The Black Dog problem—no, the Wild Hunt—was finally resolved after Naoki unleashed all his Mana at once, causing the Wild Hunt to vanish due to its incomplete conceptual nature. At the same time, since his Mana was temporarily depleted, he immediately collapsed into a deep sleep. Having woken up from bed less than four hours ago, he was back in bed again.
And now...
Watching Naoki devour all the food on the table like a starving man, Waver couldn't help but comment: "Can't you eat a little slower? It's not like anyone's fighting you for it."
"Nom nom nom..."
"At least finish chewing before you talk..."
After successfully swallowing the mixture of food in his mouth, Naoki took a deep breath: "Because I'm hungry! Sleeping in bed for a week with nothing but plain porridge and vegetables, then waking up only to eat leftovers once before going back to sleep—that means I haven't had a proper meal in almost ten days! I'm not just hungry, I'm ravenous!"
A week of plain porridge and vegetables—even Naoki, who wasn't picky about food, couldn't stand it.
Seeing Naoki resume his voracious eating, Waver sighed: "Fine, eat your fill. After this meal, you won't be able to eat for a while."
Naoki's hands and mouth froze.
Won't be able to eat? What does that mean?
"Judging by your expression, you really don't know anything. That's understandable, since you've been asleep the whole time. You have no idea what's happened in the last two days."
"Hmm... I think I know what you're getting at."
Though his memory was fuzzy, Naoki remembered what he'd done last. A Gandr shot with power equivalent to a Noble Phantasm release, combined with the Gandr he'd fired earlier, had reduced the entire street to rubble. For the Clock Tower, which prioritized the secrecy of mysteries, this was like blatantly breaking the law!
For London, it was a disaster!
In such a situation, as the primary perpetrator in a sense, Naoki would naturally be held accountable.
"So, am I getting a Sealing Designation or thrown in prison?"
"Hah? What are you talking about? Why would you get punished that severely?" Waver frowned, then explained, "Yesterday, the Policy Department arrested the mastermind behind this whole incident—Mophy Le John. He was a fallen noble who studied necromancy to restore his family's status. The recent Black Dog sightings were the result of his experiments."
Mophy Le John?
Who's that?
"The Clock Tower has sentenced him to what amounts to a death penalty. As for your case, after investigations and testimonies from Gray and Miss Mary, you were deemed a victim. As long as you pay compensation and accept restrictions from the Clock Tower, the matter is settled."
"That's it?"
"What else do you want? You destroyed an entire street—do you have any idea how hard it was to cover this up? If Miss Mary hadn't used illusions to conceal everything, all of Britain would've been in chaos."
'Merlin cleaned up this mess for me?'
"No wonder she wasn't here..."
"Honestly, given the severity of the situation, as you said yourself, you should've received a permanent Sealing Designation. But this time was special—you were also a victim involved in the incident. After careful consideration, this was the final decision. You should be grateful."
"Yeah, yeah, thanks a lot. Speaking of compensation... how much is it?"
"Adding new debt to your existing one—enough to rebuild the entire street. If you pay ten thousand pounds a month, you wouldn't be able to clear it in several lifetimes. And that's not including interest."
*THUD!*
Naoki slammed his head onto the table.
At 19 years old, he was already saddled with debt that couldn't be repaid in several lifetimes... Wouldn't it be better to just kill himself? Suicide might be easier. After all, once you're dead, everything's over.
"Hey, don't despair yet. The Clock Tower knows it's an impossible task, so they gave you another option."
"What is it?"
"From now on, whenever the Clock Tower asks you to handle something, you can't refuse, and you won't receive any reward. In short, you'll work for the Clock Tower unpaid for the rest of your life. Additionally, they're considering turning you into a Dead Apostle."
Naoki wanted to die.
Seriously, this was worse than death! He'd rather stab himself right now!
"Ohoho, I come home to see your gloomy face, Naoki. Any good news?"
Right then, a tired-looking Merlin walked through the door, pinching Naoki's cheek while laughing.
Brushing her hand away, Naoki slumped back onto the table: "Don't talk to me... I've lost all hope in life... Let the world just end... Ah... Can the Incineration of Humanity happen right now? The Alien God should just show up already..."
"Hmm~ Debt problems?"
"Yeah."
"Ah, just that?" Merlin casually patted Naoki's shoulder. "I've already settled your debt."
"What?!"
Naoki immediately jumped up and grabbed Merlin's shoulders: "What did you say?!"
"I took care of it. Used illusions. Oh, Waver, sorry, you'll have to take a nap first."
After putting Waver to sleep by pressing a point on his forehead, Merlin smiled: "Whew, so exhausting. Casting illusions on every layer of England's management one by one, altering their perceptions, and erasing the fact that the street was destroyed. This much activity is equivalent to a thousand years of work."
"Wait... Wait a minute! That's too much information—let me process it first!"
Naoki rubbed his temples hard: "You mean... you cast illusions on everyone in England?"
"Yep. Ah, not one by one, but through TV. Almost every household has one now, so it was easy to influence everyone at once."
"What about the street? You said you erased the fact... Did you alter reality?"
"Ah, I'm not that amazing. Just exploited a loophole, patched things up a bit. Back during the war, walls were often destroyed by bombs, and temporary fixes were useless, so I often worked as an engineer. We'll just have someone repair it later."
This was a lie.
In truth, all Merlin did was cancel the Reality Marble—it was just a projected illusion. Once canceled, it wouldn't affect reality. What people saw as a destroyed street was just an illusion.
Of course, she also didn't cast illusions on everyone in England—just corrected the misperception caused by the illusion. For her, it was just a matter of a single thought.
And the reason she did all this? Just to see the relieved look on Naoki's face after escaping danger.
'Speaking of which, if Morgan knew she didn't actually have to clean up this mess, she'd probably make a funny face too, hehehe.'
Imagining that, Merlin's mood improved.