[3rd POV]
At the Tohsaka household, the atmosphere was particularly heavy.
Rin opened the fridge, only to realize that nothing suitable was there to serve the important guest before her.
"Is only tea okay?"
She spoke with a slight nervousness.
After all, the woman in front of her was none other than the famous "Human Missile Launcher" of the magus world, or perhaps it's better to call her the "Fifth Magician."
"Tea will be fine."
Aoko Aozaki looked around at the old Western-style house with a trace of nostalgia appearing on her face.
She seemed to remember when she was around Rin's age, living in a similar old house with a roommate.
"Fujimaru-kun, come help me for a moment."
"Although this might not be the right time to say it, shouldn't we be letting that bastard, Mapo, handle this instead?"
Standing beside the young lady, Kyouya was helping her.
As a magus apprentice, he technically shouldn't be doing such things, but when he heard Aoko's name, Mapo immediately left.
"That... it's truly an honor for you to visit..."
Rin forced a fake smile.
Since the head of the Tohsaka family had a Magus registered apprentice, she knew exactly what kind of troublesome person Magus could be.
She didn't enjoy this feeling of being on the edge of life and death.
"May I ask what brings you to Fuyuki? If there's anything we can help with, we will do our best as long as it's within our power."
He took the black tea from Rin's hands and subtly positioned himself to block Aoko's line of sight, giving her a brief moment to catch her breath.
After all, she was his mentor, and as her disciple, it was only right to look out for her.
"It's not really a big deal. I didn't plan on coming to you, but since I've been an overseer of the ley lines before, I understand your difficulties, so I made a special trip to let you know."
Aoko wasn't a demon, after all. She didn't mind Kyouya's small movements, and they reminded her of her younger self.
"My sister has recently arrived here."
Kyouya didn't know Aoko's sister, but Rin was well aware of the renowned "Scarred Red."
"The renowned Grand Puppeteer has come to Fuyuki?"
Rin couldn't help but tense up.
It was well-known that the Aozaki sisters didn't get along, and now it seemed almost impossible for Aoko's sister, Touko, who had no magic, to defeat her sister.
Could it be that she's after the Fuyuki Holy Grail?
She immediately sensed a crisis. If that were the case, many things started to make sense.
"There's no need to be so cautious. Her goal probably isn't the Holy Grail. She just doesn't want to drag things out anymore."
Touko hadn't been hiding her movements along the way, and her younger sister, Aoko, understood exactly what this signal meant.
"I used to have a good relationship with her, actually."
She didn't mind bringing up the issues within the Aozaki family. After all, it wasn't exactly a secret within the magus community.
When the Aozaki family's magus was nearing the end of their life, the chosen heir was supposed to be Touko.
She was a qualified magus and the best candidate to inherit the family legacy.
Touko had worked tirelessly for that very purpose.
At that time, Aoko and Touko had a good relationship as they lived normal lives without any conflicts of interest.
However, that relationship changed with one sudden shift in plans.
"The magic was passed down to me, and it made her life seem ridiculous. Then, with some misunderstandings afterward, we've been enemies for many years."
Thinking back to her younger days, even Aoko couldn't help but chuckle. She never expected they'd been so "immature" back then.
"In short, the outcome between me and her won't involve magic. Once magic is involved, the balance of victory and defeat becomes meaningless."
To be honest, Aoko was tired of it all.
It had all started with a misunderstanding, but now, neither side could back down.
With her Fifth Magic, Aoko was sure not to lose, but Touko, with infinite puppets, was also hard to kill.
"I hope the Tohsaka family can help me deal with the ordinary people out at night and keep them out of our fight. Of course, if there's any damage, just cover it up with a gas explosion."
Wow, so the gas explosions in Fuyuki City were the work of the Magus?
He glanced at Rin, who quickly averted her gaze, feeling guilty.
After all, it had originally just been a half-excuse for ordinary people, so why not make it sound convincing?
"Then I'll leave it to you. Also, don't put so much tea in next time; it's almost deadly."
Aoko naturally didn't want to make things difficult for the younger generation.
This was just a private matter of the Aozaki family, and there was no need to involve too many people.
As the door slowly closed, Kyouya could sense that the other person was walking away.
"Is this what a Magus is like? The pressure is overwhelming."
In fact, Kyouya had been closely observing Aoko earlier.
Despite her current physical condition and power, he shouldn't have been feeling this kind of pressure, the source of this other power was likely magic, wasn't it?
"You didn't expect to be scared, did you? Fortunately, she didn't have any bad intentions, or things could've gotten really messy."
Afterward, Rin couldn't help but feel uneasy at the thought of having that Magus roaming around on her territory.
It wasn't exactly a good thing.
"But is it really okay to leave it like this? You've mentioned that the magecraft they use involves some very destructive spells, right?"
He couldn't help but worry a bit, especially since his family lived in Fuyuki City.
If things got out of hand, it wouldn't be good for anyone.
"The Aozaki sisters might be ruthless, but there's no record of them randomly killing innocent people. Besides, when Magus like them duel, they always set up a very safe area. The greeting earlier was just a precaution."
Rin reassured him.
She wasn't particularly worried. The Aozaki sisters weren't exactly notorious villains, and she wouldn't be handling this alone.
Even if something went wrong, Kirei couldn't escape either.
"Don't worry too much. While that Magus seems rather average in terms of magical prowess, the Puppeteer has reached the rank of a Grand, and creating an isolated space is something she can do easily."
Seeing that Kyouya was still anxious, Rin decided to reassure him.
"Let's hope that's the case."
He saw that it was getting late and decided to head home.
The disturbance caused by Magus delayed his original plan to return home, and now he would be even later.
His parents were away on a business trip, and he hoped that Ritsuka wouldn't go hungry.
To be continued...
...
Thank you for taking the time to read my work! If you're enjoying it, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could drop some powerstones and share your honest review to show your support. Thank you so much!
https://www.patreon.com/Abyssuit
If you want to read more, you can find up to 15 advance chapters at my patreon