No matter how irritated some people might have been, the fact that Tenkei Shiomi had awakened was a major event throughout Chaldea.
Caren, a member of the medical team, brought Romani Archaman, the head of the medical department, to conduct a full examination.
During the checkup, people kept coming and going. Word had spread fast—Shiomi was awake—and nearly everyone in Chaldea had stopped by to see for themselves.
In the end, it was Olga Marie who had to assert her authority as Director to finally clear the room and send everyone back to work.
"Hahaha… public opinion really is unpredictable. If I got sick, even if I stayed in bed for half a year, the Director would just ask if I still wanted this job."
Once the room settled down again, only Romani remained, sitting in a chair beside Shiomi's bed.
Caren had returned to organize his medical report—she didn't want anyone else handling her father's affairs.
"Marie's not that coldhearted," Shiomi smiled. "Worst-case scenario, she'd just reassign your duties so you could rest properly… Caren would be a perfect replacement."
"…Then I guess I better not slack off," Romani replied, making a show of pretending he didn't want to lose his job.
The two shared a good laugh.
After a while, Romani's smile faded and he grew serious. "The destruction of the Temple of Time has been confirmed. Beast I… Goetia disappeared before that. Communication with the outside world is gradually recovering, and the skies over Antarctica have finally cleared. We can safely say—under your leadership—we've resolved the Human Order Incineration crisis."
"That's all that matters." Shiomi shook his head.
With his mind clearer, he could now move his head slightly—though that was about it.
"…You're right," Romani said, his expression darkening. "The 'Revelation' is a soul-based power—something born when Solomon became the instrument of kingship. Even though Goetia only inhabited a corpse, he could still hear that divine voice…"
"Seems your god held Goetia in high regard."
"It's hard to say. Even now, I can't understand the full reasoning behind all this…" Romani rubbed his forehead. "If Goetia's execution of the Incineration aligned with the Lord's will, then…"
"Does that call into question whether our actions were justified?" Shiomi raised an eyebrow. "You're quite the believer."
"No, I've never doubted the righteousness of what we've done," Romani said firmly. "But if Goetia acted out of Solomon's inaction and disillusionment with humanity, then… what did the Lord stand to gain by allowing it?"
"Who knows. Maybe He wanted to start from scratch—create a world that belonged only to Him." Shiomi chuckled. "After all, this planet's seen countless gods rise and fall since the dawn of time."
"Would it really be that simple?" Romani scratched his cheek.
He knew Shiomi was taking a jab at Yahweh, but also recognized it wasn't entirely a joke—Shiomi meant every word.
"Why not? That guy demanded Abraham sacrifice his own son, Isaac. If He's all-knowing and all-powerful, why test a follower's faith at all?" Shiomi asked.
"That's… a hard question to answer." Romani couldn't refute it. "Maybe take that one up with the Holy Church. I'm Romani Archaman—not a believer."
"But no matter how long you live, you'll never return to being Solomon," Shiomi said. "I destroyed the Ten Commandments for my sake. Sorry."
Romani waved him off. "Don't be. I gave them to you. I hesitated at the time, but now I know I made the right choice."
"Even if I might be 'the enemy of God'—something akin to Satan or Lucifer—you're fine with that?" Shiomi laughed.
"But you're humanity's ally," Romani answered seriously. "You risked everything to save human history."
"I'm not as noble as you're making me sound," Shiomi said quietly.
Romani assumed it was modesty and didn't press further. "Anyway, Chaldea's operations have settled for now. You can focus on resting. I've never met a human who survived divine punishment strong enough to destroy Solomon ten times over."
"I am Tiamat's child, after all," Shiomi said, feigning pride.
"Yeah, yeah…" Romani sighed. "Still, from my perspective, if you want to return to combat-ready Magus status, it'll take at least a year. But the Director's fine with you recovering here, so don't worry about making a living."
"Mm." Shiomi nodded, fully aware of what that meant. "Give her my thanks."
"You should tell her yourself when she comes to visit next," Romani teased. "She came by plenty while you were unconscious. Can't believe someone with her noble background was helping take care of you."
"…Wait a second. That sounds pretty serious." Shiomi's eye twitched. "Wasn't it just the three of them taking care of me?"
Morgan, Master, and Artoria.
That's what he had assumed.
"No way, right? Oh, and Caren actually calls it 'bedside filial duty,'" Romani chuckled. "But don't worry. There wasn't much to do—just sitting with you and keeping an eye on the IV drip."
"This is already bad enough. Please fix this ridiculous arrangement," Shiomi said, closing his eyes with a deadpan expression. "The three of them are more than enough to take care of me."
"Yeah… fair point."
Romani figured it was best to respect the patient's wishes.
"Still… in the end, it was my own failure, yet all of you had to clean up after me."
He returned to the main point and once again offered his thanks to Shiomi.
"Solomon is a king of the past. He already did what he was meant to. It's up to those of us living now to save the world of humanity," Shiomi said.
"Thank you for saying that."
Romani stood up and left the room, passing Scáthach as she entered.
Out in the hallway, he glanced back at the now-closed door.
He couldn't help but recall the revelation he'd heard again during the collapse of the Temple of Time:
[Go to Chaldea and do as I command—offer that man as a burnt sacrifice.]
Romani never dreamed his Lord would command him to kill Shiomi.
"Screw that. I'm way more suited to slacking off and watching Magi☆Märie. Someone else can deal with this mess."
He muttered to himself, rejecting the command with every fiber of his being.
Just then, footsteps echoed behind him.
Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash came running up.
"Doctor! Sakura-senpai's making fruit cake in the cafeteria to celebrate Mr. Shiomi waking up. If you're late, there won't be any left!"
Ritsuka bounced in place as she spoke, then darted past him with Mash close behind.
"…Wait! Count me in!"
Romani blinked, then quickly took off after them.