— — — — — —
"The mission's done?"
Ryo smiled the moment he saw Natsuki.
Just seeing her was enough to tell him that the job he'd left to her and Aya Tokoyogi was complete.
The Library of Criminal Organizations, aka L.C.O—ahuge criminal organization made up of several thousand high-ranking mages and witches, with the sole purpose of collecting, sealing, classifying, and utilizing countless grimoires.
It had finally been breached from the inside. And now, those grimoires were about to fall into Ryo's hands.
By the riverbank, Natsuki walked up to Ryo, stood on tiptoe, and raised her parasol to shield him from the harsh sunlight. With a slightly exasperated tone, she muttered:
"Thanks to your grand orders, yes. It's done."
Taking down the L.C.O. hadn't weighed on her conscience too much.
Sure, most of the group's core members were witches—but let's be real, those women were all extremist, anti-human lunatics. Erasing them wasn't exactly heartbreaking.
What really wore her out… was something else entirely.
Ryo noticed the look on her face and raised a brow in amusement.
"Wait, don't tell me… you ran into Yuuma Tokoyogi? The clone grown from Aya's own cells?"
Natsuki paused, giving him a long, strange look.
"You don't secretly have some kind of all-knowing, all-seeing Omniscience superpower, do you?"
"Believe me, I wish I did," Ryo replied with a shrug and an offhand tone. "I just have a few more sources than most people, that's all."
Fanfics, the anime, author interviews, even Reddit—if those counted as "sources," then yeah, Ryo had a whole handful of them.
Of course, there was no way he could actually explain that, so instead he just let people think he was some kind of mysterious fortune teller.
"Well, next time you've got bombshell intel like this, mind giving me a heads-up? I nearly had a heart attack," Natsuki grumbled.
Finding out that your best friend suddenly had a teenage daughter was… well, jarring, to say the least. For a second there, Natsuki genuinely felt like she'd been bumped up to "auntie" status.
That couldn't be a good sign, right?
"What scared you more, exactly?" Ryo teased. "Was it the sudden appearance of a wild teenage niece? Or Aya dishing out cold-hearted passive aggression? Or maybe it was when she just straight-up tried to snatch back the witch guardian she gave to her own daughter?"
As he rambled on, Natsuki let out a heavy sigh. "If I didn't know what you were up to, I'd honestly suspect you were secretly tailing us."
Because yeah, he'd basically nailed it.
From the moment they stormed the L.C.O.'s hideout, Natsuki had been completely caught off guard by Yuuma—the "surprise niece."
Then came Aya's harsh, cutting words… followed by her blunt decision to reclaim the guardian she had entrusted to Yuuma.
That whole scene? Textbook evil stepmother energy.
If Natsuki hadn't been there to stop her, Aya probably would've gotten rid of the clone right then and there.
After all, a clone that matched Aya's genetics and magic perfectly was a walking, breathing liability.
Someone could easily use a strand of Yuuma's hair in a curse, and it would almost certainly hit Aya instead.
And those kinds of curses? Not exactly rare in the world.
"I've set her up at the shrine nearby," Natsuki said. "That girl, Nagisa Akatsuki? She happens to be Yuuma's friend, and she's been comforting her this whole time."
"Aww, you do care about your niece after all," Ryo chuckled as he walked along.
Natsuki quickened her pace to catch up, shielding them both with the parasol. "Well, I couldn't just stand by and do nothing after seeing it for myself, could I?"
Now that she knew Yuuma existed, Natsuki couldn't help but feel a little happy about it.
Aya having a daughter? That felt like a win, no matter how you looked at it.
The problem with Aya was that she was too cold, too withdrawn. That's how she ended up the way she was.
But maybe—just maybe—having a soft, squishy little girl like Yuuma around could help thaw that icy personality of hers.
Wishful thinking, sure… but not impossible.
As they neared the shrine, Ryo spoke up.
"You know I'd never force Aya into anything."
Natsuki gave him a withering look.
Seriously? That's rich, coming from you, she thought.
She didn't say it out loud, but her expression said it all: Haven't you already forced her plenty of times before?
"Ahem." Ryo cleared his throat and quickly added, "I meant when it comes to raising her daughter. I wouldn't force her to do that."
"Honestly, if she doesn't try to kill the poor girl, I'll call it a win," Natsuki muttered.
She wasn't joking, either.
Aya was the kind of woman who would never allow herself to have obvious weaknesses.
But even she probably hadn't expected to suddenly be faced with a full-grown daughter.
Back then, creating Yuuma was a calculated move—to escape from that prison barrier.
But now that Aya was free, Yuuma's reason for existing had basically evaporated.
All those little flaws that used to be irrelevant? Suddenly glaringly obvious.
This was the most dangerous moment—when Aya would push back the hardest. If they could just make it through this storm, Aya might eventually accept Yuuma's presence, even if only reluctantly. Maybe—maybe—she'd start to change.
That's why Natsuki had secretly reached out to Ryo in the first place: to use him as a deterrent.
She wasn't expecting much. Just Ryo standing there was usually enough to make Aya's knees buckle. The newly "disciplined" version of Aya didn't exactly have the courage to go against him.
...
When the two of them reached the shrine's rear courtyard, they could already hear the confrontation happening inside.
A calm, emotionless voice—Aya's—was giving orders like always.
"You're free now, Yuuma Tokoyogi," she said coldly. "Go wherever you like, do whatever you want. Your contract with the demon was to free me from the prison barrier. Now that I'm out, your existence serves no further purpose."
"You might be her mom, but that's way too harsh!" Nagisa shouted. "Isn't she your daughter?!"
Hearing the yelling, Ryo gave Natsuki a subtle shrug, then casually slid the door open.
Inside, they were greeted with quite the scene.
Aya stood there in a sleek, modern kimono—elegant and aloof as ever, the very image of a beautiful, untouchable woman.
Next to her, lying on a futon, was Yuuma Tokoyogi, eyes dull and lifeless.
Beside Yuuma stood Nagisa, visibly upset and furious.
"Well," Ryo said with a faint smile, "did I walk in at a bad time?"
He looked toward the silent, stone-faced Aya and gave her a kind, gentle smile.
.
.
.