At the Clock Tower, every noble student, upon enrollment, is allowed to bring one attendant.
After all, as students from renowned mage families, they often face life-threatening dangers. Thus, it's customary for Magus to bring an attendant or servant for their own safety.
As the acting Lord and a Magus from the Department of Astromancy, Olga Marie naturally required an attendant. However, in the intrigue-filled Clock Tower, no matter how capable an attendant was, they couldn't fully protect her. Especially now that Marie was officially the acting Lord of the Department of Astromancy, effectively the leader of the entire department.
There were plenty of people who wanted to bring her down or harm her. After all, she was only a thirteen-year-old girl. Allowing a child to lead the Department of Astromancy naturally caused dissatisfaction among some senior members.
Thus, Marie needed the strongest backing possible—someone who could support her in any situation and pull her out of the Clock Tower's mire whenever necessary.
Naoki was the only option Marisbury could think of.
"Based on information from my contacts outside, this Mystic Eye Collection Train auction is likely to be attended by several Magus dissatisfied with Marie. If possible, I'd like to ask Mr. Natsukawa to protect her discreetly."
In every sense, Marie was someone Marisbury couldn't allow to be harmed. If his daughter died under his watch due to some tedious power struggle, it would be an immense loss.
Looking at the Mystic Eye Collection Train invitation in Marisbury's hand, Naoki thought for a moment. "If you don't want her to get hurt, wouldn't it be better to forbid her from attending the auction? After all, the Animusphere family has no reason to participate in it anymore."
"Or, are you actually using the opportunity of those dissatisfied Magus rebelling to teach your daughter a lesson? And at the same time, clean out the disobedient ones?"
"You're very perceptive." Marisbury replied.
"Such a Magus-like mindset. 'He's a man with the typical instability of a Magus'—someone at the Clock Tower described you that way. You're truly a Magus through and through. Using your own daughter to achieve your goals?"
"But it can't be denied—it's effective bait. Plus, Marie seems to want to use this to prove her capabilities." Marisbury said with a smile. "She's like me when I was young—eager to prove herself, a bit prone to acting tough, and carrying aristocratic pride. She needs a bit of a lesson and some failure. Don't you think so?"
"Sounds like she'll be hard to get along with."
"You're too modest. You tamed Lord Archelot—I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you get along with my daughter. By the way, does that mean you're willing to accept my request?"
A request.
Naoki tapped the list in his hand. "Let's say this is repayment for the consideration you showed with this list, alright? Since we're colleagues, it's only fair we look out for each other, right?"
"Let me think… how about three times? I can help her three times when she's truly in trouble. This Mystic Eye Collection Train auction counts as one. How's that?"
"That's an honor. Your promise of help three times in dire situations is something no amount of money could buy. On behalf of my daughter, I sincerely thank you. In that case, I'll entrust this invitation to you. I'll also contact Marie later and explain about you."
"Thanks for your help. Hmm, the auction starts in two weeks? Plenty of time." Naoki said, pocketing the invitation and standing from the sofa. "By the way, Gray and I plan to stay here for three or four days. That's fine, right?"
"Of course. Your visit is very welcome, Mr. Natsukawa."
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Meanwhile.
Naples, Italy.
In front of a seaside house, a courier pressed the doorbell and called out, "Excuse me, is Miss Aozaki home? There's a letter for you."
"Yes, yes, I'm here. Just a moment." came a voice from inside after a few seconds. Then, a beautiful woman with glasses, messy red hair, and slightly disheveled clothes appeared before the courier.
It was Aozaki Touko.
Two years after the Holy Grail War ended, while Naoki was asleep, she left and returned to Mifune City. After closing Garan no Dou, she, like her sister, began wandering the world aimlessly. Now, she was temporarily settled in Italy, resuming her old profession of making puppets.
After receiving the letter from the courier and chatting briefly, Touko closed the door and returned to her room on the second floor.
If Naoki were there, his blood pressure might have spiked. In the not-so-spacious room, Touko's belongings were scattered everywhere. Her discarded underwear was strewn about. Clearly, it hadn't been tidied in ages.
No, it was likely that since moving in, she had never tidied it. Touko had been spoiled by Naoki and Gray years ago. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her lazy. If asked to clean her room herself, she'd rather make an automated cleaning puppet.
Sitting at her desk, she opened the envelope and saw a black letter fall out. Touko's eyes flickered slightly. She took off her glasses, lit a cigarette, and grinned.
"This is really… an unexpected letter. I didn't think that place would send me something like this. But I should already be on their blacklist. There's no way they'd send it directly to me, so… sent randomly without a name?"
The black envelope and its unique wax seal—in Touko's knowledge, only one place used such specific designs.
"Mystic Eye Collection Train, Rail Zeppelin—"
"Heh, this really brings back some long-buried memories."