Prologue (Part 1): Olga Marie's Personal Time
Olga Marie woke from her sleep, the lingering drowsiness not yet gone, staring blankly at the white ceiling of her room.
It had already been six months since the last expedition from the New Chaldea, departing from the Sea of Imitation Monks to investigate the Britannia Lostbelt and returning for course corrections.
As a period of recuperation, it was undeniably long.
After all, during the earlier Human Order Incineration incidents, even after returning from each Singularity, rest periods had never stretched anywhere near half a year.
But with the collapse of the Britannia Lostbelt, Tenkei Shiomi's return to Chaldea, and the Russian and Scandinavian Lostbelts being wiped out with overwhelming force, the personnel of Chaldea who fought aboard the Storm Border had suffered minimal losses.
After all, the one who truly carried the burden was Teacher Shiomi.
The reason this recovery period had dragged on for so long was also very simple.
Their next destination would be the Greek Lostbelt. Based on the scant intelligence provided by Ophelia and Kadoc, the Crypter presiding over that Lostbelt was none other than Kirschtaria Wodime, her father's prized disciple.
The Lord of the Department of Astromancy, a top-tier Magus born of the distinguished Wodime family, widely regarded as even more suitable than Olga Marie to become the Lord of Animusphere.
Even so, Kirschtaria was a genius Magus whom Olga Marie couldn't bring herself to envy.
The only question that still lingered for her was just how great the gap was between him and Teacher Shiomi.
After all, that would directly affect the coming battle.
"Mmm… Teacher Shiomi."
Lost in these thoughts, Olga Marie sat up in bed and pressed a hand to her forehead as her mind gradually cleared.
Starting to think about things like this the moment she woke up wasn't her usual habit. It was just that, all of a sudden, she had dreamed a dream she hadn't had in a very long time.
She dreamed of the period when she had first taken on the position of Lord and assumed the role of Director.
If Teacher Shiomi hadn't been there, perhaps she still would have managed to steel herself and grit her teeth through all those responsibilities.
But without him, even if she had succeeded, something would have felt missing.
No one would have praised her. No one would have cared how much effort she'd put in.
Everyone in Chaldea was busy. No one had the time to truly look into Olga Marie's heart.
Except for Teacher.
No matter how busy he was, he always spared some attention for her.
Even now, that hadn't changed.
She slipped out of her clothes and stepped into the bathroom. Turning the faucet, warm water poured from the showerhead, wrapping her whole body in a comforting warmth.
She leaned against the glass wall, a faint sense of emptiness settling in as she thought about what people called first love.
Over the twenty-odd years of her life, Olga Marie's days had been painfully monotonous, to the point where there had been nothing but magecraft.
She had never once thought she might fall in love with someone.
Because deep down, she had always known that someday, perhaps through her father's arrangements, she would marry some aristocratic Magus and carry on the Animusphere lineage.
That was the duty and mission of an Animusphere Magus.
But her father was gone now. She herself was the head of the Animusphere family, the Lord of the Department of Astromancy.
She should have the right to decide her own life.
At the very least, she should be allowed to fall in love with someone.
And yet, when she truly did, Olga Marie was left with a hollow ache.
That person already had a wife whose presence made her feel dim by comparison, and a daughter who was no less outstanding than she was.
Her first love had come at last, only to end almost as soon as it began. Olga Marie accepted that outcome calmly.
She tried to remain only a student, a junior, seeking his guidance and concern in that capacity alone.
The problem was…
"What is going on…" Olga Marie muttered with a pout.
There were more and more women around Teacher.
A queen, a goddess, and that Grand Puppeteer. Every one of them was dazzling in their own right, and yet they all hovered around him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Even Olga Marie didn't find it strange. If it was Teacher, then yes, he really did deserve relationships like that.
They had even gone together to handle a minor Singularity, and turned it into a hot spring trip on the side.
What that meant was obvious.
And despite herself, she started wondering whether she might have a chance, too, whether she could somehow fit into that circle.
"Teacher…"
Olga Marie closed her eyes. The hiss of water from the shower slowly turned into a sound she didn't recognize, like surf rolling in. Waves crashed one after another against the shore, stirring even her soul until it felt like it might overturn.
She couldn't help wanting to follow that feeling, to dig deeper.
And then it was as if she'd become a tiny boat swaying on an endless sea, or maybe just a single leaf.
She rode the very tips of the waves, rising and falling with the spray. One moment she felt like she'd been flung up into the sky, the next like she was dropping into a bottomless abyss.
Either way, she couldn't bring herself to let go. If anything, it was a little addictive.
She tipped her head back to meet the downpour, but the "rain" was warm and delicate, like mercy granted by a god.
She wanted to cling to it, to hold it tight, but there was nothing to grasp. In the end, she could only wrap her arms around herself.
Her heart hammered. Her whole body tensed, drawn tight like a bow ready to fire.
Tighter, tighter, tighter…
And in the instant before the string would snap, she finally let go.
Her body loosened little by little. She sank to her knees on the bathroom floor, weak, leaning forward to brace herself against the edge of the tub.
Her mind went blank.
An awkward, unfamiliar feeling flooded her chest.
And yet her body was overflowing with raw, instinctive pleasure.
"Hah… hah…"
Breathing shallowly, she turned off the shower and lowered herself into the bathtub already filled with hot water, slumping back as if she'd lost her soul.
She lifted a finger, glanced at it twice in guilty panic, then quickly lowered her hand.
Then she drew her knees up and buried her face against them.
She really went and did it.
Thinking about Teacher, and doing something like that.
She felt like she might cry, only to realize there was nothing to cry about.
If he ever found out, he'd probably just smile and comfort her, telling her that thoughts like that were perfectly normal.
"But… it still isn't okay…" she murmured, voice muffled.
She soaked for a while longer, until the urge began to rise again. That was when the communicator sounded.
Olga Marie hurried out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, and switched over to voice-only.
"It's me. What is it?"
"Director, all departure preparations for the Lostbelt operation have been completed," came the voice of the recording clerk, Elron.
"I understand. I'll be in the control room shortly. Notify everyone on duty and everyone on rotation. We're convening a strategy meeting for the Greek Lostbelt operation," Olga Marie said at once, slipping straight into Director mode and issuing crisp orders.
"Understood."
The call ended, and Olga Marie let out a breath, like someone who'd just gotten away with something.
With a crisis threatening humanity's survival on her shoulders, it wasn't that strange to take the edge off the pressure once in a while.
In the end, that was the excuse she used to convince herself not to dwell on what had just happened.