Aozaki Aoko Case File

"I have an idea!" Arcueid suddenly became a little excited. "We can play a tabletop RPG in this world!"

"Hmm, it's certainly possible," Aoko said, stroking her smooth chin. "I can use the puppets I've made as NPCs, controlling their behavior with preset commands, and setting up some TRPG scenarios."

"That does sound fun," Touko chimed in with interest. "We can even pull the girls at home into it — they'll love the idea!"

"But for now, we need to head out," Touko reminded them. "We've completed our objective here in Souya. Once we collect the reward from Ciel, the only thing left is to help Arcueid find Roa's temporary reincarnation. I've still got other things on my schedule, so we need to make good use of our time."

Hearing Roa's name, Arcueid, who had been cheerful about the tabletop game idea, suddenly became gloomy and downcast.

"Don't worry," Touko said gently, trying to comfort her. "It's just a rat that knows how to reincarnate. Destroying his soul is child's play for me."

"Yeah, I know," Arcueid took a deep breath. "It's just... thinking about that guy makes me nauseous."

"I understand how you feel," Aoko nodded. "It's like getting bitten by a dog when you're a child, and then growing up to find that your neighbors all seem to have dogs that look just like the one that bit you..."

"What kind of weird analogy is that?" Touko sighed, exasperated. "Besides, no one had dogs near our home when we were kids, right?"

"It's just a metaphor!" Aoko replied. "Don't you think Roa is like some rabid mad dog that makes people sick?"

"Instead of calling him a mad dog, wouldn't it be more accurate to say he's like rabies itself — the thing that makes dogs go mad?" Touko countered.

"No way," Aoko crossed her arms in an X shape, rejecting the idea. "If that's the case, wouldn't that make Ciel a dog?"

Arcueid's mood gradually lifted as the Aozaki sisters bickered over such a ridiculous topic. She smiled warmly as she watched the two of them debating — something she had never experienced in her endless millennia.

...

"You!" Ortenrosse exclaimed in a disheveled state, clutching his wounds. He realized that the injuries inflicted by his opponents were difficult to heal and targeted against him. "Are you trying to make enemies of all the other Ancestors?"

"Don't make me laugh, Ortenrosse. This time, you tried to hunt the White Princess, but you were outmaneuvered by the magicians. Besides the ones who were killed, how many of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors are even willing to answer your call now?"

Ortenrosse's face turned pale. His winged regalia had been destroyed, and his opponent was right — his remaining allies were already dead. Among the Ancestors who acknowledged him as their leader, most were merely nominal supporters who wouldn't risk their lives to fight these two.

"The Princess is very displeased with your actions. The White Princess is the Black Princess's prey, her sister. She isn't something a piece of trash like you can touch. Since you've done what shouldn't be done, you'll pay the price."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ortenrosse shouted hysterically. His usually well-groomed hair was now a mess. "I am the King of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors! What makes that defective child of Crimson Moon think she can lead us?!"

"Ah, it seems we have nothing more to discuss," the first knight sighed, drawing his weapon. "Let's finish it, Blood."

...

Moments later, aboard a floating carriage, a black-haired girl sipped from a glass of crimson liquid, seemingly absentminded as she waited for something. Beside her, a small white-furred beast lay asleep.

"Princess," the knight called Blood returned to the carriage and knelt on one knee, performing a knight's salute. "It's done. This is Ortenrosse's Principle."

"Good work," the black-haired girl glanced at the Principle, carefully sealed in a special container, and reached out her slender arm to take it. "Sigh, I didn't want it to come to this."

Blood, the white knight, remained silent. His companion, the black knight Strout, was currently at the front of the carriage, driving it.

"I must say, Ortenrosse was truly scared out of his mind," the black-haired girl chuckled as she toyed with the Principle in her hand. "Normally, it would've been difficult to ambush someone as cautious as him. It's clear that those two young magicians terrified him this time."

The small beast beside her let out a soft purring sound. The girl reached out to pet it, adjusting its position until it curled up into a fluffy white ball.

"Well, I suppose my foolish little sister was just too lucky this time," the black-haired girl sighed, placing the Principle into an inconspicuous box and tossing it aside. "Let's head back to the castle. I'm tired of this."

Blood saluted again before leaving the carriage to join his colleague in driving it back to the Black Princess's castle.

...

From that moment on, the Ancestors who had come to the Souya district of Tokyo completely vanished. Apart from the unfortunate humans who'd disappeared due to being hunted by them, the only evidence of their presence was the luxury hotel destroyed by Vlov.

In the church at Souya, Ciel knelt on the ground, using a Black Key to keep herself from collapsing. Blood dripped from her mouth, and the wound on her chest made it clear that she wasn't in good shape.

Normally, as a vessel for the Serpent of Akasha, she could quickly regenerate from her injuries. But for some reason, the damage caused by the doll she'd fought was healing much more slowly.

"This is so interesting!" A blond boy stepped out from the corner, accompanied by a nun who was unmistakably a doll. "I didn't expect the body I used in my last reincarnation to still be alive."

"How about it? Is my knowledge of magecraft still useful?" the blond boy taunted.

Ciel widened her eyes in fury, her anger surging. "Roa! How dare you take over Mario's body...!"

"This guy's body is pretty decent," Roa said, raising his arm to inspect it. "It doesn't have your kind of talent, but it's still quite exceptional — better than that Tohno SHIKI."