While Olga Marie stared intently at Adam, Ritsuka Fujimaru overheard him casually calling U-Olga Marie "Marie." The affectionate nickname instantly sparked her curiosity about their relationship.
"So… the Director from that other world… are you and Adam really that close? You're even on a first-name basis."
Olga Marie pulled her gaze away from Adam and looked at U-Olga Marie with the same curiosity. The question stirred up a storm of conflicting feelings inside her. Part of her desperately hoped for a positive answer, while another part feared it just as much.
If the reply was positive, it would mean Adam had feelings for her too—at least in some sense—since she and U-Olga Marie were technically the same person. But at the same time, they weren't exactly the same. If he was already involved with her other self, then what chance did she have?
In the end, all those worries were nothing more than pointless overthinking on her part.
After all, Adam's romantic situation could only be summed up as: —=)×??? (the art of mixed signals).
When U-Olga Marie heard the question, vivid memories of her intimate moments with Adam flashed through her mind. A faint blush crept across her cheeks.
Still, true to form, she turned her head away and answered with her usual haughty Director demeanor, though her voice carried a hint of tsundere.
"…Adam and I are simply in a normal Director-and-staff relationship."
She paused halfway through the sentence as several very explicit memories of the "various ways" they played together flooded her thoughts once more.
In the end, she added in a tiny, mosquito-like voice:
"A-At most… we're friends."
Yes. Friends.
Very close friends who enjoyed bondage.
Even though U-Olga Marie still tried to maintain her dignity as Director back in her own Chaldea—publicly claiming she treated every staff member equally—most observant people had already figured out the truth.
After all, what kind of Director constantly vanished into a certain employee's private quarters for hours, sometimes disappearing with him for an entire night?
It really wasn't that hard to guess why.
The rest of the Chaldea group hadn't caught the second half of her sentence because she had spoken too softly. They also found it hard to believe. Would a normal staff member and the Director really address each other so intimately?
Everyone turned their eyes toward Adam.
Facing their questioning gazes, Adam looked at U-Olga Marie with an amused smile.
"Our relationship, huh~"
He deliberately let the words hang.
U-Olga Marie recognized that teasing tone immediately. One glance at his eyes—affection mixed with mischief—told her exactly what he was doing. It was the same look he always gave her right before he started "bullying" her.
Long years of conditioning made her body react on instinct. She clenched her thighs as a familiar warmth began to spread between them.
Feeling the sudden wetness, U-Olga Marie quickly lowered her head like an ostrich, desperately trying to hide her reaction from the others.
Adam noticed her adorable response and chuckled softly before turning back to the group with a perfectly straight face.
"Yeah, Marie and I really are just in a normal Director-and-employee relationship."
Hearing that answer, Olga Marie didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed. Her emotions were in complete turmoil, and she wasn't even thinking about whether the statement made sense.
Ritsuka Fujimaru kept glancing back and forth between Adam and U-Olga Marie, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"Really…?"
Something felt off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
The ever-innocent Mash believed them without question.
However… the other Mash seemed to sense the familiar atmosphere and struggled to keep a straight face.
Shortly afterward, U-Olga Marie suddenly announced that she had some urgent matters to attend to and needed to return right away.
Adam sent her back without asking questions. He had a pretty good idea what kind of "urgent matter" had made her leave so flustered.
The others didn't suspect anything. After all, she was a Director in her own right and likely had plenty of responsibilities waiting for her.
Just as U-Olga Marie departed, a holographic transmission appeared above Ritsuka Fujimaru's wrist.
It was Dr. Roman, and he sounded rather flustered.
"Oh, thank goodness! We finally got through!"
"The connection suddenly cut off earlier for some unknown reason."
"Is everyone okay?"
"What about Lev? Has he left?"
Adam answered the questions, pausing briefly when it came to Lev.
"Everyone is safe and sound."
"As for Lev… you could say he's gone. Though the way he left was rather special."
After all, dying and returning to the Throne still counted as leaving.
Dr. Roman breathed a heavy sigh of relief upon hearing no one had been injured.
Adam then glanced at the golden, diamond-shaped Holy Grail in his hand. Singularity F had been cleared and the Grail successfully retrieved. All that remained was to Rayshift back to Chaldea.
However, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something important.
***
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