Chapter 705

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "..."

【Heartless: "This is the first time I have formally greeted you, Miss Aozaki."】

【Aozaki Aoko: "I heard the name Dr. Heartless back in my student days. At the time, I had almost no contact with the Modern Magecraft Department, and looking back now, I feel quite regretful... No, but you have shown me something very interesting."】

【Heartless: "Are you referring to the rift leading to Albion?"】

【Aozaki Aoko: "Don't play dumb, former Department Head. You went out of your way to break in here using a Noble Phantasm. The rift is only a part of it. Compared to me, who just arrived, you should know better than anyone what kind of nature this place itself possesses, right?"】

【"For instance, the Wandering Sea 'Podandes'. For instance, the Sea of No Return leading to the Other World (a famous anomaly in Western Europe, an abyssal sea area that swallows everything)."】

【"Although their principles differ, the results are very similar to this time. It's like carbonated water, a bubble floating up with a glug. What I love to drink is sweet, syrupy soda in glass bottles; do they still put marbles in Ramune bottles these days?"】

【"The map of Human Order on the surface likely hasn't strictly determined the coordinates of the Spirit Tomb Albion. The coordinates sway and fluctuate, moving irregularly. This uncertainty of coordinates is similar to the dynamics of modern scientific quanta. Because it doesn't depend on reality, it can, conversely, exist anywhere. A piece of terrain from the Spirit Tomb Albion, originally located dozens of kilometers underground, could simultaneously exist near the surface."】

【"In other words, although it is extremely irrational, this isolated space itself is wandering within the Spirit Tomb Albion."】

【"Bubbles separated from Albion are born and then vanish, vanish and then are born. These bubbles born in such a way are connected to the main body of Albion, yet they disappear shortly after, which is why neither the mages of the Zhong Ta nor the survivors of the Burial Agency have noticed until now."】

【"However, you, as the former Head of the Modern Magecraft Department, know. You know that these bubbles appear beneath the old school building... How is my deduction?"】

【Heartless: "Hmm... You really are impressive, Grand Puppeteer."】

Kayneth: "So it was temporary, not permanent."

Waver: "But Miss Aozaki saw through the essence of this place in an instant; she really is amazing."

Kayneth: "After all, a Grand Mage isn't just a title."

Extra Feng Xi: "This is where I should tag a certain mage surnamed Da."

Kayneth: "..."

Fiore: "Mr. Extra Feng Xi, my uncle is already dead, so please stop making jokes about him. Besides, his surname isn't Da."

【"Hey, hey, Princess, if that's the case..."】

【After hearing Aozaki Aoko's analysis, Svin whispered.】

【Reines: "Hmm, if so, this confirms the smuggling suspicions in Norwich from the past."】

【Heartless's source of funding had long been shrouded in mystery; whether it was the funds provided to Euvie at the Magecraft Train's Mystic Eye auction, or helping Izelma bid for Siegfried's Bodhi leaf, the amounts spent on these two matters were not something an ordinary wealthy person could just pull out at will.】

【However, since such a space exists where one can periodically harvest cursed bodies from Albion, there is nothing to be surprised about.】

【But why is Heartless heading to the Spirit Tomb Albion now? Why go as far as destroying the Slur and using a Noble Phantasm?】

Waver: "Indeed, why so urgent? Why go to such lengths to cause such a commotion?"

Tohsaka Rin: "Is time running out?"

Waver: "He shouldn't be the type to make such a mistake."

【Heartless: "So, Miss Aozaki. What is your business here?"】

【Aozaki Aoko: "Hmm. I accepted a small search commission. Although this kind of commission suitable for explorers doesn't really suit me, I have to consider human favors. The content of the commission is to search for your disciples."】

【"I'll ask straight out: what did you do to your former disciples?"】

【Heartless: "What do you mean by 'what did I do'?"】

【Aozaki Aoko: "I didn't ask a difficult question. I am purely asking you, whose disciples were they, former Department Head?"】

【"What does this mean?"】

【Aozaki Aoko's words left Reines feeling confused.】

Tohsaka Rin: "Hmm? What does that mean?"

Waver: "... Does this mean those five weren't Heartless's disciples? Could the investigation data be wrong?"

Kayneth: "Or perhaps, this Heartless is the problem."

Waver: "How is that possible? That would be too chaotic."

Shishigou Kairi: "It's starting to get nonsensical again, leaving one confused."

【"What a headache."】

【Heartless frowned and said: "I told them to dedicate their lives to the most brilliant things. And they possessed brilliance worthy of that. Thus, both sides received the results they deserved."】

【Aozaki Aoko: "I see. That's excellent. Since you say they received the results they deserved, that's great. However, if that's the case, why are you heading to Albion? Why leave the position of Department Head and spend ten years causing such an incident?"】

【Heartless smiled faintly: "The reason is boring. Even if you asked any other mage, they would likely give the same answer. This reason is truly too boring—too trivial. It's no different from a reason like pricking your finger on a thorn while picking a flower."】

【Aozaki Aoko said directly: "Do you remember a disciple named Kuro?"】

【Upon hearing this name, Heartless showed no reaction at all.】

【Aozaki Aoko: "Including the missing ones, I could track the footprints of your other disciples until recently; only for the disciple with that name could I find no information. The last piece of information was about ten years ago. On the eve of your retirement from the Zhong Ta's Department Head position."】

【Heartless: "..."】

【For an instant, it was as if invisible blades crossed between Heartless and Aoko.】