Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Yu-zhu glanced at the video camera in the room: "It's not a Hollywood movie, there's no such thing as a rescue scene that's so coincidental and perfectly timed."

It was as if—knowing in advance that a hidden third enemy would attack Aoko.

There's only one possibility: the enemy was sent by him in the first place.

"..."

Aoko was unable to refute.

If anyone could do that, it would have to be someone from the future.

Moreover—as Yuzhu said, it is indeed suspicious that he ran away immediately after rescuing people.

Although her roommate refuted her ideas thoroughly, she did not agree with Yuzhu's thoughts.

The night ended in an unpleasant atmosphere, and Aoko and Arisu never spoke another word to each other.

Aoko has no intention of backing down on this matter.

The reason is unknown to him.

She firmly believed in her heart that "that child must not be a bad person."

-------

Volume 2, Chapter 127: Did you go too far? Who told you to go for the harem route on your first playthrough of a visual novel?

Shirou woke up in the morning sunlight.

I didn't sleep very well last night, but not because I was used to the luxurious Kuonji Mansion and couldn't get used to the hard wooden bed.

"That Lady Avalon... she actually came into my dreams."

I thought it would be a time travel that no one would notice, but someone still found out. Last night, Shirou was lectured by Lady Avalon for two whole hours in his dream.

Shirou stretched and climbed down the ladder from the attic.

This is the Goda Church located in Misaki City.

As for why Shirou stayed here overnight, it all started last night when he went to the shopping street area to grab a late-night snack.

That Aoko! She completely forgot to prepare any money for me! She doesn't even have 100 yen on her—are you kidding me?!

Just when Shirou was feeling bloated and at his wits' end, a beautiful older woman struck up a conversation with him.

"Wow~ What an adorable boy! Why isn't he home so late? Ah... could he be lost?"

She looked to be under thirty, and on a cold winter night, she didn't even wear a coat.

At first glance, he seemed very friendly, but Shirou sensed something suspicious.

Seeing the boy's wary attitude, the woman simply invited Shirou to come with her.

This, in turn, piqued Shirou's curiosity.

Well, the worst-case scenario is that I accidentally end up in another Matou residence and then punish evil.

Yes, this is a righteous usurpation of power.

Then—Shirou was led by the woman to a white building with a cross standing in front of it.

Unlike the small Fuyuki Church, the Goda Church occupies a large area.

For a small rural town, the scale is rather large.

A nun came out to greet them, her voluptuous figure, which showed no signs of asceticism, was wrapped in a tight black robe.

She could walk straight forward with her eyes closed, and her other movements were normal.

The nun frowned, her delicate face clouded with gloom, and repeatedly questioned the woman who had led Shirou away.

Are you sure he's a lost child?

After receiving affirmation, the nun turned to Shirou, revealing an expression of existential doubt.

Finally, the nun prepared a late-night snack for Shirou.

After learning that Shirou was a homeless child, they provided him with an empty room in the church attic.

When Shirou climbed down from the attic, he happened to run into the nun who was preparing breakfast.

He offered to help, and the nun's tense expression immediately relaxed.

So the two of them made breakfast together.

"My name is Zhou Seiyuka, you can call me Sister Yuika. What's your name?"

“Amamiya… I see. It’s a nice name, very similar to your atmosphere.”

The blind nun spoke calmly, yet with a hint of indifference.

Shiro said last night that he wanted to stay at the church for a few days and asked not to ask why or reveal his whereabouts to others.

Such an absurd request—Sister Wei agreed after a brief moment of thought.

Of course, this result was already reflected in Shirou's "Mystic Eyes of the End," which have a keen insight into human nature.

During his time living in the mansion, Shirou learned from Aoko about the concept of dividing humans into nine attributes (positions).

Chaos, moderation, and order.

Good, neutral, evil.

In Shirou's view, if Aoko's attribute is "orderly good", then Kuonji Aratsumi's is "chaotic good".

Then, the nun in front of me who has dedicated her life to God is "neutral and moderate"... that's roughly the feeling.

"The Eye of the End" reveals no good or evil, no compassion, in her; only the purest form of love born from moderation.

Faced with the sole request of her homeless young son, no matter how absurd the request might be, Sister Vika would never refuse.

That's settled, considering it's the place where we stayed before joining up with Ayumi and the others.

Sister Vesak is truly a rare and good person.

The attic bed and floor, which had been unused for years, were spotless; she must have cleaned them very diligently and frequently.

Shirou's prejudiced view of clergy has changed.

"What are your plans for today, Amamiya-kun?"

While drinking oatmeal in the church restaurant, Sister Yuika suddenly asked Shirou a question.

Shirou is now penniless.

He thought he would look for part-time jobs that wouldn't be willing to take him in, and then take some time to investigate Aozaki Touko's situation.

Although Aoko and Azusa have an intelligence advantage in the future, they don't even know who the enemy is at this point in time.

Therefore, whether Aozaki Touko herself has entered Misaki City is something Shirou needs to investigate himself.

"Sister Vijay, I was planning to take a walk around the neighborhood this morning..."

"Christmas is just around the corner, and the church has always been short-staffed."

The blind nun interrupted Shirou.

“The priest was always absent from his post, Father Yongli was nowhere to be seen all day, and fewer and fewer students came to serve him... As a result, I was the only one available to work.”

Ultimately, the people of this town have very weak faith.

How can someone say they don't want to work if they don't get paid? What do they think of life?

If you live a life filled with materialism every day, even if you are financially well-off, your soul will still be poor.

Sister Wei grumbled under her breath, then with a "Hey!" she picked up a table with one hand.

That was a long table that could normally accommodate more than a dozen people, which she easily lifted with one hand.

Shirou: "..."

Sister Yuika: "If you're free during the day, could you help with cleaning at the church?"

Ah, if you really don't have time, then forget it.

You can just eat, drink, and stay here for free; the House of God will always be open to you…

"Please let me help with the cleaning, Sister Yuika," Shirou said quickly.

Now he finally understood why one of the tips Aoko left for him was "Don't go near the Goda Church!"

……

……

Shirou worked from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. before finally gaining his freedom.

The Goda Church is so big that there is only Sister Yuika as a staff member—at least Shirou hasn't seen anyone else all day.

After saying goodbye to Sister Yuika, he left the church and headed to Aozaki Touko's temporary base.

The old school building is located in the forest behind Misaki High School.

According to future intelligence, Orange set up a magic workshop here a year ago and left her familiar, who is the trump card in the final battle, to guard this place.

However, Shirou does not intend to make contact with that familiar, as it would be terrible if he interfered too much with history and created a singularity.

The purpose of this trip is simply to investigate whether Orange herself has entered Misaki City.

Shirou doesn't yet know what Touko looks like. When he asked Aoko for a photo, she replied, "I burned them all." She also said, "Shirou will recognize her immediately when he sees her. She's such an annoying woman!"

The forest was protected by a barrier.

Shirou wanted to complain to Aoko, "How could you, as the student council president of Misaki High School, be completely unaware that a magician had set up a barrier around the school?" But the barrier was indeed ingenious, far superior to the barrier on the top floor of the Hyatt Hotel.

Although it is an excellent barrier, it still has drawbacks.

Shirou adjusted his aura to that of a Misaki High School student he encountered on the street, and then walked in confidently.

Even if Orange notices, she'll probably assume it's just some mischievous student running in to play and let it go.

Following the clues, Shirou quickly found the old school building.

Orange was indeed not there.

At this point in time, she should be making final preparations for the battle.

To prevent anyone from interfering in the duel between the Aozaki sisters, Touko must be incredibly busy right now, with many things waiting for her to handle.

Somewhat disappointed at not being able to meet the legendary beautiful woman, Shirou returned to the church before nightfall.

Aside from the three slit-mouthed men they killed in the forest the night before last, there are still several Orange's spies lurking in the city. The Western-style mansion faction can't just let them go unchecked forever.

Because of what happened in the forest, Aoko, who was observing the training, was ambushed by the enemy, so Arisu will be more cautious tonight and choose to act alone.

So, it was Shirou's turn to complete the "second task" given by the Wizard—to increase the affection level of "Past Ariya".

“Balance is very important. It’s not enough to just gain my trust... I also need to please Ayumi.”

"Future Aoko" asked, "Arisu, what can Shirou do to gain your trust?"

"........."

The witch in the mansion remained silent, seemingly reluctant to speak.

Looking at her reaction, Shirou already had an answer in his mind.

To gain the trust of an insecure witch, the shortcut is probably to "establish a shared secret."

……

……

"I'll eliminate the intruders in the city tonight; I can handle it alone."

—This was the first thing Yuzhu had said in the living room in two days.

Aoko and Arisu have engaged in the largest-ever Cold War due to a disagreement over the views of the mysterious boy.

Yuzhu also tried using the "Mirror of Afternoon Nap" to search for the red-haired boy, but to no avail.

Clearly, the boy's counter-detection magic was far superior to that of the intruders—

Of course, Yuzhu couldn't possibly know that it was something her future self taught Shirou.

"I can fight too."