clock Tower in the suburbs of London and Fuyuki City, which is just beginning to catch up with the times, Kanbuko City, which is based on Tokyo in its setting, can be said to be a complete modern city, a true modern metropolis, and its prosperity far exceeds the former two.

Looking at the neon lights flashing in various colors and all kinds of shops around her, Grey, who had never seen such a city that never sleeps, was overwhelmed and had no idea where to go next.

Is there anywhere you'd like to go?

"I asked with a smile," Natsukawa Tora asked.

"It's a rare opportunity to come here, so it would be nice to take a good look around. Would you like to go somewhere to check it out?"

"Then...no, no, I can't let my brother spend money, so I won't—"

Before Grey could finish speaking, a scene suddenly flashed into her field of vision, making her pause in surprise. She then tugged at Natsukawa Tora's sleeve: "Brother, I just saw a woman being led into an alley by several men."

"Huh? Really?"

"Because there were so many people, I only saw a little bit... but it should be correct."

“Hmm…that’s what happens often in big cities at night. Come to think of it, that’s just how things are these days.” Muttering to himself, Natsukawa Tiger stretched his arms and legs. “Well then, let’s treat this as post-dinner exercise. Moving around will help with digestion. Let’s go, Grey.”

"Yes."

10. Wild Asagami Fujino

In big cities, similar situations often occur at night, where all sorts of people with ulterior motives take advantage of the darkness to hide in the shadows, doing things that cannot be made public.

From illicit financial transactions to petty thuggish behavior among hooligans.

No matter the country or the era, this kind of behavior is like cockroaches—it can never be eradicated. Even if you manage to eliminate them once, they will reappear from some unknown corner after a while.

It's incredibly annoying.

Now, having eliminated their sounds and figures through magic, Natsukawa Tiger and Grey followed a few thugs at a distance, walking through a nearly unlit alley.

"It looks like he's planning to take that girl to a remote place."

Observing the direction the thugs were heading, Xia Chuanhu had already guessed their intentions.

Despite its glamorous appearance due to its development over the years, Guanbuzi City is actually a labyrinth of alleyways hidden in the shadows of its skyscrapers. These alleyways are as complex as old tree roots, and even people who live in them will get lost once they venture into them. It is a man-made maze formed by various coincidences and chance encounters.

Judging from their clothes, these thugs ahead are probably good-for-nothing students, but I don't know which school they go to. Furthermore, they walk without stopping at all, with a very clear sense of direction, indicating they likely have a fixed hideout ahead and have been there countless times.

“He’s a repeat offender.” Grey clenched her fists. “Brother, we need to do it now—”

"No, let's take them all at once. I feel there are probably more than just these few people, so we'll just have to make do with that girl for now."

"Yes."

After following the thugs for a minute or two through the alley, just as Grey was about to lose her bearings, she suddenly heard the sound of a door opening ahead.

"crunch..."

They had somehow ended up in a narrow alley, and the sound of a door opening came from the door at the very end of the alley.

He hurried to the door, pressed his ear against it, and listened for a while before Xia Chuanhu sighed softly: "There are ten people talking. Are they planning to torture that girl... Grey, step back a bit."

"Yes."

Bang------!

As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Chuanhu kicked the tightly closed iron door open, revealing the dark scene inside the small house to the two of them.

He immediately blocked Gray's view and looked at the girl lying on the ground inside the room with her hands and feet tied up, as well as the dozen or so boys surrounding her who had only taken off half of their clothes. Xia Chuanhu couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

(Grey shouldn't have come along.)

"Grey, go outside for a bit, turn your back to us, and don't look."

"..."

Hearing the somewhat cold voice, Grey obediently walked outside.

Meanwhile, seemingly finally recovering from the shock of Xia Chuanhu bursting into the room, one of the delinquents, presumably the leader, shouted angrily, "Who the hell are you? Damn it—"

Boom!

Before he could finish speaking, he was smashed into the wall.

Pressing his head down as if trying to crush it, Xia Chuanhu pounded it twice. After confirming that he could no longer pry him out of the wall, he turned to look at the others around him.