Becoming Aozaki Touko's Life

"...Ruu—#Grit!!!"

Inside the village, the wolfman chieftain's pupils abruptly contracted, his entire gaze drawn to the accompanying blonde, green-eyed girl with a loli voice. The sacred aura she exuded was absolutely unmistakable—it was the Golden Wolf, the deity their clan worshipped and revered.

This point was an indisputable fact!

And that meant... that female magician had truly defeated a Phantasmal Beast from the Age of Gods?!

"My name is Beo now~"

A crisp, childish loli voice rang out. Beo scratched her cheek a little sheepishly as she looked at the stunned wolfman chieftain. After all, losing to a human as a Phantasmal Beast was indeed a very embarrassing thing.

But she still had to make the announcement.

"Mm... this name was given to me by Master Touko... so that means I've already lost to Touko!"

"..."

Inside the village, the wolfmen's green eyes went blank with confusion. If the Golden Wolf had been tricked by words, they could still understand and accept that. But if she had been subdued through sheer combat, that was just absurd!

To put it in perspective, if a human killed a dinosaur with their bare hands, anyone would call that nonsense.

"...Everyone, I think we can now talk about the future of the wolfman race!"

Aozaki Touko raised a hand and ruffled Beo's head, then looked at the wolfmen with a half-smile. "If you work for me, I can solve your clan's problems—whether it's living conditions or reproduction issues, I can handle them all!"

"What... do you plan to do?"

The wolfman chieftain stepped forward, his tone much more subdued this time.

This female magician was a ruthless one. Since she could defeat and subdue the Golden Wolf, she could certainly crush the wolfman clan in a fight. Not to mention she now had the Golden Wolf on her side—they had no chance of dealing with her anymore...

"I have a magic potion that can boost reproduction rates!"

Aozaki Touko pulled out a bottle of magic potion and tossed it to the wolfman chieftain. "You can have some of your clan try it first. But I'd recommend testing it on animals first—that way you'll get a more intuitive result!"

This potion came from Kuonji Alice. Before heading to the Einzbern family, she had specifically asked Alice for it, intending to use it now to lure the wolfman clan.

"...?!"

The wolfman caught the potion cautiously, gripping it carefully in his hand.

If this potion was genuine, it was the future hope of his clan. Even if it cost him his life, he absolutely could not let it be damaged in any way.

"I can keep supplying the potion in the future...!"

Aozaki Touko flicked her long hair, her gaze confident and radiant. "And if you still think reproduction is too slow, in the future I can personally craft a few wolfman cubs for you!"

As a future puppet master... once her skills matured, crafting a few wolfmen by hand should be no problem. If she ever obtained the Third Magic, she might even be able to create Phantasmal Beasts for fun.

"...Quite impressive, aren't you?"

The wolfman chieftain was silent for a moment, then looked at Aozaki Touko. "To be honest, just this potion alone is worth us working for you. But... I'll be greedy and ask one more thing—how do you plan to solve the living environment problem?"

"I'll just buy this primeval forest!"

Aozaki Touko chuckled lightly. "I plan to start a pharmaceutical company. If nothing goes wrong, it should be quite profitable. You'll provide security for it, and once the company grows, I'll purchase this land!"

That was her solution to the wolfmen's living environment problem.

When the time came, she would buy this primeval forest under the guise of environmental protection, and there would be no risk of overdevelopment.

"...What an irresistible bait."

The wolfman chieftain gave a bitter smile. The conditions this female magician had laid out were so good he could hardly refuse them, because they targeted everything his clan couldn't turn down—habitat, reproduction, all their weak points.

"Hart... why don't we just agree?"

A female wolfman stepped out, speaking with some hope.

"..."

The wolfman chieftain turned to look at his wife, then at the rest of the clan. The hope shining in their eyes made it clear—they were deeply drawn to the conditions this female magician had offered.

"...I accept."

Chapter 15: Grandfather's Inquiry

Misaki City.

"..."

The Magic User gazed at the young girl before him, his cold eyes betraying no emotion. The colors of humanity were very faint on him.

"Aoko... do you like magic?"

He asked this, devoid of any feeling.

Aozaki Aoko looked at her grandfather with some surprise, yet remained silent, offering no answer.

If this question had been asked by Kuonji Alice, she would have answered "yes" without hesitation. But coming from the grandfather of the Aozaki Household, it carried an entirely different meaning.

Even if she had never set foot in the world of mages.

Only one person could inherit the Magic.

She knew that much.

If her grandfather intended to teach her magic, that meant she would have to compete with her own sister for the inheritance of the Magic User title—and that also meant she would have to become her sister's enemy.

Indeed, she wanted to touch the world of magic.

But that was also to get closer to her older sister.

It was not about vying for the inheritance of the Magic User.

"Grandfather... why do you ask?"

After a moment's thought, she asked cautiously.

"...Not a direct refusal, is it!"

Without answering, Grandfather let out a pleased laugh.

Hearing this, Aozaki Aoko suddenly felt a stir of irritation in her heart—like the discomfort of having her thoughts seen through, or like an instinct trying to warn her of something. In any case, she spoke as if to make amends:

"I do have some interest in the world of magi, but I absolutely do not want to be at odds with Sister Orange!"

Her words were very firm.

At this, Grandfather laughed even more cheerfully. He waved a hand and said, "Aoko, you may go back."

"Yes... then I'll take my leave~"

The irritation in her heart grew stronger, but Aozaki Aoko bowed politely, then turned and left the cave.

"..."

Watching Aozaki Aoko leave, Grandfather was silent for a moment, then muttered in an emotionless tone: "At odds... Aozaki Touko will not be at odds with you... The Fifth Magic is not something she must obtain!"

With that, he turned and walked deeper into the cave.

On the other side.

Above Einzbern Castle.

A helicopter slowly descended, the rotor blades churning the air into a gale that blew away the snow on the ground, revealing a flat, clean clearing.

"..."

Hadon stood not far away, ignoring the gusts of wind.

He was waiting for an answer he already knew clearly—one that could greatly increase the chances of the Einzbern family's long-cherished wish succeeding.

"...Hadon, long time no see!"

From the helicopter, Aozaki Touko and her group stepped out, accompanied by a Phantasmal Beast named Beo.

At that moment, Hadon's gaze instantly locked onto Beo, and Beo, as if sensing something, turned her head back, her childlike eyes carrying a hint of wariness.

Then, Hadon felt the dangerous aura of death.

"He's not a bad person~"

As if noticing the tension, Aozaki Touko patted Beo's head, and Beo's wary gaze relaxed, reverting to the appearance of a cute, innocent little girl.

"Congratulations on successfully forming a contract with a Phantasmal Beast!"

Hadon praised: "This is nothing short of miraculous. Aozaki Touko, you truly are an extraordinary existence. Even if you were to master two kinds of magic simultaneously, I feel it wouldn't be impossible!"

"..."

Hearing this, Aozaki Touko frowned slightly, then revealed a helpless smile: "An existence mastering two magics at once... I don't think there's ever been one in history, has there?"

By common sense, as the heir to the Fifth Magic, if she won the Holy Grail War in the future, she might indeed master both. However, the one who would master the Fifth Magic in the future would not be her.

"The absence of precedent does not mean impossibility."

Hadon replied.

As the heir to the Fifth Magic, she would inevitably master it in the future, and if Touko won the Holy Grail War, the Third Magic would also fall into her hands. Mastering both great magics was not impossible.

Rather, the possibility was very high.

"...Perhaps~"

Aozaki Touko smiled indifferently, then changed the subject: "Has there been no mail for me during this time? By my estimate, it should have arrived by now."

"It's already been delivered to your room!"

Hadon answered coldly.

"Is that so?"

Aozaki Touko nodded slightly, then said, "I've been traveling for so long, and I'm a bit tired now. Please excuse my rudeness—I'll take my leave for now."

"Then I won't disturb you."

Hadon turned and walked away without any hesitation or lingering.

He had already seen what he wanted to see on this trip, so there was no need to stay any longer. Besides, he knew that he and Aozaki Touko didn't really get along.

The night grew deeper.

The fireplace burned with bright yellow flames, radiating a warm heat.

At that moment, Aozaki Touko sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, reading the letter in her hands word by word. Her expression gradually shifted from a smile to a grave one.

"Asking Aoko if she's interested in magic... it seems the time is almost here!"

Chapter 16: Catching Kiritsugu's Mother

"...Looks like I need to work even harder!"

With a light chuckle and that sigh, Aozaki Touko stood up and walked out of the room. The letter in her hand was tossed into the air, where it suddenly ignited, burning into a ball of flame until nothing remained.

She still had much research left unfinished, especially regarding the creation of the Rose Maidens, which had now reached a critical stage.

Soon, she believed, all the prototypes of the Rose Maidens would be completed.

Berlin, the capital of Germany.

The werewolves who had emerged from the primeval forest stepped off the plane, following a silver-haired, red-eyed man into a row of waiting vehicles.

Then, under the curious gazes of the airport crowd, the convoy slowly drove toward the city center.

"...Can you give us a detailed rundown of our mission?"

Staring at the towering buildings outside the window, the werewolf leader named Hart turned his head to the strange-smelling man and said, "At least let us form a general picture, so we don't end up flailing around like headless flies."

"It shouldn't be difficult for you."

The homunculus from Einzbern spoke with an elegant, flat tone. "The place you're heading to is a pharmaceutical company under Miss Aozaki's banner, called 'Umbrella.'"