At these words, Aozaki Touko froze. The Black and White Knights froze as well, while the White Beast, who had been enjoying the massage of the girl's feet, also raised his head.
"Isn't that only natural? I am the Dead Apostle Princess, after all, possessing the supreme bloodline. The chance to glimpse the power of my bloodline is an extremely generous reward, no matter how you look at it."
Altrouge's fair hand rested against her chest, and a sly smile adorned her breathtakingly beautiful face.
"Besides... I have heard that you have a wife of the same sex, Touko. Your sexual orientation must be rather unusual. A beauty capable of bringing ruin to kingdoms like me is willing to cooperate with your research—surely you must be overjoyed."
"...I'm not that kind of person!"
Aozaki Touko blinked, then said righteously, "That kind of pointless rhetoric is meaningless. I only want to see tangible benefits."
"Is that really so?"
The Black Princess smiled mysteriously.
Chapter Sixty-Nine: One Hundred Billion Dollars
"...I'm not that kind of person!"
Aozaki Touko blinked, then said righteously, "That kind of pointless rhetoric is meaningless. I only need tangible benefits."
In truth, as long as she was willing to treat Altrouge's chronic illness, she had to rationally propose a sufficiently generous payment.
The main reason for doing so was to avoid certain troubles and lower Altrouge's guard.
If she really treated Altrouge under exceptionally favorable terms,
then, for an existence like Altrouge, who had endured a thousand years of trials and faced countless twisted human hearts, it would only arouse suspicions about Aozaki Touko's intentions.
More importantly—and this was the most troublesome point—Altrouge's enemies would also regard her as an enemy. They might even use force to kill her in order to prevent Altrouge from recovering.
Although she was not afraid of those True Ancestor Dead Apostles at all, she had no desire to become entangled with them. After all, she already felt that she did not have enough time to study magecraft. Where would she find the time to get involved with these long-lived Dead Apostles?
Therefore, considering all these factors, she truly had no reason to treat Altrouge for free.
On the contrary, making an outrageous demand and naming an exorbitant price was the best choice.
In short, she wanted everything!
"Is that really so?"
The Black Princess smiled mysteriously and did not seem to care. Instead, she asked, "Then what do you want?"
"—I don't feel like there's anything I want."
Aozaki Touko propped her cheek up with her slender hand. After thinking for a moment, she realized that there was truly nothing on the Black Princess that she wanted.
The things she pursued could only be achieved through her own efforts. Altrouge had no way to accomplish them.
What she sought was the object of an omniscient being's desire, but beings born within the world had no ability to fulfill her wish.
Not even Crimson Moon could do it.
It was a miracle that could only be achieved through her own efforts.
"...May I take that as a refusal?"
Altrouge's scarlet eyes brimmed with sorrow. Her vermilion lips were pressed tightly together, and her voice carried a heartbroken quality.
It was the sorrow of having hope only to see it crushed, yet her tightly pressed lips also showed her strength.
Her delicate and moving appearance made people wish to pull her into their arms, comfort her with the gentlest words, and kill whoever had saddened her by the cruelest means.
What a drama queen!
The corner of Aozaki Touko's mouth twitched slightly, but she still pinched the bridge of her nose and said in a distant tone, "I never said I was refusing. However, you can just pay me in money."
"How much?"
Altrouge blinked, her earlier sorrow vanishing without a trace. Her scarlet eyes filled with curiosity.
"Not much. About one hundred billion dollars should be enough."
Aozaki Touko rested her chin on her hand, her tone utterly casual, as if she were saying, "Where shall we go for tea this afternoon?"
The next moment, the atmosphere abruptly froze.
The Black and White Knights beside her opened their mouths, then closed them again.
Altrouge's expression stiffened, and a trace of bewilderment appeared on her breathtakingly beautiful face.
She was indeed quite wealthy; there was no question about that. She had never had to worry about money.
But that did not mean she could produce a hundred billion dollars as a medical fee.
She was not Vavylm, the Financial Demon King, who specialized in accumulating the wealth of the human world.
She had never had the slightest interest in that before.
"Your Highness Altrouge, you should understand. You possess the highest-grade bloodline. Creating a treatment plan will absolutely not be easy. A mere one hundred billion dollars is actually an underestimate."
"In truth, even conducting the relevant research alone would require an astronomical sum of money."
Aozaki Touko added that in a solemn tone.
"Mm... I can understand your difficulties~"
Altrouge forced a smile, then said with a slight flush on her face, "But... I don't seem to be able to produce that much money in the short term. So, do you accept payment in installments?"
"...I suppose I can~"
Aozaki Touko nodded slightly, then asked curiously, "But, Altrouge, how do you plan to raise the funds?"
"Once I recover my peak condition, I'll twist the White Winged Lord's head off. Then I'll have money to pay you."
After saying this with complete confidence, Altrouge narrowed her eyes slightly, then continued with a smile:
"If you urgently need the money, I can also borrow some from Vavylm."
"Mm... Actually, it seems I won't need very long to raise one hundred billion dollars."
"I know quite a few very wealthy people."
The more she spoke, the more confident she became, coming up with several ways to raise the funds quickly.
She also realized that they were highly feasible.
"...Altrouge, you understand that your need for treatment must remain confidential, right?"
Aozaki Touko spoke in a strange tone. "So don't expose me before you recover your peak condition."
Yes, she absolutely must not expose her—at least not before Touko completed the Third Magic. She could not afford to make herself the enemy of the entire world, or she might end up with people blocking her door and demanding repayment.
"Don't worry. I will be careful."
Chapter Seventy: Various Plans
Group 48874979
On the roof of a building not far from the café,
a little girl who looked about seven or eight years old sat on the railing, swinging her feet as she watched everything happening in the café.
She was Aozaki Touko herself. The Aozaki Touko discussing cooperation with Altrouge inside the café
was actually a puppet. Although its exterior was indistinguishable from that of a normal human, the Reality Marble existing within its body had distorted her existence, while the laws of another world had twisted her into something unknown.
Not human, not angel, not deity.
But a completely unknown entity, something outside the tree of life.
"What a troublesome opponent. Even I would have to cautiously transfer my soul when facing the Primate Killer."
Aozaki Touko toyed with her jet-black hair, her tone carrying a hint of helpless amusement.
Her current body's age was actually around eight or nine years old. After discovering that Altrouge had brought the Primate Killer with her, she had decisively used a spare body within the Reality Marble.
That body's age was still young, taking the form of a small black-haired girl.
Of course, her spare bodies were not limited to two age groups. She had backups for practically every age.
She could change her age as she pleased.
—At the same time.
Inside the café, after Altrouge and Aozaki Touko finalized the details of their cooperation, Altrouge hurriedly left.
She now needed a large amount of money to purchase research equipment for Aozaki Touko.
Moreover, because the equipment was extremely advanced, some of it was possessed only by major organizations such as the Atlas Institute and the Wandering Sea.
Obtaining it would therefore be extremely troublesome.
To be honest, she somewhat suspected Aozaki Touko's true purpose in agreeing to cooperate with her.
Perhaps Touko simply wanted to use the connections of the Dead Apostle Princess to obtain things that were difficult to acquire.
After all, some of the research equipment the girl requested did not seem related to human research at all.
But Altrouge needed her help as well.
So, for the time being, she would endure it.
"..."
At that moment, the existence named Aozaki Touko underwent an exchange. The little girl Touko on the distant building disappeared, while the puppet in the café once again became a pure human.
"...After blurring the concept of humanity, I think I understood something."
Aozaki Touko took a sip of the coffee that had gone cold, her brows unconsciously furrowing as she sensed that something about her previous state had been strange.
When she had used the Reality Marble to blur the concept of humanity, she had possessed an abnormal perspective.
It was not a perspective based on the five senses. If she had to describe it, it was probably a sense similar to spiritual perception.
The world revealed different facets before her eyes—or rather, she was able to receive more information.
To use an analogy, it was like an ordinary person being able to see a microscopic phenomenon such as gravitational waves.
The deeper layers of the world, countless concepts, were constantly operating, separating and combining, changing and evolving, revealing things closer to the world's essence.
"But is this strange perspective really caused by blurring the concept of humanity? If so, quite a few magi should have discovered it."
Blurring the concept of humanity, hiding one's name, and blurring one's gender were all merely methods of concealing oneself.
The purpose was to prevent enemies from using targeted weapons against her.
For example, hiding one's true name prevented an enemy from cursing her to death.
Blurring the concept of one's gender made one immune to special attacks targeting gender.
Blurring the concept of one's race made one immune to corresponding racial special attacks.
Although this was an advanced magical technique, this world was not lacking in advanced magi.
If blurring one's racial concept could grant one an abnormal perspective,
there should have been relevant records.
Yet she had never seen any such records.
"Looks like I need to study myself again."
Murmuring this, Aozaki Touko left the café and walked toward the Western Mansion where she lived.
The sudden events of the day had caught her off guard, and her mood for sightseeing had vanished in an instant.
Now she wanted to go back and spend some time with Irisviel.
When such a dangerous incident suddenly occurred, it was impossible for those close to her not to worry.
Especially since she had used a puppet to stop Irisviel from seeking help.
That would undoubtedly make her worry even more.
On the way out.
"Your Highness Princess, does that human woman really possess the ability to heal your injuries?"
Before you continue