A Battle Like Playing House

Chapter 13: A Child's Play Battle

Olga Marie certainly had all sorts of complaints about Luo Zhen's lazy personality.

But those complaints mostly stemmed from frustration that he wasn't living up to his potential.

In other words, at the very least, she still recognized his ability.

Even if she wasn't fully up to date on his current level of magecraft, Olga Marie still didn't think he'd be stumped by this situation.

Not to mention...

"With his level of Summoning Arts, it wouldn't be hard for him to summon a familiar capable of carrying him through the air. That alone would let him break out of the encirclement directly."

Olga Marie responded to Leff like this.

Surely, with a mind capable of devising plans for luring enemies and sniping them, Luo Zhen wouldn't have failed to account for something like this, right?

"Besides, now that he's already secured such a high vantage point, as long as he doesn't make a mistake, it's not easy for the enemy to climb up and take out the snipers positioned there."

So Olga Marie didn't think Luo Zhen would end the Simulated Battle here.

And yet...

"I thought so too." Leff stared at the scene displayed on the screen, his tone somewhat helpless or bitter. "But it seems the situation is about to surprise us once again."

Hearing this, Olga Marie was momentarily stunned. Then, the scene on the screen made her lose her composure.

There, under Olga Marie and Leff's assessment, Luo Zhen—who should have been able to handle this situation calmly—had neither summoned a flying familiar to escape the encirclement nor completely sniped the approaching enemies. After stubbornly shooting down dozens of Lizardmen, one slipped through the cracks, climbed the tree, and reached his back.

With his entire back exposed, before his Servant could react and move to kill the incoming enemy, Luo Zhen seemed utterly defenseless. The enraged, roaring Lizardman struck him from above with a thick club, hitting a vital spot.

"Master No. 1 battlefield, Simulated Battle concluded."

"Time elapsed: 18 minutes, 54 seconds."

"Battle evaluation: Pass."

"Spiritron Dive terminated."

Under the mechanical sound effects, the entire Command Room staff fell silent.

Leff's expression remained helpless.

Olga Marie stood frozen, then her face twisted with barely contained fury.

Having witnessed the entire scene from beside the Coffins, monitoring the Masters' physical conditions, Roman scratched his head and muttered with a sigh.

"Looks like it's going to be chaos again..."

The moment he finished speaking, the Coffin beside him opened.

"Hah..."

Having finished the Simulated Battle and stepped out of the Coffin, Luo Zhen let out a breath. Then, as if he'd just gotten through some annoying chore, he casually voiced his thoughts.

"Time to go back and keep playing games."

His words carried no tension or frustration at all, leaving Roman beside him with a very complicated expression.

All Roman could say was one thing.

"Why does Romani Akiman have such a troublesome little brother?"

Romani Akiman.

That was Roman's full name.

But somewhere along the line, everyone in Chaldea just called him "Roman." Those who used his full name were a rare minority.

And Roman himself claimed that compared to his rather tasteless full name, this nickname had a certain charm—a "romantic" feel—so he gladly accepted it.

Thanks to that, his younger brother Luo Zhen got the same treatment, earning the shortened name "Luo Zhen."

As for Luo Zhen's full name...

"Rorerei Anezhen!"

A sharp scream echoed through the entire Central Control Room, announcing Luo Zhen's full name without missing a single syllable.

The anger and Fire Qi packed into that voice made every staff member present flinch, and even Roman broke out in a cold sweat.

Burning with this fury, Olga Marie descended from the Command Room and marched straight up to Luo Zhen.

Naturally, her beautiful face was already twisted by intense rage.

"Th-the Director...?"

Seeing Olga Marie radiating such strong anger, Roman tried to say something in Luo Zhen's defense, but his voice came out pathetically weak, doing nothing at all.

Under these circumstances, Olga Marie's barely restrained fury swallowed Roman's feeble effort whole.

She glared at Luo Zhen and demanded loudly.

"What the hell is this result supposed to be!?"

Faced with Olga Marie's interrogation, Roman didn't dare say another word. Even Leff, who had followed her down from the Command Room, looked like he wanted to speak but hesitated. In the end, he seemed to realize there was no stopping Olga Marie this time and could only give up, trailing behind her.

Instead, Luo Zhen, the one directly involved, looked as if he had long expected this situation, replying with a rather bored tone.

"What do you mean 'what happened'? It's just like you saw—I ended the simulated battle."

The answer, devoid of any self-reflection, only made Olga Marie burn with even more rage.

"Are you trying to fool me!?" Olga Marie said through gritted teeth. "You clearly had the ability to handle that situation and continue the simulated battle, so why did it end like that!?"

To this question, only one sentence came in return.

"Isn't it just a game of make-believe anyway?" Luo Zhen picked his ear, looking utterly uninterested, and said, "So, passing is good enough, right?"

Those words made Olga Marie clench her fists.

A game of make-believe?

Passing is good enough?

"To safeguard the continuation of human order, to extend the future of human history, to protect the world of humanity—this Chaldea was born for that purpose, and you Masters exist for that purpose. Simulated battles are the necessary training and tests for this, representing Chaldea's meaning and humanity's hope, and you dare call it a game of make-believe? That passing is good enough?"

Olga Marie, shaken by the intense emotions within her, trembled all over, and even her voice grew low.

"What exactly do you take this place for? What do you take the duty of protecting human order for?"

These words clearly reached Luo Zhen's ears.

Luo Zhen glanced at Olga Marie.

Then, he uttered a heartfelt remark that completely denied everything Olga Marie stood for.

"Isn't it just an experiment facility for your own self-satisfaction?"

The bitterly sarcastic words caused the emotions in Olga Marie's heart to spiral completely out of control.

"Get out!"

Olga Marie's command echoed throughout the space.

"My Chaldea doesn't need someone like you!"

And so, Luo Zhen left the control room.

In the worst possible way.

PS: (I feel like after this chapter, sharp-eyed readers might understand a lot of things. Well, I'll still ask for recommendations, clicks, and collections, emmmmm...)