Aozaki Aoko Case File

In summary, Aoko Aozaki and Alice Kuonji spent a relaxing afternoon at the Kuonji mansion. The two maintained a tacit understanding, as neither mentioned Aoko's sister, Touko Aozaki, who was likely preparing to confront them.

On the third day after imprisoning Lugh Beowulf in an imaginary space prison, Aoko approaches Alice.

"Alice, I need your help with something," Aoko said seriously to Alice, who was seated beside her on the sofa.

"I'd like you to help me use the Mirror of Slumber."

Alice sipped her tea unhurriedly, not immediately responding to Aoko's request. After a brief pause, she turned her head to look at Aoko.

"Just so you know, the Mirror of Slumber is not fully repaired," Alice said. "So using it to find something won't be one hundred percent accurate."

"I understand," Aoko replied.

"I have a rough idea of where Touko is hiding. Using the Mirror of Slumber is just for secondary confirmation."

"Let me confirm—you're planning to use the Mirror of Slumber to find Touko?"

Alice asked, her tone more serious.

"I'm not the type of person who regrets my decisions," Aoko said calmly. "Trust in my abilities."

"If you fail, the place where Touko is hiding could become your prison," Alice warned gravely.

"In this world, it's not that easy to trap me."

The two made their way to the place where the Mirror of Slumber was kept. Alice didn't try to dissuade Aoko further; she could see Aoko's determination and held a certain level of understanding of her abilities.

Alice placed the mirror flat on the table, gently brushing the surface with her hand, which produced a soft plop sound, like water. The image in the mirror shifted from blurry to clear, finally settling on a forested area near the old school building. The scope of the image was vast, and if someone else had to search within that range, it would likely take a considerable amount of time.

"Touko has placed countermeasures against the Mirror of Slumber. This is the best I can do for the location," Alice said, frowning.

Originally, there was a Reality Marble inside the Mirror of Slumber, but since it was incomplete, it didn't serve much purpose. However, Alice's mother had invited the young Touko years ago to help reconstruct and repair the mirror, fusing the Reality Marble with it, so Touko was quite familiar with this ploy. Now, the Mirror of Slumber had become a tool that could soften and distort the laws of physics within a bounded field.

"No problem," Aoko shook her head.

"The mirror's result confirms my suspicions. Just keep going."

At this, Alice took out something resembling a chess piece and placed it on top of the Mirror of Slumber. The mirror sank into a thick fog and disappeared from the table. The chess piece also melted away, transforming into the Nameless Forest that enveloped the area around the old school building.

"I'll be back soon," Aoko smiled at Alice, then, without looking back, walked through a door that had appeared inside the mansion.

Using the Nameless Forest was Aoko's idea, as she didn't want to involve ordinary people in her battle with Touko. As for concerns about the secrecy of magic, she didn't care. Within the range of the Nameless Forest, any non-magi human would be compelled by a magical suggestion: "There's no need to go any further," effectively driving them away. Aoko could cast this kind of magecraft herself but not on the same scale as the Nameless Forest.

By using the mirror's inner world, she could both pinpoint the location and perform a spatial transfer—entering through one door and exiting through another near her destination. This was a capability the original Mirror of Slumber didn't have; it was something Aoko had asked Alice to modify and had spent a lot of time developing after she arrived at the Kuonji mansion.

However, achieving such a seemingly simple yet powerful function wasn't easy. Aoko combined knowledge she had learned from the Woven Fragment, specifically about other realms and planes, ultimately enabling the mirror's transfer function for her exclusive use. Anyone else entering the mirror would become disoriented and, after a while, be ejected back near their original entrance.

Aoko now found herself in a wilderness some distance from the old school building. Calling it a "wilderness" wasn't entirely accurate, as she had stepped out of something resembling a small wooden cabin in a field. Before her was a vast expanse of white, with November snow blanketing the landscape. Looking toward the distant old school building, Aoko smiled and flew into the sky.

Her red hair fluttered in the cold wind as she, dressed in a burgundy dress paired with black tights, descended gracefully from the sky, landing firmly in front of the old school building's entrance. The moment she touched the ground, something unusual happened.

From the spot where her feet landed, countless runes instantly appeared, densely packed together. Many of them were designed to bind any target that stepped into the trap, while others represented combustion. The arrangement of these runes was intricate. Hundreds of thousands of characters were interconnected, mimicking the nuclear fusion processes of stars (specifically the proton-proton chain), attempting to unleash as much power as possible in a short time.

Numerous threads of magic, like strings, began crawling up Aoko's body, locking her in place. An overwhelming burst of light and heat followed as the magical fire ignited by the runes engulfed Aoko.

Touko Aozaki, long prepared for this confrontation, stepped out of the old school building's doors, staring fiercely at the spot where Aoko had descended. Thick smoke filled the surroundings, and under normal circumstances, no living creature could survive such intense flames.

But Touko remained on high alert; she knew that Aoko wouldn't be defeated by something as simple as this trap. During their childhood, when they studied magecraft, Touko sensed that her younger sister's talents were no less than her own, despite Touko being hailed as a prodigy by others.

In Touko's eyes, Aoko's carefree attitude stemmed from her profound understanding of the world. Two years ago, Aoko had sent Touko a letter advising her to eliminate Alba and Souren Araya, which only solidified Touko's suspicions about her sister.

Touko's return to Misaki City wasn't just about seizing the Fifth Magic. It was also fueled by frustration with Aoko's seemingly indifferent attitude. If Aoko had already known the outcome of today's events, why hadn't she told her earlier? If she had known everything all along, what had all of Touko Aozaki's efforts been for?

Touko was furious—with their grandfather, with Aoko's frivolous attitude, with their childhood friend who had sided with Aoko, and with herself. The flames of anger burned quietly within Touko. Perhaps she had long known how this battle would end, but she still gave it her all, trying to prove something.