Aozaki Aoko Case File

Touko quickly packed a few belongings and left the house she had shared with Aoko for many years. She didn't take everything—just a few magical items she might need in the near future—thinking she might return soon.

First, Touko decided to visit the Church. Before resolving things with her grandfather and younger sister, she wanted advice from that man. After all, the Fumizuka family had longstanding ties with the Aozakis.

Touko had very complicated feelings toward Fumizuka Eiri. When she was younger, she had harbored a vague, one-sided affection for this mechanically elegant priest, though she never expressed it aloud (fearing Aoko would mock her). However, as she grew older, she found him harder and harder to understand. Although Eiri had studied magecraft under her grandfather, he lacked the talent for using it, yet this didn't diminish his combat prowess.

If one were to categorize him by typical fantasy archetypes, Fumizuka Eiri would likely be either an assassin or a monk—one of those fast, stealthy, combat-oriented types.

"He's probably the kind of guy who hides a long sword under his cloak," Touko thought, and she felt the likelihood was high.

If she needed psychological assurance to face her grandfather, Fumizuka Eiri was undoubtedly a good choice. After all, he was the type to help others out of sheer interest, so if Touko personally sought his assistance, there was a chance he'd agree to help, right?

...

After a brief conversation, Fumizuka Eiri agreed to witness the negotiation between Touko and her grandfather as an observer. Given the matter involved the succession of a magical lineage, it was a significant event, whether as the eldest son of the Fumizuka family or as a member of the Church. He had no reason to decline. Yet Touko instinctively felt he wasn't being entirely honest—he probably just thought accompanying her might offer some rare entertainment.

At the entrance to her grandfather's workshop, Touko took a deep breath. She used magecraft to unlock the door and was the first to step inside, with Fumizuka Eiri following closely behind. Everything looked the same as before, she thought; nothing had changed since her grandfather had passed the succession to Aoko. Even her access to the workshop hadn't been revoked. She led an outsider directly to her grandfather's study, where he spent most of his time. Opening the door, she saw a familiar figure.

"Is there something else you need, Touko?" her grandfather asked without turning his head, still seated in his favorite chair, reading a book.

"Why?"

Touko's voice trembled slightly.

"Why wasn't it me?"

Her grandfather didn't answer immediately. He continued flipping through his book at a steady pace, silent for a moment.

"There's no particular reason," he said after a while.

"I suppose I recently realized that Aoko is purer, so I made my decision."

"Just because of such a ridiculous reason...?"

Touko asked in disbelief.

"Ah, yes," her grandfather replied, his tone cold and indifferent.

Touko lowered her head slightly, her carefully groomed bangs covering her eyes. Two drops that looked like tears fell to the floor, but they soon absorbed into the exquisite carpet, disappearing as if they'd never existed.

How did the saying go? Sometimes, when people think they've suffered a significant blow in life and are in great pain, life hits them once more. Touko felt she was in just such a situation.

She had brought Fumizuka Eiri merely as a witness or for psychological comfort. But at that moment, the priest suddenly leaped into action, drawing a long sword from his meticulously arranged cloak—a sword that hardly seemed like it could have been hidden inside—and he split her grandfather in two while still seated in his chair.

"You…"

Touko, usually so sharp-witted, found her mind nearly shutting down. She instinctively questioned the priest, who was now wiping his sword with a handkerchief.

"Why did you kill my grandfather!?"

"I just felt the timing was right. I could kill him, so I did," Fumizuka Eiri responded mechanically, sheathing the sword back into his cloak, which gave no hint of what it concealed.

This man had always been like this. For battle, he needed no reason, no opponent, no hatred, nor any deeper connection. When the moment was right, he could strike like a gun with its trigger pulled.

The sudden, violent act by the priest of the Holy Church left the 19-year-old Touko Aozaki deeply shaken. It was her first time facing the death of a family member, and the killer was someone she had brought to her grandfather herself.

The priest said nothing more, ignoring the stunned Touko as he strode toward the door.

"Ah, excuse me," a young woman's voice called from outside the workshop, "Father Fumizuka, could you wait a moment?"

Hearing the voice, Fumizuka Eiri froze, an inexplicable sense of unease washing over him. He immediately drew the sword he had just sheathed, ready to confront the unexpected intruder.

But to everyone's surprise, the priest's actions abruptly stopped. Touko could even see the slight tremble in his body, though it didn't seem to come from fear or tension, but rather from some unseen force restraining him.

Emerging from the shadows with a smile on her face was Aoko Aozaki. In her left hand, she held a beautifully bound leather book, and her right hand formed a strange gesture, glowing faintly.

"Human Binding Spell," Aoko said.

"Isn't it interesting?"

Touko wanted to say something, but seeing the bound Fumizuka Eiri and her grandfather, now in two pieces, she remained silent.

"It's been a while, Father Fumizuka," Aoko said, smiling.

"To be honest, I didn't want to see you. You know, your handsome face made my dear sister daydream for a while, and I wasn't too happy about that."

Aoko sighed dramatically, shaking her head.

"That little rule of yours—'I felt I could kill, so I did,' huh?"

Aoko questioned the immobilized priest.

"To be honest, I like that rule quite a bit. But you used it on my grandfather, and I don't like that."

At this point, Touko, already numb, felt a growing sense of dread.

"Because 'I feel like I can kill you now, so I will,'" Aoko's tone was filled with contempt and indifference, a display of extreme disregard for life.

"Wait…!"

Touko barely managed to reach out, trying to stop her sister from what she was about to do. But she quickly realized it was too late. Aoko raised her right hand, mimicking the gesture of a gun, and a series of projectiles, trailing tracer-like light, flew out in eerie arcs, obliterating Fumizuka Eiri's head. Some of his blood even splattered onto Touko's face.

It was Aoko's signature spell, Magic Missile, a part of her magical arsenal.

"Ah, sorry, sorry," Aoko said in an apologetic tone when she saw the blood on Touko's face.

"Let me clean that up for you, sis."

With that, Aoko pulled out a pure white handkerchief from who-knows-where and gently, attentively wiped Touko's face clean.

"That carpet was expensive," their grandfather's voice suddenly sounded from the ruined chair, his tone unusually filled with regret.

"Before you leave, clean up this mess and replace the carpet."

With that, their grandfather's spirit left the study, heading to the workshop's basement. The room was in disarray, with only the bodies of their grandfather and Fumizuka Eiri remaining, along with the Aozaki sisters.

Hearing their grandfather's instructions, Aoko frowned slightly and conjured a body bag from thin air. She donned a mask and began methodically packing up Fumizuka Eiri's remains using magecraft. She also handed a body bag to Touko, gesturing for her to pack up their grandfather's remains.

Numbly, Touko accepted Aoko's suggestion and began to work, suppressing the discomfort rising in her stomach. She felt out of place as if she were the true outsider in this family.

Perhaps Aoko was more suited to be a proper Magician or even a magus. Touko thought this for no apparent reason but quickly dismissed the absurd idea, focusing on packing her grandfather's bisected body into the bag.

...

The next morning (or rather, noon), Aoko, yawning and still in her pajamas, came downstairs to eat breakfast, only to find that Touko had run away from home.

On the dining table was a letter addressed to her. In it, Touko explained that she was going to study abroad at the Clock Tower… and that once she returned, they would settle things as sisters.

What the heck?

Aoko sighed, thinking to herself, What a fool. She should have at least said goodbye in person before leaving, shouldn't she?