Although she had barely managed to finish high school, after graduating, she shut herself away in the Western-style mansion her parents had left behind--
Had Kuonji Arisu really grown at all?
"..."
The black-haired witch let out a disappointed sigh.
She did not seem angry. She simply gazed calmly at her former housemate.
"Aoko... have you considered what unknown effects 'avoiding death through Time Travel' might have on this world? Can you bear that responsibility?"
"..."
"Why aren't you saying anything...? Who was it that said at Touko's grave that she would become an outstanding True Magic User?
"Wasn't it the half-baked seventeen-year-old Aoko? Have you already forgotten what you once said?"
Kuonji Arisu spoke like a machine gun, and it was the first time Shirou had ever seen her so eloquent.
After a brief silence, Aoko Aozaki said, "This is a matter of feeling.
"You're right. I'm going to act according to my feelings... That's who I am.
"Besides, I have no intention of shirking responsibility--
"If something really goes wrong with this Time Travel, we can think of a way to make amends and resolve it then. Isn't that what a True Magic User is supposed to do?"
The two girls stared at each other.
Neither Aoko nor Arisu intended to give an inch.
Their relationship had not changed at all--
Even after living together under the same roof for three years, they still could not understand each other.
Although they had something that could be called friendship, whenever their opinions clashed, they could not move on without first crushing the other side.
Aoko was Aoko, and Arisu was Arisu.
In a situation like this, the anything-goes friendship between them had already been cast aside.
"I'm relieved to see Aoko is still the same as ever."
The witch