Even though the enhanced Mash looked identical to the regular Mash, the impression she gave Lev was completely different. This version felt far more composed and overwhelmingly more powerful.
Lev even wondered whether she was some secret trump card the old Director had kept hidden.
At that moment, the enhanced Mash suddenly turned around with a strange expression on her face.
Meanwhile, Adam appeared to be speaking with one of his Servants. The Servant shared the exact same face and aura as the inverted King Arthur. Even from this distance, Lev could sense the immense power radiating from her.
He felt a flicker of relief when the Servant who resembled the inverted Arthur suddenly vanished.
Otherwise, dealing with the Chaldea group would have become far more troublesome.
Adam's gaze finally settled on Lev. The look in his eyes made Lev break into an involuntary cold sweat.
Then Adam spoke, his voice calm and deliberate.
"Lev Lainur Flauros."
When introducing himself to Chaldea, Lev had only ever used "Lev Lainur." He had never revealed the "Flauros" part.
Hearing his full name spoken aloud hit Lev like a physical blow.
"Where did you learn that name?!"
"You can try guessing. Get it right and I'll give you a prize."
Adam glanced at the system panel where U-Olga Marie's profile was displayed.
Lev's eyebrow twitched in irritation.
Was this guy a child? Guessing games?
Whatever. It was just a name. What could it possibly change?
The moment that thought crossed Lev's mind, Adam delivered another precise strike, voicing exactly what Lev had been thinking.
Adam looked at Olga Marie, then back at Lev.
"Right now you're thinking you need to get your hands on the Holy Grail I'm holding so you can open the pathway to Chaldeas. Then you plan to shove Olga Marie into the glowing red core, aren't you?"
Olga Marie's eyes widened in shock the instant she heard Adam describe Lev's plan to push her into the activated Chaldeas.
Chaldeas was a high-density information body—essentially a black hole or a miniature sun. Any ordinary human who touched it would be broken down to the molecular level. The agony was beyond imagination.
Just picturing herself being forced inside sent a wave of terror through Olga Marie.
But the moment her eyes met Adam's, that fear melted away.
Lev's face twitched again from the second direct hit.
"Who the hell is this guy?"
"How does he know so much?"
He began to suspect Adam might be using some kind of mind-reading magecraft.
Adam simply smiled at the question.
"I'm just a passing Master."
With a quiet mental command, he added U-Olga Marie to the party roster.
Then he looked straight at Lev.
"Lev, tell me—if you really did push Olga Marie into Chaldeas, what do you think she would feel toward you afterward?"
Lev froze, his expression twisting into pure disbelief.
"You're joking. Once someone falls into Chaldeas, there's no way they could still be alive!"
Adam said nothing. He simply held back a grin.
Then, quietly, he tapped the "Deploy" button on the system interface.
U-Olga Marie has manifested!
Fujimaru Ritsuka stared blankly at U-Olga Marie. She rubbed her eyes, looked again, and finally turned to the real Olga Marie standing beside her, her gaze flicking back and forth between the two identical women.
"Director…? Director?!?!"
Mash reacted almost the same way. She gaped at the two Olga Maries, then frantically shook Ritsuka's shoulder.
"S-Senpai! I think I'm seeing two Directors!"
"I… I see them too, Mash!"
Ritsuka glanced at Olga Marie and realized she hadn't even noticed. Olga Marie had only given U-Olga Marie a brief glance before turning her full attention back to Lev, too furious to register the identical face.
She was far too busy imagining how satisfying it would be to twist Lev's head off.
"Director! Look behind you!"
Olga Marie frowned in confusion at Ritsuka's sudden panic.
"Behind me? You mean the Servant Adam just summoned? What about her?"
She finally turned around and took a proper look at U-Olga Marie.
Her first thought was that the Servant's outfit was bizarre—why was there a giant ring floating behind her head?
Then she saw the face.
"?!?!?!"
"Is that… me?"
[Fujimaru Ritsuka's emotional value +10]
[Mash's emotional value +10]
[Olga Marie's emotional value +10]
...
U-Olga Marie had been summoned in her Third Ascension state—the Director form.
(The first two ascensions had been far too valuable, so the Director herself had taken over. Big fog.)
U-Olga Marie blinked in confusion, looking around at the unfamiliar yet somehow familiar scenery.
She clearly remembered preparing to visit Adam's room for a nice, relaxing tea session—or rather, to supervise his work and make sure he wasn't slacking.
Then suddenly she was here.
For a brief moment she felt flustered, but her eyes immediately locked onto Adam.
"Adam? What's going on? Where are we?"
Adam spoke to her in the same gentle tone he always used when she got anxious.
"Don't worry, Marie."
"I summoned you."
The instant she heard it was Adam who had called her, U-Olga Marie let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it wasn't anything dangerous.
Adam couldn't help teasing her a little when he saw how relieved she looked.
"With all the power you hold now, do you still get this flustered over something like this?"
U-Olga Marie immediately straightened up, not wanting to lose face—or let Adam think she was still weak.
"I wasn't flustered! I was just… staying on guard, that's all."
(If only her voice hadn't cracked, if only she could have looked him in the eye, and if only her face weren't bright red, the claim might have been more convincing…)
Adam simply smiled and didn't call her out. Instead, he pointed toward the stunned Lev in the distance.
"Marie, doesn't that guy over there look awfully familiar to you?"
***
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