Faced with this fairy handler who had suddenly barged in, Aoko didn't even turn her head. She simply grabbed the head of Satsuki Kurogiri, who was under a human binding spell and began chanting incantations to read her memories.
"Didn't you hear what I said?! Let go of sensei!" The young lady Misaya Ougi, never having suffered such humiliation, was in a panic. She didn't even stop to wonder why Satsuki Kurogiri could be subdued by these bizarre girls in front of her. She focused all her efforts on commanding her artificial fairies. As usual, if she could just hypnotize these girls and extract their memories, she would know what was going on...
But neither the two red-haired girls nor her kouhai, Akaza, paid her much attention.
Only the short-haired girl with black hair gave her a warning glance.
But that single glance made Misaya's hair stand on end. She seemed to see a flash of red in the girl's left eye, and the next second, she heard a series of "pop, pop, pop!" sounds—the little fairies couldn't withstand Touko's Mystic Eyes and shattered on the spot.
At this point, Misaya finally realized: The other party was magi! And their level was far beyond her own; otherwise, Satsuki Kurogiri couldn't possibly have been subdued.
Now she was finished. Was it because Satsuki Kurogiri helped her that their situation was exposed to other magi? Misaya thought frantically.
She did know about the special profession of magi, but her skills had been forcibly and hastily taught to her by Satsuki Kurogiri via unorthodox methods. Facing the 3 magi plus a magus apprentice in the room, her odds weren't just slim—there was simply no hope.
Among the four magi Misaya was facing, one long red-haired girl ignored her and focused intently on whatever she was doing with Satsuki Kurogiri's head. A blank-faced short-haired girl had destroyed her artificial fairies. Akaza was still spacing out, and the remaining wine-red-haired girl... was sighing at her.
As Misaya wondered why that girl was sighing, a cat's "meow~ raaow!" came from the glasses-wearing girl's shadow at her feet.
That cat's cry made Misaya's hair stand on end once more. She saw the girl's shadow wriggle, then open a large mouth with sharp fangs and two vertical pupils in odd places!
Touko—the wine-red-haired girl—her shadow suddenly expanded and, at a speed Misaya couldn't react to, stretched over to connect with Misaya's own shadow.
The fat cat, now in Misaya's shadow, clung to her like some kind of tentacled creature, binding her so she couldn't move.
However, since Touko's order was to restrain her, the cat didn't do anything excessive. Still, when Touko saw the way the cat was restraining Misaya, she couldn't help but cover her face.
But the cat didn't care about such things. It didn't care how revealing Misaya's current posture was. Even though its master wouldn't allow it to eat this human, there was still no harm in tasting her, right?
Thinking this, the cat let out another meow~ and stretched its cat tongue from the shadow's mouth, giving Misaya's cheek a lick with a slurp, leaving a bit of drool.
At this point, Misaya was almost frightened into unconsciousness, but she didn't need to worry. Touko had already recognized her as the client's niece and was only restraining her temporarily to figure out what role this rebellious girl had played in the incident.
"What a mess!" Touko stood up from her chair, walked over to Aoko, and asked, "Well, any findings?"
"This guy did forget everything about the stabbing incident," Aoko said, frowning.
"Does that mean he was innocent in this case?" Touko asked in surprise, while the restrained Misaya let out a sigh of relief.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Aoko rolled her eyes. "Just because this guy doesn't remember doesn't mean he's innocent. For example, the lady's artificial fairies in the back were provided by him."
Touko's gaze sharpened!
"But, how should I put this, his brain structure is rather unique," Aoko continued. "Even if I dig deeper, I won't find anything valuable. It'd be better to let him speak for himself."
"Hey, but this guy is a 'Unified Language Master', right? If you let him talk, won't things get even messier?" Touko didn't quite get Aoko's point.
"That's why I suggest we ask that girl first," Aoko pointed at Misaya. "Isn't she related to your kouhai? Go talk to her, Third Magician."
Touko sighed, waved her hand, and had the cat place Misaya on a chair, then released the restraints.
"Misaya Ougi, right? I'm Touko Aozaki. Your Asuka Ougi hired me to solve the Reien incident, and I'm also your aunt's senpai," Touko explained. "Can you tell me what's been happening at this school?"
Freed from the tentacles, the young lady Misaya sat dazed on the chair for a long time before forcing a miserable smile.
There was no doubt her plan had failed; her revenge and punishment for those people hadn't been accomplished. Still, it seemed the people before her didn't intend to prosecute her—at least the girl claiming to be her aunt's senpai didn't seem to want to do anything to her.
"I... can tell you," Misaya took a deep breath, "but can you let go of Satsuki Kurogiri? I asked him to do all these things..."
"Ougi-san, perhaps you have some misunderstanding about this guy," Aoko removed her hand from Satsuki Kurogiri's head and said to Misaya. "He's not the harmless person you imagine."
Aoko gave Touko a look, and Touko had cat release the last restraint on Misaya's ankle, then bound Satsuki Kurogiri instead—this time, thoroughly gagging him so he couldn't speak.
Aoko then released the human binding spell, letting Satsuki Kurogiri move a bit.
"Next, I'll ask you questions based on what Misaya Ougi says. You just need to nod or shake your head," Aoko said seriously to Satsuki Kurogiri. "Understood?"
Satsuki Kurogiri nodded calmly in agreement.
"Good," Aoko said with satisfaction. "Depending on your answers, I might help heal your brain problem. That's not difficult for us."
Satsuki Kurogiri's pupils dilated for a moment, then he nodded eagerly.