This meeting was originally meant to be a private one between Touko and Olga Marie.
But at their joint request, it became what it was now—with Shiomi and Morgan also in attendance.
"As far as the outcome goes, the response from the Clock Tower hasn't exactly been encouraging," Touko said, looking at Olga Marie. "Even though Chaldea was founded by the former Lord Animusphere, and all authority here has always been held by the Department of Astromancy—"
"But personnel restructuring is now unavoidable," Olga Marie said grimly. "Because of the explosion caused by Professor Lev Lainur, over 200 staff members have died. And 46 Masters are still trapped inside the coffins due to the control room blast—their fate remains unknown."
"With a vacancy that large, even from my limited understanding of the Clock Tower, I'd say the Magi will come swarming in," Morgan said calmly.
"Do you have a specific list?" Shiomi asked Touko.
"Before I left, I heard from Professor Inorai that the candidates include Krast Rene Wegner from Mineralogy, the entire Department of General Fundamentals led by Valea Cyclefi, Misaria Crowlam from Zoology, and Augustus Henrik Asplund from Creation," Touko replied.
Shiomi gave a cold chuckle. "As expected, Lord Valualeta and Lord Trambelio know exactly how to hedge their bets. They promised to help ease the pressure the Clock Tower is putting on Chaldea and the Animusphere name—yet still obediently made arrangements to move their own people in."
No surprise—this kind of double-dealing was standard fare for Clock Tower politicians. The Departments of Creation and General Fundamentals were under the control of those very two Lords.
"And that's not even the worst of it," Touko sighed. "The Department of Policies is also planning to intervene. They're aiming to analyze the data and restructure Chaldea entirely."
"I've already raised objections to that," Olga Marie added, "but stuck here in Antarctica, I can't travel to the Clock Tower to negotiate directly. Relying solely on Reines El-Melloi's help just isn't enough."
Thankfully, the Lords of Creation and Fundamentals both expressed their opposition to the Department of Policies' ambitions.
So for now, the Clock Tower's internal debate over how to handle Chaldea remained at a stalemate.
"But the biggest threat is still Lev Lainur," Morgan said. "That man was a consultant here—and played a key role in helping Marisbury Animusphere build Chaldea in the first place."
Olga Marie's grip on her documents tightened. "The disappearance of the Final Singularity doesn't mean Lev Lainur is dead. Among the 46 Masters, 38 of them are exceptional Magi…"
In short, Lev Lainur had inflicted tremendous damage on the Clock Tower.
Now, the Clock Tower intended to carve up Chaldea and dismantle Animusphere's authority to appease the various factions.
In the end, it all came down to a struggle for power and interests.
That's why the Aristocratic, Democratic, and Neutral factions had all joined the fray—each one looking to claim a share.
But none of them wanted to be the first to act. If things went wrong, the others would seize on it as a pretext to retaliate, and the risks would outweigh the rewards.
"But you're still alive," Shiomi said. "Which means the Animusphere name and the Department of Astromancy aren't leaderless. As long as you can endure the pressure, there's still room to turn things around."
Olga Marie lowered her gaze. "But in my current state… can I still serve as the head of the Animusphere family?"
By all rights, she should have died in the explosion—or been tossed into Chaldeas and vanished by Lev Lainur.
But she'd survived.
She lived on—by taking on a new body.
"I've heard about that." Touko raised her hand slightly. "But your situation is quite unique. That doll was specially adjusted to fit Tenkei's condition, making it a custom piece. It could be used by others, but there's one problem—"
"The Magic Crest transfer," Morgan shook her head.
If it were just a straightforward transplant, she would have done it for Olga Marie long ago. However, the issue now was that because the doll had been tailored with a specific bias, Olga Marie's capabilities as a Magus had become unstable.
She had gained compatibility with Rayshift but lost her ability to synchronize with the family's inherited Crest.
This was another major issue Morgan discovered when she was asked to assess the feasibility of the Crest transplant.
Fortunately, even without the Crest, Olga Marie was still an outstanding Magus and Master. That was what allowed her to temporarily avoid the issue until the restoration of the Human Order was complete.
What forced them to address it now was the fact that a Lord without a family crest would immediately be questioned from within.
"Normally, even a doll shouldn't have trouble adapting to a Crest," Touko said, frowning slightly. "Unfortunately, there's not enough time or freedom to investigate you and your original body in depth without drawing attention."
More importantly, what Touko truly cared about was how Shiomi had managed to bring Olga Marie's soul back from Singularity F and ensure a smooth transfer into the doll's body, even after her original body had died.
This part wasn't in the report, but Shiomi had told her about it directly.
"So this matter needs to remain confidential for now. Only Marie has access to where the original body is stored," Shiomi said. "Otherwise, just the procedures to select a new head of the family would give someone enough time to seize control of Chaldea."
"In the worst-case scenario, the Clock Tower might consider freezing Chaldea's functions and sealing it off," Touko added. "That's why your top priority now is to protect everyone in Chaldea as the head of the Animusphere family."
As she said this, her gaze landed on Shiomi.
Olga Marie misunderstood Touko's words, thinking she was being told to protect Shiomi. Her posture straightened immediately.
"Yes… that's right. If I, as the Director of Chaldea and the Lord of Astromancy, can't protect our teacher, then who else could?"
She stood up excitedly, only to realize she was overreacting. Embarrassed, she quickly sat back down, lowering her head and avoiding eye contact.
"…It feels like Lord Animusphere has misunderstood something," Touko said with a helpless smile.
Morgan gave a faint smile as well. "A kind thought nonetheless. Just accept it, husband."
"L-let's move on to the next issue," Shiomi said awkwardly, trying to steer the conversation away. "Among the Masters who took part in the Rayshift, only Ritsuka is an ordinary human. But she's come into contact with top-level secrets of the Magus world. We need to take some action."
"…For now, let's erase her activity records," Touko suggested.