Aozaki Aoko Case File [346] (Patreon)

The night in Fairy Britain was exceptionally quiet. Other than the rustling of leaves in the wind and the sound of people breathing in their sleep, not even the chirping of insects could be heard.

As Aoko lay in her sleeping bag inside the tent, thinking about her plans for the next day, she keenly picked up on a strange sound coming from outside. It sounded like the muffled murmuring of a sad little girl.

Listening closely, Aoko realized it was Totorot’s voice. What was she doing outside, muttering to herself instead of sleeping at this late hour?

“How was I supposed to do it... How was I supposed to do it...” Totorot’s dejected voice drifted over from beside the campfire. Aoko quietly pulled aside the tent flap and looked at the small girl sitting by the spinning wheel.

“How do I use the yarn... And what should I do with the cotton...” Totorot clumsily fumbled with her sewing tools, trying in vain to weave the materials together, but predictably failing. “Uuuh... I don’t get it, I just don’t get it.”

“But I still want to do it, I have to do it...”

Even Aoko, who could be cold as iron at times, couldn’t help but feel sorry for Totorot as she whimpered.

“But why am I like this... I don’t understand...”

Aoko sighed softly, carefully making sure not to wake the sleeping Artoria. She stepped out of the tent and quietly sat down beside Totorot, gently tapping her on the shoulder.

“Wah?!” Totorot exclaimed in surprise, dropping her sewing tools, which were caught just in time by a large, transparent hand. “Y-you’re not asleep either?”

“Hehe, I just heard someone making noises, so I came to check. After all, we’re camping in the woods,” Aoko said kindly, handing Totorot a can of juice.

“D-don’t worry!” Totorot said hastily, embarrassed as she took the juice. “I’m just keeping watch—I wasn’t practicing sewing or anything!”

“Do you like making beautiful clothes?” Aoko asked sincerely. “Are you trying to sew something?”

Totorot stared at Aoko in shock at first, then her gaze slowly dropped, as if she’d remembered something sad.

“I... I’m just making the outfit for the coronation ceremony...” Totorot turned her head stubbornly. “I told the humans of the Round Table coalition there’s no need to prepare her outfit...”

“I’m only good at sewing, so...” Totorot explained sadly. “But I’ve tried for months now and still can’t make it...”

Aoko quietly listened to the sorrowful spinning fairy pour out her heart, with no intention of interrupting.

“Whether it’s three days ago or two, I forget everything I learn right away,” Totorot said, tears forming in her eyes. “I only ever do what I was born knowing how to do. Ector said all I need is to know how to fight, but seeing the city’s beautiful dresses still makes me sad...”

“I don’t know why, but I just feel so sad...” Totorot’s voice grew lower, her small body slumped against the spinning wheel, pitifully wiping her tears with her sleeve. “I always feel like something important is disappearing. If only I could make clothes like human tailors, maybe I’d understand...”

“But no matter how much others teach me, I just can’t learn...” Totorot’s mood had sunk to its lowest point, and she was visibly radiating negative energy.

This special state of Totorot was actually what happened to fairies after they lost their purpose for living. If she stayed like this, it meant she would likely become one of the Moss, the end of a Fairy in Britain, and the manifestation of a curse.

The reason she lost her purpose was because in Proper Human History, Totorot was actually a spinning fairy named Habetrot, a kind fairy who made the most beautiful, dreamy wedding dresses for brides.

However, in this timeline with no future, the spinning fairy Totorot had no brides to serve. Humans were kept as livestock by the fairies, and this difference in her way of existence caused Totorot unbearable pain, unable to vent her inner anguish.

Before she was found Toneriko, Totorot was a notorious troublemaker among the Winged Clan, her inner frustration manifesting as outward mischief and destruction. Later, after losing a duel, she kept her promise and became Toneriko's companion, becoming the first generation Fairy Knight.

Though many methods were tried, this tragedy was caused by the timeline itself. Even the rare genius Toneriko couldn’t solve it, only barely managing to maintain Totorot’s state.

"This is for you," Aoko took out a recent women’s fashion magazine from imaginary space and handed it to Totorot, kindly resizing it to fit her. "I want to be friends with you, and this is my first gift to you."

Totorot’s eyes widened as she stared at the beautiful female models in gorgeous clothes on the magazine cover. She hungrily flipped through the pages, absorbing all the information, even though she couldn’t read the human language.

But Totorot loved every outfit in the magazine, especially the pages about wedding dresses.

“So beautiful... so beautiful...” Totorot murmured as she rubbed her eyes, gently leafing through the magazine, being careful not to damage it even a little. “Thank you... thank you...”

"I have lots more of these magazines," Aoko said with a gentle smile, ruffling Totorot’s hair. "You’ve heard about Proper Human History, right?"

"Yeah," Totorot rubbed her eyes and carefully closed the fashion magazine, placing it in her spinning wheel bag. "I’ve heard that Proper Human History is the human world, and its history is different from Fairy Britain’s."

"I’ve heard legends about you in Proper Human History, Habetrot," Aoko said, speaking at a calm pace as Totorot looked at her in surprise. "She’s a spinning fairy who makes beautiful wedding dresses for human brides and blesses them on their wedding day—a symbol of happiness and kindness."

Totorot was Habetrot; her current name was given to her through a naming ritual, to delay her transformation into Moss as she lost her goal.

“R-really?!” Totorot’s eyes widened, the traces of her earlier tears still visible, but she gazed longingly at the scene Aoko described. “Habetrot, Habetrot, what a lovely name!”

“Work for me, Habetrot,” Aoko said, looking seriously at the Totorot before her. “I have a small, empty world waiting for the right people to move in, and there’s no tailor in that world yet. You’d be the perfect choice.”

“But I promised to help Toneriko fulfill her wish for peace in Britain...” Totorot said.

“That wish is a small matter to me,” Aoko said, smiling persuasively at Totorot. “I’ll make her understand that her wish for Fairy Britain can be realized... Most importantly, I’ll find you plenty of clients—human brides—so you can follow your wish and design and make the most beautiful wedding dresses for them.”

Seeing Totorot so shaken, Aoko was confident her persuasion was almost certain to succeed. When she first learned how to reach the Fairy Britain Lostbelt, her first thought was to kill off all the troublesome fairies, and her second was to recruit enough talent for her Principle Blood Ring demi-plane world. After all, it would be a tragedy to have such a vast demi-plane with no suitable inhabitants.

Take Totorot for instance: if properly guided, as a spinning fairy, she could undoubtedly create the finest outfits in the Type-Moon world. Then Aoko could act as an intermediary, introducing Totorot to brides from magus families. Surely, no magus noble could refuse a spinning fairy’s creations, right?