-619- It's about time we meet again

Afterward, as Karyusai Shouko had promised, she prepared the necessary transfer procedures for Rozen and even shouldered the exorbitant enrollment fees, allowing Rozen to come to this place with Yaya.

Now, Rozen had successfully enrolled, passing even the academic assessment, and gained residence in the Raphael Men's Dormitory, a privilege for outstanding students.

"That being said, being 101st is indeed a delicate position," Rozen couldn't help but smile wryly.

Before coming to the Machinart Academy, Rozen took advantage of the ten days while Karyusai Shouko handled his paperwork to gather some information about the place. He learned quite a bit.

"I already knew that only the top hundred students in the academy could participate in the Night Party."

Moreover, the ranking was determined by academic performance, making Rozen believe that securing a spot among the top hundred and obtaining qualification for the Night Party was a straightforward matter.

Of course, Rozen didn't become overly confident because of this. During the preceding ten days, he thoroughly went through the magic books and theoretical texts on various automaton aspects within Karyusai Shouko's residence, including the confidential techniques and experiences for crafting dolls.

Additionally, he had already perused the family's collection of books during his time at the Akabane household. In terms of knowledge, Rozen didn't think he would lose to any mere student, and he might even surpass some of the professors.

In the end, Rozen indeed obtained a perfect score without any suspense, being regarded by Kimberly as one of the few individuals in the entire academy who could compare. Even if he didn't get the first place, securing the second was entirely within reach.

Who would have thought that even with such scores, obtaining qualification for the Night Party was still not that simple?

"It's said to be a matter of course, but considering it's a grand feast where only the most outstanding puppeteers of the same era, recognized as the most exceptional automaton manipulators, are invited, a banquet highly esteemed and favored by the world's nations, one that people are willing to pay a great price to be a part of... it's simply inconceivable that I could just easily have my participation taken away by someone who appeared out of nowhere," Rozen mused, stroking his chin.

"According to the indifferent female professor, the Night Party organizing committee will review my results, confirm their accuracy, and then adjust my ranking. It might be difficult to enter the top 50, but making it to 50th place should be doable."

Who knew that the selection for the top 50 was based on strength rather than academic prowess?

As a student who transferred midway and never showcased his abilities, it was only logical not to be chosen. However...

"As long as I demonstrate my strength, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Although once approved by the Night Party organizing committee, even being 50th meant securing a qualification, who knew when the committee would pass the review and re-rank the participants?

After all, the Night Party was about to begin soon, which is why Karyusai Shouko was so anxious, causing Rozen to be summoned suddenly.

"Even if I don't know why Karyusai Shouko is so anxious, it's just the way it is."

Regarding this matter, Rozen didn't inquire further because he knew Karyusai Shouko wouldn't answer.

In that case, Rozen thought it would be easier to take direct action to make progress in the situation.

As for the reward Karyusai Shouko promised, the transfer of Irori and Komurasaki, it was equally enticing for Rozen.

Even though Rozen had come a long way and could now summon Upper-level-level familiars through his own abilities, unlike in the past where he could only strive to keep up with the shadows of Upper-level familiars, and obtaining the power of that level was once a luxury, the highest masterpiece of the Banned Dolls, the number one in the Banned Doll realm, was still very appealing to Rozen.

"With the performance of Setsugetsuka, if I were to use it, any one of them would probably be second only to Hokuto. And with three of them, they would support each other, likely surpassing my Valkyrie Corps."

This was Rozen's evaluation based on having actually used the Setsugetsuka series of automatons in the past.

Although Rozen had only used Yaya once at the time, and even lost to Akabane Tenzen, even then, with Yaya alone, Rozen made Akabane Tenzen deploy three automatons whose strength can rivel Upper-level familiar. This demonstrated how capable Yaya was.

Moreover...

"At that time, I didn't fully utilize Yaya's performance."

Rozen knew this at that time.

And now, Rozen realized that the abilities he displayed through Yaya back then were just a small part.

Thinking of this, Rozen looked toward the end of the bed.

There, Yaya was still crouching, crying on one hand, but sneaking glances at Rozen through her fingers, making Rozen feel a sense of amusement.

"Yaya," Rozen said helplessly, "come here."

"Yes!" Yaya immediately stopped crying and smiled, "Does Rozen need Yaya's company in bed?"

"You've got it all wrong!" Rozen unequivocally replied, causing Yaya to become dejected again.

However, Yaya still obediently came to Rozen's front, as if she knew what Rozen wanted to do, and extended her hand.

Rozen also reached out his hand, holding Yaya's soft hand.

"Mmm~~~"

Yaya shivered all over.

"...Could you stop making strange sounds?" Rozen was completely speechless.

However, Rozen still closed his eyes.

"Blitz..."

The switch of the magical circuits inside his body was pressed, setting the magical power in motion.

"Hum..."

A faint magical power flowed through Rozen's hand and into Yaya's body.

"Ah..."

Yaya involuntarily let out a soft moan, which this time was not as sweet and enchanting but rather dreamy and comfortable.

At this moment, Rozen's Mind's Eye was fully activated, allowing magical power to flow precisely into Yaya's body, activating Yaya's magical circuit—Kongouriki.

A magic that enables the highly dense materialization and hardening of entities within one's domain.

Utilizing this magic, Yaya can increase the hardness of her body by thousands of times, resulting in an explosive boost in strength, defense, and speed, making her virtually invincible.

In the past, utilizing this magic, Yaya was able to rival Akabane Tenzen's several automata.

And now...

"Even if Tenzen's six automaton were all deployed, they wouldn't be able to harm Yaya," Rozen understood this as he grasped Yaya's magical circuit.

The advantage of automaton magic is that it allows ordinary operators to use complex magic.

However, not everyone can wield Karyusai Shouko's ultimate masterpiece, which is not an ordinary mass-produced item but a unique artifact that can reveal its true value in the hands of a capable individual.

Now, Rozen, who has reached the highest level of being a magus and perhaps elevated Mind's Eye to an unparalleled height, fully comprehended the true value of Kongouriki.

"With the ability of Mind's Eye, meticulously observing every moving entity and adjusting Kongouriki based on the situation, no matter the form of attack, it won't break through Kongouriki's effect."

This is Yaya's true power.

With her...

"I going to give you a surprise, Tenzen."

Rozen opened his eyes, turned his head, and looked outside the window.

"It's about time we meet again."

Rozen's murmurs reverberated like this, destined to disrupt the tranquility of this academy.