Chapter 193: ·Unreal Beauty

"A Grand-ranked magus at twenty-something."

Danic felt a mix of envy and lament.

Although he held a Grand-level rank, it was not earned through true strength, but rather through years of his own deception.

Compared to Aozaki Touko, he was nothing but a failure.

["Aozaki, Touko!"]

Reines's expression changed drastically, and she said with a trembling tone, "You are the one under Sealing Designation..."

Gray tilted her head and asked, "Sealing Designation?"

Sealing Designation is a title given to magi who possess special talents, and it is also an edict issued by the Association.

For magecraft that cannot be mastered through simple study and research, because it is precious and can only be realized through one's lineage or constitution, and is limited to the possessor of that generation of magecraft, the Association issues an order to decide to personally preserve them permanently.

Of course, the above is the official and pleasant-sounding explanation.

In layman's terms, it means you are too much of a genius and your strength is too great, threatening the rule of the Jewel Jewel Mage's Association, so you cannot be allowed to continue growing; otherwise, what would happen if you slipped out of their control?

In the name of "protection," they detain and capture magi who possess rare talents or have committed taboos, imprisoning them for life.

From a certain perspective, it is no different from a specimen soaked in formalin.

Precisely because of this, a Sealing Designation is the greatest honor for a magus, but also a fatal brand.

After all, once you are "preserved," you cannot continue your research.

Magi outstanding enough to receive a Sealing Designation do not value their lives; on the contrary, it is impossible for them to give up their research.

Therefore, most magi who suffer a Sealing Designation retire, hide their tracks quietly, or hide within their own territories.

Sakura Tohsaka: "So this is, a Sealing Designation."

She had always heard her father say that if she were not adopted by someone else, she would be hit with a Sealing Designation, but she had no idea what a Sealing Designation actually was.

Now she finally knew.

Rin Tohsaka: "What is this, is having talent now considered a crime?"

Darnic: "To the Jewel Jewel Mage's Association, as long as they are not talented individuals from their own families, they are all guilty."

Zhang Jiao: "Sealing Designation, it's simply ridiculous; it's nothing more than a means for those in power to maintain their rule."

Kayneth: "If the Jewel Jewel Mage's Association didn't maintain order, this world would have been in chaos long ago."

Zhang Jiao: "Oh, don't tell me you want to say that my ZG is the same way."

Feng Xi: "Not at all, because ZG has the Mountain Range Court sitting at the very top, and the Spiral Tower also has a sufficiently powerful security team."

Rin Tohsaka: "What is the Mountain Range Court?"

Feng Xi: "It's an alliance composed of a group of true big shots. Simply put, it's a gang formed by a group of monsters above the Crown rank, and even the Spiral Tower has to act according to their wishes."

Rin Tohsaka: "Your ZG has such an organization, so doesn't the Jewel Jewel Mage's Association?"

Feng Xi: "They do, the Jewel Jewel Mage's Association also has the Atlas Institute and the Wandering Sea, but that's only in name. Those two organizations don't listen to the Jewel Jewel Mage's Association's orders at all."

Kayneth: "You brat, how do you even know about these things?"

Feng Xi: "Sorry, I'm the type of person who loves collecting all sorts of interesting information; people call me the 'Hundred-Know Scholar'."

["The Sealing Designation was lifted a few years ago."]

Touko Aozaki said in a flat tone.

Originally, once a Sealing Designation was issued, it was absolutely impossible to lift, but just a few years ago, the Clock Tower's oldest classroom responsible for issuing Sealing Designation orders—the Department of Rituals and Astronomy, "Carillon"—experienced a major incident worthy of the end of the century, which also had a violent impact on the Clock Tower as a whole.

It wasn't just Touko Aozaki; it is said that the Sealing Designations of several other people were also lifted at that time.

"A major event happened at the Observatory a few years ago!"

Hearing this news, Kayneth couldn't help but be shocked.

What kind of major event could it be to have even Sealing Designations, which had never been lifted before, revoked for several people?

["Nice to meet you, my name is Reines El-Melloi Archisorte."]

Reines introduced respectfully: "Gray, this person is the Crown rank I mentioned."

Gray: "!!!"

Touko Aozaki: "I know you. I have a bit of a connection with your El-Melloi faction because the previous generation El-Melloi asked me to do a little work for him."

Reines: "Are you referring to Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald?"

["That's right."]

Touko Aozaki lightly pressed her finger against her lips, playing coy.

Subsequently, her gaze fell on Gray.

["Oh my, you have an interesting face."]

"I sought out Touko Aozaki? When?"

Kayneth was completely bewildered; how was he involved in this?

He didn't remember having any contact with this woman, and the video showed events that happened after the Fourth Holy Grail War, while he had already died during the Fourth War.

So that meant he had contacted this woman during the Fourth War.

But he had already finished the complete story of "Fate/Zero," and there was no mention of Touko Aozaki.

"Director Kayneth's brain must be frying right now."

Feng Xi chuckled to himself.

During the Fourth War, Kayneth was crippled by Kiritsugu Emiya, and he had his family pay a high price to find Touko Aozaki to exchange for a pair of prosthetic limbs so that his hands could function again. This process was completely glossed over in "Fate/Zero," and Touko Aozaki's name didn't even appear.

So Kayneth probably couldn't think of when he had any intersection with Touko Aozaki even if he racked his brains.

[Just as Touko Aozaki reached out to touch Gray's cheek, the hall suddenly erupted in cheers.]

[It was the appearance of the Golden Princess of Izelma.]

[Seeing this, Touko Aozaki withdrew her hand.]

[On the spiral staircase leading to the second floor, like a part extending out to a terrace, stood a pair of maids with upright features, looking like twins.]

[The two maids pinched their skirts and curtsied, calling out in unison toward the back.]

["Lady Diadra..." / "Lady Estella..."]

["Please enter."]

[As those two figures slowly appeared, the senses of everyone present seemed to be lost in that instant.]

[That was an existence of absolute perfection; every adjective used to describe her became ridiculous, as if it were belittling.]

[There were no words to describe the beauty of the person who had arrived.]

[This was the famous Golden Princess, "Diadra Valuleta Izelma," and the veiled Silver Princess, "Estella Valuleta Izelma."]

[The magi present took several minutes to regain their senses, and several magi even dropped their wine glasses to the floor.]

[Even Reines, a girl, was the same; after coming to her senses, she didn't even notice that her own consciousness had been severed.]

And the people in the group were also silent when they saw the Golden Princess in the video.

Although Feng Xi had been mentally prepared, he couldn't help but be shaken.

As expected of the Golden Princess who could not be described in words, this was truly indescribably beautiful.

Gordes: "To think, there really is such a beautiful woman; she is simply the goddess Venus descended to earth."

Ishtar: "Hmm???"

Ishtar: "You fatty have absolutely no taste; how can such a fake face compare to this goddess's appearance."

Rin Tohsaka: "Mmhmm."

Feng Xi: "What are you nodding for? Isn't her face your face?"

Rin Tohsaka: "So what? Are you saying I'm not as pretty as this so-called Golden Princess?"

Feng Xi: "...Don't you know the term 'self-awareness'?"

Rin Tohsaka: "You're saying I lack self-awareness!"

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "Ahem, stop messing around, Rin."

Rin Tohsaka: "Father, were you staring blankly just now? Be careful, or I'll tell Mother."

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "!!!"

Feng Xi: "Haha, what a display of 'filial piety'."

First Emperor: "Indeed very beautiful, beautiful to the point where it cannot be described in words, but unfortunately, it is too fake."

Everything in the world has a scale, and beauty is no exception.

When a woman grasps the scale of beauty well, it is a peerless face that can topple nations, but once it exceeds this scale, it makes people feel a sense of falseness.

It is too beautiful, beautiful to the point where it doesn't seem real, but rather an illusory existence.

The Golden Princess, meticulously crafted by Izelma in pursuit of ultimate beauty, has clearly severely exceeded the scale.

["So that's it, that is the Golden Princess."]

[Touko Aozaki took off her glasses, lowered her eyes, and said: "Although I've heard the rumors, I didn't expect it to reach such a realm; even I have to admire the history of Izelma."]

[Reines and the other girl were a bit strange, because Touko Aozaki's tone at this moment was completely different from before.]

["Yeah, I was a bit shocked too, so I switched."]