-800- [ Mystic Code ]

"Senpai?"

When this soft murmur reached Rozen's ears, even resonating within his heart, he finally lifted his head and looked at Mash.

In this moment, the gaze of the young man and the young woman met in mid-air.

Staring at each other, confirming the identity of the person before them, in a trance, the two felt as if they saw numerous scenes.

In those scenes, there was their first encounter.

In those scenes, there was mutual comfort between them.

In those scenes, the girl was awakening the boy who slept soundly due to staying up late.

In those scenes, the boy was holding the dying girl, making a contract amidst a sea of flames.

Now, the boy and the girl reunited once again.

Separated by decades.

Separated by half a year.

Although time was unequal between them, the longing and attachment revealed in the eyes of the boy and the girl were equally intense and unforgettable.

But, all of that was in the past.

"I'm back."

Rozen held Fou and flashed a big smile towards Mash.

Upon hearing this, Mash's eyes flickered slightly, followed by a serene, tranquil, and gentle expression appearing on her face.

"Welcome back, Senpai."

Mash smiled with closed eyes.

That smile, just like when they made promises and parted ways, was full of warmth.

Until this moment, the others reacted.

"You brat! When did you come back?"

Roman was the first to rush up, his face filled with incredible joy.

"Big Bro."

Seeing his own elder brother rushing towards him like this, Rozen wasn't as surprised as him, but there was still a hint of excitement in his eyes.

Although Rozen had several close friends he grew up with in other worlds, compared to Roman, the feeling was undoubtedly different.

After all, the man in front of him was Rozen's real brother, connected by blood, fundamentally different.

"It's just in time for your return."

Da Vinci sighed with a nonchalant smile, not as excited as the others, just standing there and smiling.

Only one person erupted with endless anger on such an occasion.

"Rorelai Arneet!"

Olga Marie finally leaped up from the ground, hovering in mid-air, yelling angrily at Rozen.

"How dare you come back now!? Do you know that the entire Chaldea almost fell into an inoperable state because of your disappearance!?"

Olga Marie's anxiety and worries turned into anger, erupting at this moment.

"Oh?" Rozen finally turned his gaze towards Olga Marie, feigning surprise. "Director, you're here too?"

With a simple and straightforward remark, Rozen unintentionally fueled Olga Marie's already substantial anger several times over.

"Do you think I'm joking with you!?" Olga Marie, full of anger, exclaimed, "The observation of the Singularities has progressed to a certain extent. All that's left is to transfer the Master and the Servants' spirits, but you disappeared for a whole half year! Now there are still six Singularities left unrectified, and the remaining time is less than a year. If your negligence leads to the destruction of humanity due to the incineration of human history!"

Olga Marie's words were cut off before she could finish speaking, as Rozen interjected.

"But I'm back now, right?" Rozen said somewhat unkindly. "Instead of wasting your time being mad here, why not quickly find a way to restore your original body or adapt to your current one? Be strong and survive, Director."

"You!" Olga Marie was so angry that her voice trembled.

Seeing this, onlookers hurriedly stepped forward to intervene.

"Senpai, during these six months, the Director has been working hard to adapt to everything. Now, she can appear in Chaldea as a magical Being and doesn't avoid everyone. Everyone has also accepted the Director's current situation. Please don't deliberately provoke her, Senpai."

Mash quickly tried to mediate.

"Come on, why do you two have to argue so fiercely every time you meet?" Roman sighed, looking helpless.

To this, Rozen just shrugged.

Although in the world of automaton, Rozen had completely freed himself from the past and no longer clung to old grievances, not rejecting Chaldea like before, but accepting it calmly. He even thought of returning during his vacation at the Royal Academy of Walpurgis, having long let go of past grudges. However, facing Olga Marie, Rozen still couldn't help but resist.

It wasn't that Rozen had any grievances against Olga Marie, but their personalities were inherently incompatible. Whenever they encountered each other, if they didn't quarrel, it would be strange.

Of course, Rozen could understand Olga Marie's feelings. Knowing her personality, in the crisis of the incineration of human history, he was late to return, and she must have been extremely anxious. But Rozen didn't come back for leisure, so there was no reason for him to bear Olga Marie's anger.

Naturally, Olga Marie didn't truly hate Rozen; she was just venting her anxiety.

"Anyway, now that you're back, get ready as soon as possible!"

Olga Marie said this resentfully, leaving Rozen to turn his head away nonchalantly.

"Huh?"

At this moment, Da Vinci suddenly voiced her suspicion.

"Rozen, that coat you're wearing doesn't seem ordinary at all," Da Vinci remarked, prompting everyone present to turn their heads towards Rozen.

It wasn't until now that everyone noticed the extraordinarily luxurious black coat draped over Rozen.

Because he had returned to Chaldea and changed out of the Academy student uniform, opting for Chaldea's uniform instead, there was nothing suspicious about Rozen's attire except for the coat, which he hadn't taken off.

But that was only natural.

"This is my rare companion now."

Rozen gently caressed the magnificent coat draped over him and smiled at everyone.

"With it, I can handle even Servants as opponents."

These words surprised everyone present.

"Even Servants?" Roman exclaimed in surprise. "Is that an exceptionally powerful Mystic Code?"

——Mystic Code.

It was an item with magical effects used by magus, akin to magical tools in the Automaton world and curse tools in the Tokyo Ravens world.

Chaldea's uniform was, in fact, a type of Mystic Code, capable of alleviating the user's injuries to some extent, enhancing magical effects slightly, and having a chance to autonomously evade attacks targeting vital points—a rather practical item.

From the perspective of this world's concepts, the coat adorned by Kinu could indeed be considered a Mystic Code.

However,

(Compared to a Mystic Code, it's more like a Noble Phantasm.)

Rozen silently thought so in his heart.

The most potent armament formed from fantasies and beliefs—Noble Phantasm.

As a curse tool that took shape through the embodiment of a deity born from fantasies and beliefs, the coat adorned by Kinu was more like a Noble Phantasm than a Mystic Code.

Of course, the same applied to Gyokuto.

But explaining all this would be quite challenging.