Chapter 244

"The detailed data will be available later, and I'll give it to you along with the comprehensive physical examination results."

Seeing that Amiya seemed quite concerned about Shirou's affairs, Kal'tsit naturally didn't intend to continue following the two of them.

She's very busy, so it's quite remarkable that she can spare this little bit of time.

"There's also a physical exam?"

After enduring an agonizing hour and a half, Shirou really didn't want to hear the word "physical examination" again.

"It's just a physical examination for the operators before they're added to the files. You've done that at Penguin Logistics before. It's just a simple assessment of the operators' combat capabilities so that Rhodes Island can better arrange their missions."

Seeing the look of disgust on Shirou's face, Amiya couldn't help but find it amusing, and offered a brief explanation.

"But before that, I'd like to have a quick talk with Shirou, so Amiya, you can go out now."

Seeing Shirou's current state, Kal'tsit realized there was something she needed to ask Shirou himself first.

However, Amiya needs to be distracted first, since this touches on Amiya painful memories.

"Okay, then I'll wait outside."

Amiya had no doubts about what Dr. Kal'tsit said, and immediately left with the documents and terminal she would need.

They even thoughtfully closed the door.

"..."

Shirou, who had already changed back into his Penguin Logistics uniform, felt somewhat embarrassed as he looked at Dr. Kal'tsit, who was still staring at the data on the terminal.

Why was he being treated with such suspicion?

If it were just ordinary vigilance, it would be fine, but Shirou could sense that the level of danger emanating from the other party was no less than that of others.

At least in the meeting room, when he questioned the other party, the other party emitted a more intense danger signal than when Chen swung a knife at him.

"Relax. As long as you pose no threat to Rhodes Island or Amiya, I won't do anything to you."

Seeing Shirou's current predicament, Kal'tsit said.

At this moment, Shirou doesn't seem like the so-called final line of defense for Penguin Logistics at all; he seems more like an ordinary person.

They might feel awkward over trivial matters, but they'll also join in on silly antics with their friends.

As she herself said, as long as Shirou does not pose a threat to Rhodes Island, Kal'tsit will not push him to the other side.

Putting aside the fact that she herself needed his help, just that brief moment in the conference room made Kal'tsit think that Shirou's level of danger could be rated even higher.

In any case, Rhodes Island doesn't need to confront the other side, since the two sides have many similarities and ideas.

"... Okay, so what do you want to tell me, Dr. Kal'tsit?"

Hearing Kal'tsit's words and the slight goodwill she showed, Shirou had no choice but to suppress his awkwardness and ask her questions.

As I just mentioned, the data doesn't seem to have any major problems... so it shouldn't be a health issue, right?

So what could it be?

Could it be that she doesn't get along with that guy and is taking it out on him?

Although the other party is also Shirou Emiya in a strict sense, Shirou is not going to take on the mess left behind by the other party.

Moreover, he had only seen fragments of the other person's memories before their death, and he had no understanding of what kind of person the other person was.

However, they probably just don't get along.

In short, let's list Archer on the top level for now, since we haven't met each other yet.

Incidentally, at the very bottom are the King of Heroes and that priest.

"Just some questions about Magecraft; it's quite an interesting concept, isn't it?"

Without any unnecessary pleasantries, Kal'tsit got straight to the point.

Magus ... or Wuming called "Magus," none of that matters. What matters is the energy they expend to wield Magecraft.

That is, the so-called magic.

The people on this land do not possess magic, yet Wuming still signed a contract with Amiya and relied on her to move about on this land.

Amiya, who has no magic, uses the Originium produced by Oripathy in her body to keep her alive.

The reason is unknown, but after signing a contract with the other party, the fusion rate of Amiya's somatic cells with Originium did decrease.

It's a reduction, not a slowdown.

According to her original plan, Amiya's Originium fusion rate should have reached 17% or even more, but now it is only in the single Originium.

The only price she paid was a red tattoo on her right hand.

However, the situation on the other side is not so optimistic. In the other party's words, the magic power converted from Originium is impure, meaning it can be used, but it will deplete his Spirit Origin.

Finally, a large number of golden patterns appeared on his body, and then he disappeared as magical photons.

Kal'tsit wanted to ask something very simple: whether Shirou knew that he could convert Originium into magical energy.

If she knew, she would have been obligated to explain the worst-case scenario to the other party.

It would be even better if she didn't know; she would agree with Amiya and the other people in the know to never mention it.

After all, Shirou doesn't need to rely on others to provide magical support to move like Wuming does, and there were no obvious injuries on his body when he was wearing the medical examination clothes.

Therefore, Kal'tsit will only try to find out the other party's opinion from the sidelines this time.

"Magecraft? What aspect do you want to learn about? To be honest, I don't really understand how it works. Compared to the concept of Magus, my dad and I are more like outliers among Magus, using Magecraft only as a tool..."

When Shirou heard that the other party wanted to understand the concept of magic, he felt he could understand.

Having already encountered people like Isv, Shirou is no longer afraid of this type of curious individual.

"Magus, right? I know that. What I want to know is how you acquired your magic here."

Shirou was only halfway through speaking when Kal'tsit interrupted him.

Knowing that Amiya was still waiting for Shirou outside, she didn't want to keep Amiya waiting too long.

"Acquiring magic power? If I remember correctly... it's converting life force into magic power through Magic Circuits?"

I take back what I said. We should still be a little wary of someone like Kal'tsit.

The other person always had a calm demeanor, making Shirou feel like he was facing a teacher at school.

The current scenario is that the teacher is asking him again what he has learned in his daily life.

"Vitality? In other words, sacrificing one's life force in exchange for magic power?"

Upon hearing Shirou's words, Kal'tsit frowned slightly.

If fighting is about sacrificing one's own life, then she needs to reconsider her plans regarding Shirou.

"It's not that serious, you'll recover after a rest."

Seeing the other person's furrowed brows, Shirou quickly added an explanation.

It was just like when the teacher was not satisfied with the answer, and the student quickly added explanations.

Fortunately, the other party was satisfied with this supplementary answer, and their furrowed brows relaxed.

"I think I understand now. So, besides converting your own life force into magic, do you have any other methods to obtain magic?"

Kal'tsit's furrowed brows relaxed as she briefly noted down the details on her terminal before moving on to the main questions of the exchange.

"Other ways? It seems like you can learn from other Magus by establishing connections with them, but I'm not sure about anything else."

After thinking for a moment, Shirou could only think of mana replenishment through bodily fluids, and Rin using some kind of Magecraft ritual.

However, the former is a bit too broad, and Shirou doesn't know whether he can actually extract magic from the people on Terra's side, so he hasn't experimented with it.

After all, drinking someone else's blood feels really weird! Unless absolutely necessary, Shirou really doesn't want to try it.

If it's the latter, then he really doesn't know the principle behind it.

"Contact? Establish a contract?"

Upon hearing this key word, Kal'tsit pressed for more information.

"That's one way to put it, but I don't know how to establish such a ritual."

Shirou nodded and said, without mentioning any other way to obtain magic power.

He was terrified that the other party would make him drink someone else's blood.

After being questioned by Isv, Shirou was extremely cautious in this situation.

"I understand. One last question: has anything strange happened to you in the past?"

Having confirmed that Shirou was not lying, or rather, that he had no intention of lying at all, Kal'tsit made a note of it and then asked her final question.

At the same time, she had already begun to think about how to talk to Amiya.

"Something strange...?"

Faced with this question, Shirou didn't immediately understand what the other person meant.

"The patterns and tattoos... It seems that the Wuming Operator has many golden patterns on his body because of that so-called Spirit Origin issue. Although you are different from him, you are still related. Just to be on the safe side, I'll make a note of it first."

Kal'tsit briefly described how she appropriately used Wuming as a shield.

Sometimes, concealing something doesn't necessarily mean hiding it completely; leading the other party into a different misunderstanding can also be a good way to hide the truth.

"Hmm... patterns? I think I did have them before, but they were very subtle black patterns. They would disappear on their own after a while. So it seems that it is indeed possible to obtain magic power directly from Originium."

After hearing the other party's explanation, Shirou thought about it for a moment.

He remembered this vividly, since Archer had told him afterward that they could draw magic from Originium, but that it was also dangerous.

After that, he would avoid direct contact with Originium, and even the Projection Chixiao was left to gather dust in the room.

If Chen found out, he'd probably just come and chop him up with Chixiao's true form.

"... Have you tried it?"

Upon hearing Shirou's words, Kal'tsit's eyes narrowed slightly, even becoming somewhat dangerous.

How could you not have mentioned something so important?

"That was a little accident that led me to it, but I didn't feel good about it, so I didn't try it again after that."

Archer wasn't mentioned this time, since Shirou really didn't want to continue having one-on-one conversations with him.

The other person's slightly narrowed eyes made him feel incredibly pressured.

I feel like if I reveal Archer's name, they'll definitely keep asking me questions.

What he said was true; he still hadn't had much contact with or studied Originium. After all, Rhodes Island was counting on him to find something out of his blood, and it wouldn't be good if he turned himself into an infected because of his curiosity.

"Then don't try it randomly, Originium is very dangerous."

Kal'tsit narrowed her eyes and stared at the other person, issuing a warning.

"I know that, so please don't worry."

Hearing the warning, Shirou nodded obediently.

"Then I have no more questions. Don't tell anyone else about what we just talked about after we leave."

After the Q&A session, Kal'tsit turned her attention back to her terminal and told Shirou that he could leave.

"...OK."

Seeing the other party suddenly drive the guests away, Shirou felt a sense of relief.

Amiya should have been kept here just now.

Just as Shirou opened the door and saw Amiya standing outside, busy with a terminal, Kal'tsit suddenly called out to him from behind:

"Although it's a bit late to say this now, welcome to Rhodes Island. Let Amiya show you around. I hope you'll like it here."

"I will."

Turning his head, Shirou still saw Dr. Kal'tsit with her back to him, recording data, as if those words hadn't been spoken by her at all.

But Shirou knew very well that it wasn't a hallucination, since Amiya outside was looking at Kal'tsit inside with some surprise.

Out of politeness, Shirou gave a brief reply and then closed the door.