Shirou Emiya Stands on Terra Chapter 18

"……"

Texas and Croissant simultaneously stopped what they were doing.

The two first glanced around their surroundings, then simultaneously looked towards Shirou's door.

"Did you hear that?"

Texas asked her teammate.

"Yeah, sounded like some kind of cry? Shirou's already playing this early? That's not good for his body."

Croissant, hearing the faint gasps coming from Shirou's room, assumed he was doing some kind of exercise.

After all, he was a young man, so having such issues was normal.

It was just embarrassing to hear, though. Croissant wondered if she should just knock on the door now to get back at him.

"Playing? Those are sounds of pain. What could he possibly be doing that would make him cry out in pain?"

Texas couldn't quite follow her teammate's train of thought. To her, every gasp sounded suppressed and full of pain. She had heard such sounds often before, so she remembered them clearly.

"What?"

Croissant was no longer in the mood to joke. She immediately pressed her ear against the door.

It was impossible to press her ear flat against it, but getting a little closer allowed her to hear the sounds inside a bit more clearly.

"Guh—"

Without hesitation, Croissant turned the doorknob, but unfortunately, the door was locked.

"Shirou, are you okay? If you're awake, open the door!"

Seeing that the door wouldn't open, Croissant began to knock, no longer caring about the volume of her voice.

Exusiai and Sora from the kitchen were also drawn out by Croissant's voice.

"Move aside."

Texas had Croissant shift her position and kicked the door open with one foot.

" Longmen vulgarities Are you trying to turn a surprise into a scare?"

Exusiai was not happy seeing Texas kick the door open.

"What happened to Shirou?"

After Texas kicked the door open, Sora also faintly heard the sounds Shirou was making. Combined with their actions, something must have happened to Shirou.

Texas and Croissant stared at Shirou in the room, both stunned.

Shirou was sitting up in bed, clutching his right arm and gasping for breath.

If it were just that, it would be fine, but the two could clearly see strange patterns flashing along Shirou's right arm up to his neck.

"Are you alright?"

Texas stopped Croissant, who was about to rush in, and asked from the doorway.

"Haa... I'm fine. Just had a nightmare."

After Shirou caught his breath, he realized Texas and Croissant were standing outside his door, and his door had been kicked in.

22 Check-in

In the living room, Exusiai, Texas, and Sora sat side-by-side.

Shirou, having changed into new clothes, sat opposite the three of them.

"Are you really okay?"

Texas asked Shirou, who looked somewhat exhausted.

It wasn't that she was making a big deal out of nothing; she could tell from some small movements that Shirou's condition was currently very poor.

When he went to get water earlier, Shirou's right hand was trembling constantly, and he almost dropped the glass.

Now, sitting there, it was also clear that Shirou was making a conscious effort to use his left hand, which was different from usual.

"I'm fine. I'll be better in a few days."

Shirou waved his hand, indicating he was alright.

"Really? Do you really not need to see a doctor?"

Sora looked worried. She had also seen the scene in his room earlier, and the unknown patterns on Shirou's hand made her concerned about his condition.

"If you're worried about your Infected status being discovered, we can find a doctor the boss knows."

Exusiai thought about it and finally concluded that Shirou might be hiding his Infected status, and what just happened was a symptom of Originium Arts acting up.

After all, when Originium Arts act up, they cause a certain degree of pain to the Infected, and the pain intensifies with the degree of infection.

"Infected? Ah, you don't need to worry about that."

Shirou thought for a moment before understanding what they were worried about. Infected were indeed a sensitive topic here.

But Shirou could confidently say he was not Infected. After all, if there was something abnormal within his body, he would definitely be able to detect it directly.

Magic isn't just for show; checking one's own body is perfectly feasible.

"We have no prejudice against the Infected. If you refuse further treatment, you will die, you know?"

As Texas finished her sentence, she bit down hard on the Pocky in her mouth.

It's common for the Infected to hide their condition to keep working, and many die from delaying medical treatment because of it.

Their jobs often involve close contact with the Infected, so they aren't particularly afraid. As long as they maintain proper precautions, they can coexist peacefully.

After all, Shirou was someone they brought back, and he had taken care of them for a long time. Texas felt she should remind Shirou about this matter.

She had already sent Croissant to other outposts to retrieve the Oripathy detection equipment. If it's confirmed that Shirou is infected later, she would absolutely make him undergo treatment, no matter what.

Of course, she'd go through the boss's channels. The boss definitely knows a doctor who can keep a secret.

As long as there are no obvious Originium crystals on his body, it's quite easy to conceal it.

"So, it's really not that... how do I put it... a side effect of a family heirloom technique."

To avoid worrying them, but unsure how to describe magic, Shirou ultimately used the side effect of some kind of mysterious technique as an excuse.

He wasn't lying; it really was a side effect of a mysterious technique.

As for why his magic circuits had gone berserk earlier, it was related to what he saw in his memories. Shirou himself hadn't expected his magic circuits to resonate with it. In his memories, he was being assimilated subtly, but he had achieved it all in one night.

Even with a bit of his own foundation, Archer was still his ultimate self, and his strength completely overshadowed Shirou's.

"..."

Upon hearing Shirou's answer, Texas and Exusiai became even more anxious. However, once Croissant returned with the equipment, all their problems would be solved.

"Technique side effect? What technique?"

Seeing the atmosphere between them growing tense, Sora jumped in, asking Shirou and breaking the deadlock.

"Hmm..."

Shirou pondered for a moment, deciding to demonstrate Reinforcement magic.

Mainly, his magic circuits had just gone berserk once, and using Projection again would be too taxing.

If he used Reinforcement magic in the right direction, the consumption was actually very small.

"Trace on."

Shirou picked up a nearby tissue and rolled it into a thin, long shape.

The others watched as the patterns reappeared on Shirou's hand, and this time, an identical pattern appeared on the tissue.

"Basic structure, deciphered. Composition material, deciphered. Reinforcement complete."

As the incantation ended, Shirou held the rolled-up tissue in front of the three of them.

"What does that mean?"

Exusiai looked at Shirou's actions with confusion.

"The tissue became hard?"

Texas sensed that the tissue had become somewhat strange, so she reached out and squeezed it.

"It really did!"

Seeing Texas touch it and voice her thoughts, Sora also reached out to touch it.

The texture wasn't the softness of a tissue but rather a bit harder.

It was difficult to determine the actual material, as it still looked like just a tissue from the outside.

Exusiai also reached out and poked it, confirming that Texas and Sora weren't tricking her.

"Originium Arts?"

Exusiai thought for a moment and offered her opinion. When in doubt, quantum mechanics... no, when in doubt, Originium Arts.

"Indeed, this doesn't prove you aren't Infected. In fact, it makes you more suspicious."

Texas withdrew her hand.

"Ah, this..."

Hearing Texas's words, Shirou felt his entire being sink.

"I'm back!"

Just then, Croissant pushed open the door, holding a machine in her hands.

"Finally! We've been waiting so long!"

Exusiai stepped forward to help Croissant place the machine on the table and plugged it in.

"What is this?"

Shirou looked at the machine before him. Although he didn't know its purpose, he knew it was definitely meant for him.

"It's a portable Oripathy detection device. It only needs a tiny bit of blood. If the person has Oripathy, it'll light up red. If not, it'll light up green."

Sora briefly explained the device's function.

"Let me draw a little blood."

Texas took out a small needle and pointed it at Shirou.

Shirou extended his left hand, allowing Texas to draw blood. Since the device was here, there was no need for him to explain further.

After all, any amount of explanation couldn't compare to professional verification.

Texas drew just a tiny bit of blood and then handed it over to Croissant.

"Here we go, here we go! Time for the results!"

Croissant put the blood drop into a test tube and placed it into the machine.

Then, she received three servings of a hand chop.

"Oof."

Croissant let out a pained cry.

"Hurry up and operate it, you bun-head!"

Exusiai grabbed Croissant's ear and shook her. Texas, standing nearby, grabbed her other ear and shook her as well.

"Alright, alright, let go first."

Croissant was so dizzy from being shaken.

After the two let go of her ears, Croissant continued operating the machine.

The group stared at the light on the machine for about two minutes.

Ding!