You're this depressed just because someone ate your cake?
For a moment, Ritsuka genuinely couldn't process it.
But a second later, she realized he was lying. He had looked miserable while reading the diary in the Command Room! There was no way this was about a stupid cake!
"I feel like you're lying to me," she muttered quietly, smoothing her skirt as she sat on the bed.
Romani was left speechless.
It was true. Even he knew he was acting strange, so it was obvious to everyone else.
Normally, his persona was the cheerful, laid-back guy who lightened the mood. But today, not only did he fail to do that, he had quietly slipped out of the Command Room before anyone else. Anyone who paid attention would realize something was wrong.
"Alright. So why are you here? Looking for me?" Romani sighed, genuinely curious.
Ritsuka gave him a deadpan look, pointed at her wristband, and said:
"This thing says this is my room."
Smack!
Romani facepalmed, his expression instantly turning incredibly awkward.
He had completely forgotten! The girl standing before him was Chaldea's 48th Master—and arguably its final Master. This specific room had been assigned to her.
As a grown man, lingering alone in a teenage girl's bedroom was highly inappropriate. Realizing this, Romani decided it was best to leave and find somewhere else to brood in peace.
But just as he stood up, remembering that this girl was supposed to be the "true" Savior in the original timeline, and that he apparently got along well with her, Romani suddenly felt compelled to ask:
"After reading that diary, what do you think of it?"
"Uh, are you sure you aren't trying to ask yourself that question?"
Ritsuka looked at him weirdly.
She might look a little clueless, but she wasn't stupid.
"Ahahaha..."
Romani stiffened, letting out an awkward, hollow laugh.
But Ritsuka wasn't one to ruin the mood. Seeing his distress, she shrugged and answered honestly:
"If you really want to know, I didn't feel much. Aside from feeling a bit sorry for him, I didn't even understand most of what I read."
She spoke quickly, then shifted the conversation back, giving Romani an inquisitive look:
"Compared to me, I feel like you're..."
Hiding a lot of secrets!
Ritsuka didn't finish the sentence, but her inner gossip engine was revving at maximum capacity.
Meeting the redhead's intense, probing gaze, Romani quickly looked away.
He wanted to drop the subject, but the heavy knot of depression in his chest made him desperately want to hear someone else's perspective.
After a brief internal struggle, Romani sat back down. His expression turned guarded, yet incredibly conflicted.
Seeing him sit down, Ritsuka instantly knew he was about to spill the tea. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately scooted closer, waiting eagerly for the lore drop.
Romani's eye twitched at her blatant eagerness.
But since he was already here, he decided to just get it over with.
"You might find this hard to believe, but..."
Hiss—!
He barely got the words out before the pneumatic door slid open again.
Followed immediately by a highly cheerful voice:
"Romani~!"
Interrupted, the two of them blinked and turned toward the door simultaneously.
A stunning figure in blue and purple tights stood in the doorway.
"Ha! I knew you were here! I figured if you weren't sulking in the medical bay, you'd definitely be hiding in your favorite slacking spot!"
Seeing Romani, Da Vinci looked incredibly smug, completely unaware she had just ruined his dramatic confession.
"Oh, almost forgot! You can't slack off here anymore, since the rightful owner has arrived!"
Glancing at Ritsuka sitting on the bed, Da Vinci tapped her forehead and gave Romani a teasing look.
Romani felt a flush of embarrassment and frustration, but he really couldn't do anything against Da Vinci. Massaging his temples, he sighed:
"Alright, what do you want?"
Mentioning her objective, Da Vinci's eyes practically sparkled. Bouncing with excitement, she spoke in a conspiratorial tone:
"Hehe! You'll never guess what I found..."
"Did you crack the censored parts of the diary?"
Ritsuka tilted her head and casually interrupted.
"?!"
Da Vinci looked genuinely shocked, staring at Ritsuka with a "How did you know?!" expression.
Ritsuka simply pointed at the diary clutched in Da Vinci's hands.
Da Vinci: "..."
It's over! I've caught the stupid!
"You cracked it already? Didn't you say it would be incredibly difficult?"
Romani was genuinely amazed.
Da Vinci recovered her pride, puffing her chest out with a smug grin.
"Hehe! It is incredibly difficult to crack properly! So I just bypassed the cracking part entirely!"
Hearing this, both Romani and Ritsuka stared at the supposed genius in pure confusion.
Da Vinci smiled brightly and explained:
"Even a genius like me has to admit: if I wanted to properly dismantle those Runes layer by layer, it would take at least a month, possibly much longer."
"But on my way back, I noticed a tiny detail. One of the pages had been slightly torn when the Director aggressively flipped through it!"
"What does that prove?"
Seeing Da Vinci acting so dramatic, Ritsuka, a complete novice to Magecraft, asked curiously.
"It proves that the diary itself is incredibly fragile!"
Da Vinci answered confidently.
"After inspecting it, I realized the Runes acting as the censor were tied into a literal dead knot. The author clearly never intended for the hidden text to see the light of day. It was permanently sealed."
"But the author obviously overlooked one crucial flaw!"
"—What happens if I simply cut out the blank spaces and destroy them?"
A slightly unhinged, mad-scientist smile spread across Da Vinci's face.
"Any Magecraft, especially continuous-effect Magecraft, requires two things: a medium and mana. The diary's owner obviously isn't supplying mana anymore, so the spell is entirely dependent on the medium. And Rune Magecraft is notoriously strict about its physical medium."
"So, what serves as the medium for these Runes?"
Da Vinci waved the diary meaningfully.
"The diary itself?"
Ritsuka guessed hesitantly.
"Exactly! The diary, and specifically the paper within it!"
"To bypass the censor without triggering a magical backlash, all I had to do was tear the censored sections out, shred the paper, and then use basic restoration Magecraft to paste the undamaged pieces back together! Simple as that!"
Da Vinci tilted her head up, practically screaming, "Praise me!"
Ritsuka: "..."
I seriously don't understand why you're so obsessed with invading someone's privacy...
"Sigh, the boy was just too inexperienced. He likely spent all his energy focusing on combat tactics and surviving, completely overlooking such a glaring vulnerability. He put entirely too much faith in his Runes. If it were me, I would have just cut those sections out and burned them. Much safer."
Da Vinci shook her head with a dramatic sigh, though she clearly looked incredibly proud of her handiwork.
"So... did you read the blank parts?"
Romani ignored Da Vinci's theatrics and cut straight to the chase.
"Well, yes..."
Da Vinci's expression suddenly turned deeply awkward. If one looked closely, they could spot a hint of complex amusement in her eyes.
"What did it say?!"
Driven by pure curiosity, Ritsuka hurriedly asked.
She didn't notice Da Vinci's nuanced expression; she only saw the awkwardness. And that was more than enough fuel for her gossip engine.
"Most of it is just standard teenage boy thoughts. A few parts are a bit... well..."
"Anyway, just read it yourself."
Da Vinci mumbled vaguely, shoving the diary and the glasses into Romani's hands.
Harboring his own suspicions, Romani put on the glasses and flipped the diary open.
He found the first previously censored section.
It was only two words: Doctor. Explode. Put together: "Doctor's self-destruction."
Romani instantly thought of his First Noble Phantasm.
He continued reading in silence.
The second section:
[Wait! Everyone else might get incinerated, but Fou is Beast IV! Surely he wouldn't get roasted, right?]
'So Fou is Beast IV? No wonder he's so strange...'
The third section:
[The Doctor's rings.]
The fourth section:
[Doctor, can you please hurry back and explode already?!]
[—I swear, I'm going to make a slingshot out of rubber bands and smash your windows!!!]
'That hardly even counts as an insult...'
Romani kept reading silently.
The fifth section:
[Jeanne is so damn sweet. I love her. Especially the way she smells...]
Romani rapidly flipped the page.
The sixth section:
[Emperor Nero is incredibly beautiful...]
Flip!
The seventh section:
[Artemis has huge—]
Flip!
***
The diary wasn't actually that long. With Romani aggressively skipping the embarrassing parts, he quickly reached the final pages regarding the Lostbelts.
At the very bottom, there was one last section that had been heavily censored.
[Oh right, I think I accidentally ate the Doctor's strawberry cake. Pretty sure I polished it off on my second day in Chaldea.]
[But I absolutely refuse to apologize! Consider that cake my payment for cleaning up his mess!]
[Emmm... actually, thinking about it logically, it's not really the Doctor's fault, is it?]
[Goetia started planning the Incineration of Humanity after Solomon died. The Doctor literally had zero knowledge of it. The worst thing he actually did... was help the previous Director win a Holy Grail War?]
[And his only wish was to become a normal human. Having a little selfishness is perfectly normal.]
[So, since that's the case, when he gets back, we should grab a meal together! (Given how insanely strong I am now, surely I can afford to treat him to dinner, right? I think there's a Rune for attracting wealth...)]
[What? You think there's a chance I might not make it back?]
[Are you kidding me?! Don't underestimate my absolute desperation to survive and clear this game!]
Reading the messy handwriting, the image of the boy from the video—smiling softly and writing these slightly goofy, teasing words—flashed vividly in Romani's mind.
His nose suddenly stung, and the rims of his eyes involuntarily turned red.
"That's so unfair..."
His voice trembled slightly.
It was true. It was incredibly unfair. Takumi had silently fought Goetia for him, made excuses for him in his diary, actively censored information to protect his true identity, playfully teased him instead of blaming him, and finally wrote these hopeful words...
And the result? He promised they would eat together. He swore he would survive. Yet, even now, Romani didn't even know his true name—
This is basically psychological warfare! He deliberately wrote this just to make me cry!
Romani snapped the diary shut, took off the glasses, and shoved both items into Ritsuka's hands.
"I don't deserve to hold this."
Without another word, Romani turned and walked out of the room.
Ritsuka stared blankly at his retreating back, completely flustered, holding the diary and the glasses awkwardly.
Having fully expected this reaction, Da Vinci sighed softly, watching Romani leave.
But she wasn't overly worried. She knew the truth:
Romani was not a coward. He was vastly stronger than anyone realized.
Besides, according to the diary, there might be more crises on the horizon. He just needed some time alone to process everything.
Turning back, Da Vinci glanced at the items in Ritsuka's hands and shrugged.
"Just hold onto those for now. I've already made digital backups. I'll summarize the important parts for the Director and gloss over the rest."
Just as Da Vinci was about to leave, she remembered something and turned back with a playful wink.
"Oh, right! Make sure you keep everything you read a secret! Including what happened in this room today. If word gets out, it could be a real headache."
With that, Da Vinci reached out, ruffled the redhead's hair affectionately, and hummed a cheerful tune as she strolled out the door.
Honestly, I don't know why, but this girl really grows on you!
Hiss—!
The door slid shut.
"What in the world is going on here...?"
Ritsuka muttered to herself, feeling more and more like she had accidentally joined a bizarre cult.
But the gossip was right there in her hands!
Unable to resist, Ritsuka put on the glasses and opened the diary.
However, unlike the others, she instinctively flipped to the very last page first.
Coincidentally, the final page had a single line written on it:
[Sorry, Fujimaru Ritsuka, for stealing the story that was originally yours.]
"Hiss! Does this guy actually have the power to see the future?!"
Ritsuka gasped, her eyes darting around the room, half-expecting to find hidden cameras watching her.
But after a thorough visual sweep, she found nothing.
Suspicious, she looked back down at the diary.
"But I never wanted to be a hero in the first place..."
The girl muttered helplessly.
She was just a normal person looking for a part-time job to make some cash! Sure, the idea of being a hero sounded cool in theory, but she genuinely didn't harbor any grand ambitions to save the world!
***
In the blink of an eye, a month passed.
Chaldea, the Cafeteria.
"Senpai, are you going to the training simulator today?"
Mash looked at the girl sitting across from her and asked curiously.
"Today...? Let's skip it today! I just want to wander around Chaldea for a bit!"
Ritsuka looked up, thought about it for a second, and smiled.
"Senpai, right here."
Noticing a grain of rice stuck to the corner of Ritsuka's mouth, Mash pointed to her own face to signal it.
"Hm? Oh! Thanks!"
Ritsuka blinked, realized what she meant, and quickly popped the stray grain into her mouth.
Watching the slightly clumsy, endearing girl, Mash couldn't help but smile warmly.
Because Ritsuka was an entirely normal person, Mash—who had spent her entire life surrounded by pragmatic, often cold Magi—had never met anyone quite like her. Naturally, she had developed a strong fondness for the girl, which was why she had taken care of her when she first arrived.
Built on that initial foundation, the past month of interacting every day had naturally turned the two girls into inseparable best friends.
Ritsuka was a true optimist with a very healthy appetite. She quickly demolished her meal, rubbed her slightly rounded stomach, and leaned back in her chair with a satisfied sigh.
She had thoroughly enjoyed the food.
After letting it digest for a moment.
"Sigh... It's only been a month, and Chaldea is practically a ghost town..."
Ritsuka glanced around the nearly empty cafeteria, feeling a bit melancholic.
Even as an outsider, she could tell Chaldea was on its last legs!
She remembered that when she first arrived, the cafeteria was actually quite lively around meal times. She would frequently bump into staff members chatting or working in the hallways. But now? It was practically deserted!
She could jog laps around the facility for an hour and probably only run into a handful of people.
Hearing this, Mash's expression also grew somewhat somber.
"It can't be helped. It's been a month, and CHALDEAS still hasn't shown any changes. We haven't found any trace of the Team A Senpais, and those 'Lostbelts' mentioned in the diary haven't appeared at all. No matter how hard the Director tries..."
Mash shook her head, tactfully trailing off.
Exactly as Olga Marie had feared, the moment she reported the situation, it caused an absolute uproar in the Clock Tower, the United Nations, and the entire Mage's Association.
After all, humanity had nearly gone extinct without them even noticing. How could they not be shocked and terrified?
However, amidst the shock, the Clock Tower remained highly skeptical of Chaldea's report. And considering several of the missing Team A members hailed from prestigious Mage families, the Association's tone quickly shifted toward interrogation and holding Chaldea accountable.
Left with no other option, Olga Marie forwarded every single scrap of data Chaldea had, along with a digital copy of Takumi's diary.
But the core problem was that Chaldea's records were basically empty! There was no exploration data from the Singularities, no proper Rayshift logs, no visual records of the encountered Servants, and absolutely no footage of any Chaldea staff or Masters actually participating!
What did the evidence essentially claim? That an unknown, unnamed teenager had completely soloed seven Singularities and two Beasts all by himself?!
Honestly, if someone didn't work at Chaldea, if they didn't fully grasp the reality-breaking nature of the Rayshift system, and if they couldn't verify the authenticity of the logs firsthand... would they believe it? Even Chaldea's own staff had a hard time processing it!
Backed into a corner, Olga Marie had to physically send the [Golden Blade of Intrusion]—their most irrefutable piece of evidence—to the Clock Tower to buy some trust, while simultaneously warning them about the potential future crises mentioned in the diary.
The Clock Tower and the prominent families behind Team A remained highly suspicious, but they temporarily backed off, allowing Chaldea to continue its internal investigation.
And so, they waited for a month.
During that time, absolutely nothing happened. Chaldea didn't detect a single anomaly.