Aozaki Aoko Case File

After some persuasion (or rather, coaxing) from Aoko and Touko, their dad finally stopped fretting over why his grown daughter had suddenly shrunk. Instead, he nostalgically chatted about Touko's childhood with the sisters while driving them back to the Kuonji estate.

As for explanations? What explanations? Something about rejuvenation? When it comes to magic, mystery is the rule—no need to explain everything too clearly!

In short, their dad indulged in some reminiscing, Aoko and Touko got through their ordeal successfully, Kohaku and Hisui received pocket money from him, and everyone looked forward to a brighter future.

Upon returning to the Kuonji estate, Aoko prepared a sumptuous dinner for everyone. Unlike her usual routine of immersing herself in research and studies, she turned in early that night.

The next morning, after her meditation, Aoko carefully prepared her spell configurations based on possible scenarios. After breakfast, she and Touko got ready to set off.

"...When you arrive at the Clock Tower, be cautious," Alice said, standing with Kohaku and Hisui before Aoko and Touko.

"The magi of the Clock Tower are completely different from you. Do not treat them as ordinary humans."

"Hmph, don't worry about me," Touko said with mock disdain.

"Even if those Clock Tower fools assassinate me, this one here won't come to any harm!"

"Hey, Touko-chan, saying that hurts my feelings," Aoko replied, feigning a sorrowful expression.

"I would never let anything happen to you."

"...Stop that. You're making me nauseous," Touko said, turning her head away to avoid Aoko's theatrical display.

"All right then," Aoko said to Alice and the others.

"We won't be gone long. We'll bring back souvenirs for you!"

Regarding concerns about flying to the UK, Aoko wasn't worried in the slightest. With plenty of teleportation and dimensional door scrolls on hand, getting herself and a loli out of danger in an instant was child's play. Moreover, she had flight arcane magic. In extreme cases, she could even physically fly over the ocean to the nearest landmass. While ordinary magi might find themselves trapped, Aoko's versatility as an Archmage gave her a distinct advantage.

For now, Aoko's complete mastery of the Fifth Magic remained a secret. Outsiders only knew that Touko intended to confront her sister, who had taken the Magic inheritance that was rightfully hers. As for how things would turn out, no one knew yet.

Eiri Fumizuka, despite appearances, wasn't a member of the Holy Church. He couldn't use any magecraft or holy chants. The Misaki Church itself was just a minor branch of Catholicism without any personnel from the Vatican. It was entirely run by local powers. And when locals were in charge, they inevitably fell under the influence of the Aozaki and Kuonji families.

Aoko and Alice had both expended significant effort to conceal her mastery of the Fifth Magic. This allowed Aoko to maintain an intelligence advantage upon arriving at the Clock Tower and to keep the Holy Church's pests at bay. Still, during this London trip, Aoko planned to reveal this information at the right time to maximize her leverage. She also intended to disclose the disappearance of the shortcut to the Root guarded by the Aozaki family. After all, dealing with relentless magi was exhausting—they were like flies, impossible to kill off completely. Aoko's grandfather had suffered frequent attacks because of that shortcut.

Anyway, as long as the Mystic Vein remained under Aozaki's control, even if the Clock Tower foolishly launched a full-scale assault, Aoko had the terrain advantage. The only question was how much she might lose—not whether she could win.

Looking out of the plane's window, Aoko pondered how many tasks she could accomplish during her London trip. Touko had incurred substantial debts in Europe while targeting her, and once the Clock Tower issue was resolved, Aoko planned to settle those matters as well.

Besides Touko's issues, Aoko had two other objectives in Europe:

First, she needed to visit Germany to find the Einzbern castle and use Touko's partial mastery of the Third Magic as leverage to ally with this family, now reduced to operating through homunculi. The Einzbern legacy didn't appeal much to Aoko herself, but she believed granting her sister access to the Third Magic could resolve Touko's inner conflicts. This would smooth their relationship in the future.

Whether or not the Einzberns had already reached out to Kiritsugu Emiya by late 1989 didn't matter. Even if they had, Aoko wasn't one of the Clock Tower's conservative old fossils. Kiritsugu's expertise as a magus killer wouldn't faze her. Furthermore, if Kiritsugu had already connected with Irisviel, it could even be a good thing—without Kiritsugu, there'd be no Illyasviel, after all.

No matter how events unfolded, Kiritsugu's eventual failure was inevitable on this worldline. Aoko had already claimed the Einzbern and this Holy Grail War's victory as prizes for herself and Touko. A Magic User and a Grand Magus—who else could even compete?

The second matter required her to visit the Cistercian Order. Determined to rewrite the tragedies of this messed-up world, Aoko couldn't ignore Caren Hortensia. Considering that Fate/Hollow Ataraxia took place when Caren was about 15, and her special constitution was discovered by the Church when she was 9, Caren must have just been born around this time. Moreover, her mother, Claudia Hortensia, had yet to commit suicide.

Claudia marrying Kirei Kotomine had to be the worst stroke of bad luck imaginable. Not only did she meet a tragic end, but her daughter also suffered greatly. Aoko believed she could leverage her connections with the Misaki Church to bring Caren and Claudia to Misaki. By doing so, Caren's cursed constitution could remain undiscovered by the Holy Church. Aoko might even find a way to remove or seal that ability, allowing the girl to live a normal life.

Moreover, Aoko suspected Caren's troubling personality might be linked to a hereditary mental illness. With professional treatment, it might be possible to cure her.

While mulling over her plans, Aoko suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder. Touko, succumbing to drowsiness, had fallen asleep with her head resting against Aoko's shoulder. Smiling, Aoko gently pinched Touko's cheek before asking a flight attendant for a blanket. She carefully covered Touko with it.