On the day of the operation, at eight in the morning, Rhodes Island's main landship was on its way toward the Ursus mobile city, Chernobog.
At this moment, Shirou, the four members of Penguin Logistics, and many Rhodes Island operators were all heading toward Chernobog.
"Hmm... wearing Rhodes Island combat uniforms still feels a little strange. There are too many things attached to them."
Inside the vehicle, Exusiai tugged at the Rhodes Island combat uniform she was wearing while speaking.
Compared to the clothes she normally wore, this outfit simply had far too many functions built into it.
Most of those functions existed specifically for combat.
For example, the belt around her waist could hold numerous magazines, and the inside of the jacket also contained pockets perfectly sized for suppressants and various emergency medicines.
There were many other combat-related functions as well.
That was precisely why this combat uniform was suitable for use across all of Rhodes Island.
"You will get used to it eventually. Personally, I think it is pretty comfortable."
Texas, sitting nearby, paid little attention to Exusiai constantly twisting around. As usual, she drove the vehicle with a Pocky stick in her mouth.
Originally, another Rhodes Island operator was supposed to drive, but after Texas strongly insisted, she ultimately became the driver instead.
That way, everyone inside the vehicle would be Penguin Logistics personnel.
Exusiai occupied the passenger seat.
Since they were moving together with Rhodes Island's convoy, there was naturally no need for excessive vigilance. All they needed to do was focus on driving and avoid rear-ending the vehicle ahead.
As for Shirou, he currently sat on the right side of the back seat, arms crossed while holding Chixiao against his chest, his eyes tightly shut as though asleep.
The others had no intention of disturbing him.
Before a large-scale operation like this, wanting to rest and preserve one's energy was completely normal.
Back when they first heard about retrieving someone from Ursus territory, it did not feel especially real.
But now that they were getting closer and closer to their destination, Penguin Logistics gradually realized just how dangerous this mission truly was.
Even without entering Chernobog itself, this operation would probably rank within the top three most dangerous missions in their minds.
After all, this was Ursus they were dealing with.
"There is no helping it. It is not like we could just wear Penguin Logistics uniforms directly, right? If we got identified afterward, we would probably need to think twice before accepting any Ursus-related jobs again unless we wanted a whole group of people hunting us down."
Croissant added another explanation, pointing out why they specifically wore Rhodes Island combat uniforms.
Aside from maintaining a unified appearance with Rhodes Island to avoid accidental friendly fire, the other reason was simply to avoid being recognized.
"I think they look pretty nice though. They are comfortable and warm too. You just need some time to get used to them. Exusiai, the reason you feel uncomfortable is probably because you attached too many magazines around your waist, right?"
Sora sharply pointed out the real reason Exusiai felt uncomfortable in the uniform.
"..."
Listening to their conversation, Shirou slowly opened his tightly shut eyes slightly.
Turning his head toward the right, he gazed outside.
The weather was perfectly clear, yet Shirou still felt that something was wrong.
He had already started sensing it yesterday.
An inexplicable feeling of unease.
Because of that, he had not slept well at all, and even now the uneasy feeling had not faded.
If anything, it was only growing stronger.
"It should not be... right?"
Thinking back to the joke he made earlier in Lungmen, Shirou silently muttered to himself inwardly.
Still, there was no point saying anything now.
The operation toward Chernobog was inevitable.
Judging from the sheer number of operators Rhodes Island had dispatched, this Doctor was clearly someone extremely important.
Though Shirou still did not understand why that person was inside Chernobog in the first place.
And judging from the fact that Amiya deliberately brought an entire medical team along with emergency surgical equipment, the Doctor's condition was probably not optimistic.
Shirou did not ask for details.
After all, rescuing the Doctor was Amiya and the others' mission.
There was no need for him to think too deeply about it.
Just like Blaze and Rosmontis were currently opening the path ahead, his own responsibility was simply to safely bring everyone back to Rhodes Island.
Of course, that was merely the ideal scenario he forced upon himself.
The stronger that uneasy feeling became, the stronger Shirou's desire to safely return with everyone also became.
But the stronger that feeling grew, the heavier the expression on his face became as well.
No one noticed anything strange about Shirou.
They simply assumed he was taking this mission extremely seriously, which was why his expression appeared somewhat stern.
Clenching his right hand tightly, Shirou only calmed down slightly after feeling the presence of the Holy Shroud wrapped around his right arm.
"Hah..."
Letting out a deep breath, Shirou withdrew his gaze and stopped staring at the bright blue sky filled with white clouds.
"Shirou, are you nervous too?"
Sitting beside him, Sora noticed Shirou repeatedly taking deep breaths as though trying to calm himself, so she spoke up.
Compared to trying to settle oneself alone, talking with another person was usually much faster.
Once a conversation started, people stopped overthinking.
"Nervous...? I suppose so. I just feel somewhat uneasy."
After hearing Sora's question, Shirou honestly voiced his thoughts.
"Uneasy? That is completely normal. Before doing anything important, people naturally feel uneasy, especially during major events like this. So do not put too much pressure on yourself. Otherwise, it might negatively affect your performance."
After learning that Shirou was taking deep breaths because he felt uneasy, Sora gently tried to reassure him.
How should she put it?
It was rather rare.
After all, Shirou had always been somewhat of a loner, so it was uncommon to see him display his thoughts so openly on his face.
No... rather than being a loner, it felt more like he intentionally tried to reduce his own presence.
That feeling had mostly disappeared after the training exercises with the Lungmen Guard Department, but occasionally she could still notice Shirou observing the people around him from the perspective of an outsider.
As though he had deliberately removed himself from the picture.
But compared to before, when he intentionally suppressed his own presence and unconsciously distanced himself from others, the current Shirou seemed slightly better.
How should she describe it...?
He was gradually becoming more like an ordinary person.
The old Shirou...
Or rather, Shirou had always prioritized others above himself.
That itself was not necessarily wrong. After all, many people also prioritized others.
But if someone focused too much attention on other people to the point of ignoring their own existence...
Then that truly became unhealthy.
From the very beginning, Shirou had always centered everything around them, around the whole of Penguin Logistics. Ever since then, they had come to see Shirou as a teammate, a friend, even as family.
Although he looked young, the way he handled things was far more mature than theirs.
As time went on, Shirou's circle continued to grow. The Guard Department and the slums also became parts of his life that he deeply cared about, and the things he started doing gradually became more dangerous.
Even when something had nothing to do with him, the moment he learned that someone might need his help, he would move forward without hesitation.
And yet, for someone so caring toward everyone else, he alone never reserved any of that care for himself.
He gave away everything he still had in his hands to others, leaving those hands completely empty.
Just like that time when he faced the Catastrophe, when he exhausted every ounce of strength he had just to destroy it.
He always ended up covered in wounds. Although every time he managed to survive safely without his life being in danger, they still worried themselves sick over him.
From initially harshly scolding him, to eventually accepting that this was simply the kind of person Shirou was, they had spent a long time coming to terms with it.
But there was nothing they could do. Just as Shirou had always tolerated all of their nonsense, they also had to learn how to accept this side of him.
Even so, they still imposed many conditions on him, since the nature of the two situations was rather different.
Even if they could not stop him, at the very least they would remain by Shirou's side.
"I hope so. Hopefully I am just overthinking things."
Hearing what Sora said, Shirou understood that she was trying to keep him from becoming too tense.
Perhaps, just as she said, this uneasiness was merely something he had imagined for no reason.
That was also the main reason why he had not voiced these concerns aloud. Saying such things in a situation like this really would have been a bad omen.
If he had clearly sensed malicious intent or something similar, perhaps he would have taken it more seriously.
Compared to this inexplicable feeling of unease, Shirou trusted far more in the strange ability to sense malice that he had gained after arriving in Terra.
After all, that ability had helped him many times already.
"Good, as long as you understand. Get some proper rest first. This time, the star of Penguin Logistics is you, Shirou. You need to be fully rested for the operation ahead."
Seeing the tension on Shirou's face ease slightly, Sora quickly handed him a bottle of water and reminded him to get some rest.
"Alright."
After taking the bottle, Shirou stared at it for quite a while.
Regardless of whether that unease was simply his imagination or not, he could not neglect any of the preparations that needed to be made.
Just like the small goal he had set for himself earlier.
Thinking that, Shirou opened the bottle and took a few sips before closing his eyes once more. He stopped dwelling on those thoughts and prepared to rest properly.
After shedding some of the psychological burden, Shirou quickly fell asleep. Even so, he maintained the same posture as before, sitting upright while holding Chixiao in his arms. His head did not droop at all, instead resting steadily against the back of the vehicle seat.
By the time he woke up again, they had already reached their destination.
Calling it the destination was not entirely accurate, though. There was still some distance left before reaching Chernobog, but that remaining stretch had to be covered on foot.
Some of the non-combat personnel and logistics staff stayed behind on standby together with Blaze, Rosmontis, and the combat operators responsible for clearing the path. The rest of Rhodes Island's operators, fully equipped and ready, advanced toward Chernobog.
A huge number of personnel had been mobilized for this operation, and all kinds of equipment had been prepared in abundance.
Shirou even noticed an aircraft that had been brought over. If entering the city aboard something like that would not have been too conspicuous, it probably would have been much more convenient.
Shirou was not entirely sure about the specifics of Amiya's infiltration plan, so he merely thought about it for a moment.
That aircraft was probably intended to be used only in the worst-case scenario.
Retracting his gaze, Shirou looked toward the direction where the squads led by Amiya, Ace, Scout, Nearl, and the others had departed.
Although they had already moved quite far away, and the blowing sand made visibility blurry, Shirou could still see them advancing forward while carrying large amounts of equipment.
Farther in the distance stood the mobile city itself: Chernobog.
Overall, it looked just as majestic as Lungmen, though the architecture was clearly very different. The distinction was obvious at a glance.
Still, the structure itself drew Shirou's attention, making him look several times longer.
Just as Shirou was staring absentmindedly in that direction, he suddenly felt someone poke him at the waist. Turning around, he saw Exusiai's restless hand along with everyone else nearby.
"I called your name several times just now. You did not respond at all, so I poked you instead."
Seeing the dangerous look in Shirou's eyes, Exusiai hurriedly withdrew her hand and hid behind Texas and Croissant, only sticking her head out as she spoke to him.
"I was looking at that mobile city... This is the first time I have observed one from this distance."
Pointing toward the direction he had been watching, Shirou spoke. He did not think much about Exusiai's earlier behavior. He really had not heard anything just now. Perhaps he had simply become too absorbed in watching.
Following the direction Shirou pointed, all they could see was an endless sea of yellow sand.
However, the members of Penguin Logistics were already long accustomed to it, and the direction the Rhodes Island operators had headed toward earlier was also in that direction.
On top of that, Shirou had always been interested in mechanical structures like this, so it was perfectly reasonable for him to become completely absorbed in looking at it.
"What is it? Did something happen?"
Seeing the complicated expressions on their faces, Shirou sighed helplessly.
Strictly speaking, they were already working now, so how were these people still this unserious?
Though he was not really in any position to say that himself. After glancing around and seeing that the other Rhodes Island personnel were still in the preparation phase, Shirou could understand why they had not fully switched into mission mode yet.
Still, coming over specifically just to poke him, was there something they needed?
"Ah! Little cat... Rosmontis and Blaze were looking for you. They said they needed to confirm something with you first. Amiya told them to do it. Do you know what it is about?"
After hearing Shirou's question, Exusiai finally remembered why she had poked him in the first place.
Rosmontis and Blaze were busy at the moment and did not have time to come find Shirou themselves, so they could only ask other Rhodes Island operators to look for him instead.
"It is probably about connecting the communicators, right? Since it is difficult to establish stable communication with the people inside from out here, we can only rely on some more troublesome methods. I remember that being mentioned before. They said they would come find me later to handle it."
After thinking for a moment, Shirou guessed that the two were looking for him because of the communications issue.
It was happening a bit earlier than he had expected, though. Amiya's group had only just departed not long ago and had not even entered the city yet.
But since they had already come looking for him, Shirou could only head over first.