When she stepped out of her room, Olga Marie instinctively adjusted the hair draped over her chest, worried that any slight disarray in her appearance might give something away.
"It's fine. You look perfectly normal."
Shiomi came out a moment later, speaking from behind her as he casually straightened her collar.
"Really?" she asked, still lacking confidence.
"Then let me ask you this. Could you tell from Touko or Skadi's behavior when they've spent time alone with me?"
That left Olga Marie speechless.
"…No."
Or rather, unless Shiomi deliberately hinted at it, it would be very difficult for anyone to notice such things.
They left together and headed for the small conference room to meet with Kirschtaria. The topic they were about to discuss wasn't especially urgent. In fact, it was more long-term than anything else.
But as they walked, Olga Marie's mind was clearly elsewhere.
"Um… you've been spending a lot of time with me lately, Teacher. Is that… really okay?" she asked as tactfully as she could.
Like just now. They had spent the entire afternoon together in her room.
That effectively meant less time for the others to be alone with him.
"Well…" Shiomi, for once, looked slightly less composed. "You'll understand in a little while. For you right now, it might be a bit too intense."
"T-too intense?"
The word made her blush all over again. Just thinking back to what they had done in her room made her feel it had already been quite intense.
The conservatism of the Aristocratic Faction wasn't limited to Magecraft. Their secular values were equally traditional. Tasting the forbidden fruit before marriage did not exactly align with Animusphere standards.
So for her, even that already counted as crossing a line.
Of course, if one framed it purely as replenishing Mana, then the standards shifted entirely.
In that sense, Magi were rather double-minded.
Fortunately, the path to the small conference room was long, with several turns through the ship's interior. By the time they arrived, Olga Marie had regained her usual composure.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Shiomi greeted.
"I came early," Kirschtaria replied, rising to meet them. "When the Director and Teacher suddenly said they wished to discuss the future of the Department of Astromancy, I had no choice but to take it seriously."
Looking at Kirschtaria's calm and steady demeanor, Olga Marie couldn't help but think again that he truly was Marisbury's foremost disciple.
"I have a feeling… that Animusphere may not be able to continue."
Once seated, she went straight to the point and explained why they had called this meeting.
"Is this because of the 'Alien God,' or because of the possible cause behind the Bleaching?" Kirschtaria asked.
During his time in cryogenic sleep, Kirschtaria had come into contact with the 'Alien God,' but he had not learned the full details of the Bleaching plan. Still, relying on his own brilliance, he had deduced that it was closely tied to his mentor Marisbury—and to Animusphere itself.
"Both," Shiomi answered. "No matter how we frame the report after restoring Proper Human History, we won't be able to shift responsibility onto some unrelated party the way it was done during the Incineration of Humanity."
The King of Magecraft's ritual and the Animusphere lineage were fundamentally different in the eyes of the Clock Tower and the Mage's Association.
The former had been something distant and almost unreal.
The latter was a concrete, established Magus Family.
"With your current strength and connections in the Clock Tower, safeguarding both Chaldea and Animusphere under shared responsibility shouldn't be difficult," Kirschtaria said.
"Preserving them isn't the problem," Shiomi shook his head. "As Marie said, Animusphere itself is unlikely to endure."
"The original body, before the Magic Crest could be transplanted, was seized by the 'Alien God.' No matter how this ends, Animusphere's inheritance will suffer a severe blow."
For the Aristocratic Faction, losing a millennia-old Magic Crest was enough to be judged unqualified.
The Department of Policies would undoubtedly act. Either they would strip Animusphere of the Department of Astromancy, or reduce the family to a puppet.
"So Director Olga Marie's intention is…" Kirschtaria had already guessed the answer. "Since losing the Department of Astromancy is inevitable, better to entrust it to someone reliable while we still can?"
"That's exactly it, Kirschtaria Wodime," Shiomi said, resting his chin on one hand. "With your standing at the Clock Tower and the status of the Wodime family, and with the recommendation of the former Lord of Astromancy—along with support from other Lords of both the Democratic and Aristocratic factions—taking that seat as the new Lord shouldn't be difficult, right?"
Though his assumption had been confirmed, Kirschtaria remained composed.
"Don't forget, I was an accomplice in the Bleaching Crisis. Once the world is restored, I… no, the Wodime family will face considerable criticism."
"Compared to the responsibility that Animusphere can never fully shake off, you and the other Crypters will have an easier time distancing yourselves," Shiomi said. "As long as the division of responsibility is handled properly when the time comes."
"And if you accumulate enough achievements, the report will look far more favorable."
By achievements, he meant the excision of Lostbelts.
"It does sound like a reasonable proposal. But why?" Kirschtaria's smile sharpened. "As the current Lord of the Department of Astromancy, would the Director really give up her position so easily just because she realized Animusphere can't be inherited?"
He wasn't so much doubting her as he was worried.
After all, she was his mentor's daughter. His fellow disciple.
Kirschtaria might be calm and exacting, but he wasn't heartless.
And yet, his question went unanswered.
Only when he looked away did he notice Olga Marie staring at Shiomi, completely absorbed, as if the moment Shiomi took over the discussion, she had stopped managing anything at all.
"Marie," Shiomi prompted, "Kirschtaria's asking you. Are you really willing to give up the Lord position?"
"Huh… ah…" Olga Marie blinked, then her shoulders sagged. "Of course I'm reluctant. But… there's no other way."
Besides, if she stayed bound to the identity of the Animusphere family head, sooner or later she would have to separate from her teacher.
And that was something she couldn't accept either.
Whether as a Magus or as a woman, Olga Marie wanted to choose the road that suited her best.
Shiomi understood that.
"I see." Kirschtaria seemed to grasp the situation and, tactfully, didn't press any further. "Then, regarding the handover of the Lord position in the Department of Astromancy between the Animusphere family and the Wodime family… it may look like that day is still far off, but I'd like to lay out my view first, along with a few details I consider necessary."
"Better early than late. Let's start discussing it now."
Olga Marie was, in truth, eager to begin, but she still forced herself to stay composed.