The Aozaki sisters, dressed in fashionable winter clothes, were driving an off-road vehicle along the Rhine.
They had been in Europe for three days already, and somehow word had leaked out. The two of them had been attacked more than a dozen times by all sorts of European magi and mercenaries—some of whom were magecraft users themselves. It seemed news of Aoko's rampage at the Mage's Association had spread.
But why did these people dare rush them when they knew she was a Magician?
"Are you sure we found the right place?" Aoko asked Touko beside her, one hand on the wheel while Touko bent over a map.
"'A forest in a mountainous region near some river in Germany, where it snows year-round.' Based on that information, the Einzbern workshop should be in this forest." After circling an area on the map with a marker, Touko said, "We can park in another ten or so minutes if we keep heading this way."
Aoko nodded, adjusted their course slightly according to Touko's directions, and headed for the designated spot.
Einzbern Castle lay deeper within the forest. Since all its members were reclusive homunculi, they had little need for ordinary transportation. Only a narrow path connected it to the outside.
The supplies needed to keep the workshop running could be transported in by special automatons, so the forest's sole entrance and exit route was inaccessible by car.
They parked at a relatively elevated clearing on the forest's edge and jumped out. Aoko took binoculars from the trunk and looked deep into the woods, while Touko drew concealment runes onto their off-road vehicle.
"There's a fairly massive barrier over there. I can't see inside it," Aoko said, pointing deeper into the forest. "Get ready. We're going in from above."
With that, Aoko used