Shinji Matou at Your Service

Silence.

The entire reception room fell into an eerie silence.

...

...

...

A few seconds later, a synchronized exclamation erupted from everyone, familiar and unfamiliar alike.

"Huh?"

No one expected Touko to say such a thing.

This was Touko Aozaki, after all. Even though she had left the Aozaki family and missed out on the position of Magician, she still climbed to the pinnacle of modern magecraft. She was on the Sealing Designation list but still lived freely. There were even rumors that the Carillon Observatory had given up on hunting her.

For a magus of her caliber to take a disciple, countless prestigious families would scramble to send their children, making it the biggest event in the new century's magecraft world.

Note that this is a disciple, not an ordinary student.

While Touko currently had a few students, they were all psychics and lacked the potential to become Magus. Touko served more as a guide to them, pointing them in the right direction but not teaching them much.

A disciple, however, is different. That person would inherit the magus' lifetime of knowledge, akin to the head of a magus family, the true successor in a martial arts school, and could even be considered an adopted son or daughter.

Everyone present understood the weight of Touko's words.

That's why they were silent.

That's why they were shocked.

"Are you serious?"

Akiha felt her brain couldn't keep up.

"Taking Satsuki-senpai as a disciple?"

"Do you think I'd joke about something like this?"

Touko shrugged, her attitude not seeming particularly serious.

"But, but why her?"

"This Ms. Satsuki like an ordinary person," Riesbyfe, known for her bluntness, spoke up.

"Ah, maybe it's not my place to say that."

"No, Ms. Satsuki... is not an ordinary person."

Sion seemed to have noticed something and pointed a finger at Satsuki's forehead.

"Ms. Sion!"

Shiki quickly stepped in, pulling Satsuki out of the line of Sion's extended finger.

"That's very rude."

"Ah, I'm sorry. I was just curious, so... I'm sorry," Sion apologized hurriedly.

"The alchemists of Atlas are still the same, impulsive when they see good material."

Hearing Touko's complaint, Sion lowered her head.

Akiha retorted directly, "Aren't you the same? I still remember how you looked the first time you saw Katou."

Touko countered without hesitation, "If you don't change that terrible personality of yours, you'll never get married."

"I don't want to get married."

Akiha stole a glance at Shiki and hummed pridefully.

"Um, well..."

Touko spoke timidly, "I'm just an ordinary person. I don't have any superpowers like you."

"That's because your power is still dormant, not yet awakened," Touko explained.

"Moreover, being involved in such events is not a coincidence. Even if the killer hadn't appeared, you would eventually get caught up in other mysterious events."

"Mysterious?"

"The so-called mystery, simply put, is something not yet deconstructed. Superpowers and magecraft are all part of the mystery. And there's a basic rule in the mysterious world—mystery attracts mystery. Understand? When you were drawn to Shiki, it indicated that you aren't an ordinary person."

"Ah!!!"

Satsuki's face instantly turned bright red. It wasn't about the theory of mysteries attracting each other; it was purely because her most secret thoughts had been exposed, making her feel shy.

The girl unconsciously glanced at the boy beside her and found that this dull guy remained as oblivious as ever, making her secretly breathe a sigh of relief. This scene also made Akiha begin to regret why she had helped cover for her and brought her back.

Touko ignored the young girl's inner turmoil and continued, "Regarding your potential—Ms. Sion, you've already detected it with your Etherlite, haven't you?"

"As expected of the Grand Puppeteer," Sion acknowledged frankly.

"The number of magic circuits exceeds fifty, which is quite an exceptional raw talent. Besides that, there seems to be some special potential, but because the mental link didn't hit precisely, no further conclusions were drawn."

"Just as I analyzed."

Touko nodded, her gaze toward Satsuki becoming more and more satisfied.

"Being attracted to Shiki probably has something to do with a commonality in their abilities. As for what exactly that is, it can be slowly unearthed in future lessons."

"But Satsuki hasn't agreed to be your disciple yet," Shiki reminded.

"Won't agree?"

Touko's lips curled into a mysterious smile.

"That's fine. For your sake, Shiki, I won't force her. However, I have two things to remind you of."

"First, the attraction of mysteries. As I mentioned, the incident with the killer wasn't merely a coincidence. This time you were lucky to be saved by Shiki and the others, but what about next time? And the time after that? Are you planning to protect her for the rest of your life, Shiki?"

Shiki opened his mouth but didn't make any promises.

Satsuki's face, which had just recovered, turned red again.

Akiha's expression grew increasingly stern.

"Second, the reason mysteries are called mysteries is because they are unknown. Therefore, the first rule of mysteries is concealment; they must not be known by ordinary people. According to tradition, ordinary people who witness mysteries must undergo mental manipulation to seal the related memories. Satsuki Yumizuka, if you have no intention of stepping into the world of mysteries, then I can only seal tonight's memory for you. Rest assured, my technique won't affect other parts of your memory. If you find my words untrustworthy, you can ask others."

Before Satsuki could ask, Riesbyfe and Sion had already answered.

"She's right."

"That's basic knowledge."

"Satsuki Yumizuka, are you willing to lose tonight's memory?"

Touko clasped her hands together, resting her chin on them. The lenses of her glasses, which had no prescription, reflected a glimmer of light, dazzling Satsuki's eyes.

"Now, tell me your answer."

"I—"

The answer had been decided the moment Satsuki stepped into the Tohno household. She wanted to get closer to Shiki, wanted to understand him more. Someone like her could never be willing to return to being an ordinary person, nor would she want to lose the memory of tonight.

"—I don't want to lose my memory. I agree to be your disciple and learn magic from you."

"It's not magic; it's magecraft," Touko corrected.

"There is a fundamental difference. Shiki, you explain it to Satsuki. Not just the difference between magic and magecraft, but all the basics of mysteries. You are, after all, her Senpai."

"Senpai!"

Satsuki's eyes sparkled.

"Don't forget that I'm also a Senpai!"

Akiha gritted her teeth in discontent.

"Kouhai!"

Satsuki playfully moved her lips, feeling for the first time that following Touko to learn might not be so bad.