In Naoki's room, barring any unexpected events, there were usually only four or five people who would show up.
Rei was the one who had been there the longest and came most often. Although she had her own room in Chaldea, it had essentially turned into her storage space. Typically, when she said she was going back to her room, she'd head straight to Naoki's room and stay there all night.
Next was Olga Marie. Like Rei, she came almost every day, but always in the middle of the night.
As Chaldea's director, Marie wasn't particularly trusted by the staff. The doubts from her subordinates and the mountain of work put immense pressure on her. Her way of relieving that pressure was sneaking into Naoki's room in the dead of night after Rei had fallen asleep to cry and vent her frustrations.
From her perspective, she thought she was hiding it well, but in reality, Rei was fully aware of her little antics. Rei just played along, lying there quietly. If it were Merry, she'd probably have recorded every session for her own amusement later.
Besides these two, there were Gray and Atalanta.
Whether it was habit or coincidence, they rarely showed up in Naoki's room at the same time. Unless something unexpected happened, in most cases, there would only be two of them in Naoki's room at most.
It could be said there was an unspoken understanding among them.
However, this time, that understanding couldn't be maintained, as three new people had arrived all at once.
"Welcome back, Naoki-sama."
"A tiring journey, Master."
"W-Welcome back, Naoki-sama…"
As Naoki was dragged back to his room by Rei and Atalanta, each holding one of his arms, the three who had been waiting there—Okita and the others—greeted him.
Seeing this scene, Naoki furrowed his brow. "Why are you all here? Didn't Roman prepare rooms for you?"
"He did, but we thought it'd be better to wait for Master's return in your room." Okita explained. "Besides, we were summoned by Rei, who said there'd be an explanatory meeting."
"Hmm, indeed, I called them." Rei said with a smile. "Originally, it was just me and Gray keeping you company, so there were no scheduling issues. But now, with so many new people suddenly showing up, I thought it was necessary to rearrange the time schedule like before. I also want you to properly introduce this new little sister you brought back."
As her words landed, Rei glanced at Kaname, who was huddled beside Okita.
Naoki scratched his head with a hint of helplessness. "I see… Well, you guys can handle the scheduling and all that. It's pointless for me to object anyway; it'll just get overruled later. As for Kaname's situation, it's actually quite simple. I was just following someone's request, plus my meddlesome nature."
"Kaname was the Master of one of the Servants in the Holy Grail War I participated in during that Singularity. Though calling her a Master is a stretch—she was just an unfortunate kid chosen at random. The Servant she summoned, right after appearing, killed their original Master and casually picked Kaname as their new Master."
"Regarding the details of that Singularity, I'll compile a report and upload it to Chaldea's database later. You can read it if you're interested or ask Okita. In short, on the night before everything was almost over, Kaname's Servant asked me to look after her in a way that felt like a last request."
Even so, Nobunaga's intention at the time was only for Naoki to look after Kaname until she left the Singularity, not to care for her indefinitely.
Bringing Kaname out of the Singularity was Naoki's own decision.
Kaname had been taken back to the Ministry of the Army by Magatsu Reiji. Though it wasn't a good place, it was her only refuge. After Naoki and Okita completely destroyed it, she had nowhere else to go.
Given Japan's post-war situation, if Kaname were left to wander outside, her future would undoubtedly be tough. She might quickly encounter an unexpected accident or be deceived and led into a trap…
His unintentional actions had left Kaname with no future to return to. Realizing this, Naoki decided to bring her back to Chaldea. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about her future anymore.
"In short, it's like helping someone to the end, escorting the monk all the way to the west."
Naoki concluded, then said to Kaname, "Kaname, from now on, you'll live here. If you run into any problems, you can come to us anytime. There'll always be someone here."
"I-I understand…"
Still somewhat shy, Kaname nodded timidly, then, as if mustering her courage, stepped out from behind Okita and bowed to everyone. "I'm Asama Kaname. Please guide me in the future."
"Hmm, please guide us too, Kaname-chan." Rei smiled, then whispered in Naoki's ear. "Master, you really have a thing for this type—childlike faces with big chests. So, tonight, should I mimic this look? Change into a sailor uniform too?"
"I'm telling you…"
Regarding Rei's suggestion, Naoki couldn't say he wasn't tempted, but he restrained himself and gave her a disdainful look. "There's a kid here. Talk about this privately later."
"Oh, Master thinks there's an outsider here? And speaking of kids, there shouldn't be anyone underage here, right? Kaname-chan doesn't look like it either."
Rei licked her lips.
"More importantly, I think it's about time to settle accounts."
"Wait, wait, wait, there's still important business I haven't finished!" Naoki quickly grabbed Rei's restless hands. "I still have matters to handle with Touko and Da Vinci. At least wait until I've sorted that out. I'm not running away this time."
More important business?
Rei furrowed her brow. "What else is left to settle?"
"Hmm, it's about the item I brought back from the Singularity. I couldn't deal with it properly there, so I stored it in Angelica's Gate of Babylon for now. I plan to bring it back for Touko and the others to handle—right, Angelica?"
Receiving Naoki's question, Angelica nodded expressionlessly.
Seeing this, Rei could only retract her hands in frustration. "Fine, no choice then… Go and come back quickly, Master. If you make me wait too long, the two-day-two-night punishment will turn back into three days and three nights."