In the summer of 2012, the Clock Tower, acting through the Lord Valualeta and relayed by her student Touko Aozaki, finally delivered a letter of introduction to Shiomi for the human resources organization bound for Antarctica: Chaldea. Shiomi accepted the invitation.
However, the day before Shiomi and his family arrived at Chaldea via the Mage's Association's dedicated transport route, the facility's Director and current head of the Animusphere family, Marisbury Animusphere, was discovered dead in his room.
The official announcement listed the cause of death as unknown.
Yet not long after arriving at Chaldea, Shiomi learned the truth from Romani and Da Vinci.
Marisbury had died by suicide.
In the Director's office, he had shot himself. There were no signs of a struggle at the scene. It was as if he had suddenly lost the will to live, calmly taken the handgun from a drawer where it rested atop reference materials, and ended his life in the most unremarkable manner.
"It's been almost a week now. Are we really just going to leave things like this?"
Standing on the upper floor outside the sterile ward, Shiomi looked down through the glass at Mash, seated on her hospital bed and using Chaldea's equipment to learn about the outside world, as he spoke to Romani beside him.
He wasn't talking about Mash.
"Of course we can't ignore it…" Romani replied, his brows knit with undisguised concern. "Marisbury is gone. The one who will inevitably succeed as Director is Olga Marie. As the undisputed next head of the Animusphere family, how Chaldea operates from here on out has to be decided by her."
"But she hasn't even stepped into her duties as Director-elect," Shiomi said with a quiet sigh. "She's even delaying the Magic Crest transplant. The Mage's Association did at least send people all the way to Antarctica to help handle the matter, but the person involved keeps her doors shut. Even for a Lord, dragging things out like this will only hurt her standing at the Clock Tower."
If word spread that a Lord had no intention of inheriting the family's Magic Crest, it would only expose how bleak the situation had become for the Animusphere as a pillar of the Aristocratic Faction.
In the short term, it might be overlooked, but if it dragged on for three to five years, whether the Department of Astromancy would even remain under Animusphere control would be anyone's guess.
"The problem is the grief of losing her father, on top of all the responsibility now on her shoulders," Romani said helplessly.
"Maybe we should give her a bit more time. What do you think?"
As the final opponent of the Fifth Holy Grail War, Romani had come to understand Shiomi through the language of battle. Because of that, not long after Shiomi arrived at Chaldea, the two had gone from new acquaintances to something closer to old friends, often discussing matters related to the organization.
"I'm just a Master scheduled to join Team A, far below you in rank," Shiomi said with a faint smile.
"If even the head of Medical is saying that, what can I do?"
Romani wasn't entirely convinced. He was just about to ask Shiomi to think of some kind of solution when he realized the thought itself lacked any real logic. As he was about to turn away, another voice joined the conversation.
"The Director is probably feeling isolated, with no one to rely on," Lev Lainur said as he approached. He had clearly overheard them. "When she first arrived at Chaldea and took over here, do you remember? The moment she heard about Mash's situation, her face went completely pale."
"…That did happen," Shiomi said, recalling it as well.
When Olga Marie first came to Chaldea, she was shrouded in grief over her father's death, yet she still showed a firm resolve to carry on Marisbury's legacy.
But as she listened to reports from the various departments, the matter of Mash plunged her into a kind of inexplicable fear.
Chaldea was nominally an organization established by the United Nations, but in reality, it was entirely orchestrated by the Mage's Association's Animusphere family. From technological development to funding, everything was under their control. Precisely because of that, Chaldea's operations were effectively a one-man rule by the Animusphere, beyond even the Clock Tower's ability to freely interfere.
Under the banner of protecting humanity, they had secretly carried out inhumane Demi-Servant experiments.
Mash was the sole result of those experiments.
Born as a test-tube baby in a sterile room, she would die from environmental incompatibility the moment she left the sterile ward.
This situation did not begin to change until a year ago, after the Heroic Spirit Summoning test ended in failure.
Although Heroic Spirit Summoning Unit 2 refused to cooperate with Chaldea, it still left behind the power Mash needed to survive before departing, all for her protection.
For Olga Marie, who had been almost completely unaware of the truth up to that point, the reality was unbearably cruel.
It also became the trigger that drove her into her current state of seclusion.
"So… could I ask you for a favor? If the Director can't pull herself together, Chaldea's operations will be severely hampered," Lev said to Shiomi.
"Why me?" Shiomi couldn't understand Lev's intention.
"There are other staff members here who are fathers, but they all come from Magus backgrounds." Lev smiled with narrowed eyes. "What Director Olga Marie needs right now is concern that's closer to ordinary human values."
"Do I really seem that unlike a Magus?" Shiomi finally understood.
"Outside of combat, you definitely are," Romani commented honestly.
Lev nodded. "Exactly. If Mr. Shiomi isn't willing to lend a hand, then all we can do is hope the Director manages on her own."
"Cut it out with the moral blackmail." Shiomi frowned as he shot back. "I admit you're not wrong. I'll give it a try."
Romani was overjoyed by Shiomi's answer and bowed deeply in sincere thanks, leaving Shiomi with the strange feeling that he had somehow been tricked onto a pirate ship.
Still, a promise made had to be kept. Whether it worked was another matter.
So that evening, around dinnertime, Shiomi went to Olga Marie's room and happened to see Caren coming out, carrying a tray of food.
"Dad?" Caren lowered her voice, as if afraid Olga Marie might hear.
In front of someone who had lost her father, even the most ordinary things could turn into unintentional mockery.
"She didn't eat a single bite?" Shiomi glanced at the completely untouched meal.
"Psychogenic anorexia, plus emotional instability. The Director told me to take it away. I was worried that if I didn't, she might throw it on the floor." Caren shook her head. "So I brought it with me."
"You did the right thing." Shiomi nodded gravely. "But even if the cafeteria food is good, it still can't compare to something homemade."
Caren's eyes widened slightly. "So you mean you're planning to make something special for the Director?"
"Our family cooks for ourselves all the time anyway. It's just one more mouth to feed." Shiomi thought for a moment. "I'll go check the kitchen and see what we can make today."
"I'll go get Sakura to help."
Agreeing with her father's idea, Caren said so at once.