The rooms in the villa weren't locked, so Mami Tomoe easily entered the second-floor rooms. Unfortunately, she didn't find Kyoko. Instead, she found the man's room. It was easy to identify as his because it was "too characteristic."
Pushing open the door, she saw a large bed directly ahead. Beside it was a workbench and some strange equipment. Other than that, the room was empty. It was clear at a glance that the owner was a man of few desires.
This wasn't entirely strange. Most young men like games or manga, but Lancer life experiences were more dramatic than any game. If he wanted to play an RPG or FPS, he could play the "live-action version" anytime, and with "cheat codes" enabled to boot.
As for luxury goods?
No matter how expensive or rare, could they be more precious than the armor personally gifted to him by a King?
Combined with the fact that he genuinely enjoyed the sensation of becoming stronger through practice, he was practically addicted to it. The result was that Lancer appeared to be the "ascetic" type to outsiders. Unfortunately, people didn't realize this was simply because Lancer desires were of a kind that ordinary people couldn't understand.
The room wasn't completely devoid of personal items, however. For example, there were several photographs on the desk.
One was a photo of him in a long robe standing with a girl in a maid outfit. Another showed him in a suit, surrounded by men and women in similar attire. The last one featured him in a kimono, standing with nearly a hundred people; most looked a bit strange and were dressed in traditional Japanese clothing.
Having only three photos on a desk in a room with no other decorations showed how much the owner cared for them.
However, the radiant smile of the man at the center of every photo felt strange to Mami. This man didn't seem like the type to smile like that at all.
How strange...
She held the frame and dazed for a few seconds before putting it down. Curious as she was, she hadn't forgotten why she was here.
After scanning the room and finding no place to hide anything, she closed the door.
Next, she checked the other rooms. One room had the curtains drawn even during the day; inside was a massive planetarium and a bunch of impressive-looking instruments. The bed looked much smaller than Lancer.
This must be Professor Olga room?
In Mami memory, the professor always wore glasses and a sophisticated smile at school. If students weren't bothering her, she was always reading or writing something. Unfortunately, she wrote in neither Japanese nor English; no one knew what she was working on.
As for the final room, it made Mami expression become quite subtle.
The entire room was filled with bookshelves, making Mami wonder if she had walked into a miniature library. However, when she found a small bed covered in lace hidden deep within the "library," she realized this was likely the room of the green-haired girl sleeping at the door.
More importantly, the books in the room were very strange. 30% were manga and light novels; 30% were world classics, including books she had never heard of; another 30% were various magazines or encyclopedias, seemingly about food and local specialties. As for the final 10%...
"Why are there so many 'thin books' (doujinshi) placed so brazenly on the shelves?!"
Mami hadn't noticed they were doujinshi at first, as they were organized neatly with the spines facing out. She had casually pulled one out, only realizing something was wrong when she saw the cover. A closer inspection revealed the entire shelf was full of them; one could even tell the "content" from the titles on the spines.
A blushing Mami felt her worldview take a hit, but the bookshelf before her tempted her like the apple in Eden...
"No! No! I came here to save Kyoko Sakura."
Muttering to herself, she practically ran away from the room that had looked the most normal.
Click—
It wasn't until she heard the door lock that Mami allowed her breathing to return to normal. Feeling a bit wobbly, she held the railing and slowly descended the stairs. At that moment—
"Mami?! Why are you here?!"
Accompanied by a cry of surprise, Mami saw Kyoko Sakura—wearing sports underwear and drenched in sweat—looking at her in shock.
"Kyoko?!"
At Mami exclamation, Kyoko face became extremely subtle, because she had just suffered another "critical hit."
An emotional Mami didn't care about the sweat on Kyoko body and directly dealt her a "chest-to-chest collision." Kyoko, whose body already ached from training, felt like her heart had taken a round of true damage.
She hurriedly pushed Mami away.
"Mami! Don't hug me! I'm covered in sweat."
Her words made Mami heart tighten. Covered in sweat? Why didn't she use magic to clean herself? Did that man...
"Kyoko! Let's get your 'Soul Gem' back!"
Kyoko looked at a fired-up Mami with total confusion.
"Hah? Soul Gem? My Soul Gem is right here."
As she spoke, she held up her hand. Looking at the "ring" on the girl's finger, Mami was stunned. She remembered Kyoko handing the Soul Gem over under Lancer "threat (mistaken)." What was going on? If she had her Soul Gem, why wasn't she using magic to get rid of the sweat?
At that moment—
"I should be the one to explain."
With a voice that was also somewhat hurried, Lancer—wearing only a tank top—stepped out from a nearby room.
Lancer didn't speak immediately; instead, he scanned the surroundings.
"Kyubey... why isn't it here?"
Mami didn't know why Lancer was suddenly mentioning Kyubey, but she gave him the answer.
"Kyubey left early this morning. Is there something you need it for?"
Although she had suspected Lancer of doing something strange to her friend, the misunderstanding was now mostly cleared. Facing her savior, she wouldn't be overly rude. However, upon hearing her words, Lancer pinched his chin with a solemn expression.