Chapter 188

Startled awake by Minmin, Kong jumped up and asked.

"Shirou is fine, Sora, calm down. Shirou has gone to change into his patient gown."

Croissant stepped forward to calm the still somewhat panicked Sora down, and at the same time told Minmin about Shirou's whereabouts.

"I understand. Have Shirou come to me after he changes his clothes."

Minmin calmed down after realizing that her reckless behavior had frightened others.

"... Is Shirou in a bad state?"

Looking at the other person's expression, Texas asked.

The fact that they're in such a hurry to find Shirou means there's definitely something wrong with them.

She wanted to understand the situation first, at least to be mentally prepared.

"No, on the contrary, Shirou is in excellent condition. He has not become an infected person, let alone contracted Oripathy. His blood test results show that he is perfectly healthy."

After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, Minmin announced the good news.

"Really?"

Upon hearing this good news, everyone present stared wide-eyed and asked the other person for confirmation.

In their initial assessment, becoming infected was the best-case scenario; they never expected even better news!

Shirou must have saved the world in his past life!

Otherwise, how could he have remained unharmed after being surrounded by Originium dust?

Having received this good news, Exusiai was already dancing with joy alongside Croissant.

"???"

So when Shirou returned, he saw this strange scene.

I rubbed my eyes.

That's strange.

Take one more look.

That's really weird!

180 Chen, you've taken the wrong one.

At the Rhodes Island office, Chen, Hoshiguma, and Swire walked quickly down the corridor. In addition to her two sword sheaths, Chen had an extra sword sheath on her waist, carrying a total of three sword sheaths with her.

Just as they were dealing with the aftermath of this whole incident, Chen suddenly received a call from Exusiai, and then heard the doctor anxiously calling Shirou's name.

Then Exusiai just hung up the phone! And I couldn't get through!

Startled, they immediately finished everything they were doing and drove over.

Originally, she was the only one who wanted to come, while Hoshiguma and Swire followed after hearing the news.

Considering that the scene had been mostly cleaned up, Chen did not intend to stop the two.

Although this isn't a formal hospital, it was at least reported to Lungmen, and it seems that Shirou himself is a regular here, which is why he was arranged to be here.

Otherwise, Swire would have been planning to use his financial power to pull strings.

Moreover, it seems that they have a collaboration with Rhine Lab International, and they seem to have a good understanding of Oripathy, but they don't seem to be very well-known.

As for its name— Rhodes Island —Chen had some recollection of it. Rather than being a pharmaceutical company, Chen's impression of Rhodes Island was more related to mercenaries.

When Chen confirmed that the other party was a pharmaceutical company, he had a slight doubt about life. After all, the other party was really famous for its martial arts skills, and even Lungmen had heard of it.

It's also thanks to the fact that those people aren't completely without moral principles; they still have a decent reputation.

Arriving at the ward door, Chen pushed it open and said:

"How's the situation now...?"

As they talked, Chen's tone changed from initial eager concern to a barrage of questions.

Inside the ward, Exusiai and Croissant from Penguin Logistics were fast asleep on the bed, while Texas was dozing off beside them. Sora, on the other hand, still looked a bit tired, but was forcing herself to stay awake.

Meanwhile, the target of the three's visit— Shirou— sat on a chair to the side, dressed in a patient's gown, peeling an apple with a knife in his hand.

"Hmm? Is the matter with the Knights of the Round Table resolved?"

Hearing the sound from the doorway, Shirou turned around and saw who it was, and his hands didn't stop moving.

"Uh... that's about it. Shirou, what are you doing right now?"

Seeing that none of the patients were lying in bed, Chen felt his blood pressure was rising.

"I'm cutting apples for the busy doctors, would you like some?"

With a few swift strokes of the knife, the apple's skin was peeled off, and even the seeds were removed.

After placing the chopped apple pieces on a plate, Shirou politely inquired about the three members of the Knights of the Round Table.

"... No, I'll take it for you."

Looking at the plate of apples, Hoshiguma took the plate.

How should I put it... Shirou seems to know this place really well? The doctors and nurses who were busy nearby didn't seem to have any resistance to the fruit that Shirou cut; the plate was immediately scraped clean as soon as it arrived.

Some of them were even patients wearing hospital gowns.

"Let's talk outside."

Looking at the cleanly divided plates and the Penguin Logistics staff standing nearby, Shirou said.

At the same time, he signaled to Sora and Texas to continue resting.

Are you alright?

After leaving the ward, Swire, who was following behind the two, pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and then asked.

Shirou seems to be in very good condition right now, with no problems, but that's only how it appears from the outside.

Texas felt guilty because she was present but didn't act quickly enough.

Swire's mistakes in command led to Shirou suffering all of this.

If she hadn't been so optimistic back then and had made timely arrangements for manpower, perhaps things would have been different?

"Minmin ... The Rhodes Island medical staff just arranged a check-up for me. I only fainted because of overwork."

Noticing Swire's unusually different expression, Shirou immediately revealed the reason Minmin had just told him that she would faint.

To be more specific, Shirou is probably still in the Originium dust, with those strange noises putting mental pressure on him, as well as the Magecraft changes.

Is that so?

Seeing that Shirou didn't mention Oripathy, Swire's expression became even more melancholy.

However, she did not press the matter further.

She didn't know if Shirou was ready, but Swire was certain that she wasn't.

Such consequences arose because of his own command errors...

"Take good care of yourself and get well soon. I'll turn down your internship for you."

After discovering the unusual situation on Swire's side, Chen didn't mock her; she knew how to read the room.

And this is a hospital.

The main reason for helping Shirou decline the internship was to give him time to recover from his illness.

"Oh? I'm fine, I can go back to work after a couple of days of rest."

Upon hearing Chen's words, Shirou quickly declined the other party's offer.

Although he was initially sent to the Knights of the Round Table because his boss was framed, he got used to it after a while.

Moreover, he likes to finish what he starts, and he always feels something is off about a sudden interruption.

If it were a matter with the Knights of the Round Table that caused the interruption, that would be one thing, but Chen's intention was for him to go and recuperate properly, which Shirou definitely wouldn't accept.

He promised to teach people how to use a bow this week!

"No, no, no! You should focus on getting better first, right? Your health is the most important asset!"

Hoshiguma, standing nearby, quipped after hearing Shirou's profound statement that would bring tears to the eyes of even the boss.

She knew Shirou was dedicated to his work, but wasn't this level of dedication a bit excessive?

Do you realize you're still wearing clothes that only sick people wear?

"Huh? I'm fine. The doctor said I could be discharged today. If everyone hadn't insisted that I stay a couple more days to rest, I should be back in the dorm by now, right?"

Upon hearing Hoshiguma's comment, Shirou scratched his head.

Didn't he just say he was fine? Did all three of them just take it as a polite remark?

No, the three of them should be concerned about the Oripathy part, right?

At this moment, Shirou suddenly remembered Oripathy. He had just been dragged to do a lot of medical examinations, and his mind was still a little fuzzy.

"* Longmen Curses * I knew there was something wrong here! They actually wanted to kick people out on the same day!"

Chen couldn't sit still any longer and turned around to discuss the regulations of Lungmen with the people involved.

Although she wasn't there and didn't witness the incident, they actually told her she could be discharged from the hospital the same day after being hit by Originium Bomb?

Even if the quality of that Originium Bomb was extremely low, it's still impossible for this to happen!

"Calm down! Chen, calm down Sir Hoshiguma, calm down too!"

Seeing Chen turn around and Hoshiguma standing to the side looking aggressive, Shirou quickly stepped forward to stop them.

"Shirou, don't stop us! We've dealt with many of these unscrupulous hospitals! We're very experienced!"

Hoshiguma's fists collided, making a very loud sound.

The commotion alerted the others, who, upon seeing Shirou's appearance, knew what had happened.

Is that Shirou? Is he comforting a child? Then it's alright.

"Wait for me! Don't move! I'm going to get my medical report!"

Seeing the situation gradually spiraling out of control, Shirou realized that even if he said he wasn't infected with Oripathy, the others would just think it was an excuse Shirou was using to appease them.

Talk is cheap; just bring us the evidence.

"...?"

Then the three watched as Shirou rushed into the ward, leaving behind Chen and Hoshiguma, who wanted to tear the place down, and Swire, who was contacting a doctor she knew.

A short while later, Shirou ran out with a stack of documents.

"Give."

Shirou handed the documents to the group and took a slight breath.

After all, Shirou did everything he could to get rid of the medical report and erase some confidential information as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, it would be terrible if we turned around and found that they had already demolished the place.

"Let me check... Your physical condition is good, your blood is fine, and the X-ray results didn't show Originium crystals? The examination confirms you're not infected!?"

Although he didn't know why Shirou wanted to bring his medical report, Chen still took it and looked at it.

It's similar to the routine medical check-up report from the Knights of the Round Table, but this one is more detailed and has more comprehensive data.

Aside from some data being blacked out, the other data clearly shows that Shirou's current physical condition is very good.

Most importantly, the blood and X-ray results in the report showed that Shirou was not infected and did not become an infected person.

"Not infected?"

Hoshiguma glanced at Shirou and asked in confusion.

"No, don't worry. I just fainted because of temporary fatigue. The Originium dust didn't infect me."

After seeing that the others had calmed down, Shirou added a few more explanations.

As for the burning sensation in his lungs at that moment, it was probably due to the mental suggestion he gave himself while surrounded by Originium dust.

It's the same as when he was little, there was a period when he would feel breathless whenever he saw flames.