Inheritance

"You will inherit the Aozaki family's Magic," the old Magus said in a toneless, inorganic voice. "Aoko."

From birth until now, Aoko had waited for this moment for far too long. Even with memories from a "previous life" that allowed her to know this outcome in advance, the moment it truly arrived still made her feel as if "fate was rolling towards her."

"Mhm," Aoko replied, surprisingly calm. "I understand."

On the other side, Touko Aozaki, who had been striving and growing as an "Egg of Magus," didn't react as much as the old Magus had anticipated.

The old Magus's gradually diminishing humanity made it increasingly difficult for him to judge human emotions, but he still understood that this last-minute change of leadership would make Touko Aozaki extremely dissatisfied.

Ignoring Touko, the old Magus briefed Aoko on various related matters, telling her to stay in the workshop tonight to prepare for the transplant of the Aozaki family's Crest. Aoko indifferently agreed.

Throughout their conversation, Touko's face remained expressionless, and she said nothing, asked no questions. However, as Aoko, who had long studied her elder sister's thoughts, knew that Touko was on the verge of exploding.

Things indeed turned out as she expected. While Aoko and the old Magus were discussing the handover details, Touko turned and left the Magus's workshop, leaving the place that had rendered all her efforts futile without looking back.

"...Aren't you curious why I switched the successor to you?" the old Magus asked after seeing Touko leave, pausing slightly. This might have been the most human sentence he had spoken all night.

"I don't think the old man would tell me," Aoko said with a smile. "Since I won't get an answer, why bother asking?"

"..." The old Magus seemed to be thinking, or perhaps he had closed his eyes as if falling asleep. "Then let's not waste time. Follow me, Aoko."

Touko walked in the cold night wind, dressed in a beautiful evening gown.

As the eldest daughter of the Aozaki family, raised amidst everyone's expectations, she had achieved all the goals that seemed impossible to outsiders. Therefore, she accepted all the benefits and praise she received for being the "Egg of Magus" with a clear conscience, seeing them as rightfully hers.

A top-tier family background, a wealthy life, a passable sisterly relationship, and her own exceptionally outstanding talent – any one of these was a lifelong pursuit for many. Yet, the blow Touko suffered today made all her efforts up to this point seem utterly ridiculous.

Possessing Mystic Eyes, Touko should not have had any vision problems, but her excessive effort to meet the expectations of those around her had still forced her to wear prescription glasses.

Touko returned to the empty house and sat on the comfortable sofa in the living room, her mind a complete mess.

The only residents in this Western-style house were Touko and Aoko. It was Aoko who, after deciding to study under her grandfather, had pleaded with her parents to buy it. It was located in the suburbs, not far from the old Aozaki Magus's workshop.

Originally, Touko had mostly lived in her grandfather's Magecraft workshop. However, unable to resist her younger sister's persistent nagging, she eventually moved into this house as well, spending over a decade filled with bittersweet memories.

Touko stood up from the sofa and walked into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and saw the dessert stored in a glass container.

It was a chocolate lava mousse cake specially made for her by Aoko, exquisitely shaped and adorned with crushed fruits and delicious nuts.

Touko took out the container and found a sticky note attached to it. In elegant handwriting, a message read, "Silly Touko, don't forget to eat it."

Touko sat at the dining table with the glass container. She removed the lid, picked up the silver fork that someone had thoughtfully placed inside, and took a small bite of the cake.

The bitter, refreshing aroma of chocolate balanced the sweetness of the sugar. The soft cake melted in her mouth, and the carefully selected nuts prevented the texture from being too fleeting.

Savoring the cake made by Aoko, Touko showed a slight expression of satisfaction. This wasn't to say that her experience tonight had been forgotten, but rather that the food she was enjoying was simply too delicious.

After finishing the dessert, Touko stretched lazily. The ample serotonin completely swept away her previous dejected mood. Now, Touko's eyes burned with fierce determination. She decided to personally question her grandfather about the reason for his actions tomorrow, and then find an opportunity to settle things with her sister at an appropriate time.

Intense pain throughout her body caused the unconscious Aoko to wake up. The last time she felt this much pain was when her grandfather activated her Magic Circuits. For some reason, Aoko's number of Magic Circuits far exceeded that of her grandfather and Touko, reaching an astonishing ninety-nine. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was a person with Magic Circuits growing on her; this was a talent that the original timeline's Aoko also lacked.

She struggled to sit up on the "operating table" in her grandfather's workshop and looked around. She saw her grandfather sitting on a chair, his back to her, reading something.

"I suggest you rest a bit longer," her grandfather said without turning his head. "The Aozaki family's Crest is 'slightly' different."

Slightly different? Aoko thought silently.

The so-called Magic Crest was the crystallization of research and training passed down through generations of Magus.

It could be the product of a unique Magic materialized, or it could be the result of condensing and purifying all the Magic Circuits of a generation of Magus.

Ultimately, it represented the inheritance of a Magus's path, an engine that could inject magical energy and activate Magecraft without incantation.

In Magus families, it was less that the Magus controlled the Magic Crest, and more that the Magus was the vessel for the Magic Crest. The dominant party was not the Magus, but the inherited Magic Crest.

However, the Aozaki family's Crest was different. It inherited not Magecraft, but Magic.

Magic and Magecraft were fundamentally different existences. Magic never abided by any of the world's laws. Magic came from beyond the world, an enemy of the world; it was a disaster that accidentally flowed from the Root. And compared to the other few Magics, the Aozaki family's Magic was particularly so.

Aoko frowned, enduring the pain from the Crest transplant, and felt the pulse of the Aozaki family's Crest. She injected a small amount of magical energy, and the foreign organ in her right arm emitted a faint light.

The pain caused Aoko to let out a muffled groan, forcing her to stop the flow of magical energy. However, she had only intended to test if the Crest her grandfather had transplanted was functioning normally. The actual test results would have to wait until this gift fully integrated with her body.

Aoko pulled her sleeve back down over her shoulder, covering her aching arm, and stepped off the operating table.

"Can I take some books?" Aoko said as she put on her jacket. "I have a feeling Touko will come here and make a scene tomorrow."

"Whatever you want," her grandfather said without turning his head. "Don't touch anything that isn't a Grimoire."

Aoko didn't stand on ceremony with the old man. Enduring the pain, she activated her Imaginary Magecraft and stuffed all the Grimoires she had been interested in for a long time but her grandfather had previously refused to show her into her personal Imaginary Space. This was like a dimensional pocket that no one but her could crack. Normally, such Magecraft was extremely difficult, even for skilled Magus. However, unexpectedly, Aoko had a considerable talent for Imaginary Magecraft. In addition to the wind Magic affinity that all Aozaki family members possessed, she also held the extremely rare Imaginary attribute.

Upon discovering this, her grandfather had even uncharacteristically used some of his connections in the Magecraft world to find her a highly skilled Magus with the Imaginary attribute to teach her how to use Imaginary Magecraft.

After stuffing all the Grimoires she was interested in into her Imaginary Space, Aoko cast one last glance at her grandfather.

He remained in the same posture as when Aoko had first woken up, unchanged, only occasionally turning the pages of his book.

Aoko squinted, trying to make out the content of the book, but only saw the title printed at the bottom of the page.

It was Wilde's De Profundis, recounting the scandalous affairs of a certain rebellious great writer.

Aoko had always politely declined such literary works. She left her grandfather's workshop without looking back, not even saying goodbye.