After signing the contract, Touko completely released Satsuki Kurogiri and had the shadow cat return to her own shadow.
The cat was a little disgruntled at first for not being allowed to eat the target, meowing in complaint, but after Touko tossed her two magic power cubes, she happily retreated to enjoy the treats.
Freed, Satsuki Kurogiri rubbed his joints painfully—being bound so long by a familiar powered by the Third Magic wasn't pleasant.
"So, what do you want to ask?" Satsuki Kurogiri smiled. "As long as it's in my records, I can tell you anything."
"Your memory has a problem, right?" Aoko asked.
"That's right," Satsuki Kurogiri nodded. "But to be precise, ever since I was abducted by fairies at age ten and then returned, I've been unable to recognize anything."
"Wait, does that mean you..." Touko stared in surprise.
"Yes. For me, everything after age ten is just information," Satsuki Kurogiri answered. "I can't record images. Everything in the world is just information to me—language, text. I haven't lost memories, but I can't confirm the identity of any information."
"So even Misaya Ougi a moment ago is just, in your eyes, a collection of traits like 'long-haired black-haired beauty,' 'student council president,' 'memory collection collaborator,' and so on?" Aoko said.
"Exactly," Satsuki Kurogiri replied calmly.
"So, you tried to collect the memories of those around you to recompile your self?" Touko asked. "That sounds less like a human, more like a wish-fulfilling machine."
"I think so too," Satsuki Kurogiri smiled. "But that's how I survive. So far, Satsuki Kurogiri has no other purpose. The only wish I have is probably to become normal."
For Satsuki Kurogiri, collecting memories was as vital as eating or breathing. For a sentient being, lacking self-recognition is no different from brain death.
Respected as the God of False Gods and a powerful, mutated magus, he could only observe himself through collecting others' pasts.
"I understand," Aoko nodded. "Your problem is easy to solve. I can offer a solution if you agree."
"Please tell me," Satsuki Kurogiri replied respectfully.
"I'll find a true fairy to adjust your brain again," Aoko said. "But after the adjustment, I'd like you to work for me—in a fairyland that belongs exclusively to me. Do you agree?"
"A fairyland..." Satsuki Kurogiri pondered over the word. "I can't believe such places still exist in this age. As expected of a Magician."
"I agree!" For the first time, Satsuki Kurogiri showed a genuine smile, looking relieved.
…
"You don't look too happy, Alice," Aoko strolled side by side with Alice on the Reien campus. "Is it because of Kaori Tachibana?"
"...Of course not," Alice rolled her eyes. "I just feel like, when I studied here, Reien was a secluded paradise, but now it's changed..."
"Where there are humans, there's conflict," Aoko looked ahead. "No matter how strict the rules, enforcers and the ruled are still human. Being human means being imperfect—but that's also what drives us forward."
"I understand," Alice sighed, a rare sign of disappointment. "But the Reien I knew is gone…"
"Want me to use the Fifth Magic to erase all the time from last year's incident to now and fling it into the future?" Aoko winked. "You know I can do it."
"Forget it," Alice hesitated, then said, "There's no need to use magic for something like that."
Aoko smiled and said nothing, simply walking quietly beside Alice. The two looked like any close pair of high school girls on campus.
"Where are Touko and Akaza?" Alice asked suddenly.
"Probably off to deal with her other old classmate, with her new apprentice in tow," Aoko thought for a moment. "Satsuki Kurogiri let it slip that he never planned to come to Japan, or teach at Reien."
"That magus named Araya Souren commissioned him to kill a girl named Shiki Ryougi," Aoko said. "At least that's what Satsuki Kurogiri suspects."
"Shiki Ryougi? I think I remember…" Alice mused.
"She's Akaza's love rival," Aoko prompted. "That girl is special, which is why someone as stubborn as Araya Souren would target her."
"So Touko is avenging her student's rival in love?" Alice was surprised—since when was Touko so passionate about justice?
"Of course not, hahaha!" Aoko burst out laughing as if she'd heard the world's funniest joke. "Touko and that stubborn monk have been at odds for ages. He got away before, but now he's exposed himself—he's done for."
Of course, Aoko ignored the fact that Touko's feud with Araya Souren was largely her own doing—such is the detachment of the Fourth Magician.
"I see." Alice accepted this explanation and turned her thoughts elsewhere. "Let's eat at the Reien cafeteria. I miss the lunches here."
"Sure, sure!" Aoko replied. "Your treat?"
"Okay," Alice agreed readily. "In return, tell me about that girl named Shiki Ryougi. You know, right?"
"Ara~, that's a bit risky... but for Lady Alice's treat, I'll risk my life and tell you!"