Chapter 4

Realms

The so-called possibilities and values are products of careful consideration. If something exceeds the boundaries of the world from the beginning, there is simply no room for mention. The moment a name is given, the corresponding realm is established. To pursue value by disregarding boundaries, to make wishes without considering the cost - such behavior is foolish and absurd.

Those who repeatedly engage in such behavior are those harboring boundless desires in their hearts. The greatest difference between desires and ordinary wishes lies in the vastly disproportionate cost ultimately paid - that is its most apparent characteristic.

Aside from the deliberately hidden aspects, the so-called common knowledge in the human world is the closest approximation to an equitable exchange. If one does not wish to pay using this method, the corresponding cost will be deducted from elsewhere. For example, the most direct cost corresponding to the elimination of hunger is eating. If one wishes to eliminate hunger while refusing to eat, then a cost will inevitably be incurred elsewhere, such as life, health, or similar things.

Such exchanges are not equivalent, and the relationship between what is given and what is received will always have the former greater than the latter. When the cost becomes so great that it reaches a certain threshold, things are considered impossible. When the balance between the two becomes excessively skewed, it becomes a miracle.

For instance, achieving immortality is not an impossible feat. If countless lives are sacrificed as the cost, making an individual immortal is not impossible, even ridiculously easy. However, such a cost far exceeds what an individual can bear, and so people regard immortality as a miracle.

Deliberately obscuring the cost, forcibly achieving "miracles," and compelling others to pay unreasonable prices - these are the tricks most commonly used by so-called "demons."

What demons can provide is the cheapest, most expensive, and utterly meaningless things. The young boy had reached this conclusion many years ago. Nevertheless, there would still be countless clever individuals who followed one after another in attempting to make contracts with demons. Such individuals were even more uninteresting than the demons themselves.

...

Repeatedly sketching runes in mid-air while directing puppets to charge left and right, countless bread-shaped creatures, roller coasters, and carousels were reduced to ashes by flames she unleashed, or torn to pieces by her puppets, all in a matter of minutes. However, in the blink of an eye, even more monsters swarmed in.

Touko Aozaki furrowed her brow in impatience, and a hint of retreat was growing within her. She had known the girl named Kuonji Alice since she was very young.

Compared to the increasingly dull and hollow modern magecraft in recent years, the mysteries held by Kuonji Alice, who was a witch, and the wealth she possessed, were beyond what Touko could occasionally afford.

Even in a one-on-one magical battle, Touko did not think she had much chance of winning. In a situation where the environment favored the other party, engaging in combat would be suicidal.

Although the amusement park was now filled with countless monsters, Alice had only released one familiar. A monster from fairy tales - Flat Snark (Moon Oil).

It was an inheritance from Alice's mother and, despite her having many "toys" inherited from her mother, it was among the top two.

It was one of the three familiars created by the first-generation witch with Alice's lineage. In terms of mystique, it was worth more than the money obtained from selling the entire city of London, including the Magus Association.

It could cast an enormously powerful boundary, allowing abandoned and forgotten things from fairy tales to be revived. It had never been defeated to this day. For this reason, it was also called the "forbidden object."

The amusement park was now full of bread-shaped creatures, roller coasters, and carousels, all of which were negligible for Flat Snark. The prototype of this familiar came from Lewis Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark," a story about adventurers chasing a creature called the Snark all over the place.

The story itself seemed fragmented and ambiguous. The group of people suffered all over the island, finally found the Snark, and then suddenly the main characters disappeared, concluding the entire book.

Flat Snark had other common names: the unknowable island, the five-dimensional plane. These were terms passed down by magus who had been destroyed by Snark in the past.

From a mathematical perspective, Snark could not be explained using graph theory, leading to contradictions and ultimately concluding that a planar graph was impossible. It was impossible to prove the "non-existence" of this space in this world, nor could it be named. Snark was an existence comprised solely of contradictions.

No one could know the true form of this "fairy tale monster" with this name. However, Touko had a faint guess about the nature of the monster. There was a full moon in the sky above the amusement park, an extremely unnatural sight, as the moon was still new when she left.

As a "monster" that couldn't exist on a plane, it was only natural that it would appear at different points in three-dimensional space beyond the plane. However, even if she found its true form, it didn't mean she had a countermeasure. Touko didn't think she had the ability to destroy such a powerful magical entity floating in mid-air.

Flat Snark's ability was the "regeneration of the fairy tale world," which was perfect for this amusement park. After all, this place was originally built as a playground modeled after fairy tales. If they had fought in an office setting, even if she had released this familiar, there wouldn't have been such a dangerous situation. At most, the shadow of a dinosaur would have been reflected on the windows of the building.

Of course, just one familiar was already more than she could handle. If Alice released more Polys...thinking this, Touko grew increasingly frustrated.

Continuing to destroy the encroaching fairy tale monsters while slowly advancing toward the entrance of the amusement park, her speed became slower and slower. As Moon Oil further eroded the reality within the boundary, the strength of the awakened fairy tale monsters continued to increase. Even the bread-shaped creatures, which originally shattered on contact, had become tough enough to withstand several attacks.

The puppets that had initially followed her, softly singing horror songs, were quickly surrounded and torn to shreds by countless fairy tale monsters. Touko's expression had become icy. She tightly gripped the suitcase in her hand, and, with the time she had bought from the puppets' self-destruction, she finally retreated near the amusement park's walls. Then, she took out the already burnt-out cigarette butt and threw it aside. Then, she opened the suitcase in her hand—

===

"Come out!" While opening the suitcase, Touko commanded with authority.

In response, a black entity shot out from the box.

The thing resembled an intangible black mist, emitting a "whooshing" sound as it swirled around Touko, like a phantom, spinning rapidly.

For a moment, in this corner of the amusement park, it was as if a storm had been unleashed, with Touko at its center.

The fairy tale monsters awakened by the Moon Oil were mercilessly torn into pieces the moment they touched the black whirlwind. In just a short while, the area became empty.

The iron fence that served as the boundary of the amusement park also had a gap torn open by this pitch-black storm.

One of Alice's most powerful three Polys, the potent barrier created by Moon Oil, showed a flaw. Touko seized this opportunity and hurriedly ran out through the gap in the iron fence.

"Escaped, did you?" From afar, Alice, standing on the Ferris wheel, touched her lips lightly with her finger.

A blue warbler emitted a "chirping" sound and fluttered its wings, hovering in the airspace in front of her.

"Did he escape by destroying the amusement park's fence? That's unavoidable."

In mid-air, Moon Oil, which had transformed into a golden full moon, responded discontentedly. For such a proud and stubborn entity, failing to completely destroy the opponent was undoubtedly unacceptable.

But since they had already escaped outside the barrier, there was nothing more to be done. Although she could expand the barrier further, judging by the opponent's escape, it was unlikely they could catch up. Moreover, it would become quite troublesome, and her master would never allow such a thing to happen, would she?

Under Alice's repeated urging, Moon Oil eventually obediently returned to its bottle, transformed back into a blue-yellow mist.

Then, the amusement park returned to normal. All the lighting fixtures went out simultaneously, and the amusement buildings stopped operating.

Alice shifted her attention back to her other familiar, the blue warbler named Robin.

The little bird made a flattering sound and fluttered around its owner, reporting everything it had observed in the amusement park to Alice one by one.

After listening to Robin's report, Alice frowned slightly. Although she was somewhat concerned about Seiji's progress, she decided to check on Shinji's situation first.

Choosing the Mirror Maze in the forest as the rendezvous point was simply because it was sparsely populated, making it an ideal place for a discreet rendezvous, or so she thought.

However, due to her initial misstep, things had taken an unexpected turn.

To put it bluntly, dealing with someone like Soujuurou, who was harmless and had a mind that defied common sense, always left her feeling inexplicably tricky.

Although she had reassured Alice in the annex that she could perfectly handle this situation, once she arrived at the agreed-upon location and her first spell missed, it was inevitable that things would develop in a troublesome direction.

Originally, she chose the Mirror Maze in the forest and the Kistyland amusement park as the meeting place because it was sparsely populated and ideal for a scenario involving murder and the elimination of evidence.

But because of her initial mistake, things had started to develop in a completely unexpected direction.

How should she put it? Soujuurou Shizuki was indeed a man who had lived in the mountains since childhood, and he was an absolute physical monster.

Under Ayako's coercion, he joined the swimming club and, in less than a day, became the ace of the club. He was probably that level of a man.

Chasing Soujuurou through the vast and complex Mirror Maze was an excessively difficult task. Although Ayako shouted, "Stop right there!" while firing magical bullets in various directions, even an optimist like Soujuurou wouldn't just stand still and let himself be killed when being pursued, right?

The result was that in the blink of an eye, Soujuurou had disappeared, leaving Ayako alone in the maze, stunned.

It felt like lifting a stone to drop it on one's own foot.

If she let the other party escape like this, she would only end up with more trouble later. With a sigh of resignation, Ayako had no choice but to resort to her backup plan.

This so-called backup plan was designed for situations where, in the unlikely event that she couldn't kill Soujuurou herself and he managed to escape, she had to deal with such a scenario.

In simple terms, it involved destroying the entire Mirror Maze, along with the buildings on the ground, burying Soujuurou, who was left in the maze.

Thinking of this, Ayako turned around and prepared to return to the entrance of the maze. However, when she saw the devastation left behind, with the passageway completely blocked, she suddenly remembered the last two of the world's three great philosophical questions: Where did I come from, and where am I going?

The path back to the entrance of the maze was gone, and all that was left to do was to proceed through the maze systematically and find an exit. However, this would likely lead to the failure of her backup plan. Deep frustration filled Ayako's heart, and she thought that she would probably be ridiculed by Alice for about a week after this.

....

Realms

If one were to liken the world to the realm of light within the void, the term "realm" originally referred to the darkness that existed between one light and another.

This dark part, known as the things of the realm, also had the alias "rift."

Because darkness was the negation of light, strictly speaking, the rift itself formed its own realm.

The realm, or rift, wasn't something that existed within space. If one had to use this sort of thing as an analogy, the so-called rift was like another parallel world, wasn't it?

This was a simple truth because only the realm could separate realms.

If one regarded the realm as a boundary without thickness, then such a thing didn't exist from the beginning.

The boundaries between things were originally in constant flux, existing ambiguously.

The surface of water was one of the boundaries established by people, but in reality, there was only one true boundary for water, and that was the realm of light within the void.

From a scientific perspective, the molecules were in ceaseless, irregular motion. Above what you considered the surface of the water, countless water molecules existed, and below the surface, there were just as many water molecules. These water molecules could freely pass through the boundary you recognized, and on this basis, they reached a dynamic equilibrium. From this perspective, the boundary you perceived didn't truly separate water from non-water.

In physics, the so-called surface of the water represented a phase transition.

A phase transition was a process, and this ambiguous process was precisely accompanied by the rift.

The rift possessed a peculiarity, much like the coordinate axes of a coordinate space. Only this realm spanned the entire realm of the void.

For this realm, it could exist on either side of the boundary. There was no inherent difference between things on either side of the realm, and for the beings born from the rift, they themselves were equivalent to the boundary of the realm. It was just a matter of changing their position to alter the boundary line of the realm.

Manipulating the realm was something as common and ordinary to these "monsters from the rift" as drinking water and eating.

===

Returning from the dream world, Shinji reluctantly lowered his head and moved his fingers.

The wound on his shoulder had stopped bleeding, but occasional bursts of pain still seared through him.

The magic of Moon Oil, which had enveloped the entire amusement park, had vanished into thin air. In contrast, a faint bluish-yellow light emanated from Shinji's body.

Inside the abandoned building in the park at night, the dim lighting created a soft and almost sacred atmosphere around Shinji's body, casting an otherworldly glow.

He sighed. Had he messed things up once again?

When faced with Touko's puppets, Shinji had chosen to flee instead of fighting, and the result was his current disheveled appearance.

In his past life, he would have acted without hesitation and confronted any challenge head-on. He knew no fear at the time, driven by a strong and unwavering self-confidence that made him disregard even the slightest hint of fear.

However, despite sharing the same soul, the Shinji Matou of this life differed significantly from his past self. Whether it was due to a brush with death, a regression of his consciousness, or the differences in their physical bodies, the true cause remained unknown.

The door to the small cabin suddenly swung open, allowing bright starlight to pour in.

A girl dressed in black entered, followed by a blue warbler. She walked up to Shinji and lowered her head, her gaze expressing concern in a wordless manner.

"Ahaha!" Shinji unconsciously reached for the back of his head and scratched it. "I never expected it to end up like this. Quite the predicament, huh?"

Alice remained silent but her scrutinizing gaze at Shinji suddenly turned slightly disapproving, indicating her irritation.

Feeling an invisible pressure bearing down on him, Shinji reluctantly wiped the awkward smile off his face and lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

Nevertheless, Alice's displeased expression remained. "Is there something you want to say to me?"

Shinji didn't answer; he continued to stay silent, his body trembling as if he were a child who had done something wrong and didn't know how to deal with it.

An unusual silence filled the room, and Alice's displeasure became more pronounced.

The blue warbler seemed to sense trouble brewing and flapped its wings frantically as it darted between the two.

Then, as if realizing something or giving up on a particular thought, Shinji sighed and looked up at Alice.

Gone was the smile from his face, replaced by a calm, emotionless expression in his eyes. His gaze was as serene as a moonlit lake on a windless autumn night.

"Ah." Seeing Shinji's expression, Alice let out a soft sound, then fell silent. She covered her mouth as if she had something to say but quickly realized it was futile and refrained from speaking.

Under Shinji's puzzled gaze, Alice turned her head slightly and changed the subject. "Why did you come here?"

"Uh," Shinji lowered his head and pulled out a pre-made runestone from his pocket.

Alice's gaze fell on the stone, and she seemed to be asking what it was.

"This is a Memory Alteration Stone made with Runes," Shinji replied. "It can tamper with a person's memories."

Alice's eyes seemed to ask why he had made such a thing.

"Because," Shinji explained, "I thought it wouldn't be right to just casually kill someone, even if it's to protect a secret. So, I figured altering memories would be a more gentle approach."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier, then?" Alice asked.

Shinji fell into a brief silence when faced with this question.

But Alice had no intention of letting him off the hook easily. "Besides instructing you not to leave the annex easily, I also emphasized that you should only use magecraft three times a day."

However, the magical energy required to create a Rune like Asagii was far beyond the agreed-upon limit.

Shinji nodded. "There's no room for argument on this matter. It was a moment of stupidity, or perhaps I missed the right moment to speak up. Regardless, it was my fault that things turned out this way. But even so, I won't change my initial stance. Protecting the secrets of magus should be done in a gentler way."

As Shinji looked at Alice with a resolute expression, she stared back at him, her eyes silently protesting.

However, Shinji showed no signs of wavering and returned her gaze firmly.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from outside, and a boy wearing a scarf and a cheap jacket rushed past the window. Realizing there were two people inside, he turned back and stood by the window, his gaze filled with concern.

Shinji glanced at the boy and confirmed that he was Soujuurou, the transfer student from Ayako's school, the witness to this incident whose name he couldn't remember. He couldn't help but feel uneasy about Soujuurou's presence.

"You haven't changed your mind, have you?" Alice glanced at Soujuurou and then turned to Shinji.

"No, I haven't," Shinji replied.

"Then consider this an extra test of your qualification as my disciple." Saying so, Alice took out a bluish-yellow glass bottle from her pocket.

Just a glance was enough to recognize that Alice was holding one of her most powerful familiars, the Moon Oil, which had just driven the puppeteer mage Soujuurou Shizuki out of the amusement park.

"Wait... Wait a minute!" Shinji's face turned pale.

Without waiting for him to finish speaking, Alice removed the bottle's stopper, and the yellow mist spread into the night sky over the amusement park.

When Shinji regained his senses, the eerie magecraft of Moon Oil once again filled the air. The lights came back on, and the fairy tale creatures like Bread Man, the Carousel Horse, and the Flying Car all awakened.

"Have fun right here, Shinji," Alice said softly. "If you two are still alive by morning, you can decide what to do next."

With that, the black-clad witch gracefully flew up to the rooftop.

"This... This can't be real, can it?" Shinji, looking at the seemingly harmless boy beside him, clutched his head in anguish.

It was the first time he had felt so frustrated since arriving in this world. "This can't be happening, right? Why do I have to risk my life for someone like him? To hell with the Holy Grail War and magecraft! Damn it all!"

===

Whether in his past life or this life, Shinji's personality was basically the same as Alice's, appearing calm on the surface but harboring intense emotions within.

People with such personalities sometimes needed a little push to drive them to the edge, and when they were pushed to their limits, they could really take off.

"Oh la la la la! Swing, swing, swing!"

As he wildly waved the pry bar in his hand, he rushed towards the entrance of the amusement park. Along the way, he pretty much smashed the fairy tale monsters that blocked his path to bits, leaving only a pile of debris.

"Soujyuro, come on! While these monsters are still weak, we need to get out of here quickly." As he casually destroyed public property in the amusement park, Shinji urged the seemingly harmless boy beside him.

"I've told you, my name is Shizuki Soujuurou," Soujuurou protested with a hint of resentment, though he wasn't sure if Shinji had paid any attention.

He followed behind Shinji, watching him dismantle everything along the way. He couldn't help but think that the city was a terrifying place, recalling the events of the day.

He had initially thought the girl who appeared to be the student council president was actually a magus, and upon their first meeting, she had wanted to kill him. After managing to escape, he witnessed that magus  friend bullying a badly injured child. Just as he was hesitating whether to intervene, the amusement park suddenly underwent a drastic change, and the monsters came rushing towards him in droves. What happened next was that the seemingly severely wounded boy with blue hair let out a despairing roar and then pulled a pry bar from his pants and began to slaughter the monsters.

Of course, what was going on in Soujuurou's mind was something Shinji knew nothing about, nor did he care. Crushing the fairy tale monsters that had just been awakened by the Moon Oil and hadn't had a chance to strengthen yet, Shinji felt his blood boiling. He even forgot about the pain from his wounds.

Huh? What's going on here? Shinji couldn't help but wonder. What's with this familiar sense of pleasure from defeating the enemy? Could it be that I have the potential to be a sadist?

No, no, being a sadist would be terrible. But... it feels so good, too good. I feel like I'm going to get pregnant at this rate! Brandishing the Holy Sword of Physics, killing monsters was as easy as slicing vegetables. In this world, what else could possibly stop me? A strange sense of confidence surged in Shinji's heart. Right now, he felt like he could even take on Gilgamesh. I'm telling you, I'm invincible! There's nothing left to fear!

Huh? Something doesn't seem quite right.

Just as he was thinking this, the ground in front of them suddenly trembled. Shinji looked up and saw a giant creature blocking their path. It appeared to be a penguin, yet not quite, and behind this creature was the entrance to the amusement park.

The creature stood at about ten meters tall, chubby, and outwardly cute. However, what didn't match its cute appearance were the two rows of saw-like teeth in its mouth.

Ah, speaking of which, there did seem to be a super-sized mascot at the entrance of the amusement park. But who in their right mind designed such a bizarre mascot? Did they think this was a dark fairy tale? An amusement park should be a place where children can have fun until they drop, but with such a ridiculous creation, it's no wonder the park went out of business!

"Isn't this thing a bit too much?" Soujuurou's face turned pale as he looked at the penguin mascot in front of them.

"Don't be afraid!" Shinji extended a hand and blocked Soujuurou. "I've seen plenty of things like this. Take Caster in Fuyuki City, for example. Compared to that thing, this one doesn't even reach its ankles."

"Huh?" Soujuurou looked at Shinji strangely.

"Hey, pervert, eat my... I mean, face my Holy Sword of Physics!" With a shout, Shinji didn't wait for Soujuurou to react. He charged forward with the pry bar in hand.

Seeing Shinji acting so recklessly, the creature in front of him revealed a human-like mocking smile, lifting one of its legs to stomp on Shinji. However, Shinji was quick on his feet. He nimbly jumped onto the creature's foot and pressed his leg against his own.

"Synchronization begins—"

For some reason, the flow of magic was smoother than before. His leg muscles were instantly strengthened. Shinji made another leap, jumping about seven meters high.

"Behold, the Principle of Inclined Planes!" He shouted out two bizarre move names, then fiercely thrust the pointed end of the pry bar into the creature's eye. Perhaps even fairy tale monsters could feel pain. The creature, with a pry bar in its eye, convulsed and then displayed an angry expression, waving its short arms to slap Shinji.

Shinji twisted his waist and narrowly avoided the attack, but the creature's slap landed on his face instead.

"Tsk tsk, slapping oneself in the face..." Shinji sighed, then stepped on the creature's hand again. Using leverage, he performed a Faithful Leap, somersaulting over the creature's head, and then swung the pry bar from above, smashing it hard into the back of the creature's head. Due to multiple enhancements, the bent part of the pry bar directly penetrated the protruding part of the creature's head.

"Earth-level martial art, acceleration due to gravity, heavenly-level martial art, lever principle!" He shouted out the names of two moves in succession, firmly gripping the pry bar's end that was already wedged inside the creature's body, and pushed it towards the ground.

There was a series of "click, click, click" sounds. The body of the ten-meter-tall fairy tale monster in front of his eyes was torn open by Shinji using the lever principle. Then, this monster, despite its size, was torn in half by Shinji while still alive.

Could this be the legendary hand-ripped devil? Shinji smacked his lips. Indeed, the Holy Sword of Physics is all-powerful!

"Are you kidding me? Why are you so skilled at this? How many times have you dismantled something like this?" Soujuurou, looking at the fairy tale monster that had been torn apart within a minute of its appearance, couldn't help but exclaim.

"Huh?" Shinji turned around with a strange expression and looked at Soujuurou. "Hey, grass-eating wolf, are you sure it's okay to say such things? You might get dragged out and beaten to death."

"Although I don't know why, I have a feeling you're not qualified to say that."

"Tsk!" Shinji clicked his tongue, looking at the now babbling grass-eating wolf. He seemed to have gone a bit crazy, probably because he had encountered too many terrifying things.

"Another one has gone mad?" Shinji sighed softly.

But come to think of it, why did he say "another one"?

===

The giant penguin-shaped mascot collapsed, and Shinji put away the pry bar. Soujuurou quickly ran up to him, and there were no fairy tale monsters left in front of them. Their plan to escape from the amusement park through the main entrance proceeded remarkably smoothly.

The two of them followed a small path outside the gate, running all the way to the foot of the mountain. Shinji gradually slowed down, using one hand to hold onto the railing at the side of the road and came to a stop.

Soujuurou had already run about twenty meters ahead but suddenly noticed that Shinji, who had been following behind, had stopped. After a moment of hesitation, he ran back to Shinji.

Shinji glanced at Soujuurou and sighed, "At a time like this, why did you come back?"

Soujuurou didn't answer, he just looked at Shinji.

Shinji, however, didn't say anything more. Both of them fell into silence, but strangely, Shinji found this silence surprisingly comforting.

"So, are you alright?" Finally, it was Soujuurou who broke the silence with a question.

Shinji sighed again, "You can tell just by looking, right? I'm clearly not okay at all."

"Yeah," Soujuurou nodded, "Considering your injuries and the way you fought those monsters in the amusement park, it's hard to believe you're completely fine."

Then, Soujuurou seemed to recall his own ordeal and couldn't help but complain, "I never knew that the city could be such a dangerous place. People are killing each other on the streets at night. The classmate who's supposed to be the student council president turns out to be a magus and wanted to kill me. And that girl in black I met only once..."

Actually, Alice had visited Soujuurou's school once before, so strictly speaking, tonight wasn't their first meeting. Soujuurou's voice faltered as he thought about this.

"Well," Shinji chuckled weakly, his face pale due to blood loss, "It's not exactly what you think. Magus, that kind of thing, is extremely rare among humans. Being targeted by such beings, I don't know if it's good luck or bad luck for you."

"This can't possibly be considered good luck. I almost died," Soujuurou said angrily, his expression not hiding his anger at all.

Shinji admired Soujuurou's straightforward nature at times like this. It must be so much easier not to have to think about lies and deception. Thinking about it, Shinji sighed deeply and asked, "By the way, Soujuurou, are you sure it's okay for you to stay here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Because if you stay here, there's a good chance they'll catch up and kill you," Shinji said.

"But I can't just leave you alone," Soujuurou replied.

That self-assured tone made Shinji feel at a loss once again.

"Well, even if you stay, it won't make much of a difference, will it?"

"How so?" Soujuurou asked.

"Because if you stay here, it's very likely that you'll be hunted down and killed," Shinji explained.

"But I can't just abandon you," Soujuurou replied.

That matter-of-fact tone left Shinji speechless.

"Well, even if you stay, it won't make much of a difference," Shinji reiterated.

"Why not?" Soujuurou shook his head. "When I was in the mountains, there were a lot of bears around."

So, he's comparing magus to bears? Shinji shook his head, struggling to adapt to Soujuurou's abnormal thought process.

"But you probably don't know, right? I'm also a magus," Shinji said, trying to convince Soujuurou.

"A magus... you mean someone who does magic tricks?" Soujuurou looked at Shinji with a bewildered expression, as if he didn't understand why Shinji would bring up such a topic at a time like this.

"Ah, not quite," Shinji said, covering his face with one hand. "When I say magus... it's more like someone like Ayako."

"So, you mean a wizard?" Soujuurou asked.

"Although it's not exactly like that..." Shinji scratched his head. "Well, from your perspective, it's not that different. Let's just say it's something like that."

"So, you mean there are good and bad wizards?" Soujuurou asked.

"It's not quite like that... Me, Ayako, and Alice—the girl in black you saw earlier—we're all magus, and Alice is my mentor," Shinji explained.

"So, what you're trying to tell me is that magus can sometimes turn on each other and fight?" Soujuurou asked.

"Ah, well, that does happen occasionally," Shinji admitted. "But that's not what I'm trying to say."

Soujuurou's unique way of thinking was giving Shinji a headache. He was beginning to understand why Ayako had found dealing with this guy so frustrating. When teaching Soujuurou, you couldn't afford to be careless, because common sense just didn't seem to exist in his mind.

But with Soujuurou's constant interruptions, Shinji almost forgot what he had originally wanted to say. "Anyway... what was I trying to say? Because she used to be my comrade, even if they catch me, they won't kill me right away. In comparison, ensuring your safety should be the top priority."

"I understand," Soujuurou nodded.

"So, can we make an agreement?" Shinji asked.

"An agreement?" Soujuurou blushed for some reason.

"I mean, did you just make some indecent associations?" Shinji asked.

"No, it's not..." Soujuurou stuttered.

But Shinji didn't intend to pursue this matter further. He took a Forgetfulness Stone from his pocket and handed it to Soujuurou, explaining the details of their agreement.

"In short, you need to take this stone and run. After daybreak, take it to the haunted mansion on the hill in Sansaki Town. Is that correct?" Soujuurou asked.

Shinji nodded, "Because Alice is someone who keeps her promises, as long as you can hold on until daybreak, you should be safe. Also, this stone is a crucial item that will determine whether you can keep your life, so don't lose it or have any thoughts of running away."

Soujuurou nodded earnestly.

With that, everything that needed to be explained was clear. Shinji watched Soujuurou go on his way, then finally couldn't hold on any longer and sat down against the railing. The aftereffects of losing too much blood and overextending his physical strength had finally caught up to him. Although these injuries weren't enough to be fatal, Shinji's eyelids grew heavy, and he eventually couldn't help but close his eyes.

In his field of vision, there were faint flashes of electricity.

The flashing electricity gradually converged, forming a giant vortex that shimmered with a bluish-green light.

In the previous battle, something had been opened.

A magus magic power comes from their internal magical circuits, but for magus whose magical circuits are not excellent, there's another shortcut.

That is to comply with their origin and directly draw magic power from it.

===

When thinking about what our parents say, we should understand that there are past lives before our existence in this world. When we see our descendants, we should realize the existence of future lives.

Everything can be transformed into something else, except for concepts like spirit, soul, and life.

The so-called origin is the method of chasing this law of chaos.

According to the general theory of relativity, particles in Minkowski spacetime have a property called "intrinsic time."

The "intrinsic time," in simple terms, is "my time" and belongs to the existence of things.

If people have past lives, then there should be past lives before that, right?

In the previous lives, they were not even people, perhaps not even things, but the thread of existence continued.

As the origin of the soul, the place where existence is created does exist, but there is no life or anything like that, only a certain beginning. That beginning is the origin of existence, determining the direction of things, and from there, matter begins to flow and gather, taking form, and sometimes even becoming human.

In usual circumstances, for beings with a sense of time, using their own time as a ruler and measuring others' time with it is almost instinctive.

Every individual has their "intrinsic time," and subconsciously treats that timeline as a uniform, forward-moving straight line.

However, in the eyes of other observers, the time they experience may not necessarily be uniform and straight. It can have various curvatures and even different amplitudes. For example, it can loop back and forth within three years, like a thread, linking different "histories" in the eyes of observers, making it seem like the "past has changed."

This kind of thing can indeed be done, but there is no real "change" involved. There is no absolute time in the world; rather, spacetime itself is just a human illusion.

So, "changing history" has never really happened; it's just a way of weaving two timelines together in a peculiar manner, intertwining and influencing each other.

The time of one person and another are originally unrelated.

Weaving the timelines of two unrelated individuals like this must be a miracle created by gods.

The name of that miracle, in simple terms, is "fate," and the word "fate" itself means a thread.

In a previous life, Shinji had contemplated the concept of reincarnation and rebirth. Perhaps at that time, there were already signs of his origin opening up?

As the thread of a boy's timeline, it continued from a past life to this life. In this realm, under the name "Shinji," he was entwined with the people of this realm.

What is called reincarnation and soul transmigration doesn't begin with who becomes who. It's like the secret technique passed down among magus, allowing their past selves to possess their abilities. It's not really possession, just an awareness, a mutual recognition.

If it's not the thread of existence derived from the same origin, then people originally existing in two different realms would have no connection.

If the boy and Shinji weren't originally the same entity, there would be no such thing as reincarnation.

The boy realized that Shinji was his future self, and at the same time, Shinji also realized that the boy was his past self. They simply accepted this fact to some extent.

...

In the void, electric lights intertwined, flickering, and eventually took the shape of a cloverleaf.

Looking at that electric light, Shinji suddenly had a sense of enlightenment.

Is this his origin? He thought, and then the electric light transformed into the shape of a coiled snake.

Although in his past life, he had repeatedly emphasized that he was just an ordinary boy, when he understood his origin, the boy realized that he was far from ordinary.

He was unique, but having a unique origin didn't necessarily make him important.

If it were someone else, their thread of existence would be much more complex and elongated. Before becoming human, they would have experienced thousands of years of circulation.

But the boy was different.

His past and present lives added up to only three. His soul and existence cycled among these three lives and bodies.

The direction of the origin always pointed towards return, but it could never actually return to the starting point.

This perpetual urge to return was Shinji's origin impulse.

Because of this origin, those things that were ancient and forgotten, abandoned by time, attracted the boy even more. Things like medieval witches, fallen magical families, and secrets passed down for centuries.

In his past life, the boy was a collector of ancient artifacts. Whenever he entered an antique market, he couldn't help but stay and examine every item. He liked wearing ancient clothes in his daily life, would go grave digging with friends, and used flintlock pistols in battles. He was particularly vulnerable to the oldest items displayed in museums.

In addition to this, because of his peculiar origin, his body would recover faster than normal when he was sick or injured. Poisons and curses had little effect on him.

But this origin also had a fatal drawback, as stated in the saying we often use, "Death is the destiny of all."

In his past life, the boy had accepted the embrace of death as if it were a predetermined fate.

Despite fighting with all his might and desperately wanting to survive, firmly believing in "my fate is determined by me, not by heaven," the boy still died on his twentieth birthday.

...

When Shinji woke up, it was already daylight outside the window. He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the familiar ceiling of the Kuonji mansion. After assessing his current physical condition, Shinji realized that the wound on his shoulder no longer hurt much. His muscles were still sore and weak all over, but that was normal after excessive exertion.

"Ah, you finally woke up," Aoko's voice sounded in his ear.

Shinji turned his head and saw Aoko sitting in casual clothing on a chair. Probably because of the cold weather, she had a blanket draped over her, and she had dark circles under her eyes, indicating she hadn't slept much the whole night.

"You, of all people, sneaked out and even had a dispute with Alice at the abandoned amusement park. You ended up collapsing on the mountain road. If you didn't die after doing something like that, I'd say you were incredibly lucky. Do you even realize what you were doing?" Aoko scolded him. While her tone was harsh, her voice carried a hint of exhaustion.

"I'm sorry," Shinji looked at Aoko and promptly apologized.

Aoko sighed again, and the anger on her face faded. "It's unbelievable that things actually worked out in the end, and I didn't expect it at all. At one point, I even thought I might die."

"Huh?" Shinji widened his eyes in surprise. "You almost died... Aoko-senpai? And what do you mean by 'things worked out'? What happened after that? Can you tell me what happened?"

"Well..." Aoko blushed for some reason and glanced out the window. "I'm planning to tell you what happened afterward, so don't be in such a hurry. Just listen to me slowly."

"Alright," Shinji nodded.

"First of all, let's start with the results, and I hope you won't be too surprised when you hear this." Aoko seemed a bit uneasy as she continued, "The abandoned amusement park we went to, called 'Society Bread & Kistyl and,' has been completely destroyed. Such a massive commotion probably even alerted the authorities, so Alice and I both agree that it's better to avoid going there for a while."

"Huh?" Shinji widened his eyes. "Wait, you're saying it's completely destroyed? But that abandoned amusement park had an area of at least several thousand square meters! How could it..."

"Well, there was no helping it!" Aoko's face turned red, and she retorted loudly, "I had just come out of the Mirror Maze at that time, and I saw Alice's familiar going wild in the amusement park. It seemed that the creature got angry because someone escaped from the barrier it had set up twice in a row. So, it threw a tantrum and tried to release the monsters inside the barrier, which would have ended up destroying the entire city."

"What?" Shinji exclaimed in shock. "Wait a minute, you mean the whole amusement park was..."

"This... there was nothing we could do!" Aoko's face was still flushed.

"Ahaha, that would indeed be quite troublesome," Shinji chuckled.

Aoko pursed her lips and said, "You feel the same way, right? That familiar, Moonlit Oil, is one of the strongest three familiars inherited by Alice from her mother. While those creatures recognize Alice as their 'master' and usually fulfill their duty to protect 'her,' once they go berserk to that extent, not even Alice can stop them. In the end, we had no choice but to join forces and destroy that familiar."

"Ahaha," Shinji awkwardly laughed, "Well, sometimes things just can't be helped."

In the original "Mahoutsukai no Yoru" story, Moonlit Oil was defeated by Aoko using the Fifth Magic. Unexpectedly, this time, Shinji had stepped forward and absorbed most of its hatred, but the familiar still couldn't escape its fate.

"What's even more infuriating is that after the familiar was defeated, it exploded like a high-explosive bomb. Alice knew this, but she didn't warn me, nearly costing me my life," Aoko continued to complain.

"So, the amusement park was destroyed because of that explosion?"

"Yes."

"Ahahaha, I see." Shinji managed to force a smile.

"Well, although Alice might be a bit upset about losing one of her Polys, she's not the type to easily hold grudges against others. So, you shouldn't worry too much," Aoko reassured him.

Shinji nodded.

Aoko  glanced at Shinji for a while, and once she was sure he wasn't overly concerned about the incident, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, stood up from the chair, and clapped her hands gently. "Alright, that's settled. Alice, you can come in now."

As soon as she finished speaking, the room's door was pushed open, and Alice walked in from outside.

"Ah, Master," Shinji greeted her quietly.

Alice walked over wordlessly and sat by Shinji's bedside.

Shinji sneaked a glance at her and was surprised to find a slightly smug expression on Alice's face, which startled him.

Seeing the two of them, Aoko smiled wryly and said, "So, let's discuss what we should do about Shizuki now."

"Huh?" Shinji was taken aback, then he saw Aoko take out a glass bottle from her pocket. At first glance, the bottle looked rather plain, as if it were just an ordinary medicine bottle with its label torn off and cleaned up a bit.

However, what was interesting was that through the bottom of the glass bottle, you could see a tiny figure, roughly the size of a thumb, that resembled Shizuki Soujuurou in both appearance and stature.

"What is this?" Shinji asked, puzzled.

"This is the magical tool I entrusted to Aoko earlier. If you open the bottle and call out his name, if that person responds, they'll be sealed inside the bottle. The prototype is based on a myth from the country across the sea," Alice explained.

"Ah, I know that one. It's the Purple Gold Gourd used by the brothers from 'Journey to the West,' right?"

Alice nodded. "Strictly speaking, it's more like the Calabash of Cleansing."

Shinji nodded and asked, "But why seal him inside a bottle? If it's because of the Association's confidentiality agreement, I've already created a runestone to erase his memories. Wouldn't that be sufficient?"

Upon hearing Shinji's question, Alice looked at Aoko, who scratched the back of her head and said, "Ah, I forgot to mention that to you. Shinji, I used the runestone you made on Shizuki, but the results weren't ideal."

"Not ideal?" Shinji asked dumbfoundedly.

Aoko nodded. "The runestone you created replaces a specific memory in a person's mind with a pre-set false memory to confuse their senses. While the concept is excellent, after using the runestone on Shizuki, we found that he indeed forgot what happened in the park that night. However, the memories of what he experienced at the amusement park were still vividly etched in his mind. So..."

"Ahahaha," Shinji awkwardly laughed. He had indeed only considered replacing Soujuurou's memory of Aoko performing magecraft in the park but hadn't thought about erasing his entire concept of magecraft, especially regarding what happened at the amusement park.

"Moreover, because the erasure wasn't thorough, it left his memories in a confused state, making it even more challenging to explain things to him," Alice added.

In response, Shinji could only use an embarrassed smile to brush it off.

===

"So, how should we handle Soujuurou?" After the laughter, Shinji asked.

"In my opinion, casually killing someone is not a good idea. And since Shinji has knowledge of memory erasure magecraft, with our cooperation, we can just wait for about a month, right?" Aoko said, looking towards Alice.

Alice's face displayed displeasure, but she sighed lightly in the end without raising objections.

Aoko continued, "Then, to prevent Shizuki from running around and talking during this month, it's necessary to have him move in and keep him under surveillance. The specific surveillance work will be entrusted to Shinji."

"Huh? Me?" Shinji asked.

"Yes," Aoko nodded, "You were the one who initially suggested sparing his life, right? So, please take full responsibility."

"Why does it have to be me..." Shinji complained with a mournful expression. "I feel like this is so troublesome."

"Well, don't say it like that," Aoko showed a mischievous smile. "If you don't want to take responsibility for this matter, I can always go ahead and eliminate him as agreed with Alice earlier. Would that be easier for you?"

"Alright, I get it," Shinji sighed.

"Don't worry, at least during school and the days you're recovering, I'll help keep an eye on him. And then..." Aoko turned her gaze toward Alice.

Alice raised her hand and snapped her fingers, causing a glass bottle on the table to be lifted by a mysterious force, floating in mid-air, and then shattering spectacularly.

After the white light dissipated from the shattered bottle, Shizuki Soujuurou appeared in the room, standing still in a daze.

Aoko probably had some private instructions for Soujuurou, so she took his hand and left. In the room, only Alice and Shinji remained.

"How's your body feeling?" Alice, seemingly not intending to leave, sat by Shinji's bedside and asked.

Shinji nodded.

Alice looked at him, raised her hand to lightly cover her mouth, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Can you sense an unnatural magic power in your body? Did something happen?"

"Ah, that, um..." Shinji chuckled bitterly, unsure of how to answer.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine," Alice said.

"No, it's not... that magic power, it's because I activated my Origin," Shinji explained.

"Ah," Alice listened to his reply, and her raised hand trembled slightly for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure and asked, "How do you feel after activating your Origin?"

It was natural to be worried because the awakening of the Origin meant awakening memories from all previous lives. The accumulated experiences from countless generations far surpassed the personality formed in one lifetime alone. Therefore, the impulse of the Origin could dominate a person's thoughts and actions, leading to the madness of magus.

However, Shinji shook his head, "I didn't feel anything special... I should say, 'I' is still 'me,' and I didn't turn into something else."

"Ah," Alice lowered her head and contemplated for a moment, "But isn't the method of activating the Origin a secret art known only to a few magus? How did you manage to do it?"

Upon hearing this question, Shinji chuckled bitterly once again, "It's probably because I'm a special existence."

Hearing this ambiguous answer, Alice's gaze showed a hint of dissatisfaction. Shinji hurriedly explained, "Because I've only had three lifetimes in total, the experiences weren't enough to completely erode the personality formed in this life. I only found out about this after awakening my Origin. As for how to activate it, I just knew naturally. I can't really explain why..."

"I see," Alice stared coldly at Shinji for a while, then finally breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming he wasn't lying.

"I understand. Get some rest." She spoke softly and then took a book from the room's bookshelf, sitting back by the bedside to start reading.

The room suddenly fell silent.

The clock on the wall ticked away, and the mountain breeze blew in through the window, occasionally making a clattering sound.

It seemed to be overcast outside. The room wasn't lit either. A dim, pale light came in from the window, blurring the boundary between reality and fantasy, making the room appear like a closed-off world.

Alice sat by the bed, her head lowered as she read. From Shinji's perspective, she was backlit.

The contours of the girl appeared hazy and indistinct due to the backlighting. Her soft, black hair gently hung down from her ears, with the tips illuminated by light, resembling a delicate and sheer veil.

She lowered her head slightly, her expression calm and focused. The rhythm of her breathing was gentle and slow. In a way, it looked like the Sleeping Beauty from a fairy tale.

Staring at Alice's exquisite profile, Shinji inexplicably felt a sense of comfort, and his thoughts became blank, overcome by a heavy drowsiness.

But suddenly, Alice's slender and white neck came into Shinji's view. His gaze froze, and his heart began to race.

A "thump, thump" sound echoed in the small room.

Strange and dangerous thoughts seemed to creep into Shinji's mind out of nowhere, as if a demon whispered incessantly in his ear.

Isn't she beautiful? This is your master, after all.

She's just as delicate and fragile as you imagine. Look at her neck, like that of an elegant and noble swan, so slender that it might break with a gentle touch.

Isn't life fragile? You should have understood that from the beginning, right?

His heart suddenly beat faster.

Then, as if possessed, Shinji sat up abruptly from the bed and involuntarily extended his hands toward Alice.

===

With just a "thud," Alice, who was startled by Shinji's sudden movement, barely had time to show a trace of astonishment before being pinned to the ground. Shinji's hands passed through her neck, tightly embracing her.

Alice's delicately crafted face was pressed against Shinji's chest, and she could smell Shinji's scent with every breath. The scent was faint but surprisingly pleasant.

Even though they were alone together in a room, and she had been suddenly attacked, Alice didn't feel the least bit uneasy. Just as Alice could provide a sense of security to Shinji, for the young man named Matou Shinji, Alice felt inexplicably reassured and held absolute trust.

So, she lay quietly on the ground, neither struggling nor attempting to resist, because she knew very well that her disciple would never do anything harmful to her.

Then, she suddenly felt that Shinji, who was lying on top of her, seemed to be trembling slightly. Shortly after, his hands that were tightly wrapped around her neck loosened.

Shinji propped himself up and crawled into a corner of the room, trembling all over.

Alice blinked and then stood up from the floor, gently dusting off her clothes. She was somewhat surprised to find that despite falling from the bed, she had not sustained any injuries – not even a bruise. In contrast, Shinji had already cut himself and was bleeding at the elbows of his hands.

Clearly injured, yet acting so recklessly. Alice sighed helplessly, walked over to Shinji, and knelt down on the floor, lifting her dress to touch Shinji's head lightly.

Feeling Alice's touch, Shinji's trembling gradually subsided.

Then, Alice withdrew her hand and softly asked, "Is it because of your Origin?"

Shinji hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

"What kind of Origin is it?" Alice asked again.

This time, Shinji remained silent for a long time before finally managing to say, "I don't know..."

Alice deeply looked into his eyes and sighed helplessly.

She extended both hands, gently cradling Shinji's face, making their gazes meet.

Shinji looked at Alice, surprised by her sudden action and slightly opened his mouth. Alice's face was so beautiful that it left him breathless – fair skin, silky hair, delicate features, and clear eyes like a calm lake on a moonlit night.

In an instant, Shinji subconsciously held his breath, his brain ceased to function, and his heart began to race.

Then, like a thickening night, overwhelming thoughts flooded Shinji's mind once again. His body began to tremble slightly, and his hands involuntarily moved to take action.

"Hurry... run." Shinji managed to squeeze out these words from between his teeth, but he had no idea what would happen next. "Run" was his last warning.

However, Alice seemed completely unaffected by this warning. She continued to watch Shinji without saying a word. Just as Shinji felt he was losing control of his inner impulses, she suddenly closed her eyes, cupped Shinji's face, and kissed him.

At the moment their lips met, Shinji widened his eyes in astonishment. Because their faces were so close, he could see Alice's long eyelashes trembling slightly. The tingling sensation around his lips felt like an electric current surging through his body, causing him to lose the ability to think for a moment. Then, he felt Alice's warm and sweet tongue enter his mouth, their saliva mixing together, and the overwhelming pleasure of their magical compatibility sent Shinji's instincts into a frenzy.

He reached out his hands, tightly gripping Alice's neck, and extended his tongue to actively respond to her kiss. Each touch of their tongues felt like a weak electric current, stimulating every cell in his body. His heart pounded faster, producing a "thump, thump" sound, and a suffocating feeling of numbness spread through him.

"Mmm..." As if startled by Shinji's actions, Alice instinctively tried to resist, but the pleasure of the kiss left her powerless. She made symbolic pushes against Shinji, but then gave up.

Gradually, their breaths became heated,

As the kiss continued, Alice's eyelashes trembled more intensely. She opened one eye, and her gaze had become somewhat hazy, with a faint blush on her face.

With her innocent appearance, this expression seemed unusually seductive.

Alice's behavior stirred Shinji's emotions once again, and he instinctively held her even tighter, pressing their bodies closely together. They continued to kiss passionately, exchanging saliva and indulging in the pleasure of their magical compatibility.

Gradually, their magical energies began to adapt to each other, and their memories quickly broke through the boundaries of consciousness. In an instant, it was as if they had merged into one.

The overwhelming urge that had once dominated their thoughts and bodies had disappeared.

When they regained their senses, Shinji found himself standing in the guest room of the annex. Alice was standing opposite him, looking much younger than when they had first met.

In Alice's hand was a candy-shaped brooch. With a faint smile on her face, she lowered her head and whispered something to the brooch.

The brooch turned into a beam of light and disappeared in the room. Then, just as Shinji felt a hint of confusion, it began to snow in the room.

Pure white snowflakes danced in the sky and slowly fell to the ground. The scene was reminiscent of the night sky they had seen once before.

"Ah..." Shinji opened his mouth and let out an admiring sigh.

All those jumbled thoughts had completely vanished, and his mind was now empty. All that remained was a profound sense of satisfaction and tranquility.

At that moment, the door to the room was "click" opened.

"Alice, there was quite a commotion here. Are you... huh huh huh?" Aoko walked into the room and, upon seeing the scene inside, turned bright red. She quickly blocked Soujuurou, who was following behind her, from entering.

"W-What are you doing? You're clearly teacher and student, yet you're doing something like this... Alice, you're utterly shameless!"

Seemingly unperturbed by Aoko's words, Alice finally snapped back to reality. She gently pushed Shinji away, covered her mouth with one hand, and turned her face away to avoid eye contact.

At this moment, her expression appeared somewhat subtle.

"In any case, this doesn't concern you, Aoko."

With that, she said it.