The temperature was low early that morning, and the Kuonji Mansion was wrapped in mist.
"Alright, nothing was left behind in this era, right? Then get ready for the time jump."
In the open space of the courtyard, the Magician finished her final check on the boy.
"Alice, is there anything else you want to tell Shirou?"
"I'm not Amamiya-kun's mother."
The witch answered coldly, lowering her head and breathing warm white air onto her gloved hands.
Shirou had heard that Alice hadn't wanted to come out this morning in the first place. Aoko had dragged her out of bed by force.
Seeing how indifferent Alice was acting toward him, Shirou could not help recalling that "suggestion" from last night.
"From this moment on, no matter what happens, Alice Kuonji will obey any command from Shirou Amamiya."
She had actually placed such a powerful self-suggestion on herself, something close to a Curse.
Shirou understood that it was to keep "the Alice of the past" from interfering with his mission, but did she really have to go that far?
Wouldn't that mean Alice-san would have to obey his every word for the rest of her life...?
Shirou asked nervously, "Alice-san, um... you were joking about that, right?"
"You don't believe me, Amamiya-kun? Then shall we test it right now?"
Alice placed a finger against her softly curving chest and gave him a provocative smile.
"No matter how outrageous or rude your request is, I will obey it absolutely... because it's an order from you, Amamiya-kun. My Master, after all."
"..."
Later, Shirou had found an excuse and fled Alice's room in a panic.
He had spent all night wondering how he was supposed to face her the next morning, only for her to act as though nothing had happened at all.
That just made him feel like the fool for agonizing over it all night.
Shirou thought irritably, Sure enough, Alice-san was just messing with me last night.
That stuff about "absolute obedience" doesn't exist at all...
Just as Shirou was about to complain, he saw Alice raise one finger to her lips.
Shh.
Then the witch shaped the words silently with her lovely lips.
"A secret shared by the two of us alone."
Shirou: "..."
It seemed that suggestion really had been real.
"There may be a very intense shock to your consciousness next, so be ready, Shirou."
As Aoko spoke, a massive and gorgeous Magic Circle spread out beneath her feet.
Shirou took a deep breath. "Yeah, I understand."
"Alright. Then we're starting. Reverse Operation·1989, go! Shirou!"
Amid a boiling blue gale that roared toward the sky, Shirou's consciousness was swallowed by white light.
Endless streams of light surrounded him.
Somewhere far away, he seemed to hear the clear ringing of a bell.
But soon, his skin could no longer feel heat or cold, and even sound and temperature seemed to disappear.
One star after another shot past him at tremendous speed.
The individually limited time reversal had been established.
A few seconds later, the planet's gravity caught hold of Shirou once more.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a forest.
Looking up toward the top of the hill, Shirou saw the familiar mansion.
"Good. The coordinates are correct."
This was a hill in Misaki City, Japan, on the third planet of the solar system.
Shirou took a pocket watch from his pocket. It was a Mystic Code Aoko had given him.
Its effect was nothing special. The instant he opened the lid, the clockwork inside would automatically calibrate itself to the local time. It was a small gadget the Fifth Magician had made during her travels around the world so she could conveniently keep track of time.
"Good. These coordinates are correct too."
Now all he had to do was quietly wait for his encounter with Aoko and the others.
Shirou recalled part of a conversation from one of their planning meetings.
...
Aoko: "Stop! This is the biggest problem."
Shirou: "What is?"
Aoko: "Shirou, once you jump back to 1989, how are you planning to explain the situation to Alice and me?"
Shirou: "I'll just tell you who I am and where I came from. I'll tell the Aoko of the past that I was sent by future Aoko-nee-san."
Aoko: "Alright, zero points."
Shirou: "Why?"
"Because that's way too suspicious, obviously! You idiot, Shirou!"
Aoko hooked an arm around Shirou's neck, and the two soft, ample mounds of her chest crushed right against his face, nearly suffocating the boy.
Alice, standing to the side, sighed. Only after tormenting him for a while did Aoko finally let Shirou go and continue.
"Think about it. Say one day, some unknown intruder appears in your city.
You're all tense and getting ready to investigate, and then suddenly some suspicious brat comes right up to you. What would you do?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Shirou answered, "First, I'd protect him."
Aoko pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation. "...Sorry, I forgot that's the kind of person you are."
Shirou wanted to say he was not some hopelessly soft-hearted idiot who helped every person he met, but unfortunately, that really did seem to be the impression he had left on Aoko and Alice.
In a lecturing tone, Aoko said, "Shirou, maybe that's what you would do, but Alice and I are different.
We would treat that person as an enemy and eliminate them without hesitation, because we're Maguses."
"Really?"
Shirou was highly skeptical.
Based on what he knew of Aoko and Alice, they might be suspicious at first, but they would not give up on communication entirely and attack without hearing anything out. They would still be willing to listen to an explanation.
And besides, Shirou could not help feeling...
"If it were me... I think the Aoko and Alice of the past would be pretty easy for me to persuade."
The instant he said that, Aoko's beautiful face darkened, and Alice shot him a glare too.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Huh?"
"Are you saying Alice and I would be easy for you to handle?"
"No, that's not what I meant... why are you suddenly getting mad, Aoko-nee-san?"
"Hmph~"
Aoko puffed out her cheeks.
She was already twenty-five and still acted like this. What a pain...
Shirou hurriedly declared that he would follow the organization's arrangements in full.
"Anyway, once you go back to the past, you absolutely have to gain Alice's and my trust first... only after that can you tell us your identity and your purpose. You cannot get that order backwards."
"Got it, but Aoko-sensei, how exactly am I supposed to do that?"
"Well..."
Aoko grinned mischievously.
"In fairy tales, isn't there only one way to win a girl's trust?"
The moment he saw that smile, Shirou had a very bad feeling about this. "What way?"
"A hero saving the beauty, obviously. A hero saving the beauty."
Aoko patted the boy on the shoulder.
"Let Alice and me see your cool side, young knight~♡"
...
"Haa..."
Shirou let out a helpless sigh.
Following the information Aoko had given him, he headed for the place where the "hero saving the beauty" event would be triggered.
...
...
Evening was the fixed time for lessons at the Kuonji Mansion.
Alice spent two hours giving Aoko her lessons for the day. After that, they ate the dinners they had each prepared, then, as usual, idled away the last after-dinner stretch of the day.
"At this rate, it'll be a tropical rainforest by next summer."
Looking out at the waist-high weeds beyond the window, Aoko suggested, "Hey, Alice, can't we just hire professional cleaners?"
"We could probably find some if we looked, but it would take time."
Brushing off her housemate's suggestion, Alice ran her pale fingertips across the mirror resting on the table.
Suddenly, ripples spread across the "Second Ticket: Mirror of Slumber" like water, and within its wave-like surface appeared a city, along with countless forests, plains, and mountains.
"Oh, it's already switched from mansion mode to Misaki mode."
With a chocolate in her mouth, Aoko leaned in toward the mirror.
Watching the ripples on its surface, Alice said, "Yes. The management here is a bit more careless, but I still switched it over to Misaki City... because it's been much cloudier since yesterday. The progress is slow, but this place really is being encircled little by little."
"By encircled, you mean their numbers have increased?" Aoko asked, tensing.
"Besides the one we've already caught, there have been sightings of two more suspicious individuals. One in the city, and two in the forest on the outskirts."
"Hah, then your sighting reports should be right. So which side is more troublesome?"
"The forest side. We're trying to catch them, but they seem to have noticed we're watching them, so they refuse to take the bait."
"I see. Then are we setting a trap tonight?"
"We are."
At Alice's answer, a resolute light flashed through Aoko's eyes.
For the rookie Magus Aoko Aozaki, this would be her first real battle.
Two years ago, the girl had stepped into this world.
From that moment on, the course of her life had been completely rewritten.
Aoko bit down on the fear and confusion in her heart together with the chocolate and swallowed it all.
Ever since she declared, "I've made up my mind," on the night of the school's founding anniversary, she had cleanly and decisively completed the transformation of both body and mind.
Alice lowered her head slightly, acknowledging the strength of her housemate and apprentice.
"..."
Aoko's mentality made Alice, who shared the same goal, feel she could rely on her.
No, rather than reliable, it made her happy.
After all, it had taken her more than a year to finally bring Aoko onto the same stage where she stood.
It was strange. Her roommate bore the same fate as she did, yet she was also an opponent not to be underestimated.
The two of them would never truly understand each other. Someday, they would pour every bit of the inheritance they had each received into trying to kill one another.
But if they could not even stand as equals first, then none of it would mean anything.
So right now, Alice felt sincerely glad to see her growth.
"...Sorry, but leave tonight's enemy to me.
Aoko, all you need to do is watch from the side. Your chance to fight will come later."
"Alright, alright, I got it, Alice."
"Then hurry up and get ready. Meet at the front door in half an hour."
Draining her black tea in one gulp, Alice left the living room and headed for her room.
...
...
To this day, Misaki City is still covered by vast stretches of forest.
Urbanization may have been pushed forward, but out on the outskirts, nature still breathes in silence.
No matter how savagely humanity develops, the greenery that holds true power continues to live on with stubborn resilience, building a domain of Mystery that feels almost eternal.
This forest is one of those places.
For years it has stood neglected on the outskirts, right at the boundary between Misaki Town and Misaki Hill.
Now it serves as a refuge for beasts with nowhere else to go.
Every local city has a place like this, an ordinary forest of no return.
Although she had been told tonight was only for observation and field training, Aoko still excitedly put on her battle outfit.
Her upper half was clad in a dress-like garment that showed off her perfect figure, while her lower half was wrapped in black tights and over-the-knee boots. Her long, shapely legs radiated the healthy beauty of someone her age.
Aoko followed behind a small, slender figure, watching the slightest movement in the area with total concentration.
The young girl in the black coat moved with light, graceful steps, passing calmly through the swaying shadows of the trees. It was the witch who lived on the mountain.
The two of them made their way deeper into the forest, and before long they came upon two eerie figures.
They looked to be over 1.8 meters tall, and roughly male.
Aoko thought to herself, Are they human...? No, something's wrong.
The babbling of the stream sounded like the crackling of a bonfire.
On the far side of a stream no deeper than their ankles, the two creatures that should never have existed in this forest finally stepped into the moonlight.
Compared to the "Slit-Mouthed Woman" rumored around Misaki lately, these enemies looked a hundred times more grotesque.
They were two faceless men with huge crescent-shaped gashes for mouths.
There were no features on their heads at all. Inside each crescent mouth, a single giant eyeball rolled about.
"Good evening. Is there anyone among you who understands human speech?"
The girl in black asked in an even tone.
The two Slit-Mouthed Men ignored her attempt to speak and slowly crept toward her like snails.
Alice tilted her head slightly.
"...I see. So you're only gravekeepers, and your job is just to keep watch.
But judging by the look of you, you should already be full-fledged Magi. That would still be too much for Aoko to handle."
Ordinarily Aoko would have snapped right back, but now, in front of these horrifying enemies, the future Magician did not even dare breathe too loudly.
Alice's expression did not change. In her hand appeared a glass cat ornament blacker than the night, its eyes shining with an ominous red light.
"!"
The first emotion the Slit-Mouthed Men showed was wariness and fear.
"Farewell, guests. Parting takes only an instant, so let me be the one to bid you goodbye."
The witch's words filled them with a chill that sank to the bone.
The glass cat charm slipped from the girl's hand, but it was not a motion of dropping or throwing it away. It was some kind of ritual, or perhaps a gesture of suggestion.
The Slit-Mouthed Men had no ears, no mouths, and no brains, yet even so, they sensed it. At this moment, and in the next one, some horrifying miracle was about to crush them to pieces.
Ripples spread out from beneath the black-clad girl's feet, radiating through the entire forest. Everything here became her world, and a silent rhythm continued to spread.
"Come. Let's play tag, doll."
A bell-like song rang out through the white forest, and the freezing current that had locked the woods in ice dissolved into the girl's voice.
Then the banquet of night began.
"My, you certainly kept me waiting!"
"Come on. Little Red Riding Hood has arrived!"
A black-and-white Ploy Kickshaw appeared. A piglet shaped like a piggy bank stood guard at the girl's side. Its utterly harmless appearance made the Slit-Mouthed Men forget their fear, and they lunged at her.
Blades slid out from the Slit-Mouthed Men's long sleeves, and the two lively little pigs charged straight at them.
"!?"
The moment a piglet was cut in half, its body split cleanly from head to tail and turned into a giant crocodile's jaws, clamping down on the enemy's arm and robbing him of his freedom.
The Slit-Mouthed Man decisively severed his own arm, flinging it aside together with the piglet, then kept charging at Alice.
In the next instant, true terror descended.
"...London Bridge is broken down, Broken down, Broken down. London Bridge is broken down, My fair lady..."
To the sound of a Mother Goose nursery rhyme, a massive shadow engulfed the entire forest.
This was no metaphor. A giant had truly appeared.
Countless vines stretched up from the ground. In the shape of a bridge, a bizarre phenomenon rose like a gigantic arm from the earth, ignoring every physical limit. The towering colossus blotted out everything in sight, fixed upon the target it was meant to destroy, then came sweeping in with hurricane force and crushed the Slit-Mouthed Man's body.
This was one of the Great Three Ploys that Alice Kuonji had inherited from her mother, Meinster. The Giant of the Bridge [Thames Troll].
In terms of raw frontal combat power alone, it was unquestionably the strongest of all Ploy Kickshaws. Its only weakness was that it could only be summoned near a water source.
As this fantasy construct bearing more than two thousand years of Mystery brought down its iron fist of judgment, the Slit-Mouthed Man met his death without the slightest resistance.
"...Looks like it's over. Good work, come back, Bridge. Hopefully next time it'll be somewhere a little more respectable."
The girl turned lightly around.
"Hey, what about us!? What about us!?"
The battle had already ended, yet the two little pigs were still clamped onto the severed arm, spinning around on the ground and snorting noisily.
"The arm, his arm, we can't let go!"
"How mean. Just because piggies can't fly anymore, you're going to ignore us?"
"Yeah, before we break at least praise us once!"
Alice stepped around the noisy twins and walked toward the nearby stream.
The girl removed her black gloves and dipped her slender fingers into the icy water.
The chattering piglets vanished at once, and two black dice appeared in her hand.
Chatty Twins.
Supposedly, it was a high-level PLOY that could take forms ranging from mammals to birds.
The brothers transformed into different shapes depending on the number rolled on the dice.
Alice, however, had never seen them take any form other than piglets, and their only function seemed to be biting onto an opponent and never letting go.
"They say I absolutely mustn't roll a six, but it never rolls anything except six anyway. Maybe next time I should try cheating."
Just as Alice turned around to greet her housemate, who was only there to observe and learn.
The forest, which had fallen quiet, suddenly began to shake violently.
Alice's eyes widened as she looked toward the disturbance. A third Slit-Mouthed Man shot out from deep within the forest like a spring-loaded doll.
...I let my guard down!
The girl cursed inwardly.
Worst of all, this time the enemy was not charging at her. It was going straight for Aoko.
The long blade flashed silver in the moonlight, carving a shrill whistle through the air.
The Thames Troll had already been withdrawn, and Alice had no time to react. She could only watch as the third Slit-Mouthed Man lunged at Aoko.
"——"
Aoko froze for a brief moment at the sight of the monster rushing at her, but she quickly regained her composure.
...Should I run?
A stupid question.
"This much, I can handle!"
It was both a warning to her companion and a declaration to herself.
Grinding her teeth, Aoko took one firm step forward.
She raised her right hand before her face and ignited her Magic Crest.
A scorching blue light burst from her wrist through her clothes.
But the Slit-Mouthed Man was already right in front of her. In the next second, the blade would come down.
Even if Aoko managed to launch an attack at this distance and got lucky enough to kill him, there was no way she would come out unharmed. The backlash would wound her too.
And yet there was not a trace of fear on Aoko's composed face.
A thing like life... she had thrown it away two years ago.
Staring straight at the omen of death, the girl shouted in fury.
"At worst we die together... I'll take you down with me!"
"Hmph. Die if you want. But before that, move right."
From behind Aoko came the voice of a boy, both unfamiliar and strangely familiar.