"..."
"..."
A series of prompts suddenly popping up on the screen left both Ian and Olga Marie stunned.
"W-What in the world is this nonsense?!" Olga Marie pointed at the computer screen, her face flushed with embarrassment, her hand shaking uncontrollably. "Ian! Did you set this up beforehand?! Isn't this going a bit too far?!"
"Director, calm down for a moment," Ian tried to stop Olga Marie's agitation. "That's impossible, isn't it? I came in with you; how would I have had time to set something like this up? And you know I don't have time for this kind of thing, right?"
"..." Olga Marie knew Ian was right. Having taken over the role of Chaldea Director from Olga Marie, he was indeed extremely busy. To the point where even she felt a little sympathetic watching him. It was highly unlikely he'd find time for something like this. Furthermore—Olga Marie looked at the garish prompts on the screen. He didn't seem like the kind of person who would talk like that...
As if in response to the girl's thoughts, another line of text quickly appeared on the screen.
"That's right~☆"
"It really wasn't Ian who did it—!"
"This is a super fun devil's game."
"If you don't play along, you really won't be able to leave here again~?"
"What kind of joke are you playing?!" Ian was getting angry—he wanted to directly open the door. But the man quickly found that it was impossible. It was as if it had been hit with a paralysis spell; no matter how hard he pushed, it wouldn't budge.
"This..." Ian had a bad feeling. He turned to look at Olga Marie, who was still in front of the computer screen. "Director, the door won't open—could it be malfunctioning?"
"How could it be malfunctioning?! I check it diligently every day..." Halfway through her sentence, Olga Marie realized something. "Hey!" The girl gripped both sides of the computer screen, speaking with extreme urgency. "You wouldn't be behind this, would you?!"
"Hehe~☆" The rotating golden Holy Grail on the computer vanished, replaced by more text prompts. "The rules of the game can't just be broken—!" "Otherwise, the devil's dignity would be completely meaningless." "Director, I suggest you'd better follow the game's requirements~☆" "Because if you forcibly violate them, I don't know what will happen next."
"You..." Although there was no sound or movement, just looking at the text prompts on the screen made Olga Marie feel an irritating presence. It was as if a truly ill-behaved devil had taken residence inside this computer.
"What a joke!" "I'm contacting someone outside right now!" Ian hated being threatened by others the most. In his life's principles, he was the only one who did the threatening! However—as if predicting Ian's thoughts, the man found that he couldn't contact anyone outside at all. No signal, not even calling his Servants, received any response. And at that moment, several new prompts appeared on the screen.
"Geez—!"
"BB-chan is doing this for your own good~☆"
"When you're alone, you should just enjoy yourselves! Otherwise, you might not get another chance when there are more people around!"
"The devil's game is actually an angel's game~☆"
"Eh, this..." Although she had been as angry as Ian just a moment ago, Olga Marie found herself now somewhat agreeing with the idea proposed by this self-proclaimed BB. Oh, right... if you don't enjoy yourselves when you're alone, are you supposed to wait until there are a lot of people? That would be a waste! The girl's throat moved.
"Director, is there anything new?" the man asked.
"Uh... this." Olga Marie looked at the prompts on the screen, unsure how to respond for a moment. She subtly asked the computer, "After that... will we really be able to leave here?"
"Of course~"
"Great BB-chan never lies~☆"
"And I promise you—being reamed by Ian will feel great~?"
"..." Looking at the prompts on the screen, Olga Marie became increasingly tempted. Finally, she chose to "cheat" a little. "Nothing!" "Ian... it's the same as before."
"This..." The man thought for a moment, then decided to use his abilities. Light blue energy began to glow in his hand, appearing to be gathering magical power. Soon, a black spear appeared. This was the Illusory Rhongomyniad. Ian had created this weapon using his "Memory Projection." If soft methods didn't work, then he'd try hard ones! He wasn't the type to compromise when threatened!
Thinking this, Ian raised the Illusory Rhongomyniad in his hand, intending to forcibly break through the locked door. But just then, Olga Marie cried out. "Ian, stop!"
"..." The man pulled back in time, then turned to look at Olga Marie. "Director, what's wrong?"
"I should be asking you what's wrong?!" Olga Marie looked at the black spear in Ian's hand, looking extremely anxious. Although she didn't know what it was, her instincts as a magus made her feel the powerful flow of magical energy from it. "Using something like that—are you trying to destroy the place Da Vinci-chan worked so hard to restore, again?! Don't forget! Our previous Holy Grail's magical energy is almost used up! If we destroy it again... we don't know when we'll be able to replenish it a second time!"
"..." With Olga Marie's reminder, Ian realized he had indeed gotten a bit too agitated. He dispelled the Illusory Rhongomyniad in his hand, then asked, "Then, Director—what should we do now? We're not really going to..."
"..." Olga Marie looked at the prompts on the screen, her expression a mix of anticipation and embarrassment. "Let's just try it first. Anyway... there's nothing to lose." Olga Marie didn't notice that a smiley face emoji flashed on the computer screen when she said that. Clearly, the entity named BB hoped to see a scene like this unfold.
"Director, are you serious?"
"Less talk!" Olga Marie said, blushing. "Let's just try it first! If it doesn't work, we'll think of other ways!"
The Devil's Game and a Mysterious Voice
And so—at Olga Marie's proactive request, she began to actively enhance their bond with Ian. The girl's hand felt the man's strength. For Olga Marie, this was something she had never experienced before. She suddenly grew nervous: "Hey! Ian, why are you suddenly so serious... it wasn't like this before, was it?"
"Because this is a prerequisite for doing this kind of thing." Ian wasn't lying. He had tried this method before—the target then was the very disobedient Ophelia. However, the two later developed an extraordinary relationship, and what was originally a form of punishment became a standard way of communicating during their rendezvous. Ian would often "punish" Ophelia in this way while chatting with her about serious or lighthearted things, as she had completely adapted. However, Ophelia was not awake at the moment. And the Olga Marie in front of him was not someone he should be punishing.
"So that's how it is..." Olga Marie became a little embarrassed. She had too little experience in this area. "Then I'll listen to you." The young Director said no more, silently handing over complete control to the man she liked.
This made things much easier for Ian than before. It was indeed a situation where the bond level was 0. When looked at this way, there were still some strange CG scenes. There was no need to say anything more—after all, they were here to complete a task, not to talk about love with Olga Marie.
Ian began to research the simplest way to perfectly increase their bond. The man quickly discovered this method: directly creating a potion for this purpose. To do this, he first needed a place to concoct the potion, and they had indeed found a suitable area. Ian gently picked up a capped pen, thick at the front and thin at the back, and began to work on the area where the bond level was 0.
This was a nerve-wracking experience for Olga Marie; every stir Ian made caused her to tremble. Slap! Ian patted Olga Marie's hand. "Director, please help me just a little more... the potion is almost ready!"
"I-I know." There was no other way; Olga Marie could only suppress the agitation within her, but her reaction honestly betrayed her. The girl, like a completely tamed, adorable puppy, silently awaited the moment the potion was finished.
Ian also knew the time was right. After confirming that the pen had completely opened the potion's channel, the man took it out—this was the final step of the entire process. Perfect flow. The special channel for the potion was created very successfully, so Olga Marie and Ian's bond level could no longer be the initial 0!
"You worked hard, Director." "Now, you just have to wait for it to take effect."
Saying this, the man began to complete the final step—stirring the inside where the potion had flowed, hoping it would take effect sooner. The potion's effect was strong; Olga Marie could only let out pleading sounds, but the response she received was Ian's other hand tightly gripping her silver ponytail, forcing her head back. However, the man wasn't there to torment her. After feeling that the potion's effect had reached its maximum, Ian directly fast-forwarded to the last step.
Gurgle gurgle, the potion took effect. Olga Marie, feeling her bond level increase, collapsed onto the table. Her legs trembled, looking somewhat unable to control herself. At this moment, the Director finally realized how reliable and trustworthy Ian was—and finally understood that there were many areas where she needed to improve her bond level.
Just then, the broadcast suddenly came on. A cute, but somewhat annoying voice spoke.
"Ta-da~☆"
"Congratulations on completing the super happy devil's game—!"
"How was it?! The adorable Director must have already fallen in love with the feeling of satisfying both front and back at the same time, right~?"
"In the days to come, more excellent attempts like this will be revealed~?"
"Please look forward to BB-chan's latest masterpiece—'Chaldea Paradise'!"
"What?! Who are you?!" Ian exclaimed, growing agitated. "Why are you doing this?!"
"I'm BB!"
"Alright, the meeting ends here—I look forward to meeting you again next time~?"
"Wait a second!" Ian rushed to the computer, only to find that everything had returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened. If Olga Marie wasn't still sprawled there, everything that had just occurred might have seemed like a dream. Who was this person called BB?!
"Ian," Olga Marie, who had been forcibly "loaded" with a new potion channel by Ian, asked. "What's the message this time?"
"..." Ian looked at the computer screen and said with some helplessness, "She's gone, left nothing behind."
"Can the door be opened?"
"I'll try now." Click. The door was easily opened by the man.
"Looks like she's quite trustworthy after all..." Olga Marie said.
"But no matter how trustworthy, it's still strange, isn't it?" Ian closed the door, then returned behind the girl. "Director, are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine..." Olga Marie stammered. "Anyway, it's not the first time I've 'served' you with that thing, this time it was just in a different place." However, in reality, Olga Marie actually quite enjoyed the feeling of being pulled by her ponytail by Ian during their intimacy; it had a strange, indescribable wonder. Especially when the potion truly took full effect and increased their bond, it was even more delightful. What that "BB" said was, in a sense, truly accurate. Thinking this, Olga Marie was completely unaware that a certain aspect within her was being developed.
Hearing this, Ian could only gently stroke the girl's head, hoping to alleviate her current distress. But just then, the door was pushed open again. Tamamo-no-Mae rushed in anxiously.
"Master, I'm late!"
"En... Eh—?!"