Chapter 42

The Aozaki sisters began chatting casually like old friends who hadn't seen each other in years.

How's work lately? Found a boyfriend? Any troubles bothering you? What stupid plot showed up in some movie?

This let Fujimaru Kyoya, who had been on high alert, relax a bit. Time flew by as he silently ate his noodles, and he also noticed that these two slender women actually matched him in stomach capacity.

Women. Terrifying.

For the first time, Fujimaru Kyoya sensed something called "purity" in women, and the purity was alarmingly high.

"When was the last time we ate together?"

After the meal, Aozaki Touko spoke. Though it still sounded like casual small talk, her tone had shifted—the former intimacy replaced by distance and coldness.

At this moment, Aozaki Touko was a Magus.

"Probably... last time."

Aozaki Aoko's replies also grew evasive. She immediately sensed the role change in her sister and responded by bringing out her own identity as a Magus.

"Is this young man a local Magus?"

"Yeah, the administrator's apprentice. Still a little girl, but she's way stronger than I was back then."

Aozaki Aoko didn't deny her own immaturity back then. By comparison, Tohsaka Rin, who had proper magical upbringing, was indeed much stronger—though if it actually came to a fight, the outcome would be another matter.

"Kid, I'll set up a barrier in a sparsely populated area soon. That'll minimize the damage from our fight and keep Fuyuki City from suffering too much disaster."

Aozaki Touko would set up the barrier, and Aozaki Aoko would step onto a battlefield that was absolutely disadvantageous for her—especially in a fight that didn't use magic. For Aozaki Aoko, this was a crushing disadvantage.

But considering her own abysmal magical ability, having used the same "Magic Bullet" for years, she had no choice but to accept such unfavorable terms.

"Don't go out at night. Don't go to remote places. We'll set up a Bystander-Repelling Barrier, but if you deliberately step into that area, either of us will treat you as the other's ally."

This was the Aozaki family's business. Neither Aoko nor Touko wanted outsiders interfering. Once the barrier was complete, every living thing except the two of them would be treated as an enemy.

"Check, please. I'll cover the young man's bill too."

Aozaki Touko stood up to pay. Though Aoko was a Magus, Touko didn't think she had much money. Besides, she'd recently squeezed a hefty sum out of some rich second-generation brat—no point not using it.

"Pretty generous. I heard you spent a fortune getting your Sealing Designation lifted. Still got money to treat?"

"Big Sis has a job. Unlike some unemployed bum."

That was the last exchange between the two sisters before the decisive battle. After Aozaki Touko left, Aozaki Aoko slowly rose from her seat.

Only after both had left did Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had finally finished her noodles, look at the two empty seats and say:

"Aren't those two sisters pretty close?"

"Close?"

Fujimaru Kyoya suddenly felt he didn't understand women at all. Was that kind of tense, knife-edge relationship really considered close?

Little Ritsuka must have been fooled by the seemingly calm conversation earlier.

"Of course they're close."

Fujimaru Ritsuka had a child's heart, but precisely because of that, she could sense it—those two sisters weren't bad people. In some ways, they even cared about each other extra.

That was a talent Fujimaru Kyoya, someone born with memories, couldn't possess.

This was probably the "degeneration" humans had to undergo when they became "adults."

"I hope so."

Fujimaru Kyoya was just a beginner in Magecraft. He only knew about the power of a Magus from what Tohsaka Rin had told him.

When a real Magus appeared beside him, even without any hostility, he still felt the pressure—it was the helplessness of humans facing a natural disaster.

But Fujimaru Kyoya didn't intend to back down. Even facing a natural disaster, he would find a way to survive.

Chapter 74: The Decisive Battle Location

"Sakura, go look after that guy Shiratori lately. His hand's injured, so it's really inconvenient."

After returning home, Matou Shinji handed the task of taking care of Emiya Shirou to Sakura. He had some things to do recently and didn't want her to know.

"Yes."

Matou Sakura agreed. Or perhaps she still didn't understand what "defiance" meant.

"If it gets too late, you can stay the night there. That guy Shiratori's character is trustworthy. The nights in Fuyuki City haven't been safe lately."

Not just unsafe.

When Matou Shinji learned that Aozaki Touko was about to throw down with a Magus, his whole body went numb.

It wasn't that Matou Shinji had any feelings for Aozaki Touko—it was just that if a Grand Puppeteer like her died, his plans wouldn't see the light of day for who knows how long.

"Yes."

Matou Sakura left the Matou family home and headed for the Emiya Residence. As Sakura left, the gloomy-faced old man slowly emerged.

"Shinji, it seems you know something about those two?"

Matou Zouken was old, but not dead. With those two terrifying individuals having arrived in Fuyuki, he naturally wanted to avoid them at all costs.

Of course, he didn't believe they had been invited by Matou Shinji—after all, the Matou Family had no such capability.

"I've had some business with that Grand Puppeteer recently. I never expected it would drag into something like this."

Matou Shinji didn't know whether to call it luck or misfortune, but that puppeteer seemed to have an absolute method of survival, so at least his research on external Magic Circuits wouldn't run into major problems.

"The Grand Puppeteer? Shinji, you really can't stay out of trouble, can you?"

Matou Zouken laughed darkly. Clearly, he didn't believe a waste with no Magic Circuits could stir up any waves.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely give you a surprise when the time comes."

Matou Shinji returned the smile with confidence. He was certain that this surprise would send the old bastard flying into blissful oblivion.

"Sigh... I said I wouldn't use magic, but Aoko is a different beast now."

In the underground cavern of Mount Enzou, Aozaki Touko began constructing her barrier using the Ley Line here.

Even if Aozaki Aoko wouldn't use magic in their duel, she was no longer the immature magus she had been back then.

Now, she was a powerhouse whose sheer "Magic Bullet" technique possessed terrifying destructive force. To defeat her, Aozaki Touko had to leverage every possible resource.

As a Clock Tower top student, Aozaki Touko naturally knew about Fuyuki's Holy Grail War, but she had no time to wait for the once-every-sixty-years event. Even if she were to inherit a magic, she only wanted the Aozaki Family's "Blue"—she had no interest in others.

"Fuyuki can support the descent of the Third Magic. The quality of the Ley Line here isn't low."

The Ley Line's quality wasn't low, but that didn't mean Aozaki Touko could use it freely.

Currently, one Ley Line in Fuyuki belonged to the Tohsaka Family, the city's overseers. She didn't want to usurp their position or invite unnecessary trouble. The same went for the Ley Line at Fuyuki Church.

Of the remaining two Ley Lines, one was close to the city, leaving only the one on Mount Enzou as an option.

This area was on the outskirts of Fuyuki City, rarely visited, and the underground space was vast enough for the sisters to fight without restraint.

As one of the Holy Grail's descent sites, the underground cavern had already been modified, saving Aozaki Touko time. All she needed to do was make adjustments.

With her knowledge of the occult, borrowing the Ley Line's Mana would allow her to achieve what her old classmate Araren Souya could do.

A small world under her control, and a puppet strong enough to match.

"Brother Fujimaru, is there something on your mind lately?"

Inside Ryuudou Temple, Kishinami Hakuno looked at Fujimaru Kyoya, who seemed distracted. Recently, though he had been studying basic occult knowledge more diligently, his restless mindset made his efforts counterproductive.

If it were just the Tohsaka Family's fundamental magic theories, he could rely on his "Ghost Brain" to forcibly memorize them and ponder later. But the knowledge within Buddhist Sutras couldn't be grasped through memory alone.

"Nothing much. I just think Buddhism doesn't speak in human language."

Fujimaru Kyoya spread open the Buddhist stories in his hands. The High Monks within seemed possessed by riddle-speak—if they could avoid plain speech, they wouldn't utter a single straightforward word.

For a moment, Fujimaru Kyoya wondered if the Great Thunder Temple was some kind of Gotham City.

"These? These are all Zen koans from Buddhism, so they're naturally hard to understand."

Kishinami Hakuno came from a Buddhist background, steeped in its teachings since childhood, so she was familiar with these koans.

"Zen thought mostly emphasizes mind-to-mind transmission without relying on words. When passing down teachings, they generally don't define what 'Buddha' is, but rather what 'Buddha' is not—establishing their truth by negating others."

Isn't that just being a contrarian?

That was Fujimaru Kyoya's first impression of Zen. But on second thought, he realized it was a clever way of thinking.

Because humans cannot comprehend the realm of "Buddha." Thinking and speaking with human minds and mouths, no matter the conclusion, would deviate from the true "Buddha."

Zen understood this, so in its philosophy, there is no "what Buddha is," only "what Buddha is not."

Using dialectical thinking to attack opponents and affirm one's own understanding of "Buddha."

That was one reason Zen had thrived for so long.

"Try looking at these stories from a different angle. I'm sure Brother Fujimaru will find new insights."

Kishinami Hakuno cheered him on from the side, and Fujimaru Kyoya refocused on the sutras.

When that restless feeling faded, when his perspective shifted, the riddled dialogues gradually took on a different charm in his eyes.

His Ghost Brain raced, and in his imagination, a figure slowly appeared before him.

This time, the Ghost Brain simulation wasn't a formidable enemy he had faced before, but a monk with a blurred face—a figure born from the stories in his hands.

"Pray tell, what is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?"

The "Patriarch" referred to Bodhidharma, who came from the West to transmit scriptures and spread Buddhist teachings. The High Monk's true question was: "What is Buddha?"

"The cypress tree in the courtyard."

Fujimaru Kyoya answered as the story dictated.

"Buddha" is not anything. All things possess Buddha-nature, even the casually mentioned cypress tree in the courtyard.

But what Fujimaru Kyoya didn't know was that his words had caught Kishinami Hakuno's attention.

This gifted girl sensed... a transparent cypress tree behind Fujimaru Kyoya, visible only to her.

Chapter 75: The Intruder

Truly remarkable insight.

Kishinami Hakuno couldn't help but praise him. To grasp this layer of meaning with just a few hints—aside from herself, there was finally a second person.

By now, Fujimaru Kyoya was clearly getting into the zone. Kishinami Hakuno didn't stop him. The sky gradually darkened, and it wasn't until dusk that Fujimaru Kyoya snapped out of it.

"Hm? What time is it?"

Fujimaru Kyoya stared in surprise at the sky outside. He had never lost track of time while reading before—this feeling was quite novel.

"About six o'clock. Fujimaru, why don't you stay for dinner?"

Ryuudou Issei had come over by now. He naturally wouldn't disturb this "demon lord" who was so absorbed in reading—after all, such a rare sight was worth savoring while it lasted.

"I don't have the habit of making my sister eat a boxed lunch at home while I enjoy a hot meal out. I'll definitely take you up on that next time, but for now, I'm heading back."

If it were any other time, Fujimaru Kyoya wouldn't pass up a free meal. But lately, his parents were away on a business trip. He did leave some emergency food in the fridge, but that was just a backup.

If he could go home and cook, he would.

"Is that so? Then next time."

The Ryuudou family was well-off and didn't mind a friend freeloading a meal or two. Ryuudou Issei watched his friend leave, then suddenly remembered something.

"I heard recently... ah, forget it. If that guy ran into a bear in the wild, the bear would be the one worrying about its life."

Ryuudou Issei had actually heard rumors lately about strange happenings on Mount Enzou—wild animals acting restless, some commotion in the dead of night.

But in the end, it was just commotion. No casualties so far. Besides, if a wild beast ran into Fujimaru Kyoya, it was hard to say who would end up hurt.