When the door finally swung open again, thick smoke poured out.
Touko and Olga Marie, who had been trying to peek inside, were immediately choked back, nearly spilling the tea in their hands as they hurried into the hallway.
A moment later, Shiomi stepped out, dust clinging to his clothes, casually waving a hand to disperse the lingering smoke around him.
"Looks like I'm not cut out for this kind of technical work. That wasn't a service doll at all. More like an extermination model," Shiomi muttered with a slight frown. "If you dropped it into a human settlement, it could probably wipe out thousands in a short time."
"..."
Touko fell silent.
She knew exactly what her dolls were capable of. Single-target combat and assassination were never an issue.
Mass deployment with swarm tactics was also feasible.
But for a single unit to possess destructive capability on the scale of an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm… that was a little too much.
"Teacher, are you alright?" Olga Marie asked quickly.
"I'm fine. But that doll's a lost cause." Shiomi flicked his wrist. "The instability was too severe. I crushed it before it could escalate further."
"That's not a service doll. That's a murder weapon," Touko muttered, pressing a hand to her forehead.
At that moment, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Skadi appeared at the end of the hallway, with Ophelia and Koyanskaya in tow.
It looked like they had been having tea together nearby. Hearing the explosion and realizing how close they were, Skadi had immediately brought them over.
"What happened? That tremor was serious. Did an Alien Apostle attack?" Skadi asked.
Although the Wandering Sea's coordinates had not yet been locked onto by the Alien God and numerous countermeasures were in place, if an attack did occur, all non-combat personnel would have to evacuate immediately.
"No, just an experimental mishap." Shiomi gave Skadi an awkward smile.
Skadi stepped closer and glanced into the smoke-filled room. "Hmm… your Mana reaction was intense. Was it truly such a powerful opponent?"
"Not exactly an opponent. I just attached his authority to my doll," Touko said, pushing up her glasses. "The simulated personality that formed wasn't suitable for service. It turned into a killing construct instead."
She took a calm sip of her coffee as if nothing had happened.
Her workshop was practically destroyed, and most of her daily equipment was probably in pieces.
Repairs could wait. If there wasn't enough time, she would deal with it after the South American Lostbelt operation.
For now, finishing this last cup of coffee mattered more.
"A doll?" Skadi looked genuinely surprised.
After Touko explained the situation in the hallway, Skadi couldn't help but laugh softly.
"In that case, why not consult Skadi-sama directly?" Ophelia suggested.
Koyanskaya wore a teasing smile as she looked at Shiomi. "To think that a great god can't even manage something like this. As expected, delicate craftsmanship like doll-making is better suited to Goddess Skadi."
"That's not quite accurate," Skadi replied, a hint of pride in her voice as she looked at Shiomi. "I only replicate Odin's techniques to mass-produce Valkyries. Their finished quality cannot compare to the three original prototypes."
"Right, right. Then I'll leave the technical discussion to you and Touko," Shiomi said, gently steering Olga Marie toward Ophelia. "Marie, go rest with them for now. I'll help clean up here."
"Then I'll stay and assist," Skadi said, lifting a hand. "Since there's no enemy, the rest of you may return."
"Are you sure? Skipping the meeting just to deal with this mess with us?" Shiomi asked.
As he spoke, he raised a hand toward the smoke lingering inside the room and released a small Mana field.
The smoke was drawn inward, compressed into the center of the field.
Gradually, the room became visible again, light returning where moments before there had been nothing but haze.
"It really is… a total disaster." Skadi looked at Touko with faint sympathy.
Touko nodded repeatedly. "It is. A complete disaster."
"Seriously," Shiomi muttered, glancing around. "After all that, it's barely any different than before. Touko's workshop might be the messiest Magus workshop I've ever seen."
"I just arrange things however's convenient," Touko replied. "Anyone capable of breaking into my workshop isn't someone I can stop anyway. And the ones I can stop wouldn't barge in to begin with."
Skadi carefully restored the shattered teacups with Magecraft. "There's a saying: 'What this house needs is a woman.' In Touko's case, it becomes: 'What this house needs is a man like Tenkei.'"
"More like it just needs Tenkei," Touko said with a shrug. "I can't stay in one place, and I'm not the type to drag someone around the world with me."
Shiomi understood that perfectly. He smiled faintly.
"That's why I won't ask you to wait until Human Order is restored and move in with us. I'll just keep a room for you. No matter the year, the month, the time, or the place, you can always come back."
"Come back…" Touko paused as she sorted through documents, checking for losses. His words made her unexpectedly sentimental. "I don't even feel like going back to Misaki anymore. I already decided to make the world my home. And yet, someone's telling me to 'come back.'"
"Whether you admit it or not, my existence has disrupted your life. Just like I've disrupted others' lives," Shiomi said, helping Skadi retrieve a small object lodged in a crack before steadying her as she stood. "There are quite a few people who've lost their original paths because of me."
Skadi blinked, then shook her head. "It's not that I have nowhere to go. Wherever you go, I'll follow."
"What a contrast," Touko teased lightly.
She meant herself and Skadi.
One of them could only remain by Shiomi's side under extreme circumstances like these. The other would follow him forever, because that was her only home.
"…Yeah." Shiomi gave a helpless smile. "This is still too messy. Instead of cleaning it by hand, let's just use Magecraft."
Touko, who had been mostly standing around, immediately brightened. "Now that's what Magecraft is for."
"So that's why you weren't helping," Skadi said, suddenly enlightened.
"I just remembered what she's like," Shiomi replied with a small laugh. "We haven't spent enough time together lately. I almost forgot her temperament."
Restoring broken objects with Magecraft was a Magus's basic skill.
But returning a room that had been reduced to chaos back to its exact pre-destruction state required reversing phenomena itself. That was Magecraft on the level of the Age of Gods.
The Primordial Runes were one such method capable of achieving it.
"Alright, then—"
Skadi took Shiomi's hands. The two stood face to face, preparing to activate the Magecraft together.
At that moment, Touko stepped closer, intending to join in the casting.
"Be careful. Keep your Magic Circuits under control. Don't let them spiral out of control along with the spell. Follow the flow of my Mana. Center the circulation around me," Shiomi said, his voice gradually lowering.
As their Mana intertwined, their Magic Circuits nearly brushed against each other.
"Direct interference with Magic Circuits really does feel delicate," Touko remarked casually. "Did Morgan always find this sort of thing natural?"
Her offhand comment nearly caused Shiomi's large-scale Magecraft to go off track, threatening to trigger yet another irreversible secondary explosion.