[Projection Magecraft]

Touko Aozaki instinctively reached for a cigarette, but halfway through the motion, she caught a glimpse of the unconscious Touko Aozaki Kirie out of the corner of her eye.

"Tsk--"

After a click of the tongue echoed in the room, Touko Aozaki put the cigarette back in his pocket, rubbed the lighter in his hand, and slumped into his chair.

Touko Aozaki, having removed her glasses, slowly closed her eyes. After a long while, she murmured something softly, as if in a dream.

"The Witch... the Witch Medea..."

Meanwhile, during the brief moment when Touko Aozaki closed her eyes, Kirie, who was sleeping on the sofa, seemed to wake up from a dream and quietly blinked...

@White Dew Destroyer No. 4 @Purple, Sorely Tired of Life

1551 (made a shameful sound)

(I really don't know what to say anymore)

Chapter 299. [Projection Magecraft]

Thump thump thump--

The next morning, Touko Aozaki was awakened from her sleep by a knocking sound coming from outside her room.

Is that Fujino Asagami?

"It's already this late..."

Touko Aozaki got out of bed, picked up her glasses from the bedside table, looked up at the time, and realized it was almost noon.

Although Touko Aozaki is somewhat carefree, her strict daily routine is one of her few virtues. As for when she woke up this time...

Perhaps it's related to her insomnia last night?

Come in.

After scratching her hair, which was a little messy from sleeping, Touko Aozaki called out towards the door.

As the door was slowly pushed open, what appeared before Touko Aozaki was not her disciple—

"Sakura?"

Seeing the petite figure appear at the door, Touko Aozaki couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

"Miss Touko Aozaki, it's almost lunchtime. Fujino Asagami is making lunch, so she asked me to wake you up."

"Ah, okay..."

After Sakura disappeared outside the door, Touko Aozaki, still not quite understanding the situation, lay on the bed for a moment in a daze before yawning and walking into the bathroom.

After a short time to wash up, Touko Aozaki, now dressed in her usual clothes, arrived at the office's living room. However, upon entering, Touko Aozaki found the scene far more lively than she had imagined...

Good afternoon, Miss Touko Aozaki.

"Emiya..."

Upon seeing Touko Aozaki, the woman sitting on the sofa immediately flashed a very friendly smile. Touko Aozaki, who recognized the woman, frowned in confusion.

"Touko Aozaki, good afternoon!"

Not only Irisviel, but Illya, who was playing in the living room at the moment, also turned around and waved happily to Touko Aozaki.

Irisviel and Illya are that guy's friend— Emiya Kiritsugu's wife and daughter. They are also his customers. Irisviel, who uses a doll as her body, needs to come here regularly to adjust her body due to issues with her soul compatibility. However, as time slowly passes and Irisviel's soul gradually stabilizes, the interval between Irisviel's check-ups has gradually lengthened, so the two haven't seen each other for some time.

However, Illya has been frequently visiting her agency lately because of Shirou and Sakura.

And now...

"Emiya..."

"We've known each other for so long, you can just call me Irisviel."

Touko Aozaki, who wanted to ask Irisviel the reason for her visit, was interrupted before she could finish her sentence. Seeing Irisviel's smiling expression, Touko Aozaki, who wasn't bothered by it, nodded and then asked her question:

"Irisviel, what brings you here today?" She even brought Shirou and Sakura with her...

Touko Aozaki, who had already scanned the entire office, noticed that besides Sakura and Kirie, who were playing with Illya in the living room, there were also figures moving around in the room at the other end of the room.

Based on Touko Aozaki's past experience, the noise must have come from Fujino Asagami and Shirou cooking in the kitchen.

"Because the Emperor suddenly visited last night, saying he had urgent business with Kiritsugu..."

Thump thump thump--

It was already late at night, but there was an unusual knocking on the Emiya family's door.

What happened?

Emiya Kiritsugu, who had just opened the door, frowned instinctively as he looked at Wang Xiaoming, who was holding an unknown girl, and the two children beside him.

Looking at Wang Xiaoming's appearance, someone who didn't know the inside story might think he had come to escape from disaster.

"I need to go on a long trip and I need your help."

Seeing the faint anxiety between Wang Xiaoming's brows and the somewhat weak girl in his arms, Emiya Kiritsugu's brows relaxed. He picked up the keys from the counter and said to Wang Xiaoming:

"Let's talk as we walk, but if we're going on a long trip, the children shouldn't go. Let Shirou and Sakura stay here and be looked after by Iris."

"Okay, I'll take care of the two kids. You two be careful."

Irisviel, who was following behind Kiritsugu, stepped forward, took Shirou and Sakura's hands, and then spoke to Kiritsugu and Wang Xiaoming.

"Please, Irisviel."

After thanking Irisviel, Wang Xiaoming, holding Lily, called out to Shirou before leaving:

"As a man, the task of protecting everyone is now entrusted to you, Shirou."

In response, Shirou gave Wang Xiaoming a thumbs up:

"Don't worry, Dad!"

"So rushed...?"

After listening to Irisviel's story, Touko Aozaki frowned and muttered a few words under her breath. Then, she heard Shirou's voice coming from the other end of the room—

"Dinner's ready!"

"It seems Fujino Asagami's cooking skills have improved again."

Before long, the people sitting around the table looked at the delicious-looking dishes on the table and began to praise the chef.

As for Fujino Asagami, she smiled and attributed the credit to Shirou was sitting next to her:

"It's all thanks to Shirou's help that cooking was so easy this time."

"No, no..."

"Alright, stop praising him."

After tasting the food, Touko Aozaki seemed to disapprove of Shirou's smug look and pouted, saying:

"This kid's skills aren't even half as reliable as his dad's yet. Let's save the praise for later."

"Oh, is Mr. Ming's cooking very good?"

Kirie Hui, the only one present who hadn't tasted Wang Xiaoming's cooking, couldn't help but ask after hearing Touko Aozaki's words. However, after seeing the unanimous agreement in everyone else's eyes, she cupped her chin in her hands and began to fantasize:

"I wish I could taste Mr. Ming's cooking someday."

"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future; it won't be difficult for him to cook."

After speaking, Touko Aozaki's attention shifted to Kirie:

"By the way, how are you feeling right now?"

"It feels great, like I've been reborn."

Upon hearing Touko Aozaki's question, Kirie gave a grateful smile, "I will definitely repay Miss Lily's kindness when I have the chance."

Thanks to Lily's Pain Breaker Noble Phantasm [Pain Breaker], Kirie has fully recovered to a healthy state, but due to prolonged inactivity, Kirie is still somewhat weak.

"Then let's begin the rehabilitation."

After understanding Kirie's current condition, Touko Aozaki nodded and continued, "First, we need to replace the wheelchair with crutches, so we need to buy a pair of crutches first..."

Seemingly reluctant to participate in this shopping process, Touko Aozaki wanted to delegate it to someone else, but looking around, it seemed there was no suitable candidate besides herself...

"Leave this to me!"

At this moment, Shirou suddenly volunteered, and Touko Aozaki breathed a sigh of relief and then said to Fujino Asagami, "Then Fujino Asagami, you can go with Shirou this afternoon."

"We don't need to go out."

Fujino Asagami was about to agree, but Shirou expressed a different opinion.

Why would you buy a walking stick if you're not going out?

Perhaps feeling mocked, Touko Aozaki frowned unhappily.

"No, look!"

Still a child Shirou probably wanted to prove himself, so he jumped down from his seat and went to the open space in the room. Under the watchful eyes of everyone else, Shirou extended his right hand:

"Projection, begin (Trace on)"

"..."

Seeing the phantom of the cane suddenly appear in Shirou's hand, Touko, who was subconsciously trying to deny the absurd idea in her mind, held her breath. The moment the Touko Aozaki gradually solidified and began to transform into a physical object, Touko Aozaki snatched the cane from Shirou's hand.

After repeatedly examining the cane in her hand, Touko Aozaki finally turned her attention to Shirou. Looking at Shirou, who was hanging his head dejectedly as if he had done something wrong, Touko Aozaki softened her tone as much as possible:

"Shirou, do you know what kind of Magecraft you're using?"

"Dad said it's [Projection Magecraft]."

"That's right, it's [Projection Magecraft]..."

After hearing Shirou's answer, Touko Aozaki nodded.

So-called "Projection Magecraft" is a type of Magecraft that uses magic to materialize mirror images or replicas of objects that exist (or have existed) in reality. Because it is formed using magic, it cannot be materialized for an extended period of time. Moreover, it will automatically deviate when the illusion develops flaws. It is considered an extremely inefficient technique.

This is how it should be...

Originally intended as a temporary, purely decorative item for only a few minutes, Shirou, that little rascal, absurdly overturned all of that. Feeling the texture and weight of the cane in her hand, Touko Aozaki couldn't help but sigh.

Without a doubt, the cane in his hand at this moment possessed a [physical form].

Does your dad know about this?

"Yes, he told me to practice more often and Projection as many everyday objects as possible to familiarize myself with the Magecraft trick."

"That guy..."

Looking at Shirou's serious expression, Touko Aozaki, who was feeling a headache coming on, just wanted to drag Wang Xiaoming in front of her and interrogate him fiercely about how many more things he was hiding from her.

[But I don't seem to have the right to do this?]

"Never mind, it has nothing to do with me anyway..."

After muttering under her breath for a couple of rounds, feeling somewhat bored, Touko Aozaki handed her cane to Kirie and returned to her seat, picking up her chopsticks again.

"Then we'll take our leave."

After lunch, Irisviel and her three children brought their visit to a close.

"Yes, Fujino Asagami, could you see Irisviel off for me?"

Touko Aozaki, whose mood seemed somewhat uneasy since lunch, said this to her disciple after saying goodbye.

"Okay, Master."

Fujino Asagami nodded and then led Irisviel and the three children out of the office.