What she was going to see was neither an old hag nor an evil villain.
It was an indisputably beautiful girl.
Someone who could become the object of any young man's admiration and love.
The rain gradually eased.
Aozaki Aoko folded up her red umbrella, then slightly raised her head.
A secluded Western-style mansion appeared before her eyes, surrounded by towering iron fences covered in thorn-like plants.
It was easy to tell that the house had seen many years. It perfectly satisfied people's fantasies about the mysterious. After all, the existence of such a house deep in the mountains was strange enough in itself.
"...Azu, I'm here to see you!"
When she reached the door, she knocked twice in rapid succession.
Aozaki Aoko pushed open the door with practiced ease, then headed almost straight for the living room. She pushed open the living-room door, and within the expanse of her vision—
A stunningly beautiful girl sat on the sofa, reading an ancient book in her hands. An elegant, tranquil atmosphere belonging to a literary girl surrounded her.
However, the girl's turning motion shattered that beauty. She looked back at Aozaki Aoko, her delicate little face filled with displeasure.
"Even if you wrote back, it wouldn't have been this quick!"
With a faint sigh, she closed the Grimoire in her hands. Kuonji Alice spoke coldly, neither welcoming Aoko nor driving her away.
She did not want to have too much contact with Aozaki Aoko.
The girl lived in a completely different world from her, and Alice was not the sort who enjoyed becoming overly intimate with others.
However, this girl was her friend's younger sister.
She could not heartlessly drive her out.
Besides, although she wanted to deny it, this girl had already become quite entangled with her during this period. That could be seen from the polite yet meaningless knock she had just given the door.
She was already extremely familiar with this place.
"...Coming here isn't only about letters!"
Aozaki Aoko tossed back her long hair, walked over, and sat down beside Alice. Tilting her head slightly, she smiled. "I just wanted to come and chat with you!"
"...We don't have anything to talk about."
Kuonji Alice spoke coldly while pouring Aoko a cup of black tea.
They belonged to two entirely different worlds. Their views on life and areas of knowledge could not intersect, making it difficult for them to chat casually like friends.
They could hardly find any common topics.
"Hmm... Tell me how you met my sister."
Aozaki Aoko sounded as if she had come prepared. Hearing this, Kuonji Alice's expression stiffened slightly. She then picked up her tea and took a sip.
"...There isn't much to tell. When my father took me to visit your grandfather, Touko happened to be there."
Meeting through their elders was an experience almost everyone had.
However, Alice still remembered the look in Touko's eyes back then. It had been the look of someone who had discovered prey.
At that time, Alice had even felt as if she had been locked onto by a goshawk.
By ordinary reasoning, that gaze should have been the joy of discovering someone her own age, or perhaps curiosity and probing—or even vigilance.
But her intuition clearly told her that it was none of those things.
"Azu, didn't you leave out a tiny bit of detail?"
Aozaki Aoko lifted her tea and took a sip, her voice carrying a hint of teasing. She had keenly sensed that something interesting was hidden within the story.
"...Now it's my turn to ask a question~"
Without answering, Kuonji Alice asked in return, "With a sister who shines so brightly, don't you feel jealous?"
Her words caused the atmosphere to grow slightly tense.
"...Do you feel jealous of a god?"
Aozaki Aoko countered, then continued on her own. "Sometimes, when the gap is simply too great, jealousy doesn't even have the soil to take root."
"My sister has already taught herself the university curriculum. In the magecraft world, she's a genius known to everyone, and she's even made a breakthrough in cancer research..."
"Being jealous of and comparing myself to a genius like that... I think I'd just be asking for trouble!"
Indeed, this had already gone beyond the limits of what effort could overcome. If she insisted on forcing herself to keep up, the only result would be ending up covered in wounds.
There was hardly any need to question that.
Driving Skills
A country lane.
A black sedan sped along like lightning. It completed turns and drifts in the blink of an eye, then vanished beyond the range of sight, almost making people wonder if they had seen it incorrectly.
"Don't worry. Irisviel's driving is very good..."
Inside the car, Aozaki Touko comforted the maid beside her. But just as the maid began to relax slightly, Touko seemed to lose confidence and added, "Mm... Even if we did flip over, I could still save us!"
"As expected... of Miss Touko~"
The maid's face instantly turned pale. She then forced out a strained smile.
"...Still, please don't worry. I have some ability to protect myself, so if danger arises, please prioritize protecting yourself and Irisviel's safety!"
Watching the snowy scenery flash past outside the window, the maid seemed to close her eyes in despair, leaving everything that was about to happen to fate.
As an Android of the Einzbern Family, she valued Aozaki Touko and Irisviel's lives far more than her own. If a life exchange became necessary, she would offer up her own life without hesitation.
"Mm... I'm already driving very slowly~"
In the driver's seat, Irisviel adjusted the car's speed, then turned to look toward the back seat. Her ruby-like pupils reflected the trembling maid.
"Slow down just a little more!"
Aozaki Touko smiled and explained gently, "This isn't the Einzbern Family, after all. We've already entered human society, so we should at least follow ordinary people's common sense~"
To keep Irisviel from getting bored, she had specially bought her a sports car from outside.
However, because the Einzbern Family was isolated from the outside world, Irisviel's understanding of speed differed subtly from that of ordinary people outside.
Of course, there was no need to worry too much about safety.
The road they were traveling was in a remote countryside area, with almost no passing vehicles.
In addition, she had arranged for Suigintou to fly overhead. Through visual sharing, Suigintou could observe the road ahead.
So there was no need to worry about hitting anyone.
"...I understand~"
Irisviel slowed down, then turned to look at the maid behind her. "Sorry, Illyasviel. I frightened you~"
"No... My tolerance just isn't good enough. It has nothing to do with you, Miss Irisviel!"
The maid hurriedly shook her head. Her tense body relaxed, but she then gave a light cough, quickly straightened her appearance, and returned to her dignified, polite bearing.
"That is a personal trait... It has nothing to do with tolerance!"
Aozaki Touko crossed her arms and sized up the maid with amusement. "You know, Illyasviel, your performance just now was extremely cute. It made me want to bully you properly!"
"Agreed!"
Irisviel, who was driving, nodded in emphatic agreement.
"...Please be serious~"
Illyasviel's face flushed as she lowered her head. Her slender fingers unconsciously tugged at the corner of her clothes. She could not quite tell what the emotion surging in her heart was.
But she knew one thing: becoming Miss Touko's maid had been the best thing ever!
"..."
Seeing this, Aozaki Touko smiled faintly and stopped teasing the maid.
She was heading somewhere now to obtain an extremely important item: the Golden Wolf, which possessed more than three thousand years of mystery and overwhelmingly countered modern magecraft. With it, she would be able to have a real say at the Clock Tower.
Moreover, the Golden Wolf would be an excellent research subject.
Atop Einzbern Castle.
Hadon silently watched the black sedan leave. His old face remained as calm as still water, revealing no emotion. After standing atop the castle for a while, he turned and left.
"Defeat a Phantasmal Beast...? What a bold and arrogant idea!"
Aozaki Touko's goal in leaving this time was very clear. She had concealed nothing from them. She intended to capture a Phantasmal Beast called the Golden Wolf and subdue it as her familiar.
She had not chosen an ordinary animal with little resistance, such as a cat, dog, crow, or parrot.
Instead, she had chosen a nearly uncontrollable Phantasmal Beast—a miracle from the last flicker of the Age of Gods. Modern magi were as helpless before it as infants.
Yet, after learning all this—
she had still chosen to face the Golden Wolf alone.
She wanted to subdue the beast through the most primitive method.
That's right. Aozaki Touko wanted to use force to subdue a creation born from the last flicker of the Age of Gods.
To subdue it through her own power without relying on any assistance from the Einzbern Family—it sounded like the ravings of someone who had lost her mind.
And yet, somehow, there was a strange premonition that if it were her, she could actually accomplish it.
I Want the Golden Wolf
Crack.
The sound of a branch breaking rang out.
Aozaki Touko stepped over the thick layer of fallen leaves and slowly walked toward the depths of the primeval forest. The surrounding trees towered forty to fifty meters high, while tangled vines made it impossible for ordinary people to take even a single step.
However, an invisible field enveloped her body, pushing aside and severing the dense vines and branches.
Her advance remained completely unaffected from beginning to end.
"I don't want to spend the night here... I hope I can settle this before dark!"
Aozaki Touko raised her head and looked at the sun, which had only recently risen, through the gaps in the dense foliage. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and then she quickened her pace.
She was going alone to capture the Golden Wolf this time.
Irisviel and Illyasviel, who had accompanied her, were staying in a small town outside the primeval forest.
Although they had wanted to accompany her, considering their strength, if they really went along, they might be bitten to death by the Golden Wolf during the battle.
After all, modern magi were barely any better than paper dolls before this Phantasmal Beast.
The sun gradually climbed higher, then began to slant westward.
Aozaki Touko finally arrived before a hidden village.
It was a settlement inhabited by a group of werewolves.
They were just like the werewolves in movies, their bodies covered in thick fur and their physiques incredibly strong and large. When they slightly parted their jaws, their sharp teeth could be seen.
At this moment, they had surrounded Aozaki Touko. A pair of green, beast-like eyes stared at her. The instant she revealed the slightest opening, they would swarm her, bite her to death, and tear her apart.
This was their territory.
A place that absolutely could not be exposed.
This woman had to die here!
Before you continue