"Is it resolved?"
"You said you'd teach me how to use these eyes."
"Yes, but there's a condition. I lost my familiars, so I need someone to work for me."
"Is that so? Does the work involve killing people?"
"Mm, of course."
"Fine, I'll do it! Order me around however you like. It's not like I have any clear goal now anyway."
Maybe it had been too long since she had done any strenuous exercise, or maybe there was some other reason. After saying that, Shiki collapsed as well. Fortunately, Touko Aozaki stepped forward and caught her.
"No goal? That really is pathetic." Touko said, "But you're still wrong. A heart as empty as Araya's Void means it can hold even more, doesn't it? You lucky fool—where could you possibly find a better future than that?"
"Hey, hey, that's enough!" Seemingly unable to stand Touko's cryptic remarks, Shirou complained with a speechless expression. "She's unconscious right now, and even when she's awake, she might not understand that cult-leader nonsense of yours!"
Shirou's jab immediately provoked Touko's counterattack. That matter of academic research had made their relationship like that of sworn enemies.
"Do you have any right to say that about me?" Touko asked disdainfully.
"Who can really say whether I have the right or not?" Shirou narrowed his eyes slightly.
When it came to arguments about truth and falsehood, Shirou had his own crooked logic, and it made people question their lives every time.
"Yes, I can't explain it!" Seeing that Shirou was about to launch into another long speech, Touko decided not to continue arguing with him.
Fight? She couldn't beat him.
Talk? She couldn't outtalk him.
In Touko's heart, Shirou had already been placed in the same category as those ancient monsters.
Seeing Touko abruptly cut off the previous topic, Shirou changed the subject as well.
"Come to think of it, this Shiki isn't on Fujino's level. Whether it's potential or anything else, she surpasses Fujino in every way. And she and Mikiya are... You're not planning to make their entire family work for you, are you?" Shirou said.
"Just worry about yourself!" Touko said irritably, then casually shifted the unconscious Shiki in her arms as if she were afraid Shirou might snatch her away.
Three years ago, Touko had not fought Shirou over Asagami Fujino because he had lost an arm and looked like he was in a lot of pain. Then she regretted it.
Those were the highest-grade Mystic Eyes of Distortion! You might not encounter something that rare even once in several hundred years, damn it!
And this time, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception were even rarer than the Mystic Eyes of Distortion from last time. No matter what, she could not let the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception already in her grasp slip away too, or she would regret it for the rest of her life.
"Tch, why are you guarding her like a treasure? It's not like I'm going to steal her from you!" Seeing Touko acting like a mother hen protecting her chicks, Shirou curled his lip in annoyance, then took off straight into the air.
"Hey, Touko, can you cure diseases of the human body?" Shirou suddenly turned back and asked after rising several meters into the air.
"That's right, but at your level, you shouldn't need anyone else to treat you, should you?" Though she did not know what Shirou was getting at, Touko answered anyway.
"What, have you finally come around and decided to let me study your body?"
"No. Research is impossible. It'll be impossible for the rest of my life."
A chill rose from the depths of Shirou's heart, reminding him of the last time Touko had secretly put him on an examination table while he was asleep.
"Is that so? What a shame." Touko took a drag from her cigarette, then blew out a smoke ring. "Still, if you want me to treat someone, prepare payment like it's a proper commission. But I'm not short of money now, so you'll have to offer something other than money that interests me."
Where do you think all that money of yours came from? I hauled it across the city myself, damn it!
And you won't even accept anything other than cash. Why don't you go ask around—who borrows money like you do?
Those were Shirou's thoughts.
"Information on famous homunculi from the Age of Fairies. How about that?" Shirou laid down his bargaining chip.
Shirou knew that Touko had a hobby of collecting things that seemed like random junk to ordinary people. In Remaining Sense of Pain, she had spent the 1.12 million yen she had just acquired on a seemingly useless Victorian-era Ouija board, leaving her unable to pay Mikiya's wages for a month and even forcing her to borrow money from him.
What a heartless boss. Let us observe three seconds of silence for Kirito Google's wallet...
So, the bargaining chip Shirou had offered was something Touko could not possibly resist. Homunculi from the Age of Fairies were far older than the Einzbern.
Combined with Touko's character setting of "as long as she finds something interesting, she'll do it even if there's no benefit," Shirou knew full well that this round was in the bag.
"Deal!" Just as Shirou had expected, Touko agreed.
"Okay, I've got things to do, so I'll be leaving. No problem, right?" Shirou had neither confidence nor trust in Touko's credibility.
But now that he had Touko's promise, there was no point staying here any longer. Kirie was still waiting to be dealt with over there!
At the same time, in Kirie's hospital room—
A man in a long trench coat appeared out of thin air. Were all these strange magi unwilling to use doors these days?
The trench-coated man's appearance caught Kirie's attention. Kirie did not scream or make a fuss over someone suddenly appearing. For one thing, it was not in her nature to do such things. For another, even if she wanted to, her Weak Constitution would not support it.
"Are you Fujou Kirie?" The man got straight to the point from the start.
Hearing the trench-coated man's question, Kirie froze for a moment. Perhaps she was surprised that, after lying in a hospital bed for so many years, someone could still call her by name.
"Are you a friend of my father's?" Kirie asked. That was the only explanation that made sense.
The trench-coated man did not answer Kirie's question. Perhaps, in his eyes, such an irrelevant question was not worth answering.
"Do you want another body, one that can move freely?" The trench-coated man came to Kirie's bedside and asked.
Just like in the original story, Kirie nodded. A body that could move freely—even another one—held infinite temptation for Kirie. She simply could not refuse it.
Although she had already joined Shirou's side, that did not affect her desire for a body.
But wanting it was one thing; everything else was another. Some things still had to be clarified, such as—
"Who are you?" Kirie asked.
This time, the magus did not remain silent. He answered Kirie's question:
"A magus,
Souren Araya!!!"