Becoming Aozaki Touko

"Am I not the heir to the Fifth Magic?"

The hand turning the pages paused slightly, and Aozaki Touko asked back as if nothing had happened.

In this world, almost everyone believed that Aozaki Touko would be the future Fifth Magic User—even her parents and Aozaki Aoko thought so.

Moreover... when she was young, countless magi had come to visit.

All of them came to witness her, the future Fifth Magic User.

"If you wish to inherit the Fifth Magic, then the Fifth Magic will surely be yours. However, before that, you and Aoko must fight to determine the right of succession."

Without answering Touko's question, her Grandfather simply declared this.

"Grandfather, is this a whim of yours?"

Closing the book in her hands, Aozaki Touko asked calmly.

She showed no anger at the prospect of fighting her sister to the death over the inheritance. She merely inquired why her Grandfather had suddenly changed his mind.

"...I thought you already knew the reason."

Her Grandfather let out a cold laugh, then spoke on his own: "Aside from the very beginning, when you were still following the path to becoming a Magic User, haven't you been pursuing your own way ever since?"

"Why, when you could inherit the greatest miracle all magi seek, do you insist on walking a divergent path? When the correct road is laid out before you?"

"Or have you already guessed something?"

The cold voice was merely narrating, with no hint of interrogation mixed in.

In truth, he didn't care at all that Aozaki Touko had strayed from the path of the Magic User, nor did he even bother to correct her thoughts. He simply continued teaching and answering her questions as always.

Then he watched to see how far Aozaki Touko could go.

And then, he got an unexpected answer.

The girl who developed and acted according to her own will achieved unimaginable success. Now she had already stood at the peak of the mystical world. In just over a decade of research, she had surpassed the accumulated achievements of generations of magus families.

If he hadn't been the lucky one who entered the Root.

Then, the achievements of this girl today would be enough for him to look up to for a lifetime, without even the heart to pursue them—because this had already surpassed what effort could achieve.

Therefore, he became hesitant.

Should he choose Aozaki Aoko, who had better compatibility with the Magic, or Aozaki Touko, the embodiment of talent?

Choosing Aozaki Aoko would allow the Fifth Magic to be displayed to its fullest. Choosing Aozaki Touko would allow the Fifth Magic to be developed to its greatest potential.

Either choice would yield excellent results.

But surely, one was better than the other.

Such a conflicted thought was born.

A very greedy idea, but for him, a pure magus.

Wanting the inherited Magic Crest to have a better host.

Wasn't that only natural?

"As I thought, Grandfather never intended to hand the Fifth Magic to me from the start, did you?"

Aozaki Touko turned her head, her gaze turning cold: "But then why have you suddenly changed your mind now, especially when I've made progress?"

"Everything in this world is determined by value. Now that you, Touko, hold higher value, isn't it only natural to change the decision?"

Her Grandfather replied thus.

"...What a detestable answer."

Aozaki Touko sighed and asked again: "Then why must Aoko and I fight? There's no fairness in this at all!"

"Nor can it accurately measure our value."

At this point, even without using her own power directly, she could easily kill Aoko just by relying on the forces she had gathered.

The simplest method would be to have Emiya Kiritsugu hunt Aoko down. A single bullet from afar would easily take Aoko's life.

There was absolutely no difficulty.

Unless her Grandfather stepped in to tilt the scales, or Kuonji Alice came to the rescue.

Otherwise, Aoko had no chance at all.

"I just want to see how far you'll go for the Fifth Magic."

Her Grandfather said coldly: "If you can erase your superfluous emotions and devote yourself entirely to the study of the Fifth Magic, that would naturally be the best outcome for me."

Unlike Aoko, who was merely a talent to be used, he needed Touko's research talent to be focused as much as possible on the Fifth Magic. If she could abandon everything to develop and study the Fifth Magic, that would be an excellent choice for him.

Yes, it was a reason that simple.

Only one heir to the Fifth Magic was needed. Even if the other had great talent, it meant little. Even if she died, there was no regret.

If Aozaki Touko was willing to abandon everything and exist solely for the Fifth Magic.

Then handing the Fifth Magic to her was not out of the question.

"...Killing one's sister to attain the Way, is it."

Aozaki Touko let out a soft laugh, shook her head slightly, then asked again: "Since Aoko's priority to inherit the Magic Crest is above mine, why did you still choose to bring me here to study magecraft?"

This question wasn't just something her past life wanted to know.

Even in this life, it left her puzzled.

"I thought you'd already figured that out."

Her grandfather gave a cold smile, then began to explain: "Fruits from the same tree are hard to tell apart before they ripen. What I wanted was simply the most perfect fruit."

"So, after discerning both of your aptitudes, I chose to bring you here for magecraft training, to let your talent flourish. If there were unexpected results, I would consider you as a candidate for the Fifth Magic inheritance."

"If you only grew along the path I predicted, then you would serve as Aoko's whetstone on her way to becoming a Magic User."

"Either way, it's not a bad outcome. Why wouldn't I choose you to study magecraft?"

The cold words echoed within the cave.

This was an answer spoken from a magus's standpoint—prioritizing the inheritance of the Magic Crest above all else. Thinking with that logic, it did explain her grandfather's reasoning.

Chapter 33: Reason Unknown

Inside the cave.

Candlelight flickered.

"...Grandfather, how much longer can your body hold out?"

Aozaki Touko shook her head, then said: "As a practitioner of Dollcraft, I should still be able to help extend your life for a while. Do you need me to examine you?"

Barring any surprises, her grandfather's body had already reached its physiological limit. In other words, without treatment, his biological functions would soon cease.

"If I don't die, you'd be troubled, wouldn't you?"

Aozaki Grandfather replied coldly: "At present, I have about three or four years of life left. If necessary, I can stop my biological functions at any time."

"As long as the Magic Crest inheritance is complete."

It wasn't a lie. Without external intervention, his life would indeed last only three or four more years.

As for the exact timing, that would depend on when he felt it was appropriate to draw his last breath.

Picking an auspicious day to cease his biological functions.

That sort of thing wasn't beyond him.

As for extending his life, he didn't care about it either. It was simply his life approaching its end.

If he wanted to prolong it, he actually had quite a few methods.

But there was no need. It was entirely unnecessary.

He only needed to pass the Magic Crest of the Fifth Magic to a suitable heir.

At that point, his mission would be complete.

"...I see."

Aozaki Touko stood up and walked out of the cave, waving her hand without looking back.

"Give the Fifth Magic to Aoko. A family with two Magic Users—you must be quite pleased with that!"

"...Heh heh heh heh."

Aozaki Grandfather watched Touko leave with cold eyes. When her figure vanished completely, he suddenly let out a delighted laugh.

Yes, perhaps this was the best outcome.

Having two descendants with exceptional talent was a very troubling thing.

But if both descendants could reach the pinnacle of magus-hood...

That would be nothing short of a dream.

Leaving her grandfather's magecraft workshop.

Aozaki Touko looked up at the bright moon in the sky, feeling much lighter in her heart. Now the Fifth Magic had nothing to do with her anymore. She only needed to follow the path she had envisioned.

As for whether the realm she sought could be attained—

The future would give her the answer.

"Next... I'll go to the Azu Family."

Thinking this, she turned and headed toward the Kuzuki Western Mansion.

By now, the people at home should be in their rest period. Going back to disturb them wouldn't be appropriate, so it was better to head to Kuonji Alice's place to spend the night.

As for the problem of disturbing Alice's sleep—

That wasn't an issue. She could let herself in without triggering any security measures, more casually than returning to her own home.

Morning.

The sky was hazy with the first light of dawn.

Aozaki Touko, her hair tied in a single ponytail and wearing a white chef's apron, stirred the congee in a small pot with a ladle. From her practiced movements, it was clear she had done this many times before.

Even though she hadn't cooked in two or three years.

Still, there shouldn't be much decline in her culinary skills.

After all, it had all become muscle memory.

"Coo coo coo~"

Robin flapped its wings and landed on a nearby stool, then stayed perfectly still, watching. It knew this was absolutely not the time to disturb Aozaki Touko.

Otherwise, it would soon learn the true meaning of cruelty.

"...Nngh~"

On the other side, Kuonji Alice woke from her bed. Between sleepy blinks, she caught a familiar scent—one she knew very well, the aroma that had greeted her countless mornings.

Her drowsiness vanished in an instant. Without changing out of her sleepwear, she slipped on her slippers and headed downstairs, a hint of urgency in her steps.

Then, as she came down to the kitchen.

A familiar figure had reappeared in the Western Mansion—a friend from her childhood, a girl named Aozaki Touko, the one who had willfully barged into her life.

"Good morning~"

Aozaki Touko turned around, seeing the black-haired girl appear, and offered a warm, sunny smile, as bright and moving as the morning light.

"...Good morning."

Kuonji Alice blinked her eyes, her voice flat as she gave a perfunctory reply. Her cool tone carried no discernible emotion, as if she were addressing a stranger.

But that was only "as if."

"Mhm, it's almost ready."