Naoki and Waver had just entered the apartment after driving home when Merlin's head popped up from the living room.
"Ah, you two are back. Perfect timing, come here quickly—I have something to tell you."
"Something to tell us? What is it?"
"Something very important!"
Seeing Merlin's mysterious smile and sensing something strange, Naoki and Waver instinctively took a step back.
"I don't think so."
"Feels like something unpleasant is about to happen."
As they muttered those words, they slowly inched toward the second floor, pressing themselves against the opposite wall. Observing their reaction, though Merlin understood why they acted that way, she couldn't help clicking her tongue in annoyance before marching over and grabbing them by their collars.
"Hey! What are you—?!"
"My neck, my neck's gonna break!"
"Enough, just obey and come here."
Merlin roughly tossed them onto the living room sofa, then sat down opposite them. Meanwhile, in the corner of the room, Gray had just finished brewing tea and approached.
"Ah, Big Brother, Lord Waver, welcome back. Was work and school tiring?"
"Not too bad."
"Mainly because Naoki's idiocy made things troublesome for me."
"Don't spout nonsense."
Seeing the two bickering as usual, Merlin slapped the table. "Enough, enough, stop arguing like a comedy duo. Gray, sit down quickly—I have something important to say."
"So, what is it? Are you getting married or going on a date?"
"What if I said yes?"
"Who's the blind fool brave enough to accept a demon like you? I'll call them the strongest in history."
"I'll give you nightmares—a wild forest party with gender-swapped elves and beastmen."
With just one sentence, Merlin shut Naoki up, then pulled two tickets from her pocket. "Ta-da~! This is the important thing I wanted to tell you!"
"What's this?"
Taking over for the now-silent Naoki, Waver grabbed the tickets and examined them. "Tickets to France? Miss Mary, who are you going to France with?"
"There was a Halloween raffle on TV, and I joined. Turns out I got lucky and won the grand prize—a [Five-Day, Four-Night Trip to Paris for Two]. All expenses, from round-trip tickets to meals and accommodation, are covered by the TV station. The departure date is the eighteenth."
"So, Miss Mary, you're going on vacation to France? That's great."
"No." Merlin shook her head with exaggerated 'regret.' "Actually, the timing clashes with my schedule. An old friend is coming to London to visit me around then, so I can't go. So I thought—why don't you guys go instead?"
Us?
They exchanged glances before Waver scratched his head. "But there are three of us, and only two tickets… One of us would have to stay home—Naoki and Gray, you two go. I'll sit this one out."
"Eh?"
Gray, who had been about to volunteer to stay behind, froze in surprise.
"Mr. Waver?"
"Like Miss Mary, I also have business around that time. It's right before the end of the semester, and there's more to handle than usual. I don't have any time to vacation in France. So, you two should go." Waver chuckled.
Naoki immediately raised his hand. "Wait, if it's the end of the semester, wouldn't I also have trouble going? Exams and final assignments would be an issue."
"The Clock Tower doesn't have final exams—they just assign papers due before the semester ends. Relax, the assignments for the basic classes are all foundational material. You can finish them after returning from the trip."
"Besides, Gray's been in London for almost two months but barely gone out. Taking her on a trip would be good for her."
"That's true."
Naoki looked at Gray. "But can Gray even leave the country now? Going abroad requires a passport and visa."
As soon as he finished speaking, several small booklets plopped onto the table. Merlin proudly flashed a thumbs-up. "Hmph, hmph~ No problem at all! Big sis has already prepared everything."
Seeing the passports, visas, and other documents like birth certificates laid out on the table, Naoki and the others were momentarily stunned.
Naoki picked up the passport and flipped it open, his eyebrows immediately twitching before he glared at Merlin. "Tell me—these are fake, right?"
"Eh? Why would you say that?"
"Whose passport photo is a sleeping face?!"
Just as Naoki said, in the passport photo column for Gray, no matter how you looked at it, it was clearly a picture of her asleep!
"How did a photo like this pass inspection? That's insane!"
Naoki's outburst made Gray, standing beside him, so embarrassed she wanted to sink into the floor.
"Hmm, you really think this is just an ordinary passport?" Merlin smirked mysteriously. "Actually, all these items have my illusions cast on them. To those without magic circuits, they'll see them as legitimate passports. The same goes for the other documents."
"Who said the Mage's Association operates in secrecy?"
"Ignore that!"
This is way too reckless!
Naoki sighed helplessly before pointing at Gray's sleeping photo. "Then what's with this picture?"
"Took it while Gray was sleeping."
"So why use a photo like this? Couldn't you have taken a proper one?"
"A sleeping girl's face is a treasure of humanity! Especially one as adorable as Gray!"
Enough—this useless succubus.
Naoki pursed his lips. "While we're at it—what are these photos even for?"
"I won't tell you."
"Tell me."
"Alright then—Hello, Scotland Yard? There's a potential criminal here—"
"Stop!" Merlin immediately snatched Naoki's phone, then sighed in defeat. "Was that really necessary? It's just a photo or two of Gray sleeping!"
"Having thoughts like that is already a huge problem! And this was clearly premeditated! Winning a trip to France, preparing passports and visas in advance—I have strong reason to suspect you're scheming something shady!"
It wasn't that Naoki was overly suspicious, but Merlin was just too suspicious. As he said, the moment he brought up passports and visas, she immediately produced them, acting as if she'd prepared everything in advance. With her personality, she wouldn't do something like this without an ulterior motive!
"Let me ask—is there really nothing going on in Paris… right?"
"What do you think?" Merlin grinned. "Besides, even if I said no, you'd assume there is, so does it even matter whether I deny or confirm it?"
"..."
"Well, relax. This time, it really is just a trip. You and Gray can go to Paris and unwind. A lot has happened recently, hasn't it? Oh, and remember to buy souvenirs."