"…You're willing to come with me?"
Hearing Shirou's unexpected answer, Touko Aozaki's forceful attitude vanished in an instant. In its place, she showed a simple, girlish joy.
But when she looked at Shirou again, the smile on the red-haired puppet master's face froze.
Touko Aozaki knit her beautiful brows and asked coldly.
"Shirou... are you messing with me?"
Shirou kept his usual expression and denied it.
"No. Why would you think that?"
"..."
Touko Aozaki drew her fair, slender fingers away from the boy's face.
"Because of your eyes... those are the eyes of someone rejecting me."
"Why tell such an obvious lie? You clearly have no intention of becoming mine."
"I'm not lying."
"Then."
"I can become your companion, Touko, but I can't become your possession."
Shirou said it plainly.
He hated that kind of simple relationship of domination and submission, of keeping and being kept.
It might make relationships easier, but to Shirou, a bond like that was fragile.
On this most fundamental point, Shirou and Touko were walking in completely opposite directions.
After returning to Proper Human History, Shirou had become far more merciful than before. He was no longer the ruthless "Fairy Slayer" he had once been.
He understood that this was the "common sense" required to blend into the human world.
Even if the other party was once an enemy he had fought to the death, as long as they were not beyond saving, Shirou would spare their life after making them agree to certain conditions.
Tokiomi Tohsaka and Risei Kotomine were examples of that.
After they swore on the oaths that they would not reveal information about Shirou, nor cause trouble for him or the people around him, Shirou let them live.
As Shirou put this creed into practice, more and more companions gathered at his side.
Irisviel, the Einzbern girls, Lady Avalon… they became Shirou's family.
Kayneth, Sola-Ui, Waver… they later became Shirou's allies as well.
Touko Aozaki, however, walked a path completely opposite to Shirou's.
At the Clock Tower, she was a Magus known for her "collecting obsession."
After defeating an enemy Magus, if they could provide her with valuable materials, she would spare their life.
She would even forcefully save someone's life in order to establish a give-and-take relationship.
As a result, she had created a recuperation facility in her London workshop called the "Exclusive Convalescent Facility for Spell-Providers," where the Magi she had defeated, or those who had willingly become collaborators, now lived.
Although Touko currently held countless patents for Magecraft, most of her money went into maintaining that facility.
Because of demands from the Magi living there, with more and more calls for new facilities and special treatment, Touko had recently been seriously considering whether she should simply start a company, or liberate everyone there by firing them all.
To outsiders, Touko Aozaki probably looked like a cold-blooded, heartless witch. But Shirou had noticed the gentle side of her.
Though that gentleness was based entirely on her slightly twisted view of happiness, so the victims might not necessarily feel the same way.
"I see. So you hate being treated that way, Shirou… Still, I can swear I'll treat you differently from everyone else."
"Because you're special. I've seen all kinds of remarkable talent, but this is the first time I've met someone as outstanding as you. No, I should say I never even imagined someone like you could exist in this world."
"Who are you, really? Where did you come from? I want to know all of it… But even if I asked, you wouldn't tell me, would you? "
"Then there's only one thing I can do. Shirou, let's make a bet."
"What do you want to bet on?"
Touko Aozaki wore an unshakably composed expression. Shirou thought she really did resemble "Aoko of the Future."
"I'll defeat Aoko and take everything from her. When that happens… Shirou, you will become mine too."
"Shirou's Magecraft, your skills, your soul, and your freedom. I'll have all of it to myself."
"Okay."
Shirou nodded without hesitation.
"If you really can defeat Aoko, I'll agree to anything you ask… Even becoming yours."
"On the other hand, if Aoko wins, then you have to promise me one thing too, Touko."
"What is it?"
Touko Aozaki blinked.
"If there's something you want me to do for you, Shirou, you can tell me now… I don't think I'd refuse you."
Shirou shook his head.
"There's no point in saying it now, because it's something the 'current Touko' can't do."
"Heeh~"
The puppet master pinched her delicate chin.
Then she voiced the question that had been troubling her for a long time.
"Shirou, you don't intend to stop me and Aoko?"
"Why would I?"
Touko Aozaki put her glasses back on and gave an incredibly gentle, beautiful smile.
"Because Aoko and I are sisters. When someone sees siblings trying to kill each other, a normal person's first reaction should be to stop them, shouldn't it?
"But Shirou, you seem to be looking forward to Aoko and me settling things."
"..."
The boy could not help thinking of Saber, and of her older sister… Morgan, the Fairy Queen of this world, whom he had never met.
The genius girl born as the Lady of the Island.
The younger sister who took away all of her older sister's efforts and dreams.
Their circumstances were strikingly similar to those of the Aozaki sisters.
Shirou said calmly, "It's precisely because you're sisters that you're enemies, isn't it?"
"You do have the right to take everything from Aoko."
"Whether material or spiritual, if you want to, you can destroy everything she has."
"Aoko sees this city as her treasure, so you decided to start by destroying it."
"I won't stop you. But I won't allow you to kill her."
If Shirou had traveled not to the Fairy Kingdom, but to this world fifteen hundred years ago, what would he have done?
Shirou was not a god. He could not stand above them and decide who was more worthy of the Crown of Britannia.
All he could do was quietly protect the two sisters in his own way.
"..."
Touko Aozaki closed her eyes with deep regret, her expression complicated.
"Shirou, deep down, you probably think you don't have the right to take either side. You believe you're neutral…"
"But the moment you said those words, your heart had already leaned one way, hadn't it?"
"No."
Shirou continued, "I won't allow Aoko to kill you either."
"..."
For the first time, surprise showed on Touko Aozaki's face.
Because she had suddenly realized Shirou's true purpose, the reason for his existence, which had been hidden all along.
She had been wrong from the start.
Shirou had come to Misaki not only to "protect Aoko," but also to "protect Touko."
Touko smiled faintly.
"I think I'm starting to understand why Aoko likes you now…"
"Hehe. Shirou, if you think you can do it, then go ahead and try."
"Just so you know, this is the hardest path of all, and the one no one will understand."
"..."
Seeing the resolve in the boy's dusk-colored eyes, the orange-haired Magus looked slightly ashamed.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to question your convictions."
"Yeah, I know," Shirou said with a nod.
"As my sincerest apology, let me grant you one request, Shirou. Go on, tell me."
"As long as it's something the 'current Touko' can do, I'll honor it."
The orange Magus sat back down in her chair, crossing her long, slender legs wrapped in black stockings.
Shirou thought for a moment and said, "Don't go after Alice. Your only target is Aoko anyway, so leave her alone."
After hearing the boy's request, Touko Aozaki pinched the bridge of her nose in obvious distress.
"You really do like asking the impossible, don't you, Shirou?"
"Even if I try to avoid fighting that girl, she'll definitely come after me herself."
"From the moment I set my sights on the land of Misaki, Alice already saw me as a target that had to be eliminated."
"Are you asking me to stop resisting and obediently stand there while that adorable little witch curses me to death?"
"It's difficult, but not impossible, right?"
"...Hmph."
The puppet master gave a meaningful smile.
"Fine. I'll agree… 'I' won't go after her."
Shirou understood the deeper meaning in her words and nodded in satisfaction.
"That's enough for me, Touko. I'll make sure Alice doesn't go after you either."
A sound came from the entrance.
Touko Aozaki calmly stood up.
"Ritsuka is back. I should be leaving soon."
"Is there anything you want me to pass on to Aoko?"
The girl's older sister did not answer. She only gave the boy a bewitching smile.
Then, with the sharpness of a gust of wind, she strode toward the door in her high heels.
"Huh? Touko! You're leaving already? Why not stay for dinner?"
"No. I'm still in hiding, after all, and I have to prepare to take over this city. It would be bad if I lost my sense of urgency."
Touko Aozaki took the plastic bag of beef from the returning Ritsuka and left the apartment.
...
For a while after that, the Kuonji mansion was wrapped in the busy atmosphere of the year's end.
After two failed assassination attempts, Touko Aozaki began her full-scale assault on Misaki City.
Once Touko Aozaki got serious, the situation deteriorated rapidly.
The puppets began attacking the support points of Misaki City's Bounded Field with precision.
Aoko and the others were protected by two broad layers of Bounded Fields.
One was a large Bounded Field spread across Misaki City, used to detect movements of Mana and Magecraft.
It helped them grasp and monitor outsiders. It was an indelible technique established by the master who managed the Spiritual Land, in other words, Aozaki's ancestor.
The other was something that arose from the land's Leylines and managed that power.
It was a typical square formation that maintained its internal circulation through five support points carved into the earth.
By artificially managing the flow from its source, that power's endpoint could be concentrated at the Kuonji residence. In other words, it was a Bounded Field that allowed them to monopolize all of Misaki City's Mana.
There were five support points centered around the Kuonji residence, each corresponding to one of the five great elements.
If all of them were destroyed, Aoko's status as "manager of the land" would become nothing but an empty title.
At that point, Aoko would lose every home-field advantage and be forced into a direct one-on-one fight with her older sister.
Leaving Alice aside, the still-immature Aoko had only managed to defend this land so desperately because she relied heavily on these two Bounded Fields. The Aozaki family's detection network, in particular, could be called her lifeline.
And yet Touko Aozaki's puppet army had slipped into that large Bounded Field and was now running wild throughout the city.
Putting their levels of Magecraft aside, the gap in war experience was simply too great. As a result, Aoko and Alice were being led around by the nose.
Before long, three of the five support points had been destroyed.
Against that backdrop, the atmosphere in the mansion grew heavier by the day.
This can't go on…
Wearing an apron, Shirou poked his head out from the kitchen.
The living room looked no different from usual, but the air inside was oppressively tense.
Incidentally, Shirou had not contributed anything to the war over the Spiritual Land.
Having him infiltrate a Magus's Bounded Field was one thing. Having him destroy parts of the city was something he could do as well.
But asking Shirou to take part in a struggle over Leylines was a bit much.
Touko Aozaki had brought nearly a hundred puppets with her.
Even if Shirou took out one fifth of them, the remaining seventy or eighty could split up and cause destruction all over the city. That was not something Shirou could stop by himself.
At times like this, he found himself missing Big Sister Assassin…
Shirou knew there was very little he could do, so he simply stayed in the mansion and became a househusband.
His daily work was to take care of the young ladies who spent all day running around the city.
Seeing the dark circles under Aoko and Alice's eyes grow deeper and deeper, Shirou felt he had to do something.
"What's this? Ah… thank you, Shirou♡"
When Aoko returned home, she handed her coat to Shirou and accepted the hot tea from him, her gaze falling on the two vouchers on the table.
Shirou explained, "They're hot spring trip vouchers I won in a raffle at the shopping district."
"Huh? Isn't that the grand prize? You actually won it?"
Aoko's eyes lit up as she rushed over.
"That's amazing, Shirou!"
As if winning the grand prize would be that easy…
Shirou had bought the hot spring tickets with money he secretly earned during the day by doing under-the-table work for the yakuza.
"Yeah, looks like I've been pretty lucky lately… Perfect timing. Aoko, Alice, take these two vouchers and go relax for a while."
"You two have been under too much stress lately. This is a good chance to unwind and clear your heads."
Aoko's expression was complicated.
She was grateful for Shirou's thoughtfulness, and she also sharply realized that the two tickets probably had not come from his luck.
He had even gone so far as to lie and hide how worried he was, all because he was afraid of making Aoko feel burdened…
What a kind child. As expected of my future…
But Aoko really was not in the mood for hot springs right now, and the timing was not right either.
Shirou noticed the girl's hesitation and refused to give up.
"Ah, don't worry. I'll protect Misaki properly while you're gone…"
Just as Aoko was about to say something, Alice, who had been reading beside them, cut in.
"It's a rare opportunity. There's nothing wrong with accepting his kindness for once."
The girl lowered her graceful head, her white teeth sinking deeply into her soft lips.
"Aoko, go soak in the hot springs with him."