Otherwise, you can find another savior.

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"Huh?" This was the first time Olga Marie had heard of this.

"To be specific, it's a bit complicated. Simply put, Sakura participated in the Holy Grail War in 2004, but unfortunately, her Servant died at the last moment, and she was captured by your father," Shiomi said. "As for the purpose of capturing her, it was to use her as a bargaining chip so that we could take her away from the Holy Grail War."

"...So this is how things are..." Olga Marie suddenly felt a pang of guilt, even though it wasn't her fault. "Even so, Father still recruited teachers into Chaldea, after all—"

“My entry into Chaldea was not due to your father’s recruitment, but rather the result of the Clock Tower’s democratic faction’s recommendation, do you remember?” Shiomi said. “Lord Bariusereta and Lord Transpelio jointly recommended me, hoping that I would take the opportunity to observe the inner workings of Chaldea and confirm whether it would strengthen the power of the noble faction.”

“But… even though my teacher and my father are enemies, she still took care of me without reservation and never mentioned these things to me.” Olga Marie turned to her side, resting her head on Shiomi’s chest. “It really is…”

"Don't think too much about it. I'm only helping you because I want to. My problem with Maris Billy has nothing to do with you, and besides, he had already committed suicide by then." Shiomi stopped turning the pages of her book and raised her hand to stroke Olga Marie's face.

"I know what the teacher is thinking, but I just feel really bad." Olga Marie knew that this was a bit willful, but she couldn't help but say it anyway, seeking more comfort.

Shiomi thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled mischievously and lowered her head to whisper in her ear, "So, how about this? Actually, I was only being so nice to you to get back at Marisbury, to make you fall in love with me, and in the end—"

“Ugh…” Olga Marie trembled and let out an ambiguous moan.

Even though she knew it was a joke, tide Jian's words embellished the truth into something taboo and contradictory, making her feel like she had become that tragic heroine in an instant.

"Ah, teacher... why are you a teacher...?"

Like Romeo and Juliet, it subtly aroused my body.

"Satisfied? If so, let's put this matter aside," Shiomi said. "What Marisbury did, what he plotted, is not your responsibility. After all, you might even be one of his pawns."

Olga Marie readily complied, trying to suppress the sudden surge of agitation within her, and attempted to calmly continue the previous topic:

"In short, what exactly does Father want to accomplish by gathering so many people together?"

"I don't know, but if we look at the final result from the opposite perspective, perhaps each Lostbelt corresponds to a Master of Group A," Shiomi said.

His reminder made Olga Marie remember.

The Lostbelts and the original Masters of Group A are almost all connected in some way.

Kadoc, skilled in beast magic, became the Russian who transformed humans into the beastman Yaga.

Ophelia, from a prestigious family of Norse magicians, was in charge of the Lostbelts.

Hinako Akuta herself is actually Yu Meiren, who left her mark in history, and she reunites with Xiang Yu in Lostbelt.

Peperoncino's practice of the Tengu path is intricately linked to the Indian concept of reincarnation.

Celestial magic in Kirshtalia requires the environment of the Atlantic Lostbelt to be realized.

As a survivor of the Angel Relics incident, Debit is in charge of a Lostbelt where an ORT from another universe happens to exist.

Even Shiomi, who was originally destined to become a hidden person but escaped that fate alone, was no exception.

His connection with Morgan was so deep that there was even a claim that Morgan traveled from the future to the past to contact him.

If he hadn't escaped after that explosion, he would have inevitably become the Hidden One in charge of the British Lostbelt.

Even in the end, Shiomi did become a kind of hermit—the kind that was not bound by the alien god.

“Everyone has some connection to the Lostbelt they are in,” Shiomi continued. “It’s hard not to suspect that Marisbury deliberately set up these Lostbelts before even shooting them, in order to better execute the whole plan.”

"Um……"

Olga Marie squirmed in Shiomi's arms, her voice becoming somewhat subtle.

“Mary?” Shiomi noticed the change.

She sat up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a kiss that smelled of oranges.

Then, the book in his hand fell to the floor.

Chapter Four: Selfish Motives

Later, as Olga Marie came out of the bathroom and got dressed again, she saw the book that had fallen to the floor earlier, just as she finished dressing but before she could even button it up.

"This is..." she asked, turning it over with a puzzled look.

These are materials stored in Chaldea, involving many investigations within the Clock Tower that are publicly available but not actively mentioned.

The traces of being browsed remained on the content related to ORT.

"Was the teacher just looking at the ORT data?" Olga Marie was taken aback. "The records on the Clock Tower are very limited. I've looked at them too, and apart from what was mentioned in the previous meeting, there's no other usable information..."

Shio peeked her wet head out of the bathroom: "I felt like there was something I'd missed, so I thought I'd take it out and take another look. After all, we were facing an enemy like that, and I didn't know how far a god could go, so I was a little uneasy."

“…I’m sorry.” Olga Marie put down her book and apologized to Shiomi, embarrassed. “The teacher was worried about something very important, but I acted out of my own selfish desires—”

“Why would I need to apologize for something like this?” Shiomi said, walking out wrapped in a bath towel. “I’m actually quite happy to see Mary becoming more proactive.”

"Teacher—"

Just as Olga Marie was about to complain, Shiomi grabbed her arm and kissed her.

As their lips met, their hearts, still lingering with satisfaction yet already filled with contentment, felt an unparalleled happiness.

Even if she lost her position as a magician in Animusphia, staying by her teacher's side wouldn't be bad. She thought about the future while kissing him.

After the kiss, Shiomi sat on the bed to get dressed, and Olga Marie sat down on the chair as well. She was afraid of arousing her desire again, so she decided not to get dressed yet, so as not to make it too troublesome to take off her clothes later.

However, we still need to talk about serious matters.

"So, teacher, do you have any new discoveries about ORT?" Olga Marie asked.

“No new discoveries either.” Shiomi shook her head. “In pan-human history, the ORT arrived in South America before Christ, but it arrived in the Lostbelt of South America even earlier.”

According to information provided by Kirshtalia, the Lostbelt ORT appears to have arrived 6600 million years ago.

There is a time difference of tens of millions of years between the two.

"Does the teacher think that the ORTs in the South American Lostbelt might be different from those in Pan-Human History, perhaps being a subspecies or something similar?" Olga Marie asked.

"That's possible. But even if it's a subspecies, it's probably not much different from the original. The only difference is due to the different time, place, and history," Shiomi said.

Because Kirshtalia did not have an absolute chance of winning, it did not demand all the information about the Lostbelt in South America. Instead, it used Koyanskaya's services to go there for investigation and confirm that it was the last stronghold of the Lostbelt.

Kirshtalia also expressed his apologies and said he could not provide any further information.

He hadn't expected such a decisive and straightforward defeat, one that he had to accept with equanimity.

“It’s alright, teacher… everything will be fine.” Olga Marie dragged her chair over to Shio, took his large hands, and stroked the lines on his palms. “So far, teacher has created one miracle after another, and now he has even ascended to the throne of God, so I believe in teacher.”

“Mary.” Shio nodded.

Then, Olga Marie shook her head somewhat awkwardly: "No, that's not right. It's clearly about using all of Chaldea's strength to overcome the final obstacle, but I've made it sound like it's all just the teacher's responsibility."

“It is my responsibility, and it is also our responsibility,” Shiomi said. “With great power comes great responsibility. It’s not someone else, but I who have become a god, so naturally I have responsibilities to bear. It’s not contradictory for me.”

“Teacher…” Olga Marie gazed at Shiomi with a kind of infatuation.

His words, though lacking in exaggerated language, were filled with a reassuring power.

At least that was true for Olga Marie.

At that moment, the room's communication was activated, and someone came over.

Olga Marie quickly got up to answer the call and saw that it was Aozaki Touko.

"Excuse me, Director, is Tianxi with you? I didn't see anyone else there," Chengzi asked.

"Uh...ah...yes, I'm here, I'll open the door right away." Olga Marie panicked slightly, with a nervous feeling of being caught in the act.

But upon closer reflection, it doesn't seem that bad. That's just how the relationship is; everyone knows it and surrounds him without really understanding it.

As soon as Orange entered the room, her nostrils twitched involuntarily as she sniffed the room.

"Did you... just finish?" Orange covered her face with her tablet, looking at the two who were already dressed with a hint of slyness.

Shiomi's hair was still wet, Olga Marie's hair was not tied up, and her clothes were somewhat disheveled.

These clothes were clearly worn right after a shower.

"Ms. Orange!" Olga Marie blushed and told Orange not to ask anymore.

Even if you have nothing to hide, you'll still be tormented and unable to sit or lie still.

"Pretty much. Orange wouldn't come for this, would she?" tide Jian scratched her head.

“If you’re interested, we can take care of that while we’re at it.” Orange handed the tablet to Shio. “I’d like to borrow your power a little; the automaton’s autonomous combat isn’t quite perfect yet.”

"Do you plan to turn the dolls you made into god dolls?" Shio asked.

"Like... Enkidu?" Olga Marie asked in surprise.

“No matter what, it won’t reach that point.” tide Jian said thoughtfully, “But it’s comparable to creating life. If we don’t handle it carefully, I’m afraid there will be endless troubles.”

“Knowing that you resist creating life, I just want to strengthen our combat power as much as possible so that we won’t be caught off guard by the Lostbelt forces while we are fighting,” Orange said. “Koyanskaya said that they have forces that are comparable to those in the Atlantic Lostbelt, and they are also equipped with NFF weapons.”

"Considering the losses last time, are you planning to be more meticulous this time?" Shio asked, looking at Orange's proposal.

“Well, it’s better than nothing.” Orange nodded in agreement. “Especially considering the current combat power of Chaldea, we should mainly let the puppets handle logistics, and leave things like sanitation and maintenance to them.”

Primarily responsible for logistics, assisting the Nemo fragments on the ship in various tasks, and serving as a vital defensive force to deal with surprise attacks from Lostbelt forces when there is a severe shortage of personnel.

"Now that there are more people on the boat, although everyone is not unable to take care of themselves, it would be much easier if they had these dolls to help them."

Olga Marie also thought it made sense.

"Then, shall we go and take a look?"

Shiomi stood up, ready to go to Orange's workshop with Mary.

Chapter Five: The Doll

The problem that Aozaki Touko encountered was that the doll's autonomous action function was not satisfactory.

If it's just for use as a combat doll, Orange can handle it herself.

She has experience using dolls as weapons to attack other magicians in the past, and they can even act as stumbling blocks against enemies that dolls cannot defeat.

But what's needed now are self-disciplined service dolls.

"Doesn't this look pretty good? The magic furnace used to drive it, as well as the artificial magic circuit, are all very well-developed." Shiomi repeatedly examined the prototype doll that Orange had placed in the workshop.

Orange adjusted her glasses: "The problem lies with self-discipline. Do you remember the princess of El-Melloi?"

At this moment, Olga Marie, who was observing the internal structure of the doll with Shiomi, looked up: "Ms. Orange, are you referring to Miss Reines?"

“Yes.” Orange said, holding her coffee. “Doesn’t she have a special costume called ‘Moon Spirit Essence Liquid’?”

The Mystic Code that Orange mentioned was a special familiar that Reines created by imbuing with artificial intelligence, following El-Melloi II's suggestion.

It was Reines, skilled in precise operations, who effectively utilized and improved upon the legacy of the previous monarchs.

Although later, due to the magic hacking behavior of the second generation's disciple, Flat, the "Moon Spirit Essence" maid learned a lot of unnecessary wisdom.

But in essence, it is a form born after Reines imbued it with a personality, and it needs Reines's magic to maintain it.

In contrast, Orange's dolls lack intelligence but do not require her magic to function; they can be maintained for a certain period of time using what resembles an artificial magic furnace.

"So Orange wants to make the doll as advanced as Trimmau?" Shiomi was referring to the doll's artificial intelligence.

“I tried, but it wasn’t ideal.” Orange pondered. “After all, the fact that Miss Reines’s dress was eventually completed was related to El-Melloi II’s imaginative disciple.”

In terms of some whimsical ideas, Orange is actually not as good as Flatt at coming up with creative ideas.

"Can we see the results?" Olga Marie asked.

Orange thought for a moment and agreed: "Then you guys move aside."

Then, Shiomi and Olga Marie left the doll and moved to Orange's side.

Orange snapped her fingers, and the prepared dolls came to life.

With its limbs flexible and its movements free, if one ignores its distinctive mechanical structure, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it rivals humans.

“That’s amazing,” Olga Marie said, covering her mouth.

The reputation of the Grand Puppeteer is well-known. As the monarch of the Celestial Department, Olga Marie has also met Orange at major events in the Clock Tower, such as the Grand Decision.

However, observing the activation of the puppets up close is still full of novelty and is a valuable experience for magicians.

"Since it's a service, what can it do?" tide Jian was used to asking for the result directly.

Orange said, "Make coffee. One cup with sugar cubes, and the other with granulated sugar and milk, half the amount of regular sugar. After you've finished making the tea, tidy up the trash in the room."

The doll then naturally walked to the tea set and began to brew tea.

The tea-making part was easy; the process was clear, and the puppet was completed quickly.

But when it came time to clean up the trash, it started targeting Shiomi and Olga Marie, clearly treating any guest who didn't belong in the workshop as part of the trash that needed to be cleaned up.

As Shiomi protected Mary and stopped the doll from causing trouble, Touko stopped the doll's actions.