Chapter 201

"Oh? That's a compliment! It praises your thoughtfulness in handling things, even helping to take care of those around you."

Seeing Shirou's expression, Lappland reacted as if she had discovered a new continent, and she lowered her hands from covering her ears and began a series of explosive attacks.

"..."

Now it's Shirou's turn to walk with his ears covered.

"Oh, don't be shy! Don't you want to hear me praise you again?"

Having seized this only opportunity to torment Shirou, Lappland was naturally not going to let it go.

And so, under someone's relentless verbal barrage, the two of them soon arrived at the office.

When encountering people along the way, Lappland would consciously shut up and wait until no one was around before continuing.

Now that she's inside the office, she naturally quiets down completely, following behind Shirou while looking left and right, taking in the general layout of the office.

Her first impression of this place was not that it was a hospital or clinic, but that it was just an ordinary office.

But after following Shirou to the back, she realized that this was the clinic.

Looking at those huge and obviously sophisticated instruments, Lappland only recognized a small portion of them.

Judging from the scene before her, Lappland felt that the treatment costs here must be quite high, and she wondered how low Shirou meant by "low".

If the other party is a rich person who doesn't care about those Lungmen Dollars at all, then she'll be in big trouble.

Although she has some money, most of it is used to purchase intelligence for her work, and the rest is definitely not enough to treat the bottomless pit of Oripathy.

Just as Lappland was pondering this, Shirou suddenly patted her on the shoulder and said:

"Put your weapons down first, and go with Dr. Minmin for your check-up. I'll stay outside."

Shirou pointed to the two greatswords at Lappland's waist, then to Minmin beside him and said.

"I have a feeling that you're increasingly trying to sell me out, even taking my weapons."

Upon hearing Shirou's words, Lappland made a sarcastic remark.

"You can leave the weapons aside, just don't bring them in."

Ignoring Lappland's complaints, Shirou offered another solution: some of the instruments inside had considerable magnetic force, and if the opponent's sword were attracted to them, that would be terrible.

Shirou, in particular, felt that someone like Lappland, who loved fighting, rarely let her weapon leave her side.

However, to Shirou's surprise, the other party readily handed over the sword.

"Could you hold this for me? It's a bit heavy, and I'm worried it might bump into things here."

She handed the two swords, hilts and all, to Shirou, and then Lappland prepared to change into her medical examination clothes.

"Huh? Oh... okay."

Although he didn't know why the other party had suddenly become so easy to talk to, it was a good thing for Shirou.

Holding two greatswords, Shirou waited outside.

The main reason is that the clothes used for the physical examination are relatively thin. Last time he stayed in them mainly because Ansuo specifically requested it, but this time he doesn't want to stay in them.

Putting aside the fact that last time he was trying to appease Ansuo's emotions, his attention was always focused on how to speak.

This time, he has no way to appease Lappland. He'll probably just be watching Minmin operate inside and passing the boring half hour.

Moreover, he had no interest in watching other people's medical examination process.

On the other side, Lappland inside was quite cooperative, doing whatever Minmin said, and the medical examination went very smoothly.

How did you meet that guy?

During the medical check-up, Lappland would strike up a conversation with Minmin.

"How did you meet? I think it was through a collaboration? I've kind of forgotten. Now, don't say anything, and keep your eyes up!"

Minmin said as she operated the instrument.

Shirou just said that Lappland might be a little difficult to get along with, and told her to be a little careful.

Isn't it quite easy to talk to them?

She speaks pleasantly, is polite, and knows a lot; chatting with her is never boring.

She told a lot of dark jokes, and if she hadn't been keeping her mouth shut, she probably would have gone off.

"Cooperate?"

After waiting for the instrument to finish its check, Lappland stood up and asked.

"Yes, Shirou has taken in and helped many infected children who couldn't survive alone in the Slums! We're cooperating because Shirou asked us to provide the children with regular checkups and treatment."

Because the person was brought by Shirou, and because she had a good feeling about chatting with them, Minmin answered their questions seriously.

"Taking in children... Fuyuki Store?"

Upon hearing Minmin's words, Lappland quickly thought of the Fuyuki Store where Shirou had just been.

When Ansuo went to the kitchen next door, she noticed that there were many children inside.

"Yes, that's it. I really admire him. He contributes both money and effort just to help others."

"... Just out of pure goodwill?"

Hearing Minmin's words, Lappland realized that after these two meetings, she hadn't truly understood the part of Shirou that was supposed to be.

It was a selfless act of kindness, simply hoping that others could live happily.

191 Old Mother

Unaware of her surroundings, Minmin was tricked into revealing many things by Lappland.

Thanks to this, Lappland has gained a general understanding of Rhodes Island and also has a certain understanding of Shirou.

The other party is not Penguin Logistics responsible for delivery, but rather a nanny-like entity.

To put it simply, Shirou is now taking care of Texas's daily life.

She almost died laughing just thinking about it.

There are so many funny parts, such as Texas being taken care of by a male mother, and Shirou actually doing this kind of work.

She was just thinking that Shirou was so talkative, like a mother hen.

I really didn't expect that!

However, despite being a Shirou figure, what Lappland really wanted to extract was information about the other party.

Putting aside the inexplicable goodwill shown by the other party, Lappland was more concerned about the other party's combat strength.

Whether it's sniping people when she sees them or accurately hitting crossbow bolts fired at short range, these are things that ordinary people cannot do.

Given that the opponent's close-combat skills seemed quite good, Lappland became even more concerned.

This is especially true given that the other party is acquainted with Texas.

The focus is still on Texas.

"Hmm... it doesn't look good."

After completing a series of medical examinations for Lappland, Minmin could tell from the still-unorganized data that Lappland's condition was worse than she had anticipated.

The Originium crystals on the other person's thighs looked bad, and their internal condition was even worse.

Of the infected people she has come into contact with in Lungmen so far, Lappland's case is probably the second most serious.

The first one is the Little Ansuo.

"It must be really bad, right? Like, one foot is already buried in the ground."

Upon hearing Minmin's words, Lappland, who had already changed back into her own clothes, knew that the pessimistic outlook she was referring to was her Oripathy.

Honestly, describing it as pessimistic is already quite simplistic; most people would have pronounced her dead just by seeing the Originium crystals on her legs.

"It hasn't reached that point yet, if you're willing to accept treatment properly from now on."

Looking at the data above, compared to other data that Shirou had previously seen, it's only slightly more serious.

"What are you talking about? What disease can't be slowed down or even improved with continuous treatment? Let alone Oripathy like Oripathy. Treatment only prolongs the time before death."

After making a sarcastic remark about Shirou's words, Lappland sheathed her twin swords at her waist.

"..."

Looking at Lappland in front of her, Minmin felt that the other person seemed a little different from how she had been inside.

Lappland seems very aggressive right now?

Or is it simply targeting Shirou?

Hmm... indeed, who wouldn't like Shirou, who can cook and is kind! If he weren't working for Penguin Logistics, she might have started considering poaching him.

Minmin automatically interpreted Lappland's aggression as a sign of goodwill; in simpler terms, it would be considered tsundere (a person who is easily offended or spoiled).

If Shirou knew what she was thinking, he'd probably just roll his eyes.

"That's better than doing nothing, right?"

Having gotten somewhat used to Lappland's sharp tongue, Shirou was able to handle it with ease.

At least the other party spoke quite politely, without constantly using terms like "bastard" or "mongrel."

"Yes, yes, Mom, I've left you my contact information and promised to come for treatment regularly. Can I go now? I still have some work to take care of."

Knowing she couldn't win an argument with Shirou in this regard, Lappland had no intention of continuing the charade. After gathering her belongings, she prepared to leave.

"Pfft... Mom? That suits her perfectly."

Upon hearing Lappland's words, Minmin, who was looking at the medical examination data with some concern, burst out laughing.

"Okay, but if I find out you haven't been coming in for treatment regularly... I'll tell Texas."

Shirou answered Lappland's question with a dark expression, while simultaneously considering what he should do if Lappland didn't come for treatment.

"Oh? That's great."

Hearing Shirou say that, Lappland got excited.

This isn't punishment, it's a reward! Hearing this, she was even considering skipping her next treatment.

She had originally planned to receive treatment because the treatment costs here were quite high; all she needed to do was provide some information about the Slums that she knew.

If necessary, we might ask her to help.

It was a good deal, and it would only benefit her without causing any harm, so she naturally had no reason not to agree.

Shirou's words made her start to consider the possibility of skipping treatment.

"I'll tell Texas I'm never talking to you again."

Seeing the smile on Lappland's face, Shirou added.

Then Lappland's face fell, and she continued:

"Is this how you warn a child? I'll be over next week, don't worry."

His tone was full of disdain for Shirou.

"As long as it works, that's enough."

Seeing Lappland's appearance, Shirou was certain that his warning had been very effective.

He had been thinking for a long time about how to get Lappland to accept treatment willingly.

After much deliberation, Shirou decided that Texas might be a good starting point.

As things stand so far in Lappland, almost everything is related to Texas, so Shirou thought of using Texas to scare them.

It seems to be very effective now.

"Snort!"

Ignoring Shirou's next words, Lappland simply left.

Because she had just received a blocking injection, and the office needed to conduct some research on the treatment, Lappland's next appointment was scheduled for next week.

In other words, if she leaves now, there will be absolutely no problem.