Although Fujimaru Ritsuka common sense had been shattered by a certain man's speech, leaving her mind temporarily blank, her basic reflexes remained intact. After learning from her that the two had headed to the only remaining guest room in Chaldea to rest, Ritsuka walked straight toward her destination.
Knock, knock.
"Mr. Lancer, are you there?"
By the time she knocked on the door of the third room, she finally heard a response.
Pshhh—
With the hiss of compressed air, the door slid open. Lancer, his chest bare, blocked almost the entire doorway with his body. He looked down a bit awkwardly at Mash, whose height only reached his chest.
"Is something the sake?"
Innocent—or rather, pure—Mash had never seen such a display and didn't realize what was going on for a moment. She didn't overthink it, however, and started by giving a polite bow.
"Mr. Lancer, I was wondering if you could accompany me for training tomorrow? Although I've become a Demi-Servant, I haven't been able to fully exert my true potential. I'm hoping you can train and guide me!"
"No problem."
Since Lancer still had over four days left before his departure, he naturally didn't mind training Mash. Besides, this wasn't his first time "teaching a student," so it wasn't exactly a difficult task.
Hearing Lancer affirmative answer, Mash stood up happily. But as she caught a glimpse of the pitch-black darkness inside Lancer room, she remembered something.
"Thank you, Mr. Lancer. Then I won't disturb your rest any further. See you tomorrow."
Watching Mash turn to leave, Lancer unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. But right at that moment, a pair of hands suddenly wrapped around his neck from behind...
So-called "ghosts" are actually souls with powerful obsessions that have acquired a spiritual body through a stroke of luck. Since Olga Marie had become a "ghost" because of Lancer, the same applied to her. She had her own obsessions: one was a sense of mission regarding her family responsibilities, and the other was her fantasies about her own future.
Her life had been smooth sailing until now. Even when her father went missing, she had Lev's "help." Previously, she had yearned to achieve enough in magecraft; as for the rest, she wasn't much different from an ordinary woman. She wanted a husband who loved her. Unfortunately, she felt that second wish was now impossible to fulfill—after all, she was a ghost. Thus, she decided to pour all her energy into the first point.
After a whole night of work, Olga Marie instinctively stretched. Unfortunately, she didn't get the physical sensation of stretching, as the act is meant to relieve stiffness in the spine and muscles from holding one position too long—but for her current self, that was no longer necessary.
On the bright side, thanks to this, she didn't feel tired at all after working all night.
"I should go check on the repairs for the Rayshift equipment..."
Regarding the man named Lancer, Olga Marie feelings were extremely complicated.
He had "abandoned" her idol, yet he had the nerve to flaunt his relationship with another woman right in front of her. It made her feel like she couldn't stand him, yet she couldn't truly get angry. After all, she wasn't the party involved, and since Lancer appeared, he had not only helped her solve the "Singularity F" matter but, more importantly, had helped her gain the ability to "continue working."
So, she ultimately decided she should thank him.
She stood up and walked toward the Rayshift equipment. The site, which would normally take ages to organize even with magecraft, should be just about finished now. Lancer had previously summoned a large number of Dragon Tooth Warriors to assist the Chaldea staff, boosting the cleanup efficiency by at least 500%.
However, just then, she saw Mash in her combat suit walking toward the guest rooms with an excited expression. Immediately, her expression became very subtle. In her memory, Mash rarely made such a face, so she walked over to ask.
"Mash, why are you heading to the guest rooms?"
Most people would be a bit annoyed to be questioned like that, but Mash gave a brilliant smile.
"Yesterday, Mr. Lancer and I agreed that he would help me train today. However, I seem to have forgotten to tell him what time to meet at the training hall, so I'm going to go call for him. Do you need something, Director?"
"It's nothing. I was heading to the Rayshift area."
"Then I won't disturb you."
After a polite farewell, Mash continued toward Lancer room, but for some reason, Olga Marie followed her.
She didn't know why she was doing it, but because of that wine, she had a strange connection with Lancer, and her intuition told her she should follow.
"I'll go with you. Since Lancer Dragon Tooth Warriors are the ones cleaning the Rayshift equipment, I have some things I need to ask him anyway."
Mash didn't notice anything unusual and happily agreed.
Along the way, Olga Marie asked Mash about her check-up results. The answer was that there was no real difference from before, which showed that being a "Demi-Servant" didn't actually change her physical body. However, as they approached Lancer room, Olga Marie sense that something was "off" grew stronger.
Knock, knock.
"Mr. Lancer? Mr. Lancer?"
Mash knocked a few times, but there was no response from inside. This was undoubtedly abnormal. Thanks to Lancer, she had a very subtle connection with him; while it didn't have much practical use, she could at least tell if he was in the room or not.
After waiting a while longer, even Mash started to feel something was wrong, and she stepped forward decisively.
"Let's just go in!"
It wasn't that Olga Marie didn't suspect Lancer might be doing something "unspeakable" in the room, but logically, it had been nearly five minutes—what could he not have sorted out by now? Something was clearly wrong.
As the Director of Chaldea, Olga Marie had extremely high authority. Except for a few restricted areas, she had top-level access. She directly funneled magical energy into the lock to force open the door to Lancer room.
Then, her eyes widened. Her current view was of a "burnt-out" Lancer wrapped in a towel, lying on the bed. The entire room was filled with a strange scent and looked somewhat disheveled. It felt like a "crime scene."
But—
Lancer steady breathing and the rise and fall of his chest proved he was very much alive. Additionally...
Splash, splash...
The sound of running water from the private bathroom made her face turn dark.
"Director? What happened to Mr. Lancer?"
Mash cautious voice from outside the door brought Olga Marie out of her state of "rage." She turned around with a cold face and left the room.
As the door slowly closed, the "fallen" Lancer suddenly opened his eyes, wearing an extremely subtle expression.