Becoming Aozaki Touko's Life

With those words spoken, Aozaki Touko froze, as did the Black and White Knights. The White Beast, who had been enjoying the foot massage, also lifted its head.

"Isn't that obvious? I am a Dead Apostle Princess, with the most supreme bloodline. To get a chance to glimpse the power of my bloodline, it's an incredibly generous reward, no matter how you look at it."

Altrouge placed a fair hand on her chest, her beautiful face adorned with a cunning smile.

"Moreover... I've heard about you, Touko. You have a wife of the same gender, so your sexual orientation must be… unusual, right? For a beauty who could topple nations like me to cooperate with your research, you should be overjoyed."

"...I'm not that kind of person!"

Aozaki Touko blinked, then stated righteously, "Such meaningless rhetoric is pointless. I only want to see tangible benefits."

"Is that really so?"

Black Princess smiled mysteriously.

Chapter 69: Ten Billion Dollars

"...I'm not that kind of person!"

Aozaki Touko blinked, then stated righteously, "Such meaningless rhetoric is pointless. I only need tangible benefits."

In fact, if she was willing to treat Altrouge's stubborn ailment, she should rationally demand sufficient compensation.

The reason for doing so was primarily to avoid some trouble and to lower Altrouge's guard.

If she were to treat Altrouge under extremely favorable conditions.

For someone like Altrouge, who had experienced millennia of trials and faced countless human hearts and demons, it would only make her suspicious of Aozaki Touko's intentions.

Secondly, and the most troublesome point, was that Altrouge's enemies would also view her as an enemy and might resort to force to kill her, thereby preventing the recovery of Altrouge's injuries.

Although she wasn't afraid of those True Ancestor Dead Apostles, she also didn't want to get entangled with them. After all, she already felt she didn't have enough time to research magecraft, so where would she find the time to deal with these long-lived Dead Apostles?

Therefore, considering all these factors, there was indeed no need for her to treat Altrouge for free.

On the contrary, being able to demand an exorbitant price was the best option.

In short, she wanted it all!

"Is that really so?"

Black Princess smiled mysteriously, not bothered, and simply asked, "Then, what do you want to obtain?"

"—I don't think there's anything I want."

Aozaki Touko rested her cheek on her hand, thinking for a moment. She realized there was truly nothing she desired from Black Princess.

The things she pursued could only be achieved by herself; Altrouge could not help her.

What she sought, the desire of the omniscient, was beyond the capabilities of beings confined within the world.

Even Crimson Moon couldn't help her.

This was a miracle that could only be accomplished through her own efforts.

"...Can I take this as a rejection?"

Altrouge's crimson eyes were filled with sadness, her lips pressed tightly together, her voice laced with heartbreak.

It was the sorrow of receiving hope only to have it crushed, but her tightly pursed lips also conveyed a sense of resilience.

Such a pitiable and moving appearance made one want to embrace her, comfort her with the gentlest words, and kill the person who made her sad with the most brutal methods.

(What a drama queen!)

Aozaki Touko's mouth twitched slightly, but she still pinched her brow and said in a low voice, "I didn't say I refused, but you can pay with money."

"How much?"

Altrouge blinked, her sadness vanishing completely. Her crimson eyes were filled with curiosity.

"It's not much, about ten billion dollars should be enough."

Aozaki Touko rested her chin on her hand, her tone remarkably casual, as if she were suggesting where to go for tea that afternoon.

The next moment, the atmosphere froze abruptly.

The Black and White Knights on the side opened their mouths and then closed them again.

Altrouge's expression stiffened, a hint of bewilderment on her beautiful face.

She was indeed quite wealthy; there was no doubt about that, and she had never worried about money.

However, that didn't mean she could come up with ten billion dollars for treatment.

She wasn't like Vavylm, that financial demon king, who specialized in accumulating wealth in the human world.

She had never had any interest in such things before.

"Princess Altrouge, you should understand that you possess the highest-tier bloodline. Formulating a treatment plan will definitely not be an easy task. A mere ten billion dollars is actually on the low side."

"In fact, even just conducting the relevant research requires astronomical sums of money," Aozaki Touko added solemnly.

"Mmm… I can understand your difficulty~"

Altrouge forced a smile, her face flushing slightly as she said, "But… I don't think I can come up with that much money in a short period, so can you support installment payments?"

"……It's possible, I suppose~"

Aozaki Touko nodded slightly, asking with some curiosity, "But, Altrouge, how do you plan to raise the funds?"

"Once I recover to my peak, I'll rip off the Crimson Lord's head, and then I'll have money for you."

Saying this with such righteous indignation, Altrouge narrowed her eyes again, then smiled and added:

"If you're in a hurry for money, I can also go borrow some from Vavylm."

"Hmm… actually, it doesn't seem like it will take too long. I can raise ten billion dollars."

"I know quite a few wealthy people."

The more she spoke, the more confident she became, and she thought of several ways to quickly raise funds.

And she found them to be highly feasible.

"...Altrouge, you must understand that your desire to heal your injuries needs to be kept secret!"

Aozaki Touko's tone was subtle, "So, you absolutely must not reveal me before you recover to your peak, okay?"

Yes, absolutely don't reveal her, at least not until she completes the Third Magic, lest she become an enemy of the world and have people come knocking to collect their debts.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Chapter 70: Various Plans

Group 488749799

In a building not far from the cafe.

A loli, who looked about seven or eight years old, sat on the railing, swinging her feet and watching everything that happened in the cafe.

This was Aozaki Touko herself. The Aozaki Touko who was discussing cooperation with Altrouge inside the cafe

was actually a puppet. Although her appearance was no different from a normal human, the Reality Marble that existed within her had distorted her existence. She had distorted the laws of the other world into something unknown.

Not human, not an angel, not a god.

But something completely unknown, something outside the system of life.

"This is really troublesome. Even I have to be careful to transfer my soul when facing a Primate Killer."

Aozaki Touko fiddled with her black hair, her tone carrying a hint of helpless amusement.

Her current body was actually around eight or nine years old. This was a spare body from her Reality Marble that she had decisively used after discovering that Altrouge had brought a Primate Killer.

And that body was still young, appearing as a young, black-haired loli.

Of course, she actually had more than two age groups for her spare bodies, with backups for basically every age.

She could change her age at will.

—Meanwhile.

In the cafe, after finalizing the cooperation details with Aozaki Touko, Altrouge left in a bit of a hurry.

Now she needed a large amount of money to buy research equipment for Aozaki Touko.

And because this research equipment was too high-end, some of it was only possessed by major powers like the Atlas Institute and the Wandering Sea.

Therefore, obtaining these things was also a very troublesome matter.

To be honest, she suspected Aozaki Touko's true purpose in agreeing to cooperate with her.

It was probably to use her connections as a Dead Apostle Princess to obtain these hard-to-get items.

After all, some of the research equipment proposed by this girl didn't seem to be related to human research.

But, after all, she was the one asking for a favor.

So, she would tolerate it for now.

"..."

And at this moment, the existence named Aozaki Touko was replaced. The loli Touko in the distance disappeared, and the puppet in the cafe once again became a pure human.

"...After blurring human concepts, I seem to have understood something."

Aozaki Touko took a sip of her cooled coffee, her brow furrowing unconsciously. She felt that her previous state had been somewhat strange.

When she used her Reality Marble to blur human concepts, she possessed an abnormal field of vision.

This was not the vision of the five senses. If she had to describe it, it was a sense similar to divine consciousness.

The world revealed different facets to her eyes, or rather, she could receive more information.

To use an analogy, it would be like ordinary people being able to see microscopic views like gravitational waves.

Deeper aspects of the world, countless concepts, were constantly operating, merging, separating, changing, and deducing the more fundamental aspects of this world.

"However, is this strange perspective really due to blurring human concepts? If so, many Magicians should have discovered it."

Blurring human concepts, hiding one's name, and blurring one's gender were all just means of concealment.

The purpose was to prevent enemies from producing targeted weapons.

For example, concealing one's true name to prevent enemies from cursing them to death.

If one blurs their concept of gender, they can become immune to special attacks targeting gender.

If one blurs their concept of race, they can become immune to corresponding racial special attacks.

While this is a high-level magical technique, this world is not lacking in high-level Magicians.

What if blurring one's racial concept grants an abnormal perspective?

There should be some record of this.

However, she had never encountered such a record.

"It seems I'll have to study myself again,"

Muttering this, Aozaki Touko left the cafe and walked towards the Western-style mansion where she lived.

The sudden turn of events today had caught her off guard, and her desire to play had vanished instantly.

What she wanted now was to go back and spend some time with Irisviel.

Such sudden, dangerous events would undoubtedly cause worry for those close to her.

Especially since she had used a puppet to prevent Irisviel from seeking rescue.

This would undoubtedly increase her worry even further.

On the way out.

"Princess, does that human woman truly possess the ability to heal your injuries?"