After the medical examination ended, it was already rather late, so Amiya had everyone go rest first.
She said that the detailed reports would be given to them tomorrow, along with some explanations.
"..."
At this moment, as Shirou looked at the room Rhodes Island had provided, he felt nothing besides physical and mental exhaustion.
Fortunately, after seeing that the room arrangements had been changed, Lappland did not say anything. Instead, she returned to her own room unusually obediently.
That spared Shirou a great deal of trouble. He had originally been prepared for a major confrontation.
After taking a simple shower and changing into the new clothes Rhodes Island had provided, Shirou looked at the bed in the room, yet he did not feel the slightest bit sleepy.
It felt as though the moment he closed his eyes, he would see those scenes he did not want to see.
"I should go out for a while... If I remember correctly, Blaze said the scenery on the deck at night was quite nice."
Shirou quickly made up his mind. He put on Penguin Logistics' jacket and left the room, preparing to go outside and get some fresh air.
At the same time, he noticed that the other rooms were tightly shut, without even the slightest bit of noise coming from them. Everyone was probably completely exhausted as well.
That was understandable. Too many things had happened that afternoon, especially for him.
The people from Penguin Logistics also seemed to have noticed that he was not in a good state, which was why they had not immediately chased after him to ask about all the things they were curious about.
In moments like this, their consideration was surprisingly delicate.
That was good too. Shirou did not particularly want to think back on matters related to the Holy Grail War right now.
Still, what had to be faced would eventually have to be faced...
That guy... or perhaps he should say Nameless? Or the black Archer?
Better to call him Nameless. That way it would not get mixed up with the other person.
Although he had never met him before, just from the few shocking memories the other man had shown him, Shirou knew they probably would not get along.
The main issue was that he simply could not accept the other man's methods of handling things.
But thinking about it carefully, that person was also Emiya Shirou. Did that mean he himself would one day walk toward the same miserable end?
"..."
Thinking of that possibility made Shirou feel a painful heaviness in his chest.
After asking the busy operators along the way for directions, Shirou quickly arrived at Rhodes Island's deck.
It was very spacious, and because Rhodes Island was parked in the wasteland, the night scenery was completely different from Lungmen's.
If Lungmen's nightscape was a dazzling display of neon lights, then Rhodes Island's night scenery carried an extremely calming feeling.
If not for the two moons hanging in the sky, Shirou might even have felt as though he had returned to Fuyuki City. Back then, he had often watched the stars over Fuyuki at night together with Kiritsugu.
"Shirou? What are you doing here?"
Just as Shirou was immersing himself in the night scenery, a voice came from behind him.
"Ah? Doctor Kal'tsit? I could not really sleep, so I came up to get some air."
After seeing who it was, Shirou felt somewhat awkward.
Mainly because he was not very good at dealing with people like her... though that awkwardness quickly vanished.
"That is...?"
Looking behind Doctor Kal'tsit, he saw a gigantic black crystalline creature. It even seemed to be carrying a person in its hand.
Seeing a scene like that, anyone else would stop feeling awkward immediately and start thinking about how to escape with their life.
However, what Shirou was thinking about was not whether he should run, but whether he should attack first.
After all, he could sense an extremely dangerous aura coming from that crystalline creature, and it was carrying a person as well... no matter how he looked at it, something felt wrong.
But Kal'tsit's next sentence dispelled Shirou's thoughts about taking action.
"Mon3tr, hang her up there."
Following Kal'tsit's order, the black crystalline creature or rather Mon3tr immediately hung the person it was carrying up above.
Shirou could even see the person's body swaying continuously in midair from struggling.
Do the people at Rhodes Island really play this wildly?
After Mon3tr finished carrying out Kal'tsit's instructions, it sank into the space behind her and completely disappeared.
"Um... why did you hang someone up there?"
Watching everything unfold before him, Shirou did not even know where to begin criticizing it.
For now, he decided to start by asking why Kal'tsit had hung someone up there. Questions had to be dealt with one at a time.
"It is nothing... no, actually, you do have the right to know. That person secretly kept part of your blood samples and planned to use them for some other meaningless research. She was reported by someone, so I had her come up to the deck to cool her head a little. You should also be more careful in the future."
Originally, Kal'tsit had not planned to tell Shirou about this, since it counted as a scandal within Rhodes Island's medical department. But considering Shirou was the original owner of those blood samples, she figured there was no harm in informing him.
At the same time, she needed Shirou to understand that he should stay away from the person hanging up there and avoid getting dragged onto her operating table.
She did not want the cooperative partner she had spent so much effort finding to end up getting scared away.
"So that is what happened. I will be careful."
Hearing Kal'tsit's explanation, Shirou's mouth twitched slightly.
Were all Rhodes Island operators like this?
First there was Blaze, who secretly brought alcohol and then forgot about it herself, and now there was a doctor who stole blood samples and ended up tied up and hanging from the deck.
And from the sound of it, being hung up there was apparently not something that lasted only a day or two...
"...Your personality really is quite different from Operator Nameless. I remember that when he dealt with Warfarin, his attitude was nowhere near as polite as yours."
After checking the time and confirming that there were no urgent arrangements afterward, Kal'tsit felt that spending some time chatting with Shirou would not be a bad idea.
Warfarin only needed to hang up there for one or two hours. The medical department was currently short-handed, so Kal'tsit naturally would not leave her hanging there for too long.
As for what to talk to Shirou about... she already had a rough idea.
After all, just the slight connection between him and Operator Nameless was enough for Amiya to trust him.
Moreover, after the Doctor and Theresa had left, the one who had remained by their side the entire time was Nameless.
Come to think of it, it really was strange. The first time she met Nameless happened to be when she was trying to find Warfarin and bring her aboard Rhodes Island.
And now Warfarin herself was hanging up there.
"Well, we are different people after all. It is normal for us to be different."
Shirou had no intention of saying too much to Kal'tsit. First, they were not familiar with each other, and second, he was not good at dealing with people like her.
It felt as though he was being completely controlled by her pace... and that feeling really was not pleasant at all.
It was only because she represented Rhodes Island, an organization that helped the infected, that Shirou was willing to patiently continue the conversation.
"I already told you. I know far more than you imagine. During the two years Operator Nameless spent in Rhodes Island, I collected quite a bit of information."
Seeing that Shirou did not seem willing to say more, Kal'tsit decided to reveal some information herself.
Whether he truly did not know or was merely pretending not to know was another matter.
"Doctor Kal'tsit, what exactly do you mean by that?"
Kal'tsit's cryptic words left Shirou utterly confused.
Did everyone on this land have to speak in riddles like this? Could they not just say things in a way ordinary people could understand?
"...What I mean is that those so-called Heroic Spirits and Servants have no concept of time, correct? People with similar appearances and abilities, who also came from another world. Once you possess certain information and encounter this many coincidences, it becomes difficult not to recognize the truth."
Seeing that Shirou genuinely had not understood her meaning, Kal'tsit did not show any impatience and instead went straight to the point.
One or two similarities could be called coincidence, but when there were three or four similarities, it naturally became suspicious.
Combined with the information she personally possessed, she was already certain that the two of them were the same person.
Especially after seeing Shirou react so intensely to the so-called magical crystal Nameless had left behind, her certainty only deepened.
"Ahaha... that guy, Nameless, really talked a lot, huh?"
After hearing Kal'tsit's explanation, Shirou finally realized that she already knew almost everything.
The Throne of Heroes, Servants, the Holy Grail War, magecraft...
She basically knew nearly everything that he himself knew, so there was not really much left for him to say, was there?
Still... why was Doctor Kal'tsit so concerned about these matters?
Could she be the same type of person as Yith? The sort who would become unbearably restless without special information in hand.
"You are definitely wondering why I want to gather information related to your world, correct?"
As she watched Shirou's awkward expression gradually turn thoughtful, Kal'tsit could roughly guess what he was thinking.
Once you interacted with enough people, it naturally became easier to read them, especially since Shirou was not particularly trying to hide his emotions.
"Ah... yeah, I really was wondering that."
Having his thoughts seen through, Shirou awkwardly scratched his cheek and took two steps backward, wondering whether he should come up with an excuse to leave.
This constant feeling of being seen through really was not pleasant...
But at the same time, it felt as though the upcoming conversation would be extremely important.
As Shirou remained caught in this dilemma, Kal'tsit's next sentence immediately drew him back.
"The reason is simple. Nothing happens without cause. Whether it is your arrival, Shirou, or Nameless's arrival, both of you are bound to bring some degree of impact to Terra, or perhaps to this land as a whole. I am merely preparing for the worst-case scenario."
Kal'tsit had no intention of hiding this either, because there were likely many things that only a magus like Shirou could sense.
When it came to magecraft, her own understanding was ultimately still too limited.
"Impact... are you referring to the Holy Grail?"
Hearing Kal'tsit's words, Shirou stopped retreating.
Compared to the things she mentioned, Shirou also knew of another person's arrival.
That was Archer.
Archer, Nameless, and himself... what exactly did all of this signify?
As for what Kal'tsit feared, Shirou could roughly guess it.
The Holy Grail War. That cursed Holy Grail.
If his arrival in this world truly was connected to the Holy Grail, then Kal'tsit really had been thinking far ahead. The moment she learned of the unknown and entirely new concept of magecraft, she had already begun organizing related intelligence and preparing ways to resist it.
He had to admit that her sense of crisis awareness was genuinely maxed out.
"That is naturally one part of it. But more importantly, it is the existence of those so-called Servants. If every one of them possesses strength on the level of Operator Nameless, then it would undoubtedly become a disaster for this land."
Seeing that Shirou was finally willing to calmly speak with her, Kal'tsit quietly sighed in relief.
To be honest, when she noticed Shirou taking several steps backward earlier, she had been somewhat speechless.
However, considering that her image in Shirou's mind did not seem particularly friendly to begin with, and that she had just analyzed his expression moments ago, such a reaction was understandable.
"Servants... yeah, that really would be troublesome."
After hearing that Kal'tsit's true concern was the Servants, Shirou felt that her worries were not unreasonable at all.
The destructive power of Servants really was somewhat excessive for this world.
Moreover, a large portion of the Servants from the Fifth Holy Grail War were problem children...
Among the Three Knight Classes, Saber, Lancer, and Archer were relatively manageable. As for the Four Cavalry Classes, Rider was probably the only comparatively normal one.
Of course, that was only Shirou's judgment based on incomplete information. If Servants truly did arrive here, then aside from Saber and Archer, he would not trust any of the others.
After all, he and Lancer had once shared a rather literal heart-to-heart relationship.
As for Rider, peaceful coexistence had mostly only been possible because of Sakura's presence.
There was even less chance of Shirou trusting the others.
"And so, the reason Rhodes Island approached you, Shirou, and actively sought cooperation with you is actually quite simple. Based on the information Rhodes Island gathered, while we could not determine exactly what kind of person you are, at the very least your way of thinking and your ideals align with Rhodes Island's."
After saying that, Kal'tsit paused briefly before continuing:
"Because this land can hardly endure any more new shocks."
Just as she herself had said, she knew far more than Shirou or anyone else. What the people of this land had to face was not only Oripathy and catastrophes, but also countless other hidden dangers.
"...I understand."
Listening to her words, Shirou only felt his mouth grow dry.
What Kal'tsit said could not really be called alarmist either, because she had her own concerns.
What Shirou had not expected, however, was that she would choose to explain things to him so directly.
But now that the conversation had reached this point, he naturally understood what she meant.
Kal'tsit simply hoped that if similar problems arose again in the future, he would step forward and help resolve them.
That was all.