The halls of Chaldea felt emptier than usual. Laughter that used to echo off the walls were replaced by Mash's lone footsteps. She held a folder of papers tightly to her chest as she walked forward, her eyes glued to the floor. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw the reflection of a tall woman pacing to and fro across the hall in the clean floors.

Mash lifted her gaze to see Oryo hovering inches off the floor, floating back and forth from window to wall. The usual cool face of the dragon-woman was twisted in an anxious frown. She did not seem to notice Mash's presence. Most surprisingly, Ryoma was nowhere to be found.

"Oryo-san?" Mash piped up.

Oryo's gaze flicked over to her as she drifted to halt. Her anxious face returned to its usual coolness as she spoke. "Ah, shield woman."

"Are you okay? Where is Ryoma-san?"

Oryo pointed to a door a few paces down. "Men in black cloaks wanted to speak with Ryoma. Oryo wanted to fight them, but Ryoma insisted on speaking with them and told Oryo-san to wait out here."

The men in black cloaks Oryo was referring to were the mages from the Clocktower. They had been coming by more frequently to speak with staff and the servants that remained behind after the final Singularity. After correcting the final singularity, some servants returned to the throne while others stayed behind to watch over Master for a little longer. Ryoma and Oryo were among them.

"I see. How long has Ryoma been in there?"

"Too long." Oryo narrowed her eyes. "But Oryo-san senses Ryoma is safe, so Oryo-san is not worried."

Oryo's overall demeanor betrayed her words, but Mash felt it best not to comment on it.

"How is shield woman feeling?"

Mash blinked, taken aback at Oryo's question. Oryo generally did not seem concerned with the well-being of others outside of Ryoma and occasionally Ritsuka.

"I-I'm doing fine," Mash stammered out.

Oryo nodded before floating over to the window and settling on the ledge. She tucked her knees into her chest and rested her chin on her knees. She patted the space beside her. "If shield woman is not too busy, Oryo-san would prefer to wait with a friend."

Mash felt frozen for a second, not fully understanding why Oryo has taken any interest in her. She settled beside Oryo, careful to not accidentally sit on her hair.

Oryo pointed to the folders that Mash held to her chest. "What does shield woman carry?"

"Ah, this?" Mash pulled the folders away from her chest. "They're reports that the staff finished up. I was helping to file them away. They—" Mash trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to say they were correcting them to erase Ritsuka's influence.

Oryo seemed to understand. "The men in black cloaks would struggle to understand the power of one person," she mused. "They seem rather stupid."

"I don't know if—"

Oryo waved her hand to cut off Mash. "Humans are afraid of things they can't understand with one glance." She paused, thinking. "Most humans at least."

"I suppose." Mash leaned back, feeling the cool glass against her back. She peered over at Oryo through her glasses, gauging her expression. Oryo seemed to have relaxed more since settling down with Mash; the anxiety that surrounded her before seemed to disappear.

"Humans are hard to understand," Oryo continued, playing with a piece of her long hair. "Oryo-san does not like most humans."

"You seem to like Ryoma-san very much," Mash pointed out.

"Ryoma is an exception. But even Ryoma is hard to understand at times." Oryo sighed, leaning back like Mash had done. "Master, too."

"I-I don't think Senpai is too hard to understand," Mash stammered out. She felt her face grow hot as Oryo flicked her gaze over to her. "They want to help everyone! And they're kind! That's why they do what they do! Senpai, they—" Mash trailed off, struggling to find the correct words. Oryo continued to watch her, head cocked to one side.

"They've been through a lot. And suffered a lot. But they aren't hard to understand. They're almost too simple." A laugh escaped from Mash as she rambled. "They always do what they think is best, and they follow their heart. That's why I—I—" For some reason, Mash started to feel like she was about to cry. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

Oryo patted Mash's hair, taking her by surprise. "There, there," she spoke flatly.

The simple gesture seemed to push Mash over the edge. Tears welled over Mash's eyes and she seemed to gasp for breath as she spoke. "I-it's not fair. It's not fair what Senpai had to go through! If I had been stronger, maybe…maybe things would have been different! But I wasn't—I couldn't—" She struggled to get the words out, her sentences starting to reduce to small gasps.

"Ryoma says hugs help. Does shield woman want a hug?"

Oryo opened her arms and for the moment, Mash allowed herself to be vulnerable. She allowed Oryo to embrace her as she sobbed into the woman's shoulder. Oryo stroked her hair in a constant pattern, murmuring "there, there" occasionally.

"I wish I was strong like you," Mash managed to gasp out. "If I was strong like you, maybe I could—"

"Shield woman is already strong like Oryo-san." Oryo eased Mash away to look at her fully. "Shield woman is stronger than Oryo-san. Shield woman protected Master to the very end. Oryo-san cannot say the same." Oryo's gaze darkened as she spoke and Mash felt a twinge of guilt.

"Oryo-san…"

Oryo continued. "And shield woman continues to protect Master, even when she cannot be shield woman." Oryo hummed, patting Mash's hair again. "Yes, shield woman is strong with and without shield. Shield woman should be proud."

The sound of compressed air being released caught their attention. The door opened and Ryoma and the Mage Association magicians stepped out and bid good-byes. Ryoma fixed his white fedora on his head as Oryo floated over to him, glaring at the mages as they walked away. She circled around him, inspecting him.

"Ryoma is not hurt?"

Ryoma laughed as Oryo draped her arms around his shoulders. "We just talked. No need to worry." He spotted Mash sitting across the hall.

"Miss Kyrielight," he smiled, dipping his hat in greeting. "I hope my wife hasn't caused too much trouble for you while I was away?"

"Oryo-san doesn't bother people, Ryomaaa," Oryo droned.

"Ah, not at all!" Mash stated, hurriedly gathering up the folder again. "In fact, we had a really nice conversation!"

"Is that so? Well, I'm glad." Ryoma smiled again. "I'm sure you're very busy, Miss Kyrielight, so I'll leave you to your work."

"Yes, thank you. You as well," Mash bowed.

Oryo gave a thumbs up. "Be proud, shield woman."

"Ah, how many times have I told you to call her 'Mash?'" Ryoma sighed.

"It's quite alright! I like the nickname actually," Mash quickly interjected.

Oryo hummed in satisfaction as Ryoma laughed. "Well, as long as you don't mind. Until we see each other again." Ryoma waved as he turned to head down the hall. Oryo gave double peace signs.

"Peace, peace."

Mash returned the peace signs and smiled. "Peace, peace!"

Oryo smiled widely at Mash as she followed Ryoma. Mash watched the pair disappear from view before continuing her walk down the hall.