CHAPTER 370: CHAPTER 370: THE AOZAKI FAMILY ‘CURSE’

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As Aoko’s words faded, a heavy silence fell.

Though Alice’s expression remained as placid as ever, Haru felt a subtle tension in the soft hand he held, a sign of her unease.

"The intruder is likely a well-off magus, but without a ley line of their own. Hmm. Based on their magic, a puppet master? And a real bastard, by the looks of it."

Aoko, perched on the edge of the sofa, chewed on her thumb, her brow furrowed in thought, completely unconcerned by Haru’s presence.

"I can’t argue with that," Alice sighed, her eyes closed. Magic was an expensive business, and puppetry was the most expensive of all.

The fact that the intruder had gone to the trouble of creating fifty ’Aoko-faced’ puppets just to mess with her sister spoke volumes about their wealth and their... personality.

And in the magical world, while the strong weren’t necessarily rich, the rich were almost always strong. The thought of facing such a wealthy opponent made Alice’s mind turn to... Marxist ideology. ’Rob the rich to feed the poor.’

Alice, who was used to being poor due to her Fairy Tale Magic, even with her new, wealthy boyfriend, still had the mindset of a... pauper.

"Tsk, that guy is hiding really well. If I could just find him, I’d take him for all he’s worth,"

Aoko muttered, her words those of a bandit. The Aozaki family’s finances were also in a tight spot, and Touko’s extravagant spending last night had really gotten under her skin.

"..." Haru silently held Alice’s hand, saying nothing, afraid the bandit would turn her sights on him, the biggest tycoon in the Type-Moon world.

For some reason, Haru felt that the theory of Aoko being the prototype for his daughter, Rin, was exceptionally accurate. This... desire to rob the rich...

"Speaking of which, Alice, I don’t understand why the intruder is so intent on destroying the ley line barrier’s nodes," Aoko said, nibbling on her finger, a puzzled look on her face.

Setting up a large-scale ley line barrier that covered an entire city was an exceptionally troublesome task. Normally, an invading magus would only destroy one node, then wait for the local guardian to show up, fight a decisive battle, kill the guardian, and then occupy the ley line.

This way, repairing the barrier was easy, taking over the territory was simple, and they could even use the node to set up a defensive position to meet the guardian. It was a win-win situation.

But last night’s intruder had relentlessly destroyed three nodes, and had even sent puppets to delay them. This made Aoko exceptionally uneasy.

The other party wasn’t playing by the rules. It made her deeply uncomfortable.

"Maybe he’s just rich?" Alice tilted her head slightly, her right hand covering her cherry lips, a dazed, innocent expression on her face.

"...I can’t argue with that." Aoko’s lip twitched. Repairing the barrier would require a large amount of magical materials. Maybe the other party had more money than sense, and just didn’t like the barrier’s layout, so he was determined to destroy it.

After all, mages were a bunch of madmen.

Watching the two, whose conversation seemed to revolve around money, Haru’s lip twitched. To prevent the two ’peasants’ from remembering him, the ’landlord,’ he cleared his throat twice and, as if nonchalantly, reminded them,

"Ahem, even if he’s rich, there’s no need to mess with Aoko like that. It’s just a ley line dispute. Is it really necessary to go to such lengths?"

"...True." Aoko frowned, muttering to herself. It was just a conflict of interest over a ley line.

Even if he didn’t like her, to go to the trouble of making fifty different, disgusting puppets just to mess with her... only someone with a deep-seated hatred for her would do such a thing.

"Who the hell hates me this much?" Aoko crossed her arms, her mind racing. An enemy, and a rich one at that. Did she have such an enemy?

"My sister!" Aoko exclaimed subconsciously.

Alice’s gaze sharpened. A puppet master who hated Aoko... Touko Aozaki fit the bill perfectly.

Seeing Aoko, who had guessed the correct answer, Haru nodded slightly.

’As expected of sisters.’

"Impossible. With her money-making skills, she could never have amassed such a fortune. She didn’t sell a kidney, did she?" Aoko collapsed onto the sofa, her small body sinking into the soft cushions, and waved her hand, her beautiful face filled with a teasing and mocking expression.

Haru looked at Aoko with a stunned expression. After a long moment, he finally reacted, his expression strange. He wanted to say something, but silently closed his mouth.

He couldn’t very well tell Aoko that her sister had not only sold a kidney, but also her body, and that last night, she had even sold her honor and her... rear garden... for a clean slate.

"Hmm, that makes sense." Alice nodded, agreeing with Aoko.

The Aozaki family’s lack of business acumen was, in Alice’s eyes, who had dealt with them for two generations, a curse. No matter how hard they tried to do business, the best they could do was maintain a middle-class lifestyle.

The vast lands of Misaki City, which had once all belonged to the Aozaki family, were now... Aoko’s monthly allowance was only twenty thousand yen.

"If it was Touko, even if she got a large sum of money, she probably couldn’t hold onto it for seven days," Alice said, her tone flat.

Hearing this, Haru rolled his eyes. He suddenly remembered that the pile of magical materials he had first given to Touko had been ’burned’ on the seventh day to seal the Aozaki True Magic User.

"Tsk, that doesn’t narrow it down at all!" Aoko crossed her arms, puffed out her cheeks, and complained. Then, she stood up and said to Alice, "Let’s just stop thinking about it. Anyway, only the Tokawa and Shagi nodes are left. We’ll just guard one each."

"...Wait for the rabbit to run into the tree? That’s not a bad idea," Alice said, her left index finger tapping her chin, her dark eyes narrowed as she stared at Aoko.

With only two ley line nodes remaining, destroying one would cause a major instability in the barrier. So, both nodes had to be guarded. Aoko’s choice was logical.

But she was worried. Not for herself, but for Aoko, who was still a novice magus, and her ability to deal with that puppet master.

"Well, you can just lend me a familiar, right?" Aoko said, as if she knew what Alice was thinking, a bright smile on her face.

Alice sighed softly. She knew this was just Aoko being polite. Even if she gave her a powerful fairy tale familiar, she probably wouldn’t use it. She’d rather solve the problem with her own strength.

Alice, who had been about to refuse, felt the warmth of her right hand, suddenly remembered the two books Aoko had temporarily borrowed, and, after a pause, changed her mind.

"Okay."

Of course, when Alice and Aoko left the living room to prepare for the night’s battle, Haru shook his head and said, his voice filled with exasperation, "You don’t want me to help, but you tell me the whole plan. What’s with that?"

————

10 PM, Shagi Park.

The snow had just stopped.

The sound of crunching snow slowly echoed.

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