"Urg…" A groan comes out of me, resounding through the spacious room. "I must say that they make a good pair… But still to not care about me… That hurts a bit..."

Ending those words in pain, I take a look at my surroundings.

The ruined room of CHALDEAS from before is seeable again, however unlike that time, the black smoke filling it and its fiery flames are gone, instead, it's replaced by a soft blue glow all around.

'…It looks like I am back at Chaldea, thankfully.' A sigh comes out of me while my gaze wanders through the destruction. 'Safe at least… I want to take a bath and sleep on my bed- Wait!'

The relief rapidly turned to nervousness, however after opening my hand I could feel the relaxation on my body come back.

'…They are okay….' Seeing that the origamis of Kura and Aurora are safe and sound, I sigh yet again. '…Although they are a bit crumpled… I should use less force next time.' Ending those thoughts, I try to get up from the floor, but after some attempts and bouts of pain, I end up sitting.

'…Why the hell is this body so weak? I am pretty sure that in Leonardo's memories his body was able to endure the Ashborn's transplant surgery for years and-'

"For god's sake he is- Ahem, I mean, I am built like a fucking truck, how the hell I am not able to get up!" I say in exasperation after trying yet again to no avail. While heated, I continue trying until-

"Argh-!"

A little shout of pain almost comes from me.

'M-my abdomen h-hurts like hell.' I carefully move one of my hands to find where the pain is coming from, until I accidentally touch one of my ribs.

"Mh-!"

.

.

.

'…I-I should be used to the pain after surviving that explosion, but it still hurts!' I think while repressing the second shout of pain. 'I am sure that at least a rib is broken… Shit-.' I wince again as my hand touches the rib again. '…! Why the hell did I-!?'

"Fou Fou!"

My internal monologue slowly stops after hearing the cries of Fou close by. I turn my head side to side in an effort to find him, however before I could see him, my gaze ended on a passed out Mash and Ritsuka holding their hands tight behind me.

"..."

'…Truly a match made in heaven.'

"Kyuu! Fou!" Desperation starts to become apparent on Fou's cries. The animal alternates between moving Mash and Ritsuka's head to see which one responds to him first.

"Fou!" I shout suddenly, startling the animal. "I am pretty sure they are okay!"

He turns towards me with his little eyes, a bit surprised at myself awake. Then he starts to rapidly close onto me.

"Kyuu Kyuu!" Before long he reaches me and tries to push me towards the unconscious couple.

'…I'd like to talk to him, but I don't have any Od remaining on me to activate Animal Communication. That barrier sucked me dry.' I bitterly think as I start caressing his fluffy head. '…? It's softer than I thought.'

After some pats, he escapes from my hands and tries again to move me. "Fou Fou!" He continues but after seeing that I am not budging, he starts to put more force on his attempts.

'Maybe he wants me to help him…?'

"Fou, don't worry, I am sure that doctor Romani will come fast and-"

Just as I was speaking, an awful lot of stepping noises started to resound through the previously desolate room.

"Find the Masters and Mash ASAP! We need to send them to the infirmary right now!" Romani's voice appears, startling Fou just like before.

"What did I tell you?" I grin slightly, which prompts a little noise from him.

Seconds after hearing his shout, the head of the fluffy haired man appears surrounded by the remaining staff on Chaldea.

"…! Leonardo!" Romani says relieved while rapidly closing in. "Thank goodness the rayshift worked in the end."

"Yeah… How's everything?" I say while slightly waving at him from the ground.

"Very bad and a little good… I think." He says while deeply sighing. "The first because of all the staff Chaldea had in the beginning… These are the only ones who remain." Ending his words I look at the staff that came with him.

'...There are around twenty people only…'

The assault from Lev is worse than I thought.

"And a little good because at least two of forty eight master candidates are not in critical condition… Although I don't know if that truly is good." He says bittersweet. "Anyways, It's good to see that the three of you are okay." Romani says sincerely with a sigh. "I'd like to continue talking, however I'll take a fast look at you and then go back to Ritsuka and Mash okay? Right now I am the only doctor so my hands are a bit… tight at the moment."

I nod to his words and after a little check he says that for the most part I am okay. About the rib he says it isn't anything worrying, however he would like to see it better in the infirmary. Then by curiosity I take a glance at the staff preparing the stretchers for the two close to me. However after some time of looking at all of them, I am still not able to spot someone.

"Where is the director?" I ask turning to look at Romani. "Even if she is the director, knowing her I would have thought that she would have come by any means necessary to talk with us even in our state, Hahaha…" I say while remembering how she looked when I was in the singularity.

"…" Hearing my words, Romani puts on a somber look. "…We don't know where she is."

"Haha… Eh?" My laughter gradually stops at his response. "What do you mean?"

"The last time we saw her was exiting the control room. After that, I dispatched someone to follow her so she doesn't hurt herself, however minutes later he came back after having lost sight of her." His face shows the worry on those words. "She is wounded, however I fear that she used magecraft even if it means overexerting herself. To say the least, I am worried."

"…" To his words, I stay silent.

'…Lev's betrayal would have affected her more than I thought…'

"I see… Can you help me? I don't have much strength left to get up by myself." I say while extending a hand towards him.

With a nod from him, I am finally on my two feet. Although I had to endure his subtle giggles as I had to take his arm for some seconds to not lose my balance. Plus, I had to endure the pain in my abdomen for suddenly getting up.

"...Do you have some painkillers or analgesics by chance? Although I am here right in front of you, my whole body is suffering from pain."

"Eh? Yeah, however they aren't that potent." He says while taking from one of his pockets a small bottle with the label Paracetamol on it, however the label is… poorly written. "Just… Ignore the poor writing on the label." Romani says while looking a bit embarrassed.

Seconds of silence pass and I smile towards him.

"…Don't worry I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks." He responds immediately as I take a pill and swallow it. "Please go to the infirmary, I need to stay and see if Ritsuka and Mash don't have any grave injuries before- Hey, don't move them! We don't know if they have any serious wounds!" Romani was telling me before shouting to one of the staff who were moving the two unconscious people.

Then he started running towards them.

'Your bottle…' I think while alternating between the dashing Romani and the paracetamol in my hands. '…I'll just leave it to one of the staff.'

Seeing that I don't have anything else to do here, I get out of the control room and into the bluish hallways of Chaldea. As I start walking towards the infirmary I see fewer people around me, and at the same time Romani's shouts are heard less and less. Minutes later I notice that nobody is close to me, so I stop and instead of heading towards the infirmary, I go towards somewhere else.

'If my memory isn't wrong… I need to take these stairs.'

Slowly I make my way towards the control room where I last communicated with Olga and Romani inside the singularity.

'If that was the last part where she was seen, then maybe I can track her with some external help.' With those thoughts and a good amount of stairs, I finally reached the control room… Or what is left of the place.

'…Even though they still cleaned as much as they could, there are still black spots of the explosion and a little debris… and reddish pieces of glass too. This must have been gruesome for the first one to arrive.'

The moment those thoughts end, I take my cracked glasses off.

Like magic, a gigantic circular mass of wriggling black 'lines' appears in the centre of the room. Carefully I take a closer but not too obvious look, and I am able to see that the 'lines' in reality aren't lines, but instead really elongated humanoid forms without any redeeming qualities like clothes or faces.

'…How many died here?' The identity of what is in front of me is clear. The Chaldea Staff that died in here because of Lev's explosion became wraiths, and thanks to their grudges, they weren't able to move on... I counted just a small part but I only reached 47 before giving up altogether. 'Another reason to hate Lev.'

Continuing with those thoughts, I found little specks of magical power coming out of it in almost unseeable lines. There is an uncountable amount of them, however from all of them, one is thicker than the other ones.

Going out of the room, I am able to see how the majority of them go to the right, from where I came, meanwhile the densest only goes to the left.

'…Maybe I am wrong, but… A lot of people hated the director. So much that they chose to haunt her instead of the one who caused their death.' Following the biggest one, I start walking. 'I just hope I am able to find her with this… The last thing I want to do now is try to communicate with wraiths or ghosts…'

One, two, three… Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen… forty one, forty two…

After almost 50 rooms and some stairs, nearly at the end of the hallway, the line finally turns towards one of the rooms.

'Good lord… If it wasn't for the paracetamol I would have gone to the infirmary thanks to the pain…' I think while taking some deep breaths. '…Urg… There is still a bit of it, however it's more bearable than before.'

With a sigh, I look at the door in front of me, which is a bit bigger than others.

'It's a storage room.'

Putting my glasses back, I enter. What greets me is a room in complete darkness, however thanks to the light coming from the hallway, I am able to see that it's filled to the brim with boxes. I take a glance at them, however they are filled with things that I don't really know their purpose.

*Sob*

I catch an almost inaudible cry near.

'…I truly was lucky. If my speculation was off, then I would have forgotten about Olga and went directly to the infirmary.'

*Sob*

After looking around a bit more, I am able to see boxes big enough capable of reaching my waist… And beside the containers, in the corner just illuminated by the dim lighting, a hurt and crying Olga Marie is found hugging her own legs. The pristine white hair I saw before the explosion is now filled with dirt and some places are filled with red and black spots. Part of it is burned too.

*Sob*

'She didn't even notice that I entered.' I think as I look at the door from where I came. I turn my gaze towards her and as I get closer, I open my mouth.

.

.

.

"..."

However before words came out I stopped myself.

'…It should be better if I wait for her to calm herself.'

Ending those thoughts, I sat a good distance from her. Not too close nor too far from her.

*Sniff*

'…' I stay silent while glancing at her with bitter thoughts. '…The only one who she believed in betrayed her and even tried to kill her… If Kura did that to me….' I repressed that thought as soon as it came.

Like that I waited while looking at the little form of the director.

.

.

.

"…S-Since…" Olga says almost impossible to hear between gasps and tears. "Since w-when were you here…?"

I glance at her, and she is still in the same position as before. No ounce of eye contact.

"…I don't know. Maybe 30 minutes? An hour? I lost track of time here…" I responded.

The moment I close my mouth, silence appears in the dark room. Seconds later she asks again.

"Why… Why are you here?"

"Because…" I started speaking a sentence, however no more words came out.

'Why am I doing this? I could have ignored it and went to the infirmary like Romani said but…' I take yet another glance at her. Ending those thoughts I respond to her.

"…I don't know. Just because I wanted to."

Like that another bout of silence becomes apparent between us for an instant.

"…I see." Olga says without caring.

Silence prevailed in the room again, and before long, a deprecating laugh came out from her.

"I-It's funny isn't it?" She says still not looking at me. "I… I am such a fool. 107 confirmed deaths and 46 in critical condition… A-And…" An audible gulp is heard. "I-I can't even confront this situation... Everyone is working h-hard outside and then there's me, t-the d-director, who is wasting even the time of s-someone like you right now..."

"…"

Hearing her words I stay silent. Seconds later she talks again, but this time more agitated.

"…A-At least say something!" She says with evident rage while raising her head to look at me. "Curse me! L-Loathe me! You, just like everyone else, hates me! But at least tell me! I… I… I am just so tired of feigning ignorance, so… so… please… just… just tell me."

As she finishes, her head lowers powerlessly again.

Taking a pained breath I respond to her.

"I don't hate you Marie."

The moment my words came out she opened her eyes in shock…

.

.

.

However before long a snicker comes out of her.

"…What?" She says in disbelief. "What did you say?" Her breathing becomes more agitated. "Hahahaha…. HAHAHA!"

A crazed laughter reaches my ears, making me feel a chill go down my back.

"You… You don't hate me? Don't make me laugh-"

"I truly don't hate you Olga, and I am sure that a lot of people-" I try to reason, however my words end short.

"A lot of people, what?! Do you even know what you are saying and to who are you saying it?!" Olga yells at me while raising her head again. Her eyes almost look lifeless, however a faint trace of hatred is felt from them. "Since my childhood I tried my best to impress my father, to impress those around me, to impress anyone and be worthy of the Animusphere name, but still! Day after day, week after week, year after year!" Her voice becomes increasingly scarring with each sentence she finishes and continues while moving her dirtied hands towards her chest, staining her clothes even more than they already are. "Never had I taken a day off nor thought of that! So I worked harder, harder and harder! Even when I found out that my father did cruel experiments behind my back, I bit the bullet and continued! Even when I found out I was inept as a Magus for not being able to be a Master nor be capable of Rayshifting and was laughed at by the other magus on the clock tower, I moved on!" Tears started to come out from her amber coloured eyes and came down her dirtied face. "And the result of that?! Never! I was never praised for it! Not a good job, nor a great! And worst of all not even a thank you! Everyone hated me!" Before I knew it she was standing right in front of me with her tear and bloodied face easily seeable. A face where no trace of sleep is seen. A mortified one, knowing that no matter how much one works hard, it will never be rewarded. "Trisha, Archaman, Kyrielight, Wodime! I am sure of it! Nobody wanted me to be there! And just when I thought that there was someone able to understand me, to be there to help me, comfort me and protect me, he-!" Before continuing she bits her lip strong enough that a line of blood comes out. "…He betrayed me! H-He wanted to kill me! All those years of hardship with him! Of memories! To him it was…! It was…!" Slowly she sits back to where she was before with her head hanging low and hugging her legs like when I first found her, she ends with a murmur. "…A farce… A cruel and heart breaking farce."

With those words only the carcass of a human being remains in the room.

"…"

I stayed silent.

'…'

Nor could I think of anything.

I just… stayed there.

"…You can go back." She says without an ounce of the before seen emotion. "This… This is just a mishap. I just need some time and-"

Before she could finish her sentence I got up.


"I can't save you." He said while getting closer, and continued while sitting next to me. "Nor someone to help you... However!"

His shout startles me, prompting me to look at him in fright. There I saw him, with his amberish eyes only looking at me.

And only me.

"I am someone that will try it's best to protect you."

However the moment I heard his words, anger appeared from the deepest of me. Before I knew it I was moving my hand to hit him.

"You-!"

But like he was waiting for me to do that, he moved and…

Hugged me.

"…And comfort you. Even if it means that I need to spill my own blood."

In that moment my anger reached its boiling point and was going to lash out at him again, however… I stopped myself.

Between my tears and screams I wasn't able to see the state of the man in front of me, however now I am… No… I didn't even need to see it. I could feel it. He didn't have even the tiniest drop of strength on him. It was a miracle that he was capable of being in front of me. His Od was almost null, his body caked in blood and the incredibly durable mystic code that I gave to him and the other masters almost a rag.

"You…" A murmur full of shock came out of me.

"I am sorry, I must smell." He said apologetically, knowing full well what I was referring to. "I didn't even have time to go to the infirmary. As soon as I heard you went lost, I moved myself."

With those last words a certain memory made itself known in her mind.

It was of the man before him hugging her before the explosion, just like now. At the time she thought he was a mad man. Who dares to hug her, one of the ten lords of the clock tower? He could easily end as a man with his brain, nerves and magic circuits in preservation fluid for that transgression. However when the man bit her own finger to write that rune on her clothes… She was confused.

Why?

"I... was preoccupied." He said like nothing, not worrying about where my thoughts were going. "I thought something happened to you the moment Romani told me."

When she woke up in the infirmary, she was able to see the reason behind it. It was to save her, but still…

"Why?" My words came out like a whisper. "Why… Did you protect me? W-Was it because I was the director or…?" I drag my words while I wait for his answer.

He looked at me confused, however moments later his face softened with a tiny smile.

"I see… You mean back in the control room don't you?" I slowly nod to his words. Seeing that, a laughter comes from him. "Then the answer is as simple as it gets Olga." He says with a bigger smile than before. "The reason I protected you isn't because of your position or the power behind you."

Algiz is the rune related to life and death, because the meaning of it is protection or defence. Her years on the clock tower was enough to make her know how to use it, however... She never learned it to protect anybody else, only herself… But the man in front of her… He used it for her… And even if he needed to use his own blood and body for that…

"I don't care if you are the director of Chaldea nor one of the ten lords of the Clock tower..."

He protected her.

She, a stranger to him.

The times the two talked can only be counted on one or two hands.

But still… he did it.

And even now.

"I protected you because…" At his words I bit my bloodied lips again, this time softer than before.

He comforted her.

Even if she doesn't have anything.

Even when she lost nearly everything.

He protected and comforted that foolish girl.

Not because of her titles or magecrafts.

But…

"You are Olga Marie."

But because of her.

.

.

.

…However, at the same time, it hurt.

He detached everything from her.

Her titles.

Her powers.

Her achievements.

And even her efforts.

Everything she worked hard for…

It… It upset her.

But… At the same time…

It was relieving.

.

.

.

Just her.

No Director, no Lord, no Head, nothing.

Just… Olga.

As my thoughts reached that conclusion I tried to open my mouth to say something. Anything! Even a miserable cry... But nothing came out in the end.

Seeing that, he continued talking, however unlike before, his face was more withdrawn.

"Maybe… there is another reason." Hearing that my body stops moving briefly.

.

.

.

Ah…

So it's like that…

I… I should have thought of it…

There's… There's always something that somebody wants from her, and he is no exception-

"I don't want you to suffer the same fate of someone I know."

…?

However, that phrase made her stop that thought.

He continues while putting more force on his hug.

"That person was alive, however… at the same time dead."

Before I knew it, my throat felt like I was drowning. My eyes on the border of tears.

No.

It isn't believable.

Nobody is like this.

He is tricking me.

I am sure of it.

He'll use me like Lev…

Yeah, just like Lev-

"That's why I did it, because… I don't want you to die, Olga."

But although those words were echoing in her mind…

I couldn't put up with it anymore.

The moment his words ended, each and every word that came to my mind became white noise.

Before I knew it, tears came down my face again.

That was just the start.

I cried.

I yelled.

I cursed everyone and everything.

Even the one in front of me.

And what is worse is that I even went to the extent of hitting him a bit, thinking that would make me feel better.

.

.

.

But he still didn't care.

He remained there.

Hugging me.

.

.

.

Ah…

Now that I think about it…

When was the last time someone truly hugged me…?


Soft breathing is the only thing sounding in the dark storage room.

'She is fast asleep.'

After an unknown amount of time, Olga tired herself out and before I knew it I had her sleeping in my arms. Although some people will have their hearts racing in this situation, what I am truly thinking about isn't about her, but what I said to her.

'…Ah I am so embarrassed!' I think while feeling how hot my face is. 'I want to dig a hole and stay in there forever… "I am someone that will try it's best to protect you." Kuh! In the heat of the moment I said so many embarrassing things… Plus although her punches weren't heavy, they still hurt… Thanks to the power of medicine and drugs, I was able to stay composed even with those hits, however I was close to breaking-'

"Mh…" A small noise comes from her, prompting me to stop those thoughts.

Seeing as she isn't waking up a sigh comes out of me. As I continue looking at her, a sentence I said before comes to mind.

"I don't want you to suffer the same fate of someone I know."

"…"

.

.

.

Oscar… didn't have a good life. Nor was it a bad one, however it was… redundant. He was only another person in the world. A cog if you will. But he didn't hate it. He just went along with it. Since childhood he knew what he was in the world, so at first he tried to be something else. However with the passing of time, he… wore out. Before he knew it years passed and he just… gave up.

"What's worse is that his life was just another in the world. It made him feel that his silent efforts and suffering were meaningless... And in truth… they were. In the grand scheme of things… he was only an ant- no. Even worse, just a speck of dirt."

Before I knew it my ramblings in conjunction with my mind started to drift away.

"…Who am I really?" I said almost a murmur while resting my head on the wall.

'Why am I in Leonardo's body and why do I have Oscar's memories? Why am I here in what Oscar thought was only a game? And finally… For what reason do I exist?'

Oscar's memories made me remember that time after the explosion. When I saw a part of Leo's memories of when he was adopted by the Er-Meyer family.

I take a look at the sleeping Olga Marie.

'…'

I just stayed still looking at her. Before I knew it I was tidying her hair with the hand which didn't have the origamis.

'What a mess.' I think in exasperation. 'I shouldn't worry about that right now.'

A sigh comes out of me yet again.

'…Now what do I do?' I ponder as a yawn comes out of me. My gaze remains on the sleeping director. '…I don't want to wake her up, plus I am incredibly tired…'

Slowly moving myself so as to not wake her, I am able to accommodate myself well enough so I can try to sleep with the wall as a resting place.

'The last time I rested properly was before lancer's battle… And it was around 18 or 19 hours ago… Maybe it even reached 20.' Putting my head against the wall, I close my eyes and my mind starts to adrift. 'Time really passes fast when you are trying not to die…'

.

.

.

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*

'Why the hell wasn't I unconscious like Ritsuka and Mash?! I could at least rest a bit!' With those venomous thoughts, I furiously take the communicator close to me. However before I respond to it, I make the intelligent decision of lowering the volume to the minimum.

"Hello-"

"Where are you?!" Romani's voice loudly appears from the other side. "I said for you to be in the infirmary, however you aren't nowhere!"

'I knew it.'

Thanks to his shout, my gaze rapidly moves to Olga. Seeing that it only made her move a bit, I continued talking.

"Please don't shout so much, the director is sleeping." I whisper.

"…! You found the director?" He forgets the shout from before and asks much lower than before. "Where are you? I'll go running right now."

Hearing his words, I take another look at Olga.

'…This will be awkward to explain, but… I need his help.'

"I am in what appears to be a storage room. From the control room, take the left and…" After telling him the directions, I waited for his response.

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute." He says while having an agitated voice.

'…He is running, isn't he?' I think as a wry smile worms its way towards my face.

Minutes later, I am able to hear steps coming closer. Before long, from the doorway, the fluffy man with pinkish orange hair appears panting.

"Ha… Ha… Leo-!" His shout towards me is cut short after seeing the director asleep in my arms. "…I am interrupting something or-?"

"No." I say before he could continue. "Help me, a bit could you?"

"Eh-? Ah! Yeah!" He nods.

Gently we try to move the director so I can get up, but… She is grabbing the tatters of my suit with a strong grip.

"…Are you sure you don't want some time-?" Romani says jokingly, but I interrupt him.

"Shut up." I say harshly while feeling my face become a little hot again. "Although it would be helpful if you take this."

I hand him Kura and Aurora. Seeing them, his face displays shock.

"…Are you sure?" He alternates between them and me.

"Of course, I trust you with them, Romani."

"…" He looks at me amazed but his face is plastered with a soft smile seconds later. "Alright."

Then he takes both Kura and Aurora and puts them carefully in his pocket.

"Although if I see a single cut on them, then I'll have your head." I say while not making eye contact.

"Ah… You had to say that before I took them." He says wryly. "Now changing the topic, how do we do this?" He points towards me.

"…Nice question…"

Even if I move myself a bit forcefully, she doesn't let go of the suit.

'…When did she grab me? And why?'

Minutes later of struggling, I am able to get up, however because of her tight grip, I need to carry her…

Bridal style.

Romani opens his mouth, but I look at him fiercely, prompting him to back down.

"Just…" I continue while feeling my whole body sweating. "Make sure nobody sees us. I am sure that Olga won't let me go if she ever knows about this."

He rapidly nods with a goofy smile.

"And don't tell anyone." I end that sentence while grinding my teeth.

"Don't worry~. This secret will end with me~." Romani says while walking back towards where we came.

"You truly make me want to punch-" I try to say, however a movement from Olga makes me stop.

"Mh…"

After some seconds she stops moving. Seeing that she isn't waking up, I sigh of relief.

'Shit… if she would have woken up, then… I don't know how I'll end…'

.

.

.

"Finally here." I say lifelessly.

"Yeah… I didn't know it was going to be so stressful to distract the staff." Romani exhales next to me, while using a towel to clean the sweat off his forehead. "Maomao was so close to seeing you that it wasn't funny."

"Yeah I know, head nurse."

"Put her in one of the beds over there... And don't call me head nurse… I didn't study to get the title of 'Head nurse'." He says while sitting on one of the chairs with momentum.

'He is really tired, huh?'

"Ah right… Let's see that rib. Although I know it is nothing grave, I am sure you aren't that relieved."

"You read my mind." I say while looking at the passed out Ritsuka and Mash on one of the beds.

'They are almost bandaged from head to toe.'

"Let's make a quick check on you. After that, take a bath in one of the close rooms or on yours, and come back so I can bandage you." A yawn comes out of him, prompting me to yawn as well. "I want to sleep so badly… I am sure that more than 24 hours have passed since I last touched a bed…"

"Same here… If you wouldn't have called me through the communicator, I am sure that I would be sleeping like a log back there." I say while putting the director on a bed.

'Why the hell is she still grabbing me…?' I think weary.

"…With the director in your hands? I must say, you are someone brave for that." Romani continues with a teasing tone.

"…Shut up." I growl while I gently open her hands to be free.

The moment her hands leave my suit alone, her arms start to move like searching for something.

"…Oh." Romani exclaims at seeing that. "I was having my doubts, but to think it was that…"

"Mh? What do you mean?" I ask him while taking a pillow and letting her grab it.

What she does next truly surprises me. Olga, the instant the pillow is in her hands, puts herself in a fetal position while hugging it as a smile appears on her face.

"Yeah that confirms it." Romani says without a trace of playfulness on him. "I think… She is going through a bit of infantile regression."

"…? Wait, isn't that bad-!?"

"…Shh! Silence!" Romani's hand blocked my mouth before my shout continued. "Not necessarily, however it depends on which phase she regressed to." Romani says while taking a closer look at her face. "...I didn't see it before thanks to the dim lighting of the room and because I didn't have her near, but are those tear stains?"

"…Yes." I say after hesitating a little at his voice.

Then it felt like the temperature of the room went down by some degrees… For me at least.

"Mister Leonardo, we'll do this." He says while not looking at me. "I'll make a check on your injuries, and while I do that, I need you to tell me what happened inside there."

"…Alright." I say lower than I thought.

'I am sorry Olga, I wanted to hide your weakness a bit, however… I need to tell him.'

.

.

.

"…I see." Romani says after taking a sip of coffee. "That's… I knew that the director was overexerting herself, but to this amount… In that situation, what you did is correct, however…" A sigh comes out of him. "Let's hope she doesn't depend on you as much as she did with Lev…"

"…" I stay silent at those words.

"Ah, it isn't because I don't trust you Leo." He corrects himself while moving his hands. "But the thing is, if Olga continues like this she will completely break and lose herself." He puts a hard to read face as he leans back on the chair again. "In the hypothetical case that she does rely on you as emotional support, the moment something truly bad happens to you, then she'll feel an amount of stress enough to lead a normal person to... well, end himself."

Hearing those words, I start to feel a bitter taste in my tongue. Seeing my face he continued.

"What she's experiencing now is infantile regression. This happens because the person in question confronts an unpleasant or threatening situation, and goes back to a certain phase in his life where said situation never existed." He turns to look at Olga. "However, not only is she going through that defence mechanism, but from what you said, she experienced a catharsis earlier. Meaning that even if she expressed herself to such extents, Olga still has a great amount of pent up feelings, causing the regression, but..."

"We don't know what those feelings are." I interrupted him. "Because she talked about everything earlier."

"Exactly." Roman continues with an unpleasant face. "This is what makes this harder than it looks… I need you to tell me Leo, are you sure she didn't say anything else?"

Hearing him, I stay silent thinking about all the words she said back then. But after a good minute, nothing comes to light.

"From what I remember, not."

A yawn leaves his mouth although his face tries to suppress it.

"…Then we don't have any other choice than to wait. Thankfully the cases of regression are temporary and the majority are really subtle, like a grown up suddenly sleeping with a teddy bear, so we don't need to worry too much."

"I see…" I say while ending my cup of coffee.

Maybe feeling my low spirits, Romani continues talking.

"But still, 'I want to change that fate of yours'… that's pretty corny even for me." Romani says with a chuckle.

My face feels hot at that comment.

"Ha… This is why I didn't want to tell you some parts." I say with my gaze low and a hand on my forehead.

"And for that I am thankful. That means, that you care enough for the director to even mention such embarrassing things…" He says while taking the empty cups and getting up. "But still- Pfff-! 'I am someone that will try it's best to protect you and comfort-' Pfff-!" Romani tries to contain the laughter in consideration, but in my ears it sounds like mockery.

"Ah shut up!" I yell to him while enduring the pain from my abdomen.

"Hahaha… Don't worry it's just a little joke, hahaha…" He says while taking a little tear out of his face. "Ha… On another note, you only have some cuts and bruises. The pain you feel on your ribs isn't because something is broken or fractured thankfully, but because it's bruised. It isn't life threatening, however they are known to generate a good amount of pain. They'll heal with a bit of time so don't worry about them too much… But don't make too much rough moves, if not the heal process will be slower." He continues with a smile. "However, right now I want you to emphasise the cuts. Just one bad bacteria that entered there will put even the strongest magus a foot under. I highly recommend you to take a bath to clean the wounds right now. When you come back I'll bandage you so you can rest. Plus you stink a bit." He says that last part while pinching his nose.

"Yeah yeah mister nurse..." I respond to him while I start to get out of the room. "I'll take my familiars okay?"

"Yeah, don't- Wait mister nurse?! Now I was downgraded?!"

Hearing those last words of Romani, I start heading towards my room.


Finally finding myself in front of the door to my room, I let out a sigh as I approached it. The door slowly opens by itself and-

"Die!"

A boyish scream permeates through my mind as a little green paper origami of a snake comes flying towards me. It strikes me, however as its paper it only bounces from my body, not leaving any kind of injury behind, and although tired I rapidly grab it before the poor beast reaches the floor.

"…Teoti?" I say surprised while grabbing the shivering piece of origami. "Don't worry Teoti, I am here." As I caress it, I check if I regenerated enough Od.

'A good amount charged. Great.'

"Papycry release."

With those words the magecraft starts to undo itself and from the origami a snake slowly appears. As it becomes bigger its body begins to coil around my arm and reaches all the way to my head with its length.

As I was gazing at the beast in front of me, the head of the greenish snake turned toward me and its black eyes crossed mine. Seconds later its head closes onto me and…

Strokes his head with my cheeks.

*Concern*

"Yeah, I am sorry for making you worry." I say while softly patting the snake named Teoti… Or better said…

As a response to my pats Teoti starts to tremble… and from behind him, a pair of pristine white wings makes itself known.

The Quetzalcolite or winged serpent named Teoti.

Thought to be a descendant of the grand divine being Quetzalcoatl, the quetzalcolite is in reality a magical beast of the monstrous rank. It looks like a normal snake, however not for nothing is a magical being. It possesses a pair of wings reminiscent of a hawk which surprisingly are capable of elevating the being and permit flight. Their intelligence and magic is greater than normal animals, however the capacity of both are limited as it's a being of monstrous rank. Thanks to that limitation, the level of intelligence isn't enough to permit a fluid conversation with their contractors even using the magecraft of Animal Communication.

Teoti looks at me and from that gaze alone I can tell what he wants.

"Alright. After all, you do need compensation for worrying a lot."

Suddenly it starts to coil itself around my neck. A little bit too close for comfort, however not tight enough to suffocate me.

Taking a second look I can see his satisfied face, making me to be happy-

"…This fucker."

-for a bit.

I turn my gaze towards the inside of the bedroom.

Everything looks normal, until you see the bed.

The blankets are thrown all over the floor close to it, and some are even torn apart. One of the pillows still remains on the bed however the others are in tatters.

'…And I wanted to sleep comfortably-'

"Don't ignore me!"

The voice resounds again.

On the remaining pillow a white origami of a fox with two tails is jumping angrily while looking in my direction.

"Not only you leave me like this for god knows how many days, but you also ignore me when I am in front of you?! That's why you Er-Meyers are so-! Gaaaaaah!"

A second scream resounds through my head.

"…I am sorry-"

"If you truly are sorry then release the magecraft! Do you think it's comfortable for a beast of my magnitude to be revoked of my normal form and magical power?! Just do it for god's sake!"

Papycry is a convenient magecraft, however for beings who use mana just like breathing it becomes an incredibly stifling experience. That's the reason Kura sounded so indignant when he came to find me. What's worse is that this feeling becomes worse the better you are at using magical power. In short, it's like someone having an incredible amount of clothes in the middle of summer… And has around two to three face masks on.

"Papycry release."

The magecraft becomes undone and a white fox with red lines all over its body appears on top of the bed.

"Haa… Finally… I am free…" The fox opens its mouth and talks. "If you were late for some days I would have gone crazy and tried to destroy this freaking contract."

The moment a magical beast reaches the phantasmal rank the power behind its mystery increases exponentially, and with it its capacity of performing magecraft, not to mention their intelligence. And some are capable of even communicating without the need of spells like Animal Communication like Aurora, Kura and Shiro. However they only do it if they want to.

"…I am truly sorry, Shiro." I bow towards the fox on the bed.

Hearing my apology the fox looks at me. In its eyes I can see only one emotion. And that is hatred.

"You…"

The fox suddenly jumps from the bed and as it nears towards me, a whitish glow appears. After the light recedes a little, a small boy with wild short white hair, red eyes and a Japanese priest's clothing appears in front of me. Then-

"Argh!" A pained shout comes out of me.

"Listen here." Shiro says while digging his hand on where my injured rib is. Suddenly I could feel the temperature of my body become almost zero for me. "Unless it truly is necessary, and I mean truly, never put me in that form again. If not, I'll even cut one of my tails off to try and undo the contract. After that, pray to any god that I won't try to kill you. Understood?"

I weakly nod to his words.

"Really?" He continues putting said hand even deeper prompting me to bend over around his height. I would have fallen over if he didn't have put his shoulder in the middle of me and the floor.

*Hiss*

Teoti hisses towards him in an attempt to protect me, however just a look from him makes the snake lower his head in fear and hide behind me.

"…Leonardo." The fox says while whispering in my ear with a crooked smile. "We both know the reason why I am your Familiar. I hope you remember it."

"Y-yes…" A weak sounding murmur comes from me.

"Mh? I didn't hear you." Like that he puts more force in his hand.

"Argh! Y-Yes!" I shout.

"Good." Then he takes out his hand and moves to the side, making me fall on the floor flat. "I'll take a short tour around this place. When my mood is in a better state I'll come back."

Not even waiting for an answer from me, he transforms in his fox form and gets out of the room.

"And don't worry, I won't attack anyone. I don't know what happened, however I can feel it. The world has changed." With those last words, he disappears.

.

.

.

Seconds later, I found myself still on the cold floor.

'…I truly fucked up.' I think while gasping for air on the floor.

Shiro is one if not the highest ranking magical beast that the Er-Meyer family has, and only accompanied the family head… Or better said it was only the family head that was able to use him, as if another one tried to make a contract with him, it would be torn to shreds by him. Normally said beast would be killed and used for research, however as it was one of the remaining Phantasmal rank beings in the world, it was a better idea to let it live and serve the Er-Meyer family… Even if his personality is the worst of all the familiars the family has, the amount of power behind him is considerable, even surpassing Kura's and Aurora's... Finally, the reason that he is under a contract with me is because… He is forced to it. Not because of myself, but because a previous head of the Er-Meyer tricked him into making a contract not with him, but with the Er-Meyer family as a whole.

'As he said, he can undo the contract, however the power to do that is so great that he needs to use one of its tails. Meaning that if he does that his power will go down a rank, and no longer be a Phantasmal rank beast for almost some centuries.'

*Lick* *Lick*

While trying to reorganise what I know about Shiro from Leonardo's memories, Teoti comes and starts licking my face. Concern is seeable in his little black eyes.

"…Haha… I am okay Teoti, just… a little fight between us." I say trying to endure the bouts of pain that came from my abdomen. "Yeah, just that…"

A sigh comes from me as I carefully get up.

'…Let's just bath, go back to Romani and-'

My thought process is cut short because of some little figures jumping on the destroyed bed, or better said behind the remaining pillow on the destroyed bed.

"Ah… Andras… Jiniri... I'll undo the magecraft fast guys, just wait some seconds for me to collect my breath, okay?" I say while getting closer towards a yellow coloured origami of a person with horns and a bluish one with the form of a horse.

'...My Od is reaching its limit again.' I think as tiredness becomes prevalent in my body.

Leaving the origami of Kura and Aurora on the nightstand, I approach the ones on the bed.

"Papycry, release."

With those words, the origami unfolds and suddenly two beings appear in front of me.

Firstly from the yellow origami, a little female human-like form with a fiery yellowish skin and a pair of horns big enough to be almost one of its arms comes out of it.

An Efreet.

A kind of magical beast that is closely related to elementals is what came from the origami.

"…!"

The moment that the Efreet, or better said, Jiniri finally ends its transformation, she lunges towards me and hugs me…

Hard.

"…Jiniri, please don't be so forceful-" I try to say to her, however I stop myself at seeing her head low and trembling arms.

I unconsciously embraced her and flared the magic crest, which has Animal Communication in it.

"…Heard explosion. Worried. Not seeing you. Again." A low female voice starts to sound in my head. "Tried help. Fox stop me."

"…"

'…This is becoming more troublesome than I thought.'

Shiro will rarely help its master, however this depends on his mood. In some cases it even prevented other familiars in helping said master, sometimes ending badly for everyone.

'I thought if I had just a bit of caution it wouldn't happen this… It looks like I need to be even more careful in the future with them.'

"…I see." I say while slowly stroking her head, even if her temperature is so hot that it almost burns my hand. Trying to change the theme to a more light-hearted one I open my mouth. "Now that I see it, you are able to control your flames better. If not, you would have burned me already." I say with a chuckle.

"…!" Hearing my words the efreet rapidly gets away from me. "…Sorry. Forgot. Almost burned."

"Don't worry about-" I try to relieve Jiniri, only to suddenly have my head all wet. "-It… Andras I wasn't being burned."

I say while turning my head to where the water came from. A gigantic horse made of water with a pair of purplish wings on his rear appears before me.

A Kelpie, just a bit smaller than Kura.

*Neigh!*

"I know that I made you worry, but-" Before I could try to reason with him another stream of water came towards me, this time soaking my face whole and poor Teoti too.

*Hiss*

*Neigh*

"Hey." I say while looking towards him, however he just moves his head to the side, ignoring me. Even then I continue. "At least only wet me and not Teoti. He didn't do anything wrong."

Andras' head turns towards me, and after hearing those words he nods. The next thing I know is that everywhere except my neck where Teoti is, becomes drenched.

*…Neigh*

'…Yeah I deserve that for worrying you, I am sorry.'

"…I'll just take the bath now… And please dry the floor…" With those words I head towards the shower.

"Ah… I really need a shower for god's sake."

With steam coming out as I open the door of the shower, my eyes go towards the towels found on the bed. After covering myself with them, I look towards one of my familiars, who is found with a pair of trembling hands covering her whole face in the corner of the room.

"You can now look, Jiniri."

As soon as that sentence finishes, the Efreet slowly removes her hands from her head. Seeing that I am covered with the towel her whole being oozes relief. My gaze moves from her head to her body. Instead of before where she was naked as any Efreet, right now she is dressed with a mystic code that Leo ordered for her some years back. It has a fire resistance magecraft inputted on it and at the same time it's capable of slightly strengthening her, however the reality is that Leo asked for it so she isn't going around the Clock Tower almost naked. It's reminiscent of one of those Middle East dancing clothes with its colour being a red which compliments her really well.

'…I remember when one of the professors got slightly mad with Leo about her… Something about exciting the students...'

As I remember that memory from Leo, I grab a lock of my hair.

"Jiniri, can you help me?"

Seeing what I mean, she readily agrees, and while I sit in one of the corners of the torn bed, she puts herself behind me, and with her hands close to my wet hair…

Hot air starts to come out of her hands.

'…Although I don't want to ask her this, the long hair is… inconvenient.' Thinking that, I grab another lock of hair.

"It's getting pretty long… Maybe I should just cut it…" The moment those murmurs came out of my mouth, I could see Jiniri stop and put her head close to me while shaking it.

"Like. Long hair." She says while making an X with her arms. "No. Cutting."

I stay for some seconds staring at her, before laughing a bit.

"…Alright, I won't." I say to the efreet who puts her arms down in relief. Seconds later she continues. After thinking for a bit, I open my mouth. "…Do you perhaps know how to tie hair, Jiniri?" I ask her, however the only response I get is her turning her head. "Nevermind then."

'I'll see what I can do.'

Like that I waited until she finished and, I must add, that the feeling of the hot air after showering and with all the tiredness on my body was a deadly combination for inducing sleep. I almost went to dreamland like four or five times while waiting. Anyways, thanks to the hot air, not only is my hair totally dry, but a part of my body too, meaning that I can finally put on clothes.

"Thank you Jiniri, now if you-" I try to say for her to block her eyes so I can change, however the moment I turn to see her, she already has her hands back where they were before. "I'll change fast then."

I get up from the bed and go towards a hefty travelling bag found in the corner of the room.

'...All bedrooms have a closet, why the hell did Leo not put his things inside of one?' I think in exasperation. 'Even the clothes that Chaldea gave for the masters to wear are inside of it… Whatever, I'll rearrange everything tomorrow… Let's just find the damned clothes and-'

However before I could finish that thought, my body tenses up, as a familiar trace of mana reaches my fingertips.

'Isn't this…?' I rapidly took out the thing that made me become alert. Before long, a long black stripe of an unknown fabric is found on my hand.

'...'

Seconds later I dig it back where it was without taking another look at it.

'As long as I stick with Ritsuka and Mash like in the singularity before I shouldn't have a problem living through Goetia's Incineration, however…' The memory of Kura being injured after protecting me from the horde of skeletons resurfaces. '...No. Even then I won't use it.'

Finally finding the clothes and some hair tails, I took the bag and hid it in the closet. After changing fast, sloppily tying my hair and waiting for Teoti to slither towards my neck, I can finally say that I am done here…

Or so I thought.

'Now that I think about it, what do I do with them?' I think while alternating my gaze between a Jiniri who is looking angrily at the Kelpie in front of me and Andras, who is on the verge of throwing a water ball towards the Efreet's face. 'Teoti is small so he isn't a problem, however Jiniri is as big as a child, and Andras… is a lot bigger… And I can't just let them become origami again, as they wouldn't like being in that form so much.' I think recalling Shiro's mood earlier. 'Mhh… I'll ask Romani, he'll help, I am sure of it.' A smile appears on my face. 'I wonder what face he'll put, hehe…'

"Jiniri, Andras we need to go." As those words leave my mouth, they give each other a last glance before separating. 'They truly don't like each other, don't they?'

The Efreet rapidly closes onto me and grabs my right arm and hugs it. As I was about to open my mouth she spoke first.

"Really. Preoccupied. Reward. Needed." She says without breaking eye contact.

'This girl…' A sigh comes out of me.

I turn my head towards Andras to ask him if he needs a reward too, however before he could make a sound Jiniri opens her mouth first.

"Old man. Didn't need. Reward. His. Words." She said with fun in her words.

The moment she ended, Andras started to neigh angrily.

*Neigh!*

'You little spirit!' 'If you continue like that, I'll extinguish you right now!' 'And I am not even that Old!' 'Just because I am the eldest from the monstrous rank doesn't mean I am an old man!' 'I swear on the lady of the lake that one of these days…!'

His neighing continued on and on. Seeing him become increasingly heated up, I slowly started to caress his head until he calmed down, much to the Efreet's dismay.

'Really, sometimes they act like children.' I think with a smile while seeing how they start to fight again.

"Yeah, I know, right m-a-s-t-e-r?" Aurora's strangely sweet voice starts to resound in my mind, making me feel a chill on my back.

"A-Aurora! Y-You woke up!" I say suddenly, making Andras and Jiniri stop their fighting. Not even checking if I have enough Od for the magecraft I continue. "Papycry, release!"

After the transformation is over, the indignated bird flies in front of my face. There our gazes crossed with each other. Seconds later she flies up to the top of my head and sits there leaving the following words.

"...Prepare yourself."

.

.

.

'...Why am I making today each and every Phantasm rank beast that I know mad?'

As I feared for my future here in Chaldea, I took Kura and headed to the infirmary with the four magical beasts.


After some time passing the seemingly abandoned hallways I found myself in front of the infirmary door. I take a last long look at Jiniri, Andras and Teoti, while petting Aurora even if she is still offended.

'... Let's hope for the best.'

With those thoughts I open the door. I take some steps in before seeing the fluffy man turning towards me.

"Ah Leonardo, finally you got here, I was just about to…" Romani slowly stops himself from talking after seeing the Familiars that came with myself.

"..."

First he looks at the Efreet which is grabbing my whole arm, then at the enormous Kelpie next to me which is ignoring the Efreet who looks annoyed at him, then his gaze ends at the Quetzalcolite around my neck. For a moment his face becomes more surprised than some seconds ago, however that rapidly changes to tired one after a small sigh on his part.

"Leo, could we please speak outside of the infirmary for a moment?" He says in his most deadpanned voice while walking out, however he stops himself when he looks at the little bird on top of my hair. "No, nevermind, let's just bandage you up and go to rest. We can talk tomorrow."

"...Yeah…" I respond while not seeing his incriminating eyes. My gaze stops on the Efreet. "Jiniri could you please let go and go outside for a moment? You too Teoti." The snake sadly nods and starts slithering down, however unlike him, Jiniri stops looking at Andras and turns her head towards me while shaking it.

"Preoccupied." She says while grabbing said arm harder than before.

'I am sure that you just want to grab my arm don't you?'

"Please, I need mister Doctor over there to help me treat some wounds that were left over from before, okay?" I say while pointing towards Romani whose face transmists 'Please, I just want to sleep.' or 'They don't pay me enough for this.'

After some pondering from her part, she nods and lets go of me. However instead of going out she stays inside the infirmary.

"Preoccupied."

'...Right.'

"Aurora, you-"

"You can continue with the treatment, Doctor." Aurora says coldly, making Romani's tired eyes become as big as plates from the surprise.

"I-It can talk?!" He shouts briefly before rapidly covering his mouth. His gaze moves first towards the director, then to Mash and finally Ritsuka. Seeing that nobody wakes up, he takes said hands from his mouth, gulps, and continues, this time whispering to me. "The bird can talk?!"

"...Yes, Aurora can talk normally as she is of the phantasmal rank-" I tried to explain to him while resisting the urge to laugh to his face, however he cut me short.

"You-! What do you mean normally?!" This time he almost shouts for a second time while grabbing the collar of my clothes. "Why the hell do you have a phantasmal rank magical beast?!" He continues while shaking my whole being, even if I am someone injured. "All of them should be on the reverse side of the world! It should be impossible for a being like that to be in this space with almost null mystery!" He says while pointing towards Aurora who is still on my head. "Just the fact that you have a monstrous rank beast is surprising, however a phantasmal one goes beyond logic, even for a magus!"

As he continues to yell at me while somehow whispering it, I am here trying to repress the desire of telling him there are two more.

"Ahem." I cough, making him let go of my clothes. "There is a reason that she is able to be here without any problem." I say while putting my hand on top of my head so Aurora can stand on it. Seconds later she does it, however she makes her displeasure known by pinching with her little beak a part of my hand.

'You are still angry aren't you?'

Finally on my hand I put her closer towards Romani.

"If you see there is a little difference between the monstrous and the phantasmal rank. Not one magical, but physical."

After saying this, Romani alternates between Aurora in my hands, and Andras and Jiniri who are fighting again, this time more quietly than before.

"Now that you say it… It's like when you were in the singularity, It looked impossible for her to be a magical beast."

"Aurora, in comparison to the Kelpie and the Efreet looks a bit… plain isn't it?" I say although it earns me another peck from Aurora."

"Yeah…"

"That's the thing. Her true form in reality is repressed." I say stunning him. "She is of course stronger than them, however her original power is almost halved. As I told you before Papycry is a magecraft that makes things origami, however for the Er-Meyer family it has a second purpose when it involves magical beasts." Seeing his interest reaching his peak, I continue. "A restraining contract."

"...I see." He says while grabbing his chin. "However, it's still a bit strange…"

"What's it?"

"How can you find a phantasmal being at this age? I mean, it isn't impossible but still finding one and making a contract that restrains it is still something bordering it."

"..." Hearing him I smile wryly. "The Er-Meyer family passed centuries traversing dangerous sites almost impossible for even a magus to survive. Only thanks to that we were found around ten living phantasmal beings, however only three were able to become familiars of the family."

"...The Er-Meyer family is greater than I thought." Romani says amazed at one of the old tales of the family.

"Not for nothing we were one of the greatest before." I respond bitterly to his words.

'Long ago they traded to other families monstrous rank beasts that they bred as materials for investigation, and asked in exchange "small" favours. That is why before Leo's adoptive father became the head of the family, it was a step away from becoming a family in between the lords.' I think while looking at the three monstrous rank beasts surrounding me. '...If Leo found them and the family became one of the lords of the clock tower… They wouldn't be here and would have become investigation materials for some shitty magus research.'

"That… Was truly interesting… and enlightening. If it isn't a problem with you I'd like to continue talking about this, however right now." He says while pointing to the bandages on his hand. "We need to stop going off tangent anymore." Romani says while shaking his head. "The little birdy-"

"Aurora." She corrects him fast.

"-Aurora." He continues after some seconds. "She can be in your head without a problem. I only need for you to take out your upper part clothing and you'll be bandaged in a trice!" He says with a tired smile.

I nod at his words, then I start taking my top off for him.

.

.

.

That sounded a bit strange didn't it?

Anyways, a good amount of time later I can see my whole body patched up.

"I must say, now I believe even more that of the Er-Meyer family passing centuries finding magical beasts to contract." Romani says while washing his hands.

"Really, why?" I ask him while looking at the sleeping Efreet, Kelpie and Quetzalcolite.

'To think Jiniri and Teoti would take one of the infirmary beds… As long as she doesn't burn it, everything is okay… Although poor Andras has to sleep on the floor. No bed is big enough for him here.'

"Your back and front." He continues while pointing towards a mirror which just shows the majority of my back in all of its splendour.

"Ah, right."

In my back and reaching towards the front of my body, the gigantic magic crest of the Er-Meyer family is found. It almost looks like a tribal tattoo with its blackish red colour, however in the back, the face of a grand horned beast makes itself known.

"The legend is that in reality, the core of the magic crest is made from one part of a divine rank beast." I say while putting my top back on. "That's what I read in one of the diaries of the past Heads." After that my gaze ends on Aurora who is sleeping on the pillow where Jiniri is.

"Really?" He almost exclaims. "That plus the magical beast searching for your family makes everything more mysterious… Maybe it's thanks to your family that mystery still remains today." He says with a little chuckle at his own word play.

"Haha…" I make a pity laugh at his poor joke. "If you want something more mysterious, then our family has a mystic code at the same level of the Supreme Mystic Codes of the twelve families."

"Now that truly makes me curious." He says while sitting on the table, but the moment he sits his face becomes hard to read. "...However, is it truly alright to tell me this? What if I sell this info to another family?"

At his words I look at him with a bitter smile.

"...I mean, you can try, however…"

Hearing my answer his smile disappears from his face.

"Right…" He remembers why we are in the infirmary in the first place. "...We need to stop Lev, and whoever he called his king." Romani says seriously, almost outside of character.

"I know." I nod towards him. "However, that needs to wait. Right now…" I look at him seriously.

"Yes, right now…" He responds with a look even more serious than before.

We both move our gazes towards the beds in the infirmary.

Only one remains without an owner.

.

.

.

Without even talking we started playing rock, paper, scissors.

.

.

.

Before long a clear winner is seen.

"So the great Er-Meyer family falls today, eh?" Romani says playfully while raising his fist towards the heavens.

"Yeah… You can have the remaining bed." I say while bitterly looking at my two raised fingers. With a sigh I turn my gaze towards Jiniri and Teoti. "Well, at least it looks like I can fit right there if we all squeeze together… Romani I-" I try to speak to him, however instead of seeing him where he was seconds ago, I see him passed out in the bed. "Nevermind. Good night to you too."

Then with those last words, I start walking towards where the three beasts are.

'...I just hope to not sweat too much tonight.'


.

.

.

After a chaotic day, all of Chaldea is sleeping to gain a bit of the energy they lost in today's chaos… Or better said, almost everybody.

"...You know… It's kinda hard to sleep when you make that much sound, don't you know?" Aurora's calm voice resounds through the pitch black infirmary. "Shi-ro."

As it was choreographed, the silhouette of the white fox with two tails appears gracefully from the corner of the room. "Aurora, don't talk too much, don't you worry they will wake up?" He says with a cunning tone.

"Oh god, please, they are so tired that if we screamed only the children would wake up." She says while looking at the Quetzalcolite and the Efreet snuggled close towards her master. "However that elemental of water needs only a century or two to reach the phantasmal rank, so we must speak a bit low unfortunately."

Shiro gazes at the Kelpie sleeping next to the bed of his master.

.

.

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'Master eh?'

"What, went down memory lane?" The annoying bird's voice reaches his ears again.

"Shut up." He says while nearing Leonardo. However before he could continue almost transparent feathers surrounded him. "And this?" He says mildly infuriated.

"Just a precaution. After all, you hurt our master pretty badly because of some petty past grudges." She says while flying in front of him. "He didn't know it, however I could feel it. That little move you did when you put your hand on his abdomen is in my eyes a bit of treason towards our master you see?"

The voice of the bird became increasingly jagged.

"...You don't even know the reason why I implanted that curse." The fox defends himself, however it falls short.

"And I don't care. I just know that you did and that's all that it matters."

More and more feathers appeared around the white fox. The amount and power of them easily passes the ones made in the singularity.

"Now, I'll ask you." The voice of the bird becomes surprisingly cold. "What is your purpose for coming here?"

"..."

The fox became silent as the tension inside of the dim lighted room became increasingly worse.

.

.

.

"I…" Before long, the words of the fox started to trail off. "I came to accompany him."

His words briefly shocked the bird, however they didn't ease up its uneasiness.

"...Reason?" Aurora's voice is filled with cautiousness towards him.

Seconds later, the fox talks again.

"He is an Er-Meyer… And for that I won't forgive him…" He says with a deep hatred laced in his words. "However, although he is one… he doesn't have its blood… Meaning that unlike his predecessors… He is more tolerable."

"Ha…" Hearing him the bird exhales and undoes all the feathers surrounding the fox. "You are such a tsundere."

At her words the fox stays silent.

"Maybe… Maybe I am after all." He says while carefully jumping to the bed where Leonardo is sleeping.

Those were the fox's last words before snuggling on the lap of its "Master".

End of Chapter 2: Calm before the storm


Author's note: ON!

12K words… Which equals to 30 pages… Me dying over here. I was thinking of putting a drawing in this one, however I think I'll do one for another time (Like the next chapter).

Anyways. The plot of Orleans is ready, Rome almost ready, I already have the next chapter planned out, and the Overall plot is almost done…! God have mercy on my soul.

Anyways x2. Please tell me if you liked this chapter and at the same time I am thinking of making some fast sketches of the different characters like Shiro, Aurora, Jiniri, Andras, Teoti and others!

Anyways x3. Let's go towards the reviews!

The Black Kraven: The thing about him being a third wheel in singularity F is intentional. After all he did have Aurora and Kura with him, however as they are weakened and reaching the level of a top tier servant is pretty damn hard even for monstrous rank magical beings, he needed to depend heavily on Mash, Ritsuka and Caster. However this will change in Orleans a good amount, so don't worry about him not having the spotlight in the future.

T-B-R: Yeah a bit more and instead of a fourth wheel, Mash and Ritsuka will have like fifteen of something lol.

Cran3s: Thank you!

Guest: Thanks for the follow!

Phantasmal Trickster: I am grateful that you are hooked to it! And don't worry, a lot of things will happen. *Evil laugther*

And that's all! I am thinking of making chapters with a whooping 10k words each one (And maybe a bit more if they are special.) However as I said before that's all!

Please look at my other works if you like them!

Author's Note: OFF!