Chapter Forty-Eight: Where the Hearts Lie / Chapter Forty-Nine: Being Handsome Is Enough ...

Clock Tower.

Inside the Lord's private room in the Celestial Mechanics Department.

A man named "Marisbury Animusphere" stood before the window, gazing outside with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

On the desk not far away lay intelligence concerning Aozaki Touko's arrival at the Clock Tower.

"Aozaki Touko is coming?"

He had never crossed paths with Aozaki Touko, but he had heard that this girl was a badass who had defeated the True Ancestor Dead Apostles. Her strength was unquestionably formidable.

Of course, if that were all there was to it, he would not have paid such close attention to the girl named Aozaki Touko. No matter how much of a genius she was, what did she have to do with them?

However, this girl possessed one quality that greatly attracted him.

She was very rich, exceptionally rich, super rich—and it was foreseeable that she would become even richer in the future, gaining control over an astronomical financial force.

That was right. This girl wielded a financial power frightening enough to make people gasp. Although most people had yet to realize this, those who needed huge sums of money for research could easily see it.

Moreover, this girl was not only capable of making money herself; she also had the connections to mobilize the financial power of other forces. There was no need to elaborate on Einzbern, while the Financial Demon King of the Dead Apostals was also one of the forces she could persuade.

There were also quite a few other forces, large and small. If she wanted to, the money she could raise in a short time would probably be enough to buy a small country.

A wealthy woman like this... was exactly the sort of person Animsphere needed to win over and invest in.

Chapter Forty-Eight: Where the Hearts Lie

Einzbern Castle.

The roar of a helicopter once again rang across the sky. This quiet castle, far from human habitation, suddenly became somewhat noisy and lively.

At this moment, there was no need for any explanation.

Hearing that familiar rotor sound, all the Androids knew that Aozaki Touko, who had been away for some time, had returned to Einzbern.

The family, which normally operated with the precision of a machine, experienced a small commotion. The Androids who should have been mechanically carrying out their duties all turned their attention to the descending helicopter.

The doors and windows that had been closed year-round were opened in unspoken unison.

The Androids poked their heads out one after another, looking at Aozaki Touko aboard the helicopter as ordinary people gazed at celebrities, as a nation's citizens gazed at their king, or as humans gazed upon the god they worshiped.

In short... in their eyes,

the existence named "Aozaki Touko" was special. She was the savior who would fulfill Einzbern's long-held wish, and, even more importantly, a human who treated the Androids differently.

Aozaki Touko regarded them as equal human beings.

She had also given the Androids happiness of their own.

Although the recipients of that happiness were not them, but rather the existence named Irisviel, who served as the vessel for the Lesser Grail.

That alone was enough to change their impressions of her.

The helicopter slowly descended. Its spinning rotors stirred the air, blowing away the snow piled up around it and revealing a clean, tidy patch of ground.

Only then did the helicopter door open.

The moment Aozaki Touko stepped out of the helicopter, a streak of golden light shot into her arms. It hugged her and rubbed against her vigorously while letting out a tender, pleasant female voice.

"Master, welcome back."

Beo rubbed her head against Aozaki Touko with all her strength, breathing in her pleasant scent.

"Mhm, I'm back."

After stroking Beo in her arms, Aozaki Touko carried her down from the helicopter. Seeing Irisviel, Illyasviel, and the others approaching from not far away, she revealed a warm smile.

"I'm back~"

"Welcome back, Touko."

Hearing this, Irisviel revealed an elegant smile like that of a noblewoman. She approached and pulled her husband into her arms, giving her husband, who had returned home after a long absence, a warm embrace.

This was also what she believed to be her duty as a wife.

"Mhm, let me introduce you."

After hugging her for a while, Aozaki Touko turned to look at the Miko Futago walking down and said with a smile, "Their names are Kohaku and Hisui. They are members of the Miyokage Family, one of Japan's four Exorcist Families. From now on, they will be my personal maids."

As soon as she finished speaking, Illyasviel, who was standing to the side, pressed her lips together, revealing a dejected expression. She felt disappointed that Aozaki Touko had found other maids and began worrying that Aozaki Touko might abandon her.

Just then, Aozaki Touko turned toward the tearful Illyasviel and said with an amused expression,

"Illyasviel, as my head maid, I'll be counting on you to train Hisui and Kohaku."

"...Huh?"

Illyasviel was startled, then hurriedly said, "I will definitely train them into maids capable of standing on their own. Please rest assured, Miss Touko."

Her dejected mood instantly vanished.

As expected, she was the maid best suited to Miss Touko.

She had merely been promoted to head maid.

Atop the castle.

"..."

Hadon leaned on his cane in silence. He had not intended to go welcome Aozaki Touko, nor did he have any reason to welcome her return. In fact, if he went to greet her, he would only turn the atmosphere into a complete mess.

At least he had enough self-awareness to recognize that.

"...To think she has won over so many hearts. If this were an ordinary country, I should be being led to the gallows by now, shouldn't I? Aozaki Touko, it seems I'll have to raise my evaluation of you again."

He stated the facts with such coldness that he felt no emotion over them, nor did he intend to stop this trend. He was merely judging Aozaki Touko's abilities in this way.

Standing atop the castle and observing everything, he could sense the disturbance throughout Einzbern Castle. The instant Aozaki Touko waved toward the castle from the front courtyard, he clearly sensed how many Androids responded.

Almost all the Androids had reacted.

This was completely beyond his expectations. Even he, as the family head, could not receive such a response without exercising the authority of the family head.

This alone was enough to demonstrate what made Aozaki Touko special.

"...If you can win the Holy Grail War, then I don't mind handing Einzbern over to you. After all, a puppet like me, incapable of further progress, isn't really suited to controlling a family."

In the end, Hadon said this coldly before turning and leaving the top of the castle.

For him, completing the Third Magic was the entire meaning of his existence. If Aozaki Touko could accomplish it, then even if they gave away their entire family of puppets, there would truly be no need for regret.

Chapter Forty-Nine: Being Handsome Is Enough

Ryougi Family.

At that moment, in the formal reception room on the second floor.

"..."

Ryougi Shiki wore a kimono and knelt before a low table. A photograph of a girl lay on the table. As she stared at it, an irritable feeling rose in her heart.

The photograph showed a beautiful girl with waist-length orange hair and eyes glittering with dazzling determination. She seemed like the embodiment of confidence, as though she did not know the meaning of failure, a figure shining like sunlight.

This was an existence standing at the very top of the social circle. No matter what kind of environment she was in, she would naturally seize everyone's attention.

This was not because the girl was skilled at socializing.

It was because her overwhelming presence drowned everyone else out.

She was like the moon surrounded by stars.

"...Shiki, do you want to go see her?"

Across from her, a gentle woman dressed in a dark blue kimono spoke in a tranquil voice. "This is the first time I've seen you care so much about someone."

That night, after her daughter returned from the park, she had become somewhat absent-minded and had shown great concern over the intelligence Akiyong had reported.

She had immediately begun investigating the woman who had appeared that night.

As expected, she had quickly obtained relevant information: the heir to the renowned magecraft family Aozaki of Misaki City, a powerhouse whose strength ranked among the very best in the magecraft world, the owner of a pharmaceutical company worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and someone with numerous powerful individuals serving under her.

Her strength was definitely far greater than that of the Ryougi Family.

"Hasn't she already left Japan?"

Ryougi Shiki said flatly, "Besides... going after her so hastily wouldn't be a wise move. I'll think about it for a while longer."

She had not sensed anything dangerous about the girl named Aozaki Touko. Her refusal to seek her out was not due to considerations of profit. If she had to put it another way, it was probably the girl's act of sulking.

It was as though two unknown chess players had calculated her fate step by step, while she unknowingly acted according to their expectations.

That feeling was extremely unpleasant.

That girl probably understood her better than she understood herself, while the other one understood her even better than she did herself. Only she remained ignorant, able to act only according to their plans.

She had a premonition that seeking out Aozaki Touko would make her feel like a puppet on strings.

With this childish stubbornness in mind, she had given that answer.

"I understand~"

Shiki's mother gently nodded.

"...Mother, I'll take my leave first."

With that, Ryougi Shiki left the reception room and headed toward the sword dojo.

"..."

Watching her daughter leave, Mrs. Ryougi pressed her lips together slightly before lowering her head to look at the photograph on the table. To be honest, judging only from the surface information she had gathered, the girl named Aozaki Touko possessed tremendous power.

If she harbored ill intentions toward the Ryougi Family, she could probably erase them from Japan within a single night.

With such power, she had no need to employ any other strategies.

In other words, everything that had happened that night was very likely true. Her own daughter possessed an unknown personality, and she had a close relationship with the girl named Aozaki Touko.

However, if that were all, it would still be within the range of what they could accept...

But they had mentioned that Ori would die in the future, and that girl would create a body to carry Ori's soul.

It had been a simple conversation, but the information it revealed was terrifying.

They might possess the ability to observe the future, as well as the means to resurrect human beings.

They were practically godlike existences.

Einzbern Castle.

Aozaki Touko remained in her Magic Workshop, adjusting a puppet on the experimental table. This puppet had not been made to imitate a human completely.

It was a puppet in the ordinary sense of the word, made from wood and metal.

This was another series she planned to create. She would call it the secret technique "Hundred Puppet Maneuvers," a combat technique capable of controlling hundreds of puppets simultaneously.

According to her projections, it could easily conquer a small country. Every puppet possessed extremely powerful combat ability, was proficient in using various weapons and hidden weapons, and would be coated with deadly poison.

This was a puppet army that existed solely for battle!

...Well, all right.

In reality, she had merely gotten the sudden urge to cosplay Akasuna no Sasori.

She just thought it would be cool to pull out hundreds of puppets in an instant when fighting someone, then stare coldly at the enemy's astonished expression.

If that still wasn't intimidating enough, she could reveal that she had disguised herself as the puppet body she used as her main body. That would definitely be extremely intimidating, right?

Although, in terms of combat ability alone, they could not compare to the Rose Maiden she had painstakingly created.

But... this was cool!

Chapter Fifty: King Arthur Couldn't Possibly Be a Girl