Shinji Matou at Your Service

Without any interruptions and having seen a certain little rascal who had been missing for several days, Touko slept exceptionally well, straight through until nearly noon. When she woke up, she was unusually energetic, without the typical grogginess from low blood sugar.

She casually washed her face, threw on the coat draped over the chair, and pushed open the door.

Standing outside was a girl with short pink hair, dressed in a maid's uniform. Although she had been waiting for quite some time, her expression remained calm, showing no signs of impatience. It was as if waiting for Touko was perfectly natural.

Indeed, she was the Tohno family's servant, a professional maid. The moment Touko opened the door, the girl bowed appropriately.

"Good afternoon, Touko-sama."

"Ah, good afternoon, Hisui. What time is it now?"

"It's 11:35. Lunch will be ready in 25 minutes," the maid named Hisui replied meticulously.

"Is it that late already? Seriously... Didn't I tell you that if I wasn't up by 9, you didn't need to wait? I would find you when I got up."

Hearing Touko's complaint, Hisui responded expressionlessly.

"Serving you is my duty, Touko-sama."

"Ha~ That's true, but don't be so stubborn. Occasionally, listen to my opinions. After all, I am the one you're serving, right?"

Touko sighed helplessly and said no more, clearly accustomed to Hisui's responses. This young maid had an unusual persistence in some areas, almost as if she had been programmed like a machine.

"Understood."

Hisui's standard bow and emotionless voice drew another sigh from Touko.

"Sometimes, I think you're more like a doll than Katou."

As if responding to Touko's comment, the maid beside her remained vacant-eyed and expressionless, like a delicate doll.

"However, neither you nor Katou are truly without emotions. You both have locked yourselves with some sort of self-imposed chains. I hope one day you can find the key to unlock them."

With that, Touko walked out of the room, heading towards the central mansion she had visited many times.

Hisui followed her with small, precise steps. A complex look flickered in her empty eyes before quickly disappearing.

"Touko-sama, your hair is messy. Would you like me to help you comb it?"

"Forget it. No... no, please do. But can you hurry? I'm a bit hungry."

"Understood. Please wait a moment."

Hisui swiftly untied Touko's hairband and took a wooden comb from her apron pocket. Feeling the comb's teeth against her scalp, Touko was a bit curious.

"You carry hairdressing tools with you?"

"The young lady instructed me to."

"That picky perfectionist..."

Touko snorted and said no more. Although she was also picky, it was limited to magecraft and her work. She was very casual about other matters. But her nominal student, Akiha Tohno, was different. Her pickiness was ingrained in her bones, permeating every aspect of her life, making it a tiring way to live.

Because of this, the two had several disagreements when they first met, which were only resolved by Makihisa Tohno's mediation.

"It's not like that."

Hisui paused slightly, barely audible words escaping her lips.

"Did you say something?"

"No."

Hisui shook her head and continued combing Touko's hair.

She didn't say that Akiha's perfectionism was forced, for the sake of someone she cherished.

She also didn't say that this wooden comb had been in her pocket for nearly a year.

Although the initial reason was Akiha's insistence on preventing Touko from leaving the house without combing her hair if she woke up late, in reality, every time Hisui offered to comb her hair, Touko had refused, until now.

They are the same. So, although it seems like they don't get along well, they still become a teacher and student.

When Touko and Hisui entered the mansion, it was already 11:45. At that moment, Shinji was circling a cloaked figure, occasionally muttering phrases like "Not bad" and "More suitable than me."

"What are you and Katou doing?"

Touko asked. Although the cloak obscured any distinguishing features, she immediately recognized who was underneath.

"Oh, you're up," Shinji waved with a smile.

"I'm having Miss Katou test my cloak."

"And the test results?"

"Excellent. As expected, such a noble phantasm should be used by a real assassin, not a half-baked one like me."

"Oh, you're quite self-aware."

"Of course. Though I feel like I'm getting more and more like an assassin, compared to the famous Flying Katou, I'm still far from it."

The name of the female puppet was Katou Danzou, a thief and shinobi───or ninja───whose name appears in pseudo-biographies or military books from the early Edo period. Active at the end of the Sengoku period, she inherited the Fuma style of ninjutsu, making her one of the most famous ninjas in Japanese history.

Legend has it that Katou Danzou could manipulate puppets or mechanical dolls. However, no one knew that her true form was a mechanical doll, created by the sorcerer Kakin Koji and the first Fuma Kotarou, serving the Fuma clan for years. She was the master and foster mother of several generations of Fuma Kotarou.

Later, due to lack of maintenance and battle damage, she ceased to function and was circulated as an antique in the collector's world. At some point, one of the Tohno family heads purchased her as a collectible, and she was eventually given to the renowned dollmaker Aozaki Touko as a reward for treating Makihisa Tohno.

Touko spent a long time and many precious materials to restart her, only then discovering her identity and background.

"Don't you find it strange?"

The world's greatest dollmaker blinked, trying to pique Shinji's curiosity.

"That the famed Katou Danzou is a woman, a puppet, and has been preserved until now?"

"It's strange, but not that strange. When you find out that King Arthur is a girl, Mordred is a girl, Nero the Tyrant is a girl, and Okita Souji is also a girl, and all four of them have the same face, you realize history books aren't very reliable."

"…"

Touko was speechless. She had hoped to see Shinji surprised, but she ended up being the one shocked.

"What you said… is it all true?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"You have. For example, the last time we agreed to see a rare magic manuscript from the time of Catherine the Great, you stood me up. And the time before that…"

"Stop, stop—"

Seeing Touko start listing his mistakes, Shinji quickly raised his hands in surrender.

"Didn't expect you to remember after so long."

"Of course, don't you know that women hold grudges? Especially female magus."

"You win. Let me rephrase, have I ever lied to you about important matters?"

"No," Touko shook her head.

"So, everything you said is true. But how exactly do you know all this?"

"That's a long story. Let's talk about it another time. For now, let's have lunch."

As they spoke, a girl wearing a kimono but tied with an apron, giving a sense of anachronism, opened the door to the dining room.

"Touko-sama, Shinji-sama, lunch is ready."

Seeing this girl who looked almost identical to Hisui, a flash of complexity crossed Shinji's eyes.