Partners in Crime (Continued)

"Grandpa, please don't be angry." Aoko hurried forward with an awkward smile to smooth things over, while repeatedly signaling to her older sister.

But Touko not only showed no sign of backing down; she even glanced at her grandfather.

"Why are you still here? Didn't you say this wasn't a place where dogs should eat?"

Crack.

A table beside Touko shattered into wooden fragments.

Judging by the magical energy Shinji sensed, Aozaki Public had done it.

"Grandpa."

Seeing that her grandfather was about to blow up, Aoko quickly reminded him in a low voice, "This is the banquet hall. There are outsiders here."

Her words forcibly tamped down Aozaki Public's anger, which had been on the verge of exploding.

Aozaki Public pointed toward the banquet hall doors. "Get out. This isn't a place for third-rate magi. You haven't been part of the Aozaki Family for a long time. You have no right to be here!"

Touko stopped smoking, her eyes narrowing slightly behind her glasses.

Aozaki Public was angry, and so was she—very much so.

But there were too many prominent figures from Japan's Mage world at this event. If they made a scene, it would only embarrass everyone and hurt her chances of getting work in the future.

So Aozaki Touko could only take a deep breath and swallow her anger.

"I'm attending this banquet at my client's invitation. It has nothing to do with you."

Aozaki Public opened his mouth, ready to throw out another taunt, but Touko didn't give him the chance. She stood up at once.

"I thought this was going to be some high-class banquet. Turns out it's only this kind of place. I'm leaving."

With that, Touko waved carelessly, showing no concern for appearances, and walked out of the banquet hall without looking back.

"Grandpa, excuse me for a moment."

Shinji, who had been watching from the side, let his eyes flicker, then promptly followed Touko.

"Go on, go on."

Zouken waved his cane indifferently. He seemed almost eager for Shinji to follow her.

With Aozaki Touko's departure, the atmosphere in the banquet hall grew oppressive.

Aozaki Public stood silently in place, and the others didn't know what to say.

It was no secret that Touko had been driven out of the Aozaki Family. Pretty much everyone in Japan's Mage world knew about it.

Knowing what had happened was one thing, but no one present wanted to openly take sides.

The grandfather was a highly respected mage and an influential figure—not someone to offend. The granddaughter was a renowned maker of magical tools, and they might need her help in the future—not someone to offend either.

So everyone kept their distance, unwilling to get involved in the Aozaki Family's affairs.

"Grandpa... please don't be angry."

Aoko steeled herself and went over to try to soothe him.

She didn't want to get involved in her sister and grandfather's mess, but she was the only one there who could still talk to Aozaki Public.

"I'm not angry." Aozaki Public suddenly smiled. "She's not part of the Aozaki Family anymore. Why would I be angry?"

Aoko gave an awkward smile, privately dissatisfied with her grandfather's domineering ways.

Even if my sister doesn't meet your standards, why not just make me the head of the family instead? Why drive her out and cut ties with her? Who are you trying to impress?

"Enough. I'll introduce you to some promising young mages from Japan." Aozaki Public gave a heavy snort and led Aoko toward the other side of the banquet hall. "Aoko, keep your wits about you. You absolutely mustn't fall in with the wrong sort."

Aoko's mouth twitched, and her smile grew even more forced.

Meanwhile, Shinji finally caught up with Touko.

She hadn't left the hotel. She was sitting on a sofa in the first-floor lobby.

"Would you mind if I sat beside you, beautiful senpai?"

Though he phrased it as a question, Shinji sat down before Touko could agree.

"Well, having a handsome junior like you is quite an honor."

Touko smiled nonchalantly, making no effort to be rude to Shinji.

The fact that Shinji had followed her meant he was on her side. After being left without support just moments ago, Touko felt a little more warmly toward him.

Seeing that Touko had actually acknowledged their senior-junior relationship, Shinji raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Shinji had deliberately called her "senpai" to bring them closer.

In fact, Shinji's studies at the Clock Tower had been in a completely different field from Touko's. Strictly speaking, they were only alumni of the same school.

"I'm sorry about that, junior."

Touko stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, pushed her glasses up onto her forehead, then leaned back and spoke in a flippant tone. "If I'd known that old man would be so rude, I wouldn't have come. Sorry for putting a damper on your evening, junior."

"It's fine. I've been sick of that old man for a long time, too." Shinji gave her a thumbs-up. "He even stuck his nose into my Magecraft."

"Hey, hey, say that to my face, would you? He is my grandfather, after all." Touko glared at Shinji reproachfully. "But that's so typical of him. He kicked me out of the house because our magical philosophies differed."

"He doesn't treat you like family. Do you really have to defend him, senpai?" Shinji shrugged, looking utterly innocent.

Touko fell silent for a long while. She couldn't refute what Shinji had said.

Beep beep.

The sound of an incoming email broke the silence between them.

Touko took out her phone, glanced at the message, then shoved it back into her clothes without even bothering to reply.

"My sister sent it. She says she wants to invite Grandpa and me to dinner sometime, so we can talk things over."

Seeing Shinji's questioning look, Touko said indifferently.

"Does your sister have a grudge against some restaurant?" Shinji quipped. "Given how things are between you and your grandfather, if you meet again, you'll probably tear the place apart."

"Ha, who knows?" Touko chuckled. "Aoko's always had these unrealistic, naive ideas."

No, maybe she really does have a grudge against some restaurant.

Thinking of the red-haired beauty, who had secretly given him a thumbs-up, Shinji couldn't help feeling that she wasn't exactly the peaceable type.

"I'd say there's at least an eighty percent chance you and Aozaki Public will start arguing again when you meet. And once you do, things will definitely get even worse."

Shinji rested his chin on his hands and looked up at Aozaki Touko.

"My advice is to solve the problem at its root, senpai."

With Shinji staring so intently at her, Touko inexplicably felt as if she were being targeted.

This junior isn't planning to make a move on me, is he?

Touko had guessed right. Shinji did want to make a move on her, but not on her body.

"Senpai, everyone knows how stubborn Aozaki Public is. He'll never listen to you. Instead, he'll keep spreading a negative image of you to everyone around him. So the best solution is to make sure no one listens to him ever again."

"You mean I should become a Magus and make him shut up forever?" Touko countered.

Shinji replied calmly, "With the current decline of mystery, the chances of a new Magus appearing are slim. I mean taking away his influence in the Mage world."

Touko scoffed. "That's impossible."

Though she couldn't stand the old man, Touko knew all too well how much standing he had in the Mage world.

Even if he wasn't the most influential person in the world, he was at least the undisputed authority in the Far East.

"Who says it's impossible? If the Mage world undergoes a revolution and the current order gets reshuffled, we'll have a chance to sweep those old fossils into the trash heap of history."

At this, Shinji's eyes lit up.

"Senpai, I have a plan..."

Then Shinji laid out his plan in full.

He didn't focus on his plans for the film and entertainment industries. Instead, he emphasized the changes he intended to bring to the Mage world: making secular pragmatism its mainstream, squeezing the likes of Aozaki Public and the other old diehards out of existence, and leaving them powerless to call the shots.

At first, Touko dismissed Shinji's plan, thinking her junior was indulging in wild fantasies. But as she listened, her expression grew serious.

Shinji's plan was only a concept for now, but if it really succeeded...

"That sounds pretty exciting."

Touko murmured thoughtfully. Then, as if she'd realized something, she poked Shinji with a finger.

"Junior, you came to talk to me on purpose, didn't you? You're trying to rope your senpai into your little scheme."

"I'm serious." Shinji smiled. "I've wanted to invite you for a long time. I just never had a chance to meet you. This was the perfect opportunity."

"Is that so..."

Touko toyed with the cigarette case in her hand, thinking in silence.

With her own sources of information, Touko knew what the Matou Family and the mages of Fuyuki City had been up to lately, and she believed Shinji's plan was genuine.

She just wasn't sure how far Shinji could go. Still, the plan was undeniably tempting.

Whatever. I might as well give it a try.

At Touko's age, she'd have plenty of time to wait for the old man to die and finally turn her life around.

But dancing on his grave was nowhere near as satisfying as rubbing it in his face while he was still alive.

Touko knew all too well that what would infuriate her grandfather most wasn't destroying him physically. It was making the entire Mage world reject him and ignore him. That would hurt even more than killing him.

The look on the old man's face when he rages helplessly will be priceless.

At the thought, Touko unconsciously curled her lips into a smile.

"Two years."

"Hm?"

Shinji froze for a moment.

"I'm giving you two years. If your plan hasn't gotten anywhere by then, I'm leaving."

At Touko's current age, she could easily afford to spend two years on this. Besides, she wanted to see how far her ambitious junior could go.

"Of course. No problem."

Shinji agreed at once.

If he couldn't accomplish anything in two years, that would prove he was a complete loser.

Forget Touko—Second Master himself would probably have to find a place to dig a hole and bury himself.

"And make sure you pay me." Touko smiled provocatively at Shinji. "Your senpai is expensive."

"I'll make sure the compensation satisfies you, senpai."

Shinji really needed a skilled magical-tool maker like Touko to join his team.

Originally, that position should have gone to Caster Medea, but something had gone wrong with the Heroic Spirit summoning team, and Second Master and Caster Medea had missed each other completely.

Fortunately, FSN didn't require many custom-made magical tools for filming, so Shinji had managed to get by. But that might not be true of his next movie.

Touko's arrival would fill the vacancy for a magical-tool maker on Shinji's team perfectly.

"Then I look forward to working with you, senpai."

"And I look forward to working with you, junior."

Shinji and Touko shook hands.

After the banquet, Shinji returned to Tokyo and resumed post-production on FSN.

As for Touko, although she had agreed to join Shinji's team, she wasn't in a hurry to move to Fuyuki City. She still had some commissions to finish.

Shinji wasn't in a hurry either. Given Touko's character, once she'd agreed to something, she wouldn't stand him up.

FSN's post-production wasn't finished yet, and the plans for the new movie hadn't even reached the point of creating a new folder. Even if Touko arrived, Shinji wouldn't have any work for her.

Once he confirmed that Touko would start in the spring, Shinji devoted all his energy to FSN's post-production.

Before attending the banquet, Shinji had finished the first rough cut of the film, but that was only the first step in the long post-production process.

After that came the fine cut, the actors' voice-over recordings, deciding on the music, then editing the sound effects... all of it would take a great deal of time and effort.