A Life Becoming Aozaki Touko

"If it's my responsibility, then I won't refuse. Even if I don't like it, if it's my responsibility, I'll fulfill it properly!"

"...Is that all?"

Aozaki Touko's gentle and intelligent smile seemed to see right through Aoko's heart.

"..."

Aoko was very familiar with that look. Ever since she was little, Touko-nee always had that gentle, doting gaze when she saw through her secrets. While it annoyed her, she didn't entirely dislike it.

"Mmm... I also wondered if inheriting the Fifth Magic was your expectation, sister, which is why I didn't refuse. If you wanted to take back the Fifth Magic, I wouldn't have the ability to resist. Thinking about it that way actually made me feel relieved."

Finally, she confessed the secret she was unwilling to voice.

She hadn't intended to say such a thing.

"Is that so?"

Aozaki Touko tilted her head and repeated the question. Her gentle, intelligent smile was like an invisible, tender blade, peeling back Aoko's inner defenses and seeing through her even deeper feelings.

"..."

Seeing this, Aozaki Aoko turned her head, her cheeks puffing out slightly. She hated people who disturbed her emotions and considered them enemies, but when it came to Touko-nee, she was completely helpless.

"I'm not resigned to it! I don't want to be left too far behind by you, Touko-nee. I don't want to be a chick under a wing. I want to stand at the same height as you. If magic can achieve that, then it can!"

Once again, helplessly, she revealed another part of herself she wanted to hide.

"So that's how you felt, Aoko~"

Aozaki Touko nodded slightly, looking understanding.

"...Then, it's my turn to ask how you feel, Touko-nee?"

Aoko's eyes burned with fire. "Why did you give me the Magic Crest? Don't give me some dismissive excuse about forging my own path."

Even though her time in the mage world was short, she knew that magic was the ultimate pursuit of a Magician. It was a miracle from beyond the heavens, more important than life itself, and the goal countless Magician families sought for generations.

Giving up the Fifth Magic because she had her own path? But didn't the Fifth Magic itself contain the ultimate pursuit of a Magician? Wasn't abandoning the Aozaki family's Magic Crest like abandoning the root for the branches?

"This, ah~"

Aozaki Touko's tone became solemn. "Of course, it's because Aoko is more important than the Magic Crest!"

"..."

The moment Aoko heard this, she felt as if her heart had been pricked by a needle. A sour feeling surged uncontrollably.

Then, as if trying to avoid something, she lowered her head, her fair, slender hands tightly gripping her pants. She asked, suppressing her emotions, "Why?"

"...Hmm~"

Aozaki Touko smiled slightly. "Isn't the reason simple? Since Aoko wants to step into the world of Magicians, isn't giving you the Fifth Magic the best choice?"

"You gave it up so easily?"

Aozaki Aoko looked up, her eyes slightly red.

"...Yes."

Aozaki Touko gave a gentle smile. "After all, Aoko is a treasure more precious than the Magic Crest."

"..."

Aozaki Aoko pursed her lips, tears streaming down her cheeks like pearls from a broken string. Even though she held onto her maidenly pride and tried desperately to stop crying, she couldn't.

Seeing this, Aozaki Touko smiled helplessly and pulled Aoko into her arms, comforting her patiently. However, this movement seemed to trigger some strange switch, and Aoko's tears fell even more torrentially, with muffled sobs faintly audible.

After a while, Aozaki Aoko finally calmed down. She wiped away her tears and glanced at Aozaki Touko, biting her lip slightly before asking with an unreadable tone:

"Touko-nee, is this it?"

"...This, ah~"

Aozaki Touko smiled slightly and leaned close to Aoko, whispering a few words.

The next moment, Aozaki Aoko's cheeks flushed, her eyes shifting through various expressions before she seemed to finally make up her mind and leaned in to whisper a few words to Aozaki Touko.

Chapter Ninety-Three: Meeting

The next day.

At the Aozaki residence.

"..."

Aozaki Mom was washing dishes in the kitchen, with Irisviel and Illyasviel enthusiastically helping beside her. The scene was incredibly warm, filled with a strong family atmosphere.

It's truly wonderful that my daughter is getting married.

Aozaki Mom couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

Although she didn't need anyone to help with housework, and if she truly needed help, she could easily hire a housekeeper to handle everything.

However, this feeling was completely different. Her heart overflowed with an indescribable joy.

How could she describe this feeling of happiness?

To put it in a metaphor, it was probably like her hard-working son suddenly bringing home a gentle and elegant princess as his wife, and this princess, setting aside her status, was helping her, a commoner mother, with the housework.

She felt a sense of flattered surprise, yet an irrepressible pride.

Moreover, the rift between her two daughters seemed to have been resolved last night without anyone's knowledge.

The sisterly conflict she had worried about shouldn't happen now.

"..."

Thinking this, Aozaki Mom glanced at the living room. She saw Aozaki Aoko clinging to Aozaki Touko's arm, looking as close as ever, even more so than before.

At the same time, Aozaki Touko, as if sensing something, turned her head towards the kitchen where Aozaki Mom was, then glanced at the busy Irisviel, and said with a light laugh:

"Mom, Aoko and I are going to visit the Azu family~"

"...Okay, be careful on your way~"

Aozaki Mom nodded with a smile. She watched Aozaki Touko leave with Aoko, then turned back to continue washing the dishes.

She didn't ask Touko why she wasn't taking Irisviel and the others with them. She just silently prayed that her genius daughter could handle this situation properly and wouldn't be kicked out of the mansion by Azu.

On the road.

"..."

Aozaki Aoko watched Touko walking ahead. She saw Touko's long orange hair fluttering in the wind, her posture like a samurai, without any wasted movements, perfectly blending sharpness and grace.

"Touko-nee, have you ever been watched by a red shadow?"

Aoko quickened her pace slightly and asked as she walked up beside Touko.

"A red shadow? What about it?"

Aozaki Touko frowned slightly upon hearing this, recalling how the Counter Guardian had suddenly appeared and stared at her yesterday for some unknown reason.

To be honest, she couldn't figure out why the Counter Guardian was staring at her. Was it because it was worried she would cause trouble by stealing the Fifth Magic, or was it because it judged she could complete the Third Magic and intended to stop her?

Or perhaps, her genius was deemed a threat to humanity by the Counter Guardian.

She remembered a theory from her previous life that Kayneth was deemed a threat due to his genius, thus he was put on the Counter Guardian's kill list and died in every timeline.

Could she be facing such absurd nonsense?

However, even if that were the case, it wouldn't matter. She now possessed the Reality Marble "Eternal Doll Kingdom" and had extremely strong immortality. Killing her wouldn't be easy.

And besides... she had a beauty protecting her from above~

"Nothing, it just felt very dangerous~"

Aozaki Aoko shook her head and said, "When I was little, I encountered a red figure. Back then, you were in seclusion researching Magecraft, and I was scared and went to find Grandfather~"

She still remembered the fear she felt back then. She had rushed to Grandfather's cave, wanting to find Touko for protection, but Touko wasn't in the cave. She had gone out to experiment with Magecraft.

"Bringing this up now... Aoko, have you encountered the red figure again?"

Aozaki Touko raised an eyebrow slightly.

"A couple of days ago... I was bathing in the bathroom, and it suddenly appeared in the mirror~"

Aozaki Aoko brushed back her long black hair, her gaze filled with annoyance and impatience.

At that time, she was feeling frustrated and shifted her attention to the Magic Crest, wanting to test what magic truly was. However, the suddenly appearing red figure had startled her.

"Mhm... I actually encountered that red shadow yesterday too~"

Aozaki Touko said with a smile.

"Does Nee-san know what it is?"

Aoko asked curiously.

"Mhm... It's an unconscious collective called the Counter Guardian, consisting of Alaya and Gaia. Alaya is the unconscious collective of humanity, pursuing the continuation of humanity. Gaia is the unconscious collective of the planet, pursuing the continuation of the planet."

Aozaki Touko said, tilting her head, her tone not showing much concern.

She herself possessed an extremely difficult-to-kill immortality, coupled with the faint protection of Root Shiki. It would be virtually impossible for the Counter Guardian to find an opportunity to kill her.

"..."

Aoko processed the information for a moment, then asked, "Touko-nee, do you know if that red figure is Gaia or Alaya?"

"Hmm... I don't know~"

Aozaki Touko shook her head and said, "Either of them could be watching you. After all, magic has made them feel threatened."

That's right, both Gaia and Alaya had a motive to watch Aozaki Aoko, so it wasn't easy to determine which one it was.

"...I'm really being targeted by something troublesome. If I get the chance, I'm definitely going to beat them up!"

Aoko's expression grew fiercer as she spoke.

She recalled the terrifying experience of being scared into tears as a child, and the chilling feeling of a red shadow suddenly appearing while she was bathing. Recalling the unpleasant memories caused her aggression to rise.

"Probably~"

Seeing this, Aozaki Touko smiled with amusement, finding Aoko's fierce expression quite cute.

"Sister Touko doesn't seem worried?"

Aoko Aozaki turned to look at Touko.

"Mhm... They were driven away yesterday~"

Touko Aozaki said with a sly smile, "I doubt they'll bother me again."

"How did you manage that?!"

Aoko Aozaki's eyes lit up at the words, eager to know the method. If she could drive away that red shadow, she wouldn't have to worry about it suddenly appearing.

"Well... I'm living off that little girl~"

Touko Aozaki stopped walking and pointed to a little girl not far away. Aoko Aozaki's gaze followed her finger and she saw a young girl in a kimono.

"..."

On the street, a young girl in a kimono, cold and aloof, stared intently at Touko Aozaki, as if trying to engrave her into her heart.

"Are you Touko Aozaki?"

After a while, the girl in the kimono asked crisply.

Chapter 94: Loli Ryougi Shiki

She's back.

She's back.

She's back.

Just last night, that woman called Touko Aozaki, the one who knew her future, the one who truly knew her, the one who made her feel strange, returned.

She returned last night.