Seeing Marie sitting there, Ritsuka quickly walked over.
"I'm glad the Director is safe too."
"If someone like you, a newcomer, is fine, how could I possibly not be? Or are you underestimating me?"
"No, no, no! Not at all!" Ritsuka shook her head like a bobblehead. "It's just that earlier, when I met the Department Head and Miss Rei, I didn't see the Director, so I thought something bad might've happened to you…"
In the end at Fuyuki City, when Naoki and Rei arrived, Ritsuka hadn't seen Marie. At the time, she thought something terrible might have happened to the Director, but the situation didn't allow her to ask.
Now, seeing Marie safe and sound, Ritsuka truly felt relieved.
Seeing this newcomer so concerned about her, after a brief silence, Marie let out a small sigh. "Though I'm fine… I can't say I'm completely fine. At the very least, right now, like those injured and unable to work, I'm still a patient."
"Eh? A patient?"
Ritsuka frowned. "Did the Director get injured?"
"No, Senpai, the injury the Director suffered isn't physical—it's damage to the soul. Senpai, this is today's special menu. I thought since you're Japanese, you might want to try this."
Mash said this while bringing over a plate of food.
After receiving her first meal, Ritsuka asked curiously, "Damage to the soul? What do you mean by that?"
"You really need to learn a lot about magecraft. How can you carry out the restoration of the Human Order like this… Haaa, let me explain." Marie massaged her temples. "Humans consist of three parts: body, soul, and consciousness. All three must be combined to form a complete human."
"In the previous explosion, my body suffered severe damage. As a result, my soul temporarily left my body and got trapped in the quantum transfer. Although my soul eventually returned to my body with Rei's help, healing after separation naturally takes time."
She had died.
After being revived by Rei and learning this fact, Marie herself was shocked, but thinking about it, it wasn't too hard to accept.
After all, she had undergone quantum transfer.
As Chaldea's Director, Marie technically didn't qualify for quantum transfer, yet she managed to arrive in Singularity F through it. This alone indicated a problem. The only plausible possibility was that she hadn't gone through the normal process, but completed the transfer in spirit form.
After all, quantum transfer was technology designed for spirits.
Initially, she shouldn't have been able to return and would've vanished along with Singularity F—if not for Naoki and Rei.
(I owe them both so much, I can never repay it…)
Over the years, Naoki had said he'd only help Marie three times, but in reality, he'd helped her countless times. He didn't mind and called it a small thing, but Marie, who valued her pride, didn't want to easily accept his kindness. So each time, she'd say she'd owe him one and repay it later.
People from the Animusphere family disliked being indebted.
But… those who understood knew that repaying Naoki's kindness wasn't easy. Especially when she tried to repay him, she often ended up gaining even more favors. As a result, Marie was still in a state of "accumulated debt" to this day.
According to Rei, she might never repay it, even if she sold herself to Naoki.
Ritsuka still didn't understand magecraft at all. She only half-understood what Marie had said. But at least she could grasp that Marie's current condition wasn't great. "I see… Then the Director should rest well! Here, I'll share half my lunch with you. Eating well helps you recover faster!"
"Hah? I don't want it. Besides, I'm already full. Eating with commoners… Hey! I told you not to give it to me!"
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
About half an hour later.
Leaving the restaurant, Ritsuka looked very satisfied, patting her slightly bloated stomach.
"I'm full… Chaldea's food is delicious. I'm jealous of Mash. Back then, she must've eaten delicious food every day."
"No, I don't come to the cafeteria often. I usually prepare my own meals." Mash shook her head unexpectedly. "The cafeteria food is indeed very tasty, but the nutrition is somewhat unbalanced. After all, with so many staff, it's hard to achieve perfect balance."
Chaldea had over three hundred staff members. Ensuring both taste suited everyone's preferences and nutrition remained balanced was indeed challenging for the chefs. Ritsuka could understand that.
"By the way, Mash, where are we going now?"
Ritsuka asked, confused.
After eating what should've been breakfast, Mash said there was a place she needed to take her.
"To the control room. I was near your room earlier because I wanted to check if you'd woken up. My brother said that if you woke up, I should bring you to the control room. I didn't expect you to wake up on your own."
"Brother… The Department Head! Has he returned?"
"Yes, not long after we came back."
(He really came back?)
Ritsuka knew her Department Head was incredibly strong—so strong he didn't seem human. But since his opponent was the super Demon King Solomon, she couldn't help but worry whether the Department Head might not return.
Turns out, her worry was unnecessary.
And quickly, as Ritsuka and Mash chatted, the control room door came into view. After Mash opened it with her ID, they hadn't even entered yet when they heard Roman's complaint from inside—
"I said, can you two stop showing off your affection in the control room! This is a public place! If you want to feed each other mouth-to-mouth, please go outside!"
"It's not my fault, Roman. Rei's the one forcing me…"
"Master, don't get distracted while eating. Come on, Aaaaaah~"
"That's enough! Can't you two stop ruining this harmonious work environment!"
Seeing Roman sitting in the command chair, "angrily helpless." and Naoki on the other side, hugging Rei while being fed mouth-to-mouth, Ritsuka suddenly felt she might've come at the wrong time.
(The Department Head and Miss Rei are that bold? Ugh, I can even hear the wet kissing sounds.)
Ritsuka, only 17 years old and with no experience with the opposite sex, had never seen such intimate contact as what Naoki and Rei were doing. She froze in place, her face turning bright red.
After recharging his mana with a kiss, Rei noticed Ritsuka and Mash standing at the door and waved with a smile. "Good morning, Mash, and also Fujimaru. You finally woke up after such a long sleep?"