Fuyuki Amusement Park

That was true, too.

"Your bottom line, huh..."

Wang Xiaoming pondered Kayneth's words.

"Say I thought your name sounded tacky and forced you to change it. Would you actually change your name?"

"Of course not..."

Wang Xiaoming stared at Kayneth, bewildered. He'd never imagined that someone as arrogant as Kayneth would come up with such a bizarre analogy.

"So—"

Kayneth looked at Wang Xiaoming and spoke seriously:

"That's what a bottom line is. It's something no one else is allowed to change."

Emmmmm

Kayneth, I just casually raised my hand—

Let's leave the protagonist's name at that. Readers who enjoy the story, please keep looking forward to the protagonist's development.

Chapter 26: Fuyuki Amusement Park

The next day,

Three people were in the room: Wang Xiaoming, Medea, and Shirou.

"So, Shirou, what do you think?"

After getting up early and waiting for Shirou to finish the morning lesson Medea had assigned him, Wang Xiaoming called him over and asked what he thought about transferring the Command Spell.

"I don't mind."

Shirou nodded obediently.

His answer also put Wang Xiaoming at ease. Under the clumsy scriptwriter called fate, Shirou had already shouldered far too many burdens that didn't belong to someone his age.

He should have been enjoying a carefree childhood, but now he was like a precocious little adult...

"Since Shirou has no objections—"

A strange dagger suddenly appeared in Medea's right hand. Calling it a dagger was generous; it was really just an oddly shaped blade with ornate decorations.

Its tip folded twice into a lightning-bolt shape, making it look more like a saw than a dagger.

The contract between Master and Servant ended without much commotion. Medea merely drew the dagger in her hand lightly across Shirou's chest—

"Rule Breaker."

After softly uttering the name of her Noble Phantasm, Medea glanced at Wang Xiaoming. He readily held out his right hand, and his sharp eyes caught the slight furrow in Medea's brow.

It seemed that, during the process, Medea hadn't taken the loss of her mana supply easily, even as a Servant.

Better to get it over with quickly—

"Gah!"

Wang Xiaoming experienced the same pain Shirou had once gone through.

It was as if he'd been touched directly by a branding iron, and the pain made cold sweat break out all over him.

Then—

Wang Xiaoming felt a switch inside him flip.

A chill began in his right arm, ran up to his shoulder, then traveled down along his spine. Along with that cold sensation came another indescribable pain, as though he'd been pierced by ten thousand needles.

This was the [price] of Magecraft—

Something every magus had to go through.

Whether a magus was talented or lousy, as long as the caster was human and practiced Magecraft in a human body, this pain would always be part of it.

As mana filled Wang Xiaoming's body, the pain gradually spread everywhere, like countless snakes biting him.

Three dark red marks slowly appeared on the back of Wang Xiaoming's hand. As the pain intensified, they quickly turned bright red.

Once the Command Spell had finished changing color, the ritual to renew the contract between Wang Xiaoming and Medea was complete.

As the Command Spell formed, Wang Xiaoming could clearly sense a mysterious connection between himself and Medea. Information about his Servant flowed into his mind along with the establishment of the contract.

Class: Caster

True Name: Medea

Gender: Female

Height/Weight: 163 cm / 51 kg

Alignment: Neutral · Evil

Strength: E

Endurance: D

Agility: D

Mana: A+

Luck: B

Noble Phantasm: C

As a Caster, Medea's stats had all been lowered by a rank by Wang Xiaoming's novice-level Magecraft skills, except for her Mana and the stat derived from her Noble Phantasm.

Medea didn't complain, though. She had expected this before the Command Spell transfer—

"Then I look forward to working with you, Master."

Medea blinked and smiled at Wang Xiaoming.

Fuyuki Amusement Park—

Located in Shinto, Fuyuki City, it was an urban amusement facility built by a company from Tokyo after winning a contract from the Fuyuki City government.

(Not true.)

The rides and attractions were comparable to those at all but a few amusement parks in Tokyo.

(I made that up.)

So, when it opened half a year ago, it quickly became a popular destination for dates and family outings.

(Take it seriously.)

Even now, in the cold of early winter, visitors continued to pour into the amusement park.

Except—

"These ticket prices..."

Wang Xiaoming's heart clenched as he looked at the price listed in front of him.

It was nearly as much as half a month's wages.

But he had no choice—

"Two adult tickets and two children's tickets."

Wang Xiaoming practically teared up as he pulled forty thousand yen from his wallet. After taking the tickets from the window, he hurried away from the counter, afraid he'd lose his temper if he stayed any longer.

As he left, Wang Xiaoming couldn't help complaining:

With prices like these, it's a struggle just to take two kids out for fun!

"Uncle, over here!"

Little Shirou spotted Wang Xiaoming searching the crowd and waved at him, calling out.

"Why'd you bring them so far away? I almost couldn't find you."

Wang Xiaoming jogged over and ruffled his hair vigorously.

"Stop messing up my hair, Uncle."

Shirou finally wriggled free of Wang Xiaoming's [assault] and complained.

"Okay, let's get going."

Wang Xiaoming waved the tickets at Shirou. "Otherwise, don't complain about getting tired while we're waiting in line."

The outing had been a last-minute decision.

Wang Xiaoming still hadn't fully recovered from the stress of the previous day, so he decided to take Medea and Shirou out to relax while it was still daytime.

While asking Kariya if there were any places to visit in Fuyuki, he happened to run into Sakura. After getting Kariya's permission, the group of four—Wang Xiaoming, Medea, Sakura, and Shirou—was set.

"You could have bought only three tickets. I could have entered in spirit form on my own."

Perhaps because of the strange connection between Servant and Master, Medea had noticed Wang Xiaoming's subtle distress over the cost.

"Don't say something so disappointing right now."

Wang Xiaoming waved a hand, trying to look as though he didn't care about the money.

"We've already bought the tickets. Now we just need to go in and have a good time with the kids. Besides..."

Wang Xiaoming paused, drawing Medea's attention.

"You've been fighting with your own stored mana, haven't you? It must have been hard having to worry about Little Shirou's mana during the battles, too."

"..."

"I know full well that I have no talent for Magecraft. Even though I'm your Master now, I still can't help you at all when it comes to supplying mana."

Wang Xiaoming scratched his cheek as he looked at the crowd in the distance. Whether from embarrassment or something else, he seemed unable to meet Medea's eyes.

"So... the only thing I can do for you right now is make sure you're in a good mood."

"Pfft—"

Seeing Wang Xiaoming like this, Medea couldn't help covering her mouth and giggling softly.

"I happen to feel a little tired today, too. Perhaps I should take a proper break."

As she spoke, Medea headed for the amusement park entrance first. Shirou and Sakura had already been waiting there for a while.

As Wang Xiaoming and the others entered the amusement park, a Mercedes-Benz outside the park swung into the parking lot in a near-drift.

Book recommendation!

The Only One Who Isn't a Reincarnator

Synopsis: My name is Nakano Shota, and my girlfriend is a superpowered person no one knows about.

Her ability is [seeing green hats above the heads of people who've been cheated on], and her side effect is [being a yandere].

For a long time, I had no idea she had this superpower.

Until one day...

My girlfriend told me that when she looked in the mirror, she saw a green hat above her own head...

(Female leads: Enoshima Junko, Sajyou Manaka, Ouma Mana)

(World setting: Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale. The AUGMA is the augmented reality device from Ordinal Scale.)

So... this world needs trade. Orz