"Ah ha ha ha!... Ah ha ha ha!..."
The maniacal laughter, like that of a severe mental patient, echoed throughout the Tohno Family's luxurious study. Rin propped her face up, looking vexed, at the phone she held with the screen facing upwards. That neurotic laughter was coming from the other end of the call.
After a long while, when she heard the phone quiet down, Rin finally put it to her ear.
"I say, haven't you had enough? You've been laughing for twenty minutes straight after attending a funeral. What's going on?"
Aozaki Aoko's voice came through the receiver: "Hahaha... I can't help it! I just can't stop laughing when I think about you placing the old scoundrel Tohno Shinkyu's head on the altar and using it as an incense burner for his own memorial, in front of so many people! Hahahaha... And your acting when you read the eulogy, if I didn't know you were Tohsaka Tokiomi's daughter, I'd think you were Tohno Shinkyu's illegitimate daughter! And, and, where did you get so many wicked ideas? Having each person attending the memorial carve a hole in Tohno Shinkyu's head with a knife to insert incense! And then you smashed it to pieces with a passionate speech and a single punch! How much hatred do you two have?! You don't know, watching that whole funeral, I was shaking all over from holding back my laughter, I didn't know how good my relationship with the Tohno Family was, hahaha..."
Rin again moved the phone away from her ear and faced it upwards. She could now imagine Aoko on the other end of the phone, clutching the receiver and rolling on the floor. After the laughter subsided, she said, "It wasn't much hatred, I just found that old scoundrel an eyesore."
Indeed, truthfully, there was no animosity between Tohno Shinkyu and Rin. Unlike the Matou Family, who would harm Sakura in the future, Rin had no direct connection to Kohaku or Hisui. Rin simply found Tohno Shinkyu's harming of young girls an eyesore, which is why she targeted the Tohno Family.
If I find you an eyesore, I'll raid your home and wipe out your entire family. What's wrong with that? If you don't like it, then resist!
That seems a bit too much... "..."
"Alright, let's not talk about that. Instead of laughing, you should worry about yourself. Do you have the confidence to defeat your older sister now?"
"No."
"So direct. Then just sit there and wait for your sister to skin you, debone you, and make soup."
"Then will you and Alice just watch from the sidelines?"
"Of course not. To commemorate you, our deceased friend, Alice and I will definitely taste the soup made from you. That way, you'll live in our hearts forever."
"You mean live in your stomachs!!!"
"Don't worry, I will definitely not forget your taste, Aoko."
"Don't you dare remember it! You two man-eating witches who stand by and do nothing!!!"
"Hey, hey, hey, let's be reasonable. As friends, we've already been generous enough by not interfering with your Fifth Magic Crest, especially me, who doesn't even have a Magic Crest. And this is originally a family matter for your Aozaki Family, how can we interfere? I've even taught you my secret techniques, and I haven't even charged you tuition."
"Nonsense! Didn't I exchange Mana Burst with you for the Numerology Crest?!"
"That was just a skill exchange. Do you really think your blockhead of a brain could learn Mana Burst and use it in actual combat without my guidance and training? Oh, Miss Magic Water Balloon that leaks with a poke."
"Shut up! Who wants to be a monster like you, who masters it completely after just one look at a grimoire, and uses it even better than me?!" Aoko hugged the phone and lay on the carpet, flopping around like a live fish just thrown ashore. Alice, passing by with books, gave her a "look of concern for an idiot," then walked into the study as if she hadn't seen anything.
Rin held the phone in her right hand, while her left forearm, propped up, displayed nine Magic Crests like armbands. Each crest was distinct. A chaotic mass of wind, thunder, water, and fire appeared on her left hand. Compared to Aoko, that idiot who could only throw pure Magic Power bullets, Rin's precision control and Magic Power attribute conversion were immeasurably superior! However, Rin's Magic Circuits' durability and Magic Power circulation speed were not as exaggerated as Aoko's, making it impossible for her to throw Magic Power bullets in handfuls.
The Numerology Crest is a Magic system that is very suitable for Rin. The changes in this Magic depend on the user's imagination and can be arbitrarily transformed. The increase in power lies in the superposition and expansion of multiple crests, and End Magic corrects the precision and accuracy of each Magic Crest. In other words, Rin finally has a long-range method that she can freely control.
Moreover, the Numerology Crest itself is not a specific Magic but a Magic system. From small Magic Power bullets to grand forbidden spells, as long as you have enough Magic Power support and control, as well as sufficient understanding and imagination of the mysterious, you can accomplish it with the Numerology Crest!
In the original work/canon, Aoko relied on this move to dominate the entire Nasuverse, causing headaches for the entire mysterious world without them being able to do anything about it. Besides Magic Power bullets, there was also Ciel-senpai's "Numerology Crest: Heavenly Nest," and Roa's "Numerology Crest: Heavenly Thunderclap," both manifested as lightning. What Rin's hand will eventually become, only the gods know.
"So, work hard, young lady. If you don't want Alice and me to get a share, don't let your sister stew you. I can only help you this much. To think that the Aozaki Family's rare wind-attribute Magic Power can only be used for Magic Power bullets in your hands, I truly feel sad for the Aozaki Family ancestors."
"..."
After chattering with Aoko for a long time, Rin hung up the phone and leaned back exhaustedly in the luxurious, spacious study chair. The huge chair practically enveloped Rin entirely. Rin subconsciously closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, then suddenly opened her eyes, shaking her head with a wry smile, and murmured to herself, "I'm only six years old, how did I end up like an old woman? Or is it that my heart is already tired..."
Tired? Perhaps. Since arriving in this world, Rin had never truly rested, constantly striving with relentless self-motivation, unable to stop or slack off. She hadn't experienced the joys of a second childhood, nor had she sought the readily available parental affection, nor had she enjoyed any of the benefits of a transmigrator. Everything was for the regrets of her previous life, to change the tragic fates of those characters in the original work/canon.
Having saved Kohaku and Hisui, the next matter was Aoko and Touko's. Compared to the clear-cut plot, what should I do about this sister-on-sister conflict that has nothing to do with others?
Is it worth tiring myself out so much for others...? Rin, leaning back in the chair, mused silently, a weariness not shown to others rippling through her emerald-like, always firm green eyes.
Or maybe, let it be. After all, the ending of Mahoutsukai no Yoru isn't exactly a tragedy. Even if nothing changes, nothing irreversible will happen. Alice will be revived by Aoko's Fifth Magic, and Touko will simply be cursed by Aoko again, unable to return to her homeland.
Perhaps, this plot had nothing worth changing from the beginning. Maybe I should just let the original work/canon take its course... And just as she thought this, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her left arm, which was resting on the armrest of the chair! Blood directly splattered onto Rin's face...
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