Three hours later.
Carrying a bag of ingredients for making omurice, Naoki returned to Garan no Dou.
"Welcome back, Brother."
Gray trotted over to Naoki and helped him take the bag.
"You worked hard. Let me help you put the ingredients in the kitchen, Brother, you should rest on the sofa first."
"Hmm. We're having omurice tonight. Could you please prepare the ingredients first?"
"Okay."
Watching Gray run to the kitchen and Naoki immediately sit down on the sofa, Touko smiled faintly, "You two really help each other out."
"My instincts tell me there's a hidden meaning in your words, Master."
"That's just your imagination. By the way, since you're back, here, your letter. Sent from London, the sender's name is Mary."
A letter from Merlin?
Catching the floating letter and glancing at the sender's name, Naoki couldn't help but frown, "Why would Mary suddenly send me a letter? Could something have happened? Why didn't she just call?"
'Speaking of which, after returning to Japan, I don't think I've contacted her yet, and I haven't been back to London either.'
'Maybe I'll go back there for a bit this summer?'
Thinking this, Naoki opened the letter envelope, but just as he opened it—
*THWACK!*
A dazzling pink light suddenly filled the entire room!
Then, accompanied by a strong floral fragrance, countless flower petals burst out from the thin envelope, in the blink of an eye enveloping Naoki, Shiki, and Touko who were almost within close range!
This change happened too suddenly, so suddenly that the three people hadn't even had time to react before they were submerged in a sea of countless flowers.
And when all the flowers that filled their surroundings disappeared—
"W-where... where is this?"
Stretching out before them was a vast and beautiful sea of flowers, endless and enchanting, like the Garden of Eden in myths and legends.
Where was this?
"Huh? Why am I..."
Gray, who was still holding a kitchen knife in her hand, also looked confused. Wasn't she supposed to be in the kitchen? Why did she suddenly end up here after just blinking?
Clutching her knife tightly, after observing her surroundings, Shiki saw the letter in Naoki's hand, "Hey, idiot, could it be that letter in your hand that brought us here?"
"I guess so..."
"Wrong!"
Merlin's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Naoki's words. Not far away, Merlin's figure, staff in hand, slowly appeared before the four of them accompanied by fluttering flowers.
Waving at Naoki and Gray, Merlin smiled, "Good evening, it should be almost night in Japan right now. It's been more than half a year since we last met, do you miss me? Naoki, little Gray."
"No."
Naoki's answer was very firm.
"This space... an illusion? When you opened the letter, the illusion you planted in the letter activated."
"That's right, you're indeed amazing for figuring it out."
"After all, for a long time in the past, I had to have nightmares every night because of your illusions." Naoki flicked the envelope in his hand, "So, deliberately sending a letter from London, even using an illusion, what's the matter?"
It must be a big deal, and also something that could interest Merlin; otherwise, this trash who never did anything without benefit wouldn't have sent a letter.
And hearing Naoki say this, Merlin couldn't help but pout, "Couldn't it just be because I missed you too much, so I used an illusion to meet you? Naoki, you're such a terrible man, leaving me alone in London but instead getting cozy with little Gray in Japan—I'm crying!"
"..."
This overly exaggerated acting, even Gray could see that Merlin was acting. However—
"Young man, I didn't expect you to be this kind of person. As your teacher, my heart aches to have a student like you."
"Not only stupid, but also trash... why don't you just die a few times?"
Touko and Shiki chimed in one after another with Merlin's words. Seeing these two who clearly wanted to join in on the fun, Naoki took a deep breath and then directly kicked Merlin in the face.
Instantly transforming into fluttering flowers and disappearing, then gathering again behind Naoki, Merlin gently wrapped her arms around Naoki's neck, "Just kidding, don't be angry. But I really did miss you, you've been gone for more than half a year, I was so bored."
"Isn't Waver there?"
"That little body can't handle it." Merlin laughed, "Ah, right, these two are meeting for the first time. Nice to meet you, I'm Merlin, the special court Magus of our King."
Merlin? King? Court Magus?
Touko's gaze at Naoki once again showed a hint of horror, "Young man, you're playing wild, aren't you? Playing master and servant?"
"Yes."
"Well, you could say that."
Why didn't he deny it?!
This time, it wasn't just Touko; even Shiki was slightly surprised.
Smiling faintly, Merlin continued, "The actual situation is of course a little different. I think Miss Grand Puppet Master should be able to guess my true identity, and then with a little thought, you should understand."
"Merlin... illusion... court Magus... I see. You're the Merlin in the legend of King Arthur?"
"Who's that?" Shiki asked.
"The number one royal advisor in the world, who raised the famous King Arthur, and the legendary Magus who made many prophecies." Touko explained briefly, "But... you're still alive? From the time of King Arthur until now... that's roughly fifteen hundred years, right?"
Merlin smiled faintly, "Well, I'm a mix between an incubus and a human. As for lifespan, as long as I'm not killed, there's basically no end. Plus, I've been living in Avalon, being a hikikomori for fifteen hundred years, so it's even harder to die. I only left Avalon three years ago."
"I see. Then the King you mentioned... Naoki, are you... the reincarnation of King Arthur?"
"Not entirely correct." Naoki touched his chest, "Master knows about the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki."
"I've heard of it."
"In the Holy Grail War three years ago, I summoned King Arthur, and after the war, her soul merged with mine. In terms of nature, I'm now a Demi-Servant. My extraordinary physical abilities and Mana also come from that. So you could say I'm half King Arthur."
Naoki explained, "Well, the details can wait until later if there's time. Let's talk about the real issue now. Merlin, what did you come looking for me for?"
Rubbing Naoki's cheek, Merlin chuckled softly, "I missed you and little Gray, and I also came to give you some information."
"What information?"
"Haven't you already learned almost all the basic course knowledge? Then Waver and that lemon-head thought it was time to hold a graduation ceremony and give you a degree, but they searched all over the Clock Tower and couldn't find you. It seems they're really planning to come to Japan and capture you."
"Ueeh? Professor Kayneth?! Speaking of graduation and a graduation ceremony? Is it really necessary? It's just the graduation of basic courses."
"Did you forget that you, as a Magus, are a very special case? Physical ability, quality and quantity of magic circuits... the comprehensive assessment, if I remember correctly, it seems they're going to give you a 'Festival' rank?"
After finishing speaking, Merlin patted Naoki's head, "Counting the time, they might arrive there the day after tomorrow. You remember to handle it yourself. I just came to remind you—the most important thing is that I missed you."
"If you can, come back quickly, I'm so lonely at home~"