"Tama-chan, you..." Ian looked at Tamamo-no-Mae before him, who had just said she wanted to marry him, and couldn't help but feel a touch of emotion in his heart.
A girl had gone through so many difficulties just to say she wanted to marry him at the moment of their reunion.
The man wasn't made of stone.
It was impossible to say he felt nothing at all.
It was just——
In the current situation, Ian couldn't decide whether it was appropriate to do this with Tamamo-no-Mae right now.
The fox spirit wasn't stupid.
She quickly noticed the hesitation in the man's eyes.
"Um..." Tamamo-no-Mae lowered her head, her voice also losing some of its cheerfulness. "Was this concubine's request too sudden?"
"Or... does this concubine still not have the qualifications to ask Master Abe for marriage?"
"No." Ian shook his head. "It's not that."
"Tama-chan, your request isn't sudden... and of course, you have the qualifications to ask me to marry you."
"It's just——"
"..." Listening to Ian's hesitant tone, Tamamo-no-Mae realized something else.
She continued,
"Could it be——"
"Is Master Abe worried about the material preparations?"
"If that's the case... this concubine has already thought of a solution."
As soon as she finished expressing her thoughts, Tamamo-no-Mae's hand began to glow with a pure blue light.
It was the manifestation of magical energy surging—this proved that the fox spirit had recovered quite a bit.
The light gathered and took shape orderly in front of Tamamo-no-Mae, eventually solidifying into a physical object.
It was...
A wedding dress?!
The Tamamo-no-Mae he had just summoned had brought a wedding dress?!
Before Ian could even wonder, the clever fox spirit had already begun to explain.
"Miku~" Tamamo-no-Mae tilted her head, her golden eyes looking at him playfully.
"Master Abe, you don't need to be nervous."
"This is this concubine's Noble Phantasm, 'Fox's Wedding (Le mariage du renard),' it will have different appearances depending on the corresponding era."
"It's a good thing that allows this concubine to marry Master Abe no matter when."
"Master Abe——" Tamamo-no-Mae hugged the wedding dress on her lap into her arms, looking at Ian with a blushing face, and said rather humbly.
"You don't need to prepare anything."
"This concubine only needs to wear this... nothing else is needed."
"..." Ian's heart tightened for a moment.
As a magus, he naturally knew what a "Noble Phantasm" meant to a Servant.
It was the most important event or cherished object in their life's history before they became a Heroic Spirit.
And now——
Tamamo-no-Mae's "Noble Phantasm" was a wedding dress.
This also meant that no matter which era she was in, or what identity she held, the only thing she wished for was to marry him.
"Tama-chan, I..." Ian gently stroked Tamamo-no-Mae's fair cheek, a wave of unspeakable heartache washing over him.
Should he... really just marry her and give her the recognition she deserved?
She had waited for so long.
As for the consequences... he could find a way to fix them.
The fox spirit's two ears twitched.
She could feel the emotions in the man's words.
She understood that the man before her wasn't refusing to marry her, but was considering certain things.
"Master Abe... are there still some concerns you have?" Tamamo-no-Mae asked softly, her golden eyes looking at him sincerely.
"Can you tell this concubine about them?"
"..." Looking into Tamamo-no-Mae's sincere eyes, Ian knew that there was no point in hiding anything anymore.
He had to let her know what this era was really like.
"Tama-chan, the situation is like this." Ian spent a few minutes telling Tamamo-no-Mae about the current situation.
The fox spirit, upon learning the truth, covered her mouth in surprise.
"This..." Tamamo-no-Mae said, her golden eyes widening in shock.
"The era Master Abe is in... has fallen into such a crisis?"
"Yeah." Ian nodded, further confirming Tamamo-no-Mae's words.
"So——"
"Tama-chan, it's not that I want to refuse to marry you."
"It's just that doing such a thing at this time, I'm worried you'll be misunderstood once again."
After all, the others didn't know the deep relationship between Tamamo-no-Mae and Ian.
From their perspective, it would look like a newly summoned fox spirit had directly used some means to bewitch her Master, forcing him to marry her.
No matter how they thought about it, it was a situation that was very easy to misunderstand.
Finally understanding why the other party was hesitating, Tamamo-no-Mae's expression gradually relaxed from worry.
The wedding dress on her lap gradually turned into particles and disappeared.
And she herself took Ian's hand and spoke again:
"Then in that case——" Tamamo-no-Mae said gently, her golden eyes looking at him.
"Master Abe, let's go and meet everyone first."
"Otherwise... they will definitely be worried!"
Listening to Tamamo-no-Mae's understanding words, Ian knew that she had understood his situation and wasn't going to make a fuss about it.
The man immediately nodded.
"Yeah, Tama-chan, you're right."
And so——
At Tamamo-no-Mae's initiative, Ian and she left the room where they had replenished her magical energy.
Of course.
The two of them went out in a very intimate manner.
Tamamo-no-Mae held Ian's arm tightly, her face full of happiness.
And thinking that he had just "rejected" her marriage proposal, the man didn't say anything more, but let the fox spirit act on her own.
Snap. The door opened.
Ian immediately saw Olga Marie covering her face and muttering frantically to herself.
"I don't like this kind of thing, I don't like this kind of thing, I don't like this kind of thing..."
She seemed to be trying hard to deny something.
The girl's state couldn't help but make Ian a little worried.
He immediately called out,
"Director, what's wrong with you?" Ian asked, his blue eyes filled with concern.
"Eh?!" Hearing the familiar voice, Olga Marie turned her head.
The moment she saw Ian, a happy expression appeared on her face.
But——
This happiness lasted for less than a second before shattering into pieces.
Because the young Director noticed Tamamo-no-Mae, who was holding Ian's arm and looked extremely intimate.
In an instant, countless conjectures flooded Olga Marie's mind like a surging river.
Why were they holding hands like lovers?
They had only had sex once; it shouldn't have reached this stage, right?!
No.
There was indeed such a possibility.
After all, after trying it once with him, she could no longer forget that feeling.
Even when walking on the road, she would occasionally recall the scene at that time, then tremble all over, feeling an urge to go find him immediately.
Now the two of them had been inside for such a long time.
Maybe they really did have a similar reaction, leading to the current situation.
And if she really thought about it——
Ian was her Master.
Could it be... that he used a Command Spell or something to force the other party to fall in love with him?!
Was Ian such a despicable person?!
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
There were already so many of them!
The girl, who had just crawled out of the abyss not long ago, once again fell into a long river of suspicion.
But just at this moment.
The object of Olga Marie's suspicion—the fox spirit who had just been summoned by Ian—took the initiative to greet her.
She waved her hand and said in a slightly playful voice:
"Um... Director, right?" Tamamo-no-Mae tilted her head, her golden eyes looking at Olga Marie.
"Hello, I'm Tamamo-no-Mae."
"Eh?!" A simple greeting directly interrupted all of Olga Marie's inner fantasies.
She looked at the hand extended towards her, feeling somewhat at a loss for a moment.
But in the end, out of politeness, she still chose to take it and replied seriously.
"Hello, Tamamo-no-Mae, I'm Olga Marie." Olga Marie said softly, her amber eyes looking at the fox spirit.
"And... I'm no longer the Director of Chaldea." Olga Marie's gaze shifted to the man beside Tamamo-no-Mae, a hint of barely perceptible concern in her eyes.
"Ian is the Director."
"Ian?" Tamamo-no-Mae was taken aback for a moment.
It was the first time she had heard this name.
However——
Tamamo-no-Mae quickly understood everything based on her own experiences.
Just like how each of her in the nightmares was completely different.
The Master Abe that the fox spirit loved could naturally have many identities.
Ian = Abe no Taishin. Tamamo-no-Mae quickly established this equation in her little head.
"I see." The fox spirit leaned on Ian's shoulder and showed an approving smile.
"My Master... is indeed very amazing."
"..." Hearing these words, Olga Marie's body trembled.
She could feel that the Servant who called herself Tamamo-no-Mae really liked her Master, Ian.
But she couldn't say that this kind of liking was wrong—after all, it was natural for Servants to be close to their Masters.
It was just that seeing them so affectionate made Olga Marie feel uneasy.
She quickly changed the subject to avoid losing control of her emotions later.
"Um——" Olga Marie said hesitantly.
"Tamamo-no-Mae, you should be alright now, right?"
"Hmm~" Tamamo-no-Mae glanced at Ian, then covered her lower abdomen, her eyes full of shyness.
"This concubine was indeed a little dizzy at first... but after sleeping with Master, I've recovered."
"He... is amazing."
Beep——! Olga Marie felt like her brain had been hit by something.
She felt that if she were a train, she would definitely be puffing out steam right now.
But there was one thing that Olga Marie had to admit.
That was that she also thought Ian's performance in bed was amazing.
Even now... the girl couldn't help but want to experience that feeling of being taken into extreme pleasure again.
However——
Now wasn't the time to talk about these things.
How did things turn out like this... Olga Marie covered her increasingly aching forehead and forced a smile.
"I-is that so..." Olga Marie said, her voice a little strained.
"Then it seems the emergency mana replenishment was very successful."
"Then in that case——" Olga Marie looked at Ian beside her and asked for his opinion.
"Shouldn't we go back to Da Vinci and Ritsuka's side? They must still be worried."
"...Yeah." Ian looked at Tamamo-no-Mae, who was clinging to him, and said softly.
"Tama-chan, let's go see the others."
"Okay~" Tamamo-no-Mae responded quite docilely. "Whatever Master says."
And so.
The group walked towards the hall where the Spiritron Summoning System was located.
Ian and Tamamo-no-Mae were in front, while Olga Marie followed behind.
Looking at Tamamo-no-Mae, who was holding Ian's arm and almost had hearts floating out of her words, she muttered softly,
"Where did this vixen come from..."
Some time later.
The three returned to the hall.
Just as Olga Marie had said, Da Vinci and Fujimaru Ritsuka were still there, waiting anxiously.
After all, this was a serious "accident" in the end, so they naturally wouldn't be relaxed.
"Da Vinci-chan, Ritsuka." Ian's voice made the two worried girls turn their heads together.
But after seeing the scene before them, Da Vinci and Fujimaru Ritsuka had completely different inner reactions.
Da Vinci breathed a sigh of relief.
Although this "summoning accident" was not essentially caused by her.
But with great power comes great responsibility.
As the "Omnipotent One," she had failed to find a perfect solution this time, and she felt somewhat guilty.
Now seeing that the Servant from just now could wake up, the guilt in Da Vinci's heart finally lessened a little.
But what she didn't know was that.
Fujimaru Ritsuka beside her was concerned about something else at this moment.
Why was Ian... so close to that Servant?!
This was practically like a couple, wasn't it?!
No.
Even couples weren't this close!
This was the kind of behavior that could only be shown with deep affection—even childhood sweethearts weren't like this!
What on earth was going on?!
But before Fujimaru Ritsuka could follow these thoughts, Tamamo-no-Mae took the initiative to greet them.
"Hello everyone." Tamamo-no-Mae said with a gentle smile.
"Nice to meet you, this concubine is Tamamo-no-Mae, please treat me well."
"..." Although Tamamo-no-Mae's behavior kept stepping on Fujimaru Ritsuka's landmines.
But facing her polite greeting, this newly appointed Master hadn't reached the point where she couldn't answer.
"Y-you, hello." Fujimaru Ritsuka replied hesitantly.
"I'm Fujimaru Ritsuka."
After Fujimaru Ritsuka replied, Da Vinci also spoke.
"Hello, Tamamo-no-Mae-chan." Da Vinci said with a smile.
"I'm Da Vinci... you can call me Da Vinci-chan just like Ian-chan does."
"Is that so~" Tamamo-no-Mae's social skills were quite good.
She quickly accepted Da Vinci's "request" and put it into action.
"Da Vinci-chan, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Wow... she seems like a very easy-going Servant." Da Vinci commented with a smile.
And while the two of them were chatting, Fujimaru Ritsuka slowly moved her body and leaned closer to Olga Marie, whose expression wasn't very good.
"Director... what's going on?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked softly, her brown eyes filled with confusion.
"Why did things turn out like this after just one trip out?"
"This——" Olga Marie showed a troubled and awkward expression.
But in the end, she still spoke.
"Um, Ritsuka." Olga Marie said hesitantly.
"I think——"
"Maybe... Ian slept with Tamamo-no-Mae..."