After putting the pastries into the oven, Shiomi left the kitchen with Olga Marie and his Master, heading toward the Storm Border's engine room.
At this hour, Morgan and the others should be there, adjusting the Leyline Blockade Armaments.
Morgan wouldn't be staying aboard afterward. The armaments, now fully prepared, would need someone else to operate them.
Originally, Artoria Caster, as a Fairy of Paradise, had been the most suitable candidate. But due to Shiomi's teaching philosophy, Caster hadn't been raised with battlefield experience in mind. In the end, they had to make other arrangements. Goddess Skadi had become the next choice to take over control of the systems.
"How's it going? Can it synchronize properly with your Magic Circuits?" Shiomi asked as he entered the engine room and looked at Skadi, who was still making adjustments. "Do you need a hand?"
"No, this level is well within my capability," Skadi replied calmly. "The designer personally assisted with the calibration. Once the operational method was modified to suit my Magic Circuits and the nature of my Magecraft, I can handle it normally."
Morgan, leaning against a nearby workbench, spoke up.
"A goddess differs greatly from both fairies and humans in many respects. Truly an existence beyond standard parameters."
"That may be so," Skadi said, finishing her mana synchronization and withdrawing her hand, "but we gods are complete from the moment of our birth. The Magecraft we wield, tied to our domains, is essentially an expression of our Authority. Even so, I must admit… you are indeed a genius, Morgan."
"Right? Right? That's exactly what I think," Shiomi nodded enthusiastically. "I envy you even in my dreams. If only I had that kind of genius—"
"You can stop right there."
Before he could finish, Scáthach smacked him squarely on the back, cutting him off.
Anyone else might have had the right to say that.
Shiomi did not.
He might not have been a born prodigy Magus or a natural-born warrior, but he was certainly far from ordinary.
"Alright, alright." Shiomi understood what his Master meant and wisely shut up.
The others couldn't help but laugh.
"So what brings you here?" Touko asked. "I thought you didn't have anything pressing to do. Got bored and came looking for company?"
Shiomi spread his hands.
"I'm not that afraid of being alone. I was just in the kitchen with Master and Marie, baking some sweets. Thought I'd ask if you'd like to try some."
"You really are that free, aren't you?" Morgan teased with a faint smile.
"Since the urgent matters are finished, and Tenkei came personally to fetch us, we might as well go," Artoria said, taking Shiomi's hand first and walking toward the exit. "It's been a long time since I've tasted Tenkei's cooking. I'm looking forward to it."
"So that's why you're so enthusiastic. I knew it…" Shiomi feigned disappointment.
"O-Of course it's not just about the sweets!" Artoria's face flushed red as she hurried to deny it.
It wasn't that she was greedy.
She simply liked the food Shiomi made.
Unfortunately, he rarely had time to cook. The cafeteria duties were usually handled by others, and with Nemo in charge of the Storm Border's kitchen, Shiomi's attention was almost entirely devoted to the battles against the Lostbelts.
The tea party to sample the pastries was, naturally, held in Shiomi and Morgan's room.
It wasn't Olga Marie's first time there, but following everyone in together still made her a little nervous.
After all, everyone here shared a relationship with Shiomi that went beyond ordinary closeness.
And unlike the tea parties she was used to, the atmosphere in Shiomi's room was completely different. Everyone was relaxed, almost careless in their ease.
Whenever she met with Reines or the other Lords of the Clock Tower, there were always political undertones. No matter how private the setting, she had to sit upright, mind her posture, and observe every rule of etiquette.
An immaculate white tablecloth.
Imported tea sets from Italy or France.
Delicately arranged dessert towers that looked more like ornaments than food.
Amber-red tea fragrant enough to fill the room.
And maids or butlers standing by with perfect posture.
Thinking back, Olga Marie realized she had never truly enjoyed a tea party with others.
She was always holding her breath, making sure her manners were flawless so as not to disgrace Animusphere's name.
The only afternoons she could call relaxing were those spent alone, facing a garden so quiet that only flowers, birds, fish, and insects kept her company.
But now, sitting casually on the carpet, reaching out to pick whatever pastry she liked, listening to conversations that ranged from serious to utterly trivial, she felt no restraint at all.
"What are you thinking about?"
Shiomi's hand rested lightly over the back of hers as he leaned closer and asked in a lowered voice.
"Something on your mind? Or is it just a bit too lively for you?"
Olga Marie snapped back to herself. The others were still chatting away. Shiomi had simply tilted toward her to ask quietly.
"No, nothing like that." She shook her head. "I was just remembering some things… from when I was acting Lord."
"Acting Lord, huh…" Shiomi rested his chin in one hand. "Marisbury was obsessed with Magecraft research and left all of Animusphere's external affairs to you."
"The girls of the Clock Tower do mature quickly," Morgan remarked. "Reines is the same. At that age, she already carries herself like a seasoned and calculating politician."
Touko laughed softly.
"Magecraft warps people more than we like to admit. As for the Lord of the Department of Policies, Barthomeloi… you may not have met her, but she's the true embodiment of a Magus among Magi."
"You don't need to meet her to get the idea," Shiomi said, still propping up his chin. "Right after the Incineration of Humanity ended, the first ones eager to exploit Chaldea's so-called violations, dismantle its authority, and insert their own people were the Department of Policies, weren't they?"
"Sigh…" Olga Marie cupped her face in both hands. "She's a candidate for the next Director of the Clock Tower. And she inherited the title of Wizard Marshal from the Second Magician."
Those glittering titles alone were enough to make Olga Marie reluctant to get too close.
Coincidentally, Barthomeloi also avoided close ties with the other Lords, maintaining contact only with the Archibald family.
In her eyes, the only one truly worthy of standing on equal footing was the wielder of the First Magic.
"When Magecraft is pursued to its extreme, people tend to lose their humanity," Shiomi sighed. "How did Magi end up like this? When the King of Magecraft established the system, did he really hope it would become this?"
"Why not ask the King of Magecraft yourself?" Morgan teased meaningfully.
Unaware of the deeper context, Olga Marie instinctively thought of the Demon God King who had once manifested and blinked.
"But… wasn't that one a fake?"
"Oh, don't take it seriously. We're just joking." Shiomi laughed. "Relax a little more. You're so tense it's like you think my room is some kind of forbidden lair."