To Become a King and a Magician

On the second floor, in the room occupied by Naoki.

After laying out the futon with Ayaka and tossing her suitcase into a corner, Aoko flopped onto the bed—not the floor, but the actual bed.

At that moment, a floral scent wafted to her nose, accompanied by a faint glow from the flower pattern on her chest. Before Aoko could blink, the entire room vanished, transforming into a beautiful sea of flowers.

"Merry?"

"Mm-hm, it's me, the lovely Merry-chan, adored by all and loved by flowers."

Seeing Merry emerge from the swirling blossoms, Aoko had no intention of commenting on her narcissism. She merely glanced at her, then rose from the sea of flowers. "You pulled me into my dream again? I'm not even asleep."

"No, this is just an illusion I created through the Magecraft left in your body. Though its power is weak, the advantage is I can bring you to meet me without needing you to sleep." Merry said, sitting in front of Aoko. "You finally met Naoki. Seeing him safe and sound, I'm relieved."

"He's not just safe—he's living comfortably. As expected of Kouhai-kun; wherever he goes, he's surrounded by girls. Was he always like that?"

"Mm… more or less. Lots of girls are drawn to him for various reasons, though he's completely oblivious to it."

(Isn't that because his attention's on you?)

Aoko glanced at Merry, then asked, "So, what's up? He seems to miss you. Want to see him?"

"No need. I have my own plans. The longer we're apart, the deeper the feelings when we reunite, right?" Merry laughed. "I'm meeting you this time because I have two things to say."

"First, about my existence here. Though I'm reluctant, this Magecraft doesn't seem like it'll last much longer."

Won't last long?

"Why?"

"Originally, the Magecraft left in your body was meant to let you use Magecraft in Tokyo, where Magecraft is restricted. Its effect was to mask your existence, essentially making you a non-entity to bypass the Domain's limits."

Aoko nodded. Merry had explained this before she arrived.

"But the situation here is beyond my expectations. Masking your existence is proving troublesome, and I just helped you evade that girl's surveillance, so this Magecraft's duration is about to run out."

"Your Magecraft… has such a short lifespan? Aren't you a Grand Caster-level Magus?"

"Even a Grand Caster can't do everything! Using Magecraft from another world and playing hide-and-seek under Manaka's nose—I'm already impressive! Plus, I'm injured!"

Because the Magecraft previously left in Naoki's body was forcibly erased and that clone was killed, Merry was slightly affected, especially spiritually. She should've been resting.

But since her Magecraft was erased, the situation had to be serious, so Merry pushed herself to persist.

Aoko understood Merry's difficulties. "So, you can't help me? What now? Do I have to keep using True Magic? That might still work."

"No, True Magic should be saved for Manaka. It's the only way to break the stalemate. Using your trump card carelessly makes no sense, right? Besides, your Mana isn't enough." Merry shook her head. "Mana in Tokyo is thin. To use True Magic, you'd rely solely on your own Mana source. Your intense fight earlier used my Mana—I was nearly drained by you."

"Sorry about that… But what do we do?"

Thin Mana, unable to use Magecraft—these two debuffs clung to her, reducing her to an ordinary human. Didn't that make her trip here pointless?

Merry gave a sly smile. "Not necessarily. This Magecraft can't be sustained because it's hard for me to supply Mana from another world. As long as there's a way to replenish Mana, these problems will vanish."

"My own Mana won't do?"

"No. You generate Mana quickly, but I need a massive amount. For example, your max output is ten, but I need a hundred Mana at once. Plus, if you exhaust your own Mana source to sustain this Magecraft, what about True Magic?"

So what now?

Seeing Aoko's confusion, Merry leaned close to her ear, whispering as if tempting her. "I said there's a way. Right now, isn't there a 'power bank' with tons of Mana but unable to use it?"

Someone with lots of Mana but unable to use it?

Frowning and thinking for a moment, Aoko suddenly clapped her hands. "Oh, right! Kouhai-kun!"

Compared to the Greater Source, Naoki was more accustomed to using his own Lesser Source for Mana, as his vitality was already extraordinary. Even using the Lesser Source directly for Magecraft, the effect wouldn't be worse than the Greater Source.

But now, unable to use Magecraft, all that Mana in him was unusable.

He was the perfect power bank!

"Wait a sec…" Aoko suddenly realized something. "Replenishing Mana… how exactly? Don't tell me it's what I'm thinking?"

Mana Transfer wasn't unfamiliar to Magi. Though Aoko hadn't experienced it herself, she'd heard of it. Rumor had it some shady Magi specialized in researching Mana Transfer theories.

If it was like that…

"Exactly what you're thinking." Merry grinned, pushing Aoko to the edge of the abyss. "Of course, it doesn't need to go to the final step. Simple bodily fluid exchange works. Sweat or saliva will do, though the efficiency's lower."

"So… just make Kouhai-kun sweat, right?! Easy! Just cover his head with a blanket!"

"Ugh… then you'd have to lick his face? I think that's more 'thrilling' than a tongue kiss." Merry said, slightly shocked. "Aoko, you… want to play that wild right off the bat?"

(Lick Kouhai-kun's face?!)

Aoko involuntarily pictured it—Naoki shirtless on the bed, glistening sweat droplets on his body, and her leaning over him…

*BOOM!*

Aoko suddenly slammed her head into the ground.

Seeing her smoking forehead, Merry couldn't hold back her laughter—how could a Magician be this adorable? Truly worth teasing.

"Well, it doesn't have to be Mana Transfer. With Naoki around, you won't get hurt. Just leave it all to this 'savior.' He doesn't seem like he'll have any issues."

"I'll take my leave then. This Magecraft will vanish at sunrise. Make your decision before then."