"Come to think of it… Kirschtaria and the others have basically proven their innocence, haven't they?"
In her room, Olga Marie sat tucked into the bend of Shiomi's legs, peeling an orange as she asked for his opinion.
"That's something you should decide as Director." Shiomi shook his head. "I didn't go with them to the Indian Lostbelt, and I didn't see their fight for myself. Judging them purely from the post-battle records wouldn't be fair."
"Mm…" Olga Marie hummed as she thought it over. "Then I think we can have Grandmaster and the others lift the restrictions. No matter what, they've already fought as Chaldea's combat personnel, standing against the Lostbelts and the 'Alien God.'"
Shiomi nodded. "That's enough."
"In the end, them becoming Crypters is also Animusphere's responsibility," Olga Marie said quietly. "I wonder if Father had some deeper intent when he brought them into Chaldea and placed them in Team A with Kirschtaria."
"At the very least, the choices weren't random," Shiomi said. "Even the weakest one, Kadoc, is still an excellent Magus. His strengths and flaws are both very clear, and he has plenty of room to grow."
And the rest were even stranger, each in their own way.
Kirschtaria went without saying. Marisbury's prized student, a genius capable of changing the Clock Tower's future landscape.
Hinako Akuta was a non-human spirit to begin with, and Marisbury knew that.
Peperoncino, who used a name that was not his true name, was a Japanese Magus who had practiced a supernatural art called Tengu-do and lived for over a thousand years.
Ophelia came from a prestigious Magus Family dedicated to exploring, and attempting to prove, the existence of the Sixth Element: "Daemon."
And then there was Daybit. A survivor of the "Angelic Artifact." That fact alone spoke volumes about how abnormal he was.
"Then as the last Team A member… why did Father bring you in, Teacher?" Olga Marie lifted a segment of orange to Shiomi's lips. "Could it be…"
"Your father took part in the Fifth Holy Grail War," Shiomi said. "We fought. But in the end, I gave up the Holy Grail so we wouldn't destroy each other."
"Huh?" Olga Marie was hearing this for the first time.
"The details are a bit complicated." Shiomi spoke evenly. "In short, Sakura participated in the Holy Grail War in 2004. Unfortunately, her Servant was killed at the very end, and your father captured her."
"And the reason he captured her was to use her as a bargaining chip, so we could withdraw from the Holy Grail War with her."
"…So there was that kind of connection…" A sudden wave of guilt welled up inside Olga Marie, even though none of it was her responsibility. "Even so, Father still recruited you into Chaldea. Why…"
"I wasn't brought into Chaldea because your father recruited me," Shiomi said. "I came because the Clock Tower's democratic faction recommended me. You remember, don't you?"
"It was a joint recommendation from Lord Valualeta and Lord Trambelio. Their real aim was for me to observe Chaldea from the inside and confirm whether it would end up strengthening the aristocratic faction's influence."
"But…" Olga Marie turned slightly, resting her cheek against Shiomi's chest. "Even if you and Father were enemies, you still took care of me without holding anything back. And you never mentioned any of this to me. It's just…"
"Don't think too hard about it." Shiomi stopped turning the page of his book and lifted a hand to stroke her cheek. "I helped you because I wanted to help you. Whatever issues I had with Marisbury had nothing to do with you. Besides, he'd already taken his own life by then."
"I know that's how you see it, Teacher, but I still feel awful about it." Olga Marie knew she was being a little unreasonable, but she couldn't help saying it, craving a bit more reassurance.
Shiomi thought for a moment, then leaned down with a mischievous smile and whispered into her ear.
"Then how about this? The truth is, I'm only being so nice to you to get back at Marisbury. I'll make you fall in love with me, and then…"
"Mmm…" Olga Marie shivered, letting out a soft, embarrassing sound.
She knew he was joking, but the way he framed it, turning reality into something forbidden and contradictory, made her feel like she'd become the doomed heroine of a tragedy in an instant.
Ah, Teacher… why do you have to be my Teacher…
Like Romeo and Juliet, it sent a faint thrill through her body.
"Satisfied?" Shiomi said. "If you are, then let it go."
"Whatever Marisbury did, whatever he planned, none of that is your responsibility. If anything, it's entirely possible you were just another one of his pieces."
Olga Marie went along with it, doing her best to suppress the sudden restlessness rising in her heart and steering the conversation back on track as calmly as she could.
"Anyway… what exactly was Father trying to accomplish by gathering all those people together?"
"I don't know," Shiomi replied. "But if we work backward from the final outcome, maybe each Lostbelt was matched to a specific member of Team A."
At his reminder, Olga Marie recalled something.
There had indeed been varying degrees of connection between each Lostbelt and its originally assigned Master from Team A.
Kadoc, who specialized in Beast Magecraft, had been assigned to Russia, where humans became the beastlike Yaga.
Ophelia, born into a renowned Scandinavian Magus Family, had overseen the Scandinavian Lostbelt.
Hinako Akuta was, in truth, the historical Consort Yu, reunited with Xiang Yu within her Lostbelt.
Peperoncino's Tengu-do bore deep ties to India's concept of reincarnation.
Kirschtaria's celestial Magecraft required the environment of the Atlantic Lostbelt to fully manifest.
Daybit, survivor of the Angelic Artifact incident, had been assigned a Lostbelt that just so happened to house ORT from beyond the stars.
Even Shiomi, who had originally been fated to become a Crypter yet escaped that destiny, was no exception.
His connection to Morgan ran so deep that she had once traveled from the future to the past to meet him.
If he had not escaped after that explosion, he would have inevitably become the Crypter responsible for the British Lostbelt.
In a sense, he had still become a kind of Crypter in the end. Just one who was not bound by the 'Alien God.'
"Everyone has some degree of connection to the Lostbelt they were tied to," Shiomi continued. "It's hard not to suspect that Marisbury drew the target first and then fired the arrow. Using Chaldeas, he might have arranged the Lostbelts with specific people in mind."
"Mm…"
Olga Marie shifted slightly in his arms, her voice taking on a faintly different tone.
"Marie?" Shiomi noticed the change.
She sat up, looped her arms around his neck, and pressed a kiss to his lips, carrying the faint sweetness of orange.
A moment later, the book slipped from his hand and fell to the floor.