To Become a King and a Magician 407

Title: Merry Begins to Tell Her Story

Moments after leaving the Tohsaka Residence, Naoki appeared at the top of Fuyuki Bridge.

“Merry, I’m done—what are you doing?”

“Huh? King… Waaah! My ice cream!”

Merry sitting at the edge, was startled by the voice from behind, nearly dropping her ice cream container. After deftly catching it, she patted her chest. “Phew~ Thank goodness I caught it… Don’t suddenly open a portal and scare me like that, King. It’s bad for my heart.”

“I’m out there building connections one by one, and you’re just sitting here slacking off? I should let you get scared to death.”

“If I die from shock, no one will want to marry you, you know.”

Jumping onto Naoki’s back, Merry grinned. “Well, anyway, thanks for your hard work. Here, a little reward for the King, muah~”

“Do the important stuff first, can you?”

Though Merry kissed his cheek, Naoki rarely wavered. He was happy that Merry could be so close with him, but there were more pressing matters than flirting with her.

Merry smiled. “Relax, the important stuff is already arranged. I left the networking to you, King, and the work for building the barrier to Morgan and the others—everything’s under control.”

“And your own work?”

“I’m here to cheer you all on—ow, ow, ow! My head’s gonna split!”

Quickly slipping out of Naoki’s merciless iron grip, Merry crouched, clutching her head. “You’ve been way too harsh lately, Naoki, always getting handsy with me. What, has your S-side finally awakened?”

“Just getting some revenge. Everything you did to me over the past ten years—I’m paying it back bit by bit.”

“Ugh~ Vindictive guys aren’t popular, you know. I won’t marry you anymore—unless you sweet-talk me!”

“Is that so?”

Naoki pressed Merry’s head with one hand while igniting a small flame in the other. After all, sweet-talking and roasting were pretty much the same.

“Sorry, I was being cocky. I won’t dare again. Please spare my little life.”

“I told you to be serious, and you’re still joking.” Naoki sighed in resignation, extinguishing the flame and pulling Merry into his lap, sitting together at the bridge’s edge. “If you want to mess around, after the Holy Grail War is over, I’ll do whatever you want with you, but for now, take a break.”

Merry blinked, then smiled and leaned her head against Naoki’s chest. “The Incineration of Humanity is pretty serious… From your tone, this is based on your experience in your original world?”

Only Merry and a few others knew the truth that Naoki came from another world. The knowledge he claimed came from the Root was actually from his original world, just dressed up as Root-related.

Though some girls connected to the Root didn’t mind this identity impersonation.

“That feeling only started surfacing slowly after I arrived here.” Naoki said. “Rather than experience, it’s more like I went through the entire Incineration of Humanity from a player’s perspective, like playing a computer game. I was the main character, going through a series of events like the Incineration of Humanity in the future, and ultimately ending it—that’s how I’d put it, but really, it was just clearing a story level.”

“A game… Oh. So, you know everything?”

“Not exactly. There are still questions, plenty of mysteries left unsolved, but I remember what’s necessary.”

“Ohh~~~”

Merry didn’t press further. She didn’t care about Naoki’s life in his original world or intend to dig into it. After all, it was a past Naoki could never return to, one he had truly parted with.

If that was the case, there was no need to pry.

“I’ll keep this secret forever. Manaka and Rei are the same, right? And that noblewoman too.”

[No need for the succubus to say it—we know, and my other self does too.]

Manaka’s voice echoed in Naoki’s mind.

[By the way, have you thought about how to deal with Solomon? Even with your Mystic Eyes, I don’t think a Grand Servant will be helpless against a pair of Mystic Eyes. Since you’ve been through it once, you should know how to beat him, right?]

“No, I don’t know.” Naoki shook his head bluntly.

[Huh? Then how are you—]

“There’ll be a way, and… I don’t think the fight between me and Solomon will escalate to killing each other. I have a feeling about it.”

Solomon had said that the outcome of their fight would be acceptable to the Counter Force, so if one of them lost and died, it wouldn’t be acceptable.

Thus, the final outcome might not be a double loss or a single victory, but either a double victory or a draw.

Given Naoki and Marisbury’s situation, a draw was more likely.

“A draw, huh…”

“So, in the end, Chaldea will be built, and the Incineration of Humanity won’t happen?”

“That’d be great.”

If that were the case, Naoki would gladly accept Marisbury’s offer to join Chaldea—after all, he needed a job; he couldn’t stay unemployed forever.

And at that moment, behind the two of them—

“Merry, all the nodes have been set—seems I came at a bad time.”

Seeing the two embracing, Morgan’s hand tightened around her staff several times. “Handing off all the work and then cozying up with this kid here—nice calculation, Palace Magus.”

“Morgan, calm down, don’t unleash Starfall. We’re discussing something important.”

“Then get out of his lap first.”

“No way! If I do, your Magecraft will kill me! King, help!”

“Stop joking…”

Naoki tiredly patted Merry’s head, then looked at Morgan. “I just got back too. You’ve already finished everything, Morgan? By the way, what’s up with Lia?”

Beside Morgan, Artoria looked disheveled for some reason, her face pale as if she’d just been harassed by someone.

“Nothing, just a little friction with her, mostly because she’s too wary of me. I didn’t do anything to her.”

Morgan spoke while licking her lips, and as she did, Artoria shuddered.

That was clearly the reaction of someone who’d been through something.

Glancing at Merry, who was stifling a laugh, Naoki knew she must have arranged this meeting between the two, informing them separately. Otherwise, Artoria would never have agreed to work with Morgan.

“You okay, Lia? Sorry, I should’ve kept you by my side.”

“I-I’m fine, thank you for your concern, Master. I can handle myself.”

“Being stubborn isn’t good, Lia.” Merry said with a smile, standing up. “Since the nodes are set, let’s finish the job—next up is story time, so listen closely.”