Shirou Emiya Stands on Terra — Chapter 34

"I'm Shirou, Penguin Logistics' househusband?"

Not knowing what to say, Shirou felt he should say something anyway, lest the conversation fall flat.

"...Nice to meet you, Shirou. If you have any problems later, you can contact me through this number. Also, please set aside some time tomorrow. The boss and I need to assess your comprehensive medical examination results. Your body should have mostly recovered by now, right?"

Ignoring Shirou's awkward attempt at conversation, Isv got straight to the point.

"Comprehensive medical examination? What's that?"

Shirou understood everything she had said before that, but he was a little unclear on this comprehensive medical examination.

Was it just a simple medical checkup? Then why add "comprehensive"?

"It's simply an assessment of your physical condition and combat capabilities. It helps us better understand what areas you excel in and what weaknesses you should work on."

Isv patiently explained what a comprehensive medical examination was.

"Ohhh..."

Shirou let out an impressed sound.

Mostly because he did not understand it, though he had caught a few key words, like combat capability assessment.

"You'll understand once you get there. I've already sent you the address. Just arrive around ten tomorrow morning."

Isv apparently was not facing this situation for the first time. She directly set a time and place; once they met in person, he would more or less understand.

And even if he did not, it did not matter. As long as the boss understood.

"Oh, okay. Got it."

Though he did not fully understand, Shirou still agreed to her request.

As for the desserts he had promised several people for tomorrow, those would have to be postponed.

"Please get some good rest tonight."

With that, Isv hung up.

Looking at the ended call and the new message, Shirou considered how to arrange things.

Tomorrow's work would definitely have to be postponed, though that was not a big problem. His workload was not very high to begin with.

The problem was that the desserts he had just promised to make tonight would have to be delayed.

"Shirou, who was that? It wasn't those people from the Knights of the Round Table, was it?"

Exusiai, who had been squatting nearby and openly eavesdropping, asked.

She had probably arrived around the time Shirou mentioned the comprehensive medical examination, so she did not know what had been said before that.

"It was Isv. She asked me to make time tomorrow for a comprehensive medical examination."

Shirou pushed away Exusiai, who had leaned a little too close, while looking at the call record with Isv on his phone.

"Ohhh, come to think of it, Shirou, it seems like you'll be going on long-haul runs with us later. Are you planning to be a secondary sniper?"

Only after seeing that it was Isv calling did Exusiai lower her guard. As long as it was not someone from the Knights of the Round Table, anything was fine.

"I'm not sure. We'll see when the time comes?"

Shirou was not set on taking a sniper position. Compared to holding a crossbow or bow, he preferred wielding twin blades.

Still, his role should be fairly flexible. He could attack, defend, fight at close range, and engage from afar. Projection Magic was just that willful.

But honestly, Shirou still was not sure of the overall combat level on this land. After all, Originium Arts existed here as well.

For now, Shirou equated Originium Arts with magic. Those who could use Originium Arts could basically be regarded as mages.

He could only wait until tomorrow, after testing at Isv's place, to see what level they were at. If Penguin Logistics used this kind of testing, then it meant such tests were probably quite common here.

"Hmm... It'd be great if you could become a caster, Shirou. Then we wouldn't have to take detours whenever we run into those guys with big shields."

Exusiai prayed sincerely.

"What's wrong? Exusiai butting heads with shields again?"

Croissant poked her head out. Her favorite thing was watching Exusiai rage helplessly at shields.

After all, she herself carried a shield. Though Exusiai probably, maybe, likely would not spray her with bullets, just watching it made her feel fantastic.

"Ugh... Guys with shields are the worst!"

Exusiai let out a pitiful cry of dealing no damage.

"By the way, Shirou, you're doing a comprehensive medical examination tomorrow?"

Texas poked her head out. Exusiai and Shirou had been talking rather loudly, and they had all been squatting nearby listening, so she had heard everything clearly.

"A comprehensive medical examination... that thing is exhausting."

At the mention of the examination, Croissant remembered that day when, for the test, she had kept swinging a huge hammer until her hands went numb, yet still had to continue.

No, no. Just thinking about it made her hands feel numb again.

"It wasn't that bad, was it? They're all simple tests, like running and stuff."

Exusiai thought back on it. In her memory, she had just run a little, then fired a few rubber bullets from her gun, and it was over.

"Idiot, the boss specifically tested us more in the areas we were good at."

Texas corrected Exusiai. Back then, she had used an Originium light sword to slash apart quite a few things herself.

"Was that so?"

Sora thought about it for a moment. She hadn't seemed all that tired back then either, but since her Originium Arts were related to sound, they were probably harder to test.

"...You're making me nervous."

Watching them all talk at once, Shirou started to feel a little panicked.

It was like a bunch of people who had already finished an exam gathering around to talk about how difficult it had been, while he, the one about to take it, was surrounded by them.

Anyone would be nervous, okay?

"...Don't worry. It's easy."

Croissant patted Shirou on the shoulder to comfort him.

If Shirou remembered correctly, Croissant had been the one saying it was the hardest and most exhausting.

"Forget it. You should all go upstairs and sleep."

Shirou gave up thinking about it. Checking the time, he realized it was already quite late and began urging them upstairs.

"It's already this late? Then we'll head up to sleep. Good night!"

Seeing Shirou hurry them along, they quickly tidied up the game console and the mess they had made before heading upstairs.

Normally, they might have lingered and kept playing for a while, but they had just taken a jab at an exam taker's nerves. To avoid retaliation, it was better to behave and listen.

Time to go.

Isv

"Hmm... Is it this way?"

Holding his phone for navigation, Shirou looked at the building in front of him.

From the faded words and patterns on the old sign, Shirou could tell that the building had once been a bowling alley, though it looked as if it had been abandoned for a long time.

So the question was, why had the address Isv given him brought him here?

Just as Shirou carefully compared the address and wondered whether he had gone to the wrong place, his phone suddenly rang.

"Hello? Isv? Wait a second, okay? I think I came to the wrong place."

Seeing Isv's name on the caller ID, Shirou hurriedly answered, thinking the other party was calling to urge him to hurry up.

"You did not go to the wrong place. Just push open the main door and come in. It is not locked."

Isv's tone was remarkably calm, as though this was not the first time something like this had happened.

"Okay."

After thinking it over, Shirou decided to do as Isv said.

He pushed open the door, and what came into view was a somewhat cluttered... warehouse?

Still, compared to how broken-down and old it looked outside, the interior was at least fairly clean.

"This way."

A voice came from the side. Shirou turned and saw someone in a suit with a... cat head?

No, at first glance, it did look rather like a cat, but on closer inspection, Shirou realized its appearance matched none of the creatures he knew.

Was it wearing a mask?

Before Shirou could think any further, the other person continued.

"This should be our first actual meeting, but time is short, so I will skip the lengthy introductions. Please follow me."

Isv spoke to Shirou and gestured for him to follow.

As he followed the other man over, Shirou noticed a staircase leading underground nearby.

"How much do you generally know about Penguin Logistics' line of work, Shirou?"

As they headed underground, Isv asked Shirou a question.

"A private courier company? An armed transport group?"

Shirou recalled what he had learned from asking the others about Penguin Logistics' work over the past few days.

Since communication between different regions was underdeveloped, the profession of courier had emerged.

A courier was someone who delivered information or specific items to designated locations. It was somewhat like being a postman, except couriers were more likely to encounter danger, since the things they delivered could be valuables or important documents.

Any of those could get a courier killed in the middle of a job.

And encountering Catastrophes along the way was even more commonplace. Such was the vibrant and eventful life of a courier.

"Mm, it seems they explained Penguin Logistics' business to you properly. Compared to ordinary couriers, we transport more goods, and more dangerous ones. Sometimes, we also take on protection jobs."

Since Shirou already had a certain understanding of Penguin Logistics' operations, Isv added a little more information.

"Understood."

Shirou, who had been listening from the side, nodded. Penguin Logistics had mentioned these things before, but Isv explained them more simply and clearly.

As Isv continued her explanation, the two of them arrived at the underground area of the base.

Compared to the chaotic mess upstairs, this place was much more orderly.

Shirou saw quite a few strange facilities and obstacle courses. Remembering the conversation from yesterday, he began to feel a little nervous.

"They're all simple tests. Don't worry too much."

Noticing that Shirou seemed nervous, Isv spoke up.

"What should I do first?"

After adjusting his mindset, Shirou gradually got into the right state.

He set his backpack and coat aside. Seeing the Holy Shroud in his backpack, Shirou thought for a moment before wrapping it around his neck anyway.

Ever since the previous incident, Shirou had kept the Holy Shroud in his backpack.

"Let's start with something simple. Please wear these devices and run a few laps around here."

With Isv's assistance, Shirou had several devices attached to him. They were very light and did not hinder his movements.

Following her instructions, Shirou began to run, naturally without using magecraft.

It took about an hour to finish the tests, which included running, weightlifting, obstacle runs, and the like.

"Phew..."

After completing the series of tests, Shirou did not feel particularly tired. They really were not difficult, merely somewhat tedious.

"Physical strength, battlefield mobility, and physiological endurance are all above standard. Those are quite impressive results."

Sitting before the computer, Isv's hands never stopped moving as she continuously analyzed the relevant data. Shirou's performance so far could be considered exceptionally good.

"Impressive?"