"So he says. He's an expensive one, isn't he? Make sure to cook him something good."
—Yes! Thank you so much!
"You look radiant. Did you have a good dream? That's for the best. It's a look befitting someone about to face their finest hour."
—My finest hour?
"Fuhaha, look forward to it. ...Come, let us head to the final assembly."
I nodded deeply at the King's words.
The final battle was beginning.
...To the throne where the Demon King waits.
To the battle to reclaim all our futures.
—Let us go, My King.
To our final reckoning. To the future beyond.
(I'm with you too. Always!)
—Of course! Now, let's go!
Now is the time to show them the answer to all our striving—!
...At the same moment Ea made her vow.
"...There. That should be the final adjustment."
Romani tapped at the console, shifting Chaldea's coordinates toward Marduk.
"Good work, Master Romani~♪"
From behind, Sheba-nyan hugged Romani and peered at the console.
"Whoa?! Ah, um... hello there."
"Hellooo~♥ All that's left is to wait for the operation to begin, right? ♥"
"...Yeah. It felt so long, yet it passed in a heartbeat."
Together with Sheba, he looked back on everything that had happened.
"When I became human, I saw a future where humanity ended. To overturn that, I've done everything I could. Investigation and research. —Ten years of nothing but that. Every day felt like I was screaming inside. ...But, even so..."
"...Was your time worth its weight in gold?"
Romani nodded quietly at Sheba's words.
"—The freedom to do something. The freedom to choose something. To me, that is a treasure. And it's right here in front of me. ...Once this journey is over, I can finally use my time for myself, in the truest sense."
...Saying this, Romani turned to face Sheba.
"—...Um, so... that's why. ...That's why..."
"...~"
"...In that 'free time'... I want you to be by my side. It's about time I settled down..."
"~...♥"
"—In the freedom to come... will you stay with me?"
Sheba placed her hand over Romani's.
"—In sickness and in health. To believe in each other, to stay close, and to overcome together... what does that sound like? ♥"
"...A—a married couple?"
"Correct! ♥ ...This time, for sure."
She looked straight into his eyes.
"This time, let's be happy. Master Romani ♥"
"...Yeah!"
...The coward takes a step forward.
He firmly chooses the freedom to overcome his own fate.
...While cherishing the woman who reached out through a faint bond to join him in this world...
...At the same time, Olga Marie let out a sigh as she operated Mash's capsule.
"Average life expectancy: 80s. ...Finally, you've reached a normal human lifespan. Good work, Mash."
With this, the problem of her lifespan was resolved. Inside the capsule, Mash beamed with joy.
"Yes! Thank you... thank you so very much...!"
"Don't thank me, thank my Master. He's the one who kept Chaldea and the capsules maintained all this time."
I was just doing minor maintenance. It's too early for me to act prouder than my Master.
"No. ...Director, you were always there to talk to me."
"...!"
Whenever Mash was in maintenance, Olga Marie was always by her side. She stayed so that Mash wouldn't be bored, so that she wouldn't feel isolated.
That fact... made Mash incredibly happy. The joy of having someone care for her, of having someone stand beside her and worry for her, made her chest feel warm.
"I don't have any blood relatives... but if I were to have an 'older sister,' I believe she would be exactly like you, Director."
"...Now you're just being dramatic."
Olga Marie turned her face away, turning red. Mash watched her, puzzled.
"? Is something wrong? Do you feel unwell...?"
"It's because you said something so embarrassing!"
"? Something embarrassing...?"
"Never mind, just forget it. ...You should be thinking about it too."
Looking up at Mash, Olga Marie spoke softly.
"What you want to do after everything is over. What you should do. Once you're released from the fighting, what do you desire? —Think about it carefully."
It was pure consideration. A natural thought... for one human to have for another.
"Whether you're a Demi-Servant or whatever your birth was... you're just an ordinary girl."
Mash responded to that warm heart with a brilliant smile.
"...Thank you, Director Olga Marie. ...I want to think about it seriously. What I want to do. What I dream of."
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