Type-Moon's Problem Child from Collapse

Chapter 27: Miss Aozaki Isn't a Shota-Con?

On the outskirts of Kanbuchi City, amidst a stretch of ruins, Touko Aozaki—who had been advancing smoothly until now—had blood still fresh at the corner of her mouth, not yet wiped away. Her entire body was pinned to the ground, littered with rubble, mangled corpses, and broken stones.

Feeling the boy's weightless form on top of her, she stared blankly at the sky.

All the Autonomous Dolls she had brought were destroyed. Beneath her might be some stray part left behind by someone else.

The old man who had sworn everything would be fine when they set out was now half-crammed into a nearby wall like a dead dog, his body twisted.

"No love left..." Touko Aozaki stared at the lewd-looking shota before her—oh, wait, no, at 168 centimeters, he could no longer be called a shota.

Her heart was ash, lost in confusion.

"So why do something so stupid, Big Sister?" Fu Yuan, now fully transformed into a Herrscher, looked at her with some bewilderment. His slender fingers gently brushed her face as he spoke, expressionless.

How had she ended up like this? Why? Touko suddenly began to recall...

"You must be Lady Irisviel! I've heard so much about you. Today I see you're as beautiful as the rumors say." Touko Aozaki, before society had beaten her down, greeted her with a radiant smile, eyeing the strange pair with keen interest.

A dignified, beautiful white-haired woman—clearly the transaction partner—and a curious little shota? Why bring a kid to a deal? Padding the résumé? That didn't add up!

Fu Yuan watched Aozaki, who seemed not yet to have awakened a certain... preference, and felt a pang of nostalgia. Just like the bullet comments said, Aoko and Touko were both good kids; only Old Man Aozaki was the fool.

Seeing her still-cheerful expression, he blinked his big eyes and shot back a bright smile.

At that, Touko's pupils suddenly contracted. Damn, that was the feeling of movement—no, wait, the feeling of heart movement.

But she quickly snapped out of it. After all, a shota was one thing, but that jewel was clearly more important. This discovery could let her—no, her family—leave a permanent mark in magical history.

Shotas could be found anytime, but opportunities like this were rare!

Wow! Why did her heart suddenly ache?!

"Miss Aozaki, you're not only beautiful but accomplished at such a young age." Irisviel, though usually unreliable, could be quite dependable in important settings—unlike a certain someone.

But when she got no reply for a long time, she looked over in confusion and saw the young and accomplished Miss Aozaki's expression shifting rapidly, lost in thought.

Old Man Aozaki, watching her changing face, cursed inwardly. What are you thinking about at a time like this? And if you're going to think, at least hide it! He suddenly felt that giving her this opportunity for experience was a terrible idea.

"Apologies, Lady Irisviel. The girl is inexperienced. I'll handle the transaction from here." He then gave Irisviel a polite but awkward smile, pulling the now-aware Touko behind him.

"..." Touko stared at the old man, her face suddenly going blank. She took two steps back.

Then, where Old Man Aozaki couldn't see, her expression brightened as she looked at Fu Yuan, winked, made a gesture, and slowly backed away.

Fu Yuan watched Aozaki, clearly holding a different view from his own, with some complexity. He glanced at Irisviel, who was deep in discussion with Old Man Aozaki about the transaction terms, then quietly slipped away.

"Something wrong, Big Sister?" Fu Yuan asked, having walked a fair distance. He estimated Irisviel couldn't hear them anymore, then looked up at the big sister before him with an innocent expression.

Touko, now fully grown, was just one centimeter shy of her peak height. At 164 centimeters, she could indeed be called a big sister.

"What's your name, little guy? How old are you? What grade are you in?..." Touko rattled off her prepared questions in one breath, staring at Fu Yuan, who radiated cuteness from head to toe.

"Would you mind having a girlfriend?" she suddenly added boldly at the end, revealing her true intent.

"Huh...?" Fu Yuan was completely stunned, frozen in place. He didn't know how to respond. Is a background check supposed to be this thorough? And was that last question serious?

A bad feeling rose in his heart. He subtly took half a step back.

"Big Sister's joking, right?" Fu Yuan asked, a little embarrassed, watching Aozaki's expression stiffen. Her Takeuchi Face was still flushed from the rapid change, the redness not yet faded.

He couldn't be blamed for overreacting. The moment she said that, Fu Yuan clearly felt his soul tremble. That was definitely not his instinct—definitely not!

"Ha! Of course I'm joking!" Touko let out two awkward laughs, then started reflecting on whether she'd been too hasty. Too hasty? Maybe a little? That day—no more than that.

"Hey, how about I give you a gift?" Touko recalled how her social-climbing friends chased girls. Throw money at them? No, the Einzbern Family definitely isn't short on cash.

Give flowers? That might work for girls, but for a boy... forget it.

Then a flash of inspiration hit. Right! Figures! Don't boys these days love figures?

With that thought, Touko snapped her fingers. An Autonomous Doll obediently approached from a distance.

A beautiful, meticulously crafted face like a doll's, ruby-red pupils, and silver hair that shimmered like snow.

When Fu Yuan saw the figure in the distance, he awkwardly lowered his head. Ah, caught slacking off! Then he shot Aozaki a dissatisfied glare. It's all your fault!

Touko watched the suddenly shy boy glare at her and felt something was off. From what I know, shouldn't he be ecstatic?

Then the doll walked over and completely lost its animation, standing blankly between them.

Touko's mouth twitched as she looked at the doll. Damn, I forgot. Because of the transaction, I just set the program.

Staring at the doll that had lost all its sentience, she suddenly felt a pang of distress. How... how am I supposed to bring this up?

"A Yuan, what are you two doing?" Irisviel, having noticed her troublesome Saber had vanished again, wasn't panicked. She calmly apologized to Old Man Aozaki and prepared to go find her child.

Irisviel looked at the scene before her with a complicated expression: an awkward A Yuan, a flustered and embarrassed Miss Aozaki, and a doll that looked exactly like her.

Motionless. Very much like a certain single-person item she'd seen online.

Chapter 28: Today's Touko Is Really Strange!

"Eh~~ there's another Irisviel." Fu Yuan's intelligence, already limited by his form, suddenly felt insufficient as he stared in shock at the two Irisviels, unable for a moment to tell them apart.

Two people, private transaction, puppet, doesn't move, lifelike, mine.

"Ha, ha, Lady Irisviel, you have a good child. But don't worry about the transaction—I'm quite trustworthy." Touko let out two awkward laughs, then indicated it was just an accident.

"Mm." Irisviel bit her lip, letting out a complicated "mm" to show she understood.

Believe him? I should believe him! Irisviel kept reassuring herself inwardly: A Yuan is a good child, A Yuan is a good child, I ought to trust him.

Fu Yuan glanced at Irisviel with a complicated expression. Emotion Perception—how to put it? Sometimes it was really awkward.

"So when do we start, Miss Touko?" Irisviel tried hypnotizing herself for a while, but found she absolutely couldn't erase the images from her mind. Finally, she gave up in defeat—whatever happens, happens.

"Ha, ha, let's start right now!" Touko clapped her hands a few more times, and several puppets dutifully brought over the required instruments and items.

Then, while they weren't looking, she formed a magic seal behind her back, signaling to that old man that she was here.

The ritual began!

Fu Yuan sat bored on a large stone nearby, his two legs dangling and swinging back and forth.

Then, at some unknown step in the ritual, when both Irisviels burst into golden light, Fu Yuan felt a twitch in his DNA. He watched the Irisviel enveloped in golden radiance with keen interest.

Wow! Golden Legend!

Five-star! Mantle of the Heavens!

Laugh!

He could clearly sense that Irisviel's life force had weakened considerably—now only about twice Kiritsugu's. But this state would certainly let her live longer than her previous condition.

By the time Old Man Aozaki arrived, the ritual was nearly finished. He stood there helplessly, watching with a worried heart.

I wonder if she's collected the payment yet... Can this really work?

Sigh, it's not like I can pick Aoko.

Though he'd already decided to kidnap this transaction's target afterward, some necessary steps still had to be taken—like fulfilling the contract. Otherwise, even he would find it troublesome.

The ritual went smoothly. Irisviel's original body successfully became an R... cough—a soulless puppet—while the puppet that had lost its spirituality came fully to life. Even some of its original flaws were perfected by the replenished soul.

Soul influencing the body... what an interesting world. Su Mei watched this ritual that defied all common sense, a hint of envy in her heart.

She wanted it too!

Suddenly, some Purple Epics appeared within the Golden Legend, lowering its quality. But this didn't affect the ritual; instead, it boosted the life force of Irisviel's new body even further.

Now it was about three Kiritsugus' worth.

Fu Yuan abruptly stopped his swinging legs, staring at Irisviel in astonishment. That aura of destruction and calamity was all too familiar to him.

Honkai!

Fu Yuan felt things had gotten a bit serious. He'd never known the Imaginary Tree had this much energy—enough to reach into other worlds.

Or was it because of him? That made sense—how else could he have triggered Honkai energy in the first place? That was only scientific!

So...

Was he a world traitor?

But it didn't seem like a big deal. The world of Magi wasn't necessarily better than Honkai's. At least under Otto's approach—using control over human technology—the destructive power seemed weaker than here.

Switching styles once in a while wasn't bad. Fu Yuan thought this, and suddenly felt a surge of anticipation.

Touko, true to her reputation as a genius, detected that energy the moment it appeared. But she could do nothing—the ritual was already over.

She wiped the non-existent sweat from her forehead, ready to discuss how to settle the remaining payment.

Then she saw the shota who'd been sitting on the big stone suddenly grow taller, becoming... a little alluring. Excellent!

Divine Grace.

The Honkai energy that had just begun spreading through this world was instantly annihilated—and Fu Yuan had only lifted a finger.

The Honkai energy emanating from his own body was also being continuously destroyed and erased. He swept his gaze around and met Irisviel's stunned expression.

He snapped his fingers. The chains behind him obediently bound her and pulled her over, along with the R... the original body. But he didn't do anything more—just pulled them behind him.

Irisviel, suddenly restrained: ?

Then he looked somewhat bored at Touko and Old Man Aozaki, whose eyes had grown intensely fervent.

"How's the remaining payment?" The chains behind him obediently set down one Irisviel, simultaneously handing him a can of cola stolen from who-knows-where.

Right, remaining payment. Ridiculous. If Senior Sister were negotiating—no, even if he did it himself—forget remaining payment, the other side would be paying him extra.

A new energy source! And she could've tacked on more conditions too. Irisviel's account was basically ruined; she should delete it and start over.

Touko suddenly furrowed her brow. Though this version of Fu Yuan clearly hit her buttons more, her interest had inexplicably waned.

"How about this?" As the words fell, a crate of Honkai Crystals landed before Touko, Honkai energy visibly spreading.

Fu Yuan suddenly felt the cola in his hand wasn't so appealing anymore. Those words just now—they weren't his.

And he could swear that Senior Sister was definitely up to no good.

Irisviel stared at the crate of Honkai Crystals, falling silent. This was really worthless! Even the fact that she'd been suddenly tied up earlier was pushed aside by this realization.

Touko was stunned. Touko pondered. Touko was ecstatic.

This—this was all that Shota's doing. That meant she could team up with that old geezer under the pretext of collecting more Honkai Crystals, get him to help her, and then do this to him, and that.

Having quickly worked through the logic, Touko's gaze grew dangerous, fiercely predatory.

"I wonder if this gem and its crafting method might be parted with, Your Excellency?"

As the transaction concluded, a peculiar energy began to fade from both parties. Old Man Aozaki, noticing this, started chuckling cheerfully.

At the same time, he released his own magical pressure. It was merely a simple display of power, yet it carried a distinctly different sensation.

As for why he didn't just take it by force—the Einzbern Family still had some face to consider. Of course, if the other side refused, he'd still have to seize it anyway.

"No way!" ×2

Irisviel looked in confusion at Touko, who had spoken the same words at the same time. Had she misjudged her? Was she actually a good person?

Old Man Aozaki similarly stared in bewilderment at his heir, who kept making mistakes today. What's wrong with you, little buddy?

Touko's mind raced.

Old geezer = very strong

Very strong = the other side might back down

Back down = deal succeeds

Old geezer = old and cunning = political issues

Political issues = can't use force

Can't use force = Shota's gone

No way—she absolutely couldn't let that happen!