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

Page 93

In this era, few people are willing to provoke the Aozaki family because a mage stands behind them.

Therefore, such visits are not uncommon. Even after Aozaki Touko was born, many magicians made special trips to visit her.

However, Yuzhu, who had always lived in London, had not thought much about why her father brought her here, thinking that it was simply to take her back to her old home to live for a while.

As a result, a year after this visit, her father passed away, leaving her behind. Aozaki summoned her again, and it was then that Yuju learned that her father was making arrangements for his own funeral.

After that summons, Yuzu became one of the guardians of the territory of Misaki Town, and she never saw the old magician again after that.

Chapter 205 The Mage's Cave

Now, upon suddenly receiving a call from this magician, Ayumi felt a chill for no apparent reason. It was the intuition brought on by her witch bloodline, but this feeling was not one of danger. Rather, it was telling her that if she followed him, she might encounter a major change in her life.

On the other side, Orange's expression grew increasingly grim. As the older sister, she had always prevented Aoko, an ordinary person, from coming into contact with magic. For Aoko, whose family ties were weak, the person she felt the deepest affection for wasn't her grandfather who had raised her in the workshop since she was little, nor her parents, whose faces were always filled with guilt and worry whenever they saw her after she was born. Rather, it was her younger sister, Aoko Aozaki, who would frequently come to the workshop, no matter how many times she was told not to come again.

The bonds of kinship within magician families are cold; even siblings can fight to the death over the inheritance of a magic crest. To avoid this, either one is chosen from the next generation to be trained as a magician while the other grows up as an ordinary person, or the other is adopted into a magician family that has no heir.

The Aozaki family falls into the first category. Because of her exceptional magical talent, the older sister, Aozaki Touko, was taken to the mountain by the Aozaki mage shortly after birth. As a result, she did not have close contact with modern society like others and was raised purely as a "mage's egg".

Meanwhile, her younger sister, Aozaki Aoko, possesses a magic circuit that is considered quite ordinary in the world of magic. Born as a child with average abilities, she has no connection with magic and grows up in the loving care of her gentle parents.

Orange had envied Aoko, but she knew what kind of mission she was shouldering. The existence of magicians was special, so she forced herself to stop thinking about the things that ordinary people could enjoy and silently accepted her fate.

Trying her best to meet her grandfather's expectations was what she should do, but she didn't know when it started, she kept asking herself if this was really the life she wanted.

On that day, Qingzi begged and pleaded with her to go to the city with her. On the train, she met Yue Zhengling and received a memoir titled "No Longer Human." The questions that had been lingering in her mind became more and more confusing.

"Alright, stop spacing out, let's go up the mountain." Looking at the silent Orange, Wen Bingyongli seemed to have seen something interesting, and the smile on his face widened.

"Hmph, why are you rushing me!" Qingzi looked at the man unhappily. From the first time she saw him, Qingzi disliked him from the bottom of her heart.

This dislike wasn't because the other person had done anything rude; on the contrary, he had always acted very politely, but Aoko felt a deep-seated disgust for his inner self.

This person is rotten inside—Aoko confirmed this with her own eyes the first time she met Wenbing Yongli.

Aoko trusted her innate intuition, so she always avoided dealing with Wen Bingyongli, even intentionally interrupting when she saw her sister talking to her.

"It seems Aoko still dislikes me as much as ever," said Eri Fumiya, adjusting her glasses with an unchanged smile.

Aoko snorted again and turned her head away from him.

"Let's go." Orange glanced at her sister and senior brother, and felt that there was no need to say anything more. Her sister had disliked this person for a long time, so it was better to ignore it.

Hearing that Orange had spoken, Eri looked at the envelope in Aoko's hand again, then turned around and took the lead.

Orange took Aoko's hand and began to instruct her, "Don't say anything out of line when you see Grandpa. I'll answer whatever you say."

After saying that, Orange turned to look at Yuzhu, who was silent and seemingly lost in thought. "Don't worry, I don't think it's anything serious."

Yuzhu glanced at Orange noncommittally, though she didn't show it on her face despite her bad mood.

Orange, used to not getting a response, didn't have time to worry about it. She knew that her grandfather's summons this time was not a trivial matter as she had comforted Youzhu; on the contrary, it was definitely a big deal.

Since the summons specifically requested that the three of them go together, the question arises: why was Aoko, an ordinary person who has absolutely no connection to the demonic path, also summoned?

The reason is hard to guess, but it's not impossible either. The reason for the hatred might be because the three of them went to a place today that forced Grandpa to intervene.

If it really is because of Yue Zhengling, then things are getting more and more mysterious. Two high-ranking Death Apostles, a hospital with a system completely different from the origins of modern magic, and the grandfather's summons—if these clues are connected, even Orange shudders at the thought of the answer.

Each of them was lost in their own thoughts, walking in silence. As they entered the mountain path, Wen Bingyongli, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped and turned around to look at the envelope in Qingzi's hand for the third time.

"What are you doing!" Seeing that Eri was staring intently at what she was holding, Aoko quickly hid the envelope behind her back and asked in an extremely angry voice.

The doves that had already returned to their nests in the woods were startled and flew around wildly, leading a flock of birds.

"Qingzi, what's that in your hand?" By the time they arrived, most of the streetlights had gone out, and Wenbing Yongli's face was hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to see his expression.

"What's it to you!" Qingzi had no intention of explaining. Not only did she not know what was in the envelope, but even if she did, she wouldn't tell this person.

Orange frowned in confusion. Wen Bing Yongli wasn't one to make baseless accusations; if he asked such a question, he must have his reasons. "Wen Bing, is there something wrong with what Qingzi has?"

Wenbing Yongli seemed to turn her head slightly, then said in a tone full of disgust, "You may not be able to feel it, but that thing keeps emitting this heretical aura, so strong it's nauseating."

Unexpectedly, Orange paused for a moment, while Aoko released Orange's hand, turned around, sniffed the envelope repeatedly, and muttered under her breath, "Hmph, what's that smell? I can't smell anything at all. Are you just trying to cause trouble?!"

Hearing her sister's words, Orange felt a bit amused and exasperated. Although she didn't know the specific reason, she believed Wen Bingyongli's words.

As the only son of the Wenbing family, who has had close ties with the Aozaki family since ancient times, Wenbing Eiri was once a student of the Aozaki family. Strictly speaking, he was Touko's senior brother, but in reality, he was sent by the Holy Church to supervise the managers of the spiritual veins.

The Church of Christ is an organization whose influence is centered in Western Europe and extends throughout the world.

Their primary purpose is to proclaim God's love and relieve the poor and sick, but beneath it lies a secret organization that accomplishes a special purpose.

Unlike ordinary churches, it is a large armed organization established for the purpose of "hunting heretics".

They do not acknowledge any heresy other than demons, and absolutely do not recognize any existence that contradicts their doctrine. They believe that using mystical techniques to corrupt God, kill humans, disrupt the world, and distort the laws governing the world—the truth of God—are all heresies that should be eradicated.

In other words, everything outside of the Christian canon is heresy.

This includes other religions, and because the manuscript in the envelope that Aoko was holding had been blessed by the Buddha's power inspired by the relics, Wenbing Yongli could feel that special aura.

After hearing what Wenbing Yongli said, Youzhu activated her magic eye and looked at the envelope in Qingzi's hand. Only then did she see clearly that the contents of the envelope were emitting a restrained golden light.

“Buddha’s power,” Youzhu said softly.

Orange turned to look at Yuzhu, and the two exchanged a glance without making a sound.

"Alright, Aoko, stop smelling it." After tapping her younger sister's head, Touko came in front of Aoko, blocking Fumihachi Eiri's view, and then pressed Aoko's hand holding the envelope towards her chest. "Let's go see Grandpa first. Keep this safe and we can look at it when we get home."

Aoko nodded obediently, opened her coat, and stuffed the envelope inside.

Wen Bingyongli, who was in the shadows, turned around and silently continued walking up the mountain.

"Be careful." Yuzhu looked at the back of the figure, her eyes narrowing slightly. Just now, when Aoko put away the envelope, she felt a trace of murderous intent from Wenbing Yongli.

Orange understood what Yuzhu meant. She subconsciously pulled Qingzi back from running forward. Although she believed that Wenbing Yongli would not do anything reckless, everything today seemed strange, so it was best to be careful.

Keeping a distance from Moon Byung-yong-ri, ensuring he didn't disappear from sight, the three of them finally arrived safely at a cave.

“Then, my mission is complete.” Arriving at the cave entrance, Shizuka Eiri, who had reappeared under the light, said to the three with her usual smile.

"Aren't you going in?" Orange looked at the cave entrance with a nervous gaze.

"No, the teacher didn't call me, so you can do as you please. I'll be going now." After saying this, Wenbing Yongli turned and walked back the way she came without any hesitation, clearly not planning to wait for Chengzi and the others.

"Come in." As if waiting for the perfect moment, a completely emotionless voice came from inside the cave.

Upon hearing the voice, even the usually restless Qingzi involuntarily straightened up. She knew the voice belonged to her grandfather, but the title was too vague, and it shouldn't have been used in such an intimate way; she should have called him "grandfather."

Aozaki Aoko is nervous but also feels very lucky. She had originally planned to come here tomorrow morning to beg her grandfather to wake up Yue Zhengling, but it seems that she won't have to make that trip now.

In Aoko's mind, her grandfather was a magician who could do anything. Although she had never actually seen magic, she had only imagined it from his words.

But the girl named Aozaki Aoko doesn't yet understand the fact that it's different from common sense, and that her grandfather, a mage, is not the same kind of being as her.

Aozaki Touko was a little troubled. She didn't know why her grandfather had called Aoko here. Unlike Aoko, who was naive or had illusions about family, Touko knew exactly what kind of person this magician was.

Living in the cave is the person who truly raised her, the mage whom the Aozaki family is so proud of.

But the other person gave Orange only the impression of a cold, mechanical person, and she found it difficult to call him "Grandpa".

As her master on the path of demonic cultivation, he never emphasized the blood relation between them. In their daily interactions, he simply taught her what he needed to teach her as a matter of routine, without making demands, offering praise, or being harsh.

No matter how perfectly Orange did it, Grandfather wouldn't give it a second glance or say a word, as if teaching Orange was just about fulfilling a mission, and whether it succeeded or not was completely irrelevant.

But the more this happened, the harder Orange worked. She hoped that one day the old man would say something more, and if he did, she would get the recognition she wanted.

But that was something she could never obtain; her grandfather, a mage, was not the same kind of being as her—a fact that the girl named Aozaki Touko did not yet understand.

Kuonji Yuju looked at the cave with fear, not of the environment inside, but of the beings within.

Yes, in her understanding, those living inside were not people, but beings called "magicians." They were more special than witches—no, "special" wasn't quite right, and it was inappropriate to describe "magician" in any way.

Indeed, magicians are beings that cannot be described by anything humans have created; they are a different kind of being that transcends humanity.

Knowing what magic is, Yuju is closer to a magician than anyone else in the world. Because of this, she knows what a magician really is—a completely abnormal being who can enter the Root and then emerge from it while maintaining their personality.

From the moment the voice calling them rang out to the moment they involuntarily entered the cave, it was only a short distance of ten meters. However, these ten meters separated two worlds.

The moment they stepped into the cave, the alien world began to unfold.

—Here, is a world of cyan.

The mage's cave was shrouded in blue.

Everything—the table, the compass, the celestial globe, the magic book, even the central altar—was permeated with cyan.

—Abnormal abnormal abnormal abnormal abnormal abnormal abnormal abnormal abnormal abnormal abnormal abnormal abnormal.

Both Yuzhu and Orange's brains were sending out alarms.

The witch's circuits ache faintly, the magician's mark ache faintly, and the ordinary person's nerves ache faintly.

"This is—" Yuzhu's entire body, flesh and bones (not a typo), were working at full speed to adapt to this foreign land, and the pain, more intense than ever before, constantly stimulated her soul.

"Magic—" Orange strained her eyes to see what was before her; this was what she would have to bear in the future.

"Sister, Ice Face! Wake up!" Qingzi looked anxiously at the two who seemed to have lost their minds since they came in. She had called them several times, but they hadn't responded.

"Aoko." Just as she was considering whether to slap Ayumi and Touko, that emotionless voice rang out again.

Aoko was startled and hurriedly turned to look at the old man standing behind the counter.

"Give me what you have."

Chapter 206 The Manuscript That Changed My Fate (Part 1)

Of the three present, only Aoko completely ignored the effects of magic, while Ayumi and Touko suffered abnormal pain from the magic circuits in their bodies.

However, both of them were conscious, but they were unable to control their bodies. When they heard the magician demand that they hand over the letter that Yue Zhengling had left for Qingzi, they finally realized at that moment that the reason they had been summoned today was indeed because of Yue Zhengling.

The two women couldn't understand why their grandfather (the sorcerer Aozaki) was making such a fuss. In their eyes, it was just a letter, which shouldn't have much value and didn't warrant such measures—magic was the highest mystery, and the Fifth Magic represented something that transcended this world.

Upon hearing her grandfather's request, Aoko glanced nervously at her older sister, but finding that she still didn't react, she decided to follow her own ideas.

"No! Grandpa, this is something my friend left me. I won't give it to you." Completely unaware that her grandfather had used magic to transform this cave into a different realm from the rest of the world, Aoko followed her heart and said.

"..." The mage remained silent.

Orange and Pearl gradually adapted to the changes here. Although their magic circuits were still incredibly painful, they managed to regain control of their bodies.

Upon hearing Aoko refuse her grandfather's request, Touko's eyes widened in shock, and she forced herself to speak with great willpower: "Grandfather, Aoko, no,..."

"Is this your choice, Aoko?" Ignoring Touko's words, the mage spoke again, her tone still devoid of any emotion.

"Of course! Even Grandpa can't take my things away!" Aoko stood tall and looked at the elderly mage.

The mage's clear, crystal-like eyes stared directly at the girl who inherited the Aozaki family bloodline. "Do you know what this means?"

"I don't know, but what does it matter? And Grandpa, why do you want this?" Completely disregarding the occasion, the incredibly bold Aoko ignored the astonished looks on her sister and Yuzhu's faces. She had a premonition that if she handed the envelope to her grandfather, she might lose a lot.

In this cave shrouded in blue magic, fragmented images began to appear in Aoko's mind: a grown-up Yuzu, her older sister with short hair and glasses, a child turned into a golden wolf, and herself, whose hair had inexplicably turned red.

These images appeared after she entered the cave, was illuminated by the blue light, and then felt the warmth emanating from the envelope in her hand.

Aoko doesn't understand the meaning of these images, but she doesn't like them because they show that she and her sister are fighting, and that she seems to be able to use magic—even something beyond magic.

Aozaki Aoko wasn't stupid; she vaguely understood the meaning behind these images, but that's precisely why she dared not imagine them.

"Follow the paved path; that is your destined fate. But what you hold in your hands is a distortion, something that will twist your destiny." The elderly mage's aura grew increasingly ethereal and mysterious.

"Who cares about these things! And I don't want to know about fate! And if I knew my original fate, I would never follow it!" For thirteen-year-old Aoko, the word "fate" was too difficult to understand, but she loved freedom and hated all those rules and regulations, not to mention that her life might have been fixed, and that future had sacrificed some things she didn't want to give up.

"Is this your choice?" The mage looked silently into Aoko's eyes from beginning to end, and in those eyes he saw unyielding spirit.

"Yes." Aoko nodded smugly.

"...In that case, take care of yourself." After saying this, the mage closed his eyes and disappeared without warning, and the light surging in the cave dimmed.

The physical pain finally subsided to a tolerable level, and Orange and Yuzhu were panting heavily, their entire bodies soaked in sweat.

"This is too reckless, Aoko." After calming her breathing, Orange frowned and walked to her sister's side, controlling her swaying body.

"How could you say I'm messing around, sister! I was just giving Grandpa some feedback." Aoko rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Besides, Grandpa is very easy to talk to."

"So easy to talk to...?" Orange looked at the spot where her grandfather had disappeared, her expression somewhat unpleasant.

Yuzhu, who also heard Aoko's words, twitched involuntarily. She knew that the conversation just now was of great significance, and judging from Aozaki's actions, his attitude towards his two granddaughters was a bit strange. If she wasn't mistaken, the future succession of the Fifth Law might be unexpected.

Thinking of this, Ayumi looked at the Aozaki sisters with mixed feelings. She believed that Touko had also noticed something from the conversation just now, and Aoko didn't seem to have been unaware of anything either. So now the two sisters didn't dare to look each other in the eye, trying to act as if nothing had happened.

"Alright, Qingzi, hurry up and go down the mountain. Mother and Father are probably still waiting for you." Orange put aside her chaotic thoughts, reached out and pushed her sister's back, trying to look her in the eye.

"Hmm." Aoko, equally troubled, responded listlessly, then glanced anxiously at her sister.