"Alright, alright, it's right here—"
Flat twisted the doorknob, and the old lock cylinder gave a soft click.
He pushed the door open and stepped aside, his smile never fading as he made an exaggerated "after you" gesture.
"Please, come in!"
U-Olga Marie followed behind him, coming to a halt just outside the doorway.
Her gaze swept over Flat's shoulder into the room's interior, and she frowned.
It was a standard economy hotel single room, no more than twenty square meters in size.
The walls were painted a beige color, with several patches already peeling and mottled.
A single bed was pushed against the wall, with a noticeable indentation in the pillow—it appeared Flat had slept there last night.
Opposite the bed was a wooden desk, its surface cluttered with several open books, empty soda cans, a half-eaten bag of potato chips, and an old laptop.
The chair next to the desk was the only seating in the room, and the air carried the lemon scent of a cheap air freshener.
"This is your base of operations?"
U-Olga Marie finally spoke, her voice laced with undisguised disdain.
She stepped into the room, the hem of her Cape brushing over the threshold and stirring up a small cloud of dust.
She walked toward the only chair, turned, and sat down with a grace that made it seem as if she were in her own home.
Propping her elbow on the armrest and resting her chin in her palm, she scanned the surroundings before her gaze finally landed on Flat's face.
"Your taste is quite poor."
Flat let out a couple of "hehe" chuckles, completely unbothered by her assessment.
He closed the door behind him and took a couple of steps to the bed, plopping down onto it.
"Can't be helped, who told the location to be so good?"
He propped his hands behind him, leaning back slightly as he swung his legs. "It's a bit small and a bit old, but it's cheap! And most importantly—"
He pointed one hand downward.
"Directly beneath this hotel is a small Node of the Snowfield City Leyline.
While it's not the main artery, the Magical Energy concentration is at least thirty percent higher than the surrounding areas. For a Servant who needs to recover, it couldn't be more perfect, right?"
U-Olga Marie gave a huff but didn't respond.
Flat was right.
From the moment she stepped into this building, she could feel a thicker flow of Magical Energy than outside, and it indeed provided a degree of help to her recovery.
She didn't admit it, but she stopped criticizing the shabbiness of the room.
Seeing her reaction, Flat's eyes crinkled.
He hopped off the bed and walked to the desk, rummaging through a pile of clutter.
"Want something to drink? I've got cola, orange juice, ah, and half a bottle of mineral water..."
"No need," U-Olga Marie interrupted him. "Get to the point."
"The point?" Flat turned his head and blinked. "What point?"
U-Olga Marie stared at him.
"You."
"Just what on earth are you trying to do?"
Time rewound to twenty minutes ago.
In the alley, the morning sun slanted down.
When U-Olga Marie narrowed her eyes and asked that question while staring at Flat, she had anticipated several possible reactions.
Panic. Caution. Hostility. Or perhaps just giving up and moving straight to a physical confrontation.
But she didn't expect Flat to merely let out an "ah," scratch his brilliant blonde hair, and smile with a hint of sheepishness, like a child caught in a prank.
"I've been caught, then."
It was as if this were merely a small joke shared between friends.
At that moment, U-Olga Marie actually laughed from pure annoyance.
Her mouth pulled back to reveal straight teeth, but there was not a hint of mirth in her eyes, and her tone was grim:
"I'll give you five seconds to explain."
She said, "Otherwise, I'll slaughter you."
Flat quickly raised both hands, waving them in front of him.
"Whoa, whoa! Wait! I just wasn't sure if you were the real Olga Marie!"
"So it's only normal to keep some defenses up, right? What if you were a fake? What if you were an Illusion created by an enemy? What if you were some kind of monster capable of Mimicry? A little caution never hurts, right?"
U-Olga Marie looked completely bewildered.
"Huh?"
"What kind of gibberish are you talking about?"
She stood up and patted the hem of her Cape to clear any dust—though because of the Force Field covering her body, no dirt had actually touched her.
"I am the genuine U-Olga Marie."
She raised her chin, looking at Flat with an expression that said why are you stating the obvious. "Don't tell me there's a fake one?"
Hearing this, Flat suddenly let out a few "humph-humph" chuckles.
To U-Olga Marie's increasingly pale and blank expression, he pulled a pair of sunglasses out of nowhere and put them on, seemingly speaking to some invisible presence:
"No!"
He raised a finger, pointing it at U-Olga Marie.
"You are wrong, Miss Olga Marie!"
"The 'Olga Marie' I am referring to is the daughter of the Clock Tower's Lord of the Department of Astronomy, Marisbury Animusphere—Olga Marie Asmleit Animusphere."
U-Olga Marie: "...Huh?"
Then she heard Flat continue:
"Whereas you—"
"Although you possess a startling similarity in appearance and various attributes, you are clearly not the same person!"
He retracted his hand, stuffed both hands back into his pockets, and leaned forward slightly.
"To be precise, while your Saint Graph structure is very different from Mr. Berserker's, you are undoubtedly a Servant.
Whereas that Miss Olga Marie is a human through and through! I'm quite certain of that, after all, we just met not too long ago at the Clock Tower!"
U-Olga Marie fell silent.
She looked at Flat, at his smiling face which looked exceptionally punchable under those sunglasses, and at that watch on his wrist that was still vibrating slightly.
Then, as if having made a decision, she turned and began walking toward the other end of the alley without looking back.
Her stride was firm, her silhouette resolute.
Flat was stunned for a moment before hurriedly chasing after her.
"Eh? Miss Olga Marie? Where are you going?"
U-Olga Marie ignored him.
Flat quickened his pace, almost jogging to keep up at her side.
"Wait for me! Everything I just said is true! You're a Servant, aren't you? I can feel it! It's definitely the aura of a Heroic Spirit! And you're injured, right? You need rest and a Mana Transfer, right? I can help—"
U-Olga Marie came to a sudden halt, turning her head to stare at Flat as she said, syllable by syllable:
"I believe there may be something wrong with your brain."
"Continuing to communicate with you is a futile exercise."
"Therefore, goodbye. No—let's make it 'never see you again'."
Having finished, she continued walking forward.
But as she stood up, the shadow beneath her feet underwent a slight, subtle distortion, and the Magecraft Flat had left behind was instantly crushed to nothing.