Chaldea vice director's Office.
Olga Marie rested her chin on one hand, her mind wandering, while her other hand rhythmically tapped the desk with her index finger. Seeing this obvious display of inner turmoil, Sakura, who had just entered the office, let a slight smile play across her face.
Sakura set down the documents in her hand, walked over to Olga Marie, and gently poked her with a finger.
"Ah!"
As expected, the daydreaming Olga Marie hadn't noticed Sakura's arrival at all; she hadn't even heard Sakura knocking earlier.
"Olga Marie, what are you thinking about?"
Realizing it was Sakura, Olga Marie patted her chest, rolled her eyes at her, and let out a sigh of relief.
"Sakura, it's you! You scared me to death! Why are you looking for me?"
Seeing Olga Marie change the subject, Sakura understood she didn't want to answer. Given Sakura's personality, she naturally wouldn't pry, so she simply pointed to the documents on the desk with a smile.
"I'm here to deliver some documents for Sister Touko! If you're okay, Olga Marie, I'll take my leave!"
With that, Sakura gave Olga Marie a 'fighting' gesture and turned to walk out of the office.
Olga Marie bit her nail, watching Sakura reach the door. After a moment of inner conflict, she hurriedly reached out and called to Sakura, who already had one foot out the door.
"Wait, Sakura! I want to talk to you about something!"
Pushing back her chair, Olga Marie rushed to the door and pulled the stopping Sakura back into the room. She then poked her head out to check the corridor, and after confirming no one was there, she quickly closed the door and carefully locked it.
Sakura, looking puzzled at Olga Marie's suspicious behavior, asked,
"Olga Marie, is something the matter?"
"Sakura, that... that I... it's not... sigh!"
Despite her resolve, Olga Marie's nerves got the better of her. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't get them out. She stood there stammering, her face turning bright red, which only made Sakura more curious.
While Olga Marie was stammering, a projection rose from her desk. Reines appeared in the projection with a smile and spoke to Sakura.
"Sakura, Olga Marie seems a bit nervous, so let me explain! Do you want to earn Rin's praise?"
Sakura, who had been about to leave feeling something was off when she saw Reines, felt a deep sense of longing in her eyes at the mention of 'earning Rin's praise.' Her heart raced involuntarily, yet she still maintained a hint of caution in her gaze.
After all, Sakura wasn't a naive young lady like Olga Marie. Since Rin had spent so much time traveling to find catalysts and 'messing around,' the aging Tokiomi often had no one but Sakura to talk to. Under Tokiomi's influence, Sakura had gained a general understanding of the Magus world.
Furthermore, even if Tokiomi's understanding of the Magus world was somewhat naive, the Tohsaka Family at the time also had Touko, a 'veteran' of that world. Although Touko had no interest in teaching Sakura, for the sake of Rin and Alice, she had still educated Sakura on some aspects of the Magus world.
So, while Sakura was interested in Reines' words, she remained vigilant. She understood perfectly well that in the normal Magus world, no one was selfless. Every decision and action they took had a purpose; they would never choose to be a 'good person' based on mere sentiment.
Seeing Sakura's expression through the projection, Reines immediately realized Sakura wasn't a naive girl like Olga Marie. She glanced at Olga Marie with a hint of disappointment before switching to a Magus-like tone to address Sakura.
"Very well, Lady Tohsaka Sakura. I have a deal. If it succeeds, there's a high probability you'll earn Rin's praise, and I'll be able to gain some standing for my family in Rin's heart. I wonder if you're interested?"
"Hey, hey, hey! Reines, didn't you say I would definitely be praised by Elder Sister?"
Sakura looked at Olga Marie with some helplessness. She didn't quite understand why the Old Director had raised Olga Marie to be so naive. Indeed, as an heir, Olga Marie excelled in noble etiquette, management, and Magecraft for her age.
But she was too naive—so naive she didn't seem like a Magus at all. Normally, Olga Marie was supposed to inherit the titles of Astronomy Branch Lord, the Animusphere family, and the Chaldea organization.
In fact, it wasn't just Sakura who found this strange; all of Chaldea did, especially Rin. In the original story, Olga Marie, as a Lord and the Director of Chaldea, had placed absolute trust in that Magus Lev, and was practically indulgent toward 'Gudako'.
It was easy to overlook Olga Marie's naivety while watching the anime or playing the game in a previous life, but Rin was now part of this magnificent world. After understanding the reality of the Magus world, the naive Olga Marie truly stood out like a sore thumb.
Because of this, various rumors began to circulate privately within the Chaldea that had been purged by Touko and Fujino.
Sakura happened to have heard one of them: that Olga Marie was actually the Old Director's experimental subject, which was why he had intentionally raised her this way.
Thinking of this, Sakura took Olga Marie's hand and gave the confused girl a gentle hug. Then, shielding Olga Marie behind her, she asked Reines,
"What is your plan?"
"The Holy Grail! I want you to take one of the Holy Grails that Rin previously created or collected and send it to me via Spiritron transmission. I intend to give the Holy Grail to Jeanne d'Arc!"
"Why give the Holy Grail to Jeanne? How does that help Elder Sister?"
"If my understanding is correct, the Holy Grails Rin made or collected aren't like those impure ones from Fuyuki's Third Magic, right? Theoretically, these Grails are more like omnipotent wish-granting machines, aren't they?"
Reines paused briefly, turning the projection to show a French military fortress in the distance flying the blue fleur-de-lis flag, and continued,
"So the plan is simple: use this wish-granting machine of a Holy Grail to grant Jeanne—who has a powerful desire to save France—divine-like protection to help the French Army reclaim France. With a little influence on Jeanne, we can use the power of the Grail to form an alliance with the French Army. Once Jeanne's wish is fulfilled, no matter how much she might disagree with Rin, she'll owe such a massive debt that she'll have no choice but to serve Rin wholeheartedly!"
"And then you can use this plan to gain points with Elder Sister and join Sister Touko and the others as a key member of Chaldea, right? And Olga Marie and I would be praised for helping to recruit Jeanne?"
"Exactly! Precisely!"
---------------------------------
I hope you enjoy this fanfiction! If you're having fun and want to read 30 chapters in advance, feel free to check out my Patreon: patreon.com/TLScarlet
Your support means a lot so if you like the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone.