To become a king and a magician

With a warning sound, the descending elevator finally stopped, and just as the elevator doors opened, Fujimaru Ritsuka, led by Gray and Mash, stepped into the control room—

"So slow! How much longer am I supposed to wait?!"

These familiar words instantly plunged Fujimaru Ritsuka's spirits to rock bottom.

Having confirmed the voice, she knew the person speaking was someone she couldn't handle.

4. Director Olga, who never arrived.

Let's rewind to ten minutes earlier.

Chaldea, control room.

As usual, Director Olga Marie sat in the control room, head of the control room, with a stern expression and a cold, aloof face.

She's in a terrible mood—and this hasn't been going on for just a day or two. Ever since her father handed her the reins of Chaldea two years ago, she's been in a bad mood every single day. She sees her incompetent subordinates, inefficient staff, stagnant research, and her awkward position caught between the Mage's Association and the United Nations...

With all these burdens weighing on her, a young woman who is only twenty-three years old, it would be a miracle if she were in a good mood.

But she gritted her teeth and persevered, partly because she wanted to meet her father's expectations. Her relationship with her father was far from good, and he had never returned home since Chaldea was built. Even so, Olga Marie was determined to fulfill the only task her father had given her.

On the other hand, it was out of personal feelings.

When former director Marisbury retired and left Chaldea, in order to ensure the operation of Chaldea, he left Olga Marie with three trustworthy right-hand men: Professor Rafe as the technical director, Romani as the head of the medical department, and Natsukawa Torato as the head of the operations department.

Thanks to these three, Olga Marie has overcome all the problems she encountered over the past two years. She has always been grateful to the three of them, especially Natsukawa Tora, who has taken care of her since she was a child and has been her guardian for almost ten years.

Within Chaldea, Olga Marie trusted him the most, not only because of her father's message, but also because of her own feelings. Therefore, when she encountered something that upset her, she would immediately go to her guardian to complain and vent.

He was the only one who would never cause her any trouble.

Olga Marie always thought so.

But this time... what upset her was precisely Natsukawa Tora, the person she had always trusted the most.

She had nowhere to vent her frustrations!

Olga Marie glanced at her watch again, her face filled with impatience as she looked at Natsukawa Torato beside her: "Haven't they arrived yet? We don't have much time left with that other Master you chose. Didn't you say she arrived at Chaldea an hour ago?"

"Hmm, I think she should be on her way. Don't worry, Olga, she can't escape."

Unlike Olga Marie's impatience, Natsukawa Torato looked relaxed and showed no signs of tension.

Although she had known he was like this all along, and even had the confidence to act this way, Olga Marie still couldn't shake off her nervousness: "You should be a little more nervous... The light of Chaldea has disappeared, doesn't that prove that humanity is in crisis? Now is the time to get serious—wooo!"

Before Olga Marie could finish speaking, the foreign object that suddenly appeared in her mouth made her pause abruptly.

是巧克力.

Throwing the wrapper into the trash can, Natsukawa Tiger laughed and said, "Of course I know I need to get serious, but it's not time to get completely serious yet. Well, I know what I'm doing, so Olga, you don't need to be so nervous. Have a chocolate and relax."

"Not now—wooo!"

Another chocolate was tossed into Olga Marie's mouth. After being fed twice in a row, although she was happy that Natsukawa Tora was willing to be so intimate with her, there were still a lot of staff around. Olga Marie felt that she had lost all her dignity as the director!

Meanwhile, the staff members who were analyzing the situation in Chaldea breathed a sigh of relief as they watched their director being completely controlled by their own operations minister.

(Having Minister Natsukawa around was a huge help; otherwise, the entire control room would have been filled with the director's high-pressure atmosphere.)

(Thanks as much as I am, as an unmarried person, seeing those two interact like that really makes me feel uneasy.)

(What exactly is the relationship between those two? Give me an answer about whether they're getting married or not. If they're not, I'm even thinking of taking action against Minister Natsukawa!)

(Who knows? But to talk about marriage, it's too early for the minister, who looks to be only twenty...)

(Isn't it good to have a youthful appearance?)

Although they didn't say anything aloud, the employees managed to communicate through eye contact. Because of Olga Marie's job requirements, the atmosphere in the control room was usually quite tense, and the employees had to learn this special skill of eye contact to relax their tense minds.

Of course, it's essentially all about guessing and wild guessing.

Just as the employees below were exchanging gossip with their eyes, the door to the control room suddenly opened, and two people stepped out of the elevator.

"Oh, you're here, Senior Akuta, Professor Rafe. It's really kind of you, Professor, to go and call you over."

Upon seeing the newcomer, Natsukawa Tora immediately waved.

The visitors were none other than Yu Ji, who had been tricked and abducted to Chaldea by Natsukawa Torama several years ago, and Professor Rafe, the technology manager. Actually, Professor Rafe was originally in the control room, but after confirming that the light of Chaldea had disappeared, he was sent by Natsukawa Torama to fetch Yu Ji.

Upon entering the control room, Yu Ji quickly approached Xia Chuanhu and gave him a subtle yet fierce glare.

"Is it finally starting?"

"Yes, I'm really sorry, senior, for making you wait for so many years."

It's amazing that you even know about this.

Looking at the situation on the large screen in front of the control room, Yu Ji frowned slightly: "The light has disappeared. Does this mean that humanity's future is over?"

"You could say that."

Chaldea.

That was a magical artifact that replicated the soul of Earth. Assuming Earth itself possesses a soul, by observing its state, one could determine whether the planet would still exist in the future. If the lights of Chaldea are still burning through the near-future observation lens, Sheba, it means that human history will still exist on Earth a hundred years from now.

But not long ago, the lights of Chaldea went out without warning, a sight that signifies the inevitable end of human history within a hundred years.

This was truly shocking and unbelievable news, and it's no wonder Olga Marie was so nervous, since Natsukawa Torato had never told her about the burning of humanity.

"Click..."

Just then, the control room door, which had been closed not long ago, opened again. When Olga Marie saw Gray walking out, followed by Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka, she immediately scolded, "So slow! How long are you going to make me wait?!"

5. I stacked myself on top of myself.

Time is of the essence now, and every minute and second must be seized. If the reason why the lights of Chaldea went out cannot be found out as soon as possible, and human history can be observed again a hundred years from now, she dares not imagine what will happen in the future.

If it were Natsukawa Tora, Professor Rafe, or even Romani who were late, that would be one thing. All three of them were people Olga Marie trusted, and she believed they would do their jobs perfectly. Being late was not enough to make them derelict in their duties.

But this newcomer in front of her doesn't have the privilege of giving her double standards.

Olga Marie strode up to Fujimaru Ritsuka, arms crossed, looking down at the Master candidate who had only been chosen two days prior.

"You're Fujimaru Ritsuka? The one Natsukawa reported as the best candidate with 100% adaptability to spirit transfer?"

"Uh... Spirit particle transfer adaptation? What's that?"

Suddenly confronted with such an overbearing question, Fujimaru Ritsuka became somewhat subdued: "But if we're talking about 100%... there seems to be a section like that on the report I received when I came in."

"Then it seems that's correct—I am the director of Chaldea, Olga Marie, Olga Marie Amityes Animusfia. From now on, you will be working under me to observe and repair human affairs. Be careful not to cause me any trouble, newcomer."

It should be said that it was the arrogance that magicians have towards ordinary people, or perhaps it was because she wanted to appear authoritative as the director. In a place where most people in Chaldea did not have any real respect for her, Olga Marie was quite assertive towards this newcomer who knew nothing.

The effect was obvious. Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was new to the place, was completely shocked. Her face and eyes revealed a complex mix of surprise, awe, and dissatisfaction. However, it was understandable. She had just arrived and was scolded by someone who looked like a leader. Generally speaking, people would feel some resentment.

In situations like this, someone is needed to play the good cop and ease the tension.

He exchanged a glance with Rafe, and seeing the "it's up to you" look in his eyes, Natsukawa Tora smiled slightly, walked over and patted Olga Marie on the shoulder: "Alright, alright, Olga, don't treat the newcomer like that, what if you scare her? She's about your age, and you'll probably have a lot of contact with her in the future, so be more friendly."

"Xia Chuan, don't do this again. For ordinary people who know nothing, it's necessary to let them go first—"

“It’s okay to explain that to her later. Right now, she needs to get to know all of us and learn some essential knowledge about living in Chaldea.” Natsukawa Torara said, glancing at Fujimaru Ritsuka. “But then again, this isn’t the right place to talk… Lev, there’s still some time before the spirit particle transfer begins, right?”

Professor Rafe glanced at his watch: "Well, to make sure there are no problems, I'll do some more detailed adjustments—about an hour."

“Okay, then I’ll go and show the newcomer around Chaldea and explain some things to keep in mind. I’ll bring her back fifteen minutes before we start. Gray, Mash, you two stay here. Newcomer, you come with me.”

After saying that, Natsukawa Tora beckoned Fujimaru Ritsuka to head towards the elevator.

Seeing him start acting on his own, Olga Marie, who was just trying to establish an authoritative image, was immediately furious: "Natsukawa! Can't you... listen to me for once in a while?!"

"Don't I listen to you every night? Oh, by the way, what kind of cake do you want to eat tonight? I'll prepare it and wait for you to come over."

"Whatever you do is fine... No! I wasn't talking about that! Get out of the elevator!"

Just as Olga Marie was blushing and roaring, Natsukawa Torama had already led Fujimaru Ritsuka into the elevator.

And inside the control room—

(So ​​that's what their relationship was like?)

(I already said the minister and the director were already a couple!)

(But what about Vice Minister Grey? And what about Vice Minister Sajou?)

(The minister is really popular; I really hope he can teach me a couple of tricks...)

Seeing Olga Marie's growing embarrassment and indignation, the staff once again began exchanging gossipy glances.

——————————————————————————————

Inside the elevator, leaning against the door, Natsukawa Tora looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka in front of him.

"Sorry, newbie. Olga is a little proud, but she's not a bad person. She was just in a bad mood, which is why she was a bit harsh with you. Please don't mind it."

"Ah... um..."

Nodding somewhat blankly, Fujimaru Ritsuka glanced at the man in front of her, then, as if realizing something, quickly turned her back to Natsukawa Tora.

(Eh...wait, wait?! What's going on here? Blonde hair, blue eyes, a foreigner? And he's so handsome...wait, am I supposed to be sharing a room with someone like him?)

Fujimaru Ritsuka was certain that if she took a picture of the current situation and posted it on Twitter, her best friends would flood her private messages!

Why would you date such a handsome guy?!

[Give me your phone number! Please, Ritsuka!]

【Same as above! 】

—That's probably all there is to it. She knows her best friend's personality well, and in a way, she would do similar things, just much more restrained.

Natsukawa Torara failed to notice the changes in Fujimaru Ritsuka. Even after so many years, despite his progress in various aspects, Natsukawa Torara remained stagnant in his ability to understand women's minds.

After finally calming herself down and feeling confident enough to face this mysterious handsome man, Fujimaru Ritsuka turned her head and asked, "Um... where are we going? Didn't Mashu and that Gray girl just say we were going to some kind of control room?"

"That's right, we're going there, but before that, we need to let you know where you'll be living from now on, right? Also, the location of the cafeteria, the shopping area, the medical department... Chaldea may be a research institution, but it's also a tiny city, and it has all the necessary facilities for living."

"Oh right, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Natsukawa Tora, the head of the operations department, um... your immediate superior from now on. You get the idea now, right? Mash and Gray, whom you mentioned earlier, are my sisters."

"Please take care of me from now on, Fujimaru Ritsuka."

6. Fate Unveiled