I want to just drift through life in Type-Moon.

Page 96

"So, since you can't understand it, then you're safe, right!" Aoko's words just now almost wore down Orange's patience, but she knew now was not the time to throw a tantrum.

"Oh, right, to put it simply, it's safer because I can't understand it, right?" Aoko summarized with a look of sudden realization, but then raised a question, "But you can't understand it either, right, so why give it to me?"

Originally, Orange was a little happy to see that her younger sister had understood, but her happiness lasted less than three seconds before Qingzi asked another awkward question. Orange felt it was better not to explain at all and simply ordered Qingzi to put the thing away.

Orange took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and said through gritted teeth, "Because I'm afraid I won't be able to resist looking at it, and even if I don't understand it, I'll still look it up in books to learn Chinese! So, my dear sister! Do you think you have the same patience and eagerness to learn as your sister?!"

Upon hearing this explanation, Aoko immediately turned her head away guiltily, obediently took the manuscript from Yuzhu's hand, then picked up the torn envelope and put the manuscript back inside.

Looking at the manuscript disappearing from her hands, Yu-chu suddenly felt an emptiness in her heart and a particularly painful feeling.

“I’ll do this when I get home—” Aoko put the envelope back into her arms and was about to say what to do with it, but before she could finish, Yuzu and Touko interrupted her at the same time.

"No need to tell us!" X2

Aoko, startled by the two, almost jumped up.

"Qingzi, you only need to know where this thing is hidden yourself. You can't tell anyone, and even if we ask you about it someday, don't tell us!" Chengzi looked at Qingzi with a very stern gaze.

"Remember, you can't tell anyone!" As if she wasn't sure, Orange pressed down on Aoko's shoulders and repeated it again.

Aoko, intimidated by her sister's imposing presence, nodded blankly.

Seeing that Aoko didn't seem to have listened, Orange was very worried, but she knew that entrusting it to Aoko for safekeeping was the best outcome.

I and Yuzhu will definitely want to look through the contents. Even if we put these manuscripts in the cave to look at them, we can't guarantee that the restraint force won't notice them. After all, judging from my grandfather's behavior, this really is the last time he will help them.

There's no going back for any of the three of them. Whatever choice one of them makes, the other two will have to make corresponding decisions. From the moment they learned the contents of Lingjun's manuscript, the three of them became a community of shared destiny, and none of them could leave the others.

Even though Aoko doesn't yet understand the implications, everything will change once her grandfather makes his choice. Even knowing her younger sister will likely have her own plans, neither she, as the older sister, nor Aoko, as the younger sister, has the right to choose in the face of the overwhelming tide.

This was destined from the moment they were born; the only thing they can do now is to avoid the process of sisters killing each other.

Orange looked at Yuzhu, whose role as an ally caught between the sisters would be even greater than described in the manuscript.

"Yuzhu, I'll be relying on you for the future." Orange winked at Yuzhu with a mischievous grin.

Yuzhu knew what kind of trouble Touko was referring to. She looked at the Aozaki sisters with distress, already foreseeing that there would be no peace for a long time to come.

"Well then, let's assign tasks now." Although Yuzhu doesn't like trouble, it doesn't mean she's afraid of it.

“That’s true. So, shall we go or shall we go?” Orange looked at Yuzhu’s intelligent eyes and was also eager to try.

Chapter 212 Analysis (Part 1)

Completely unable to understand what Touko and Ayumi were discussing, Aoko couldn't help but ask, "Sister, what are you talking about?"

At this moment, Yuzhu and Chengzi realized that Qingzi was completely out of sync with their train of thought. But in order not to make her feel useless, Chengzi immediately put on a kind expression and said, "Qingzi, you just need to figure out how to hide the manuscript first. Yuzhu and I will discuss the rest and tell you later."

Feeling excluded, Aoko puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. She knew that she was no match for her sister and the ice-faced girl in terms of intelligence, but as the saying goes, the collective wisdom of three ordinary people is equivalent to the wisdom of Manjushri Bodhisattva (三人寄れば文殊の知恵). Including her, there were exactly three people, yet they didn't even discuss things with her. It was as if they didn't respect her at all!

"I want to hear too!" Aoko huffed and weaved between the chatting Orange and Yuzu, asserting her strong presence.

Seeing her younger sister's "If you won't play with me, I'll cause trouble" look, Orange could only give a wry smile, "Alright, alright, I'll let you join in."

Although Aoko found the tone, which sounded like she was coaxing a child, a little strange, she eventually got her wish and joined in.

Yuzhu clearly noticed that after reading Yue Zhengling's manuscript, the Aozaki sisters became closer. Although she didn't know whether the change in their relationship was good or bad, she thought that the story called "The Night of the Wizard" might not happen in the future.

In fact, both Orange and Green thought so. At this point, all three of them underestimated the inertia of the world. Some things cannot be changed simply by changing relationships.

After about half an hour of assigning tasks, Orange clapped her hands in a final summary.

"Alright, that's settled then."

Yuzhu and Aoko nodded in unison, then looked at each other with complicated expressions.

"Yuzu, I'll leave the clock tower to you. Aoko, just be yourself as usual, and I'll mobilize the Aozaki family's resources to investigate what happened that night."

At this point, Orange paused before continuing, "Qingzi, don't go to the hospital for now. It's too dangerous for you there until Youzhu and I have investigated the situation."

"Oh, even you, sister, can't come with me."

“No.” This time, Orange had no intention of accommodating Aoko. “Aoko, you must remember that you are still just an ordinary person who has nothing to do with the demonic path. The hospital where Lingjun is staying is eerie from the inside out. If something happens, even I am not sure I can get out unscathed. So you should stop talking.”

Hearing Orange's righteous words, Aoko became a little discouraged. Yes, no matter how great her future might become, she was still just an ordinary person now. Moreover, she had made some decisions, and whether she would become a magician in the future was still uncertain.

What the three discussed in the cave was unknown to anyone but the three of them. But after they finished talking and left the cave, the calm gaze of the sorceress Aozaki reflected the completely different backs of the three girls, and she remained silent.

Time flies, and half a year has passed. Although the three of them have become quite close, their way of getting along has not changed much.

But the changes in the overall environment came without us even realizing it.

After the day the three of them discussed it, Kuonji Yuzu used her connections at the Clock Tower and paid some price to invite the woman with the ability to see the past. She then used magic to extract the memory that the female magician had seen.

Taking advantage of her home field, Aozaki Touko obtained information that Nero Chaos had chased the magician Araya Sōren that night. She also contacted the Holy Church through the Goda Church and obtained a copy of the transcript of the events, which was dictated by Father Kotomine and his son and recorded by the Code Supervisor.

Aozaki Aoko also used her spare change to buy a large Russian nesting doll, carefully hiding the manuscript inside. Even more interestingly, to prevent herself from opening the nesting doll, she glued it shut and placed it on top of the wardrobe.

The three of them went about their own business and met at Arisu's mansion a week later to share information. Of course, the so-called information sharing was only between Arisu and Touko; Aoko was just there to join in the fun.

"In other words, we still don't know why that Araya Sōren wanted to capture Rin, or how Nero Kasei appeared and where he was, or why he saved Rin." After listening to her sister and Ayū's information, Aoko asked first.

“No, although it’s uncertain, it’s not hard to guess.” Orange looked at the piece of paper placed between the three of them. It recorded the relationships between Yue Zhengling and the people they knew. Although there were only a few names on it, anyone with any knowledge of the magic world would be surprised by what was on it.

First, the name written in the very center is undoubtedly Yue Zhengling's name. Then, this name is circled, and a line extends from it, landing on Nero Chaos's name.

“Nero Chaos, this Dead Apostle, we met him at Lingjun’s shop that day.” Orange picked up a pen and wrote another name under this one—Faubro Lowen.

Then she pointed to the name and said, "Interestingly, the Uncle Fuaburo that Lingjun mentioned in his letter, Youzhu found out, is Nero Chaos's name when he was still human."

"This raises a question: You should know the identity of this Dead Apostle, so why do you refer to him by the name Nero Chaos used when he was still human?"

"Moreover, he showed no hostility towards us at the time and even provided us with information about Lingjun. It can be seen that this 'dead apostle' and Lingjun should have a good relationship. We need to find him. Even if he doesn't know the truth about Lingjun's attack, he should still know a lot of things."

After saying that, Orange wrote the word "Friendly" on the line connecting the names of Yue Zhengling and Nero Chaos, and then wrote at the bottom of the paper: Task 1: Find Nero Chaos.

Then, she looked at another name with a complicated gaze: Araya Sōren.

"Next is this magician who once belonged to the Clock Tower, the devout monk of the Taimi sect, Araya Sōren." Orange felt somewhat complicated because, according to Yue Zhengling's manuscript, this should have been her future confidant in the Clock Tower.

However, based on the information available now, even if I do go to the Clock Tower, this person cannot become my classmate if they are not dead—because the other person has already graduated from the Clock Tower and has been designated as the target of the seal.

Chapter 213 Analysis (Part 2)

Originally, Chengzi had some doubts about the authenticity of the manuscript left by Yue Zhengling based on this point, but she rejected this doubt on another issue.

That's the issue concerning the Goda Church.

It's important to know that during this week, Orange used the Aozaki family's name to gather information outside. While investigating what happened to Yue Zhengling, she also secretly investigated the people in the Goda Church.

The information she obtained was completely consistent with the manuscript left by Yue Zhengling: Wen Bingyongli was indeed the supervisor of the spiritual veins, and Qingzi's tutor, Zhou Se Ritsuka, was indeed a woman disguised as a man.

As mentioned in the manuscript, a woman named Ritsuka Shuse was a member of the Mage's Association. Her job was intelligence and infiltration, and her specialty was disguise. This disguise ability could even alter her bones and muscles. She skillfully used the female Ritsuka and male Ritsuka, disguised herself as siblings, and went to the Aozaki family to become an apprentice, and even became Aoko's tutor.

This information was completely accurate, which is why Orange had no doubt about the authenticity of the manuscripts.

Moreover, since the grandfather valued these manuscripts so much, even calling them distortions, Araya Sōren, who had also read these manuscripts, had his own fate altered.

Shaking her head and putting these irrelevant things aside, Orange pointed to Araya Sōren's name with her pen, "This person wanted to capture Ryūjun for some purpose. Unfortunately, Ryūjun would rather die than fall into his hands. He was also the one who had read those manuscripts, but unfortunately, he died that night."

“I have obtained the details of what happened from the church, but the report is incomplete. It only mentions that Nero Chaos was chasing this person, and it doesn’t even show what happened afterward. The fact that the battle site turned into a large dead zone has also been deliberately covered up. Therefore, I don’t think the church’s report is credible.”

Yuzhu looked at the statement that Orange had brought over and nodded in agreement.

“This person needs to be thoroughly investigated.” Orange wrote the words “suspected murderer” on Araya Souren’s contact line, and then added at the bottom of the paper, “Task 2: Investigate everything about Araya Souren.”

"Next up is this person, Wallachia Night." Both Orange and Yuzhu felt a headache upon seeing this name.

"I checked the asset records of the hospital where Lingjun is currently staying. Besides Araya Sōren, the name of the property owner is also Tsbia Eltram Atlasia. Note that the final name is not Oberon, but Atlasia," Orange said in a heavy tone.

"Sister, what's the difference?" Magic novice Aozaki Aoko asked again.

"There's a huge difference," Orange sighed.

"Tsbia Eltnam Oberon is the real name of the Night of Wallachia, but Tsbia Eltnam Atlasia, with the honorific name Atlasia, means that he is the dean or candidate for dean of the Atlas Institute, one of the three major organizations of the Mage's Association. But now, neither the dean nor the candidate of the Atlas Institute is a person with this name."

Aoko couldn't understand her sister's explanation at all, but Yuzhu unconsciously frowned.

Orange wrote down two names that were only slightly different on the paper. The scene of their brush at the hospital reappeared in her mind. Orange added a note on the line indicating whether it was friend or foe, and then, as usual, wrote down Task Three: Try to find out who this Night of Wallachia is.

The last one connected is a title without even a specific name—the mother of Guanbuzi.

"So, should we go find her?"

Looking at the name that wasn't actually a name, both Yuzhu and Aoko showed troubled expressions.

"First of all, according to what Lingjun said, this person has absolute future vision. The future she sees will definitely happen. Although she will help those people avoid bad endings, she cannot control how the ending will be."

Orange took a deep breath. "Moreover, I suspect that the reason Lingjun knew about her impending death was because she had met this mother of Guanbuzi, but was unable to avoid her own demise. Moreover, Lingjun suggested that Qingzi and I go see her, and I think there must be a reason for that."

“…Let’s go see him. I want to know what our future will be like.” Yuzhu reached out and gently covered the words “Mother of Kanbuko”. “Since we’ve already been spoiled, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Aoko rested her chin on her hand, looking at Yuzu with disdain. "So that's what you're worried about. How can you know the future before it happens?"

Aoko knows that her worldview is different from that of Ayumi and her sister. She doesn't understand why her sister and Ayumi would believe so much in the future that Rin-chan wrote.

According to her way of thinking, once the three of them learned about that so-called future, the future had already been changed, and at least she herself was not prepared to make choices based on that future.

“Being simple-minded isn’t without its advantages.” Yuzhu’s expression remained unchanged, but her words were sharp.

"Hey! Ice face! Who are you calling simple-minded!" Aoko gritted her teeth and glared at Yuzhu, then stood up, leaning on the table for support.

“Aoko means you’re straightforward.” To avoid a fight between the two, Touko immediately coughed and spoke up.

Orange agreed with Aoko's statement, but after all, Aoko was also her own younger sister. Besides, being stupid had its advantages; at least she was easy to fool.

"Huh, is that so?" After hearing her sister's explanation, Aoko turned to look at Yuzu.

Orange immediately winked at Yuzu from where Aoko couldn't see, meaning, "I owe you one."

That's why Youzhu nodded insincerely.

Seeing that Yuzhu nodded in agreement, Aoko sat back down and couldn't help but laugh.

"So easily fooled." X2

Orange and Yuzhu looked at Qingzi, who seemed to have something to be proud of, and felt that they should keep a closer eye on her in the future, otherwise she might be sold out one day and still be counting the money for someone else.

"In that case, let's set a time? How about next week?" Orange's suggestion was unanimously approved.

The fourth task was added to the end of this paper: Seek answers from Guanbuzi's mother.

"Well then, that's all for today. Yuzhu, you continue to contact the Clock Tower to see if you can get any information about Araya Souren. I'll go check on Rin-kun again. Aoko, you don't need to do anything, just enjoy your daily life."

Thus ended the weekly meetings that the three had been holding for the past six months.

Chapter 214 Gradual Changes (Part 1)

On the surface, Aozaki Aoko's daily life remains unchanged. However, during this time, through conversations between her sister and Arisu, she gradually comes to understand another side of this world.

When Aoko learned those things, she felt a sense of unreality because her sister told her that the power of their Aozaki family was far greater than that of the so-called mayor or even councilor—the world was controlled by magicians, and whether it was land, wealth, or status, it was all secretly controlled by people connected to the magic path.

Just like their Aozaki family, on the surface they are just a middle-class family, but in fact, this Misaki Town is the Aozaki family's inherent territory. If it were the Sengoku period, their family would be a real daimyo, and the older sister and she should be called princesses.

Of course, this is just an identity that can't be openly stated, and it's actually not very useful in real life.

Moreover, there was a real princess by her side—Kuonji Yuzu. As the daughter of the Kuonji Group, Yuzu was worthy of the title of princess in terms of family background, appearance, and temperament.

It was through comparison that Aoko realized she was like a wild girl. However, under the influence of her older sister and Yuju, she gradually learned to put on a facade.

More importantly, after Aoko fully understood the meaning of "magician," her resolve became even stronger.

After hearing the story called "The Night of the Wizard," Aoko simply treated it as a story and couldn't understand its meaning.

But after being gradually instilled with the common knowledge of magic by Aoko and Touko, Aoko finally understood what all these things meant, whether it was her sister running away from home after being stripped of her inheritance of the Aozaki family, her learning magic from Aoko, the battles between the sisters, or even being forced to perform the Fifth Magic.

However, it was precisely because she knew what it meant that her determination not to inherit the Aozaki family's magic became even stronger.

Aoko now believes that as long as she refuses to inherit the Aozaki family, her older sister will not leave, and she can enjoy this peaceful daily life in peace—well, it would be even better if she could successfully awaken Yue Zhengling.

However, Aoko's feelings could not be conveyed to anyone. People's choices influence each other, and good intentions do not necessarily lead to a result that satisfies both parties. In the future, when the magician Aozaki reveals the issue of the successor, the conflict between the two sisters will erupt.

It was then that Aozaki Aoko realized how naive her wishful thinking had been.

Unlike the leisurely Aoko, Touko changed her reclusive lifestyle and, while constantly accelerating her magic learning progress, used the Aozaki family's network of connections to set up the strongholds of the surrounding magician families and the Holy Church one by one.

This unnatural phenomenon piqued the curiosity of the inhabitants of the Otherworld, but once they learned what Aozaki Touko was investigating, most of them consciously or unconsciously withdrew their attention.

After all, the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles and the designated seal magicians are not to be trifled with. Only a small number of them with extremely deep backgrounds deliberately revealed some information of dubious authenticity to Orange. However, the meticulous Orange painstakingly unraveled these clues and collected all the records of Nero Chaos and Araya Sōren's past appearances.

"...Those two people, do they both know Lingjun's grandfather?" Chengzi looked at the collected reports and felt that things were a bit strange. When she tried to find out the information about Yue Zhengling's grandfather, she found that the information had been deliberately erased. The only thing she knew was that Yue Zhengling's grandfather brought him, who was supposed to be born, to Japan to settle down.