Antarctica.
Chaldea.
Six years had passed, and Gray, now thirty-three years old, jogged lightly down the corridor in her Chaldea uniform.
"Good evening, Senior Gray."
"Hello, Senior Gray."
"You must be tired from work, Miss Gray."
"..."
Along the way, all the Chaldea staff she encountered nodded in respect to Gray—over the six years, some employees had turned over, and to them, Gray, who had been working here since six years ago, was undoubtedly a great senior.
Moreover, in her daily life, Gray acted like a perfect superman. She could complete any task quickly and flawlessly, and often helped others. This led to her reputation at Chaldea always being excellent; it could be said she was trusted by all the staff, and she received a lot of chocolate every Valentine's Day.
From both men and women.
Of course, this image of a capable and reliable woman also made many male staff fall for her. Every year, there were always some who mustered the courage to confess their love on various celebrations, but without exception, all were rejected—for the same reason.
Over time, rumors began to circulate at Chaldea that Gray actually already had someone she was attached to, but no one knew who that person was.
As for such rumors, the insiders who knew kept silent. If they spoke out, it was feared that once someone returned, Chaldea would be thrown into chaos and cease operations.
"Yes, you've all been working hard too. Keep up the good work."
"Understood!"
After skillfully returning the greetings, Gray arrived at the door of the control room. After swiping her card and entering, she walked to the main commander's chair: "I'm here, Big Sis Merry. Is there something urgent?"
"If you call it urgent, it's not too urgent. Actually, this is quite rare."
Merry, who was sitting in the main commander's chair while eating potato chips and drinking cola, lowered her legs that were crossed on the table. After licking the remaining crumbs from her fingers, she tapped the console. A transparent figure suddenly appeared in front of Gray.
It was Rei.
[Good evening, Gray]
"Yes, good evening, Big Sis Rei."
Because this year was the time for Naoki to return, Rei, who had been asleep and had entrusted all operations of her body to the AI, had also awakened a few months ago. After learning that Naoki hadn't returned yet, she temporarily continued her duties as the central information management hub of Chaldea.
All communications from outside Chaldea, or internal Chaldea communications... all information had to pass through Rei first before it could circulate.
[Ten minutes ago, I received a phone call from Japan. It was Ryougi Shiki who called.]
"Eh? Big Sis Shiki?"
Gray was slightly surprised, and she also understood why Merry said it was quite rare. Because Shiki had never taken the initiative to contact Chaldea for years. This was the first time—it could only mean there was a situation forcing her to contact Chaldea.
"What was the content?"
[I'll repeat it—I've met an interesting person. You all need to return immediately; this has to do with that idiot—End.]
That sentence without beginning or end made Gray furrow her brow.
An interesting person? It has to do with that idiot?
"Does she mean... Big Sis did a guy?" Gray asked hesitantly.
Merry nodded while laughing: "Only her. But it sounds like Naoki hasn't returned yet. And everything... It seems like this involves all of us. Anyway, I've sent out the gathering notice to everyone. We'll meet in Misaki City next Tuesday. Let's finish our tasks before then."
"I understand—but what about the Director?"
Unlike Gray and Merry, Olga Marie was Chaldea's true director, the highest decision-maker of Chaldea. There were many things she had to handle, and it was impossible for her to finish them all.
[That's not a problem. We can send a summoning order to Romani Archaman. After giving him a year for the honeymoon, it's time for him to return to work.]
Romani Archaman, alias Doctor Roman, was forced by Queen Sheba to remarry her a year ago, and the two became husband and wife again in the real world. After that, they temporarily left Chaldea for a world tour honeymoon.
A month ago, they sent photos from Bali.
For reference, Akuta Hinako and Xiang Yu, former colleagues, were now hiding in the Chinese countryside. They seemed to have also established relations with the Chinese Mountain Court and Spiral Hall, and were living well.
"Doctor Roman... It's been a year since we met; I wonder how they're doing."
"Maybe they've already had a child." Merry joked. "Well, speaking of children, we also need to catch up after that idiot returns. Originally, that was something that should have been settled in 2004, but it's been delayed until now... Gray, have you thought about it?"
"Eh? Thought about what?"
"The child's name."
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
As soon as Merry uttered that sentence, a series of coughs echoed throughout the control room. Although some were veteran staff who had worked since the Human Order Incineration era, there were also many new employees. The information contained in Merry's sentence immediately overloaded their brains.
(No way? They're already thinking about a child's name?)
(Could those two seniors be married?!)
(Who is that lucky bastard! Not only Division Head Merry, but even Senior Gray—)
(The semen prepared in the warehouse for several years can be used now.)
(There are also shovels, white gloves, ropes, and sedatives prepared, production from Da Vinci's workshop.)
(Great, once the identity is confirmed, we'll move!)
"..."
Seeing the new employees communicating intensely through eye contact, the senior staff could only sigh with bitter smiles—they could already imagine what kind of chaos would ensue at Chaldea next.
As for Gray, who was asked, she only smiled helplessly: "Big Sis Merry, that hasn't even happened yet."
"Just think about it first~~~"
[I can help you generate it automatically. Besides, I've already thought of one. Whether boy or girl, the name is 'Lúcy'.]
Gray: "Big Sis Rei, automatically generating it doesn't seem great?"
Merry: "Exactly. After all, you're a doll; you can't have children. Give up. Just obediently be our child's babysitter."
[Tch]
For the first time, Rei felt that her doll body was truly annoying.