[29]

Aoko carefully discussed with Alice at the café her plan to lure out Touko. Aoko's idea was straightforward: she would smash through all of Touko's defenses, forcing her to come out in a fit of rage and confront Aoko directly.

Alice, however, disagreed. Since the situation involved her property, she preferred to transform the entire amusement park into an alternate realm. This way, if Touko was hiding somewhere within it, Alice could immediately find and capture her.

... Isn't she just as solitary as I am? Aoko thought with a hint of exasperation. She realized she'd forgotten that Alice, much like herself, was a lone wolf. Despite their shared goal of trapping Touko, they were each approaching it independently, showing no sign of cooperation.

However, upon further thought, Aoko realized this might work. Touko, though typically calm, could be provoked into losing her composure if pushed the right way. With Alice acting alone and Aoko lying in wait on the sidelines, their plan seemed to have potential.

To that end, Aoko took out a teleportation spell scroll she'd created using a 5th-ring spell slot. As soon as Touko appeared—or if Alice found herself in danger—Aoko could immediately jump in and join the fight.

Once the plan was finalized, Aoko briefly explained it to Alice, who was silent for a while before expressing surprise at Aoko's ability to use spatial transfer magecraft. She asked if it was part of the Fifth Magic.

"It's not," Aoko replied.

"Although the Fifth Magic can achieve similar things, the cost is significantly different and much less efficient."

Satisfied with the explanation, Alice agreed to the plan.

The action was set for tonight. Kistynd was relatively close to Misaki High School, which explained why Alice had come to Aoko's school that day. However, Aoko suspected it might also be out of curiosity, as she'd shared some fun stories about Misaki High that had likely piqued Alice's interest.

The operation was set for after 11 p.m., leaving them with plenty of time. Since Aoko couldn't use her spell slots to create new scrolls, she decided to spend the afternoon shopping with Alice.

After parking her motorcycle, Aoko took the initiative to link arms with Alice as they walked down the street. Their presence drew the attention of passersby, as both Aoko and Alice were strikingly beautiful. Their contrasting styles only enhanced the harmony between them, as if they were part of a painting by a master artist. It was a beauty that transcended gender, attracting glances from both men and women.

At first, Aoko enjoyed the attention, relishing being the center of it. Usually, she didn't draw this much notice when she was alone. However, now that she was with Alice, the crowd's reactions had grown unusually intense.

Aoko glanced at Alice. Although her expression remained characteristically stoic, Aoko sensed her growing displeasure. Alice, after all, preferred a quieter atmosphere, and the attention made her uncomfortable.

Sensing this, Aoko extended her hand, subtly channeling her magical energy. With a snap of her fingers, an invisible wave rippled outward, and suddenly, people around them seemed to remember something urgent and quickly dispersed.

"Is that a suggestion?"

Alice asked.

"It's quite delicate."

"Well... it's more like a type of bounded field," Aoko explained.

"There's a book in my grandfather's inheritance on Thought Engraving magecraft. One technique described is a 'concealment' bounded field. I used some of its principles to develop this simplified version, which is triggered by a specific sound."

"Of course, since I can't connect it to a Thought Engraving, my version is just a crude imitation and can only affect ordinary people."

Aoko shrugged, feigning helplessness.

Alice nodded slightly, recognizing Aoko's skill. This method of repelling onlookers was indeed more practical than traditional suggestion magecraft or large-scale expulsion bounded fields and she acknowledged Aoko's growing talent.

"Oh, right," Aoko remembered, "I found a nice shop earlier. Want to check it out together?"

[Scene Break]

In her effort to remove her sister's potential allies, Touko had chosen an old friend's workshop as her target. After a familiar she sent for reconnaissance confirmed that a crucial magical tool was still there, Touko knew her friend would come in person to investigate if she openly took the item.

The leyline node that had been destroyed earlier had already been repaired by her sister, and the doll guarding it had been easily defeated. This, however, was expected; Touko had used the opportunity to gauge her sister's combat skills.

From what she could observe, her sister's magecraft couldn't yet rival Lugh's, but Touko was uncertain if she had fully mastered the Aozaki family's Magic. This unknown factor was what concerned her most. She needed to force her sister to reveal the truth of her Magic, which meant eliminating her sister's allies first.

With this in mind, Touko quickened her pace. To be safe, she planned not only to send Lugh that night but also to prepare special tools to ensure Kuonji Alice wouldn't interfere before she could take on Aozaki Aoko.

She was only halfway through her preparations when the bird-shaped familiar returned. Touko removed the memory storage device from it and loaded it into an old, projector-like device to review the footage.

When she saw her sister and Kuonji Alice strolling down the street arm-in-arm, Touko clenched her hand, accidentally crushing the familiar.

[Scene Break]

At midnight, Alice arrived at the entrance of Kistynd in her signature attire. Raising her wrist, several starlings landed on her fingertips, chirping as if delivering a report.

"...I see," Alice murmured, her expression turning cold.

"The segment of the Mirror of Slumber has been destroyed..."

===

PS: The Second Ticket: Mirror of Slumber is a Ploy Kickshaw that Alice's mother made in collaboration with Touko Aozaki by refurbishing an old mirror with a separate world inside that was broken for a long time.