Chapter 212
199 A glass of wine and a nutritious meal
"Hmm... a blocking agent?"
In the Fuyuki Store, Ansuo, who was rarely pulled up by Shirou to ask about serious matters, had entered serious mode, constantly recalling the information in his mind.
The pair of purple rabbit ears on his head kept swaying, making Shirou a little dizzy.
"It doesn't matter if I have no clue, I'll just ask."
Seeing that the other person had been thinking for a long time, Shirou was a little worried that the other person's brain might just overload.
"It's not that we have no clue, but rather that there are too many. The vast majority of infected people in the Slums are already on guard against this. You can see from the fact that there are only a dozen or so victims here that the vast majority of infected people still do not trust this type of blocking agent."
He pricked up his ears, Ansuo sharing the information he currently had, and adding his own thoughts as he went along.
"Can't there be more trust between people?"
Upon hearing Ansuo's words, Shirou felt a headache coming on and made a sarcastic remark.
However, he also knew very well that this was completely impossible.
In his view, even the seemingly peaceful world is actually quite chaotic.
Not to mention the Magus in the other world; even the most heinous criminals there would feel quite kind upon seeing them.
"After all, they are infected. Sometimes even infected people themselves look down on other infected people, let alone others. Also, don't take on all the work from the Knights of the Round Table. Trust Chen and the others more. Although they can be fierce when they scold people, they are very trustworthy people."
In response to Emiya's complaints, Anso shrugged and said helplessly.
At the same time, she also noticed that Shirou seemed to be in a bad state, guessing that he might have worked very late last night.
Although Shirou is always reliable in this regard, there are always areas where he has the will but not the ability.
Of course, she wasn't referring to combat, but to other aspects.
Even if there really were perfect people, everyone only has twenty-four hours in a day!
So just delegate your work and focus on what you do best!
And that's the work philosophy she's embracing while lying here!
"I just gathered some information from various sources; I didn't do anything special..."
Shirou spoke, his tone softened.
He was a little flustered because the Ansuo in front of him was squinting at him.
"Although I've known for a long time that you're this kind of person... never mind, there's no point in talking to you. I'll just talk to Chen and Sir Hoshiguma. You can sit here and mind the shop for now!"
After staring at Shirou for a long time, Ansuo finally sighed.
This isn't the first time Shirou has acted this way, so there's not much to say about it.
Instead of spending time trying to persuade Shirou, it would be faster to find ways to help him in other ways.
"Ah?"
Shirou, looked on with a puzzled expression, and then watched as Ansuo skipped and hopped away from the store to the back.
"..."
The other party just said they would tell Chen or Sir Hoshiguma?
If I remember correctly, the Knights of the Round Table was quite busy this afternoon, and I wonder if she was able to get in touch with her.
Given the current situation, even if Shirou wanted to leave, he couldn't, unless he put up a "closed" sign for the shop, which would make the already poor sales even worse.
Anyway, he doesn't have anything to do until the evening, so it won't hurt to cover for him.
After taking out his phone and turning on the screen, Shirou looked at the phone.
Then he saw the message barrage from Swire, and Shirou realized that he had left in a hurry and had been a little impolite.
Swire and promised to make char siu rice again in a few days; Shirou apology was very sincere.
At least for Swire, it was a very sincere gesture.
This was just a minor incident; for Shirou, there was another message that was more important.
She's from Minmin, which is Rhodes Island.
It seems that they had been aware of this matter for a long time, but since they were unfamiliar with the area and most of them were ordinary medical personnel, they could only persuade the infected to avoid taking those blocking agents.
They were the ones who collected the information about this matter and then reported it to the Knights of the Round Table.
The main problem is a lack of manpower, so they are willing but unable to do it; otherwise, they would have taken matters into their own hands.
But things are different now! Rhodes Island itself has sent personnel over!
Just by looking at the few paragraphs of text above, you can vividly picture Shirou.
This ship... this land vessel is charging towards Lungmen?
That sounds a bit dangerous, doesn't it?
Just as Shirou was considering whether to inform Chen and the others to prepare, a new message arrived on his phone.
"Speaking of which, Amiya and the others will be coming this time. Shirou, do you want to meet them?"
After looking at the message, Shirou thought for a moment and replied:
"It depends. I'm a bit busy here, but if I have time then, it's fine."
He didn't agree immediately, after all, the work of the Knights of the Round Table could be deadly when it got busy.
Even if he's just someone assisting from the sidelines, knowing himself well, if he sees everyone busy, he'll definitely join in too.
Just imagining that scene made Shirou feel a pain in his liver.
"I understand, I understand, thank you for your hard work! We won't be doing any more blood tests for a while, so you can focus on your work! I'm getting busy too, bye-bye!"
Seeing that Minmin suddenly threw out a sticker and left, Shirou wasn't surprised at all.
This kind of situation is quite likely to occur when chatting with medical personnel, or doctors, or police and firefighters, because no one knows when someone or something might suddenly happen.
After sending back a picture of the received message and confirming that there were no other messages, Shirou put his phone away and began to patrol the store.
Organizing inventory, wiping away dust, and tidying up the shop – having something to do makes things less boring.
"..."
Halfway through organizing, Shirou suddenly stopped what he was doing and looked at the display case in front of him.
Through the semi-transparent glass, Shirou could vaguely see his own reflection.
His own reflection would occasionally overlap with the figure in his dream.
After experiencing that dream this morning and shattering a mirror, Shirou now feels a bit uneasy even when he sees his own reflection.
"Don't smash the merchandise."
Turning his head away, Shirou pinched the bridge of his nose, reminding himself not to act impulsively.
That punch might mean all the kids at Fuyuki Store will have to tighten their belts to eat this month.
Fortunately, it wasn't very clear, so Shirou didn't act impulsively.
However, this also made him lose interest in continuing to clean. After a quick clean-up, he returned to his chair and picked up a pen and paper to start writing down what happened that morning.
It wasn't the unsettling reflection, of course, but rather the words Archer had spoken.
What kind of problems will the Originium cause for them, and what kind of line is the other party talking about?
What exactly does that line mean?
"Is there no turning back once you cross that line?"
He drew several circles on it and read Shirou aloud once more.
It's easy to understand literally; various TV shows and movies often use this trope, such as the idea that once your hands are stained with blood, there's no going back.
While he understood, what Shirou didn't understand was what Archer wanted him to avoid.
After much deliberation, Shirou concluded that the only thing that could prompt the other party to offer advice was the point of frequent conflict between the two of them—the part about Hero of Justice.
"... If that's the case, then let's just ignore it."
Unable to come up with a solution Shirou decisively gave up struggling, after all, the other party had been wanting to talk to him about the ideal of being a partner of justice for quite some time.
So just ignore it.
In fact, Shirou had considered the possibility that it might be Originium, but the problem was that, based on his understanding of Originium, once someone became infected, there was absolutely no way for them to return to being a normal person. This was something everyone knew without needing to be reminded.
After thinking for a long time without coming up with a solution, Shirou simply decided to remember it and carry it with him.
I can just take it out and look at it when I suddenly remember it someday.
Maybe he'll suddenly get it?
Putting those thoughts aside, Shirou noticed Ansuo, who had returned sometime earlier than he had imagined.
The other person was lying down asleep, their purple hair appearing even brighter than usual due to the light.
This reminded Shirou of Sakura.
The reason he took such good care of the other person at first was because that purple hair reminded him of Sakura, so he took extra care of him.
That's all. Shirou had no intention of using her as a replacement for Sakura. Not only were their personalities almost completely different, but it would also be quite disrespectful to both Sakura and Ansuo.
"Sleeping like this is not good for your health."
Seeing Ansuo's extremely contorted sleeping position, Shirou sighed and went to the side to take out the recliner he had bought earlier.
He'd often heard the other person complain of back pain, yet they still slept like that—no wonder it hurt!
He carried Ansuo to the recliner, and offered the only fan in the shop to An Suo so he could enjoy the breeze. Shirou took out his phone, opened the song that Texas and Sora had saved for him, and then leaned back in the chair and squinted his eyes.
Fuyuki Store is having a very pleasant day.
Amiya, I heard you're planning to go to Lungmen? Want me with you?
A large black cat was following behind a small... rabbit, asking questions while looking for an opportunity.
"If you're not busy, then of course it's fine! But you can't drink alcohol over there, okay? Last time you bought alcohol in Lungmen and lost the Rosemary, it made Dr. Kal'tsit very angry."
"Dr. Kal'tsit said that if she catches you buying alcohol under the guise of work, she'll hang you on the bow of the ship to get some fresh air and sober up, okay?"
Amiya, who was walking in front, had a terminal under her right arm and a stack of documents in her left. After hearing Huang's question, she agreed to his request, but only made a few small conditions.
"Uh... but the brands I like are only in Lungmen!"
Upon hearing Amiya's words, Huang immediately deflated.
The black cat ears and tail drooped down visibly, making it look really depressed.
"Well... even if you say that, there's nothing I can do. Drinking is bad for your health, you know. But I can offer a compromise."
Hearing the other person's dejected tone and low spirits, Amiya hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"I knew you were the best to me, little bunny! What's the compromise you came up with?"
The dejected expression on his face disappeared, replaced by a bright smile. Huang stepped forward and hugged Amiya tightly, asking her questions.
"Drinking alcohol is bad for your health! So you'll have a glass of wine and then eat a healthy meal at Phoebe to replenish your body?"
Amiya remained unmoved by Huang's hugging offensive, even habitually holding onto everything in her hands to prevent it from falling.
He then proposed a compromise solution that he had just come up with.
"Gurgle... Where did my cute little bunny go! The Amiya I know would never say such cruel things with such an innocent smile! Who are you?!"
Huang felt like he was on a roller coaster, his mood fluctuating wildly.
Where is her innocent and adorable little bunny? How could Amiya come up with such a terrible idea?
A glass of wine and a nutritious meal?
Thanks for the invitation, she chose to quit drinking!
"This is for your health's sake, otherwise drinking all the time won't be good for your treatment."
Amiya knew that her suggestion was rather... unpleasant, but that was only because she was quite familiar with Blaze.
This was also a way of getting revenge for the other person constantly causing trouble during the last video recording.