CHAPTER 371: CHAPTER 371: A KEEN WITCH

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It was almost Christmas.

This festival, which had only been introduced to Japan a hundred years ago, had, through development, already taken root, becoming a famous ’hookup day.’

Influenced by this, in Shagi Town, a small town attached to Misaki City, the shops were all busy preparing Christmas trees, and the streets were filled with couples.

Alice Kuonji walked silently along the streets of Shagi.

A black winter hat, Reien Academy’s black nun’s habit, a black shawl wrapped around her neck, and even her gloves were a warm, pure black.

Coupled with her dark eyes and shoulder-length black hair, if not for her pale, porcelain-like skin, she would have been as invisible as an African uncle at night.

Her dark pupils reflected the hand-in-hand couples on the roadside. Alice suddenly thought of Haru, who should be resting in the Tohno mansion, and said, her expression thoughtful, "...Christmas, is it?"

Without realizing it, Alice had arrived at the center of Shagi Town.

As the stone monument with the words ’Shagi Park’ engraved on it came into view, Alice was jolted from her reverie, her delicate face returning to its usual placid calm.

Though her expression was the same, her doll-like face now held a ’demonic’ quality, completely different from her usual self.

Crunch~ crunch~

Thick leather boots crunched on the snow in the park. The empty park’s silence was broken by the sound of crunching snow.

Though it was almost midnight, this was, after all, a park in the center of town. Human traces should have been unavoidable.

But now, even Japan’s numerous park-sleeping professionals (the homeless) were nowhere to be seen.

The clouds floating in the sky, under the influence of the gentle breeze, obscured the bright moonlight.

Without the moonlight, besides the park’s streetlights and phone booths, there was no other light.

This unusual scene was, in Alice’s eyes, ’normal.’ In this barrier, which had been set up to ’disperse idlers,’ this was the only logical sight.

"It seems I’m late," Alice said, her voice devoid of any emotion.

The barrier was not hers. So, the enemy’s attack point could be locked onto the Shagi ley line node.

The thought that the enemy’s target was the node she was guarding made Alice inexplicably relieved.

Though she would never admit it, the fairy tale witch was exceptionally concerned about her housemate.

The next moment, the sound of dogs barking, or rather, wolves howling, echoed through the park.

The howls shot up into the sky, and under the sound of wolves howling at the moon, the clouds quietly fled, and the moonlight once again shone down on the snowy park.

Greenish will-o’-the-wisps slowly floated out from the forest surrounding the park square.

Staring at the greenish will-o’-the-wisps, Alice’s brow furrowed slightly. "Stray dogs?" she said, her tone flat.

As she spoke, the will-o’-the-wisps revealed their true forms. They were a pack of about thirty stray dogs, their eyes filled with a ferocious glare, their bodies gaunt and emaciated. They came from all directions, surrounding Alice.

"A boring intimidation tactic," Alice said softly.

To use manipulated stray dogs, which couldn’t even scare a magic apprentice, to intimidate her, a witch... did the enemy think she was a frail young lady from a normal family?

"What a waste," a helpless and troubled female voice sounded.

Hearing this voice, Alice’s pupils constricted. She lifted her left heel slightly and slowly turned, her gaze fixed on the source of the voice.

The crunching sound of snow being stepped on softly echoed.

A tall figure emerged from the dark forest, passed by the stray dogs, and walked into the center of the park.

A yellowish-green overcoat, radiating a faint magical fluctuation, formed a sharp contrast with the all-black Alice. A black scarf was neatly tied around her neck, and her lower body was clad in black, alluring fishnet stockings and orange high heels.

A tall, slender figure, short, brownish-red hair, and a straight, upright back, exuding the heroic aura of a strong woman.

————

"...Touko Aozaki." Alice narrowed her eyes slightly, muttering the newcomer’s name as she observed her.

Seeing Touko’s short, ear-length hair, Alice’s pupils constricted, her dark eyes instantly going blank.

She saw a wolf, a golden wolf, roaring at her, as if it wanted to devour her.

The next moment, Alice’s thoughts returned to her mind. She knew that what she had just seen was not an illusion.

Though she was a novice, Alice had already learned ’Spiritual Vision.’ The words Haru had said when he had taught her spiritual vision yesterday echoed in her ears.

Spiritual vision is the vision to ’see through,’ to see through connections, to see through essence, and even to see through the future.

A female magus’s hair is an extremely important magical material. Because it is cheap and effective, it is highly sought after. And hair is generally used as an important medium for contracting familiars.

And now, Touko, like her, had short hair. So, the wolf she had just seen with her spiritual vision... was it her familiar?

A wolf-like familiar, which was why the nearby stray dogs were being driven, right? Touko didn’t have the low-class hobby of manipulating animals like stray dogs.

Though she had seen Touko’s familiar through her spiritual vision, she wasn’t worried. After all, she had the three great secret treasures, contracted with her hair, in her hands. The nearly two-thousand-year-old fairy tale familiars gave her the courage to face any existence.

"Though I guessed it, I didn’t expect it to really be you, Miss Touko," Alice sighed softly. The person she had first mentioned, and also the first to be ruled out... what an irony.

"Oh my, I thought Aoko would have guessed it right away," Touko said, her right hand on her hip, showing off her graceful curves, and chuckled softly.

She had deployed fifty ’carefully crafted’ familiars, and yet Aoko still hadn’t figured out the enemy’s identity. As she thought, her younger sister was not suited to be a magus.

Touko once again confirmed her belief that the Aozaki family’s magic, in Aoko’s hands, would only bring misfortune.

"Aoko said you couldn’t possibly be that rich, unless you sold a kidney," Alice said, her voice a low whisper. She was very curious. How did the perpetually-broke Touko suddenly become a tycoon? It completely contradicted her impression of the Aozaki family.

Hearing this, Touko felt a twinge in her cherry lips and two other places, and her lip twitched.

From six meters away, her magically-enhanced eyes accurately saw the faint unnaturalness on Touko’s face. Alice sighed softly.

She knew that Aoko had probably guessed the truth. In fact, what Touko had done was likely even more terrifying than what Aoko had described.

Alice was now certain that to reclaim what was hers, Touko had gone mad.

’Then, for Aoko’s sake.’ Alice narrowed her eyes slightly.

————

In the living room of the Kuonji mansion, Haru slowly closed his eyes.

"It’s starting."

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