002 - The last day of your life

Mashu Kyrielight

From an intellectual standpoint, Mashu is aware that following a stranger into their room is generally considered a bad idea. Even with her limited and sheltered life experience, Mashu knows better than doing something like that with someone like… let's say Gut-san.

Just a random name thrown out there, really.

But this is completely different so it doesn't count.

To begin with, she's not following a stranger into their room, she's the one guiding the stranger in this case. Totally different. Additionally, the stranger is lost and needs help. Mashu isn't one to pointlessly deny assistance when requested. And lastly, this particular stranger stole her innocence and is now supposed to take responsibility. That's how these things go, Doctor Roman made sure to insist very much on that point.

Mashu is still unsure of how the birds and bees were supposed to be part of that conversation, or why the doctor kept going on tangents about animal and vegetal biology. What do pistils and stamens have to do with cabbage patches or carrier storks? What are carrier storks, actually?

…She's not even sure what was the point of that conversation in the first place, come to think of it.

As she walks down the corridor towards the sleeping quarters of the Master Candidates, she steals a glance towards the mysterious stranger. She follows after Mashu with a big carefree smile on her lips, hands behind her head and Fou perched on top of her orange mane.

That's another thing, Fou seems to like this stranger and is going so far as to refuse getting down from there. Anyone who gets Fou's seal of approval is automatically in Mashu's good books too. E– Even if they're sinful and sensual creatures who lead innocent girls astray without even trying!

"By the way, I never introduced myself." The sinful creat– The orangette stranger suddenly breaks the silence. "The name's Fujimaru Ritsuka, but everyone calls me Haku."

"Mashu Kyrielight, please call me Mashu." Mashu replies automatically, imitating the stranger's introduction without even thinking. And then she blinks in confusion. And then she blinks again. "E-excuse me, but… 'Haku'? That's an unusual nickname. It doesn't seem to be a shortening of Fujimaru-senpai's name."

"Seriously, call me Haku. Nobody actually calls me Fujimaru-san and it feels all weird to hear it." The stran– Fujim– Haku-senpai complains, the palms of both hands coming together in front of her face in a universal pleading gesture. "And you're right, it's related to a childhood incident. But it stuck for some reason and I kinda like it, so Haku it is."

"Haku-senpai, then." Mashu concedes, folding both hands in front of her lap and closing her eyes to give Senpai a formal bow. "Please take good care of me."

And would you look at that? They're not strangers anymore!

"Yeah, don't worry, Mashu-chan!" The other girl answers with a thumbs up and a s-saucy wink. "Senpai will take responsibility! I'll take good care of you too!"

… For some reason, the way Senpai said that makes Mashu's cheeks burn up again. Mashu considers most people her senpai, if just in life experience alone. She firmly believes that there's much she could learn from them. But Haku-senpai in particular might be a dangerous senpai to have.

What if Mashu is led even further astray?

... What if Mashu ends up liking being led astray?

They go the rest of the way in silence, with Mashu's mind going a thousand miles per minute through utterly perverted thoughts like maybe slowing down so they'd walk side by side, or finding an excuse to sit together so she can bask on Senpai's presence or m-maybe even ho-holding hands!

Such debauched, dirty thoughts are going through her head! This is the first time Mashu has had thoughts like these and she doesn't know how to deal with it! It feels like smoke is going to escape from her ears and her cheeks are about to spontaneously combust!

Meanwhile, Senpai continues walking with her unfairly carefree attitude while only heavens know what sort of things go through her mind. Probably how to best lead innocent maidens astray purely by accident. That's the only thing that makes sense.

Finally though, they arrive at Senpai's future dorm and Mashu's inner torture is put on hold while she explains her senpai how everything works while doing her best to avoid thinking about how the Master Candidate's bed was explicitly designed to fit more than one individual.

That's a choice ostensibly made to facilitate Master-Servant bonding, but Mashu has the distinct feeling that, if she allows herself to think about it, she'll find herself fantasizing about taking the place of Senpai's future Servant. It must be nice to sleep together with someone else like that, so you can cuddle and feel safe and warm and— N-no, no, no!

Bad Mashu! Don't think about all that, don't get led astray so easily!

In a display of mental fortitude that surprises even herself, Mashu manages to tear her gaze away from the bed and focus back on Senpai, who is humming to herself as she unpacks. There's nothing especially noteworthy in her luggage beyond a handheld gaming system. It's mostly just clothes and such.

That is, until Senpai pulls out a simple-looking book that immediately makes her snap to attention. Mashu isn't worthy of being called a magus herself, but as a homunculus, she has a closer connection to Earth than natural-born humans and has some advantages when it comes to noticing thaumaturgy and strange prana fluctuations. That book definitely isn't a mundane item.

"Ah… Senpai?" Mashu hesitantly calls out, eyes locked in the book just in case it starts doing anything suspicious.

"Yes, Mashu-chan?"

"What's that book?"

"It drew your attention, huh?" Haku-senpai puts it on her lap with a chuckle, to show it off more easily. "It's called the Book of the False Attendant, a good luck charm that's supposed to hide me from harm and a precious gift from an old friend."

"Did you know it's a…" Mashu trails off, unsure whether it'd be alright for her to intrude.

"It is what?" Haku-senpai tilts her head in confusion, looking like she has no idea what Mashu is even talking about.

Seeing this, Mashu decides it'd surely be alright to at least warn her senpai, just in case. "A Mystic Code."

"Er… Am I supposed to know what that is?" Senpai asks sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm afraid you'll have to explain all that Supernatural Moonlit World mumbo-jumbo to me. It's fair to assume I'm a complete novice."

"My apologies, Senpai. Most Master Candidates come from a thaumaturgical background, so they are familiar with the terminology." Mashu coughs on her fist, feeling strangely giddy about being the one explaining things to others for once. "Mystic Codes are what mundane people would call… enchanted items."

"So that means the person who made this had to have some sort of supernatural upbringing?" Haku-senpai rapidly notices the implications on her own, growing serious as she scratches the back of her head and lets out a long groan. "Oh… Damnit"

"Is there something wrong?" Mashu tilts her head, confused at the visceral reaction.

"You could say that. My friend… She said she had to delve into a family art she hates, just to make it for me. That alone makes it something precious to me." Senpai explains, shaking her head in fond exasperation as she hugs the book closer to her chest. "But to think the family art in question was thaumaturgy… I'll have to do something nice for her the next time we meet."

"Thaumaturgy always carries a heavy price. Those who leave behind their family traditions usually have very good reasons for doing so." Mashu agrees wistfully. "Your friend must have really cared for you if she went this far."

"Yeah, that easily makes it my second most prized possession." The casual way that comment was made causes Mashu to startle a bit. To so callously place such a precious gift in second place… maybe Senpai doesn't realize how much the gesture really means, just yet?

Feeling the temptation of a morbid curiosity take root in her heart, Mashu finds herself asking a question she probably shouldn't have. "What was the first?" But then again, Mashu is being led astray by Senpai, so it's only natural that she does some bad things from time to time, right?

As an answer, Senpai undoes the upper side of her jacket to pull out a necklace she was wearing underneath, nestled right above her breasts. The action causes all sorts of inappropriate ideas to go through Mashu's mind that make her cheeks ignite again and distract her from what she's actually being shown.

"This was a gift from Onii-chan." Haku-senpai explains, drawing Mashu's attention towards a coin-like amulet portraying what looks like a snake or maybe the head of a long-necked creature. "As much as I love Sakura-chan, Onii-chan always comes first."

"Oh…" Mashu trails off, unsure of what to say about that. She doesn't really know much about having siblings. Or about having friends, really. In the end, she decides to focus on the amulet instead. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with this symbol."

"You wouldn't be, it belongs to a pretty reclusive group." Haku explains with a "It's the holy symbol of our lord and savior, Re'em."

"Re'em?" Mashu frowns cutely, trying to remember why the name feels familiar. She can't quite place it, but… "Is that a biblical name?"

"You would think so, but not quite. Demon Lord Re'em, sometimes called the Devourer of Misfortune." Haku-senpai explains without explaining anything. "He's supposed to be King Solomon's last gift to Humanity or something, but I don't want to bore you with religious drivel out of nowhere. Onii-san tells the tale better, anyway."

"So, where's your brother?" Maybe he's around Chaldea too? Mashu has never heard of any Master Candidates being siblings, but there are other ways to—

"I would like to know the same."

"Oh."

Well, it looks like Mashu just went and… How did the saying go? Put her foot in her mouth?

Olga Marie Animusphere.

When the time comes to give her introductory speech to the last batch of Master Candidates, Olga can only think that it has been way too fast. There are still reports to go over, supplies to double-check, duties to optimize... But they are nearly there. After this last meeting it will be time for Chaldea to perform its actual duties and for the A Team to brave the Singularity.

The time of truth is at hand.

And yet, as reaches the meeting hall where the briefing is supposed to take place, she can't help but find something amiss.

"Lev?" She asks her friend and assistant, crossing her arms with a frown. "Where's Fujimaru?"

"She was last seen visiting her quarters with Miss Kyrielight, Lady Director!" In his hurry to be useful, one of the goons oversteps and answers before Lev has a chance to say anything. "Would you like me to send someone to fetch them?"

For a moment, Olga opens her mouth to say something abrasive. About grown men forgetting their place and acting like overeager puppies eager for praise. About frustrating newcomers who should know better than be late to orientation and leaving her waiting. About a certain someone, usually meek and obedient, choosing now of all times to act willful.

But then she remembers an annoyingly earnest smile and a surprisingly nice gift offered with disarming sincerity. She also remembers things seen in secret, sterile laboratories and never brought up in polite conversation. Olga finds her mouth closing again, lips thinning into a flat line as her frown narrows in displeasure.

"If they can't be bothered to respect the schedule, there's no reason for the schedule to respect them. This meeting is too important to delay it just for a couple of recruits who won't even play an important role in this in the first place." She finally declares, uncrossing her arms as she resumes her walk. "I'll make sure to personally let them know what I think of their actions once the actually important concerns are dealt with."

Entering the meeting hall with resolute steps and a firm expression on her face, she takes her place on the front podium and eyes the rows of hopefuls filling the room. They don't even seem to know what they signed up for, what a disheartening group. And the only one who seemed to carry any hidden potential decided to play hooky and wrap Kyrielight into her antics. Lovely.

Still, she has a job to do and she will do it as well as she can. At least the perfume it's doing its part, Olga doesn't want to even imagine going through this with her usual energy levels.

"The Organization for the Preservation of Human Order Chaldea welcomes you all!" She declares with her best authoritative voice, sweeping her eyes over the group to try and gauge their reactions. "You all have been chosen from around the globe, in some cases rare finds…"

As Olga slowly gets more and more into her role, there's a feeling rising on her chest. One of hopeful confidence that grows by the minute as things fail to go wrong in any significant way and all procedures follow along the carefully designed rails she's painstakingly designed through countless sleepless nights.

This heady feeling continues growing all through the meeting and continues into the actual mission with the A Team. For once, she doesn't have to smother the urge to recoil in Gut and Void's presence, there's no time for jealousy towards Pharmsolone or Akuta, no urge to snap at Zemlopus or Peperoncino. She's feeling so on top of her game that she even finds in herself the graciousness to let it slide when Kyrielight arrives late, short of breath and apologizing profusely.

Sweet goodness, even the familiar and insidious feeling of inferiority that gnaws at her heart whenever she stands in front of Wodime feels… strangely muted and unimportant today.

This is the day of truth, this is her day. She's in the zone and nothing is going to ruin it for her. Chaldea is going to save Human History and it will all be because of her. The placeholder Director who was only given the position because there was nothing else. That conviction guides her during the last steps of the Rayshift preparations and lasts exactly until everything becomes fire and thunder under her feet, casting her away into the darkness…

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