Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

but--

Magic is magic because it has the power to make the impossible a reality.

"Time travel" itself is not magic.

There are also secret techniques in magic that can control time, such as Emiya's "Time Control" and Morgan's "Water Mirror".

Morgan's "water mirror" can even throw the "present" into the "past" thousands of years ago, but it cannot change the predetermined outcome.

But true magic can transcend cause and effect and reverse time and space.

Because it is a miraculous hand that transcends magic, a realm that humans cannot enter or touch—

"I understand what Shirou is thinking..."

Aoko took a sip of her coffee and smiled.

"You suffered irreversible damage in the Holy Grail War, it seems that the rumor is true..."

That's why Shirou wanted to ask Touko for help, to have her create a new body (vessel) for him.

The boy did not deny that this was indeed his ultimate goal.

Aozaki Aoko said, "Hmm, if time travel were accomplished using my magic combined with Shirou's physique—"

Changing the past is achievable, isn't it?

But... why would I do something like this?

Why do I insist that you save Sister Orange?

She's not only my older sister, but also my mortal enemy in the struggle for magic.

Shirou: "..."

"Why aren't you saying anything, Shirou-kun?"

Aoko pressed on relentlessly.

In that one moment, Yuju was extremely grateful for her personality.

"Speak your mind freely."

Aoko curled her lips into a mocking smile: "Are you trying to lecture me by saying 'murder is wrong'?"

Before being Orange's sister, I was first and foremost a magician... Shirou-kun, you're a magician too, right?

Oh right, I heard that almost everyone survived the Holy Grail War... How kind of you, wanting to create a world where no one gets hurt?

I'm sorry, I can't do the saintly things that Shirou-kun did.

Anyone who shows me murderous intent, I will repay them tenfold without hesitation—

Aoko cast a sharp look at the boy as if she wanted to devour him whole.

Shirou met her gaze calmly and respectfully: "I believe that killing and revenge are necessary and justified."

"Oh?"

"Since you believe that killing Aozaki Touko was not wrong, then it must have been right, right..."

Shirou asked, "Why does Aoko look like she's about to cry?"

"…………"

Aozaki Aoko turned to look at the coffee shop's glass and only then noticed her overly distorted expression.

I thought I had hidden my regret well—but I still couldn't escape the child's eyes.

A bitter taste spread through the mage's mouth.

When she killed Orange, Aozaki Aoko thought she was very calm and would never regret it—but she was wrong.

The only thing that grew through magic over 10 years was the physical body.

When the magician's time was up, the one who had to bear the heavy consequence of "killing her sister" was a 17-year-old girl.

Shortly after Orange's death, Aozaki Aoko dropped out of Misaki High School and embarked on a aimless journey.

If it weren't for Yuzu taking the initiative to contact her this time, she probably would never have set foot on the land of Misaki again in her life.

The mage looked down at the coffee cup in front of him and suddenly remembered a distant memory that he had almost forgotten.

Until she graduated from junior high school and until she lived with Arisu, Aozaki Aoko remained a loyal coffee lover.

Because I admire my intellectual and gentle genius older sister, I started drinking black coffee in imitation of her... I used to have such an embarrassing and awkward teenage girl phase, haha.

Aozaki Aoko fell into a long silence.

Shirou stared at her nervously, swallowing hard.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes...

Time slipped away silently in an awkward silence.

Finally, Aozaki Aoko sighed, "Ha... I really lost to you."

If I ever get the chance, I really want to see what's going on in your head. Seriously, I'm incredibly impressed.

Her upright face, now raised, was etched with exhaustion: "I understand, Shirou-kun... I will give you a chance."

"What does Aoko mean?!" Shirou straightened his back.

“Okay, I promise you… I will use the Fifth Law to teleport you to 1989.”

Aozaki Aoko said seriously, "But whether you can save Touko-nee depends on your own efforts; I cannot make any guarantees about that."

If you have the ability, try to convince my past self.

"...Thank you, Aoko-nee!"

Shirou couldn't help but lower his head.

His feelings were more of being moved than grateful.

He knew very well what Aoko's permission truly meant.

Shirou will be transported back 8 years, when Aoko knew nothing about the future.

in other words--

To avoid Orange's death, killing Aoko directly is something they would even do.

She would never have agreed to such a thing if she didn't have the utmost trust in Shirou, to the point of entrusting her life to him.

"Thank you so much... Sister Qingzi, I will definitely live up to your expectations."

Not only Aozaki Touko, but I'll protect Aoko-nee too! Even if it costs me my life!

"Okay, okay, it's really not my thing to be thanked so formally."

The mage turned her face away shyly.

She understood a little better why Yuzhu had fallen for her so easily.

Just as Shirou and Aoko were about to sit down and discuss the details of time travel further—

"I disagree."

The witch's whisper snapped the two of them back to reality.

"—Time travel and all that? Don't be ridiculous."

Shirou and Aozaki Aoko exchanged glances, looking at the black-haired girl.

"You guys are really too willful, too willful."

"It's one thing for Amamiya-kun to be a child... but Aoko, are you joining in this nonsense too?"

"Miss Yuzhu?" "Yuzhu?"

The mage's voice carried a hint of tension.

Shirou felt it couldn't be his imagination; the air in the café grew increasingly heavy.

Kuonji Yuju remained silent, her dark eyes, devoid of any emotion, fixed on the two of them.

"Changing the past... is that something the two of you can decide so easily?"

"Hey, Miss Ariel..."

"Amamiya-kun, please shut up."

"—"

Shirou wisely shut his mouth, trembling with fear.

"I disagree," the witch declared coldly.

Their plan was to use the Fifth Law to send Shirou back eight years to persuade Aoko—

If successful, the deceased Aozaki Touko can be saved.

However, this also means—

Aoko would have met Shirou earlier than "now".

The encounter between Arisu and Shirou will be postponed until after Aoko's arrival.

Then, Ari and Shirou spent time together in the mansion...

The week that the witch treasured will all be forgotten, abandoned—it will cease to exist.

"..."

Kuonji Yuju murmured in a voice colder than absolute zero.

“I absolutely, absolutely...I will not allow that to happen.”

Volume 2, Chapter 122: Arisu: Hehe... I must get Shirou!

"That...is there a pearl?"

Shirou and Aoko both noticed something was wrong; Arisu seemed a little off.

Centered around the petite and delicate witch, an unspeakable unease and pressure gradually enveloped the entire café.

Aoko asked tentatively, "...Do you really not want me to use magic?"

The only response she received was the witch's incredibly cold, dark eyes.

"Aoko, is this the kind of thing you use your magic for?"

"What do you mean by 'this kind of thing'?" Aoko frowned.

If it were in the past—when Aoko and Arisu were both only 17-year-old girls—it would probably have turned into an argument.

But they are both 25 years old now, and Aoko tries her best to calm things down and prevent it from escalating into an argument.

She lowered her voice and said, "This is to save Sister Orange... I know it's selfish, but it's the only way!"

Kuonji Yuju was unimpressed and said in a reproachful tone:

"Still as reckless as before, doing things only according to his mood..."

All these years—you haven't changed at all.

"Huh? What do you mean I haven't changed at all?"

Aoko raised her voice, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes as she looked at the girl in front of her.

"Who is it that hasn't changed at all over the years, Yuzhu?"

Eight years ago, Aozaki Aoko killed her own older sister.

Although she was depressed for a while and even stopped going to school, she eventually overcame the trauma.

Compared to herself back then, she can now confidently say that she has grown.

Whether as a person or as the fifth mage, Aozaki Aoko is no longer the same as before.

In contrast, Kuonji Temple has a pearl.

The 25-year-old modern witch looks and exudes the same aura as when she was 17.

It was as if her time had been frozen in her teenage years.