Half an hour later, after seeing off Kayneth and Reines, who had witnessed summoning magic and gained inspiration to resume writing their manuscripts, Naoki sighed in relief, returned to Garan no Dou, and immediately sat down on the sofa. "Hah~ finally done. By the way, Master, how much longer are you going to keep looking at those jewels?"
"This is the first time even I've seen such luxurious items, so it's only natural to be curious and want to look at them longer."
Touko chuckled, picked up one of the jewels, and played with it a few times. "Truly befitting of a choice item from the Lord of the Mineral Department, the quality is excellent, a superb magic catalyst. If it were a Jewel Magecraft user, they might sell all their possessions to buy it."
"I don't know about other people, but I definitely wouldn't buy it."
"You?" Touko frowned. "Ah, that's right, you're a student of the Lord of the Mineral Department, do you know a bit about Jewel Magecraft too?"
"Wouldn't call myself an expert, at most I use jewels as bombs. I think that kind of Magecraft is a pure waste of money, completely useless."
"Preparing Mana... doesn't seem useful for you either."
Touko laughed, then after putting away the jewels, she said, "Just throw these jewels into the storage later, I don't need them right now either."
"Okay."
"By the way, there's one thing I'm quite curious about. That little girl named Reines called you Older Brother? What's that about?"
Hearing this, Naoki's expression immediately turned gloomy. After taking a sip of coffee, he said somewhat helplessly, "That... you could say it's a one-sided wish from Professor Kayneth and the El-Melloi family."
"Tell me more details."
"There are many reasons, but the most important one is because I'm a great first-generation Magus."
First-generation Magus.
There were no Magus in the family before, no lineage of Magecraft whatsoever; it was only in his generation that he coincidentally possessed magic circuits.
"As a first-generation Magus, my magic circuits are of a very good type: thirty main circuits, eight auxiliary circuits. According to the Clock Tower's standards, the quality is B. Of course, due to the influence of the Heroic Spirit over these past few years, it must have changed slightly."
Thirty main circuits, eight auxiliary circuits.
Hearing this, Touko couldn't help but feel a little surprised. "In that case, you are indeed very talented; after all, my magic circuits only total a little over twenty."
"But Master precision far exceeds mine. I've heard several times that Aozaki Touko's magic circuits possess extraordinary precision." Naoki laughed, "Good magic circuits, plus I also possess Mystic Eyes with a not-low rank. With the combination of the two, Professor Kayneth and the El-Melloi family wholeheartedly want to betroth me; the target is Reines."
"So that's how it is, a common situation in Magus families. So that 'older brother' address is just a little flavor between you? Like siblings?"
"That's just his bad taste; that kid's character is terrible, just like Merlin."
Naoki laughed bitterly twice.
"Well, even so, I have no intention of getting married at all. I am very grateful for Professor Kayneth's guidance, and if he needs help in the future, I will also do my best to assist. But specifically to marry a little girl who is ten years younger than me, forgive me."
"It's really something for you to say that, even though there's always a cute girl like Gray around you."
Smiling as she lit a cigarette, Touko continued to ask, "So when do you plan to leave?"
"Probably around these two days. Tomorrow I'll pack up... actually, there's nothing much to pack, just bringing a few clothes is enough."
"If you guys leave, this place of mine will become lonely."
Exhaling smoke, Touko's tone was a bit melancholic, "The most important thing is that there will be one less person cooking for me. You'll be gone for at least half a year, right? This will add a lot to my expenses, huh?"
Hearing that, Naoki raised his eyebrows.
'I thought it was because she's used to delicious food, but it turns out it's because she won't be able to save money?'
"Then Master should also learn to cook herself."
"Fool, food tastes best when someone else makes it. Don't you think most things are more useful when they belong to someone else? Even if the actual effect isn't necessarily better, there's definitely that feeling."
Naoki didn't expect Touko to be this kind of person.
Feeling Naoki's strange gaze, Touko couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. "What's with that look? Weird."
"No, I just suddenly had some ideas. Master doesn't need to worry."
Naoki said as he stood up.
"Then I'll go to my part-time job first. I'll buy groceries tonight; let's have something luxurious today. How about hot pot?"
"Sounds good. Buy a lot of meat."
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
'That person is coming back.'
On a bridge in Mifune City.
Recalling the few things she had coincidentally overheard before leaving Garan no Dou earlier, Shiki sneered slightly.
Naoki was going back to London.
This wasn't a big deal; after all, she had known for a long time. For Shiki, his departure wasn't too unacceptable either. After all, it was only for half a year, and for her, who had been alone for the past two years, a temporary separation was no problem at all.
However, Shiki felt there were some things she needed to discuss properly with him before he left—no, she should say she wanted to settle everything with him.
That's why she was standing here; this bridge spanning over the road was a path he would definitely take.
"Hmm? Shiki?"
Seeing Naoki appear at the end of the pedestrian bridge, Shiki chuckled softly. "Coming, idiot? Going to your part-time job?"
"Yeah, I also have to resign from the store. I'll probably have to leave the day after tomorrow. But I might be back in half a year, mainly just to increase my attendance count."
"Idiot. After your part-time job, accompany me somewhere." Shiki suddenly said.
"Don't worry, it won't take much time, just five or six minutes. With your speed, there's enough time to go buy groceries and cook."
Although a little confused as to why Shiki was making this request, Naoki still agreed. "Sure, but you have to tell me where we're going. Do you want me to accompany you to do something?"
"Almost, settling debts with you." Shiki sneered coldly, "You shouldn't have forgotten, right? There are still two debts between you and me that need to be settled."
With both hands in her jacket pockets, passing Naoki, Shiki gently bumped him with her shoulder. "The abandoned factory in district three. We'll settle those debts before you leave."