The Death of Fumizuka Eiri

Aoko Touko simply packed up some of her belongings and left the home she had shared with Aoko for many years.

She did not take everything, only a few thaumaturgical tools she would need soon. She felt that she might return before long.

Touko decided to visit Goda Church first. Before settling matters with her grandfather and sister, she wanted to seek that person's advice. After all, the Fumizuka family had been closely associated with the Aozaki family since ancient times.

Touko had very complicated feelings toward Fumizuka Eiri.

During her girlhood, Touko had held vague feelings akin to unrequited love for that "mechanically fashionable and handsome" priest. She had simply never voiced them, afraid Aoko would laugh at her. But as she grew older, she found herself understanding him less and less.

Although Fumizuka Eiri had studied magecraft under her grandfather for a time, he undoubtedly lacked the talent to use it. Still, that did not diminish his combat ability.

If judged by the class system of a fantasy world, Fumizuka Eiri was probably either an assassin or a monk—a martial type who was fast and skilled at disguising himself.

He was probably the kind of guy who kept a longsword hidden beneath his cloak, Touko thought, and she considered it highly likely.

If she needed some psychological assurance before meeting her grandfather, Fumizuka Eiri was undoubtedly a good choice.

After all, he was the sort of person who helped others on a whim. If Touko personally asked for his aid, there was a chance he would agree, wasn't there?

After a brief conversation, Father Fumizuka Eiri agreed to witness the negotiations between Touko and her grandfather as an observer. Since this involved the succession of a Magician, it was an important event whether he attended as the eldest son of the Fumizuka family or as a member of the Holy Church. There was no reason for him not to be present.

Still, Touko instinctively felt that he was not telling the truth. He probably just wanted to tag along because it promised rare entertainment.

Arriving before her grandfather's workshop residence, Touko took a deep breath. She deftly used magecraft to undo the magical lock on the gate, then pushed the door open and entered first. Fumizuka Eiri followed without hesitation.

It looked exactly as it had before, Touko thought. Nothing had changed after her grandfather transferred the inheritance to Aoko. He had not even revoked any of Touko's permissions within this workshop. Bringing an outsider with her, she made her way straight to the study where her grandfather spent most of his time. The moment she opened the door, she saw that familiar back.

"What is it, Touko?" her grandfather asked without turning around, still seated in his favorite chair and reading a book.

"Why?" Touko asked, her voice trembling slightly. "Why wasn't it me?"

Her grandfather did not answer immediately. He continued turning the pages at the same steady pace and remained silent for a while.

"There was no particular reason," her grandfather said. "I only realized it recently, perhaps. Aoko is more pure, so that was my decision."

"Just because of such an incomprehensible reason...?" Touko asked in disbelief.

"Yes." Her grandfather's reply was flat and cold.

Touko lowered her head slightly. Her carefully groomed bangs hid her eyes, and two drops that looked like tears fell to the floor. Yet they immediately vanished into the finely crafted carpet, as though they had never existed.

How did that saying go again?

Sometimes, when people believed their lives had suffered a terrible blow and they were in unbearable pain, life would always strike them squarely in the head again.

Touko felt that this was more or less her situation right now.

Father Fumizuka Eiri, whom she had only brought along as a witness or source of emotional reassurance, suddenly sprang into action. From beneath his immaculately maintained cloak, he drew a longsword that did not seem remotely capable of being hidden there without a trace and split her grandfather, seated in his chair, in two.

"You..." Touko's usually brilliant mind nearly ceased functioning at that moment. Almost instinctively, she demanded of the priest, who was taking out a handkerchief to wipe down his blade, "Why did you cut down Grandfather!?"

"The opportunity felt right. I could kill him, so I killed him," Fumizuka Eiri answered mechanically. He shoved the longsword back into his cloak, leaving no sign of it from the outside.

This man had always been like this. He needed no reason for battle, no opponent, no fate or hatred. Once the moment arrived, he could act like a gun whose trigger had been pulled.

The sudden attack by the priest of Goda Church left an enormous shock on nineteen-year-old Aozaki Touko. It was the first time she had faced the death of a family member, and she herself had brought the murderer before the victim.

The priest said nothing more. Ignoring Aozaki Touko, who stood frozen in the study, he strode toward the door.

"Ah, excuse me," a young woman's voice came from outside the workshop. "Father, please wait a moment."

Hearing the voice, Fumizuka Eiri froze. An inexplicable panic welled up in him, and he immediately drew the longsword he had only just put away, preparing to deal with the unexpected visitor.

Yet, to everyone's surprise, the priest's motion of drawing his sword suddenly stopped. Touko could even see his rigid body trembling faintly. But it did not seem to be from fear or nervousness; rather, some unknown power had pinned him in place.

Emerging from the dark shadows was Aoko Aozaki, smiling. She held an exquisite leather-bound book in her left hand, while her right formed a peculiar gesture that emitted a faint glow.

"Human Immobilization," Aoko said. "Amazing, isn't it?"

Touko wanted to say something, but when she saw the immobilized Fumizuka Eiri and her grandfather already split in half, she ultimately remained silent.

"It has been a long time, Father Fumizuka Eiri," Aoko said. "To be honest, I didn't really want to see you. Your handsome face made my adorable sister entertain foolish thoughts for a while, and I am very dissatisfied about that."

Aoko let out an exaggerated sigh, then shook her head.

"Your twisted logic—you felt you could kill someone, so you did?" Aoko asked the immobile Fumizuka Eiri. "Honestly, I rather like that theory. But you used it on my grandfather, and I don't like that at all."

Hearing this, the already numb Touko froze slightly, a bad premonition arising in her heart.

"Because I feel like I can kill you, so I'll kill you too." Aoko's tone was full of contempt and indifference, an extreme disregard for life.

"Wait—!"

Touko had just reached out, wanting to stop what her sister was about to do, when she immediately realized it was too late. Aoko Aozaki raised her right hand in the shape of a pistol, and a series of projectiles trailing luminous tails flew out in bizarre arcs, blasting Fumizuka Eiri's head to pieces. Some of the blood even splattered across Touko's face.

It was one of Aoko's favorite spells from the arcane web: Magic Missile.

"Ah, sorry, sorry," Aoko said with sincere apology when she saw the bloodstain on Touko's face. "I'll help you wipe it clean, Sister."

With that, Aoko took out a pure white handkerchief from somewhere and walked over to Touko, gently and carefully wiping clean her dirtied face.

"That carpet was expensive." Her grandfather's figure stood up from the ruined chair at some point, his tone unprecedentedly filled with regret. "Clean this place up before you leave, and remember to replace the carpet for me."

After saying that, her grandfather's soul left the study and headed for the basement deep within the workshop. The room was a complete mess. All that remained were the corpses of her grandfather and Fumizuka Eiri, along with the two Aozaki sisters.

Hearing her grandfather's order, Aoko frowned. Then she produced a medical body bag from thin air, put on a mask, and began methodically using magecraft to place Fumizuka Eiri's remains into it.

She also handed Touko a body bag, signaling for her to put their grandfather's corpse into it as well.

Aozaki Touko numbly accepted Aoko's suggestion and began working. As she endured the discomfort in her stomach, she felt utterly out of place amid the current situation, as though she were the outsider in this family.

Perhaps Aoko was more suited than she was to become a qualified magus—or a Magician.

Touko thought so for no reason, but immediately dismissed the absurd notion and focused on putting her grandfather's severed body into the bag.

The next morning—actually noon—Aoko woke up in her pajamas, yawning as she went to eat breakfast, only to discover that Touko had run away from home.

There was a letter for her on the dining table. In it, Touko said she was going to study at the Clock Tower... and that once she had completed her studies and returned, she would settle things with Aoko as sisters.

What was that about? Aoko sighed. That idiot should at least have said goodbye in person before leaving, shouldn't she?