Sigh, who told me I not only stole her sister's first kiss but also kissed her so many times, and most importantly! It was broadcast live in front of a sister-complex older sister!
This is also why Touko has already decided to sacrifice herself to help Aoko, and she still needs someone to look after Aoko and take care of her. Otherwise, an army of eight hundred dolls and the Golden Wolf would have been at her service long ago! Lafite? Even the Jade Liquid of Yaochi wouldn't help!
To look at it another way, it's the same. If Sakura were kissed ten or eight times a day, Rin would probably directly punch anyone who dared to approach Sakura's cherry lips, making them realize what a landslide feels like!
Give in... Taking a deep breath, Rin walked into her and Touko's space with a bottle of ancient-looking wine and a slender-necked, wide-bellied glass decanter. Looking at Touko's gentle smile, an inexplicable sense of guilt arose within her.
It felt like secretly eating someone's sister in front of her older sister. What's the big deal? Isn't girls kissing and hugging a sign of good best friend (best friends)? Why should I feel guilty?
Other best friends express intimacy with a kiss on the lips, but your best friends engage in fluid exchange?! That's a bit too high level!
Rin sat down in front of Touko, took out the corkscrew, and pulled out the cork. Immediately, a intoxicating aroma of grapes and a long, artfully beautiful wine fragrance wafted out.
Touko inhaled the exquisite wine aroma with delight, nodding contentedly, and smiling, "It truly is a genuine '56 Lafite. It definitely hasn't been opened from bottling until now."
Rin raised a delicate eyebrow, saying, "I didn't realize you knew about wine."
"Of course," Touko said with a smile, "wine is highly regarded among Maguss. It can highlight a Magus's elegant taste and refined demeanor."
I wonder why Tokiomi always held a stemmed glass in his hand, whether he was eating or resting at home, and he just swirled it around, taking a tiny sip after a long time, and a half-glass could last him an entire afternoon... Rin shook her head, casting the extraneous thoughts aside. She carefully poured the brilliant, liquid-gem-like wine along the glass bottle's inner wall into the slender-necked vessel she had just brought in. After pouring all of it, she immediately corked the bottle and set it aside.
Wine sealed in a cellar is like a sleeping beauty; beautiful but lacking spirit. Decanting is about awakening this "sleeping beauty," allowing the wine to regain its spirit and vitality. The simple act of decanting, every movement, exudes elegance. After the wine makes full contact with fresh air and breathes sufficiently, the tannins in the wine gradually oxidize, and its aroma slowly releases with the oxidation process, making the red wine's taste richer and smoother.
Therefore, drinking red wine immediately after uncorking is tantamount to wasting it!
"Heh heh, you know a lot too, don't you?" Touko teased.
Rin sighed softly in response, "Elegance, and always maintaining a calm, composed, noble demeanor, this is the Tohsaka Family's motto."
"Is that so?" Touko put away her smile, responding seriously.
"Yes. Are you leaving?" Rin went straight to the point.
"Yes, a flight to London tomorrow."
"When will you return?"
"About ten months from now."
"If possible, I truly hope you won't come back here."
Touko merely smiled at Rin's words, because both Rin and Touko knew that returning would mean an imminent confrontation. At that time, Touko would go to great lengths to force Aoko to awaken the Fifth Magic, and in this Mahoutsukai no Yoru without Shizuki Soujuurou, Alice had already been placed on Touko's death list.
Rin and Touko sat opposite each other in silence. After a moment, Rin spoke, "Actually, given my current relationship with Aoko, have you ever considered killing me to provoke Aoko?"
Touko was visibly startled, then smiled and shook her head, "I did think about it, but I immediately dismissed that idea."
"Why? If you caught me off guard, it might succeed, and you wouldn't have to sacrifice your friend of ten years."
"Heh heh, Rin, are you testing me? From what I know of you, with your danger perception, there's no time gap between being caught off guard and counterattacking. You can subconsciously defend and counterattack any enemy. In this regard, you are absolutely the most dangerous monster I've ever seen," Touko said seriously.
"And compared to Alice, who lives in seclusion, I think Rin, who does more than she says, is better suited to look after Aoko for me. Alice is too isolated and too indifferent; she can't take care of the freedom-loving, lively, and active Aoko." A hint of sadness wavered in Touko's eyes as she continued:
"Alice is always absolutely neutral. I've known her for ten years, and I couldn't be clearer on this. In the path of Magecraft, Alice and I are friends who understand each other, but when it comes to grudges, entanglements, and emotional affairs, she always remains a silent observer."
Rin swirled the wine in the decanter, then opened the stopper and poured a third of a glass for herself and Touko. The two clinked their high-stemmed glasses gently. Touko teased, "Is it really okay for a five-year-old girl to drink alcohol?"
"Urusai! I'm six years old this year, okay!"
"Heh heh, even at six, you're not old enough to drink." Touko took a delicate sip of the fine wine in her glass, then looked at Rin seriously and said, "Rin, you've awakened your past life's memories, haven't you?"
"Hmm, you could say that. After that calamity, I suddenly gained twenty years of life memories, so much so that for a long time, I couldn't figure out who I was," Rin told Touko without reservation.
"Twenty years of memories were too profound for me, who was only two years old at the time and spent a year in a daze. It could be said that my consciousness was dominated by those twenty years of memories, but no one could prove the authenticity of those memories. So, I am not a reincarnation of a past life, and with the knowledge I possess, I could no longer be a naive little girl. Therefore, I am not the original Tohsaka Rin either."
Rin swirled the ruby-red wine, which shimmered like a gem, and spoke softly, "Just as I was struggling with the question of who I was, Tohsaka Sakura appeared. At that time, she had just turned one and couldn't even speak clearly, but her appearance was like a faint light illuminating my stray, leading me to decide to protect her as her elder sister. And the past, the present, past lives, and this life—none of it matters! I only need to move forward to protect Tohsaka Sakura!"
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