At present, Rhodes Island's situation was fairly good, which was why they could afford to remain outside and be ready to provide assistance the moment the Catastrophe passed.
The Catastrophe was unavoidable. Rhodes Island had no way to make Chernobog leave the area covered by the disaster, so the most important thing was minimizing losses after it struck.
The operators who had already returned would report the situation here to Kal'tsit and have her arrange for additional personnel to come over.
"Doctor, please get some rest first. You have been busy nonstop ever since you woke up..."
Through the communicator, Shirou heard Amiya urging the Doctor to take a break.
"I am just looking at the data. Is that not allowed? You want me to lie down and rest? Who could possibly stay lying down in a situation like this?"
However, the Doctor clearly could not sit still.
"Then at least eat something first! Before we left, I specifically asked Miss Hibiscus to prepare a nutritious meal for you! Make sure to focus on eating while you eat, okay? I am taking PRTS and the communicator for now."
Faced with the Doctor's firm refusal, Amiya chose a different approach. She decided to have the Doctor replenish some nutrition and calories through a meal while also getting a little rest.
"Eh... that works."
After weighing the two options, the Doctor accepted the proposal.
What she did not know was what she was about to face, nor that she had already missed the only opportunity Amiya would give her to rest.
Shirou: "..."
He had a feeling that meal was going to take an exceptionally long time to finish.
Then again, it was not really his concern.
"This is Amiya. Shirou, how are things on your side? Are you going back to the camp to wait for the Catastrophe to pass?"
After taking over the Doctor's PRTS and communicator, Amiya asked about Shirou's next plans.
"...I will probably stay in the city. The situation inside looks quite bad, and it seems that most people still do not know the Catastrophe is approaching."
After thinking for a moment, Shirou reached a decision.
Now that communication had been established, there was no longer any need for him to personally find everyone, report in, and reassure them that he was safe.
Although it was somewhat reckless, Shirou could already imagine how the members of Penguin Logistics would deal with him after he got back.
Even so, he still wanted to do it.
Standing atop a building and looking out over the noisy city, Shirou thought to himself.
However, he made sure to say it quietly so that nobody else would hear.
"I understand... Oh, right! Some members of Reunion came to our camp seeking help."
After hearing Shirou's decision, Amiya expressed her understanding.
She could understand Shirou's way of thinking. In some respects, he was even more proactive than most people in Rhodes Island.
That conclusion came from questionnaires, reports, and her everyday observations.
She had witnessed it firsthand as well.
After all, she was the first person whose Oripathy Shirou had treated.
Though, thinking back on the treatment process was still a little embarrassing, so Amiya quickly changed the subject.
"Reunion... Were they wearing red armbands on their arms?"
The moment he heard those four words, Shirou felt a headache coming on.
Still, he quickly adjusted his state of mind and asked Amiya for details.
At the same time, he clenched his fist slightly to gauge the condition of his body.
After resting for a while, he could feel that both his stamina and magical energy had recovered somewhat.
"Yes. It was an Elafia woman and two children... The Elafia woman's name is Alina. She is one of Reunion's members."
Amiya briefly described the appearance of the three visitors.
Aside from Alina introducing herself, the other two had remained silent the entire time. In particular, the white-haired Liberi child had hidden behind the black-haired Feline child from beginning to end.
"Ah! Also, Miss Exusiai looked extremely surprised when she saw Alina, which is why we decided to make contact with her."
"...We have met once before. Honestly, I still do not really understand what is happening inside Reunion right now, but if it is Alina... she can be trusted."
Listening to Amiya's explanation, Shirou finally understood why he had heard Exusiai's cry of despair earlier.
After all, Alina was one of the few people bold enough to start trying to recruit him right in front of everyone. It was only natural for the others to be wary.
If there was someone in all of Reunion whom Shirou trusted the most, it would probably be Alina.
After all, he had felt a sense of familiarity from their very first meeting.
"It sounds like you trust her a great deal, Shirou. I am a little surprised. Still, I think she feels very approachable too... When I get close to Miss Alina, the Originium crystals on my body seem to be drawn toward her. It feels just like when I first met you."
Amiya was surprised by how much Shirou trusted Alina, but she quickly found herself agreeing with him.
Being around Alina gave off an incredibly comfortable feeling, and Amiya could tell that the woman harbored no malice whatsoever. She was an exceptionally pure-hearted person.
The only strange thing was that the Originium crystals on her body seemed to be attracted toward Alina, which left Amiya feeling rather puzzled.
"From a certain point of view, the two of you are quite fated."
The moment he heard Amiya's words, Shirou immediately understood what was going on.
Although he had suspected it for some time, only now could he be certain.
Alina also carried a mana crystal. It had been left behind by Archer.
No wonder he had felt such a strong sense of familiarity with her when they first met.
...No, that was not right. It was because she was Alina that she felt especially approachable. As for admitting that he found Archer especially approachable, he would have to politely decline.
"Huh? Why does it feel like the way you speak is becoming more and more like Dr. Kal'tsit's? Anyway, let us put that topic aside for now. I need to tell you about a request from Miss Alina."
After briefly complaining that Shirou had started saying things she could not understand, Amiya got straight to the point.
"Miss Alina hopes that we can provide some medical assistance and help treat people who were injured fighting against the rioting Reunion members, as well as ordinary civilians."
"You agreed?"
Hearing this, Shirou asked.
Though he phrased it as a question, he was already certain of the answer. Given Amiya's and Rhodes Island's long-standing principles, there was no way they would refuse Alina's request.
"Yes. But even if Miss Alina had not asked, Rhodes Island would have started rescue operations anyway. The only issue is that there are not many medical operators left here at the moment, so we still need to wait for the landship to send more personnel."
Amiya spoke in an extremely serious tone, as though she were carefully explaining the current situation to Shirou.
At that point, Shirou found it a little strange.
After all, Amiya did not actually need to explain everything to him in such detail.
"And now, with the Catastrophe approaching, I would like to personally assign you a special mission. Shirou, I want you to help the Infected and ordinary civilians throughout Chernobog. Right now, you are the only person who can do this."
"..."
Now Shirou understood.
Amiya was turning what would have been his own reckless independent action into an official Rhodes Island assignment.
That way, if the members of Penguin Logistics questioned him later, he could simply use a Rhodes Island mission as an excuse.
Not bad.
As expected of Amiya.
"Understood. I accept this mission."
Standing atop the rooftop, Shirou let out a light laugh before responding.
After all, it was what he had intended to do from the beginning.
"Good. Let me go over a few things you should keep in mind..."
Even through the communicator, Amiya could clearly sense that Shirou was in an exceptionally good mood.
This assignment had been issued after her own assessment and consideration of the wishes of the person involved.
There was probably no one in all of Rhodes Island better suited for the task than Shirou.
After all, facing a Catastrophe meant facing Originium directly, and the chances of becoming Infected would skyrocket.
Shirou did not have that concern.
However, the destruction caused by the Catastrophe could still injure him, so Amiya made a point of emphasizing several precautions.
Based on the current situation, the Catastrophe would most likely take the form of a storm, blizzard, or some other type of disaster descending from above.
For disasters like these, as long as people could find suitable underground shelter, their chances of survival were quite good.
Transporting people out of the city was highly unrealistic.
Finding safe shelters within the city for people to hide in, however, was much more feasible.
"So basically, whenever I find people, I just need to bring them into a suitable building and make sure they stay sheltered, right? I will leave a sword on the rooftop as a marker. That will make it easier to locate people afterward."
Shirou quickly understood Amiya's explanation.
After all, finding shelter in dangerous situations was simply human instinct.
The only issue was that locating everyone afterward might become troublesome, so he proposed leaving markers behind.
That way, rescue efforts after the Catastrophe would be much easier.
"No problem. Let's keep the communication line open. Once the Catastrophe arrives, the communication channels may be disrupted, so please keep that in mind."
Amiya thought Shirou's suggestion was an excellent one.
When conditions allowed, leaving markers was something that should be done in the first place.
It would greatly reduce the burden on rescue personnel, save valuable time, and allow that time to be spent helping others who needed it more.
"Understood."
After hanging the communicator by his ear, Shirou broke into a run.
He was beginning to understand why Blaze spoiled the little bunny so much.
Setting aside the possibility that Blaze simply liked children, Amiya genuinely took care of everyone around her.
Perhaps that had something to do with her Arts.
Still, Shirou felt the larger reason was that Amiya had taken on the immense responsibility of leading Rhodes Island at such a young age, forcing her to mature far earlier than most people.
She did have moments where she acted like a child.
But those moments were only occasional.
Was that why Blaze doted so much on both Amiya and Rosmontis?
Though admittedly, her methods were rather rough and often caused the two of them considerable trouble.
That carefree and straightforward personality felt strangely familiar...
Why did it seem like he had experienced it before?
Ah.
Fuji-nee.
That explained everything.
For a moment, Shirou quietly reflected on Amiya's thoughtfulness and Blaze's unreliability.
However, the instant he spotted signs of people nearby, he immediately shifted into action.
"I have found traces of people over here... I am going to check it out first."
This time, Shirou remembered that he had a communicator.
Before taking action, he reported what he was about to do.
At the same time, he reminded himself that he was carrying a communicator, lest he accidentally break the thing again.
"Understood. Remember to stay safe."
The voice that came from the other end of the communicator belonged to Sora.
That made sense. Amiya and the Doctor were probably extremely busy right now. The ones with relatively little to do were likely the members of Penguin Logistics.
Rhodes Island could not really assign rescue-related tasks to them, either.
After all, when it came to first aid and bandaging, Shirou was probably better than most of them.
Sora did not put any pressure on him. She treated it as nothing more than an ordinary operation.
Of course, it would have been even better if the operation area was not currently brewing a Catastrophe and an Infected uprising.
"Do not worry. I will be fine."
With empty hands, Shirou moved swiftly across the rooftops, making his way toward the place where he had spotted people earlier.
The reason he was not carrying any weapons was simple.
With how blood-soaked he looked right now, if people saw him carrying a blade as well, even those who were perfectly fine would probably be frightened out of their wits.
Besides, he had not heard the sounds of fighting.
What he had heard instead were the voices of several children talking.
That made it even less appropriate to approach with a weapon in hand.
"Keep up."
As he carefully moved closer, Shirou finally heard the voices clearly.
Just from hearing the speaker's voice, he could tell how serious and stern that person was.
If it were not for the faint chatter of children following behind, Shirou would probably have gone around them instead.
After all, the children were the main reason he had come over in the first place.
"Hmm... It does not look like they are forcing these children to follow them."
Looking at the scene ahead, Shirou muttered to himself.
Leading the group was a tall white-haired Liberi.
The man wore a long coat, and hanging at his waist was a sword from Higashi.
Or, in terms Shirou was more familiar with, a katana.
That was not the important part, though.
Several children could be seen carefully following behind him.
The weather in Chernobog was extremely cold at the moment.
Almost everyone Shirou had seen along the way was dressed in thick coats, and the people ahead were no exception.
However, the small Originium crystals visible on their faces made their identities obvious.
"...Be careful. Do not trip."
The Liberi at the front seemed to sense Shirou's gaze and quickened his pace.
"Quite perceptive."
That reaction caused Shirou to slow down as well, though he continued keeping the group within his line of sight.
Unfortunately, that attempt at caution did not seem to lower the man's guard at all.
After walking for a short distance, Shirou watched as the man ushered the children into a building that appeared largely intact.
Then he raised his head and looked directly in Shirou's direction.
That action made Shirou realize he had been discovered from the very beginning.
Otherwise, there was no way the man could have looked up and immediately locked onto his position.
Those eyes were like an eagle's, fixed firmly upon Shirou.
And within that gaze was unmistakable hostility.