Snow was falling continuously.
The vast white snow covered the land, and the biting cold wind flowed ceaselessly.
At this moment, Aozaki Touko stood on the snow, looking at a boulder about half a meter tall in front of her. Integrated circuit-like patterns covered the surface of her skin, and the flowing Magician indicated the strength of her physique.
"Touko... are you really going to split this rock with your bare hands?!"
Beside her, Irisviel's ruby eyes showed worry, her slender hands clasped nervously at her chest. Her husband had suddenly said this morning that he wanted to test the results of his Magician.
The content was to split a hard boulder with bare hands!
"...Of course!"
Aozaki Touko replied decisively, "The human body possesses great strength, but if used without limits, a fragile body would fracture its own bones and tendons when facing the recoil..."
"But, if Magician is used to strengthen the body, then theoretically I can punch through steel plates and kick through walls without suffering any damage myself!"
With that, she raised her arm high, and then, accompanied by the sound of air tearing, a powerful gust of air blew away the accumulated snow, and the ground seemed to tremble slightly.
The blown snow fell, and the obstruction of vision disappeared.
Irisviel's ruby-like eyes showed joy. The half-meter tall boulder was broken into two halves, and Aozaki Touko showed her perfectly intact slender hands.
"I succeeded!"
Aozaki Touko smiled very happily. The success of this experiment meant that she, as a Magician who was not good at close combat, had compensated for her biggest weakness. If anyone wanted to defeat her through close combat,
Then, Aozaki Touko would let them know what cruelty was!
"As expected of Touko, the embryo of a Magician!"
"With this level of power, you will surely be safer in the Holy Grail War."
Irisviel praised her gently, and at the same time held Touko's slender hand, carefully checking for any damage. Such a terrifying attack made it hard to believe she was completely unharmed.
"...The difficulty of the Holy Grail War isn't necessarily about winning!"
Seeing this, Aozaki Touko smiled helplessly, then turned her hand to hold Irisviel's slender hand, leading her towards the castle... Not long after they left.
Hadon walked alone to the split stone, looking thoughtfully at the landscape stone. He had watched the entire scene of the stone being split.
In fact, regarding the scene of Aozaki Touko splitting the stone, he wasn't particularly surprised. He had no less than a hundred ways to split this stone.
However, what if the scene of splitting the stone was merely a prelude?
As the head of the Einzbern Family, his own knowledge was the most profound. Naturally, Aozaki Touko would not give up such good resources.
And in order to fulfill the Einzbern's long-cherished wish, he was also providing as much help as possible.
Just a while ago, the girl named Aozaki Touko suddenly brought up an idea, no... more accurately, a plan.
She wanted to obtain enough power to fight against Heroic Spirits.
If it were an ordinary person, it would surely make people laugh and lament their ignorance.
However, Aozaki Touko had presented a concrete implementation plan.
And the scene of splitting the stone was the symbol of the preliminary success of this plan.
The Magician was named — Gene Lock Release!
Now the first stage had succeeded.
"...Aozaki Touko... perhaps she possesses even more talent than I imagined!"
The aged voice contained surprise.
Hadon turned around contentedly and walked towards the castle. There was still a long time for this girl to grow. By the time the Holy Grail War began, he would surely receive a satisfying answer!
...Inside Einzbern Castle.
Back in the room, Aozaki Touko leaned on the soft sofa, and under the warmth brought by the fireplace, she softened like a lazy orange cat.
"I'm so tired..."
"Then take a little rest. Touko, you are human, not a machine. If you keep working at high intensity, your body will eventually break down!"
Pouring a cup of red tea, Irisviel sat beside her and said gently.
During this time, she hadn't seen Aozaki Touko rest. Aside from spending some time with her, all her other time was spent on research.
To be honest, if she were an ordinary wife, she would probably be complaining about her newlywed husband's lack of companionship and starting small marital squabbles by now.
"If I relax, it will be even harder for me to try hard again!"
Aozaki Touko mumbled, "Right now... every research project is crucial. It's not the time to relax. I must approach it with a single-minded determination to finish!"
Although she said that, it was absolutely impossible to complete every single technology in a short period of time.
Current research included cell strengthening technology, human potential release technology, the Rozen Maiden series of Homunculus development, and the creation of Homunculus identical to humans. These were researches that would require ordinary Magicians to dedicate their entire lives to, and if their talent was insufficient, it might even require several generations of effort to complete.
"Is that so~"
Irisviel sighed helplessly, then gently pulled Aozaki Touko, laying her on her lap. Her boneless hand caressed Aozaki Touko's forehead, full of tenderness:
"I'm not good at research... but as your wife, I think this is what you need."
"Mm... I'm a little sleepy~"
Feeling the exceptionally soft touch behind her head, Aozaki Touko closed her eyes and soon fell into a sweet sleep. She slept very deeply this time...