Visitors in the Front and Back Gardens / Ophelia's Teaching / The Clock Tower Agreement

"..."

Ophelia, leaning against the door, looked at Ian who had suddenly stopped before her, a puzzled expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice soft.

"It's a message from Mashu," Ian replied truthfully, showing her his phone screen.

"Eh?"

As soon as she heard it was from Mashu, Ophelia immediately became nervous.

"Why... why would she be looking for you at this time?" she asked, her eyes wide with concern.

"Because it's about time to get up," Ian said, glancing at the time on his phone.

"We met way too early."

"Isn't it natural for Mashu to wake up at this time and find me gone?" he added, putting his phone back in his pocket.

Ophelia reached out and stopped him.

"Ian, what are you doing?" she asked, her brow furrowed.

"Why aren't you replying to Mashu's message right now?"

"..."

Ian looked at the magus before him, a somewhat speechless expression on his face.

"Ophelia-san, wouldn't you like to reconsider what you just said?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Do you really think now is the time to reply to messages?"

"..."

Of course, Ophelia understood what Ian meant.

She turned her face away, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Just reply to Mashu's message first," she mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

"She doesn't have this kind of relationship with you and me... if she's looking for you so eagerly and doesn't get any response, she'll be very sad."

"..."

Ian looked at Ophelia before him, gave a soft chuckle, and then gently stroked her long hair.

"I've noticed that you seem very concerned about Mashu," he said, his voice thoughtful.

"Even more concerned than I am."

"Didn't I already say that?" Ophelia replied softly, still looking away.

"I think she's very pitiful... especially since she's fallen for a scumbag like you."

"Oh—?"

Ian tilted Ophelia's chin up, forcing her to look at him.

"Then how about I go back and keep her company now?" he suggested, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"That way, I can clear my name as a scumbag here with you, and it'll also make Mashu happy."

As he said this, the man really looked like he was about to leave.

"No!"

"You can't do that!"

Ophelia grabbed Ian's other hand, preventing him from moving.

"At least..."

The embarrassed magus couldn't bring herself to say the rest of the sentence.

Having just taken the initiative to ask him to "F" her was already the limit of what she could do.

"See?" Ian said, a knowing smile on his face as he gently tapped Ophelia's cheek.

"Actually, you're no different from me."

"It's just that I'm willing to not hide these things, while you're still trying to find some excuses to absolve yourself."

"However—" A flicker of something unreadable appeared in Ian's eyes.

"You're actually right this time."

"I really shouldn't just leave Mashu hanging like that, nor should I go back on what I just promised you."

"So—" The man's fingers moved across the screen of his phone.

Soon, a new message notification sound came.

After confirming the content, Ian handed the phone to Ophelia.

"It's your turn to perform."

"My turn to perform?" The magus took the phone, looking confused.

The word "Okay" that Mashu had just replied with was on the screen.

And the content that this "Okay" was in response to was...

Ophelia's eyes looked up, and then her cheeks flushed red at an incredible speed.

"You!" she exclaimed, her voice a mix of shock and embarrassment.

"Are you going to teach her this strange stuff right now?"

"No," Ian shook his head, a playful smile on his lips.

"I'm not the one teaching."

"If you're not the one teaching, then why did you send..."

Halfway through her sentence, Ophelia suddenly understood.

The only thing Ian could currently use to contact Mashu was his phone, which was in her hand.

And now...

It was in her hands!

"You wouldn't want me to use your identity to teach her to do something like this, would you?" she asked, her voice incredulous.

"Mm," Ian smiled and patted Ophelia's head. "As expected of a magus, you're so clever."

"That's right."

"If you do things using my identity, you won't have to worry about your reputation being affected, right? You can teach her however you like."

"That way... it won't count as leaving Mashu hanging, right?"

"No!" Ophelia protested, her face still flushed.

"Hmm?" Ian covered Ophelia's mouth with his hand, his eyes teasing.

"I didn't say you could haggle, you know."

Before the magus could say another word, the man pulled her completely into his embrace.

The back garden of the Clock Tower welcomed its familiar visitor in silence.

And the back of the magus's left hand overlapped with the man's palm, and then was slowly guided to the front garden.

"My dear Ophelia-san, please use your abilities as an excellent student to properly guide Mashu."

"Please let her know that some magic is something she can do all by herself."

"..."

Ophelia's hand trembled slightly.

The man didn't force her, even speaking with a hint of tact.

But she knew she actually only had one choice.

She had no choice but to honestly do as he said.

The magic of one person bloomed at this moment between Ophelia's fingers.

The magus's magic incantation echoed in Room 016, playing a nightingale-like song for the visitor to the garden.

The magus knew that if she wanted to end this, she had to complete the task he had given her.

Ophelia breathed heavily, one gasp after another escaping her lips.

Relying on her will, which could barely still break free from this magic, she used Ian's identity to send Mashu guidance on this matter.

"Mashu, do as I say..."

More than ten minutes later.

Looking at the message Mashu sent on the screen, Ophelia finally let out a sigh of relief.

[Mashu]: Senpai... I did it.

[Mashu]: Image.jpg

The shy words and the successful photo of the magic under the covers, something that would never have been seen if not for the "Ian" identity.

Ophelia knew she had finally completed her task.

Her hand trembling, she handed the results of the magic instruction to Ian.

"Hmm... you did a good job completing it."

"It wasn't as difficult to do as you imagined, was it?" Ian said, a hint of a smile on his face.

Just as Ophelia was about to retort, Ian didn't intend to leave her any chance.

The magus recalled when she was still studying at the Clock Tower, she had seen legends of Britain.

Knights would ride their warhorses, galloping and charging across the vast grasslands.

And now—she found that she could experience the feeling of participating in war as the horse.

The next moment.

Ophelia's eyes widened.

She—

Was experiencing the feeling of galloping across the vast grasslands.

The story went from spring to winter, ending with the earthworms in the garden no longer moving.

The river flowed out from the depths of the snowy mountains, echoing in the garden, the most beautiful sight in winter. Just as Ophelia thought this, she found that her journey had not ended there.

The back garden, covered in snow, returned to silence, while the front garden, still in the early spring, welcomed the same visitor.

She turned her head, looking at Ian with a shocked expression.

"You..."

Ian smiled slightly.

"Ophelia-san, the land has been tilled for so long, if we don't plant something, we'll have a poor harvest later."

"Besides—"

"Magic and such definitely needs to be tested multiple times to be safer, right?"

Some time later.

Ophelia lay on the table, looking at the white ceiling of the room, thinking about many things.

Flowers, trees, sky, breeze;

Clouds, sun, rainbow, ocean;

Beach, forest, pebbles, gravel.

"What's wrong, not talking anymore?" Ian's voice rang out. "Do you feel like you're broken?"

"..."

"This is the first time for two places!" Ophelia protested, her voice weak. "If it were you, could you take it?"

"True."

Click.

Ian took a picture of Ophelia's current appearance on the table.

"What are you doing!"

The magus reacted quickly.

She got up from the table, looking at Ian before her with a nervous expression.

"Why did you take a picture?"

"Nothing, just a memento—I can send it to you if you want."

"Who wants a picture like that!"

"Really don't want it?"

"...Then send it anyway."

Ian smiled, then sent the photo he had just taken to Ophelia.

And the latter showed a shy yet slightly happy expression when she saw the photo sent to her phone.

"Pervert..." the magus muttered. "Using both front and back... I really don't know how you became a Master candidate."

"Because it really was very good."

"Really was very good?!"

"Mm," Ian nodded.

"That's my sincere evaluation."

"I originally thought that a magus like you would be particularly difficult to get along with, but—"

"Actually, you're just like ordinary girls."

"Eh?"

Ophelia's face turned even redder—she found that she actually quite liked this evaluation.

"Ian, am I the first person to make you feel this way?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

"No," the man shook his head without hesitation, leaving the other person with no hope.

"You're not the first, and you won't be the last."

Ophelia looked a bit disappointed.

"However—" Ian continued, a playful glint in his eyes.

"You're also quite an interesting one."

Ophelia became happy again.

But she quickly realized that Ian was deliberately saying these things.

He wanted her emotions to change with his words.

"Don't try to secretly manipulate my emotions," she said, trying to sound stern.

"Mm... I know," Ian said, completely unperturbed.

"You are an independent magus."

"But this is indeed how I feel—Ophelia, you are very interesting."

"You say that to every girl, don't you?" Ophelia asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

"Did you find out?" Ian replied with a wry smile.

"You!"

Ophelia wanted to get angry, but found that it was completely meaningless.

Because even if she got angry, he wouldn't be affected in the slightest.

Even though—

Their contact was no longer just described as intimate.

Ophelia held her other hand, her expression quite complicated.

She realized she had developed feelings.

Just staying like this wasn't possible.

How much she wished he was doing all this with emotion, instead of this seemingly intimate but actually distant relationship.

"Ian, haven't you ever fallen in love with anyone?" Ophelia asked, her voice soft.

"Yes," Ian smiled calmly, "but not now."

"Besides—" he added, his gaze distant.

"I think I should have said it before."

"I... have always had someone I wanted to see."

"..."

Hearing this, Ophelia's eyes dimmed, and she stood up.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said, her voice flat.

In the bathroom, she faced her reflection in the mirror, two lines of tears streaming down her face.

She was so unwilling to give up.

Who on earth... could make this demon fall in love?

She really wanted to curse her so that her instant noodles would only have seasoning packets, and when she got on the bus, she would only have a hundred-yen bill.

The hot water washed over her body several times, and Ophelia, feeling clean again, managed to calm down a bit.

But when she walked out of the bathroom, she saw an unexpected scene.

Ian, who had just been trying his best to make her feel ashamed, was actually cleaning the room.

"What are you doing?" she asked, surprised.

"Checking if there are any hidden cameras," Ian replied casually.

"I didn't put any hidden cameras!" Ophelia said, her face flushed.

"Just kidding," Ian said, his gaze sweeping over the room.

"I just simply thought this would make you feel a bit more comfortable."

"Comfortable?"

"Mm," the man nodded.

"After all—"

"I can only accompany you on Sundays."

"So now that I've finally come, I have to do something more."

"..."

Why isn't he my boyfriend!

Ophelia couldn't control herself any longer, and she buried her head in Ian's chest.

The man was a bit surprised to see her like this, but he quickly accepted it.

A long while later.

Ophelia raised her head.

Returning to her usual state, she pushed Ian away.

"You really do change your mind faster than flipping a book," she said, trying to sound annoyed.

Ian clutched his chest and couldn't help but retort, "Who told you to make me do that kind of thing just now!"

"I... I want compensation!" Ophelia declared, her cheeks still slightly flushed.

"Compensation? What compensation?" Ian asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just—" Ophelia looked at Ian and said cautiously,

"Didn't I say before that if you had time one day, you'd come back to the Clock Tower with me?"

"Mm," Ian nodded. "You did say that."

"Then I want to add one more condition," Ophelia said, holding up a finger.

"What condition?"

"...Accompany me to meet my parents," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Huh?" Ian looked genuinely surprised.

"Don't make that face!" Ophelia nudged Ian.

"If we're going to maintain this kind of relationship... I have to be single."

"If you don't help me deal with my parents—"

"Do you expect me to just watch as they force me to marry some magus from who knows where, all for the sake of the family?"

"You have to help me tell this lie!"

"..."

"Why do you still have that expression?" Ophelia asked, her voice laced with frustration.

"No reason," Ian cleared his throat lightly.

"I just think... if it were before, you definitely wouldn't have said something like that—you would have put the family first."

"...Isn't that still because of you?" Ophelia said, her face flushed.

"Strange things happen every time... I can't go back anymore!"

"But besides the first time, I haven't forced you, have I?" Ian countered gently.

"I don't care, it's your fault," Ophelia insisted, though a small smile played on her lips.

"..."

Ian chuckled softly.

"Alright."

"If there's a chance, I'll go to the Clock Tower with you."

"Then—" Ophelia's eyes curved upwards slightly.

"Is that a promise?" she asked, her voice hopeful.

"Mm," the man nodded.

Having easily obtained the other party's consent, Ophelia became a lot bolder.

"Since we've already talked about this... then Ian, promise me one more thing," she said, looking directly at him.

"What is it?"

"It's just—" Ophelia looked at Ian before her, her gaze serious.

"Can we always maintain this kind of relationship?"

"..."

Ian was initially a bit surprised, but quickly regained his composure.

"No," he said simply.

"Why?" Ophelia asked, a hint of anxiety in her voice. "It's just this kind of mutually comforting relationship, I'm not asking for anything else from you!"

"But—" Ian put on an innocent look. "I think we should add the status of friends, don't you think?"

"..."

Ophelia paused for a moment, then understood—it meant maintaining the relationship was okay, but keeping a distance was necessary.

"You... you're really so annoying," she muttered, though a small smile played on her lips.

"Mm, thank you for the compliment," Ian replied, his eyes twinkling.

Just at this moment, the broadcast started playing in the corridors of Chaldea.

It was Olga Marie's voice.

"Attention all Masters, I apologize for disturbing you at this time."

"Please all gather in the conference hall within half an hour."

"I have the results of the helicopter incident investigation to announce."