To Become a King and a Magician

The Matou family's house is located on the outskirts of Fuyuki City, far from the city center. Unable to afford a taxi, Naoki borrowed a neighbor's bicycle to get there, with Arthur following him in spirit form.

Although Arthur suggested that he could hold Naoki's arm and move forward, Naoki rejected the idea because it was too embarrassing—being hugged by a grown man was something he couldn't accept psychologically or physically! Moreover, there was a girl named Sajyou Manama watching him. If she saw Arthur hugging him... Naoki was terrified just thinking about it!

Aside from the above factors, bringing the bicycle was also to confirm one thing.

"Arthur, can you hear me?"

'No problem, Master. This distance is still within an acceptable range.'

"Then, I'll try to create some distance."

'Good.'

A first-class Master can supply Mana and communicate remotely with their Servant even if they are far apart, like Kayneth and Diarmuid. Naoki was now testing the maximum communication distance between himself and Arthur. This way, he could maintain a relatively safe distance during battles and give Arthur some instructions.

He didn't want to end up like Waver Velvet, who was dragged into the battlefield by his own Servant. If that happened, he wouldn't even have enough lives left.

After shortening the distance between himself and Arthur to 500 meters, Naoki tried contacting Arthur again but got no response, so he stopped riding and waited for Arthur for a few seconds until Arthur's voice came through again.

'Master, are you okay? The connection with you almost broke just now.'

"It seems the limit is 500 meters. In the Holy Grail War, the distance between you and me should be kept around 400 meters. Besides, we need to observe the battle situation... I should buy a telescope. How much does a telescope cost?"

Feeling sorry for his wallet again, Naoki looked toward the top of the slope not far away. The shadow of a gloomy old house could be vaguely seen. He didn't know if it was a characteristic of every gloomy old house, but the unpleasant and shrill cawing of crows could be heard occasionally.

That was the Matou family.

"Arthur—"

"I understand, Master." Arthur looked at the Matou family's house. "That is a very evil and eerie Magecraft. The person living in that house is undoubtedly a very wicked Magus. I can go alone from now on. Master, you stay here."

"Be careful. If you need my help with Command Spells, just let me know."

Arthur smiled and said, "Please trust me, Master. I'm not weak enough to make you worry. Besides, I will save the two people you mentioned, Master."

After saying this, Arthur entered spirit form again.

Pushing his bicycle to the side of the road and finding a tree to sit under, Naoki began thinking about what to do next.

"If Arthur takes action, there's no need to worry. No matter how many cards the Matou family has, they won't be a threat to him. The only exception is that Matou Kariya might have summoned Berserker."

In terms of combat strength, Lancelot and Arthur should be on par with each other, and Arthur might even be slightly stronger. After all, the Arthur on his side isn't Artoria, but the King of Knights from a parallel world. Judging from performance, she is at a level where she can directly compete with Gilgamesh.

However, if a war really breaks out, the purpose of the trip will be declared invalid. Summoning Lancelot essentially sentences Kariya to death. Originally, Kariya was just like Naoki. Becoming a Master was equivalent to spending his life, and Lancelot's Mana requirements were even higher than Arthur's. Besides, Kariya had been tortured by Crest Worms for a full year and was already exhausted.

"The best outcome is to save Sakura, but... it's too late. It can only be called delayed justice—ugh!"

A sudden, intense pain made Naoki's body tremble, followed by a feeling as if something was being pulled out, spreading throughout his body. The indescribable pain made it impossible for him to even scream.

'It hurts... Why does it hurt so much... I feel like my soul is being sucked out...'

To put it bluntly... it's like pulling out fingernails, which makes a sound like everyone does. If you multiply that feeling hundreds or thousands of times, it's almost the same as the pain Naoki is feeling now.

'I'm going to die! I'm really going to die!'

Without using a Noble Phantasm or even fighting a Servant, is it necessary to spend so much Mana just to deal with an ordinary Magus?

"Ugh…..uh…..uhhhhhhhhh…!"

His legs twitched violently, and the cramps that followed almost made Naoki pass out from the pain.

Back when he watched the anime, he wondered why Kariya screamed so miserably. Now it was his turn, and Naoki finally understood part of Kariya's pain.

This is truly a fate worse than death!

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

At the same time.

*Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!*

Arthur swung his invisible sword to clear the sea of insects with the pressure of his blade. He suddenly glanced out the window. Due to the contract, he could also sense Naoki's condition to some extent.

"Master... I must fight quickly, or Master won't be able to hold on."

Thinking this, the invisible sword in Arthur's hand suddenly glowed with a golden light, and a large amount of swirling wind wrapped around the sword was fully released at this moment!

Invisible Air!

"Why is an unknown Heroic Spirit attacking the Matou family at night?!"

An old voice echoed from the sea of insects that had gathered again. Matou Zouken, hiding among the swarm of insects, now hated why Kariya wasn't more helpful. It would take a day or two to transform his body. If Arthur had come two days later, the Matou family, who had already summoned a Servant, would never be defeated!

"I have nothing to say to an evil Magus like you. Just die like this and pay the price for what you've done!"

Swinging the unsheathed Excalibur, a raging storm erupted at this moment. The terrifying wind pressure was like a battering ram, crushing all the insects carved in the path ahead in an instant, and even blowing away most of the Matou house! Fortunately, this was on the outskirts of the city, far from the town, or it would definitely attract a lot of attention!

Without paying further attention to the wreckage of the Sea of Insects, Arthur headed straight underground—he had just searched the entire Matou residence, and no one was there except an old man. Then, the people Naoki wanted to save must be underground, not to mention he had already sensed Mana gathering underground.

"Just wait a little longer, Master."