Chaldea.
The people gathered here to search for Naoki, who was lost outside, were now facing the cruelest order.
Namely—
"Alright, Ritsuka-chan lost—strip."
"That was my last piece of clothing!"
The women gathered together were now playing a strip version of Rock-Paper-Scissors.
With full embarrassment, Ritsuka removed the final piece of clothing on her body, then quickly slipped under the blanket. She glared at Merry, who had won against her with a flushed face—and even managed to snap a candid photo in the moment.
"That's enough! Merry-sensei! How long are we going to play?!"
"Of course, until I've stripped everyone here bare."
Merry said this with an extremely innocent gaze. From her eyes, several people in the room could clearly see two big words: Pure Lust.
For this trash Succubus who would die without seeking pleasure, pleasure was the sole reason for living in this world. Originally, with Naoki around, she had no time to bother others—but now that Naoki was gone, she was truly free.
The reason they had gathered in Ritsuka's room to play was also Merry's idea.
The main goal was to kill time.
Yes, just to kill time.
Though Chaldea currently had the mission to go to the Lostbelt and retrieve the Holy Sword Bearer lost outside, in reality this wasn't a task requiring all of Chaldea's functions. Besides investigating the Lostbelt, Chaldea also accepted requests from the Mage's Association and the United Nations—like planetary observation, etc. There were actually many missions.
Thus, when work piled up, the Lostbelt matter had to be temporarily postponed. And those with no immediate tasks could only gather to pass the time.
Ritsuka, Mash, Merry, Gray, Olga Marie—these five could be said to be the most idle in Chaldea.
As a side note, Sajyou Rei was the busiest. Due to her overly versatile abilities, she had essentially become a consultant for every department in Chaldea, spending her free time running between departments.
The other purpose was purely to satisfy Merry's mischievous whims.
(Girls gather in a room to play, then completely strip, recording the beautiful moments of youth)
(Later I'll compile these women's gathering photos into an album… Might be useful for future family meetings~~~)
PS: A Succubus's brain is basically full of lewd material.
Just as Merry was planning the fun for the next family gathering, Ritsuka's communication device on the table suddenly rang.
In almost the blink of an eye, the women quickly put back on the scattered clothes around the room. Ritsuka also rushed to the table and picked up the device: "Doctor, it's me. What's up?"
[Yes, there's a very urgent matter. You all need to come to the Control Room immediately.]
Roman's voice came from the device.
[Chaldea has just received a communication from outside… No, more precisely, a communication from the Lostbelt.]
Communication from the Lostbelt?
Everyone exchanged glances, then Ritsuka replied: "Understood, Doctor. We'll head to the Control Room right away."
"Looks like there's no time to play around." Merry sighed with slight regret. "I really wanted to try this. I went through the trouble of making 96-proof alcohol."
"No one's trying it!!" ×4
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
In Central Control Room.
One minute after the call with Roman ended, Ritsuka and the others gathered here, just like before a regular operation.
As the caller, Roman also played the one-way communication from the Lostbelt mentioned earlier.
[Pan-Human History Chaldea]
[I don't know how long after you receive this message. If it's a hundred or a thousand years later, that would be troublesome. Hopefully within two or three years after that.]
The voice was quite fuzzy. Though the content was clearly audible, it sounded very faint—like a damaged recording played from a broken speaker.
[This is Natsukawa Naoki]
"Eh?! Department Head?!"
"Big Brother?!"
Hearing the owner of the voice in the communication, Ritsuka and Mash exclaimed instantly—the message from the Lostbelt was actually from Naoki?
"Didn't expect a communication from His Majesty the King." Merry laughed. "Could he have been out too long and forgotten the way home, so he wants us to pick him up?"
"Please calm down a bit, Merry." Rei whispered.
[If there's still anyone in Chaldea who remembers me, please convey this to the Medical Department Head, Romani Archaman—assuming he's still there.]
[The message content is as follows:]
[Please gather as many people related to me as possible. Fujimaru Ritsuka, Mash Kyrielight, Merry, Aozaki Aoko, Arcueid—gather everyone you can, then come to the Lostbelt where I am now.]
[I'm sure with Chaldea's capabilities, the Lostbelt coordinates can be traced back. Unfortunately, I can't give the location directly.]
[The point is—please come to me as quickly and in as many numbers as possible.]
[Only you can stop me.]
The communication ended there. Everyone in the Control Room looked unhappy. Though the reason wasn't clear, Naoki's intent was understood by all present.
He was facing some kind of trouble in the Lostbelt and needed to call everyone to help him… No, judging from the last line, it seemed they had to go to stop him from doing something.
But why stop him? What exactly did he want to do? Was he under someone's threat, unable to refuse something himself, so he hoped Chaldea would stop him?
But thinking about it… who could threaten him?
Naoki was the hero who saved humanity—the strongest Holy Sword Bearer and Elemental Spirit. It was impossible for anyone to force him to do anything.
"Roman, have you traced the Lostbelt's location?"
After thinking for a moment, Marie asked Roman.
Roman nodded: "Before informing you, I listened once and traced it back through this communication. It's now locked onto the Lostbelt from which the message was sent. If we're quick, we can Rayshift in thirty minutes."
"Go prepare, Fujimaru, Mash." Marie said to the two. "Though Naoki's message is still vague, thinking here is pointless. Heading straight to the Lostbelt to investigate is the fastest way—Rei, Gray, can you contact the others?"
Gray nodded: "Understood. But contacting everyone might not be possible. Big Sister Aoko might have run off to some parallel dimension, and Big Sister Arcueid is sleeping in the Millennium Castle—she probably won't pick up the phone."
"Leave that part to me." Merry laughed. "I'll find a way to contact those who can't be reached directly. You focus on the ones who can."
"Good."
Marie stood on the platform below the main command chair.
"Then, as Chaldea's Director, I order—prepare all of Chaldea for immediate Rayshift to the Lostbelt! The destination is the Lostbelt where Operations Department Head Natsukawa Naoki is located!"
"Roger!"