The original plan, led by the Department of Policies, was to place all Chaldea personnel under complete isolation and subject them to individual reviews.
However, thanks to the intelligence brought back by Touko Aozaki, who had previously served as a special envoy, and the behind-the-scenes mediation by the Lords of the Clock Tower, the Clock Tower ultimately backed down from implementing overly harsh measures.
After all, if things were mishandled, it could have escalated into a large-scale magecraft war between the twelve Lords within the Clock Tower. No matter how powerful the Department of Policies—who held the greatest authority—was, they couldn't risk allowing their initiative to spark a full-blown internal conflict that would severely weaken the organization.
Such a blow would not only tarnish the Clock Tower's standing within the Mage's Association, but also give the Holy Church—who had long viewed them as heretics—an excuse to shed their diplomatic pretense and attack outright.
As a result, the reviews carried out over the following days were relatively lenient. Each individual was assessed, but no restrictions were placed on anyone's personal freedom.
...
"How strange..." Shiomi stood in the hallway, observing the steady stream of personnel coming and going.
In addition to those from the Mage's Association and Goredolf's own escort team, several members of the Holy Church were also present.
"What is?" Romani asked.
"Those Holy Church guys—you noticed them, right?" Shiomi gave a subtle nod. "Based on what I know, they're just low-ranking clergy. Not even Executors."
Chaldea's prior notice had clearly stated that the Holy Church would be sending a delegation led by an Executor.
Romani gave it some thought. "I did try asking around. Apparently, the priest in charge of those clergy fell ill and stayed behind at the camp at the foot of the mountain to recover."
"An Executor getting sick?" Shiomi's tone sharpened. "Those guys are practically made of steel. Something's definitely off."
"Even so, we can't leave the facility for now," Romani replied cautiously. "If it comes to open conflict, that'll be a different matter."
Given the current tension, along with the arrival of Goredolf and his armed personnel, Shiomi was already prepared to make the first move if it came down to it.
"How's that 'thing' coming along?" he asked. "I know you and Da Vinci have been working on it since the start of the year—meant to serve as a mobile stronghold if war breaks out with the Clock Tower and we need to evacuate."
"The containers are ready," Romani said, rubbing his chin, a serious expression on his face. "But if it really comes to that... getting everyone into them quickly won't be easy."
"So we wait and see, huh." Shiomi nodded. "By the way, have they started thawing the other six members of Team A yet?"
"We didn't have much choice. The rest of the Masters have already been evacuated. They're being taken down the mountain over the next few days and flown back to their hometowns," Romani said with a shake of his head. "Team A, though—every one of them is a Clock Tower elite. Whether out of political necessity or simple courtesy, they need to be revived as soon as possible."
...
Shiomi glanced at his watch. "Eight hours left in the year…"
Antarctica's polar day made it nearly impossible to tell the time naturally—especially with the winter solstice only about ten days past.
"Who's in the control room right now?" he asked.
"The Director and Da Vinci," Romani answered. "Since the Association requested the thawing of Team A's coffins, both the Director and the technical advisor have to be present."
"Let's go check it out," Shiomi said.
He recalled his last conversation with Kirschtaria, back before the Rayshift to Singularity F.
Back then, Kirschtaria had expressed interest in witnessing firsthand the experience-driven combat style of a veteran. Shiomi had readily agreed.
Among Team A's members—aside from Mash—Kirschtaria was the one Shiomi had interacted with the most.
Unfortunately, Kirschtaria had been deeply trusted by Olga Marie and often tasked with responsibilities that had little to do with his duties as a Master, so the two still didn't know each other well.
Shiomi couldn't help but look forward to seeing their faces when they finally stepped out of the coffins.
When Shiomi and Romani arrived at the Rayshift Control Room, they made it just in time to witness the completion of the thawing process.
As expected, aside from the Director and Da Vinci, several members of the Holy Church were also present.
"Sensei!"
The moment Olga Marie saw Shiomi arrive, her tense expression finally softened. With only Da Vinci by her side, she hadn't felt secure at all.
"Are they about to open?" he asked.
"No, still three minutes to go," Da Vinci replied.
"You people really have to stick your noses into everything, don't you?" Goredolf muttered with some annoyance—but there was little he could do about it.
After all, he was only the deputy director. He had some authority, but not enough to rein in either Shiomi or Romani.
Shiomi raised an eyebrow. "Are you here alone, Goredolf? Where's that fox-like secretary of yours?"
"She had other matters to attend to," Goredolf answered offhandedly, clearly not concerned.
"Oh…" Shiomi let out a meaningful hum.
Over the past few days, he'd done a bit of digging on Koyanskaya. The so-called NFF Services company she claimed to represent had been founded around March, while Koyanskaya herself had started operating in the economic sector earlier in the year.
It was due to her persuasion that Goredolf had invested in acquiring a stake in Chaldea's authority.
This woman of unknown origin didn't emit any magical energy, yet her overwhelming combat ability couldn't be concealed.
By conservative estimates, she was at least on par with a first-rate Servant.
Unfortunately, she had spent the past few days socializing throughout Chaldea while taking great care to avoid any direct contact with Shiomi or anyone associated with him.
Of course, that wasn't unique to her—everyone in the review team was avoiding Shiomi.
...Mostly because they were afraid of dying. And honestly, that was reason enough.
"My father's Chaldea has come to this…" Olga Marie murmured, a little forlorn.
"You've done everything you could," Shiomi said gently. "No one could've known about Lev's scheme. There's no blame in that."
Just then, one of the technicians announced:
"Three minutes are up. Proceeding to open the coffin of Team A's first Master, Kirschtaria Wodime."
With that familiar mechanical hiss, the hatch of the coffin slid open.
But inside, beneath the lingering frost, was... nothing. Not a single trace of anyone.
And it wasn't just Wodime's. One by one, the other five coffins opened—each one just as empty. No sign of any of the Masters who were supposed to be in cryogenic sleep.
"This can't be! I personally verified their condition four days ago!" Olga Marie cried out, panicked.
Shiomi's first instinct was to suspect that someone had tampered with the coffins during the past four days—perhaps without Chaldea's knowledge—to frame them.
But before he could say anything, Chaldea's alarms began to blare.
"Warning, warning. Current observation results indicate the occurrence of ██."
"What the—?!"
Romani, who had been inspecting the coffins, jerked back in alarm—along with everyone else present.