"Then let’s get a briefing on how we’ll investigate the Singularities from here on out."
The Director’s briefing was being heard by me, Ritsuka, and Mash, but the problem was...
Stare...
"Um... do you need something?"
The other Servants seemed to be getting along just fine, but for some reason the Old Man of the Mountain kept following us around as if he were keeping watch over the Director and me.
"Nothing of note for now, Contract Holder."
"Ah, I understand..."
I was getting chills for all sorts of reasons, but I still had to listen to the briefing properly...
"First, I’ll do everything I can to help Albus recover in his current condition, but deploying him is going to be difficult. That said, sending Fujimaru in alone would be suicide..."
A summoner glued to their summoned spirit? Even a little bit of RPG experience was enough to know that sending them in like that would get them killed instantly.
"If we let Albus possess your body as you suggested, he could go straight to the battlefield, yes. But with Chaldea’s summoning system, we don’t know what might come out. If some strange thing got in and ran wild, we’d have to..."
I could tell what he was about to say even without him saying it: kill me.
Then, from someone I hadn’t expected at all, a voice spoke up.
"Then it should also be possible to expel only the Heroic Spirit that entered the body."
That resonant voice belonged to the Old Man of the Mountain, who had been standing behind us all this time.
"Indeed. If it’s you rather than someone else, that may be possible..."
That old man was said to be the first Hassan and the strongest Assassin of the last Hassan line, so if it was him...
"But even then, if some absurdly powerful divine spirit were to possess him, I can’t guarantee I’d be able to stop it completely."
"Still, it sounds like at least some safety measures are in place."
Now all that was left was the Director’s approval...
"...Are you really sure?"
"We have to try something if we want anything after this. For now, this is the best option."
"I’m telling you in advance: if you die, nobody can take responsibility for it."
"That’s the same whether I die investigating a Singularity or not, so what’s the difference now...?"
"..."
"Sorry. I wasn’t trying to blame you."
"...Fine. Then I’ll authorize it. You absolutely have to come back safely. That’s an order."
"An order that says I’ll die if I can’t carry it out, huh..."
"''"
After a final meal before entering the summoning room, some kind of magical preparation I didn’t understand was completed, and at last the summoning was ready.
And then...
"Mister!!"
"You little brat. Even if this might be the last time, you still want to call me mister?"
"Big brother...?"
"Just call me mister..."
Behind Ritsuka were Mash and Jeanne, and then...
"You really sent all sorts of things the moment I was summoned. To think you’d summon me by possessing a human body..."
"I didn’t think you’d actually come..."
"Still, you’re my Servant. Whatever your past was, you can’t sit out something like this..."
"Good job, Alter~"
"Don’t pat my head!!"
"She really isn’t honest, just like the Director..."
Black Jeanne, to be exact, was someone I’d gotten used to over time since we’d eaten together and become somewhat close, so I could accept that much, but...
"I’ll praise your resolve, but are you prepared for failure too?"
I hadn’t expected King Arthur, whom I’d barely even spoken to, to show up...
"Still, I’m relieved you came."
"...Setting aside your resolve, you still haven’t shaken off your fear, have you..."
Was the narrowing of those eyes a sign of displeasure?
"I’m just an ordinary person, after all..."
"And yet the fact that you can suppress that and keep moving forward is proof that you’re strong. Go and come back safely."
"Your Majesty really is a king..."
Mash seemed to have something to say at the end.
"Albus, it’s going to be very painful for you..."
"Compared to living like half a corpse, what’s one more thing...?"
"..."
"You’ve got a lot more expressions than when I first met you. That’s nice..."
I murmured as I stepped into the summoning room.
"Right, now that I think about it, we still haven’t decided what to call you, have we? The Director and I thought of a name..."
"Lord Chaldeas."
Mash smiled.
"Yes! That’s a wonderful name!"
"Honestly, it was mostly just the Director saying we should go with the name she came up with, but whatever..."
"Then let’s go..."
And so I entered the summoning room, and the possession summoning was activated.
""""
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the familiar ceiling of the infirmary.
"You’re awake?"
At Doctor’s question, asked while he was working with his back turned, my mind cleared.
"What happened?"
"..."
No answer came.
"Damn it..."
"I’m not quite sure how to say this, but... the possession summoning failed..."
"Then does that mean Ritsuka has to go into the Singularity alone now...?"
I’d done everything I could. I’d even risked my life. Even if it failed, this was enough. I’d done all I could... I had done enough...
"But something happened during the summoning."
"???"
As he said that, Doctor drew a hand across my chest.
"Albus, you’re a Demi-Servant now."
"...Huh?"
""""
The explanation was this: some unidentified Heroic Spirit had possessed my body, but before saying a word, it left behind only its power and departed.
"So the Heroic Spirit that was supposed to share my body just left its power behind and went away?"
"Yes. The control issue we were worried about is gone, but..."
Romani came out from a corner and handed me a sword.
"Isn’t this the Old Man of the Mountain’s sword?"
"He was swallowed up by you after leaving this sword behind..."
"...Huh?"
According to Romani, before the Servant possessed me and departed, it had devoured the Old Man of the Mountain, who had been waiting in the summoning room.
By the time Ritsuka’s group came in after the sudden incident, the Heroic Spirit had already left...
"No, wait, didn’t they say that old man was insanely strong? What the hell happened?"
"W-well... he did draw his sword at first, but when you rushed at him, he was almost completely unresisting..."
"What about the Spirit Origin graph?"
"For some reason, it disappeared from there too..."
There is nothing more frightening than the fear that comes from something uncanny. There is no terror greater than the unknown.
"What on earth went in and out of my body...?"
"Unfortunately, we can’t tell either. Still, in a way, maybe this is a good thing. At least there won’t be any fighting over whose body it is..."
"Well, that’s a relief, I guess..."
Then the door opened, and Olga Marie came in with Mash and Ritsuka.
"Mission accomplished... though I suppose that’s putting it a little awkwardly."
"...Yes. Good work..."
I held out my hand for a handshake to signal success, but the Director’s shoulders trembled as she hesitated to take it.
"I mean, the legendary Assassin got eaten in an instant, so it makes sense to be scared..."
And at the time, he probably wasn’t even in his right mind, so it was understandable that she’d be afraid...
Clap!
The hand I’d extended for a handshake startled the very person who had asked for it when the other side finally took it.
The woman’s hand was trembling. And yet she no longer looked away, nor did she pull her hand back...
"Good work, Albus..."
"...Thank you for gathering your courage, Director Olga Marie."
Then Ritsuka suddenly widened her eyes in irritation.
"I’ve been suspicious for a while, but mister, you really are..."
"?"
"You like the Director!"
"??!?!?!?!?!?"
"Ritsuka, what the hell are you talki..."
"I’m heading out now~"
Was abandoning the patient her specialty, that chicken...?
Mash added her own blow from the side.
"Then all this time, you were doing all that for the Director...!!"
"What are you talking about, Mash...?"
I didn’t have those kinds of feelings for Olga Marie.
The problem was that if misunderstandings like this arose because of my face, it would 100 percent become a contempt scenario. And if I denied it too strongly, they’d only suspect me more. What should I do...
"Hey..."
Olga Marie lowered her head and called to me in a trembling voice.
"Damn it, what do I do in situations like this? Should I lie? No, anything half-baked will get exposed immediately. Let’s just be serious and honest..."
"I..."
"Albus..."
"Damn it, I’m screwed..."
From now on, I’d have to live in Chaldea while reading the room all the time...
"W-well, I mean~ I guess my looks are pretty cute~"
??What kind of scenario is this?
"I mean... among the women I’ve met in my life, you’re definitely one of the prettiest, right?"
What am I even saying right now?
"Hmm~ So falling for someone like me is only natural, isn’t it~"
"But I’m the head of the Animusphere family, and you’re an ordinary... well, not exactly ordinary anymore, but in any case, someone without much standing. If you want to win my heart, you’ll have to work a little harder~"
Ritsuka was beside us, waving what looked like a cheering baton and sniffling dramatically, while Mash wiped her tears and snot away.
"Thank you for your generous heart, but..."
For now, if I bowed my head and flatly denied everything here, it would only make things even more awkward. So...
"Before any romantic feelings, it was more that I wanted to acknowledge the fact that the Director is going to lead Chaldea from here on out, shoulder such a huge burden, and keep working so hard all by herself. I just wanted to help with that, even if only a little..."
I tried to frame it as a misunderstanding and speak seriously, but perhaps because Olga Marie’s face was already so pale, it turned bright red as if it might burst.
""""
In the magecraft world, one wrong word could get you buried alive. And if you were the daughter of a Lord, destined to live as the next head of the family, of course you’d learn how to distinguish truth from lies and how to read another person’s feelings.
Even so, there were times when you had to pretend not to know and let things pass.
I had thought Albus simply wanted something from me until he saved me from Lev in Fuyuki.
Still, that was a legitimate transaction, so I didn’t think much of it.
After all, he had worked hard, and if the price was something a normal human would ask for, there was nothing I couldn’t pay. But...
He saved me from Lev together with Fujimaru and Mash.
I can tell. He didn’t save me because he wanted something from me...
For the first time in my life, receiving kindness without a price, kindness without malice, made my heart warm.
I want to get along with Albus, and be close to him. A friend...? Yes, I want to be friends.
We’d more or less succeeded with the possession summoning this time too, so while I was at it...
But given our positions, it was hard for me to approach him first, and there was no sign that Albus intended to approach me in that way either.
So I consulted Fujimaru, who was resting after training. We’d gotten close enough that the two of us often enjoyed tea time together.
After a lot of discussion, Fujimaru said...
"Isn’t it just because big brother likes the Director?"
"What...?"
"Big brother, whenever you talk about the Director, you praise her so much, and also..."
But Ritsuka couldn’t say any more.
"Fujimaru-kun~"
Because the Director had appeared before her with a creepy smile, staring right at her.
"Eek!! Director, I’m leaving now..."
"When did I say you could go?"
And so Fujimaru was appointed as the support staff in charge of helping Albus and me get closer.
As Ritsuka said, it was only natural that he’d fall for me. Objectively speaking, my looks were more than enough to stand out anywhere, and as for my family background and everything else... no, in the first place, Albus probably wasn’t the type to like me for something like that...
"Director, what do you think of big brother?"
"W-well, he’s an employee!! A valuable..."
Fine, let’s admit what needs admitting. I do seem to have some degree of affection for him. But even if I died, I could never say that in front of other people...
And wanting to talk to him was also because of that affection, so what was I supposed to do?
Wait. If he likes me, then maybe...
"Fujimaru, I’ve thought of a way to get closer to him, so help me."
"Ah... yes..."
For some reason, Ritsuka looked gloomy.
""""
The plan was this: when I talked with him, Fujimaru would chime in and ask whether he liked me.
I’d casually say that if he liked me, he should try harder, and use that as an opening to get closer.
If he had a chance to get closer to someone he liked, there was no way he’d refuse.
And even if he didn’t actually like me, it would still break down the wall between us.
Either way, there was no downside. But...
"Before any romantic feelings, it was more that I wanted to acknowledge the fact that the Director is going to lead Chaldea from here on out, shoulder such a huge burden, and keep working so hard all by herself. I just wanted to help with that, even if only a little..."
The answer came from a direction I hadn’t expected...
Thump.
Thump...
Thump...!
So let’s admit it. I think I just like Albus...
Kindness she had never received in her life, recognition and praise she had always wanted, respect, and the fact that he had saved her when she had been on the verge of dying in despair...
I really am an easy woman...
But her heart, which was no longer the heart of a homunculus but something far too fast and unfamiliar, kept racing...
Thud!
"Director!!!!"
And then, due to acute cardiac arrest, she fainted.
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