“Ro-ma-ni?”
I gave him a light sidelong glance, and Romani immediately started avoiding my eyes. This chicken, seriously...
“Haa... hurry up and go take care of Mash...”
“Ah, yeah...”
This guy is unbelievable... No, why is a former King of Mages such a soft, helpless pushover?
“...Pineapple? First, let me ask you this: was that chicken Romani always like that, even when I wasn’t around?”
“...Unfortunately, yes. Chiki... no, Dr. Romani hasn’t changed much. And could you please stop calling me Pineapple?”
“Hmm, I guess I should go check on Shiva. Maybe I’ll go see Leonardo too~. Oh, Kirsch. Is Leonardo in the workshop?”
“Yes. Well, she’s always in the workshop...”
“That serious shut-in is unbelievable...”
“Excuse me, could you please stop calling me Pineapple...”
“Hmm, the workshop should be... near the Caldeas, I think.”
“You could just check the map over there.”
“Oh. Thanks, Kirsch.”
“Don’t mention it.”
I started walking. Ah.
“By the way, how’s it going with Ophelia?”
“W-what?!”
“Well, if not, then never mind.”
Leaving the flustered Wodime behind, I chuckled and kept walking.
++++
“Hey, Da Vinci.”
“Oh, Ren? I told you to call me Da Vinci-chan.”
“...Where’d you sell your conscience, old man? You’re sixty-seven, right?”
“...Shut up!”
What? My mental age is eighty? Hah, my body is only around thirty!
“Hm? What’s with the coat?”
“Hmm, so you noticed. It’s... my own masterpiece, I guess. Something that can block attacks from a great hero-level opponent a few times.”
“...Seriously?”
“At least it blocked me when I hit it with full force.”
“That’s amazing! How did you make it?”
“Well, basically, it’s a fusion of science and magecraft, like at Chaldea. Want to hear the details?”
“Yeah.”
“Basically, I use mana to particle-ize the atmosphere, then use magecraft to give each particle a large amount of momentum, and preserve that momentum. The particles are compressed and stored, then deployed in response to impact later. I’ll explain the rest...”
“Hmm, I’m looking forward to it. You really do always come up with unusual ideas.”
No, it’s just knowledge cheat from my previous life.
“By the way, how’s the state of Caldeas? Is the observation still the same?”
“...Yes. Unfortunately, it still...”
“No human observed, huh. That’s bitter. No, in a situation like this, what is Araya even doing?”
“Ahaha... Maybe because it’s a situation like this, he can’t do anything?”
“Ugh...”
Damn Araya Counter Force. Work, Araya!
“Nothing for it. If the Rayshift to Fuyuki and the First Mission succeed, maybe we’ll be able to find the cause... Besides, you’ll be accompanying them too.”
“Well, not right away... I’m going a day after Team A Rayshifts.”
“Ahaha... Still, if you’re going, someone with combat power comparable to a Servant despite being human, I doubt it’ll fail easily.”
“Well, don’t expect that much from me. Ren, that’s a lot of pressure.”
“Heh.”
“Well then, I’m off. I should go see Mash~.”
“Ah, if it’s Mash...”
“I heard from the chicken on the way here. She’s in the infirmary, right?”
“Ah, Romani?”
“Yeah. Well, later.”
“Take care~.”
With Da Vinci seeing me off, I left the workshop.
++++
“Oh, Mash.”
“Ah, Ren-san...”
“I told you to call me Ren-nii.”
“Ahaha...”
Tch.
“Do you really want to be called ‘big brother’ at your age, Ren?”
“Shut up, Romani!”
“Are you Malfoy?! No, more importantly, are you really going to say something that harsh in front of Mash?!”
“Ah, sorry. Forget it, Mash.”
“Ahaha... yes.”
Hmm, cute. I absentmindedly patted her head, and she looked embarrassed, which made her even cuter.
“Ugh, you’re cute. It’s bad for my heart.”
“Uh... I’m sorry?”
“I’m joking.”
Yep, definitely cute! I gave her head one more pat, then stepped out of the infirmary.
++++
“Hey, Yakuta-san?”
“Hm? Oh, Ren?”
“Yes, it’s Ren-san.”
Akuta Hinako, who had been reading a book, turned her head this way. The door closed behind me.
“By the way, you’ve probably lived for thousands of years, so is there any point in reading books?”
“Hmm, hmm. Pointing out a woman’s age is rude, you know.”
I glanced over and saw the title of the book... something about a hidden powerhouse knight commander...
...Let’s ignore that.
“Ahem. No, but why are you here?”
“Um... to say hello?”
“Why did you end that as a question... and besides, there’s no way I’d have anything wrong with my body in the first place.”
“...Fair enough.”
“You’re so dry.”
She let out a snort of laughter.
“Hmm, honestly, I am a little jealous of immortals.”
“Hm? Of what?”
“...Not having to worry about diet.”
“Ah.”
Do you know how much trouble I go through just to maintain this body...
“What I envy most is being able to control your body however you want after blowing yourself up once.”
“Hmm. Honestly, I don’t really get it.”
“I suppose not.”
...Damn. I’m jealous.
“Well then, I’m off. See you again, Umiin.”
“...Well, we’ll be seeing each other again within a week at the latest.”
“That’s when the Rayshift is, right... Come to think of it, has the Master gathered all forty-eight yet?”
“Apparently they’re still missing one person.”
“...Pineapple’s got his work cut out for him. Ugh, Olga must be furious by now.”
“Good luck.”
“Ugh...”
Haa. Olga when she’s irritated is pretty hard to deal with. Scratching my head, I started walking.
++++
After leaving Yakuta’s room and heading toward the director’s office, I stopped by my room first and opened my trunk. Where was it again?
“Oh, found it.”
Focusing on the sensation in my hand, I took out a necklace with a blue jewel. Hmm, not bad.
++++
I knocked on the door labeled Olga Marie Animusphere.
“Olga? Can I come in?”
“...Come in.”
Hmm, irritation level eighty, maybe.
“Why are you so down?”
“Haa... We’re short on candidates. Just one person, but we’re still below quota.”
“Including me?”
“Yeah...”
“Well, it’ll work out somehow~.”
“Ugh, don’t take it so lightly. I’m being serious.”
“Olga. Let me give you one piece of advice. Life doesn’t go the way you want anyway. So if something still doesn’t work out no matter how much you try, it’s easier to just give up.”
“...What kind of advice is that? You dress it up nicely, but if you strip it down, you’re just saying it’s easier to give up, aren’t you?”
“Worrying about it won’t change anything, right? Do your best as far as you can, and leave the rest to luck.”
“Haha... Well, I do feel a little better.”
“Then that’s good. Oh, a present.”
I took the necklace from my pocket and handed it over.
“Hm? What’s this?”
“A protective Mystic Code. Well, it can block a Servant’s attack once, as long as it isn’t a Noble Phantasm.”
“Thank you.”
“For the record, it’s disposable. Wear it all the time.”
This was a memory from my first life, one I could barely even recall now, but one of the few things I still remembered was that she died. And that was before the main story even began. This is the best I can do.
“Fufu. Got it.”
“Well then, I’m going. Oh, and who knows? Maybe the day before the First Mission, someone will suddenly find another suitable candidate and bring them in.”
“Ahaha... I don’t think that’ll happen, but fair enough.”
“Well then, later. I’m off.”
“Yes.”
I opened the door and left. Hmm. Did her irritation drop by about fifty percent?
++++
Exactly six days later, on the day before the Rayshift, cheers rang out from Pineapple’s room. When I asked what happened, he said a staff member had found a candidate in Japan. And the compatibility rate was a full 100 percent. It was a little sad how happy he looked that he wouldn’t have to suffer Olga’s temper. Hmm. So he’s the protagonist, huh.
Olga, who heard the news, also let out a cheer... no, she was happy. According to Olga Marie, “Hehe. At last, the number of people in my Chaldea is perfect...” or something like that.
The next day, on the day of the Rayshift experiment, I met the staff member who had brought the candidate in high spirits. When I asked why he was so happy, he said he’d gotten a huge bonus. Apparently he was thinking of buying a new car. I congratulated him, and he said he’d give me a ride sometime.
I refused, saying I had no interest in driving with some black-clad guy, even if it was a woman. He snapped back, “Ren doesn’t understand people’s hearts!” Annoyed, I smacked him on the back of the head. Lightly, of course. If I hit properly, his head would explode.
So when I asked what the candidate’s name was, he said, “Fujimaru Ritsuka.” Right. That was the name. When I asked if it was a boy, he said yes. He was in the middle of an Spiritron Dive test right now.
I wanted to meet him once, so I said I’d guide him while I was at it. He said okay.
...But why wasn’t he at the test site? When I asked, they said they didn’t know either. Apparently, after the simulation and before the awakening of the surface consciousness, he had moved unconsciously. In other words, it was similar to someone babbling nonsense as they were coming out of general anesthesia.
Hmm. I remember now. Come to think of it, in the original story, the protagonist met Mash like this. Well, whatever.
“Fou!”
Hearing Fou’s cry from one end of the hallway, I walked that way. Well, Fou is always with Mash anyway. If I keep going, I should run into them.
“Oh, Ren.”
“Pineapple. No, seriously, change your clothes. That green suit of yours... Hm? Mash?”
“Ah, Ren-san. Senpai was sleeping here, so...”
“Ah, the forty-eighth?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm. Let me take a look at his face. Move aside for a second.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Fou!”
I really can’t remember clearly.
“...He looks familiar.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“No, my little sister. He looks like my little sister when she was young... Yeah. If you turned Rin into a ts, she’d probably look exactly like this.”
“Uh... does he really look that much like her?”
“Wait... here. A photo of my little sister.”
“He really does look like her.”
“Ho. Interesting. Maybe he’s a hidden little brother or something?”
“No, he said he had family.”
Still, it’s strange. At this rate, if you put him next to Rin, I’d believe they were siblings. He might even look more like her than I do.
“No, aren’t you the unusual one? Do you really think white hair and red eyes are common? You’re not an albino, either.”
“Ah, I had a pretty rough time with that in school. People kept asking what kind of student bleaches their hair. They even called me a delinquent.”
Honestly, even when I told them it was natural, they still wouldn’t believe me. Even when I pulled out a single strand and showed them the roots were white too. I let out a wry smile to myself.
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