December, Lungmen, 8 a.m.
After being forced to take several days off, Shirou felt completely overwhelmed with guilt.
Mostly because he had been far too idle. Other than the Lungmen Guard Department, where he had already arranged leave beforehand, Rope and Penguin Logistics had also reached an agreement to keep Shirou resting in the dorms and adjusting his condition instead of running around everywhere.
Still, that gave him enough time to properly research new recipes. Of course, he could only do that when the members of Penguin Logistics were not around.
If the others were there, then he would only end up accompanying them to play games instead. Recently, the group had become obsessed with tabletop games.
Even Texas had joined in, so Shirou naturally had no excuse to refuse and could only participate as well.
His luck usually was not very good though, and most of the time he lost quite miserably.
Still, that was fine. At least the process itself was enjoyable.
But starting today, everything would be different.
At the moment, the members of Penguin Logistics were packing up their belongings in preparation for the major job ahead of them: Rhodes Island's commission.
Shirou was no exception. He was currently organizing spare clothes along with gifts for several acquaintances aboard Rhodes Island.
There were both food and clothing. Since Rhodes Island was currently stationed somewhere between Lungmen and Ursus, the weather there would definitely be much colder, so most of what Shirou prepared was meant for keeping warm.
He had purchased all of these while helping Penguin Logistics and the children shop, intentionally buying extra for this very day.
As for the rest of the equipment, Shirou did not need to worry about any of it. Yithhad already handled everything, so all they needed to bring were their personal belongings.
"Finished packing yet~?"
Still wondering whether he should buy a few more souvenirs while he was still in Lungmen, Shirou was startled by the sudden sound of his room door opening.
As the door swung open, Exusiai poked her head inside first, followed by Croissant peeking in from below.
Shirou could vaguely make out the curious gazes of the other two behind them.
"Do not act like you are here to steal something. If you want to come in, then just come in directly."
Looking at the four of them, Shirou felt a headache coming on.
The group crouching outside the door might have been out of politeness, but sticking their heads in to look around was not really much different from simply opening the door and walking in.
In fact, the former looked even more suspicious and sneaky, to the point where Shirou almost wanted to send the two of them straight to the Guard Department.
"Hehe, we were worried you might be busy."
Laughing awkwardly, Exusiai pushed the door fully open, allowing the light from the living room to shine into the room.
Since it was morning, Shirou had not turned on the lights and instead chose to draw the curtains open.
Although the room was somewhat dim, it was not much of a problem for Shirou.
"I am almost done here. Just wait a little longer."
His gaze swept past the group before landing on the pile of luggage in the living room, making it obvious that everyone else had already finished packing and was simply waiting for him now.
The main reason he was still not done was because he had been hesitating over what exactly to bring. Otherwise, he would have finished long ago.
"Eh... packing souvenirs? Shirou, you really do pay attention to these kinds of things."
Now that they could see clearly, Sora and Texas noticed the items Shirou was organizing. At a glance, they obviously were not his personal belongings.
Sora could not help sighing in admiration. Shirou truly was thoughtful in this regard.
"I just bought them along the way before. The weather has gotten colder too."
Stuffing everything into the suitcase, Shirou pressed down hard and snapped it shut.
The luggage looked somewhat overstuffed, but it did not matter. After all, it was projected, so he would not feel bad even if it broke.
He had still been hesitating earlier about what to bring, but now that someone had come to hurry him, he might as well just bring everything.
There were plenty of people on Rhodes Island anyway. Someone would surely find use for them.
"Whoa... Shirou, are you seriously waging war against cold weather or something?"
After hearing Shirou's words, Exusiai reflexively glanced down at what she was wearing. Only after confirming that she had dressed properly did she let out a sigh of relief.
Then she noticed that she was not the only one. The other three had made the exact same motion as well.
That alone showed just how deeply Shirou had influenced them in this regard.
Thinking about it, Exusiai could not help making a complaint.
"The books say that a healthy body lowers the chances of infection, and dressing warmly is more comfortable too, is it not?"
Hearing Exusiai's complaint along with the subtle looks from the others, Shirou responded calmly.
"...It is pretty comfortable."
After thinking for a moment, Croissant finally spoke.
In previous winters, she would usually just throw on a random coat before heading outside and endure the cold through sheer stubbornness. This year, after dressing more heavily, she really did feel much better overall.
At that moment, Croissant felt that she had been at least a tiny bit persuaded by Shirou.
Of course, it was not just Croissant. The other three also somewhat agreed with Shirou's point of view.
After all, having someone remind them to dress warmly was not exactly a bad thing, so the group simply skipped past the topic.
"Enough about that. Shirou, are you not planning to make something for us to eat on the road?"
Moving past the topic of clothing, the group's attention shifted toward food instead.
The meaning behind Exusiai's words was extremely obvious. Although they had already eaten breakfast, that did not stop them from wanting delicious food for the journey later instead of hard, dry rations.
"There is some in the refrigerator. I already prepared everything this morning."
While dragging his suitcase out, Shirou pointed toward the kitchen.
He had already thought about it earlier in the morning, so he made some sandwiches that still tasted good even when cold.
The variety of flavors was somewhat limited though, so they were relatively simple.
"Yay!"
After hearing Shirou's words, Exusiai and Croissant happily rushed to the refrigerator to search for treasures, leaving Shirou, Sora, and Texas behind as he dragged the suitcase into the living room.
"Seriously, did you all forget to check the refrigerator first?"
Listening to the noisy sounds coming from the kitchen, Shirou quietly complained to himself.
There was no deeper meaning behind it. He was already used to this sort of thing anyway.
"Is that all? There is nothing else you need to bring?"
Looking at Shirou dragging only two identical suitcases, Texas asked.
Although she knew he was usually much more reliable and steady when handling things, some questions still needed to be asked.
After all, this was Shirou's first long-term mission.
Well, it could not exactly be called the first time. The last time he had left for such a long period, he went as a patient, and the clothes were all provided by Rhodes Island.
If they had not been worried about Shirou running around Rhodes Island chasing people down with dual swords and a bow, Exusiai and Croissant originally planned to find clothes after arriving there instead.
Of course, they would have paid for them. After all, free things were often the most expensive.
And as for why they were worried about that...
From Shirou's perspective, wasting money carelessly was not a good thing.
"The other things..."
After hearing Texas's question, Shirou's gaze shifted toward the entrance of his room.
After thinking for a moment, he turned around and went back inside. When he came out again, a sword was hanging at his waist.
"That is Chi Xiao?"
Seeing Shirou deliberately bringing a weapon with him, Sora looked surprised.
It was not because Shirou was carrying a sword specifically, but because the sword he brought was Chi Xiao.
That was Chief Chen's personal sword, the weapon she always carried during operations.
The reason Sora recognized it so clearly was because she had started paying attention after Shirou projected Chi Xiao before and used Chen's sword techniques.
However, ever since then, Shirou had acted as though he completely forgot about Chi Xiao's existence. He had kept it in his room the entire time and had even specially made a sword stand for it.
"Yeah. Chen said bringing it along might produce unexpected results."
Shirou adjusted Chi Xiao at his waist slightly, though no matter what he did, he still could not get used to having something hanging there. Suppressing the urge to put Chi Xiao back into his room, he simply removed it and placed it on top of the suitcase instead.
What he did not mention was that those same words had also been something Wei Yenwu wanted Chen to pass on to him.
Although Shirou did not really understand the other man's intentions, if Wei Yenwu said to bring it, then he would bring it. The information within those intelligence reports had been extremely detailed, giving Shirou an entirely new understanding of Ursus.
He did not have the qualifications or position to judge the country, but judging purely from those reports, Ursus might truly be the least suitable place for him on all of Terra.
He also could not help wondering what sort of mentality Archer had while fighting those people and protecting the Infected there.
"I see... Wait, she knows what we are going to do?"
After hearing Shirou's explanation, Sora nodded at first.
If it was Chen, then there was definitely a reason for her specifically mentioning it.
However, after Texas quietly reminded her, Sora finally realized the problem.
How did Chen know that bringing Chi Xiao might produce unexpected results? She should not have known where they were going.
"Mr. Wei told her. Considering the boss's relationship with him, it would not be difficult for him to know this much."
Shirou did not try to be mysterious and answered honestly.
After all, it was not exactly a secret. Anyone could figure it out after thinking about it a little.
"Mr. Wei..."
After hearing Wei Yenwu's name, the two of them were no longer quite as surprised.
"Anyway, let us pack everything downstairs first. If we leave soon, we should arrive by the afternoon and probably make it in time for dinner. I already asked Blaze to prepare a lavish meal."
Looking at the troubled expressions on the two girls' faces, then glancing toward the kitchen where the other two were still carrying food around, Shirou felt much of his earlier worry ease away.
His teammates really were dependable. Some worried seriously about things, while others prepared for the future by stocking up on food.
"Exusiai! Stop searching through the refrigerator already! Come help carry the luggage!"
After hearing Shirou's words, Texas finally snapped out of her thoughts and turned around to shout toward her teammate.
They really had delayed long enough already. If they kept this up, it might be very late by the time they reached Rhodes Island. Driving at night still carried a certain level of danger, so it would be better not to drag things out any further.
"Coming, coming!"
After uncovering plenty of good things in the refrigerator, Exusiai stuffed everything into a large bag.
Several cans of cold drinks, several desserts, and the sandwiches Shirou made today.
Completely enough to support their road trip for more than half a day. Perfect.
Although there was a bit more luggage than expected, each person only needed to carry their own belongings once to finish moving everything.
After loading everything into the vehicle, Shirou originally intended to place the projected Chi Xiao together with Croissant's weapon. However, after remembering what Chen had said that day, he instead kept Chi Xiao in his hand and sat down in the passenger seat.
He planned to use the travel time to both keep watch over the road and become reacquainted with this Originium creation that he himself had projected.
If things truly unfolded the way Chen, or rather Wei Yenwu, had suggested, then there would definitely come a time when this Chi Xiao would be needed.
He decided to analyze it again and see whether he could alter its form like ordinary projected weapons, perhaps turning it into a long-range weapon such as an arrow.
Shirou had a feeling that if he used Broken Phantasm on this Chi Xiao, the resulting destructive power would far surpass high-grade Originium explosives while also carrying a certain degree of infection risk.
The former was not important. Ordinary Broken Phantasms could already accomplish that much.
But the latter was somewhat dangerous.
Shirou himself was not afraid of infection risks, but that did not mean he would intentionally infect other people, especially when allies were nearby.
"Trace on—"
Resting his hand on the sword hilt, Shirou softly chanted.
Magical circuits glowed from Shirou's hand before spreading across the hilt, the sheath, and the blade of Chi Xiao.
Ever since he brought it back and analyzed it once before, only to discover that reproducing it required extremely troublesome conditions, Shirou had kept it sealed away.
Several months had passed. Aside from the improvements in his Projection Magecraft, analysis also allowed him to properly understand how much mana and what sort of "materials" would be required if he wanted to project Chi Xiao again.
They were called materials, but in truth that substance existed everywhere across Terra.
Originium.
Whether it was Originium dust, Originium crystals, or even Originium extracted from infected individuals, all of it could be processed by Shirou into Originium weapons.
Although the mana consumed during projection would be somewhat lower, converting Originium into mana would leave something behind inside his body, forming those red patterns.
Moreover, the Originium weapons he projected could be powered through mana, greatly increasing their destructive force.
That latter point aside, simply the fact that projecting Originium weapons affected his body was enough to guarantee that Shirou would never intentionally create them unless necessary.
After all, if the same red-pattern corrosion would occur either way, then why would he use it to project Originium weapons instead of treating infected people?
Was it because Noble Phantasms were no longer effective?
Or because Kanshou and Bakuya had somehow become useless?
Besides, using mana to power Originium weapons also consumed enormous amounts of mana. He simply could not afford such a cost.
Unless he could find a method that allowed him to treat infected people while simultaneously projecting Originium weapons, only then would he consider actively using them.
But clearly, Shirou currently knew absolutely nothing about that field, and the whole matter was far too troublesome.
No... wait.
If he truly found such a method, and the conversion efficiency was good enough...
Would that not mean he would no longer need to replenish mana through blood?
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Shirou suddenly wanted to tell Doctor Kal'tsit about the entire idea and ask for her help.