Chapter 225

They even recommended that Shirou take Ansuo to Rhodes Island for a visit.

With that in mind, Shirou was no longer thinking about whether the ship's medical facilities were sufficient, but rather about the approximate size of Rhodes Island.

A super-large land-based hospital ship?

Thinking about it this way, he suddenly became genuinely interested in Rhodes Island.

Let's ask a few people when we get back! Maybe everyone will be interested?

In this cheerful atmosphere, the Rhodes Island squad arrived at the location arranged by Swire.

"Hmm... If we hadn't gotten information out of those people, we really wouldn't have found this place."

Upon arriving at the destination, the first thing to do was to arrange the positions of the personnel, since unlike the previous assault, this time it was about blocking the entrance.

Simply put, the enemy blocked them with explosives just now, and now the Rhodes Island team is blocking them here.

Ace then looked around at the surrounding residences and shared her thoughts.

Although the streets here are not exactly clean and tidy, at least you can see that someone is tidying them up and that people are living here.

The fact that some lights were still on in the nearby houses said a lot.

Who would have thought the other party would choose to conduct the transaction in the sewers of a residential area with so many people?

Fortunately, this is a narrow alley; otherwise, if ordinary people saw a group of people wearing heavy protective gear gathered together, they would probably report it to the Knights of the Round Table.

"Is this what they call 'blind spots under the lamp'? Mr. Ace and Ms. Rhine Lab International, please keep your shields in hand and be alert to the situation at all times. Blaze and Ms. FrostNova, please also be ready to act immediately."

After assigning positions to the people, Amiya began instructing them on what they should do.

Although it is common sense in combat for heavy armor users to always carry their shields and for attackers to be ready to strike at any time, everyone present understood this.

But Amiya did not refrain from issuing instructions simply because everyone should know about it.

In combat, even the slightest negligence can lead to the failure of the entire operation, or even casualties, so we must never let our guard down.

"Mr. Shirou ... could you please keep watch on the surroundings with Voucher and Jessica? If the Knights of the Round Table needs you, just go there directly."

When Shirou was mentioned, Amiya thought for a moment and then did not force him to take on any work.

After all, Swire specifically mentioned this matter when he handed Shirou over to their team.

Although the Knights of the Round Table hopes that Shirou can get a good rest after this operation, they will still call on him if the situation becomes too difficult.

That's why she arranged for Shirou to act alongside the Rhodes Island squad and for the Rhodes Island squad to come up above.

I just hope things don't get to that point.

"Alright, then I'll go upstairs first. Please keep an eye on the surroundings, Miss Jessica and Miss Voucher."

Shirou nodded in acknowledgement of Amiya's instructions and handed over ground reconnaissance to Voucher and Jessica.

The main problem is that we're not familiar with each other, and it's a bit awkward and inconvenient to do things together.

Perhaps it would be better to let him go up to the higher place alone.

"Okay, you can coordinate this with Mr. Scout."

Amiya accepted Shirou's proposal.

Shirou then picked a building nearby and nimbly climbed up.

Since his operation in the Slums, Shirou feels his wall-climbing skills have improved considerably!

Although something just feels a bit off.

"He's a tough guy. He actually climbed up there with his bare hands. Without equipment and a foothold, I would have had to take the stairs."

As Shirou nimbly ascended to the top of the building, the Rhodes Island crew below were all filled with question marks.

Huang even commented on Shirou's behavior.

"No, no, no, this is strange, isn't it? Isn't he from the Knights of the Round Table? Is it really okay for him to be so skilled at climbing walls?"

Hearing Huang's praise, FrostNova retorted.

"Could it be a required course for the Knights of the Round Table?"

Rhine Lab International seriously considered this possibility.

"... Can I hear you?"

Shirou, standing on the rooftop enjoying the breeze, thought to himself, "They can communicate now, do you really think he can't hear me?"

"Oh, sorry, sorry. You continue to keep watch, we'll continue our work here."

Upon hearing the person involved complain, everyone immediately stopped talking.

This is especially true for FrostNova, who received the most criticism.

"Seriously... Scout, can you even see me from your end?"

The other end of the communicator quieted down, but the people below seemed to still be talking. Shirou guessed that they had turned off their microphones.

Well, Scout just recommended guns the whole way, so it's nice to take a break.

But before that, we need to check our positions with the other party.

"I can see you; I'm at the two o'clock position, which you're facing right now."

Scout spoke quite calmly, a stark contrast to his earlier demeanor.

"Two o'clock... I've got it, I see you."

Shirou stretched out his hand and compared it slightly, finding the two o'clock position, and spotted the other person's figure on a building not far away.

"I'm currently in stealth mode... Shirou, are you really not going to reconsider?"

Seeing that Shirou had immediately located him and even reached out to greet him, Scout's salesmanship was reignited.

"Let's talk about it next time; action comes first."

Then Shirou extinguished it.

After the two briefly divided up the reconnaissance area, Shirou's communicator finally went silent.

Standing on the rooftop, Shirou felt a cool breeze.

Meanwhile, the Knights of the Round Table tactical jackets that had been replaced were also being blown around by the strong wind.

"..."

He understood that Chen and the others were concerned about his health, but the feeling of being given special treatment was not pleasant.

But he could understand what the others were worried about, so he was quite cooperative.

Everyone at Rhodes Island was very welcoming, and I didn't feel too uncomfortable.

Even when Scout was enthusiastically promoting the beauty of guns, Shirou actually thought there was a lot of truth to what Scout was saying.

Without considering Magecraft, firearms are indeed quite useful.

Convenient, fast, and sufficiently lethal.

However, once Magecraft was used, the guns became somewhat ineffective.

Moreover... if we're going to Projection, we should be able to Projection some guns based on that memory.

But just as he said at the beginning, firearms were not suitable for his tactics.

However, I heard from Exusiai that some people in Laterano attach short swords to their guns, which gives them an extra option at close range.

Shirou remembers this type of weapon being called... a gunsword? Or a spearblade?

Never mind, it's not important. A single gun isn't enough for tactics, let alone a gunblade.

That thing doesn't look like it's easy to operate.

But... he actually looks pretty handsome?

If practicality is not a concern, Shirou thinks it's still worth considering.

210 was kicked down, so there's no problem!

Let's put the issue of the spear blade aside for now. Shirou doesn't have any reference points to look at, and he doesn't have the magic power to actually use it.

Shifting his attention to the area he was scouting, Shirou quickly got into focus.

With Scout helping with reconnaissance on the other side, Shirou only needs to focus on his own area.

Nothing was different from usual; it was just the Lungmen Slums at night, except that the buildings were a bit shorter and the streets were a bit dirtier and messier compared to Lungmen city. Shirou was already used to all of this.

In fact, Shirou preferred to call it the Lower City District, but most people were used to calling it the Slums, so he just followed the crowd.

He didn't mean to be unconventional; that would only cause communication problems.

It's enough that he remembers it himself.

"Hmm... these people have it tough too."

Shirou noticed the people who were still working at this hour of the night.

Life isn't easy, whether you're in Slums or in Lungmen City.

At least some of the Knights of the Round Table are working overtime here right now.

"Shirou, have you discovered something?"

Upon hearing Shirou's voice, Amiya inquired about the situation.

"Sorry, it's nothing, I was just talking to myself."

When Amiya asked him that question, Shirou realized that he seemed to have spoken his mind, but thankfully he hadn't thought of anything strange.

For example, making sarcastic remarks about things like Hoshiguma, Scout, FrostNova, or Rhine Lab International.

"If you're tired, take a short rest. It's okay. Mr. Scout can handle the investigation work as well."

Thinking of the concerns of the three members of the Knights of the Round Table, Amiya felt it was best not to overwork Shirou.

Honestly, although Shirou seemed fine after withstanding the explosion, he still took the brunt of it. Even Ji, who was far away, could clearly feel the shockwave.

Moreover, the other side had been putting in a lot of effort along the way, so it was inevitable that they would be tired.

"Well... then I'll leave it to you, Scout. I'll take a short rest."

After carefully considering his condition, Shirou decided that taking a break wouldn't be a bad thing.

His mental state has indeed been worse than before. Frequent nightmares and reflections in the mirror have made him quite irritable. Although he has improved a little recently, it still has some impact.

He only accepted the job because there are more staff here now. If it were the old him, he probably would have forced himself to stay focused and keep working.

However, Shirou has decided to follow Amiya's advice and take a break.

However, it's not like they've completely given up; they've just narrowed down the scope of their investigations to reduce the workload.

Shirou could never simply dump all his work on someone else.

With a light tap, he turned off the microphone on the communicator, so Shirou wouldn't have to worry about anyone overhearing him muttering to himself again.

At the same time, he also re-examined his current situation.

His physical condition is pretty good, and his magic power is also okay, but his mental state is a bit lacking.

While you can force yourself to stay focused and continue working, you can't do that in a battle that's still going on for an unknown period of time.

Adequate rest is very important... Who said that again?

Was it Exusiai or Croissant? Or Sora or Texas?

Hmm... it doesn't seem to be either... it seems to be Rin?

If it were someone from Penguin Logistics, they'd probably just tell him to lie down and rest for a day, right?

However, he wasn't sure about that either, as his own memories were still fragmented. Apart from occasionally seeing some images in his dreams, he couldn't remember much else.

Moreover, only the dream about his severed hand was relatively real and clear; the others were quite fragmented.

To my shame, some of them are even unsuitable for children.

Speaking of rest... it seems like he hasn't had a proper rest in a long time.

Even in his spare time, he constantly absorbs information and knowledge from this land, and also hones his Magecraft and physical abilities.

However, this doesn't mean that Shirou dislikes this kind of life. Although it's quite tiring, he also finds it very fulfilling.