Becoming Aozaki Touko

What she wanted to see was neither an aged old woman nor a villainous character with malicious intent.

It was an indisputably beautiful girl.

One worthy of being the object of any young man's admiration and affection.

The sound of rain gradually faded.

Aozaki Aoko closed her red umbrella, then tilted her head slightly to look up.

A solitary Western-style mansion came into view, surrounded by tall iron fences covered in thorny plants.

It was clearly a house with considerable history, perfectly capable of satisfying people's fantasies of mystery—after all, having such a mansion deep in the mountains.

That itself was quite strange.

"...Alice, I've come to see you!"

Walking up to the door, she knocked twice very quickly.

Aozaki Aoko pushed the door open with a practiced motion, then headed almost without hesitation toward the living room. She opened the living room door, and where her gaze extended.

A stunningly beautiful girl sat on the sofa, holding an ancient book and reading, surrounded by an elegant, quiet atmosphere befitting a literary maiden.

However, the girl's movement of turning her head shattered that sense of beauty. She looked back at Aozaki Aoko, her delicate face written with unwelcome.

"Even if you replied, it wouldn't be this fast!"

With a slight sigh, she closed the Grimoire in her hands. Kuonji Alice spoke coldly, neither welcoming nor driving her away.

She didn't want to have too much contact with Aozaki Aoko.

This girl lived in a different world from her, and she wasn't the type to enjoy excessive intimacy with others.

But this girl was her friend's younger sister.

She couldn't bring herself to ruthlessly kick her out.

And though she wanted to deny it, this girl had already become deeply entangled with her over this period—evident from that polite yet meaningless knock on the door.

She was already very familiar with this place.

"...Coming here isn't just about letters!"

Aozaki Aoko flicked her long hair, walked over, and sat down beside her. Tilting her head slightly, she smiled. "I just wanted to come and chat with you!"

"...We have nothing to talk about."

Kuonji Alice said coldly, while pouring a cup of black tea for Aoko.

They were people from two completely different worlds—neither their outlooks on life nor their fields of knowledge intersected. It was hard to chat casually like friends.

They could barely find any common topics.

"Hmm... how about telling me how you and my sister met?"

Aozaki Aoko seemed to have prepared this question in advance. Kuonji Alice's expression stiffened slightly at this, then she picked up her black tea and took a sip.

"...There's really nothing good to say. That year, when Father took me to visit your Grandfather, Touko just happened to be there."

Getting to know each other through family connections—almost everyone has that experience.

However, she still remembered the look Touko gave her back then. It was like the gaze of someone who had spotted prey.

At that moment, she even felt as if she were locked onto by a hawk.

If judged by common sense, that look should have been the joy of finding a peer, or a curious, probing gaze, or even a wary one.

But her intuition told her it wasn't.

"Alice, aren't you skipping a few details?"

Aozaki Aoko took a sip of black tea, a hint of teasing in her voice. She had keenly sensed something interesting hidden beneath the surface.

"...Now it's my turn to ask a question~"

Without answering, Kuonji Alice countered, "With a sister so brilliant, don't you feel jealous?"

The words fell, and the atmosphere froze for a moment.

"...Do you feel jealous of God?"

Aozaki Aoko retorted, then continued on her own, "Sometimes, when the gap is too vast, jealousy has no soil to grow in."

"My sister has already finished her university courses on her own, is a well-known genius in the world of magecraft, and has even made breakthrough progress on cancer..."

"Being jealous of or competing with a genius like that... I think it's just asking for trouble."

Yes, this was a realm that hard work could no longer surpass. If one insisted on trying to keep up, the only result would be ending up battered and bruised.

On this point, there was hardly any doubt.

Chapter 9: Driving Skills

On a country road.

A black sedan sped like lightning—turning, drifting, all completed in the blink of an eye, then vanishing beyond sight, leaving one with the illusion of having misseen it.

"Don't worry, Irisviel's driving skills are excellent..."

In the car, Aozaki Touko comforted the Maid beside her, then, as the young lady relaxed slightly, she added another sentence as if lacking confidence:

"Well... even if the car flips, I can still save you!"

"As expected... of Miss Touko~"

The Maid's face instantly turned pale, then she forced a faint smile.

"...But please don't worry, I do have some means of self-preservation, so if danger arises, please prioritize protecting yourself and Miss Irisviel!"

Watching the snowy scenery flash past the window, the Maid seemed to close her eyes in despair, entrusting everything that was about to happen to the unseen hand of fate.

As an Android of the Einzbern Family, she valued the lives of Aozaki Touko and Irisviel far above her own. If a life exchange were necessary, she would not hesitate to offer hers.

"Hmm... I'm already driving quite slowly~"

From the driver's seat, Irisviel adjusted the speed, then turned to look at the back seat. Her ruby-like pupils reflected the trembling Maid.

"A little slower, please!"

Aozaki Touko smiled gently and explained, "After all, this isn't the Einzbern Family. We've entered human society now, so we should at least follow normal people's common sense~"

To keep Irisviel from getting bored, she had specially bought a sports car from the outside world for her to play with.

However, due to the Einzbern Family's isolation from the outside, Irisviel's perception of speed had a subtle gap compared to outsiders.

Of course, safety wasn't much of a concern.

The road they were on now was a remote countryside area with virtually no passing cars.

Plus, she had Suigintou flying overhead, able to see the road ahead through visual sharing.

So there was no need to worry about hitting anyone.

"...I understand~"

Irisviel slowed the car down, then turned to look at the Maid behind her: "Sorry, Illyasviel scared you~"

"No... it's my lack of composure, nothing to do with Miss Irisviel!"

The Maid quickly shook her head, her tense body relaxing, then she cleared her throat lightly, quickly tidied her appearance, and resumed her dignified and polite demeanor.

"That's a personal trait... nothing to do with composure!"

Aozaki Touko crossed her arms, eyeing the Maid with amusement: "You know, Illyasviel, your reaction just now was quite adorable. It makes me want to tease you properly!"

"Agreed!"

Irisviel, who was driving, nodded in strong approval.

"...Please be serious~"

Illyasviel blushed and lowered her head, her slender fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. She couldn't quite tell what emotion was stirring in her heart right now.

But the only thing she knew was that becoming Miss Touko's Maid was truly wonderful!

"..."

Seeing this, Aozaki Touko smiled faintly and didn't continue teasing the Maid.

She was now heading to a place to obtain a crucial tool—a Golden Wolf with over three thousand years of mystery, possessing overwhelming dominance over modern magecraft. With this, she could have a subjective voice in the Clock Tower.

Moreover, the creature known as the Golden Wolf was an excellent research subject.

Atop the Einzbern Castle.

Hadon silently watched the departing black sedan, his aged, unreadable face betraying no emotion. He lingered on the castle roof for a while before turning and leaving.

"Defeating a Phantasmal Beast... what a bold and arrogant idea!"

The goal of Aozaki Touko's departure was clear, with no concealment from them: to capture a Phantasmal Beast called the Golden Wolf, dominate it, and make it her familiar.

She wasn't choosing to command common animals like cats, dogs, crows, or parrots—creatures with little resistance.

Instead, she chose a Phantasmal Beast that was nearly impossible to control, a miracle of the Age of Gods' dying light. Modern mages were as helpless as infants before it.

Yet, knowing this, She still chose to face this Golden Wolf alone.

She wanted to subdue this beast through the most primal means.

Yes, Aozaki Touko intended to conquer this miracle of the Age of Gods' twilight through force.

Without any aid from the Einzbern Family, relying solely on her own power to subdue it—a statement that seemed utterly insane.

Yet, there was a subtle, strange premonition that if it were her, she might actually pull it off.

Chapter 10: I Want the Golden Wolf

Crack

The sound of a branch breaking rang out.

Aozaki Touko trod through the thick layer of fallen leaves, walking deeper into the primeval forest. The towering trees around her rose forty or fifty meters high, their tangled vines making it nearly impossible for an ordinary person to move.

But an invisible field enveloped her body, pushing aside and slicing through the dense creepers and branches.

Her pace never wavered from start to finish.

"I'd rather not spend the night here... I hope to settle this before dark."

Aozaki Touko looked up through the gaps in the thick foliage at the sun, which had only recently risen. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she quickened her steps.

For this operation to capture the Golden Wolf, she was going alone.

The accompanying Irisviel and Illyasviel had been left behind in a small town outside the primeval forest.

They had wanted to come along, but considering their combat ability, if they actually joined, they might end up bitten to death by the Golden Wolf in the middle of a fight.

After all, a modern magus was barely sturdier than paper in front of a Phantasmal Beast.

The sun climbed higher and began to slant westward.

Aozaki Touko finally arrived before a hidden village.

It was a settlement inhabited by werewolves.

Like the werewolves in movies, their bodies were covered in thick fur, their physiques robust and towering. When they bared their mouths slightly, sharp fangs were visible.

Now, they surrounded Aozaki Touko, a ring of green, beastly eyes fixed on her. If she showed even the slightest opening, they would swarm in, biting and tearing her apart.

This was their territory.

And a place that absolutely could not be exposed.

This woman had to die here.