"Enough with the nonsense!" Touko quickly stopped Aoko, turning serious. "I need your help with the Reien situation."
"Go ahead." The previously silent Alice put down her teacup and looked at Touko. "How far have you gotten?"
Touko looked at Azaka, signaling her to brief Aoko and Alice. Azaka, ever capable, quickly summarized all the strange events at Reien.
Aoko, after listening, feigned interest in the ceiling fan, reclining on the sofa. Alice, meanwhile, seemed to realize something and fell into thought.
"What do you think, Touko?" Aoko asked lazily. "Your intuition must have picked up something."
"Probably fairies," Touko sighed. "But I have no proof. Many types of magecraft could cause this, but at Reien, only fairies make sense."
"Fairies?" Azaka was once again shocked. "Touko-sensei, do you mean those fairies?"
Alice glanced at Aoko, who still looked nonchalant, and nudged her.
"Hey!" Aoko yelped dramatically, but Azaka was too focused on the discussion to notice. Aoko straightened up and signaled Alice to relax.
"That's right, Azaka. Didn't you hear any rumors during your investigation?" Touko patiently explained. "When I was at Reien, the school was already full of spiritually sensitive girls—some from magical families."
She glanced at Alice. Azaka quickly realized this unfamiliar girl in a Reien uniform was probably, like Touko, a graduated senior and someone from the world of the supernatural.
"There were rumors back then about fairies coming at night and making girls forget several days at a time. Collecting memories is a fairy's job, so that's why I suspect them, though I have no proof."
"Then, Touko-sensei, have you ever seen a fairy yourself?" Azaka pressed.
"No, I haven't," Touko shook her head regretfully. "But with Reien's secluded, expansive grounds, it's entirely possible."
"Aoko." Alice used the tone of a parent laying down the law, putting pressure on Aoko.
"I know, I know!" Aoko replied helplessly. "I'll tell Touko, I just thought I'd wait and see—"
"What are you hiding from me now?" Touko frowned, staring at her sister.
"Me? Hide something from the great Third Magician?" Aoko grinned, then with a flourish, produced a fluffy, beautiful white moth in her hand. The moth twitched its antennae, curiously observing its surroundings.
"This is Blanca," Aoko introduced. "A friend I made recently—she's here to help."
"Wait, wait, wait…" Touko stared at the extraordinary moth. "Is that…?"
"That's right!" Aoko said proudly. "Blanca is a real fairy—the princess of the Autumn Forest."
"Where did you find her?" Touko asked, deadly serious. "As far as I know, it's nearly impossible to find fairies of this level on the surface now…"
Azaka wasn't afraid—instead, she was fascinated, letting Blanca rest on her hand. Blanca wasn't like dirty moths; she was as cute as a plush toy.
"Well, actually…" Aoko stopped hiding things and explained how she'd recently gone to Chaldea, then to Fairy Britain, and brought back a bunch of fairies—including some great mother class fairies—and even a third of Albion's remains.
When she finished, Touko's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head, bloodshot and horrified, scaring Aoko.
"You… brought back a whole bunch of fairies in the Principle Blood Ring, including mother-class fairies? And a third of Albion's remains?" Touko's voice trembled.
"Y-yeah…" Aoko looked nervously at Touko, who seemed about to go mad.
Azaka could vaguely sense how outrageous and shocking this was, but as a newbie magus, she wisely kept quiet—this was way above her pay grade.
"Do you… have any idea what you've done?" Touko slumped back into her chair, eyes closed. "If any of those fairies or other things you brought back get out, it'll cause a bloodbath in the world of mystery."
"I know that much," Aoko shrugged, reverting to her usual attitude. "I'll market some fairy products myself. With the three of us here, are we supposed to be afraid of the rats in the sewers? Or are you, the one who conquered Northern Europe, scared of them?"
"Fine, whatever," Touko gave up. "But with a real fairy helping, I guess the truth behind Class 4-1's incident will be uncovered soon."
"Oh, by the way," Aoko asked, "Touko, why don't you go into Reien to investigate yourself? With your skills, you could easily infiltrate as a student."
"I just didn't want to…" Touko looked conflicted. "Forget it, call it indecision on my part."
"This time, I'll go with you." Touko's body flashed gold again, her mature city-woman outfit turning into a Reien schoolgirl uniform. With her beauty, she truly had the aura of a forbidden upperclassman. "Let's finish things up in Mifune—I can't wait to meet the fairies you brought back!"