What's Most Important? Talent

"Touko, your seat is over here?"

Aoko, with ill intent, retrieved a specially prepared high-back child's booster seat from a corner of the dining room. She then used Misty Step to teleport behind Touko, her hands moving at an imperceptible speed to grasp Touko under her arms and lift her up.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Touko's voice was flustered, her small feet kicking about.

Aoko, of course, ignored Touko's question, steadily placing her onto the booster seat and buckling the safety harness.

Touko was shocked. Just how twisted did this woman's psyche have to be to do something so utterly mortifying?

Even the cutlery on the table had their sharp points removed, made into child-friendly versions!

Thinking this, a cold sweat broke out on Touko's back, her hand gripping the fork trembling slightly.

"Don't be nervous," Aoko said, eating her breakfast. "I'm not like you, Touko. I'm not as malicious."

Hearing this, Touko's knife and fork stopped trembling. Instead, with a dead-eyed stare, she looked up and glared at Aoko.

"Acquiring Magic and defeating you were both within my plans," Aoko continued to herself. "Or rather, this is the starting point of my life's plan."

"...Does that mean I'm insignificant in your life?" Touko asked in a flat tone, yet Aoko still detected a hint of hurt.

"How could that be?" Aoko replied. "It's just that there are many things I can't start doing without defeating you."

"The first thing we need to do is help you, Touko, to lift the Sealing Designation," Aoko said after taking a bite of her waffle. "The Mage's Association truly doesn't show the Aozaki family any respect. We're a family with a Magic lineage, after all!"

"Hmph, Lord Balgretta isn't someone who would give up on the Sealing Designation just because I'm related to a Mage," Touko said coldly. "She is a Magus among Magus."

"I don't care if she's a Magus or a Lord," Aoko said, shaking her head indifferently. "Bullying me and my family is unacceptable. I'll make that old hag understand that some actions have consequences."

"Of course, after dealing with Touko's matters, I'll help you too, Alice," Aoko added to Alice Kuonji beside her. "If you wish, Alice, I'll personally visit those Kuonji family relatives who dislike you, one by one."

"...There's no need for that." Alice continued eating her breakfast expressionlessly, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Touko's feelings were complicated after hearing her sister's words.

The things she had once been so persistent about seemed trivial in Aoko's eyes. Her values seemed closer to an ordinary person than a Magus. Was this the composure of a Mage?

"The plane tickets are already bought. It's for next Monday," Aoko said. "Direct flight from Tokyo to London. Let's finish this quickly."

Touko thought about it carefully. Given her current state, Aoko's actions didn't seem entirely bad. Apart from the potential embarrassment of her old classmates and teachers seeing her de-aged, many people would envy this situation...

Touko nodded speechlessly and then focused on her French toast. Mmm, it was delicious.

"After all, I still need to apply to Tokyo University in December. How can I not finish this quickly?" Aoko said casually, starting to crunch on her delicious fruit and vegetable salad.

"You're still going to Tokyo University?" Touko asked, surprised. "Then what about the Aozaki family's leyline management? You can't possibly leave it all to Alice, can you?"

"Once your current body matures a bit more, I'll transplant the part of the Magic Crest that manages the leyline permissions to you," Aoko said easily. "The warped leyline isn't of much use to me anyway. I don't need that kind of thing after acquiring the complete 'Magic'."

"Are you serious?" Touko was already numb this morning, but Aoko's words still made her unable to help but ask.

"Look," Aoko activated a part of her Magic Crest, and a green light shone across her palm, the patterns of the crest becoming increasingly complex. "For some reason, the crest I obtained from 'there' is growing like a plant, and the leyline control permission crest made by the old man has become an obstacle."

"I see," Touko narrowed her eyes, looking at the heterodox crest on Aoko's hand that resembled a parasitic organism. "Indeed, if you don't transplant the parts other than the Magic Crest soon, it will negatively impact your growth."

"Alice will perform the transplant surgery then," Aoko said. "Among the tuners we can find, Alice is the most trustworthy."

Alice simply nodded silently beside them.

Although it was decided that the leyline management authority crest would be transplanted to Touko later, the other permission crests of the Aozaki family remained in Aoko's possession, including the authority over the imaginary prison that confined Touko's dog. Aoko had no intention of giving Touko a chance to release it.

Since the trip to London was set for next Monday, Aoko could use the time before then. First, she needed to make an appearance at Misaki High School. After all, as the student council president, if she were absent from school for too long, even someone of Aoko's caliber would have a mark against her in her records.

Secondly, after a long period of searching, Aoko finally found the Miyajyo family, who were on the verge of bankruptcy, in a suburban area of Tokyo. She learned that the two most talented children of the Miyajyo family were named Miyajyo Hisui and Miyajyo Kohaku.

Knowing this information, Aoko didn't hesitate. After making a round at school, she personally went to the Miyajyo family's old residence in Tokyo.

Although the Miyajyo family, as one of the Four Great Demon-Slaying Families of Japan, had completely declined, their knowledge of the mystical world was still much higher than that of ordinary people. At the very least, the renowned name of the Aozaki family, the Number One Magic Family of Japan, was still well-known to them.

Upon learning that the current head of the Aozaki family had come to visit, the Miyajyo family quickly welcomed Aoko with their utmost respect.

"I want to adopt the sisters Kohaku and Hisui," Aoko said directly while sipping tea.

"This..." The current head of the Miyajyo family fell into a dilemma, agonizing over the pros and cons. In his eyes, these two sisters were important assets for the family's resurgence, and he had to sell them at a good price.

"I will offer you a price you cannot refuse," Aoko said decisively. "And when necessary, I will personally shelter the Miyajyo family."