Chapter 249

Why is it a question?

Amiya was puzzled by what Shirou said.

If she's the older sister, just say so! Why use a question?

"The reason is a bit complicated... I don't have any memory of that."

Shirou could only give a forced laugh in response to this question.

After all, he himself had no memory of this, and he only learned about their relationship from the memories of other Shirou Emiya.

Illya is Kiritsugu's daughter, and also his adoptive sister.

He appeared as the Master of Berserker in the Fifth Holy Grail War.

Although the first few meetings were not particularly pleasant, and even caused some stomach aches, it was really hard to blame the other person after understanding their motives.

After all, strictly speaking, they were both victims of the Holy Grail War.

"Is that so?"

Seeing Shirou's forced smile, Amiya didn't press the matter further.

When Illya was mentioned, the other person's emotions had completely calmed down. She deliberately chatted with the other person just to make the other person forget what nightmare she had just had.

That Illya ... must be a very important person to Shirou, right?

Otherwise, the other person wouldn't have shown such a gentle expression when mentioning them, right?

That's so nice... having brothers and sisters.

On the other hand, Shirou didn't seem to realize Amiya's intention in striking up a conversation with him, nor did he notice that his mood seemed to calm down when Illya was mentioned.

He was still figuring out what to say if Amiya continued to press him.

After all, his relationship with Illya was rather complicated.

Fortunately, the other party did not intend to ask any further questions, which relieved Shirou.

Seeing that the other person had picked up the terminal and started working again, Shirou also turned his attention to the white Feline lying on his lap.

Judging from the back view alone, it's easy to mistake someone for another person based on their body shape and hair. But adding cat ears and a tail makes it easy to identify who they are.

He didn't know why the other person trusted him so much, always showing him such a vulnerable side.

He carefully shifted Rosemary's position to make her more comfortable. Shirou wasn't in the mood for a nap anyway, so he decided to let Rosemary sleep more comfortably.

"I am indeed a bit tired... I should go back to my room and sleep."

Just as Shirou was serving as a dutiful pillow, he vaguely heard a somewhat familiar voice.

The kind that sounds very familiar.

"Saber?"

He looked up and around, but Shirou didn't see the familiar golden figure.

There were only operators coming and going and doctors in white coats.

"Hmm...?"

Rosemary, who was resting her head on Shirou's lap, was awakened by Shirou's sudden movement.

Not only Rosemary, but even Amiya, who was standing next to her, looked at Shirou with some confusion.

"Excuse me... Amiya, do you have any Rhodes Island operators named Saber? A female knight with blonde hair."

After calming Rosemary down a bit, who had been startled awake, Shirou asked Amiya a question.

The reason he didn't rush out to search was twofold: firstly, he himself wasn't sure where the sound was coming from, and secondly, he could directly ask Amiya, the leader of Rhodes Island, for help.

Having received training from Isv, Shirou would naturally not choose the option that would be thankless and exhausting.

"Saber? A blonde female knight? Hmm... I don't know the former, but the latter... Shirou, do you know Nearl?"

Although she didn't know why Shirou would suddenly ask these questions, Amiya still answered them seriously.

For some reason, Shirou seemed quite anxious.

"Nearl...? Is her real name Artoria?"

Upon hearing this unfamiliar name, Shirou's glimmer of hope was instantly extinguished.

Perhaps he's just too tired, which is why he's hallucinating?

Just now, I accidentally mistook Rosemary for Illya.

However, Shirou still asked Amiya a question with a glimmer of hope.

What if? What if he wasn't hallucinating?

With even the slightest possibility in front of him, Shirou was unwilling to let it slip by.

He wouldn't be satisfied until Amiya completely shattered his expectations.

"Miss Nearl's name is Margaret Nearl! Here is her picture."

Sensing that this matter seemed very important to Shirou, Amiya specifically found a photo of Nearl to confirm with him.

"Ah... it's not her."

Upon seeing the photo again, Shirou was certain that this was not the person he was looking for.

After all, Saber doesn't have ears on her head, only a single ahoge (cowlick).

"Artoria, Saber, I don't recognize these names."

Sensing Shirou's disappointment, Amiya's mood inevitably soured as well, and she quickly picked up her terminal to begin searching.

Unfortunately, while there are indeed people on Rhodes Island with similar-sounding names, none of them are the person Shirou is looking for.

"It's okay, I must have just misheard."

Seeing how seriously Amiya was helping him search because of something he had said, Shirou felt a little embarrassed.

"It's alright. Rhodes Island often helps find people. I'll write down their names and characteristics, and I'll notify you, Shirou, as soon as I find anything."

Unlike Shirou, who seemed a little embarrassed, Amiya didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.

Even without using Originium Arts, Shirou's excitement in forgetting about Rosemary just now was enough to prove how important Saber was to Shirou.

Given that she didn't have many clues at the moment, Amiya was too embarrassed to press the other party for more information.

"Thank you so much..."

Upon hearing Amiya's words, Shirou paused for a moment before replying.

He helped so earnestly because of my own wild guess, and I can't say anything but thank him.

After calming Rosemary down a bit, who had been startled awake, Shirou's emotions also subsided somewhat.

Although the possibility of her being Saber is very low... Shirou still holds a slight hope.

Moreover, he wasn't in a hurry to find the other party right now, since he could go into the kitchen to cook tomorrow afternoon...

If it were Saber, whom he knew, perhaps she would come drawn by the scent?

Even if the possibility is low, it gives Shirou a reason to get serious tomorrow.

And Amiya has gone to such lengths to help me, there's no reason she'd only make me a Drunken Fowlbeast Soup, is there?

Since the other party has such high expectations for his skills, let him reciprocate those expectations!

2/20 Leave of Absence Due to Cold

Um... I'm sorry, but I suddenly caught a cold and had a fever, and there's nothing I can do about it.

Let me tell you about my situation today. I went to bed at 4 a. m. yesterday and woke up at 6 a. m. in a fright because I dreamed that I was being chased.

Then I went back to sleep, only to find out that the person pursuing me was a woman, and I wanted to pursue her back, but when I found out it was my mom, I was so scared that I woke up a second time.

After that, everything went smoothly. I only dreamt that I was sitting in front of the computer, unable to write anything, and I was so sad that I cried. When I woke up, I found it was already five o'clock.

My muscles are sore, but my throat is fine, and my fever has subsided.

My head starts hurting again after sitting for a while, so I guess I'll have to go to bed early tonight.

Hopefully things will return to normal tomorrow.

229 night view

After the physical examination was over, since it was quite late, Amiya told everyone to go and rest.

They said that these detailed reports would be given to the group tomorrow, and that some explanations would be provided.

"..."

At this moment, Shirou looked at the room provided by Rhodes Island and felt nothing but exhaustion.

Fortunately, Lappland didn't say anything after seeing that her room had been changed; instead, she obediently returned to her own room.

This saved Shirou a lot of trouble, as he had originally prepared for a major battle.

After a quick wash and changing into the new clothes provided by Rhodes Island, Shirou looked at the bed in the room and couldn't fall asleep at all.

He felt like he could see those scenes he didn't want to see if he closed his eyes.

"Let's go out for a bit... If I remember correctly, Huang mentioned that the view from the deck at night is quite nice."

Shirou quickly made his decision, put on his Penguin Logistics jacket, and went out of the room to get some fresh air.

I also glanced around and saw that everyone else's rooms were all tightly shut, without a single sound. I guessed that everyone must be quite exhausted.

That's understandable; so much happened that afternoon, especially for him.

The staff at Penguin Logistics seemed to have noticed that he wasn't feeling well, which is why they didn't immediately follow up and ask him the questions they were curious about.

In such a place, these people are surprisingly perceptive.

That's fine, Shirou doesn't really want to think about the Holy Grail War right now.

But what needs to be faced still needs to be faced...

That guy... or should I say Wuming? Or maybe the black Archer?

Let's just call him Wuming, that way it won't be easily confused with another person.

Although he had never met the other person, based on the several shocking memories the other person had given him, Shirou knew that he and the other person would definitely not get along.

The main problem is that he can't accept the other party's way of handling things.

But thinking about it carefully, the other person is also Shirou Emiya, does that mean that he will one day also suffer the same fate?

"..."

The thought of this possibility made Shirou feel a little uneasy.

Following the directions from the busy operators along the way, Shirou quickly arrived at the deck of Rhodes Island.

The area above is very open, and because it's situated in the desert, the night view is completely different from that of Lungmen.

If Lungmen's night view is a dazzling array of neon lights, then Rhodes Island's night view here has a very reassuring feel.

If there weren't two moons in the sky, Shirou would even feel as if he had returned to Fuyuki City, where he often looked at the stars at Fuyuki City with Kiritsugu.

"Shirou? What are you doing here?"

Just as Shirou was enjoying the night view, a voice came from behind him.

"Oh? It's Dr. Kal'tsit? I couldn't sleep, so I came up to get some fresh air."

After seeing the other person's face clearly, Shirou felt somewhat embarrassed.

He mainly struggles to deal with this type of person... but the awkwardness quickly disappeared.

"That is...?"

Seeing the huge black crystalline creature behind Dr. Kal'tsit, it seemed that the crystalline creature was carrying a person on its hand.

Seeing this scene, no one would feel embarrassed; they would only start thinking about how to escape.

However, Shirou wasn't thinking about whether to escape, but rather whether to make the first move.