Becoming Aozaki Touko

Aozaki Touko raised her spoon, closing one eye with a playful smile. "Sit down first, wait a little, and you'll get a hot breakfast soon."

"I understand."

The girl nodded, turned, and walked to the table to sit down.

Then she quietly began to wait, her black pearl-like eyes fixed on Touko bustling in the kitchen, and the awkward feelings in her heart gradually began to dissipate.

For a friend returning after a long absence, she was naturally happy.

Yet perhaps because it had been far too long, she felt a sense of being abandoned, even though she knew Aozaki Touko was only devoted to magecraft research.

But when she saw the photo of Aozaki Touko with someone named Irisviel, Her mood suddenly turned sour.

Reason unknown, cause unknown, emotion unknown.

In short, she was very unhappy.

Chapter 34: Sealing Designation

"...Sorry to keep you waiting."

Aozaki Touko set two bowls of steaming hot porridge on the dining table. A rich aroma wafted from the bowls, easily stirring the appetite of someone who had just woken up.

Especially now, in the cold winter.

To have a bowl of steaming hot porridge at this time

Was absolutely a delightful thing.

"...Thank you."

Kuonji Alice grasped the spoon resting in the bowl and took a cautious bite. A familiar taste surged onto her taste buds in an instant, the same as the breakfast Aozaki Touko used to make.

"...After being away for so long, your skills haven't dulled at all. I thought your cooking would have regressed quite a bit during your time playing the young lady at Einzbern."

She set down the spoon and said with some surprise.

"Hmm... losing my touch is something that should be impossible for me. Any technique I've memorized, no matter how much time passes, I can recall it whenever I want. I can even remember memories carried in the maternal body."

Aozaki Touko explained with a light laugh.

Now that she had mastered Gene Lock Release, it wasn't just about unlocking her physical output—her ability to interfere with herself was exquisitely precise.

Actively reading and awakening memories settled in the brain was as simple as eating or drinking for her.

If she wanted, she could return to her peak state in less than three seconds.

"...If you became a warrior, you might even reach the level of a Primordial Hero."

Hearing this, Kuonji Alice said in a somewhat odd tone.

This was her honest opinion. With her understanding of Aozaki Touko, she could clearly say that Touko now leaned more toward being a warrior than a magecraft researcher.

In battle, she didn't use exquisite magecraft techniques; instead, she used power that pushed beyond limits to face her enemies, achieving strength like a Primordial Hero through unparalleled combat skills.

"That was an accident... I didn't expect my skill tree to go crooked."

Aozaki Touko poked at the porridge in her bowl, her tone strange. "At first, I was just studying Dollcraft when a flash of inspiration hit me, and I thought, 'This might work.'"

"So I went and specifically experimented with that idea."

That's right. The origin of so-called Gene Lock Release was just an accident. It was purely a flash of inspiration while researching doll techniques—she thought it seemed feasible, so she studied it for a while.

Who knew the results would be so gratifying, granting her power on the level of a True Ancestor Dead Apostle?

"All of this is the accumulation of your past efforts~"

Kuonji Alice said flatly. "Still, you should be a little careful. The technique of unlocking human potential already meets the standards for a Sealing Designation."

Even so, she didn't really care much.

Would the Mage's Association be stupid enough to try sealing the heir of the Fifth Magic?

Not to mention that Aozaki Touko's strength was already absurdly high.

"Hmm... I'll keep an eye on it."

Aozaki Touko nodded slightly, then smiled. "But I'm actually quite curious about those Executors. If I could fight them, it might give me some good inspiration."

In a while, her Grandfather should announce 'Aoko' as the heir.

Then, without the protection of being the Magic User's heir, there should be plenty of people who dislike her, pushing for a Sealing Designation to deal with her.

As for whether the Sealing Designation would succeed, that question depended on how bold the Mage's Association was.

Right now, her 'Gene Lock Release' absolutely met the standards for a Sealing Designation—it was rare and irreproducible, something no one else could learn in a lifetime.

That's right. Don't think Aozaki Touko developed it quickly.

But if someone else tried to learn it, it would be absolutely impossible. Even a prodigy like 'Kayneth' couldn't learn it.

Because learning this magecraft required two prerequisites.

First, having a level of human cognition close to Aozaki Touko's. To achieve that level of cognition, even a clever person would likely need decades of study.

Second, possessing Mage Circuits with overwhelming precision. This was essentially an innate talent, a personal limitation that basically couldn't be obtained.

"Even against an Executor... you could still lose, you know."

Kuonji Alice's tone was a touch more serious. Even if Aozaki Touko now possessed considerable power, the world of magecraft was filled with all sorts of bizarre tricks—items that could reverse cause and effect, for instance.

"Relax. As long as I have a chance to start over, losing is fine too."

Aozaki Touko's eyes held a hint of a smile, her tone carrying a pointed meaning.

"...You've completed that?"

Kuonji Alice blinked slightly, her voice soft as she asked. Her gaze seemed a little unfocused, and her delicate cheeks flushed red, as if what she referred to was something deeply embarrassing to speak of.

"I have."

Aozaki Touko nodded lightly. "I can now create dolls identical to myself. Even if this body dies, I'll revive from the next one."

"I see."

Kuonji Alice's cheeks still faintly red, she nodded, then fell silent, eating her porridge without another word.

As the Fairy Tale Witch, if she were to conceive and give birth, her life would rapidly wither and end.

It was a coercive force akin to a curse.

Even her own mother had been unable to escape this outcome.

Generation after generation, the cycle repeated.

Soon after giving birth and transferring the Magic Crest to her daughter, death followed.

But now, Aozaki Touko could create bodies capable of housing a soul.

This meant that if she later became pregnant and bore a child, she would no longer have to follow the rule of a witch dying shortly after childbirth.

Aozaki Touko would prepare a suitable body for her to revive in, allowing her to bypass the witch's curse.

Of course, using this resurrection technique came at a tremendous cost.

At the very least, a nine-figure sum of money was needed to purchase a single body from Aozaki Touko.

There was no way she could easily produce that amount.

But that didn't mean there wasn't a compromise.

She could avoid that astronomical fee by carrying Aozaki Touko's child.

In other words, through Conceptual Conception, she could become pregnant with Aozaki Touko's child.

The consequence of this would be that Aozaki Touko's descendant would inherit the Fairy Tale Witch's Magic Crest.

And she herself wouldn't lose out—she would fulfill her duty as the Fairy Tale Witch, passing on the Magic Crest, while also escaping the fate of death.

It was a win-win situation.

The only catch was that she would have to become Aozaki Touko's wife.

Chapter 35: The Tohno Family

"What's your opinion, Alice?"

Aozaki Touko wore a sly smile, putting on a serious face. "If you need it, we could start solving your problem tonight."

On the dining table, two bowls of porridge steamed, as if heating the very air around them.

"..."

Kuonji Alice's delicate cheeks flushed crimson. She kept her head down, eating her porridge in silence, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand. But once she finished the bowl, she seemed to have no more reason to avoid the topic.

So, in her usual rational and cold tone, she said:

"...I'm not yet of legal marriageable age. There's no need to consider this issue for now. Besides, children are far too troublesome for me at this point."

Her voice was very flat, and her reasoning was perfectly sound.

She was still in her growing years. The curse of the Fairy Tale Witch's fate was far from imminent. There was simply no reason to bear a child yet.

"I see."

Aozaki Touko gave a slight nod. "If you ever need it, Alice, feel free to let me know. I'll come back as soon as I can."

In truth, she had never seriously intended to have a child with Alice right now. She was just acting on the thought that seeing Alice's flustered expression would be cute, so she used the topic to tease her a little.

It wasn't a particularly complicated reason—like a little boy who enjoys bullying the girl he likes, the motive was simple and mischievous.

"...You're still as perverse as ever."

Kuonji Alice glared at Touko with some displeasure. She understood Aozaki Touko's nasty habits well enough, but the topic Touko had brought up was just too explosive, which was why she had lost her composure.

"...Hehe~"

Without denying it, Aozaki Touko gave a sly chuckle and chose to stop there. If she kept provoking Alice, she might end up getting thrown out of the Western Mansion.

"I'm full. You can clean up the dishes."

With that, Kuonji Alice's cheeks puffed slightly. She set down her bowl and chopsticks, turned, and headed upstairs.

Since childhood, neither of them had been fixed as the cook. In fact, it had always been casual, but they operated in a tacit understanding: if one person cooked, the other would automatically wash the dishes.

But this time, it was a small revenge for Touko's perverse teasing.

She chose to leave the dishwashing to Aozaki Touko.

"...Hmm, it's a bit cold." Watching Alice leave, Aozaki Touko took a bite of the porridge, then suddenly furrowed her brow. Probably because she'd been too absorbed in teasing Alice, her steaming hot porridge had gone slightly lukewarm, and the taste wasn't as good anymore.

On the other side.

Back in her room, Kuonji Alice flopped onto the bed, burying her delicate face into the blanket, then murmured something in a low voice that was hard to make out.

To an ordinary magus, this would probably look like Aozaki Touko coveting the Fairy Tale Witch's Magic Crest.

After all, for a magus, the Magic Crest is more important than descendants, even more important than one's own life. As a pure magus, Aozaki Touko wanting to obtain such a time-honored Magic Crest—isn't that only natural?

One must understand, the Magic Crest isn't just the accumulated knowledge and power of a magus family passed down through generations; it also represents the possibility of a magus reaching the Root.

If she could obtain a time-honored Magic Crest and have her own descendants inherit it, no magus would refuse such a thing.

Especially... when the maternal talent is this exceptional, it makes it all the more irresistible.

But that wasn't actually Aozaki Touko's motive.

"...Talking about wanting the Magic Crest—what she really wants is me." Kuonji Alice hugged the blanket tightly, letting out a low, muffled voice.

As for Aozaki Touko's abnormality, she'd actually noticed it when she was very young, but since she didn't dislike it, she'd never distanced herself.

Aozaki Touko's sexual orientation was twisted and deviant. She had absolutely no interest in men, had been that way since childhood, and had always harbored a certain covetousness toward her, her close friend.

She knew this.

So, Aozaki Touko's earlier words weren't simply about resolving the Fairy Tale Witch's curse—they were also a veiled confession.