Aozaki Aoko Case File

Aoko and Artoria entered Marisbury's workshop via spatial transfer.

The reason Aoko dared to accept the potential enemy's assistance with spatial transfer was because she truly had confidence in her Fifth Magic's invulnerability.

No matter if you're the divinely appointed King of Jerusalem, you still couldn't pierce through the Redshift temporal defense with something as basic as spatial transfer.

As for Artoria, with Avalon in her possession, her defensive capabilities were even stronger and more comprehensive than Aoko's, despite Aoko being a Magician.

After all, while the outcome of a battle between Aoko and the Jewel Wizard was uncertain, if Artoria Avalon faced Zelretch, at worst, she could guarantee she wouldn't lose.

Although King Solomon and Marisbury hadn't said anything explicitly, Aoko already sensed that she and Artoria were now in an underground area somewhere near the Mion River.

The main reason Aoko knew this was because she had already studied various spatial transfer magics (such as Maze Step, Dimensional Door, and Teleportation) to a deep degree. When King Solomon activated the transfer spell, she had already discerned the spatial coordinates of the destination.

"Impressive as expected of King Solomon," Aoko raised her eyebrows and said, "Is this place built to mimic the First Temple?"

"I wouldn't call it a mimic," Marisbury replied. "After all, it was built by me. Perhaps calling it the Second Temple would be more fitting?"

Neither of the Servants reacted to the Magus's attempt at a joke. Aoko found herself looking at Marisbury curiously. He alone seemed pleased with his humor.

To think that the mastermind behind Chaldeas would be someone so fond of bad jokes—it was almost ironic.

Aoko surveyed the workshop battlefield, modified and reconstructed by King Solomon. It resembled the Temple of Time from her memories quite a bit. It seemed Goetia had indeed inherited Solomon's architectural aesthetics.

Or to put it more bluntly, when Solomon first built the First Temple, the 72 Demon Gods were likely his engineers.

"This is my apprentice," Marisbury gestured to a handsome young man with golden hair walking over. "Kirschtaria Wodime. He's assisting me in this Holy Grail War."

"It's an honor to meet you, Miss Blue," Kirschtaria said politely. "To see a Magician with my own eyes—it's truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

"You're exaggerating," Aoko waved him off. "You make it sound like I'm something completely inhuman. I'm not that jewel geezer."

Hearing this, Kirschtaria looked slightly flustered and turned to Marisbury for guidance.

"Kirschtaria is still young," Marisbury stepped in smoothly. "If he's offended you in any way, Miss Blue, I apologize on his behalf."

"It's nothing serious," Aoko replied casually, sitting down at a round table. "I wasn't bothered at all. I was just speaking offhandedly."

"What an enviable attitude toward life," Marisbury sighed. "Magicians are truly graduates of humanity, transcendent beings. Unlike us, who are trapped in the cages of our aspirations."

"Save the poetic musings for later, Lord Marisbury," Aoko cut him off bluntly. "Let's talk about our cooperation, shall we?"

"It seems Miss Blue is as straightforward as the rumors say," Marisbury smiled. "Let's begin then. Where should we start?"

After a brief pause, Marisbury continued.

"Let's start with our objective," Marisbury's gaze grew deeper. "Do you know what the Human Order is?"

"Are you referring to the integrated concept of humanity's origin, existence, and development?" Aoko rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Is this what Astromancy Magecraft studies?"

"Exactly!" Marisbury answered decisively. "Rather than saying it's Astromancy Magecraft's research field, you could call it the Animusphere family's lifelong wish."

"What we do has some similarities to the Astronomical Observatory Carillon's work," Marisbury explained passionately. "The Bureau of Sealing Designation observes the surface from deep underground, but the Animusphere family aims to overlook Earth from the void, ensuring human civilization—the Human Order—still exists a hundred years into the future."

"To achieve this, we built an extremely small-scale model of Earth, replicating the soul of the planet. Thus, Chaldeas was born."

Marisbury fixed Aoko with an intense gaze.

"So far, it sounds pretty admirable," Aoko nodded, evaluating his words. "The Animusphere family's ambition sounds quite noble. So what does this have to do with you participating in the Holy Grail War?"

"This brings us back to Chaldeas," Marisbury said with a pained expression. "Despite the Animusphere family going all-in, bankrupting ourselves, we only managed to complete the prototype of Chaldeas last year."

"But human effort has its limits," Marisbury continued sorrowfully. "Just as we were about to activate Chaldeas, we discovered a harsh reality: we had no money left."

"Activating Chaldeas requires an astounding amount of resources, and acquiring those resources demands astronomical wealth," Marisbury added. "And our subsequent plans—for instance, the Near-Future Observation Lens: Sheba and the Spiritron Calculators still in development—will also need massive financial support."

"So, with no other choice, I decided to enter the Holy Grail War."

"I see," Aoko nodded. "I understand your reasoning now. So, what's your proposal?"

"I will relinquish the right to make a wish upon the Holy Grail to you, Miss Blue," Marisbury said straightforwardly. "Because our goals align. We both need to wish upon the Grail for wealth, so there's no need for conflict."

Hearing this, King Solomon, who had been expressionless until now, glanced over as if he wanted to say something but remained silent in the end.

"Astromancy Magecraft can fully assist you in achieving victory," Marisbury said, clasping his hands together. "All I ask is that you agree to invest in the Chaldeas project."

It was an incredibly tempting proposal, and Aoko weighed the pros and cons carefully.

There was no doubt that Marisbury was a schemer with unclear motives, but because Aoko's past life memories of FGO had never reached completion, she still couldn't determine what this man truly intended.

For now, however, Aoko's goal of obtaining wealth via the Grail to help Touko achieve the Third Magic—Materialization of the Soul—had no conflicts with Marisbury's goals.

After all, when money reaches an absurd level, even splitting it in half makes little difference to its owners.

Considering the concept of Spiritron Record Fixed Bands in magecraft, since the Chaldeas prototype already existed, it was likely that a Grand Order-like event in this world's future had become inevitable. Whether Aoko destroyed Chaldea or killed Marisbury, it would already be too late.

Since key events were certain to occur, Aoko decided it was better to play along, investing in Chaldea early to secure a way for her loved ones to survive even in the event of a Human Order Incineration or Surface Bleaching.

As for future schemes, Aoko would deal with them head-on. And if necessary, she wouldn't hesitate to annihilate Marisbury. As someone who had graduated from fate, she was confident she could turn the tides.

"I accept," Aoko said decisively under Marisbury's gaze. "But I have some conditions regarding the investment in Chaldeas. If you agree to my terms, then we have a deal."

PS: Oh, I want to see my beloved eggplant kouhai in this fanfic.