Chapter 401

Emiya Kiritsugu: "Perhaps it was faked."

Waver: "Or perhaps some kind of memory-erasing magic was used."

【Touko Aozaki laughed: "Oh my, I performed plastic surgery for the Golden Princess? While it is both glorious and regrettable, I have absolutely no memory of such a thing."】

【"My memory is indeed rather poor, but must I now suspect myself of having dementia?"】

【"Please, check her first."】

【Waver took half a step back, clearing the space in front of Karina's corpse.】

【"Then I shall not stand on ceremony."】

【Touko Aozaki crouched down and began to examine the contours of the corpse's cheeks and the area behind her ears.】

【"... Yes, although it was the bare minimum, there are indeed traces of surgery on her face."】

【"If it were magical plastic surgery, depending on the ritual, there would only be indirect surgical traces. As long as one prepares healing magic, there is no need even for stitches, and it would be invisible in normal life."】

【A moment later, she spoke again: "Ah, I apologize for the trouble; this is undoubtedly my doing."】

【A single sentence caused an immediate commotion among everyone present.】

Rin Tohsaka: "So it really was, the previous Golden Princess was a disguise."

Caules: "Truly incredible."

Gordes: "To even replicate the ultimate beauty and aura of the Golden Princess through plastic surgery, as expected of a Crown-rank Mage."

【Touko Aozaki: "But why would I forget such an important matter?"】

【"It wasn't forgotten."】

【Waver said indifferently: "You simply don't remember it."】

【Touko Aozaki: "Oh?"】

【"Mr. Mio."】

【Waver looked toward the pharmacist Mio.】

【Mio: "Y-yes..."】

【Waver: "I heard you used a drunken drug at the venue at the beginning, right?"】

【Mio: "... Y-yes."】

【Waver: "Since that is the case, you should be able to concoct a drug that leaves no memory, shouldn't you?"】

【Mio: "Uh..."】

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "A drug that makes people lose specific memories—to think such a drug even exists."

Kayneth: "I have never heard of it; it must be something this Mio developed himself."

Shishigou Kairi: "Then this pharmacist Mio is truly impressive."

Empress: "Indeed, this child's talent for medicine is quite good."

Shirou Kotomine: "A pity he is now a murderer."

【Touko Aozaki: "Hmm, are you saying I unknowingly drank a drug that hinders memory?"】

【Waver: "No, I don't think you would be that careless. However, if taking such a drug was included in the terms of the commission, you would accept it depending on the situation, wouldn't you?"】

【Touko Aozaki: "I see, that would depend on how interesting the commission is."】

Kayneth: "She actually drank it herself? This woman is truly a lunatic."

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "She really isn't afraid of being plotted against."

【Waver looked at Byron and said: "Why commission her for plastic surgery? Why hinder Touko Aozaki's memory?"】

【Byron said in a deep voice: "This is not a complicated matter; it is because the news of the Golden Princess's death cannot be leaked. For this purpose, no matter how much the reward, one would hope for her rebirth. For instance, even if it is by the method of creating a phantasm."】

【"As for what ritual was used, it is also quite clear."】

【Waver lit a cigar and said: "It is most likely this."】

【Touko Aozaki laughed loudly: "Hahaha! Is it Cinderella? I see, so things were that simple?"】

【Waver: "That's right, once you understand it, things are very simple."】

【"Byron Baljelleta Izellma, Atrum Galliasta, I mentioned it just now, but let me ask again."】

【"Regarding the cursed object you bid on at the auction, may I have you explain it in detail again?"】

【Byron: "Hmph, as you please."】

【Atrum: "If it is necessary."】

【Waver: "Then I shall speak. The cursed object you were fighting over is related to a certain Heroic Spirit: a leaf of the Bodhi tree stained with dragon blood."】

【Although he didn't mention the name, everyone immediately knew who that Heroic Spirit was.】

Gordes: "Hmph, this question was already confirmed."

Feng Xi: "It's just a God's-eye view; nothing to be proud of."

【"Wait!"】

【Atrum seemed to have realized something and stood up abruptly.】

【Waver: "What is it? Is talking about the cursed object problematic after all?"】

【Atrum: "Did you just mention Cinderella? Could it be!"】

【Waver: "That's right. After all, it was stained with dragon blood; the Bodhi leaf shouldn't have been damaged by ordinary means. A certain mage deliberately used an unusual method to burn the leaf, turning the Bodhi leaf into a one-time-use ash."】

【"!!!"】

【Having received confirmation, Atrum glared at Touko Aozaki as if he were suffocating.】

【Not only him, but the other involved party was also clearly startled.】

Gordes: "What does that mean?! He's saying the Bodhi leaf was destroyed!"

Siegfried: "..."

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "To burn such a precious relic into ashes..."

Waver: "It seems this act was carried out behind everyone else's back."

Shishigou Kairi: "That old man Byron, his eyes are about to pop out."

Fiore: "After all, it was a relic bought at a high price and after offending the Galliasta family, and just like that, it's gone."】

Kayneth: "Touko Aozaki, this woman is truly wasting heavenly treasures."

【"Clang!"】

【Byron's cane slipped from his hand; he stared with wide, vacant eyes and said tremblingly: "How is it possible? Miss Aozaki, even for you, such a thing..."】

【"No, I would do it."】

【Touko Aozaki said indifferently: "So that's it. Using a Bodhi leaf stained with dragon blood to perform the Cinderella ritual—isn't the compatibility perfect?"】

【"Rather than a human becoming immortal, Siegfried's legend focuses more on the aspect of reincarnation as an immortal hero. As for Cinderella, it is even more so; makeup and dressing up are undoubtedly magic."】

【"In the stage of moving from dressing up to plastic surgery, the Bodhi leaf that had borne the reincarnation of a hero was too perfect a cursed object."】

【"Ugh, I really want to slice my head open to find out why I don't remember this."】

Darnic: "To think this woman is also a perfectionist."

Caules: "I don't understand at all. What kind of thinking is this? It's simply a loss that outweighs the gain."】

Fiore: "After all, it wasn't her own thing, so of course she wouldn't feel the pain of using it."】

【"Why..."】

【Byron said in disbelief: "Why, Miss Aozaki!"】

【"Because you requested this item as payment, I went to get it. Why use it for my commission? This is truly too strange!"】

【"Oh, is that so? Thank you for providing such a valuable treasure."】

【Touko Aozaki shrugged and said: "Although I forgot, if the Lord's deduction is correct, I know very well what I was thinking at the time."】

【"I received an interesting commission, but the quality of the result would clearly drop if I used the funds and materials prepared by the employer, so I used my own reward to create a work that satisfied myself."】

【"You see, very reasonable, right?"】

【Byron: "No one asked you to do it so exquisitely! I said from the beginning that just being able to get through that one night was enough!"】

【Touko Aozaki: "Oh my, you'll just have to accept it, because that is the kind of personality I have."】

【"..."】

【Except for the bitterly smiling Lord Baljelleta, almost everyone was speechless.】

Rin Tohsaka: "This is truly self-inflicted; the old man was finally played."

Waver: "It's just a pity about that Bodhi leaf, wasted just like that."

Kayneth: "Indeed, to use it on magic that can't even last a few days, Touko Aozaki, this woman is really..."

Emiya Kiritsugu: "The battle launched by the Galliasta family has suddenly become a farce." ===== CHAPTER 403 =====