Chapter 168: I Need Materials

Since signing the contract, cough, no, the labor contract—no, it's not that either, it's an employment contract—Touko naturally had to work for her employer.

With motivation, Touko, who became serious, and the aimless, careless Touko were completely different people. Thinking back to the past, when she broke ties with her family, Touko was practically starting from scratch. Afterward, she traveled to the Clock Tower to study, and upon gaining citizenship in the Mage's Association, she found herself burdened with a huge debt. However, she managed to repay all her debts in just two years and even made a significant name for herself. It was evident how terrifying Touko could be when she put her mind to it.

Now, Touko had a new motivation, one even stronger than repaying her debts, and the passion that arose from it was astonishing.

Shinji was very satisfied with the attitude of the new employee and wasted no time in assigning her the first task—to treat Fujino's eye condition and take care of her health.

As a puppeteer capable of reconstructing human bodies, Aozaki Touko's understanding of human anatomy was remarkable. Although she wasn't a doctor, her medical skills surpassed that of any physician. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she could handle matters of "life and death, flesh and bones." A mere "opticospinal syndrome," which was Fujino's eye condition, was nothing to speak of.

As for the damage caused by long-term use of painkillers, it wasn't a significant problem for Touko. It just meant a longer period of treatment and more frequent check-ups.

Within a few days, Fujino's opticospinal syndrome had already been cured, and her overall complexion had improved significantly.

During this time, Byakuya also completed the investigation and negotiation with the Asakami family.

Among the contemporary ESP abilities of the Asakami family, only Fujino possessed such powers. The higher-ups of the Asakami family were more than willing to sever ties with Fujino, whom they considered a "child of a monster," and readily accepted the offer from the Matou family to "buy" her.

Byakuya didn't hold back and wrote a large check. As the person with the highest emotional intelligence in the Matou family, Byakuya knew well that Shinji wanted to secure Fujino firmly under the Matou family's banner.

How to bind someone?

Coercion and temptation were mediocre methods. The highest form was a kind of spiritual control akin to "belief."

For a pitiful girl like Fujino, who had lost her sense of pain and had been constantly subjected to malice from her surroundings, what could bind her the most was the warmth and kindness of the human heart.

The attention and recognition given by Shinji, the friendship and respect given by Sakura, all made Fujino feel amazed and intoxicated. Byakuya's task was to add fuel to the fire.

He could lower the price, but he didn't. He could even raise it, all to let Fujino know at the right time how much the Matou family had sacrificed for her, how important she was to them, and to make her wholeheartedly see the Matou family as her true home.

Perhaps some people might say that this approach is cunning, insincere, and even despicable. And Shinji won't deny it. But as long as the Matou family truly values Fujino and treats her well, what's wrong with employing some strategy? What does it matter if they stoop low for the sake of the Matou family's future and development?

And so, Fujino smoothly became a member of the Matou family.

Shortly after, Touko received her second assignment—to guide Fujino in mastering her own ESP ability.

Fujino's ability originates from her eyes, and eyes with such special powers are called "Mystic Eyes" in the Type-Moon world. Mystic Eyes can be divided into two types: Artificial Mystic Eyes and Inherent Mystic Eyes.

Artificial Mystic Eyes refer to turning one's eyeballs into magical circuits, transforming the passive function of receiving external information into the active ability to influence the outside world. In other words, all targets within the line of sight will be affected by magic; if the target directly gazes into the Mystic Eyes, the magical effect will increase exponentially.

Although those familiar with Mystic Eyes know that they should not be directly stared at and that being seen by Mystic Eyes will result in falling into the opponent's magic, it is difficult to judge from appearances whether someone possesses Mystic Eyes. They are hard to defend against, making them highly practical in all forms of magecraft. However, the difficulty level of this endeavor is also quite high, so possessing Artificial Mystic Eyes is considered proof of being a top-class magus.

However, at best, Artificial Mystic Eyes only possess the ability to charm and suggest. Anything beyond that, abilities that cannot be replicated by magecraft, are the second type: Inherent Mystic Eyes. Inherent Mystic Eyes can be either innate at birth or awakened later due to an accident.

Compared to Artificial Mystic Eyes, Inherent Mystic Eyes come in a greater variety and possess stronger abilities. Fujino's Mystic Eyes belong to this category, while Touko's Mystic Eyes belong to both categories, stacked upon each other.

That's right, Touko also possesses Mystic Eyes, and they have undergone artificial modification based on her innate Inherent Mystic Eyes. To the best of Shinji's knowledge, no human knows more about Mystic Eyes than Touko. As Fujino's teacher, she was the most suitable candidate for this task.

For this assignment, Touko devoted herself with utmost passion. Each Inherent Mystic Eye is a precious specimen, and Fujino's Mystic Eyes are even more treasured, worthy of being listed as "Designated Seal" material. Even without Shinji's assignment, Touko would be willing to guide Fujino. Such excellent material, if left neglected, would be the greatest disrespect to the Creator.

Touko jokingly mentioned that she would take Fujino as her disciple, but unexpectedly, Fujino agreed for real. These few days in the Matou residence were the happiest, most blissful, and most relaxed days Fujino had experienced in the past twelve years.

She regained her sense of pain and understood what it felt like to be cared for.

There was no discrimination, no disgust, only equality and respect.

Fujino's scarred and weary heart quickly surrendered to the longing for warmth. She loved this place and wanted to stay here forever. After confirming that following Touko and learning from her would make her stronger, she wholeheartedly became Orange's disciple.

Shinji was pleased with the outcome. Perhaps Touko's motives for accepting Fujino were not entirely pure, but this bond between master and disciple could also become a connection to her "unrestrained breeze." With a bond, no matter how far the wind blows, it will never lose its direction. Shinji had confidence in Fujino, himself, and the Matou family.

After a brief and formal initiation ceremony, the group returned to Fuyuki City. Before this, Byakuya had already purchased a small building in the city center for Touko. Although it was located in a bustling area, it was adjacent to the fourth major leyline node of Fuyuki City, making it an ideal place for magi to establish their workshops.

In this brand new workshop, Touko made a new request to Shinji:

"I need materials!"

"What kind of materials?"

"To create the bodies of Lady Justeaze and Miss Irisviel. I need the materials."

"Give me a list, and I'll arrange it as soon as possible."

"The problem is, I don't even know exactly what I need."

"Huh? Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not. The souls of artificial humans and their vessels are different from humans. If it were a regular artificial life form, even without physical information, I could reverse-engineer and reconstruct it. But these two are artificial humans from the Einzbern family, and their family's technology has significant differences from the currently existing systems. Even I can't calculate without samples."

"So, you need samples."

"Yes."

"Any specific requirements?"

"No restrictions. Any human tissue that carries the Einzbern technology will do. I just need to get a general direction."

"Is that enough?"

"It's sufficient. Who do you think I am?"

With a confident push of her glasses, Touko's brilliance as a Master Dollmaker was fully revealed.

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