Aozaki Aoko Case File

"Staying together isn't a bad idea," Merem Solomon, letting out a sigh of relief as he sat on the sofa in the luxurious suite's living room. "The Church and some other Ancestors have gone completely crazy this time, mobilizing far more power than usual. Even for Princess, there's a real risk of failure."

To the side, Arcueid seemed a little unconvinced and was arguing with Merem about her strength, but Aoko had fallen into deep thought.

Vlov Arkhangel had killed hundreds of ordinary people practically right under her nose. Although Aoko didn't feel any inexplicable guilt over it, it was undoubtedly her mistake—and Aoko didn't like making mistakes.

After learning that Touko had casually taken down Nrvnqsr Chaos, who also possessed the Principle, Aoko admitted she had let her guard down. She had underestimated Vlov's tenacity as a knight.

Or rather, the way her magic bullets functioned in combat made her poorly suited to dealing with someone like Vlov, allowing him to cause more trouble than he should have.

If she had been able to increase her output power while still inside the hotel, the casualties might have been limited to just the security personnel on the first floor. Unfortunately, if Aoko had unleashed her full power in the hotel corridors, it was likely she would have ended up killing the guests herself.

From the intelligence she had received, Aoko had initially dismissed Vlov with contempt before encountering him. But that ice idiot had taught her a lesson, showing her that even an old dog still had some sharp teeth.

Given this, she needed to prepare in advance for the potential appearance of [Castle, therefore kingdom] and [Einnashe] in the city. At the very least, she needed a decisive trump card that could immediately eliminate them the moment they showed up.

Otherwise, given the nature of Einnashe, the damage it could cause would be orders of magnitude greater than Vlov's.

While Aoko was lost in thought, Merem had already informed Touko and Arcueid about the Church's movements.

"...Mario seems completely unhinged right now," Merem said with a frown. "I don't know what's gotten into him, but he's gathered most of the Executors in Japan, along with some brought over from the Vatican. His goal is to kill the Princess—and the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors. But all of us know how difficult that is."

"Why would that priest do this?" Touko asked, puzzled. "According to the intel, Arcueid was cooperating with the Church before, wasn't she?"

"She still is," Merem replied with a helpless shrug. "That's precisely why I said Mario seems to have lost his mind. He's probably desperate to achieve some kind of merit, but even that reasoning doesn't hold much water."

Hmm... Aoko thought carefully. Based on the information she had, Mario's abilities could be summarized into two main points. First, his skill in calling reinforcements, using his position as the heir to Cardinal Laurentiis to summon Executors. This, in practice, didn't pose much of a threat to the three of them. If there was anything to worry about, it might be the conceptual armaments stored within the Holy Church.

The second point was the origin of Mario's title as Puppeteer. He wielded a Mystic Code called the Piano Machine, which allowed him to control a target to fight on his behalf.

In the original timeline, Mario had used this relic to manipulate Noel and Arcueid to battle. However, its limitations were clear—it couldn't control overly powerful targets. Otherwise, Arcueid would have resolved the issue herself.

What's more, Noel had been bedridden in the hospital for a long time after being controlled, as the relic had severely drained her capabilities. It was undoubtedly a Mystic Code with significant drawbacks.

Frankly, when paired with a dozen Executors, the Piano Machine was quite a fitting tool for Mario. But this fit had its limits. As a successor to the position of cardinal, this man was certainly no fool. So why would he choose to target Arcueid, who wasn't even in a weakened state in this timeline?

"Did your Church bring any large-scale conceptual armaments along with Mario?" Aoko asked Merem. "Otherwise, his actions don't make any sense."

"In this country, the only large-scale conceptual armament is the Seventh Holy Scripture, currently in the hands of Ciel," Mellion replied candidly. "But Ciel doesn't exactly take orders from Mario. Her target is Roa. Other than that, I'm unaware of any large-scale armaments being brought here."

"In that case, I suggest Arcueid refrain from going out casually for now," Aoko said. "The two of us were commissioned to deal with the Ancestors. If Ciel finds traces of Roa, she'll contact us. I can share her intel with Arcueid. What do you think?"

"That's too much trouble!" Arcueid said impatiently. "Why bother with these nonsensical people? Can't I just knock them down directly?"

Merem hesitated, seemingly wanting to say something but ultimately held back. After all, this was his princess, so he refrained from saying anything too harsh.

"I don't recommend that," Touko interjected. "The situation is far too chaotic right now. We don't know how many resources each faction has invested in this. Until we see our opponents' cards, it's best not to act rashly—unless, of course, you have a trump card, like Aoko and I do, that guarantees you will never fail."

Touko's words were also a veiled warning to the Church. Magicians were notorious for their unreasonable abilities, operating entirely outside the normal rules. Both she and Aoko could, no matter the scale of destruction or the number of innocent lives lost, walk away unscathed.

So, unless the Church tried to hold their weaknesses hostage (like targeting the Three Families), the sisters had no qualms about slaughtering everyone and wiping out the Church's forces in Japan.

Merem understood Touko's implications. He nodded silently, though everyone knew he would relay the magicians' stance to the Church—possibly bypassing Mario and reporting directly to the Vatican.

Finally, after giving Arcueid a long-winded list of instructions and warnings like a nagging parent, Merem sighed wearily and left the hotel.

"Merem is so annoying!" Arcueid complained as she curled up on the sofa with a cushion, her legs tucked under her, her black-stockinged toes twitching with frustration. "He always treats me like a child... I'm over 800 years old, you know!"

Aoko and Touko exchanged a glance. Considering Arcueid's current behavior, even if she were 8000 years old, Merem still wouldn't feel comfortable letting her run wild!