"Good morning."
A flat, emotionless female voice rang out.
"Good morning. It's time to get up, Shirou."
Shirou rolled over groggily and opened his eyes.
The familiar ceiling came into view.
He turned his head and saw a girl standing beside his bed like a statue.
She had a delicately sculpted, inorganic kind of beauty, her face cool and expressionless. Her full, curvy figure carried an overwhelming presence.
A silent, busty beauty in a maid outfit waking him up. This was the kind of dreamlike scene you only saw in an adults-only visual novel.
"Ah... yeah, good morning, Leysritt."
Shirou rubbed at his faintly throbbing temples, then suddenly thought of something.
"When did I get back to my room?"
He had no memory of returning to bed... Come to think of it, did I go to the shed to practice last night?
At his question, a trace of sadness appeared on Leysritt's poker face.
"Shirou fainted in the hallway last night."
"Huh? Ah? Oh... right..."
Shirou held his chin and nodded to himself.
No wonder his memory of last night felt like it had been cut off midway. So he'd fainted.
The Fourth Holy Grail War had taken place four years ago.
Ever since then, Shirou would occasionally black out for no apparent reason.
It was not anemia. His body and consciousness would simply disconnect without warning.
In truth, it was an aftereffect of eight-year-old Shirou pushing himself too hard in the Holy Grail War.
It did not interfere much with daily life. It had only been happening a little more often lately.
"Um... Leysritt, you didn't tell Irisviel about this, did you?"
"...I didn't."
Leysritt lowered her head uneasily.
"Because I promised Shirou."
"Thanks. If Irisviel found out, she'd just worry for no reason again, haha."
Shirou scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Leysritt only looked at him without saying anything.
To show he was still full of energy, Shirou briskly jumped out of bed.
Only then did he notice that he was wearing pajamas.
Huh?
Didn't I pass out in the hallway last night? I should've still been in my house clothes.
Seeing the confusion on his face, Leysritt answered, "It's not good to sleep in those clothes, so I changed Shirou into pajamas on my own."
"..."
Shirou went completely numb.
He swallowed hard and tugged open his pajama pants. Very unfortunately, even his underwear had been changed.
"I-is that so... Thanks, Leysritt."
"Mm."
Leysritt kept staring at him without blinking, and it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up a little.
"Oh, right... I got up a bit late today, but there's still time. I'll go make breakfast."
Shirou pulled himself together and started for the kitchen, only for Leysritt to douse his enthusiasm with cold water.
"Sella is already making breakfast."
"Ah..."
The head of the household had just lost his job.
Shirou followed the homunculus maid into the living room.
On the tatami, Irisviel, Lady Avalon, and Taiga Fujimura were sitting together watching the morning drama.
"Good morning, Shirou."
"Morning, Iri."
It had already been four years since Irisviel settled into this household.
Since she constantly went around declaring that she was Shirou's mother, even the neighbors seemed to have accepted it as fact.
The foreign beauty living in the Fujimura Group estate, with her noble bearing and elegant manners, had become a legendary figure in the shopping district.
Lately, for some reason, Irisviel and Fuji-nee had gotten extremely close.
They even called each other "Master" and "Disciple"... What in the world happened there?
Then there was Lady Avalon.
Although Shirou now called her "teacher," she had not actually come to live here as an educator, but as the family doctor.
And that was exactly what she was.
Shirou had been left with severe aftereffects from the Holy Grail War, and Lady Avalon had been treating him all these years.
Unlike Irisviel, Lady Avalon did not like drawing attention to herself, but she had still somehow become the stuff of urban legend.
Something along the lines of "Kuchisake-onna," "Mary-San," or "Hachishaku-Sama."
Sometimes, late at night in the city, a bewitching beauty surrounded by flowers would appear. The locals called her the "Witch of Miyama Town."
Taiga Fujimura, Irisviel, and Lady Avalon, along with Sella and Leysritt, were the current permanent residents of the Amamiya residence.
Four of the ten guest rooms in the house were occupied.
Irisviel, who saw herself as the lady of the house, stayed in the Japanese-style room right next to Shirou's. The others stayed in separate rooms, while Sella and Leysritt stubbornly insisted on living in the workroom.
Even though the number of people in the house had suddenly exploded, their peaceful life had not changed much.
At first, Shirou had been a little worried, but four years had already passed without incident. It seemed the Einzbern main family had given up on taking revenge on Irisviel.
For Shirou, the biggest headache was probably bath time every night.
He always somehow ended up accidentally walking in on a different naked girl in the bath... He really was not doing it on purpose.
"Vacation starts today, right? Sakura seems to have gone to the Zenjou family's place for a few days, so she didn't come by this morning.
Even if it's break, you can't get too lazy, Shirou."
"You're the last person I want to hear that from, Fuji-nee... Have you decided on your future plans yet?"
"I have. I'm staying at Homurahara and becoming a teacher... It's my dream to be Shirou's guide in life."
Taiga Fujimura puffed out her chest proudly, and Shirou rolled his eyes.
"If you want to become a teacher, you need to get into college first, right? Are you actually going to be okay?"
"Huh? Isn't there an option where they just let me stay at the school?"
"There definitely is not. Study for your entrance exams properly."
After getting scolded by Shirou, Taiga Fujimura drooped in defeat and muttered under her breath, "Capitalism, you win."
The same pointless conversation as always.
Shirou quietly hoped these peaceful days would go on forever.
...
...
"Shirou, you've got a reply. It came from London."
After breakfast, Sella handed Shirou a letter.
He glanced at the sender's name. It was signed by Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald.
Shirou took the letter back to his room, and the moment he sat down, he eagerly opened it and started reading.
The letter contained the response to the matter Shirou had asked Kayneth about some time ago.
After the Holy Grail War, even with Lady Avalon treating him, Shirou's physical condition had continued to worsen over time.
Lady Avalon might be one of the strongest Magus in the world. No, she was undoubtedly one of the strongest in history. But even she had her own field of expertise.
As an Age of Gods Magus, healing was not her specialty.
She could stabilize Shirou's mind and soul, but she could not completely heal his body.
The real problem lay with that body.
Shirou's body was already almost falling apart. It was only being forcibly held together through Magecraft.
That was why he would suddenly collapse without warning so often.
His body and soul were frequently failing to connect properly.
Realizing that if things went on like this, something would eventually go seriously wrong, Shirou discussed it with Lady Avalon and decided to seek a solution through modern Magecraft instead, relying on the knowledge of modern Magus.
So he contacted Kayneth after his return to the Clock Tower and explained his condition.
In his reply, Kayneth mentioned the name of a Japanese person.
"Touko Aozaki."
"Ah... I think Makiri mentioned that name before."
The finest puppeteer in the world.
Kayneth said Shirou could ask her to create a new vessel, a prosthetic body, to replace the one he had now.
According to Kayneth, her talent was no less than his own... If even the arrogant Kayneth said that much, then it was probably true.
If Shirou used a prosthetic made by an ordinary Magus, he might lose his unique Magecraft talent after replacing his body.
But if it was Touko Aozaki, then the prosthetic she made would let Shirou continue using Projection Magecraft in the future without any trouble at all.
Because of his past life experience modifying his body in the Fairy Kingdom, Shirou did not feel much psychological resistance to replacing his body.
What really shocked him was the talent of this woman named Touko Aozaki.
Back in the Fairy Kingdom, Shirou had once asked Morgan whether he could prolong his life by replacing his body.
The answer had been no.
When a soul was transferred from one vessel to another, the soul itself would deteriorate faster due to rejection. It was not a good option.
Shirou had never had a very concrete sense of that before, but after returning to Fuyuki, he had seen a living example of it in Zouken Matou.
By constantly changing bodies, Zouken's soul had rotted and decayed, turning him into a monster who would do anything to stay alive.
...If what Kayneth said was true.
If the Magus Touko Aozaki really could create a prosthetic vessel that would not cause the soul to deteriorate.
Shirou sucked in a sharp breath.
In the single field of dollmaking alone, she might have already surpassed Morgan and Lady Avalon, reaching the realm of the Third Magic.
But there was one problem now.
Touko Aozaki seemed to be missing, and had not appeared in public for many years.
While she was still studying at the Clock Tower, Kayneth had crossed paths with her several times.
Later, Touko Aozaki returned to Japan, supposedly to fight her younger sister over the family inheritance, but that had already been years ago.
Touko Aozaki had always been an elusive person, and now even the intelligence network of a Clock Tower Lord could not determine exactly where she was.
Although Kayneth could not help Shirou get in touch with Touko Aozaki, he did point him toward another lead.
Misaki City.
If he went there, he might be able to find more definite information about Touko Aozaki.
Shirou immediately decided to use this vacation to make a trip to Misaki City.
After explaining things to everyone and spending a day preparing, Shirou ultimately declined all offers to accompany him and boarded the bullet train alone.
Misaki City was a newly developed city on the outer edge of the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Up until ten years ago, the place had still been full of rural scenery, with fields and forests everywhere. But after the mayor set a long-term plan in motion, the city was modernized in just a few short years.
Apparently, there had been plenty of opposition to the development at the time, so the mayor had said, "If the rest of it is fine, then we can just leave the parts people want to preserve as they are."
As a result, present-day Misaki City had a strange cityscape. Half of it was packed with modern high-rises, while the other half still retained its natural scenery.
Shirou's destination was an isolated hill in the center of the city.
The asphalt road stretched onward, but before long it was swallowed up by dense forest, turning into something more like a mountain path.
For a moment, Shirou felt as though he had slipped back several hundred years in time. Only the vending machines set along both sides of the road reminded him that this was still modern Japan.
He made his way up the long road and eventually arrived at a huge Western-style mansion at the top of the hill.
Even compared to the Amamiya residence, the mansion was no smaller, and its courtyard far surpassed the garden at Shirou's home.
Tall iron fences rose all around it, covered in thorny vines.
Even in the bright light of day, the place gave off an eerie atmosphere, and Shirou found himself recalling the vampire movie he had watched with Irisviel the night before.
But it was more than just a similar atmosphere.
A real witch lived in this mansion.
"Not every witch is as cute as Morgan. Witches from Proper Human History all seem to be evil old crones with hooked noses..."
Shirou swallowed and pressed the doorbell.
About two minutes later, the door opened.
"..."
For an instant, Shirou thought the one greeting him was a doll.
The girl had glossy black short hair and skin so pale it looked almost transparent.
Her face was beautiful in a way that felt unreal, yet it showed neither sorrow nor joy. There was no trace of human emotion in her at all.
Like something out of a painting, she had a dreamlike quality, as if she had been born in that form from the very beginning.
"..."
One look was enough for Shirou to decide that she really was a witch, just like the rumors said.
The girl wore a black uniform that looked almost like a nun's habit, and she fixed Shirou with eyes of utter coldness.
"A prank? Don't do it again."
She left him with that indifferent remark and started to close the door.
"..."
Even though four years had passed, Shirou was still only twelve.
She had probably taken him for some grade school kid who had heard rumors about a haunted mansion, come to explore it, and rang the doorbell on a whim.
"Excuse me. Are you Alice Kuonji?"
That made the girl stop.
The witch of the mansion turned back and looked Shirou over again with open suspicion.
"And you are?"
Her voice was full of caution.
She had probably switched from young lady mode to Magus mode in an instant. In the world of Magecraft, you could not judge someone's age by their appearance.
"My name is Shirou Amamiya."
"Never heard of you."
"..."
The conversation was going nowhere.
With no other choice, Shirou stated his purpose directly, hoping sincerity would get through to her.
"I want to find Touko Aozaki and ask her to make a prosthetic body for me.
I heard you were her friend, so I came here to ask if you could tell me anything..."
"..."
The moment Shirou said the name Touko Aozaki, the atmosphere around Alice Kuonji changed completely.
The cute little witch shot him a fierce look.
A chill ran through Shirou. Did I say something wrong?
He forced himself to continue.
"Touko Aozaki hasn't appeared in public for many years. Do you know anything about where she is?"
After a long silence, the witch of the mansion lowered her long lashes and replied flatly,
"Of course Touko can't show herself. She's dead.
Eight years ago, her younger sister killed her with her own hands."