Aozaki Aoko Case File

"You… you're not a human from around here, are you?" Akuta Hinako frowned, looking up at the red-haired woman floating in the air. "Did you come looking for me for something?"

"Hey, hey, Ms. Akuta, I'm somewhat of a celebrity, you know. If you say that, it hurts my feelings." Aoko made a show of looking disappointed as she landed in front of Hinako. "In a way, I'm actually your boss."

"Boss…?" Hinako looked puzzled. She didn't recall having a boss, but after thinking a bit, she did remember working at Chaldea before. So— "Are you someone connected to Marisbury?"

While the nearby fairies saw Hinako talking to thin air, the victor's words were law. Even if she went mad in the arena, the fairies of the Fang Clan would never object. That's the privilege of the winner.

"I'm Chaldea's major shareholder," Aoko shrugged. "You could say most of the money Marisbury used to build Chaldea in Antarctica was from me. Are you sure you don't know me?"

Hinako squinted, sizing up Aoko. In her memory, she was certain she didn't know a human with such absurd magical power… or maybe this red-haired woman was lying, and wasn't human at all.

"I don't know you. But since you say you're from Chaldea, are you here to take me back?" Hinako asked.

"Well, actually, finding you was a bit of an accident." Aoko awkwardly brushed her hair. "Though I came to this Lostbelt initially to find you, I'm in Oxford to recruit the local lord, Wryneck…"

Hinako stared at Aoko with dead-fish eyes—she knew it! Humans couldn't be trusted. Finding her was just dumb luck, after all.

"I don't think Wryneck would ever leave with a human," Hinako frowned. "Humans don't have much status in this world. By the way, what's a 'Lostbelt'?"

"I have a different opinion." Aoko smiled. "Let's talk at your place. I'll tell you everything."

The fairies in the arena were disappointed; they'd expected Hinako to fight a few more matches and beat up some unlucky fools, but it all ended after she just waved at thin air.

...

Back at Hinako's place, Aoko floated cross-legged in mid-air, sipping juice. "So that's what's going on. My goals are a bit different from Marisbilly's. I tracked down the fairy who swapped with you in the 7th century pan-human history, and followed here."

"Oh, by the way, I killed Beryl. Always found that guy annoying." Aoko added.

"Doesn't matter, he was no good anyway," Hinako frowned. "But how did you know my identity?"

"First, I have a copy of all the background checks Marisbury did when hiring people," Aoko wagged her finger. "Second, I'm a Magician. Figuring out you're Consort Yu isn't hard."

Hinako's eyes widened—she hadn't expected this woman was a Magician.

"You're that old Aozaki's…?" Consort Yu seemed to recall something. "Is he dead?"

"I'm his granddaughter." Aoko shrugged. "You knew my grandfather?"

"Met him once, many years ago," Hinako frowned. "I took my current name back then. That old man was even less human than I am, unlike you."

"Thanks for the compliment." Aoko smiled. "His body was killed, but he should still be alive, just hiding somewhere."

Hinako stared at Aoko, conflicted. She suspected this granddaughter might've been the one who killed the old man, but it didn't seem right to ask directly.

"Don't worry, I didn't kill my grandfather. Otherwise, how could I inherit the Fifth Magic?" Aoko saw through Hinako's thoughts and answered nonchalantly.

...

"To get me to accept your invitation, the only way is to defeat me," Wryneck said stubbornly to Aoko. "Besides, I don't think a human like you can do it, even if you're from outside Britain."

The hero Wryneck looked much like the future Woodworth: a slender, well-dressed wolfman fairy, the kind any furry fan would love.

After talking for a while, Aoko was surprised to find Wryneck, unlike most Fang Clan fairies, was quite rational, and actually opposed to the abuse and enslavement of humans. However, he had a typical Fang Clan trait: if you wanted to convince him to do something he didn't want to, you had to defeat him in a one-on-one duel.

"No problem," Aoko agreed readily. "But I think we should have our duel somewhere private."

"Why?" Wryneck asked, confused. "Isn't the Oxford Grand Arena well-built? No need to look elsewhere."

"Have you considered what your clan would do if you lost to me?" Aoko shook her head. "If you lose, your people might stop obeying you, and there would be a civil war over leadership."

Wryneck fell silent. He didn't want to agree, but after thousands of years, he knew his people's nature well. If he lost, his clan would likely fight for the chief's position.

One big reason they'd swept through the Wind, Fang, and Earth clans' anti-Londinium army was because Wryneck, as the Fang Clan leader, kept giving them vital intel.

Such a brave, strong, and peace-seeking fairy was rare.

"…Fine, I accept your terms," Wryneck sighed. "Let's fight in the western mountains. I know a good spot."