Aozaki Aoko Case File

Credits: SunyLaw1

After driving away Kayneth and his group, Aoko led the three Chaldeans back to the Ryuudou Temple base. However, Marisbury, Kirschtaria, and King Solomon did not return to the temple with them. Instead, they went back to their original workshop to continue constructing the grand temple and prepare for the next battle to eliminate the most dangerous enemies.

The Greater Grail in the large cavern had already been purified, so Aoko no longer needed to stay there to monitor it. All that remained was to defeat at least five more Servants and then bring the Lesser Grail to the Greater Grail.

"Ugh, Mash... I feel so dizzy..." Fujimaru Ritsuka staggered as soon as she entered Ryuudou Temple, leaning on Mash to keep herself from collapsing.

"Senpai, are you feeling unwell?!" Mash asked in a panic. "Lord El-Melloi II, what's happening to Senpai?!"

El-Melloi II immediately ran to Fujimaru's side, using detection magecraft to perform a series of checks. Surprisingly, Fujimaru's body had no issues—or rather, the issue was that her condition was too good.

"She's suffering from mana intoxication," El-Melloi II said with a frown. "The mana concentration here is too high for Ritsuka. Her magic circuits can't handle functioning normally in this environment."

["The mana concentration in Ryuudou Temple is already approaching Age of Gods levels!"] Da Vinci exclaimed in surprise. ["How is that even possible in the modern era?"]

"It's not impossible," Aoko turned and said. "Ryuudou Temple is the central node of Fuyuki City's leyline. The bounded field that Touko and I set up concentrates all the ambient mana from Mount Enzou here. And don't forget, the purified Greater Grail is directly beneath the temple."

"Is there a way to help Senpai...?" Mash looked at the dazed Fujimaru with growing anxiety and turned to Aoko for assistance.

"Hmm, her condition is similar to motion sickness," Aoko shrugged. "She just needs to endure this for a bit and sleep it off..."

"Don't assume everyone is a freak like you!" Touko's annoyed voice interrupted Aoko's explanation as she walked out of the temple's main hall. "If a normal magus stays too long in an environment with such high mana density, they could end up poisoned!"

Touko glared at Aoko, who raised her hands in surrender. Then, she pulled out a... collar, of all things, from her bag and placed it around Fujimaru's neck.

"This is a mystic code that filters high concentrations of mana," Touko explained as she checked Fujimaru's condition. "It will gradually help her adapt to the mana density here. By this time tomorrow, she should be able to take it off."

"Hmm? Such a cute child..." Fujimaru, still dazed, reached out and lightly patted Touko's youthful face. As expected, it felt soft and smooth, but Touko immediately exploded in anger.

"Y-you rookie! Who are you calling a child?! Who?!" Touko flailed angrily, but before she could teach Fujimaru a lesson, Aoko quickly stepped in and hugged her from behind, holding her off the ground.

"Alright, alright," Aoko said soothingly, "the little rookie over there is still a bit out of it. There's no need for the Grand Lady to stoop to her level, right?"

"Wait, is this lady... could she be the Grand Puppetmaster of the Clock Tower?" Mash asked in astonishment as she supported Fujimaru. "I didn't expect the Grand Puppetmaster to be so young. Truly a genius!"

"Not exactly," El-Melloi II said with a complicated expression. "The Aozaki Touko I know is an adult at this point... Did something happen to her?"

"Oh, it's just a little accident," Aoko said sheepishly. "My sister and I had a bit of a misunderstanding and got into a fight. Touko-chan accidentally got de-aged as a result. That's all!"

"Wait, what kind of sibling fight de-ages the loser?" Fujimaru, now somewhat clearer-headed, asked incredulously. "If that's the case, wouldn't there be a long line of elderly people waiting for Miss Aoko to punch them?"

"Senpai, you're back to normal!" Mash said happily. "How are you feeling? Are you still unwell?"

"Thanks for worrying, Mash. I'm fine now," Fujimaru reassured her, patting Mash's soft, silky hair. "If anything, I'm just a little hungry."

"Ara, as expected of humanity's final Master—your adaptability is impressive," Aoko said cheerfully. "It's already so late. Why don't we eat while we talk? I'm a pretty good cook, you know!"

Although Mash was a demi-Servant and El-Melloi II a pseudo-Servant, meaning they technically didn't need to eat, that didn't mean they couldn't.

Just like Artoria, who, ever since being summoned, diligently enjoyed three meals a day without fail, much to Aoko's amazement at her kingly appetite.

After some busy preparation (with Mash and Ritsuka helping out), Aoko served up a table full of fragrant dishes.

"This is delicious!" Fujimaru praised with her cheeks stuffed full. "It's almost as good as Mama Emiya's cooking!"

"Senpai, you have rice on your face..." Mash gently took out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of Fujimaru's mouth.

"Though hearing that particular title irks me a bit, thanks for the compliment," Aoko said with a smile.

"Huh? Miss Aoko, do you know Emiya?" Fujimaru asked curiously.

"Magicians know a lot of things," Aoko replied evasively. "I just dislike the way certain versions of the Emiya family act in some timelines, that's all."

Seeing that Aoko didn't want to elaborate, the Chaldean trio chose not to press further and continued eating quietly.

"By the way, I took a quick look at the lilac-haired girl's condition," Touko said in a slightly tsundere tone. "All I can say is that Marisbury's work is... rough. Very unprofessional."

"Can you fix it?" Aoko asked. "Mash's physical issues."

Having traveled through so many Singularities, Fujimaru wasn't clueless. She had long suspected that Mash Kyrielight's body wasn't entirely normal as a demi-Servant. Hearing this, she perked up her ears to listen closely.

"Who do you think I am?" Touko said proudly. "Marisbury isn't a specialist. He created this girl as a disposable tool, but I'm not like that!"

The word "disposable" caused everyone present—Fujimaru, Mash, and even Da Vinci and Dr. Roman listening in through the communicator—to look grim.

"Give me two days," Touko declared confidently. "The lilac-haired girl shouldn't leave my temporary workshop for a while. Stay put, and I'll handle it."