"You know, your annoying behavior is exactly like someone else's. Don't tell me you are actually the Magus of Flowers in disguise, huh?" Zelretch sarcastically remarked. He was now sitting back relaxed in a lounge chair in his temporary workshop.
"Hahaha! How could I possibly be that scammer Incubus or succubus!"
The cheerful laugh suddenly echoed from all corners of the room, followed by the manifestation of the 'Light Boy', who was now sitting cross-legged right on Zelretch's desk.
"Besides, you yourself know exactly who and what my existence actually is, right?"
Zelretch snorted roughly, rolling his eyes lazily. "Whatever you say. So, what business do you have bothering to show up in my room? You must have a specific reason, right?"
The light boy smiled mysteriously.
"I have a special gift for Ritsuka," he said in a mischievous tone. "But... if I give it directly to him for free, the story definitely won't be fun. So, I decided to entrust it to you. As his teacher, you must know exactly what to do to make the process of receiving this gift much more 'challenging', right?"
Right next to where the boy was sitting, a small black hole portal suddenly opened in the air.
*THUD!*
An object fell heavily, hitting the surface of Zelretch's wooden desk.
Seeing the shape of the object that had just been dropped, Zelretch's pair of red eyes instantly widened.
However, his surprise quickly faded, replaced by a wide smirk that radiated extraordinary interest.
"Hoho... this is truly very interesting," Zelretch muttered in his deep voice, his eyes fixed on the unexpected object in front of him. "From which timeline did you manage to get this crazy item?"
"Well, I happened to find this item while casually exploring your world. More accurately, I had to rummage through various different timeline branches to look for it," complained the light boy in a childish tone.
He folded his arms across his chest. "I'm exhausted, you know! In most of the timelines I observed, this object is always tightly bound to that poor girl created to be the 'Vessel' of the perfect king. So, I had to dive much deeper into other probability branches to pick up a version of this object that hasn't been bound to anyone yet, so that I wouldn't ruin the story order in its original timeline."
Hearing that explanation, Zelretch chuckled softly.
"Well, well... you are truly reckless enough to break the boundaries of quantum laws just for a 'gift', huh," Zelretch commented, both amazed and amused.
He then reached out his hand, taking the mysterious object that had just been dropped on his desk and weighing it. "But, rest assured. I guarantee, my disciple won't be able to get this valuable item easily. My brain has already designed a very perfect scenario for his exam this time."
Hearing the word 'exam', the light boy's eyes instantly sparkled with interest.
"Oh? That sounds very fun!" he replied enthusiastically, leaning forward. "Can you give me a little spoiler about what kind of stage you are going to prepare for him?"
Zelretch smirked widely. A mischievous smile.
"Perhaps... it's about time for my beloved disciple to be thrown onto a bloody stage of war in the past," Zelretch muttered, his blood-red eyes flashing mischievously. "I will let him meet and face the grand gathering of those legendary Three Kings directly."
Zelretch leaned his back against the chair again.
"I really want to see... how that extraordinarily narcissistic Golden King reacts when he meets Ritsuka."
. . .
Back to Chaldea.
Ritsuka's figure finally emerged from the black hole and landed in the middle of the main hall. There, Director Olga Marie, Da Vinci, Rikka, Mash, and Romani Archaman had already gathered, anxiously awaiting his return.
However, as soon as Ritsuka's form was fully visible, Rikka immediately ran fast towards him.
"Brother!" Rikka exclaimed while rushing and hugging Ritsuka tightly.
"What is it now, Rikka? Why are you crying?" asked Ritsuka in confusion, gently patting his sobbing little sister's back.
"Brother, that gray-haired woman is so mean!" Rikka complained in an incredibly dramatized whining tone, pointing her finger at Olga. "She ordered me to memorize the contents of every book in the library in just one day! She even hit me because I didn't—"
"That's because you are so stubborn!"
Olga Marie's shrill voice suddenly cut off the whining. "And don't you dare act like you're crying as if you're the victim! You are the main culprit here, Brat!"
Hearing the emotional shout, Ritsuka lifted his face and turned towards the Director. The young man's eyes instantly widened in shock.
Instead of looking dignified, Olga Marie's face actually looked battered with several bruises. Her uniform, which was usually always neatly ironed and flawless, was now completely a mess like someone who had just survived a bull's rampage.
"D-Director?!" exclaimed Ritsuka, scared half to death. "What actually happened to you?!"
"You!" Olga scolded while pointing right at Ritsuka's face in frustration.
"You better teach your little sister some manners and boundaries right now! She doesn't respect me at all as her boss in this facility!"
Olga rubbed her bruised face, her expression a mix of annoyance and disbelief. "And what the hell is with her physical strength?! Is your sister some kind of monster?! Why is this little kid's strength that powerful, huh?!"
"That's because the Director got physical first! I was just defending myself!" Rikka argued, hiding both her hands behind her back with an innocent look.
"Defending yourself?! You even used a real hammer to hit my head!" shrieked Olga, unacceptable. "Fortunately, I still had time to activate my Magic Circuits as a shield! Otherwise, I would've definitely gotten a concussion! You are truly a psychopathic brat, aren't you?!"
"That's a lie, Brother! This gray-haired witch is just making things up!" Rikka replied quickly, hugging Ritsuka's arm while putting on a pitiful face.
Ritsuka massaged the bridge of his nose which suddenly throbbed with pain.
'Good grief... even though I only left for a few hours, this place has already become this chaotic,' he thought tiredly.
The young man's gaze then shifted to Mash, who stood not far from them. His Kouhai looked incredibly exhausted, her posture slumping as if her soul had just been sucked out of her body. Ritsuka approached and gently patted the girl's shoulder.
"You've worked very hard today, Mash," Ritsuka said sincerely, trying to lift his Kouhai's spirits.
"Senpai..." Mash murmured.
The mashmallow-haired girl looked up, staring at Ritsuka with a blank gaze and teary eyes full of despair. "You should stop Rikka and the Director right now, Senpai... before both of their hair is completely ripped out."
Hearing the warning, Ritsuka immediately turned around.
And sure enough, the chaotic scene was presented before his eyes again. Rikka and Olga had apparently gone back to lunging at each other. The two of them were now busy brutally pulling each other's hair.
"Let go of my hair, you damn Old Woman!" shouted Rikka while pulling the Director's silver hair with all her might.
"What did you say?! How dare you call me old, you Little Gorilla!" replied Olga, not wanting to lose, emotionally pulling Rikka's hair back.
"Okay, that's enough! Stop it, you two!"
Ritsuka quickly intervened, stepping forward and standing right in the middle to break up the ridiculous fight.
"I really can't leave you two in the same room. When I travel to other worlds or singularities later, one of you has to come with me to prevent the worst possible things from happening in Chaldea!"
Hearing that, Olga snorted softly while adjusting her messy silver hair and uniform.
"Oh, speaking of which... are travels to other worlds open yet?" asked Olga, her facial expression returning to being serious like a Director. "Can we start doing cross-dimensional transactions? The supplies in our food storage are running very low, and we need a lot of material supplies and special equipment to repair the Chaldea facility."
"Yes, the travel portals are accessible. But before we discuss that..."
Ritsuka shifted his gaze, glancing towards Nobu who had been staring at him with a sharp gaze all this time. "Nobu... do you still want to hear the continuation of my past story that was cut off earlier?"
Her red eyes narrowed. "Of course I really want to hear it. But..."
Nobu tilted her head, glancing suspiciously at a black crow that had somehow perched nicely on Ritsuka's shoulder since who knows when.
"...it seems now is not the right time," continued Nobu with a warning tone. "Let's discuss it later, Master. Make sure we talk when that 'annoying brat' isn't clinging to and watching us."
"Story? What story are you two talking about?" asked Olga in confusion, not understanding the direction of their conversation.
However, instead of answering the Director's question, Nobu's gaze shifted instead. She stared intently at Olga and Rikka, who both still looked messy after fighting and pulling each other's hair. Her eyebrows furrowed faintly.
'This barbaric brat... they said she is the female version of Master, right? You've got to be kidding me...' thought Nobu with an expression of disbelief.
"Forget it," sighed Nobu while waving her hand, deciding not to bother with that weird matter anymore.
She then looked at Ritsuka with a serious expression. "You all better get ready to conduct that trade soon. And I have one piece of advice for you, Master. For this kind of matter, you should bring someone who is truly an expert in political tactics, negotiations, and trade."
"About that, I already know exactly who I need to summon," Ritsuka answered with a faint smile.
The young man then turned his head towards the crow perched silently on his shoulder.
"Sensei, I need a little of your help," Ritsuka said to the crow.
"Please find me a summoning catalyst that has a close historical connection to the Three Kingdoms Era. I plan to summon a strategist Servant from Ancient China to handle all these complicated negotiations."
. . .
"Here it is, my Disciple. It was quite easy for me to find this piece of junk," said Zelretch casually while tossing an ancient feather fan right at Ritsuka.
"Thank you, Sensei," said Ritsuka as he caught the feather fan deftly. He looked at the historical catalyst in his hand with a satisfied smile. "With this item, we can definitely summon an extraordinary political and trade expert."
After handing over the item, Zelretch swept his gaze around the room—looking at Olga, Da Vinci, Nobu, Ritsuka, and Romani Archaman who had been forcefully dragged by Ritsuka to that place earlier.
"Alright then, I'll be taking my leave," Zelretch excused himself, waving his hand casually. "And don't forget, my Disciple. Come to my place after your summoning process is finished later. There's something I need to discuss specifically with you."
Seeing Zelretch about to leave just like that, Olga Marie instantly snapped out of her shock and immediately stepped forward in a panic.
"E-Eh? Don't you want to rest here for a moment, Lord Zelretch?!" Olga stopped him with an overly polite and respectful tone. "You've already gone through the trouble of coming here. It would be very rude of me as the Director of Chaldea if I didn't host you properly!"
Hearing the stiff offer, Zelretch chuckled softly.
"My, thank you for your good intentions, Little Girl. But I can't stay here for long," Zelretch declined gently but firmly. "If I stay here for too long, this world will only become more chaotic due to my presence. I purely came just to deliver that catalyst and... wanted to greet someone."
Zelretch's sentence suddenly hung in the air.
Zelretch's pair of eyes were now fixed sharply on Romani.
Realizing he was being stared at by Zelretch, Romani hurriedly turned his face away. The peach-haired man suddenly pretended to be very busy observing the tablet screen in his hands, desperately avoiding eye contact and breaking out in a cold sweat.
"...but it seems, he doesn't want to see me right now," continued Zelretch accompanied by a meaningful smile.
After saying that mysterious sentence, Zelretch stepped back into the black hole portal which instantly shrank and disappeared without a trace into the air.
Left with a suddenly awkward atmosphere, Olga blinked her eyes in confusion.
"Hmm? Who exactly is the person in Chaldea that he wanted to meet?" muttered Olga, not understanding.
Amidst the Director's confusion, Romani, who had been holding his breath all this time, finally spoke up.
"Director, the summoning system is ready and can be done now. Please call Mash to the room," Romani cut in with an intentionally sped-up tone of voice, trying to interrupt Olga's thoughts so that she wouldn't ask further about Zelretch.
"Oh, okay," replied Olga, who was instantly distracted from her curiosity. She then touched the communication device on her ear. "Mash, you can come to the summoning room now, bring Rikka Fujimaru as well."
On the other hand, Da Vinci, who was standing right next to Romani, nudged the man's arm. The Renaissance genius smiled teasingly.
"Why do you look so nervous and sweaty, Roman?" Da Vinci whispered mischievously. "Are you that scared being in the same room as Zelretch just now?"
"Huh?! S-Scared?! N-No, no, no! Of course not!" Romani deflected, stammering, his face instantly blushing due to panic.
"I-I'm just in a hurry because I want to watch Magi☆Mari's live broadcast! She is about to start her livestreaming very soon! If I don't quickly return to my room, I might miss the opening moment!"
Hearing the doctor babbling about his favorite virtual idol again, Ritsuka immediately stepped closer with a flat facial expression.
"Doctor," called Ritsuka.
Romani immediately turned around. "Yes? What is it, Ritsuka?"
"This is about that Magi☆Mari whom you worship so much," said Ritsuka in a serious tone. "Just so you know, her true identity is actually—"
However, Ritsuka's sentence was suddenly forcefully stopped.
The young man was stunned. His mouth was suddenly locked tight, as if an invisible force had magically sealed his lips shut. His throat felt choked, making him completely unable to form the next words to expose the idol's identity.
Ritsuka's eyes widened, realization immediately hitting him.
'Damn you, Merlin!!' screamed Ritsuka in frustration in his heart. 'Don't tell me... you secretly planted a silencing curse on me when we were in the Fuyuki singularity earlier!, just so that I couldn't leak your stupid secret to the Doctor?!'
"What's wrong with Magi☆Mari?" asked Romani in confusion, seeing Ritsuka suddenly freeze and lose his words.
Instead of answering, Ritsuka slowly raised his hand and patted Romani's shoulder with a look of profound pity—a pitiful look usually only given to someone with an incurable disease.
"It's nothing, Doctor. Please just continue watching your show," said Ritsuka with a hoarse voice.
The young man looked down and immediately turned his back to him.
'Merlin, you are truly a real demon... Forgive me, Doctor. I completely cannot save you from that bastard's scam this time,' Ritsuka wailed pitifully in his mind. A dramatic teardrop fell, wetting the corner of his eye.
"Hey! What's with that pitying look just now?!" shrieked Romani in a panic, feeling both deeply offended and scared. "Then, why are you suddenly crying instead?! What's actually going on with Magi☆Mari?! Hey, Ritsuka! Don't leave me curious like this!"
Amidst the whining doctor's panic, the sound of a hydraulic hiss diverted their attention. The summoning room doors opened wide.
In the doorway, Rikka and Mash were already standing upright. The mashmallow-haired girl was fully wearing her armor, slinging her giant cross shield.
Seeing the arrival of his little sister and Kouhai, Ritsuka immediately got ready.
"Alright, everything is ready," said Ritsuka as he stepped forward. He looked at the ancient feather fan in his hand. "Now
, let's summon that person... the strategist figure who has a historical connection to the Three Kingdoms Era."