She slowly opened her eyes, realizing she had woken up, but found it difficult to face the future that awaited her, self-deceptively keeping her eyes closed.
Her skin transmitted the sensation of warmth to her brain. Huh? Why was it warm? And her body, it felt like she was lying on something soft. What on earth was this...? Alice opened her eyes in confusion, looking up at the ceiling, which was incredibly familiar. Wasn't this her own home?!
Alice Kuonji was stunned. She turned her head to the other side, only to see Aoko pouting, looking at her as if she were a little angry baby. After Alice sat up, she found herself lying on the sofa in her living room, still in the home she shared with Aoko.
Alice couldn't help but ask Aoko, a little dazed, "Aoko, did you defeat that Magus?" This seemed to be the only possibility. Although before she fainted, she hadn't at all thought that Aoko, who had only been exposed to magic for less than a year, could defeat that mysterious Magus, Aoko herself was an unexpected player, always doing something incredible, so it wasn't surprising.
"Defeat what Magus? I didn't see any?" Aoko turned her head away, still pouting in annoyance.
Could it be that she had been dreaming all along? Alice couldn't help but wonder.
"It was that girl who looked about twelve or thirteen, with twin-tails, a Color Rank Magus."
"Oh, the Little Girl who delivered food? She's already gone back, along with the delivery fee and compensation for damaged items."
"Eh?! The Little Girl who delivered food?!"
Alice was stunned by Aoko's answer, and Aoko seemed to have had her fuse lit. Boom! She exploded!
"So I said! Alice, what were you so excited about from the start? She was just here to deliver food!"
Now Alice was completely dumbfounded. "She, wasn't she a Color Rank Magus?" No, that's impossible. Could she have been defeated by an ordinary Little Girl delivering food?
"As she put it, 'Who says a Color Rank Magus can't deliver food'!" Aoko roared at her roommate like a bristling wildcat.
It seems no one ever did... "She's a young genius who decided to leave home and travel the world, to experience this world with her own hands and eyes, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the world's truth! Ah! That's so well said! After I graduate high school, and after these blind flies are cleared out, I'm also going to travel the world! Misaki will be left to you to watch over, Alice!" Unconsciously, Aoko got excited as she spoke.
Alice didn't know how to respond. She felt that at this moment, it was best for her to remain silent as usual.
"But before that!" Aoko slapped the table with both hands, looking as if she was about to pounce on Alice and devour her, saying fiercely, "Because of your excessive suspicion, you presumptuously fought with her, which resulted in my takeout food being ruined! It's already 10 o'clock, and no restaurant will deliver food anymore!"
"Ah? Ah?!"
"Don't think 'ah' will get you out of this! It's already 10 o'clock and I haven't had dinner yet! I'm so hungry my stomach is sticking to my back, and the takeout was already delivered to the doorstep." Aoko clenched her right hand, gritting her teeth, looking like she was about to cry from grievance.
At this time, pretending to be dumb was the right thing to do. Alice thought so.
"The most hateful thing is, even though I didn't get to eat my takeout, because of you, Alice, I had to pay for two portions of takeout, and compensation for the insulated box you broke, compensation for damaging her work uniform, and even mental distress compensation for harming her child's innocent young heart! All together, my living expenses have been completely drained! It's all because of you, Alice!"
Alice felt she couldn't pretend to be dumb any longer. So, it turns out there really are Color Rank Maguss in this world who go deliver food, and they also extort people... "Alice! How are you going to compensate me for my dinner?!"
"Th-then, I'll make it for you..."
"What about my living expenses?!"
"I'll compensate..."
"What about my mental distress compensation?!"
"Huh?"
"Huh what? How do you calculate it?!"
"..."
Perhaps in some aspects, Aoko truly was quick to learn. After being extorted by Rin, she immediately turned around and, with renewed vigor, extorted her dazed roommate.
After signing a series of unequal treaties, Aoko felt refreshed as she sank into the sofa, all the pent-up frustration from Alice's expressionless mockery finally released at once. It felt great!
However, Aoko immediately turned serious and said to Alice, "But that delivery Little Girl, the color-ranked one, really brought us an important piece of information. She left this behind when she left."
Alice looked at Aoko, who tossed her a bright orange, round object. Alice caught it; it was a ripe orange.
Orange, orange, Aozaki Touko.
Alice was silent for a moment, then said, "This is a matter between you two sisters."
Touko and Alice had known each other for over ten years, always as confidantes, arguably the only two people in the world who truly understood each other. Aoko and Alice had lived together in this Western-style house for a year; Alice was Aoko's close friend and her Magus mentor. Alice truly couldn't take sides between the two sisters without being inappropriate.
And when it came to the inheritance of the Magic Crest, no matter how many disputes arose within a family, an outsider should not get involved. Therefore, Alice could only choose to stand by and watch.
Aoko sighed, a headache coming on, and leaned back on the sofa, rubbing her temples with her fist. She said, "Yes, this is a matter between us. This matter will be resolved sooner or later. Although I sympathize with how she was treated, I cannot forgive her actions, and..."
Aoko pulled up the sleeve of her left arm. From her hand to her forearm, intricate and mysterious patterns lit up—the Magic Crest, the Fifth Magic: the Magic Crest of the Three Primary Colors - Blue!
"The head of the Aozaki Family, the Fifth Magus, is me, Aozaki Aoko!"
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