"Just regained feeling and already jumping into rehab... Aren't you pushing yourself a little too hard?"
In the gym, Scáthach frowned as she watched Shiomi gripping the parallel bars for gait training, struggling to move his still-unresponsive legs. Her voice held a trace of concern.
According to Romani's cautious estimate, Shiomi shouldn't have regained basic motor function for at least another month. But now, less than a week since waking, he was already on his feet.
As for how he'd managed to recover—only Shiomi himself knew the real reason.
Even Romani had chalked it up to Shiomi's body long since exceeding normal human standards.
"That's not something I'd expect Master to say." Shiomi paused, loosening his grip on the bars and flexing his fingers. "Back in the Land of Shadows, even when training left us coughing up blood, you never once called a break."
"That was then. Now, your condition is worse than when you first arrived in the Land of Shadows," Scáthach replied firmly. "Even if you're my disciple, I won't force someone who can barely move to exceed their limits."
"But... I have no choice." Shiomi pushed forward again, forcing out the words. "The Mage's Association has its eyes on Chaldea. I'm the only one who can protect this place. I have to recover as soon as possible."
Artoria spoke up then.
"Chaldea isn't just you. If the Mage's Association takes action, we can—"
"Have you really thought through your position, Artoria?" Morgan cut in coldly.
"...I…" Artoria faltered.
Morgan picked up a towel and gently wiped the sweat from Shiomi's forehead. "Unlike me—a Servant—both you and Scáthach are living Heroic Spirits. Your existence in this era violates the natural order."
As a Servant, Morgan could be disguised using falsified Heroic Spirit summoning records, posing as an official Chaldea summon.
After all, nearly everyone who knew her from the Fourth Holy Grail War was already dead.
Those few who remained—like the Emiya family, who had long distanced themselves from the Magus world, or Tokiomi Tohsaka, who owed a debt to Shiomi, or friends like El-Melloi II—wouldn't pose a threat.
So Morgan's identity wasn't a major concern.
Technically, Artoria and Scáthach could be passed off the same way—as Chaldea's Fifth or Sixth summoned Servants.
But if either of them were to act openly against the Mage's Association, it would signal a serious escalation.
At that point, they might have no choice but to become full-blown enemies of the Mage's Association—risking a new war that could shake the very foundations of human history and potentially draw the Holy Church into the conflict.
If it came to war... Shiomi believed they should at least be fully prepared before taking that step.
"Let's not get too heavy. If we keep going like this, we'll fall apart before the outside even has a chance to step in."
Shiomi's legs finally gave out.
Morgan and Scáthach helped him to a bench, lowering him gently so he could rest.
He looked at his trembling fingers. "Right now, Romani is helping Marie deal with the Mage's Association. After all, Animusphere is a Lord of the Clock Tower. She's not someone just any upstart can push around."
Besides, Reines and Olga Marie had a good personal relationship, and the two factions had already formed a political alliance.
During the crisis of the Incineration of Humanity, Chaldea had carried out more than ten independent Rayshift operations—completely bypassing both the Mage's Association and the United Nations.
Seven Singularities, one Final Singularity, and several minor anomalies.
They had saved the world… but at the cost of violating countless regulations.
The clash between procedural justice and consequential justice had become a major point of contention within the Clock Tower—and the Mage's Association as a whole.
As one of the few Magi at the Clock Tower with real influence, Shiomi felt it was his responsibility to step up.
But the world of Magi was ruled by power.
If word got out that he, a prominent Magus, had been left physically debilitated by the Human Order Restoration, it would only embolden the factions already stirring behind the scenes.
At the very least, he needed to recover enough to keep up appearances—before the Mage's Association sent an envoy to Chaldea.
"I've already made contact with the Association. Lord Valualeta and Lord Trambelio are keeping their stance deliberately vague for now, but they're willing to review my report and help ease external pressure," Shiomi continued.
As soon as he regained basic motor function, he reached out to the Lords of the Clock Tower from Chaldea with Morgan and the others assisting him.
"So far, among the thirteen Departments, including the Department of Astromancy that oversees Chaldea, more than a third of the Lords have put factional lines aside—both Democratic and Aristocratic—and chosen to support Chaldea," he explained to the three women.
"You really can't judge a book by its cover," Scáthach remarked. "I always thought my beloved disciple's brain was filled with nothing but lust and battle."
Shiomi gave a weak sigh, unable to argue back.
"Master…" He exhaled, then said, "But the real issue right now is the special envoy sent by the Mage's Association."
Since returning from the Temple of Time, he had been unconscious for a whole month. A lot had happened in that time.
The Association had delayed dispatching investigators to retrieve data until February. Shiomi figured that was the absolute limit they could stall.
The more they tried to keep the Association from accessing Chaldea's data, the more suspicious it looked. Eventually, even the Lords who supported Chaldea and Animusphere would no longer be able to hold their ground.
"About that…" Artoria frowned. "I heard from the control room—the Association's people are supposed to arrive at Chaldea today."
Shiomi blinked. "What? Already?"
But he quickly gathered himself.
"If it's just a delegation, it'll probably be a few Magi forming an investigation team to conduct a surface-level inspection," Shiomi reasoned.
"In that case, I'll need to be disguised."
"You mean…" Morgan smiled knowingly.
Shiomi looked at her. "If you can use Magecraft to support and control my movements, we should be able to fool the modern Magi from the Clock Tower—"
Just then, the gym door burst open and Romani rushed in, clearly flustered.
"Shiomi! Shiomi!"
"I'm already aware. The special envoy from the Clock Tower, right? Let me freshen up and I'll go greet them," Shiomi said, glancing toward Morgan.
But Romani looked even more uneasy. "No, I mean... the leader of the envoy…"
"…What?" A wave of unease hit Shiomi like a punch to the gut.
"Been a while. How have you been?"
An orange-haired woman stepped in behind Romani, a brown coat slung over one arm, adjusting her rimless glasses with the other.
Shiomi's heart skipped a beat—for entirely different reasons.
...
For more chapters, feel free to follow me on P@treon.
(100 Chapters Ahead)
[email protected]/PinkSnake