To become a king and a magician

"More or less. Not long ago, Fujimaru was just an ordinary person. As the club president, I certainly can't neglect to provide guidance in all aspects. However, she has good qualities herself, so I don't need to say too much."

"Hmph, that's for the best. If she's dragging us down in every way, I'd rather not have this new Master."

To be honest, when Olga Marie saw Natsukawa Toramaru and Fujimaru Ritsuka chatting and laughing on the monitor, she clenched her teeth tightly—a mere newcomer should at least pay attention to the order of arrival!

Meanwhile, in the staff quarters below—

"Hinako Akuta and Mash Kyrielight have completed all preparations. The basket is in perfect condition, the Master is in good physical and mental health, and there are no adverse reactions. Spirit transfer can be performed at any time."

"Fujimaru Ritsuka has completed her combat uniform and just entered the basket. Her physical condition is good, but her mental state is fluctuating slightly, presumably due to tension, which is within acceptable limits. The spirit transfer preparation is complete."

"very good!"

Standing with her hands on her hips in the center of the control room, Olga Marie waved her hand and declared, "Initiate the first spirit particle transfer! This is Chaldea's first mission, and we cannot allow—"

Pre-battle mobilization.

Olga Marie intended to say that, but before she could finish speaking, a sudden, much louder voice completely drowned her out!

"Boom————————————!"

A sudden, deafening explosion erupted! Starting from where Professor Rafe was, flames and shockwaves from the explosion burst forth! The entire control room was instantly engulfed in flames!

The demolition took place as scheduled.

8. The Burning City

A slight itching sensation came from my cheek.

Like being licked by some small animal, Fujimaru Ritsuka could feel a slight itching and wetness on her cheeks.

I opened my eyes from a daze, and the first thing I saw was a gray sky.

"here it is......."

"Fu~~~Fu~~~"

Several shouts came from her ear. Fujimaru Ritsuka turned her head and saw a pure white squirrel-like creature sitting next to her, licking her cheek with its tongue.

How come there's an animal here?

Sitting up from the ground and holding the animal in her arms, Fujimaru Ritsuka looked around at her surroundings.

Like shattered buildings after an air raid, streets ablaze with flames, abandoned vehicles lying in disarray, and collapsed and broken utility poles... no matter which direction she looked, Fujimaru Ritsuka could only see this scene.

It looked like a city that had been bombed.

"Where exactly is this place...? Come to think of it, why am I here?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka covered her head, trying hard to recall what had happened before—she remembered saying goodbye to Minister Natsukawa, putting on the special bodysuit she was wearing, and then lying down in a basket, which seemed to be the vehicle used for spirit particle transfer.

What about after that?

What happened after that?

As I recall, shortly after she lay down inside, there was a loud bang, and then...

"Explosion...that's right! It's an explosion!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka recalled her last conversation with Natsukawa Tora. She remembered that Natsukawa Tora had said that a person named Professor Rafe would cause a huge explosion in Chaldea.

"Could this be Chaldea after the explosion...? No, it can't be, right?"

No matter what, it's impossible to turn an indoor space into a city, especially such a large space.

But if this isn't Chaldea, then where is it?

"Fu——————!"

Suddenly, the pure white little beast held in Fujimaru Ritsuka's arms cried out, stretching its tiny forelimbs forward.

(Is there something over there?)

Thinking this, Fujimaru Ritsuka looked in the direction it was pointing, but what came into her view was neither a living person other than herself, nor anything that she felt might be of any use.

To put it bluntly, it was a shooting star.

As the distance closed in, the meteor suddenly split into countless points of light, transforming into an incredibly dense rain of light that poured down on Fujimaru Ritsuka!

(I'm going to die!)

This was Fujimaru Ritsuka's only thought at that moment, but before she could even crouch down to cover her head in defense, a figure suddenly burst out from the rubble on the other side of the street not far away, arriving in front of Fujimaru Ritsuka with incredible speed, his right hand outstretched towards the dense rain of arrows—

"Buzz—!"

A powerful light burst forth from his hand, and in an instant, a huge cross-shaped shield appeared out of thin air in his previously empty right hand!

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang!"

The torrential rain poured down on the shield's surface, and the shockwaves, both visual and auditory, erupted continuously, blasting craters into the surrounding ground and visibly reducing the size of the street.

Incredibly, despite the powerful rain of arrows, the shield remained completely unaffected, standing firmly in front of Fujimaru Ritsuka.

After waiting with her eyes closed for several seconds without feeling any sensation of being pierced by a bullet, Fujimaru Ritsuka opened her eyes in confusion.

"Mashu?"

Looking at the figure standing before her with a giant shield and her back turned, Fujimaru Ritsuka asked in disbelief. Judging from her appearance, this person should indeed be Mash, but why was she dressed in armor like this?

Noticing Fujimaru Ritsuka's actions behind her, Mashu turned her head slightly and said in a distant tone that Fujimaru Ritsuka found unfamiliar, "Don't talk to me, just stay behind me. It's not easy to deal with Archer at this distance."

"Yes...yes."

(Not Mashu? It feels like... someone else?)

Just as Fujimaru Ritsuka was beginning to have doubts, the incessant rain of arrows outside finally stopped.

Without removing her shield, Mashu held it up in front of her, as if checking something before moving it aside and turning to look at Fujimaru Ritsuka behind her: "Are you alright, Fujimaru Ritsuka?"

"Uh... yeah, I'm fine, thank you, Mashu... right?"

“If you’re referring to the name of the girl’s body I’m currently using, then it is indeed Mash. However, unfortunately, she can’t leave for the time being,” Mash said. “I am the Servant residing within her body, my class is Shielder. Nice to meet you.”

"Um, nice to meet you... Miss Shielder?"

Mashu paused for a moment when she saw Fujimaru Ritsuka's outstretched hand, then sighed softly: "Although I am currently using a female body, I am actually male, so please be mindful of that in the future—and now is not the time for us to leisurely greet each other. This place is not ideal; it's too open and we're vulnerable to being ambushed later. Come with me over here."

After Shielder finished speaking, he quickly ran towards the crossroads not far away, and Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly followed after him.

"Um! I want to ask! What exactly is going on here!? Where am I!?"

After sprinting at full speed to catch up with Shielder, Fujimaru Ritsuka shouted as she ran, her mind and brain completely in a mess, utterly confused about the situation.

Shielder didn't turn around, but continued walking and replied, "Someone will explain the specifics to you later, there's no need for me to explain now. Right now, I'll prioritize getting you together with the others."

"Meet up? With whom?"

"and--"

Shielder didn't finish speaking, because just before that, a powerful explosion occurred behind a corner ahead, sending countless pieces of debris and dust flying and knocking away several cars stuck in the road. Immediately afterward, the sound of someone speaking could be heard from ahead—

"This feeling is... you're still alive, Fujimaru Ritsuka."

Emerging from the smoke and dust, Hinako Akuta, dressed in the same Chaldea-made battle suit as Ritsuka Fujimaru, appeared in their field of vision.

Hinako Akuta glanced at Mashu, who was already wearing armor, frowned, and then suddenly realized, "Oh, so it was you who protected her?"

"Yes, such is the contract with my king. Now that we have joined together, the contract ends here. Farewell."

After saying that, Shielder closed her eyes, and the armor she was wearing quickly turned into a burst of light and disappeared. In its place appeared Mashu in a Chaldea uniform, and Mashu's body suddenly went limp and collapsed as if all her strength had been exhausted.

Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly helped Mash up and put her on her shoulder: "Eh? Mr. Shielder? What's wrong?"

"Stop calling, he's gone." Hinako Akuta walked over, snatched Mashu from Ritsuka Fujimaru's arms, and hoisted her onto her shoulder with one hand. "Let's find a place to settle down first, newbie. After that, we'll sort things out. The interior of that building over there is nice; let's go—"

"Aaaaaaah! Help me—!"

Just then, a loud cry for help came from not far away.

Fujimaru Ritsuka thought for a moment: "That voice... it's the director!"

A strong sense of disgust and helplessness instantly appeared on Hinako's face.

"Tch, there's still one... Hey, newbie, come along, we're going to rescue someone."

"Okay...wait a minute, senior! Don't run so fast!"

9. I cried bitterly when Professor Rafe died.

On the similarly burning streets, Olga Marie was running continuously.

Even though she was wearing high heels, Olga Marie ran without any hesitation or awkwardness, while a bunch of simple skeletons chased after her one after another.

These were the reasons that gave Olga Marie the reason to run for her life and shout for help.

Olga Marie encountered these skeleton soldiers just minutes after waking up in this burning city, and has been on the run ever since.

Honestly, she's really running out of energy right now!

"Seriously, why am I so unlucky... Where did that idiot Tiger go?! Where's my guard?!"

If Natsukawa Tora were here, these small fry wouldn't even be worth a finger of his, but he's not here now. Although she doesn't know why, Olga Marie is already determined to give him a good lecture all night when she gets back!

"Da da da da!"

The footsteps behind her grew closer and closer. Because she had been running for a long time, Olga Marie's speed had gradually slowed down.

If this continues, they will be caught up.

"Damn it, don't think I'm easy to bully—"

Olga Marie whirled around, her hand forming a pistol shape as she aimed at the horde of skeletons in front of her. A Gandri bullet condensed at her fingertips, but before she could fire it, a huge black shadow suddenly leaped out from above her head!

It was a huge rock, which looked like a large piece of debris from a broken ceiling of a building.

"Bang—!"

A huge boulder fell heavily from the sky and crashed down in front of Olga Marie, crushing all the skeleton soldiers chasing after her!

Who threw this?

As she was thinking this, Olga Marie suddenly heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw two familiar figures running towards her.

"Fujimaru Ritsuka? Akuta Hinako? And... is that Mash?"