Touko struggled to get out of bed, thinking about what had happened last night.
The more she thought about it, the more depressed she became—the bastard. It had took a full 6 hours to complete the set; she had silently endured Haruto's energy for a full 6 hours, and now Touko was only waking up at noon.
Her entire body was exhausted. If it weren't for Haruto's restriction that she couldn't change her body, she would have wanted to swap into a new puppet body again.
But Touko also reconsidered, because her current body could be said to be the most perfect, having been "irrigated" by Haruto for a long time. The energy of the Third Magic could strengthen the auxiliary body in various ways, and she herself was reluctant to give it up.
How could she know that Haruto had actually been holding back? After all, Haruto's physical stamina could be considered unlimited now. As long as he wanted, he could keep going... cough cough.
Touko tied her hair into a ponytail and went to the restaurant. Seeing the food on the table, she felt a sweetness in her heart.
The devil's cooking skills were truly excellent.
It had been specially prepared for her by Haruto. After all, only Haruto could get up early every day, so the task of cooking naturally fell to him. Touko had been raised on food made by Haruto every day.
Haruto, who possessed "super brain power," had been cooking for half a year, and now his skills were even better than those of a professional chef.
Swish—two figures landed in the courtyard.
The entire villa area had been set up with a warning barrier by Touko, so she already knew someone was approaching the restaurant.
Touko went to the courtyard and saw a handsome boy and a peerless beauty. It was Haruto and SHIKI.
Seeing Haruto holding SHIKI by the waist, Touko couldn't help but feel jealous.
Displeased, she said to Haruto, "Tsk, so that's why you came back so early today—you brought a beautiful lady back with you."
Touko knew SHIKI and understood the relationship between the two. Although SHIKI did not live here (mostly residing at the Ryougi estate), Haruto had frequently brought her back to live with them over the past six months.
Therefore, the relationship between the two could be regarded as "comrades-in-arms." They jointly dealt with Haruto, but there was no doubt that both were constantly suppressed by him.
Seriously, she was actually a junior, but Haruto had declared it very brazenly:
"I don't care whether you are a junior or not; you are all my wings. I just want to give you all a warm home."
Hearing Touko's jealous speech, Haruto smiled and held Touko with his other hand.
"What's wrong? Is the dignified magus actually jealous?" he asked.
"I'm going to the Einzbern house in a few days. Of course, I will take over a long-overdue 1v2 battle."
Hearing Haruto's words, SHIKI and Touko couldn't help but blush, groaning, "Bah, shameless!"
Just as the three of them entered the room, a familiar flew in.
Haruto focused his gaze and realized it was Zelretch's familiar. It was likely an invitation for Haruto to meet him at the Academy.
He guessed the old man had something for him. The three of them headed to the office where the old man was located.
The three of them walked through the corridors of the Clock Tower Academy and met a blond man with slicked-back hair.
Haruto smiled when he saw the man. "Yo! Old Ken, are you looking for your fiancée again today?"
That's right, this man was Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, known as "Director Ken," a Color-rank magus, Head of the Mineral Science department, and a first-class lecturer. He was the head of the Archibald family and one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower—the Lord of El-Melloi.
It sounded impressive, but he was essentially a "simp" who was devoted to and engaged to Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, the daughter of the Head of Spiritual Evocation.
In order to please his fiancée, he participated in the Holy Grail War, but his own student stole his catalyst. To stay in the race, he had to use an alternative. As a result, he summoned the servant Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, and his fiancée was captivated by the charm of the servant's [Love Spot] skill.
He was "greened" by his own Heroic Spirit and ultimately died in Fuyuki. In short, the situation was a classic case of unrequited devotion leading to a miserable end.
Hearing Haruto's greeting, Kayneth's mouth twitched slightly. "Student Haruto, you may call me Lord Kayneth. Do not call me 'Old Ken.'"
"Okay, Old Ken. No problem, Old Ken," Haruto smiled.
Pfft—even SHIKI and Touko were visibly amused.
Kayneth sighed helplessly. There was nothing he could do; Haruto was his creditor.
Yes, Haruto's gems were sought after by everyone, which meant many people in the Clock Tower owed Haruto a debt—including Kayneth. As the head of the Mineral Division, he owed the most.
Kayneth said nothing more and simply walked away.
In fact, Haruto's impression of Kayneth was decent. Unlike others, Kayneth didn't pursue the Holy Grail for some twisted ideal.
Looking at the other competitors: one wanted to take shortcuts to the Root, one wanted a ridiculous "world peace," one wanted to find... "pleasure," and another sought revenge. There was even a lunatic at the end. Compared to them, Kayneth and his students were relatively normal.
Kayneth didn't view the Holy Grail as an almighty wishing machine at all; he purely wanted to win the favor of his fiancée.
Watching Kayneth leave, Haruto thought to himself: Since Kayneth owes me so much money, I'll keep him alive during this Holy Grail War.
Then, the three arrived at Zelretch's office.
"Young Haruto, I have contacted the Einzbern family for you. They have agreed to let you represent them in the Holy Grail War," Zelretch said with a smile upon seeing them.
"Oh, old man, you finally did something useful," Haruto smiled, sitting on the sofa with the two girls.
"Hey, when have I ever not done good deeds?" Zelretch asked, dissatisfied.
"Oh, you do good work? Think about the fate of your disciples," Haruto said dryly. "And that little girl from the Edelfelt family."
When Haruto first arrived at the Clock Tower, he had met Luviagelita Edelfelt at a banquet. This future "Lady Forklift" with the golden drill-hair had declared she must marry Haruto after seeing his terrifying power.
Haruto had been stared at by everyone on the spot as if he were a predator, which made him feel quite aggrieved.
To make matters worse, Zelretch had arranged a marriage contract with the head of the Edelfelt family on the spot. For a while, Touko and SHIKI looked at Haruto as if he were a pervert.
But since it was a marriage contract, there was no need for an immediate wedding; Luvia still needed to grow up.
"Ahem, isn't that just the generosity of an adult? That little girl likes you a lot. And I've even accepted her as my disciple," Zelretch said, unbothered.
He could see that Haruto wasn't truly angry. After all, anyone who had actually made Haruto unhappy had already been killed on the spot.
Back when Haruto first arrived at the Clock Tower, he would challenge famous magic masters every day. It was called a "challenge," but in reality, Haruto just stood there and let them hit him. Eventually, he would get bored and end it with a single punch.
It was the ultimate humiliation. After being "challenged," the magi all began to doubt the meaning of their lives.
One day, a disciple from an aristocratic magus family took an interest in SHIKI. As a result, he was incinerated by Heat Vision instantly. The main estate of that family was then frozen by Haruto's Super Breath.
It still hasn't thawed. Because Haruto's Super Breath had evolved to the point of being able to freeze the entire planet at full strength, no matter what magecraft they used, they couldn't melt the ice.
Of course, it didn't end there. One of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower, Lord Geronimo, was connected to that family and tried to hold Haruto accountable.
In response, Haruto hammered him to death. If Zelretch hadn't intervened, there would be one fewer Lord in the Clock Tower today.
Since then, the people of the Clock Tower have crowned Haruto with titles like "The Demon King of the Clock Tower" and "The Tyrant."