Those Who Drive the World Forward / A Challenge Issued on the Night of the Full Moon

This girl called Aozaki Touko... was clearly extorting her in broad daylight.

"Even if you sold me... I still couldn't come up with that much money!"

In fact, if she had two hundred million dollars, why would she still work as a bounty hunter? Although she hadn't become a bounty hunter entirely for the money, having two hundred million dollars would obviously give her better options.

"...That's true."

Aozaki Touko made a you're right expression, then turned to Beo beside her and casually said, "Kill her, Beo... Consider it your lunch."

"Uh... yes!"

Beo was slightly stunned, but his gaze quickly turned cold. The aura of a Phantasmal Beast erupted from him, and that transcendent existence sent chills through the air, making it impossible for anyone to even think of resisting.

"Wait! Don't you think that decision is a little too hasty?!"

Stirred by Beo's aura, Natalia couldn't help panicking. The Succubus blood within her was trembling. The child before her was a monster far beyond human understanding.

"Should I still kill her?"

Hearing that, Beo looked toward Touko as if asking for confirmation.

"Wait a little~"

Aozaki Touko smiled. "I suppose that would be a little hasty too. Then let's lower the conditions a bit. You'll work for me from now on, until you've repaid the two hundred million dollars."

"...I understand."

Natalia glanced at the utterly innocent-looking Beo and smiled bitterly in resignation. This heir to a Magic User was apparently far more terrifying than she had imagined.

If she were given another chance to choose, she absolutely wouldn't take this mission again.

"Then sign the contract!"

Aozaki Touko gave a slight nod.

Seeing this, Irisviel took the contract documents from her handbag and placed them on the table. Clearly, the documents had been prepared long ago, with even the contents already drafted.

Natalia: "..."

Boss, you're so powerful that you could have just told me to sign it. Why did you have to beat around the bush, scare me half to death, and only then bring out the contract?

She really had no ability to resist at all.

The Person Who Advances the World

Berlin.

The biting cold wind carried snowflakes through the prosperous city.

At that moment, Aozaki Touko stood alone on the roof of the Umbrella Corporation. She seemed to be waiting for something, or perhaps simply admiring the night view.

Suddenly, the cold wind grew stronger.

The roar of rotating propellers came from the distant sky.

A helicopter flew straight toward the Umbrella Corporation building. Its destination was unmistakably the rooftop where Aozaki Touko stood.

"...Now that's extravagant... I suppose this is what they call the Financial Demon King!"

Aozaki Touko raised her head. Her orange hair fluttered in the wind as she fixed her gaze on a middle-aged man aboard the helicopter. He looked like a medieval nobleman, carried a cane, and wore a gentlemanly smile.

An elegant nobleman. That was probably the conclusion any ordinary person would reach upon seeing him.

"Hahaha... I'm merely an idle person who worries too much!"

On the helicopter, Van Fem leaped down from nearly ten meters in the air and landed effortlessly beside Aozaki Touko. Apart from blowing away the accumulated snow, the impact of his fall caused no unusual phenomenon whatsoever.

A height that would have shattered bones and killed someone on the spot had no effect on him at all. His physical prowess had long surpassed that of humanity.

This was the physical constitution of a True Ancestor... a limit no ordinary person could ever reach.

"If only that were really the case."

Aozaki Touko gave an indifferent laugh. She showed no tension at standing beside a True Ancestor, as if he were merely an ordinary middle-aged man. Her expression remained elegant and composed.

"Looks like Miss Aozaki has misunderstood me somewhat!"

Van Fem shrugged and smiled bitterly. "But I believe we'll have plenty of time to understand each other slowly in the future and strip away the usual impressions attached to True Ancestors."

"Lord Van Fem cares about the whole world. That's far beyond what an ordinary person like me can fathom."

Aozaki Touko offered a compliment, then her tone turned cold. "However, there's one thing I really want to understand. Why would a True Ancestor concerned with ecological and climate protection take an interest in an ordinary magus like me, and even make a special trip to steal my research results?"

The wind and snow suddenly grew even colder.

Van Fem stared at the young girl beside him. The cold wind and snow tugged at his clothes, and his magic power instinctively began to circulate. It was a reaction born from an instinctive sense of danger.

Incredible... She was clearly only fifteen or sixteen years old.

Yet unbelievably, she could make a True Ancestor feel threatened.

Just how far had this girl grown within Einzbern?

"...It's probably just a coincidence."

As if he hadn't noticed the icy atmosphere, Van Fem continued speaking on his own. "After all, you're the heir to the Fifth Magic. Even I would pay some attention to you. That is, after all, power that stands at the pinnacle."

"At first, I thought it would be enough just to learn the basic information. But after discovering that you were researching Dollcraft and possessed an astonishing rate of progress, I began paying even more attention to you. I wanted to understand your existence better."

"Aozaki Touko, I'm very interested in you!"

His gentle, gentlemanly voice echoed through the cold snowstorm.

If an ordinary woman heard this, her heart might race and her cheeks might grow hot.

But.

"...That's disgusting... Are you a peeping tom?!"

Disgust appeared on Aozaki Touko's pretty face. She folded her arms and rubbed them vigorously against each other. This wasn't because she was cold, but because Van Fem's words had given her goosebumps.

"The more I observe you, the more I discover your abnormality!"

As if he hadn't heard her disgust, Van Fem continued. "After observing you for some time, I reached an interesting conclusion. Aozaki Touko may very well become someone who advances social progress, like great figures such as Einstein and Newton."

"..."

The corner of Aozaki Touko's mouth twitched. In a completely flat tone, she said, "...That's certainly an extraordinary evaluation. But I'm afraid I may disappoint you. Advancing social progress is such a grand undertaking that an ordinary magus like me can't accomplish it."

"Perhaps you have no intention of advancing society."

Van Fem didn't mind and simply said, "But your excessively extraordinary talent will change society, even unintentionally."

As he spoke, he tapped the ground with his cane.

"The anticancer medicine you're researching now... isn't it an obvious example? Even if your original motive was merely to obtain money, it's undeniable that you've advanced medicine by a step."

"..."

Aozaki Touko was speechless.

In truth, her anticancer medicine was merely a by-product of her Dollcraft research. She had combined it with the medical knowledge from her previous life and transformed it into a drug that could be manufactured scientifically.

Her true purpose had indeed been to accumulate money for research funding in the magecraft world.

But... it had also genuinely advanced this world's fight against cancer.

Challenge, on the Night of the Full Moon

"...As expected of a long-lived True Ancestor. You possess a more transcendent perspective. You've probably already figured out the patterns behind the rise and fall of humanity."

Aozaki Touko chuckled lightly, resting her slender hand on the rooftop railing.

She looked toward the building opposite and said casually:

"But you may be disappointed. Advancing the times sometimes requires more than just people. What matters even more is the environment and era they live in."

"There may not be any room for me to make a difference right now."

This was a lie... If she truly wanted to push society through large-scale reforms, she really could initiate a massive revolution.

She only needed to wait until she became the Third Magus, then materialize the souls of all humanity. At that point, every human would escape birth, aging, sickness, and death, as well as love, hatred, and resentment, becoming higher lifeforms.

A transformation of that scale should count as unprecedented, shouldn't it?

"Time will bear witness to that."

Van Fem smiled, then followed Touko's gaze. On the neighboring building were quite a few observers, including Executors from the Holy Church, members of the Mage's Association, and people from various other chaotic factions.

To be honest, being watched by so many people was rather unpleasant.

However, it was unavoidable. One of them was a True Ancestor among the Dead Apostles, while the other was the heir to a Magic User. Both were extraordinary figures.

If they fought in Berlin, the resulting destruction would be unimaginable.

Neither side wanted to see that happen, so every faction had sent so many people to watch this scene. Their purpose was to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.

"...I hate being watched like an animal. If you keep observing me out of some twisted interest, sooner or later I'll lose control and kill you!"

Aozaki Touko's tone was cold. She was clearly speaking to Van Fem, but her murderous intent poured toward the neighboring building, as if warning them not to go too far.

To be honest, with her keen perception, the gazes watching from the opposite building were as conspicuous as searchlights, and they were beginning to irritate her.

Not long after her words fell, the unrestrained gazes from across the way suddenly became cautious and concealed.

After all, the person opposite them was the heir to a Magic User. Offending her so openly simply wasn't worth it.

"Hehe... I'll pay attention to the distance!"

Van Fem smiled. "This time, I was simply too curious about whether the anticancer medicine you're about to sell contains any mysterious ingredients."

"What meaning is there in being curious about that?"

Aozaki Touko asked coldly.

"Of course there is... if it's purely a scientific product."

Van Fem's gaze became serious. "My evaluation of your talent will rise another level, and it will also strengthen my theory."

"...Is that why you stole my research results?"

Hearing his answer, Aozaki Touko felt speechless.

Van Fem's way of thinking was rather strange. Perhaps the thought patterns of long-lived species differed from those of short-lived ones. He seemed to enjoy observing humans whose lives were fleeting.

"...That's not the only reason~"

Van Fem shook his head and revealed a gentlemanly smile. "Based on my understanding of you, you should have almost finished developing the Rose Maiden by now. So I wanted to see your research results."

"..."

Hearing this, Aozaki Touko's aura suddenly turned cold, and unmistakable killing intent appeared in her eyes. "Magicians are beings who toy with mysteries. Being understood too thoroughly is a major taboo."

As soon as her voice fell, the observers in the neighboring building grew tense. Faintly, the roar of a beast came from below the Umbrella Corporation building, as if a battle could erupt at any moment.

It wasn't late at night yet.

The people who had finished work were currently enjoying their leisure time.

This wasn't the right time for a conflict to break out.

"As the most outstanding Puppeteer, deducing the progress of a growing Doll Master like you is incredibly simple."

Van Fem maintained his elegant smile. "However, that's all it amounts to. You're now like Avicebron in his time. You've reached a level that can no longer be casually inferred."

He wasn't exaggerating. He truly had no way to estimate how far this girl's Dollcraft had developed.

Unless he could personally fight this girl.

"Let's have a battle."

Aozaki Touko turned around and revealed a confident smile. "If you lose, offer sincere compensation. If I lose, I'll overlook your discourtesy for the time being."

"...Are you using me as a measuring stick?"

Hearing the girl's words, Van Fem smiled happily. "But I really have no reason to refuse. After all, I also want to know exactly how far you've reached."

"Mm... Then let's set the challenge for three days from now."

With that, Aozaki Touko turned and left.

"...Three days from now. That will be the night of the full moon."

Van Fem looked up at the moon. Then a sharp, cold wind swept past, and the man had vanished from the rooftop without anyone noticing. As the wind and snow howled, they completely buried every trace of his presence.