Miracle Summoner

Thud... thud.... boom....

With the raging flames gradually intensifying, the number of falling stones from the ceiling increased, as if the room was on the verge of collapsing, triggering loud bangs and creating a sense of imminent doom.

Rozen and Mash remained silent as they stared at the sealed door before them, trapped in their thoughts.

Rozen understood the situation very well. Neither he nor Mash could escape from this place. The control room's door was specially designed to withstand magical interference and physical force, making it nearly impossible to break through. Without summoning a higher-level familiar, there was little hope of escape.

And without escaping, they both knew their fate. Mash couldn't be saved, and Rozen would perish as well, losing his precious life.

This was their current situation.

A while passed, and Mash's weak voice broke the silence.

"I'm sorry... Senpai... It's all because of me..."

Her fragile words and the guilt contained in her voice were heart-wrenching.

Surprisingly, instead of feeling desperate, Rozen felt oddly at peace upon hearing her voice. Even though they were facing imminent death, his emotions remained surprisingly calm.

His thoughts became clear.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it."

Rozen's voice returned to its usual nonchalant tone, and he chuckled as if everything was relaxed.

Mash smiled, looking extremely beautiful despite her frailty.

"Senpai... You're still the same as ever..."

Her heart was filled with this sentiment alone.

As the flames grew stronger, blocking their escape route, Rozen held Mash in his arms, sitting in front of the sealed door, and gazed at the sea of fire.

"Senpai..."

After some time, Mash's weak voice resounded again.

"Remember when we first met...?"

These words instantly brought Rozen back to the past.

It was around two years ago.

At that time, Rozen had already been in Chaldea for a year. As someone with the highest qualifications among the current recorded candidates, he was initially welcomed by many. However, due to his lack of cooperation and resistance towards Chaldea's activities, his relationships with others deteriorated rapidly, leaving only Romani to occasionally visit him for check-ups.

He lived a solitary life, spending his time training his magic in secret or playing games alone in his room. Besides Romani's occasional visits, he barely stepped out of his room and preferred to be left alone.

However, everything changed one day.

"Her name is Mash Kyrielight. She'll be living in Chaldea just like you. You two should get along well."

Romani suddenly brought a girl of similar age to Rozen and introduced her to him.

Rozen still remembered Mash's appearance back then.

The same shoulder-length hair as now.

The same refined face as now.

The same mysterious aura as now.

The same intellectual appearance as now.

The only difference was a slightly more innocent appearance and a pair of pure eyes that exuded a serene radiance.

Rozen knew that expression.

It was the same expression he had when he didn't yet receive a miracle at the age of two.

In that instant, Rozen realized.

The girl before him was just like his past self.

Both of them had accepted their cruel fates and had resigned themselves to it.

Thus, even though he didn't know what Mash had been through, he understood that she was walking the same path he once walked, not seeing cruelty as cruelty.

Realizing this, Rozen's loneliness was broken, and he accepted the girl before him as naturally as he accepted Romani.

In return, Mash accepted the boy before her.

It was all because Rozen said one sentence to Mash back then.

"Since that's the case, I'll be your Senpai."

That simple sentence opened Mash's heart as well.

This was how the two met for the first time.

"Until now... I haven't forgotten your words, Senpai."

In the midst of the blaze, only Mash's weak yet serene voice reached Rozen's ears, bringing a touch of warmth.

"For me back then... Senpai... you were really radiant."

People were like this, right?

They admired those who achieved what they couldn't, yet remained on the same path.

In Mash's eyes, Rozen was that kind of person.

Their pasts were similar, cruel in the eyes of others.

But Rozen had obtained a miracle and broke free from that fate.

Hence, Mash, still waiting for her miracle, found Rozen's radiance to be awe-inspiring and completely natural.

Because of this, she could honestly say to anyone:

"Meeting Senpai was really wonderful."

Her sincere confession only complicated Rozen's feelings.

In response, he said:

"I was just luckier than you."

And that was the truth.

Rozen was just luckier than Mash.

Even though he had received a miracle, it wasn't something he had worked for; it was a gift that appeared out of nowhere.

If this wasn't luck, what else could it be?

But...

"Thanks to that, I was able to meet you, Mash."

In other words...

"I'm so glad to have met you."

Rozen's words, accompanied by a gentle smile, completely eased Mash's soul.

"Senpai..."

Mash couldn't help but use her last bit of strength to grip Rozen's hand.

Rozen immediately returned the grip, holding it tightly as if never letting go, exerting all his strength.

In this moment, the raging flames engulfed the entire control room.

However, at that very moment, a mechanical system voice sounded.

"System experiment detected, manual operation suspended. Please restore operation within three seconds."

"3..."

"2..."

"1..."

"Operation not restored, switching to automatic operation."

"Experiment continues, searching for Master."

"Master inside the 'Coffin' detected in an abnormal state. The sole eligible Master is Candidate No. 1. Candidate No. 1 set as the primary target of the experiment."

"Anti-summoning system, activate."

"Spirit particle transfer, initiated."