Becoming Aozaki Touko's Life

Inside the magecraft workshop.

— Swish.

A heavy saber cut through the air, emitting a piercing shriek.

A wooden puppet, with its joints exposed, wielded a large saber with impressive force. Its movements were far more fluid and powerful than an ordinary person's.

"...Not too strong, not too weak. Perfect cannon fodder."

Not far away, Aozaki Touko stood with her arms crossed, sounding quite satisfied.

Immediately, four or five slender arms emerged from the ground, pulling the wooden puppet into her Reality Marble. Within the Reality Marble, hundreds of puppets of different types were then replicated using the original as a model.

Her Reality Marble was a semi-permanent barrier called the "Eternal Doll Kingdom." It was a semi-permanent Reality Marble based on her, relying on the superimposed power supply provided by the self-operating Reality Marbles of the Rose Maidens.

Inside it existed a doll production workshop, capable of manufacturing puppets under her subjective will.

These arms extending from the ground were actually the arms of the dolls within her Reality Marble, merely protruding partially from the Reality Marble.

If she wished, she could also extend legs to kick people, suddenly manifest an eye, or even suddenly sprout a pile of heads to scare someone.

In short... this Reality Marble had many functions.

— Knock knock

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Aozaki Touko granted permission, and then Illyasviel pushed the door open and walked in. She gave a slight bow to Aozaki Touko and said in a voice as clear as a mountain stream:

"Lady Touko, Patriarch Hadon wishes to speak with you about some matters."

"Mm… I happen to be free right now."

Aozaki Touko frowned slightly, then swayed her long orange hair, turning and walking with elegant steps towards Hadon's room.

"..."

Seeing this, Illyasviel wore a helpless smile. She knew Aozaki Touko didn't particularly like Hadon. It wasn't that they had any conflict; in fact, their interests were highly aligned.

However, they simply couldn't get along well.

"I should tidy up a bit."

Looking at the messy magecraft workshop, she picked up a broom and meticulously cleaned. Without disturbing any of the key items in the workshop, she tidied it up.

This was something only she could do. Even Miss Irisviel couldn't do what she did.

She was intimately familiar with all the important matters within the magecraft workshop and ensured she wouldn't touch any crucial items.

This was something only she, who had been personally instructed by Lady Touko, could have such authority to do.

Meanwhile.

A dim room.

"..."

Aozaki Touko and Hadon sat opposite each other. On the long table between them were two cups of black tea, with two beautiful maids standing behind each of them.

The curtains were tightly drawn, allowing no sunlight to enter.

The only light source in the room came from the several white candles burning on the wall sconces.

"Don't you find this gloomy environment... uncomfortable?"

Aozaki Touko picked up her teacup and took a gentle sip.

This wasn't a sarcastic remark; she genuinely found the room too dark. Such an environment was practically like the dwelling of a Dead Apostle.

"It makes no difference to me. As long as it doesn't hinder my operations, any environment is fine. Even a slum wouldn't be a problem."

Hadon explained in a cold tone, "If you find it uncomfortable, out of respect and consideration for our collaborator, I will choose to open the curtains."

"...No need. This dim environment creates quite the atmosphere for discussion."

Aozaki Touko waved her hand and then got straight to the point, "You said you wanted to talk about something. What is it?"

"Mm… it's about the Holy Relic."

Hadon stated, "Do you intend to use the Holy Relic you obtained, or the Holy Relic provided by the Einzbern family?"

"...What Holy Relic did you find?"

Aozaki Touko asked with feigned curiosity.

In fact, with her memories from her past life, she had already guessed what the Holy Relic was.

"King Arthur's lost Avalon!"

Hadon said plainly.

"Mm… Isn't that a great trump card?"

Aozaki Touko smiled and said, "The legendary King of Knights as a Servant, that truly is an honor. I do wonder if King Arthur is a boy or a girl."

"Boy or girl?"

Hadon chuckled coldly. "Should I say it's worthy of a genius's thinking? The way you look at things is so peculiar. But sometimes, it's better to respect reality."

As everyone knows, King Arthur was a man and the king of a nation.

Under the watchful eyes of an entire nation, could he have hidden his identity as a woman without anyone noticing? Were the people of that country all blind?

Not to mention, the Knights of the Round Table were all rare and powerful individuals. How could they have spent so much time together and not be able to tell if Arthur was a man or a woman?

Let alone… they even had children!

"..."

Chapter 51: Recreating the Third Magic Through One's Own Efforts

"...That's not necessarily true."

Aozaki Touko picked up her teacup and took a sip, smiling faintly.

If it weren't for the fact that the Einzbern family would become whatever she needed after winning the Holy Grail War, she might have found a way to propose a bet and seize a fortune in the process.

"Regarding King Arthur... do you know any information?"

Hadon asked with cold curiosity. He wasn't questioning her, just genuinely inquiring about the reason.

This was because Aozaki Touko possessed an "abnormal" nature that transcended the ordinary. Her grandfather mastered the Fifth Magic, and the extent to which her own genius could reach was still unknown to him.

If this girl had, through some method, learned that King Arthur was a girl, it wouldn't be particularly surprising.

"...Hmm, we'll know when the time comes for them to be summoned."

Aozaki Touko tilted her head slightly, revealing a mysterious smile.

"Is that so."

Hadon nodded slightly, having no intention of prying further. He simply changed the subject. "I can no longer accurately gauge your strength. As a collaborator, can you tell me your confidence level regarding the Holy Grail War?"

"...Confidence?"

Aozaki Touko narrowed her eyes, staring silently at the ceiling, and said with uncharacteristic seriousness, "Facing Heroic Spirits as opponents, I don't think anyone would dare claim absolute victory."

"Hmm... it seems you haven't let your current achievements inflate your ego and make you arrogant."

Not surprised, Hadon nodded as a matter of course. Even with the level of power Aozaki Touko possessed now, she couldn't confidently claim victory against Heroic Spirits who transcended human standing.

This wasn't self-deprecation, but a clear recognition of facts.

If one fought with a dismissive attitude, they might very well lose everything due to carelessness. Being able to fight with a cautious approach was undoubtedly a good thing.

"Actually... it's okay even if we lose the Holy Grail War!"

Aozaki Touko said with a sly smile. "I've already touched the verge of the Third Magic. While I can't determine exactly how much time it will take, I'm confident I can recreate the Third Magic with my own hands."

This was not an empty boast. She had already reached the edge of the Third Magic. With Beo's willing sacrifice for research experiments and the assistance of the Third Magic data from the Einzbern family, she had already made initial progress on the Third Magic. Even without using the Greater Grail of Fuyuki City, she was confident she could complete and recreate the Third Magic in this world.

"...I hope so."

Hearing this, Hadon was slightly taken aback, then nodded calmly.

Perhaps, with her genius, this girl, who was a collection of such talent, might truly be able to fully recreate the Third Magic in this world.

"Then do you have any other questions?"

Finishing her black tea, Aozaki Touko said, clearly intending to leave.

"No, I don't."

Hadon shook his head, then closed his eyes.

Seeing this, Aozaki Touko got up and left the room, heading towards Irisviel's bedroom. She wanted to spend some quality time with her lovely wife.

"...Is what she said true?"

A while later, Hadon opened his eyes and asked the two homunculus maids, "Did she really finish making her dolls? Can she truly recreate the Third Magic by herself, surpassing the efforts of the Einzbern family for a thousand years?"

"I believe Aozaki-san can do it!"

The maid standing by spoke up. "She possesses advantages that we don't. I'm not referring to her exceptionally outstanding talent, but rather that she has a Phantasmal Beast willing to cooperate with her research!"

Yes, that Phantasmal Beast named Beo was a product of materialized souls. This was an advantage the Einzbern family had never possessed in the past.

"..."

Hadon fell into thought.

They didn't know how the Magic User of the Third Magic had researched it back then. Did they also have the assistance of materialized soul Phantasmal Beasts for their research?

Seeing this, the maid said nothing more, simply standing quietly in place.

Meanwhile.

"Touko, are your dolls finished?"

Irisviel sat at the table, pouring milk into her coffee cup. She then gently stirred it with a spoon and handed it to Aozaki Touko.

"Mm... after all, all I need to do is design the corresponding prototypes."

Aozaki Touko picked up her cup and took a gentle sip. "Besides, these dolls themselves don't actually possess overly profound technical skill. They're just made for mass production convenience."

"Pursuing quantity... Touko, are you trying to create an army of dolls?"

Irisviel lightly brushed her hair back, her ruby eyes filled with curiosity.

Lowering the technical difficulty just to produce dolls in large quantities... this approach must be to overwhelm quality with quantity.

"...Ah, well, I suppose so."

Aozaki Touko blinked her eyes and replied ambiguously.

She had no interest in accumulating a large army of dolls. After all, not only did they cost a lot of money, but they were also easily defeated by someone with overwhelming power. It was better to accumulate high-quality dolls for combat.

"Touko, you didn't do this just because you thought it was cool, did you?"

Irisviel rested her chin on her delicate hand, a gentle smile on her face. "Hmm... I remember you mentioning this idea in bed a while ago, wanting to create an imposing presence with a large number of dolls."

"Eh... Did I say that?"

Aozaki Touko raised her eyebrows slightly, then calmly admitted, "But... that is indeed the reason. The idea is mainly to create cheap, dense dolls to wear down the enemy in a war of attrition."

"Mhm, mhm, that's a really great idea."

Irisviel chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand.

She accepted Aozaki Touko's occasional childish behavior with the utmost gentleness. This was neither tolerance nor concession, but the love and understanding of a wife for her husband.

Chapter 52: Something's Not Quite Right?

Early morning.

Einzbern Castle.

The rising sun cast a golden veil, illuminating the pristine white land and adorning the world in a dreamlike, fantastical manner, as if one had arrived in an elven kingdom.