Aozaki Touko swept back her orange hair, revealing a confident smile. "I like beautiful girls even more. Girls like you, Sola—seemingly passionate yet seemingly cold. I don't actually dislike them."
"Eh!"
Sola was slightly taken aback. She then said softly, "It's my honor, Miss Touko."
As she spoke, her face flushed faintly, and she quickened her pace. She went to the bookshelf a short distance ahead, rose onto her toes to take down a book, then jogged back to Touko and handed it to her.
"This one should meet your needs, Miss Touko."
"Thank you."
After casually sweeping her gaze over it, Aozaki Touko accepted the book with a smile. It was precisely a book in the Mage's Association devoted to introducing the customs of Norse Mythology, viewing it from a magus's perspective.
"No... I should be thanking you, Miss Touko, for being willing to spare the time to talk with me."
Sola shook her head and gently tucked back a strand of hair. "On the contrary, I should apologize for disturbing your magical research without permission."
"I didn't feel disturbed~"
Aozaki Touko shook her head, then chuckled. "But I am rather curious. Why did you come looking for me?"
"Admiration!"
Sola raised her head and looked earnestly at Touko. "I admire your way of living, Miss Touko. It's like a wingless bird yearning for birds that can fly freely through the sky."
Yes, that was the reason she had come specifically to meet Aozaki Touko.
After learning that Kayneth was willing to give up the arranged marriage for this girl, she had deliberately investigated Aozaki Touko's life story. She had felt envious of the way Aozaki Touko lived.
If only... if only I could live according to my own will like Aozaki Touko.
After reading through Aozaki Touko's deeds, this thought had suddenly appeared in her mind: to live according to her own will.
That way of living was the embodiment of what she had yearned for since childhood.
"Is that so?"
Aozaki Touko blinked, then nodded as though she understood.
In truth, she had never imagined that her way of living would attract anyone, much less a young lady from such a prestigious family.
"Hehe... To me, you're practically shining, Miss Touko."
Sola smiled, slightly bashful.
Being so direct about her feelings was still somewhat embarrassing to her. After all, she was only a girl.
"...Thank you for the praise~"
Aozaki Touko smiled sweetly, then said, "However, Sola, I still hope you can set aside some of your mental barriers and make a rational judgment about reality."
"..."
Sola fell briefly silent, then smiled. "Yes. Since you've put it that way, Miss Touko, I'll try to put aside my prejudices and view reality rationally."
"If you're truly unhappy, it's fine to be a little willful."
Aozaki Touko touched her lips with her index finger and said this slyly. Then she turned around with the book in her arms and waved to Sola over her shoulder.
"It's getting late. We'll meet again another day when we have the time."
That was all she had to say. She had no intention of saying anything more.
Because, in her view, none of this had any real meaning. She had merely offered some fairly impartial advice as compensation for showing Sola the way.
Everyone walked a different path in life, and naturally made different choices.
If she faced circumstances similar to Sola's, she would most likely choose to keep striving to become stronger until she had raised her right to speak to the point of independence.
But that was impossible for Sola. She did not possess Aozaki Touko's astonishing talent and had no bargaining chips with which to face her family. Moreover, she had grown up under the family's pressure. Even developing the resolve to burn her boats would be difficult.
Thus, calmly accepting reality was not necessarily a bad choice.
Of course, that was not contempt for Sola's weakness.
In truth, Aozaki Touko generally held no contempt for anyone, regardless of what kind of person they were—not even a timid, withdrawn person, or a beggar asking for alms by the roadside.
She would not adopt a condescending attitude and say things like, "Why don't you work harder? Why don't you face reality? Why don't you eat meat porridge? Why don't you eat bread?"
Because not everyone in this world possessed the advantages you did, even if those advantages seemed utterly self-evident to you.
"..."
Sola-Naizare-Sophiarei silently watched Touko disappear into the distance. After letting out a quiet sigh, she turned and left the library.
Sixty-Fourth Chapter: Rune Runes
Inside the Clock Tower.
Emiya Kiritsugu had a cigarette between his lips and was dragging a large black suitcase behind him. Ignoring the magi who cast contemptuous looks at him as they passed, he maintained his own pace.
He was a magus who had no interest in the Vortex of the Root and regarded magecraft merely as a useful tool. Naturally, magi would look at him with disdain.
To those who devoted themselves to studying magecraft in pursuit of the Root, someone like him was probably a degenerate who had strayed onto the wrong path and failed to understand the nobility of pursuing the Root.
But to be honest, he could not really understand those magi either. They actually insisted on jumping into the Root to seek death. They absolutely had something wrong with their heads.
In short... magi and magicians both thought the other group had something wrong with their heads.
"...Excuse me. I'd like to visit Lecturer Aozaki Touko. My name is Emiya Kiritsugu."
After entering a building, Emiya Kiritsugu said expressionlessly to the receptionist, "I'm Emiya Kiritsugu."
"All right. Please wait a moment."
The female receptionist glanced indifferently at Kiritsugu, made a phone call to ask about it, then hung up and looked at him with an amused expression.
"So you're one of Miss Touko's subordinates. I thought you were another suitor overestimating himself."
"Uh... Does Boss Touko have a lot of suitors?"
Emiya Kiritsugu raised his brows. He admitted that Aozaki Touko was very attractive, but her personality was extremely terrible. Could a woman like that really have so many suitors?
After all, that woman had once made him and his adoptive mother each owe two hundred million dollars without even changing expression. Her personality was unbelievably overbearing.
"It would be strange if someone like Miss Touko didn't have many suitors."
The receptionist looked at Emiya Kiritsugu strangely, then said flatly, "Come on, follow me. I'll take you to Miss Touko's workshop."
"No need. I know the way."
Emiya Kiritsugu shook his head. Boss Touko had already given him the exact address before he came. He did not need anyone to guide him.
"Knowing the way is useless. Security here is far tighter than you can imagine. Without someone specifically guiding you, it's impossible to get inside."
The receptionist shook her head, beckoned to Emiya Kiritsugu, and began leading the way without another word.
--Soon, after making several turns, Emiya Kiritsugu followed the receptionist to a large door.
"This is it. Remember to call me when you leave. If you die halfway out, don't blame me for not warning you."
With that, the receptionist swept back her long hair and turned away decisively.
Seeing this, Emiya Kiritsugu's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. He was speechless at how heavily guarded the place was, but he had no intention of commenting.
He pressed the doorbell and quietly waited for a while.
Before long, the door opened automatically. With the cigarette still between his lips, Emiya Kiritsugu carried his black suitcase into the workshop.
Then he saw a little golden-haired girl running over, eyeing the black box he was dragging with curiosity.
Finally, the little golden-haired girl's gaze settled on the cigarette between his lips.
"..."
Seeing the adorable little girl looking eager to snatch away his cigarette, Emiya Kiritsugu was silent for a moment. He pressed the cigarette against the suitcase handle and extinguished it.
Then, ignoring the curious Phantasmal Beast, he walked deeper into the workshop. Soon, he saw Aozaki Touko in a white lab coat, holding a flask.
"Boss, I brought the rune runes you wanted."
Aozaki Touko, who had been conducting an experiment, stopped and pointed at the empty table beside her.
Seeing this, Emiya Kiritsugu said nothing. He placed the black box on the table, slid the combination lock, opened it, and displayed the contents before Touko.
"..."
Aozaki Touko nodded slightly as she looked at the broken stone tablet inside the black box. It was carved with a large number of rune runes. Although it no longer possessed any supernatural properties, it held considerable research value for her.
"Boss... Che Guevara is only my alias. Outside of missions, it would be better not to mention it."
At that moment, Emiya Kiritsugu spoke with a sorrowful expression. He remembered everything he had experienced recently.
It had been exciting enough to make a movie: dueling vampires, fleeing for hundreds of miles, unearthing a wraith while excavating a stone tablet, and pitting gangsters against each other in a robbery. The twists and turns had been endless.
If he had not used an alias, he would probably still be on the run from people now.
"Mm. I'll be more careful about that in the future."
Aozaki Touko nodded slightly, then smiled slyly. "Kiritsugu, you're actually quite famous in the magecraft world now. Everyone knows there's a fellow called Che Guevara who specializes in stealing all kinds of rare antiques. You're already a notorious master thief."
"Give me a break. I don't want this kind of fame~"
Emiya Kiritsugu's lips twitched. "Besides... wasn't it you, Boss, who sent me to find the rune runes?"
His boss's gleeful attitude was giving him a stomachache. Back then, they must have been out of their minds to steal that demon's anti-cancer medicine. They had practically delivered themselves to her door for free.
"I never told you to steal other things while you were at it."
Aozaki Touko raised her brows and said playfully, "Admit it, Emiya Kiritsugu. You have a talent for becoming a master thief."
"Only a fool would admit that!"
Emiya Kiritsugu's cheek twitched. Then he noticed that the little golden-haired girl nearby was staring at him with shining eyes, seemingly excited because of his master-thief reputation.
His stomach began hurting again, and this only made him even more certain that his boss was a thoroughly malicious person.
"Hmm... Since you're a master thief, you should have a catchy motto."
As though she had not heard Kiritsugu's angry shout, Aozaki Touko propped her cheek on her pale fingers and said with an impish smile,
"Getting a job is impossible. Only stealing antiques can sustain my life. How about that? This motto will definitely spread far and wide. It's simple and easy to remember."
"..."
Emiya Kiritsugu's face went completely dark.
"Boss... Please stop joking."
"All right, I won't tease you anymore. But are those all the runes you collected?"
Touko touched the stone tablets inside the black box and asked.
"There are more runes, but I'll need to wait a while."
"Mm, I understand."
Sixty-Fifth Chapter: Kind Miss Touko
Inside the workshop.
"Emiya Kiritsugu, I did a little investigation into your past."
Aozaki Touko lowered her head and pieced the broken stone tablet back together. In an indifferent tone, she said, "What exactly was the reason you personally killed your father?"
"Someone as important as you needs to care about the thoughts of a nobody like me?"
Emiya Kiritsugu shook his head and asked with a sigh.
He was neither surprised nor displeased that Aozaki Touko had investigated him. After all, it was only natural.
In fact, if Aozaki Touko had not investigated him at all yet trusted him enough to let him collect rune runes, he would have found that even more strange and suspicious.
"What? You don't want to tell me?"
Aozaki Touko smiled faintly, then said seriously, "Consider this a reward from me as your boss. If you miss this opportunity, it'll be hard to get another one in the future."
As she spoke, she continued lowering her head to fiddle with the stone tablet. For a moment, she said nothing more.
The air suddenly fell silent.
"..."
Before you continue