Otherwise, you can find another savior.

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"Don't just assume that I, as a servant, couldn't be with my husband in 2017, and then draw your own conclusions."

"I'm really sorry, no offense intended." Scáthach thought that perhaps the joke had gone too far.

"No, I mean your conclusions are too crude. I've been to Blackmore Village, and from the situation there, you can see how twisted Morgan's pan-human history is." Morgan spoke eloquently about his views. "You only considered Wu Fu's situation, without considering the other side's situation. This deduction has too many flaws and is hardly commendable. Out of ten points, I can only give you two points for the ending."

Artoria couldn't help but chuckle: "So you enjoy these kinds of assumptions too?"

"Or perhaps, she's somewhat interested in plundering love?" Orange adjusted her glasses. "Suppose that in the very beginning of that infinite loop, the servant Tianxi initially summoned was actually Morgan from pan-human history—"

“Is there such an unprovable hypothesis?” Scáthach looked at Morgan. “I suddenly feel sorry for that person in Pan-Human History. Not only was an important piece taken away, but even the connection and records were stripped away.”

"Chess piece?" Morgan was taken aback.

It's not that I disagree with Scáthach's statement.

After all, if it were the person from the Pan-Human History side, they might never be able to truly connect with Shiomi in the end. Their relationship would simply be one of mutual exploitation and comfort, aimed at achieving various goals.

The problem is right now... they're still playing board games.

A magic board game designed by a puppeteer, where the pieces can realistically simulate tabletop battles.

And now, the magical reaction in this battle seems a bit too high.

"Oh...it seems to be out of control." Orange calmly stepped back.

Then the desktop exploded, and the game was completely interrupted.

The other four people who had countermeasures were unharmed, but they all gave the same negative review.

"It would be better to stay in the room with him and the children."

Volume 10 Atlantis

Intro.1 Initially

In the summer of 2012, the Clock Tower, through the intervention of Monarch Baruelletta and his student Aozaki Touko, finally handed over the letter of introduction to Phineas Chaldea, the human resources agency heading to Antarctica, to Shiomi.

Shiomi accepted the invitation.

But just one day before Shiomi and her family were to arrive in Chaldea via the Mage's Association's special transport route, the Chaldea Director, the current head of Animushia, Marisbury Animushia, was found dead in his room.

The official statement was that the cause of death was unknown.

But after meeting Chaldea, Shio quickly learned the true cause of Marisbury's death from Romani and Leonardo da Vinci.

He died by suicide.

In the director's office, he shot himself. There were no signs of struggle at the scene; it was as if he had suddenly lost the will to live, took a pistol from a drawer placed on top of his documents, and ended his life in a seemingly ordinary way.

"It's been almost a week, are you just going to leave it like this?" Lin

Standing upstairs outside the sterile ward, looking down through the glass window at Mash sitting on the hospital bed, learning about the outside world through Chaldea's instruments, Shiomi asked Romani beside her this question.

He wasn't referring to Mashu, but to someone else.

“Of course we can’t ignore it… Marisbury is gone, and Olga Marie will inevitably take over as director. As the undisputed next head of the Animusphia family, she will be the one to decide how Chaldea will operate in the future.” Romani lowered his eyebrows, his face showing a frank expression of distress.

"But let alone taking over the duties of the director, even the transplantation of the mark is being delayed." Shiomi sighed. "The Mage Association at least gave us face by sending people to Antarctica to assist in handling this matter... but the person in charge has remained secluded. Even for a monarch, this delay is not only detrimental to her position in the Clock Tower."

A monarch who has no intention of inheriting the family's magical crest will make people see how dilapidated the Animusfia, as a noble faction, is.

It's fine in the short term, but if it continues for three to five years, it's hard to say whether the Astronomical Science will still belong to Animusfia.

"The problem is the pain of losing her father, coupled with the various responsibilities that fall on her shoulders," Romani said helplessly. "Should we give her a little more time? What do you think?"

As the final opponent in the Fifth Holy Grail War, Romani came to understand Shiomi through the language of battle.

Therefore, not long after he entered Chaldea, he went from being a new friend to an "old friend" and they often exchanged information about Chaldea.

"I'm just a Master who's slated to join Group A, much lower in rank than you," Shio smiled. "Even you, the head of the medical department, have said that, so what can I do?"

Romani didn't quite agree with Shio's opinion, and he was just about to ask Shio to think of a solution.

But then he felt that the idea was too illogical and was about to swallow it back when another voice rang out.

“The director must be feeling isolated and helpless right now.” Leif Lenore walked over. He had overheard Shiomi and Romani’s chatter. “I remember when she first arrived in Chaldea and took over things here, she was terrified when she heard about Mash’s experiences.”

"...That's true." Shiomi also remembered.

Although Olga Marie was shrouded in grief upon arriving in Chaldea due to the loss of her father, she also displayed a strong determination to carry on Marisbury's legacy.

However, while listening to reports from various Chaldea factions, Olga Marie was gripped by a kind of unfounded fear because of Mash's situation.

Chaldea is nominally an organization founded by the United Nations, but in reality, it is entirely run by Animush of the Mage's Association. This applies to everything from technology to fundraising. As a result, Chaldea's operation is essentially Animush's sole authority, and even the Clock Tower cannot interfere at will.

Under the guise of protecting humanity, they secretly conduct inhumane experiments on sub-Servants.

Mashu is the only result of these experiments.

In vitro fertilization babies born in sterile rooms often die once they leave the sterile ward because they cannot adapt to the external environment.

This situation only changed after the failed Heroic Spirit Summoning Test a year ago.

Although Heroic Spirit Summoning Number Two refused to cooperate with Chaldea, it left behind the power that would allow Mash to live in order to protect her before departing.

For Olga Marie, who was almost completely unaware of this beforehand, the truth was too cruel.

This also became the reason why she is currently staying at home.

"So, can I ask you for a favor? If the director can't pull himself together, Chaldea's operations will be in serious trouble," Leif said to Shiomi.

"Why me?" Shio didn't understand Rafe's intention.

“There are staff members in Chaldea who are fathers, but they are all magicians,” Rafe said with a smile, his eyes narrowed. “What Director Olga Marie needs now is care that is closer to the values ​​of ordinary people.”

"Am I really that unlike a magician?" Shiomi understood the reason.

“It’s really not like that outside of combat,” Romani commented truthfully.

Rafe nodded: "That's right. If Mr. Shiomi has no intention of lending a hand, then we can only hope that the director can do his best."

"Stop with this moral blackmail," tide Jian retorted, frowning. "I admit you have a point, and I'll try my best."

Then, Romani was overjoyed by Shiomi's answer and bowed deeply to thank her, making Shiomi feel as if she had been tricked into joining a pirate ship.

But if you promise something, you have to do it, whether it will actually happen or not is another matter.

So at dinner time that day, Shiomi went to Olga Marie's room and happened to see Karen coming out of the room with food.

"Dad?" Karen lowered her voice, as if worried that Olga Marie would hear her.

In the presence of someone who has lost their father, even something as natural as this can become an unintentional act of mockery.

"You didn't eat a single bite?" tide Jian looked at the untouched meal.

“It’s psychogenic anorexia, plus emotional instability. The director told me to take it, but I was worried she’d throw me to the ground if I didn’t.” Karen shook her head. “That’s why I took it.”

“You did the right thing.” tide Jian nodded deeply. “However, although the food in the cafeteria is delicious, it’s still not as good as what I cook myself.”

Karen's eyes widened slightly: "Dad means he's planning to give the director special treatment."

“Anyway, our family usually cooks for ourselves all the time, it’s just a matter of having more mouths to feed.” tide Jian thought for a moment, “I’ll go to the kitchen and see what we can eat today.”

"I'll go get Sakura to help."

Karen agreed with her father's idea.

Intro.2 Visiting

Swah——

The automatic door to the room opened silently. Olga Marie, curled up on the floor with her back against the foot of the bed, raised her almost lifeless eyes and looked at the person who walked in.

"……Who are you……"

"Don't you remember? I'm the last Master scheduled to enter Group A, and also the practical instructor for all Masters, Shiomi Tenkei. I introduced myself the day you first arrived at Chaldea, right?"

Shiomi carried the food and sat down on the ground opposite Olga Marie.

“Is that so…” Olga Marie remembered.

The former designated seal executor, a Master dispatched by the Mage's Association, and also a magician who monitors Chaldea from within.

That being said, Shiomi doesn't have the kind of aura that most magicians would have.

He looks more like an ordinary person who has never been exposed to the demonic path.

"What are you here for?" she asked. "Work—"

"Your voice sounds very weak. You haven't eaten for... a week, have you?" Shio asked, concerned about something else. "Even a magician would starve to death if they didn't eat."

“…Leave me alone,” Olga Marie murmured, rejecting Shiomi’s concern.

“However, I can teach you a method, which is how to use magic to maintain the minimum vital signs. If you can convert magic in the air to a higher degree, you can be lively and energetic without eating or drinking—” Xi Jian seemed not to hear her and kept talking.

"I told you to leave me alone! Get out!" Olga Marie hysterically shooed people away.

"I'll leave once you've eaten." tide Jian's attitude was neither hot nor cold. "We're having a special meal at home today, and I cooked a little too much. I heard you hadn't eaten yet, so I brought it over specially."

Olga Marie felt as if her emotions were hitting cotton; no matter how she reacted, Shiomi only had one attitude.

If it were the first time she had seen him, she might even have thought he was an artificial human with incomplete intelligence.

"..."

So she chose to remain silent.

But tide Jian did not intend to keep her silent.

“I know about Mashu’s situation too. I arrived here a few days earlier than you,” Shiomi said. “It was a sub-Servant experiment led by Marisbury. The whole project was shelved a year ago because the Servant he was possessed refused to cooperate. If you don’t intend to restart this experiment, there’s no need to take it to heart.”

“Easy for you to say.” Olga Marie glared at Shiomi. “Of course you can say that since you’re not the one in charge! Father is gone, but what he did won’t go away! Mashu will definitely take revenge on me! I will definitely be brutally murdered in a toilet or something! That’s only fair!”

She became more and more agitated as she spoke. Having barely eaten for a week, the intense emotional fluctuations had caused severe physical exhaustion. Olga Marie was panting heavily, gasping for breath.

"Of course?" Shiomi thought for a moment. "If you think it's only natural that Mashu would seek revenge on you, has Mashu really thought about these things?"

"How could she not want to? She's a human being too!" Olga Marie retorted loudly, clutching her head. "Being treated like a prop, she'll eventually realize it!"

Olga Marie was constantly tormented by mental stresses such as despair and fear.

During the days she locked herself in her room, she kept thinking about these things, imagining what she thought was her fate.

Perhaps if given some time, Olga Marie will be able to find her way out of this dead end.

However, it could escalate further, and eventually, unable to bear the mental pressure, the individual might choose to end their own life.

She was only in her early twenties, a few years younger than Karen.

Even though a magician whose wings are not yet fully grown can stand on his own, he still needs someone to shelter him from the wind and rain.

“…In that case, I’ll be your bodyguard.” Xi Jian helped her up and sat her back against the bed. “You know I was a designated seal executor, so I have some skills. If Mashu ever tries to take revenge on you, I’ll stop her.”

"why?"

His proposal left Olga Marie completely bewildered.

"Because you're an adult?" tide Jian wasn't sure either, so she joked, "After all, you're a little younger than Karen. If you were my child, you'd definitely be the youngest in the family, and everyone would have to protect you."

“No need…” Olga Marie firmly refused, “I am the head of the Animusfia family, Olga Marie Asmirette Animusfia, from a family of magicians with a lineage spanning over two thousand years. The name of my family is the meaning of my birth, and also my glory—”

"Who asked you about that kind of thing?" tide Jian interrupted her. "You want to be my family's child? I don't want to raise him."

"you……"

Olga Marie was so angry that her face turned red.

This man is so unpredictable. One moment he's being so considerate, and the next he's saying things that make you want to explode.

"You still have the energy to get angry, so it seems like there's not much of a problem." tide Jian said with a smile. "It's good to feel guilty. Magicians will give up their humanity in order to explore the path of magic. Perhaps that is a more correct way of life, but I can't agree with it."

"So that's why you became the magician you are now?" Olga Marie muttered.

“Some people argue that ‘one should not choose a path based on the sins one carries, but rather bear the sins on the chosen path,’” Shiomi said softly. “What Marisbury did is Marisbury’s fault. As his daughter and his successor, it is certainly commendable that you can accept this sin. The problem is, if you abandon your original path because of this and embark on a path that is solely for bearing sins…”

Although her voice was soft and her tone gentle, every word she uttered resonated deeply with Olga Marie, striking a chord deep within her.

She bit her thumbnail in distress, her expression full of anguish and struggle:

"But Mashu was treated like that...like that..."

"And what do you intend to do with Mash? Will you bear the guilt while continuing Marisbury's unfinished experiments? Or..."

tide Jian didn't finish her sentence.

Olga Marie is indeed young, but she's no longer a child, and she can understand what's been said.

She's still biting her thumb, wavering on the scales of inner conflict.