To become a king and a magician

"By the way, since we've run into each other, that's perfect. Would you mind answering some questions for me? I have a lot of theories I'd like to verify."

Seeing Natsukawa Torama pull out a notebook and pen from his backpack, looking like a reporter, Ryougi Shiki couldn't help but look at him with a hint of disdain: "Pass, no time. I'm in a hurry to eat now."

"Also, this is the second time you've appeared in front of me, including this time. If you want to live, you'd better not appear in front of me a third time."

"Huh?" Natsukawa Torato frowned. "What's this? Did you set a rule for yourself that you have to kill someone if you meet them three times?"

"Add the prefix 'I will remember you' to my name."

Watching Ryougi Shiki walk out of the apartment, Natsukawa Torama's eyes revealed a hint of seriousness: "It feels like... things are not good, her mental state."

After meeting someone you know three times, you will kill them.

From a magical perspective, this can be seen as a vow without any coercive effect, but... why would Ryougi Shiki make such a vow? And judging from her situation, it seems that she made the vow herself?

Is it because of something that happened two years ago?

Or is it...?

"Well, although it's not the best thing to do, going to her house directly might help me figure things out, right?"

Arriving at the apartment building entrance, Natsukawa Tora quickly found Ryougi Shiki's home by looking at the sign with the residents' surnames.

West Building, 405.

————————————————————————————

Ryougi Shiki's house was just like the ones I'd seen on TV before—too simple. When Natsukawa Tora opened the door with magic, he almost thought he'd walked into a house that had just been renovated and was still uninhabited.

The house was fully furnished, but apart from the furniture that was already there, there was nothing else. The kitchen was empty, and there were only one or two pieces of clothing hanging in the wardrobe. There was no trash can, water dispenser, air conditioner, refrigerator... nothing at all.

"To live in this kind of environment... I must say, Ryougi Shiki is truly worthy of the name."

In the original work, Ryougi Shiki had no requirements for her living environment, and her three meals a day consisted of tomato sandwiches and mineral water, which gives you an idea of ​​her attitude towards life. Even Natsukawa Torato thought it was normal for her not to have a change of clothes.

Without touching anything in Ryougi Shiki's house, he simply walked through each room to make sure there was nothing amiss. Then, Natsukawa Tora sighed helplessly, "There really isn't a single clue that can answer my questions. Should I have just chased after her and pestered her relentlessly?"

Although the consequence of that would be being chased and attacked by Ryougi Shiki with her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Natsukawa Torara didn't care since she couldn't beat him anyway.

The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception are indeed a problem, but there are ways to deal with them. Look at Nisuke's Rinnegan, it was so strong, but it was still destroyed. Of course, Natsukawa Torato just wanted Ryougi Shiki to answer a few of his questions, he didn't need to blind her, dislocating her joints would probably be enough.

"But... I feel like something's not quite right."

Looking at the interior of the house, and then stepping outside to lean against the railing and gaze at the scenery, Natsukawa Tora frowned slightly: "A barrier... Since there is a barrier, it means that this place is another world relative to the outside, but if it's another world... there are almost no anomalies between the inside and outside."

"So, what exactly is that barrier for? And what did Ryougi Shiki say earlier...?"

Neither of them.

This means that the barrier was neither part of the apartment building nor was it set up later by a magician.

How was this barrier formed? If it's neither a natural nor man-made product... did it come from nothing?

"..."

After pondering for a while with his chin resting on his hand, Natsukawa Tora sighed helplessly: "Sigh, it really won't work. If Webber were here, things would be much better. He could see through this apartment's tricks at a glance, right?"

"So next... if everything's alright up there, let's move on to down there."

Natsukawa Tiger remembered that this building had an underground parking garage.

however--

"Click-clack-clack-clack..."

At some point, the doors of the other residents' homes opened automatically without warning, and one after another, mannequin-like figures swayed out and flanked Natsukawa Tiger from the left and right.

Glancing at the situation on both sides, Natsukawa Tora blinked: "What's this? Did I trigger some kind of automatic defense mechanism? Or did I run into some kind of trap? How did it suddenly turn into a puppet version of a zombie movie scene?"

18. Ryougi Shiki: You're stealing my job again!

How strong is Natsukawa Tora in terms of combat power?

This is not something that can be easily explained, since there are no reference points and we can only judge it by battle records. According to Meryl, Natsukawa Torama was able to defeat everyone in the Clock Tower without either side using any magic or magical power.

In short, in terms of physical abilities, Natsukawa Torato is completely inhuman.

When faced with the puppets surrounding him, Natsukawa Torato's first thought wasn't what to do, but how long it would take to destroy them all.

However, should we say that they completely forgot about their surroundings while fighting? Or did they simply not feel the reality of the battle at all?

"Crack—!"

After tearing the last standing doll in half and throwing it behind him, Natsukawa Torato glanced around and asked, "Huh? How did I end up back on the first floor?"

—Without realizing it, they had breached the entire apartment!

Scratching his head, Natsukawa Tora glanced at the mess around him: "Hmm... I broke everything, it should be alright, right? Should I clean it up? Speaking of which—oh, I was wondering why something felt off."

The fight raged from the fourth floor all the way down to the first, smashing, flying, and slamming numerous dolls against the wall—the commotion was no less than that of a neighbor renovating. Logically, such a commotion should have attracted a crowd by now, but until now, Natsukawa Tora has been the only one to witness it.

"Is no one living here except for Ryougi Shiki? In that case, I can understand the barrier. Am I just being prejudiced?"

The apartment was huge, but apart from one resident, there was no one else. To put it bluntly, it was like a long-abandoned empty room. If someone were to suddenly walk in, they would naturally shiver from the desolation.

This is a common occurrence, and there are many similar situations, such as a group of students going on adventures to an abandoned factory.

In addition, Natsukawa Tora had preconceived notions and thought in the mind of a magician, which is why he mistakenly believed that there was a barrier here.

In fact, this apartment building did not have any protective barrier.

"Because I've been involved in magic all this time, it turned out I was the one who scared myself, which is quite embarrassing."

Xia Chuanhu couldn't help but laugh at himself.

Just then, the apartment door opened again, and Ryougi Shiki walked in carrying a bag full of mineral water. When she saw Natsukawa Tora and the scattered remains of the dolls around him, she froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.

"This is... our third meeting?" Natsukawa Tiger laughed. "If you want to kill me, feel free, but before that—Holy crap!"

Before Natsukawa Tiger could finish speaking, Ryougi Shiki suddenly threw down the bag in her hand, drew a dagger from behind her back, and charged at Natsukawa Tiger with undisguised killing intent, as if she had seen a mortal enemy!

"Creak—!"

The dagger sliced ​​through a portion of the elevator's outer wall.

Quickly getting back to his feet after rolling, Natsukawa Tora hurriedly said, "You just attacked like that! Even if this is our third meeting, you don't have to do this—hey! Listen to me!"

"Sizzle—!"

The only response Xia Chuanhu received was a merciless dagger, its blade reflecting a chilling light as it slashed straight at his body!

Before the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, even the smallest injury becomes an incurable and fatal wound. Even if the dagger is knocked away, Ryougi Shiki's body will become a deadly weapon.

Furthermore, Ryougi Shiki is currently in a murderous state for some reason.

(If I were to say anything carelessly, I'd be dead meat—that's what I say, but it's not that I'm looking down on anyone...)

"too slow."

Without even needing to use any enhancement magic, Natsukawa Torama reached out and grabbed Ryougi Shiki's wrist, instantly snatching her dagger and then kicking her in the chest—using only 30% of his strength to avoid piercing through.

But even so.

"Bang----!"

With a muffled thud, Ryougi Shiki was kicked away! The arc of her flight made Natsukawa Torata instinctively want to rush over and catch her!

However, as nimble as a cat, Ryougi Shiki quickly adjusted her angle and landed steadily on the floor with both feet.

Ryougi Shiki raised her head and glared fiercely at Natsukawa Tora, then pulled out a dagger from behind her again.

"Again? How many daggers are you carrying?"

"Ever since I failed to kill you a few months ago, I've been carrying four spares with me—stay still and let me kill you."

"What deep-seated grudge do you have against me? Can't you just listen to me properly?!"

Even a Bodhisattva has a temper, and Xia Chuanhu is no Bodhisattva, so he was somewhat displeased: "I don't really like fighting with ladies. If possible, could we stop here? Stop being unreasonable."

"You've broken all my things, and you expect me to stop here?" Ryougi Shiki said coldly. "Which side is being unreasonable here?"

"Your things?"

Xia Chuanhu was stunned for a moment, then looked at the remains of the dolls around him.

"Are these dolls yours?"

"It's mine in terms of ownership. I was planning to go out and eat my fill, then come back and chop these dolls up a few more times to digest them, but now you've taken them all apart. What am I supposed to kill every day?!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! Let me sort out some information first!" Natsukawa Torama hurriedly waved his hand, signaling Ryougi Shiki to pause. "Uh, let me sort out the situation first. You mean... for the past two years, you've been living here and repeating the same routine of cutting these dolls down several times a day?"

"correct."

Ryougi Shiki spoke with an air of self-righteousness.

"They're just puppets anyway. Besides, as long as I don't use these eyes, these puppets will just reappear the next day no matter how many times I kill them, so I might as well just kill them for fun. It'll be a good pastime when I can't find any thugs."

"..."

Natsukawa Torato roughly understood—or rather, after Ryougi Shiki's explanation, he roughly understood what Ryougi Shiki had been doing for the past two years.

Two years ago, after Araya Souren died, Ryougi Shiki moved into this Ogawa apartment. She usually spent her days wandering the alleys looking for trouble with thugs, and if she couldn't find any, she would come back and chop up dolls.

"What's the point of doing this? You've run away from home for two years, skipped school, and just kept repeating this kind of life. What's the point?"

"Who are you to me? Mind your own business!"

Ryougi Shiki glared angrily at Natsukawa Tora and gripped her dagger tightly once more.

"That's enough. I told you, be prepared to be killed by me on our third meeting. Plus, you destroyed all my dolls, so I have to settle the score with you."

"..."

It seems like we have no choice but to fight?

19. Take a sister home

"Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh!"

Inside the Hall of Garan, Aozaki Touko, who had just returned from using the restroom, was momentarily stunned. She stared at Ryougi Shiki, whose hands and feet were bound and whose mouth was gagged with a towel, and Natsukawa Tora, who stood before her toying with a dagger. She then quickly covered her mouth in terror.

"Teacher, you've got the wrong idea."

Before she could utter any shocking statements, Xia Chuanhu explained, "It's only because she's determined to tear me to pieces that I tied her up like this to protect myself. It's definitely not what you're thinking—"