Inside the tent, the four members of Penguin Logistics, three people from Rhodes Island, and three members of Reunion, a total of ten people lay neatly on their beds.
Beside them was an empty bed. The blanket on it had been folded perfectly, provided one ignored the bloodstains scattered across it and the holes torn into the sheets.
From time to time, Rhodes Island medical operators entered to check on everyone's condition. Although both the note and Shirou had said that they would wake up soon enough, the medical staff still felt it was necessary to perform regular inspections just in case.
After all, they did not really understand magecraft. Checking on everyone periodically did not take much time, so that was how things had been arranged.
Still, the ability to make ten people suddenly fall asleep at once was undeniably powerful. If only they could learn something like that and use it on patients who constantly struggled with insomnia. That would certainly make life easier.
Unfortunately, it was not an Originium Art, so it could not be learned.
Such were the thoughts running through the mind of the medical operator assigned to watch over them when she suddenly heard a high-pitched scream.
"Ahhh! Shirou, you are so miserable!"
The halo above a certain Sankta's head blazed brightly as she let out her anguished cry.
The medical operator: "?????"
"Exusiai, shut up."
Texas, lying beside her, had reached the limit of her patience. She sat up and glared at Exusiai with a frown.
Strictly speaking, they had only just woken up. Their minds were still muddled and unfocused. Some of them even wanted to roll over, wrap themselves tighter in their blankets, and continue sleeping.
However, Exusiai's scream completely shattered any lingering desire for laziness and instantly woke everyone up.
Only Texas, who knew the person involved rather well and was suffering from a slight case of morning irritability, voiced her complaint.
"Yawn... I feel like I slept for a really long time."
Blaze sat up, stretched lazily, and let out a yawn.
"It felt pretty good, honestly. I have not slept that peacefully in a long time."
FrostNova spoke from nearby, earning agreement from most of the others.
For people like them, enjoying such a deep and prolonged sleep was not easy. Leaving aside the pain caused by Oripathy, reality itself burdened them with countless concerns and responsibilities, making restful sleep difficult.
Most of the time, they only managed brief periods of rest, just enough to keep their bodies and minds functioning.
"It felt about the same as usual."
Croissant did not think there was anything particularly special about it.
Of course, the members of Penguin Logistics were exceptions. Their lifestyle was completely different from that of the other two groups.
Lungmen was relatively peaceful, and most workplace pressures were handled by Yith. Their own responsibility was simply ensuring that the goods in their care reached the intended recipients.
After returning home, they even had Shirou hired by Boss to look after them.
It was fair to say they lived quite comfortably and faced little stress.
Even Sora, despite her idol career, was no exception.
"...How much do you all remember from the dream?"
After waking up, Amiya had not joined the conversation. Instead, she carefully reflected on everything she had seen within the dream.
A large portion of it had already faded away. Only a few particularly important details remained in her memory.
Illya had explained this beforehand. To prevent everyone from becoming confused by an overwhelming flood of memories that did not belong to them, she had arranged things so that the experience would feel like an ordinary dream.
From the beginning, she had never intended for them to know everything that had happened. She only wanted them to understand what kind of person Emiya Shirou truly was.
Magecraft was certainly useful, but Illya was not her complete self, and she lacked the proper magical materials. As a result, she had been forced to use a somewhat cruder method.
"I only remember part of it. Most of what I remember involves the Holy Grail War and that great fire."
Talulah answered. She was also the first person to rise from her bed.
The entire experience felt like an extraordinarily long dream.
This experience was like living part of another person's life through their eyes.
It was profoundly meaningful.
"I remember roughly the same things."
Exusiai, now somewhat calmer, replied.
Her memories only extended as far as Illya's explanation of the period when Shirou wandered endlessly through Fuyuki City. That was why she had screamed so dramatically upon waking.
No matter how one looked at it, that was a complete bad ending.
And not just any bad ending, it was the worst possible kind.
If she were forced to spend her entire life in a place with no people, no apple pie, and no sunlight, she would definitely lose her mind.
The fact that Shirou had managed to endure that place for any length of time was already impressive.
Fortunately, he had a super big sister like Illya who eventually pulled him out of it.
"Hmm... I see. Then I think I understand."
Observing everyone's reactions, Amiya concluded that the fragments Illya had allowed them to retain were probably quite similar.
However, she remembered slightly more than the others.
She did not know whether that was because of her Originium Arts or because Illya had gone easier on her.
Perhaps it was both.
After all, in a certain sense, she and Shirou were very much alike.
Both had been fortunate enough to be saved by someone.
And both had gone on to live lives that originally should never have belonged to them.
To inherit someone's ideals and strive to become a better person.
At times, thoughts would creep into her mind, making her wonder whether someone else might have done a better job had they been chosen instead of her.
In contrast, thanks to Fujimura Taiga's help, Shirou had already managed to take a step forward in confronting that same problem.
It was only a small step, but it was one that she herself had never been able to take.
Perhaps that was why Illya had not specifically erased that part of her memories.
She had even asked Amiya to look after Shirou a little more, saying that Doctor Kal'tsit had already lured him into her fold and that he would undoubtedly have many opportunities to cooperate with Rhodes Island in the future.
...That was already a softened version of what Illya had actually said. Her original wording had been much simpler and far more direct filled with some Einzbern profanity, direct enough that Doctor Kal'tsit would probably have become angry if she heard it.
Illya seemed to have quite a few complaints about Kal'tsit. Amiya wondered what exactly Kal'tsit and Shirou had discussed.
At present, all she knew was that Shirou would be cooperating with Rhodes Island. He would provide blood samples for research, while Rhodes Island would care for the infected individuals he sent their way.
"...Where is Shirou?"
Thinking of the man himself, Amiya instinctively looked toward the bed where Shirou had been resting.
What remained was only a neatly folded blanket and a bedsheet stained with blood and marked by several areas torn by swords.
"Shirou? He woke up about an hour before all of you. After that, he ran off. If I remember correctly, he went to find Doctor and pick up a mission."
Hearing Amiya's question, the medical operator who had been completely unable to participate in the group's conversation, answered.
At the same time, she conducted a brief examination of everyone present and confirmed that they were all perfectly fine. In fact, after finally getting proper sleep, they looked healthier than usual.
"He really has no awareness of being a patient..."
Sora muttered quietly after hearing what Shirou had done.
"Come on! Let us go drag him back and make him lie down on that bed properly!"
The moment Sora finished speaking, Croissant sprang off her bed, raised both hands, and enthusiastically announced her plan.
Her proposal immediately won the approval of the other Penguin Logistics members as well as Blaze. Without a second thought, they charged out of the tent. Before leaving, Blaze made sure to grab Rosmontis, who had been lost in thought.
"...Do they even know where Shirou is right now?"
Watching the group disappear into the distance, FrostNova thought for a moment before asking.
Compared to Penguin Logistics, Reunion was not quite as close to Shirou, so they naturally were not as impulsive as the four logistics members and Blaze, who tended to act on their ideas immediately.
Besides, her physical condition did not allow for that sort of behavior anyway. There was no need to rush.
Precisely because of that, she could calmly consider the situation.
"I think... probably not. But if they ask a Rhodes Island operator, they should be able to find out."
Under FrostNova's somewhat peculiar gaze, Amiya replied with an awkward smile.
She could not help it. FrostNova's expression seemed to be asking whether everyone on their side was always that impulsive.
If only Blaze could channel that level of enthusiasm into work or studying...
As for Rosmontis, she had essentially been abducted by force. Even if Amiya wanted to stop it, she could not.
After asking the medical operator a few more questions, Amiya and the others learned that Shirou's condition appeared to be fairly good. Ace and Scout had personally taken him to meet Doctor and receive a mission.
With Doctor, Ace, and Scout all involved, Amiya felt considerably reassured. If there had been even the slightest problem with Shirou's health, those three would definitely have found a way to force him to rest.
After all, someone recovering from a serious illness could not possibly return to peak condition immediately...
Right?
No, wait. Magecraft seemed even more unreasonable than Originium Arts, and most of the issues plaguing Shirou's body had already been resolved.
In that case, maybe there really was not a problem.
If Shirou had recovered to his original condition, then his body was probably almost completely healed.
No, that was not right either.
His physical condition might be fine, but his mental state still needed attention.
According to Illya, Shirou had essentially regained all of his memories.
That also meant his mental state could be extremely unstable at the moment.
"Stop worrying about it. We will know how Shirou is really doing once we see him."
Seeing Amiya repeatedly fall into thought, shake her head, reach a realization, and then immediately begin thinking and shaking her head all over again, Alina could more or less guess what was going through her mind.
The reason she could tell was because Talulah used to behave in much the same way.
In some respects, the current Amiya was remarkably similar to the Talulah of the past.
Unfortunately...
Talulah was no longer as easy to read as she used to be. Back then, every thought and feeling had been written plainly across her face.
Now, she buried most of her thoughts deep inside, making it impossible to tease her the way Alina once had.
Still, that was all right.
Teasing the little rabbit in front of her was quite enjoyable as well.
After all, in front of Rhodes Island's operators, Amiya behaved almost exactly like the current Talulah. Yet once she relaxed, she became nearly identical to the Talulah of old.
That contrast was rather charming.
Talulah: "?"
Perhaps it was her imagination, but she could not shake the feeling that someone had been talking about her behind her back.
FrostNova, meanwhile, had no such concerns.
She simply followed behind the other three with a faint smile on her face and a homemade candy in her mouth.
The four of them wove through the crowd. With Amiya, the leader of Rhodes Island, and Talulah, the leader of Reunion, among them, they attracted even more attention than Shirou had earlier.
They were currently heading toward Reunion's camp.
After borrowing a terminal from a medical operator and contacting Doctor directly to learn Shirou's location, they had immediately set out.
Compared to the other group of six, their side had saved themselves quite a bit of time and trouble.
Just moments ago, Amiya could still hear Blaze, Exusiai, and Croissant shouting things like, "Where is Doctor?" It was one of those situations where she could hear the voices but could not see the people making them.
Since the voices came and went so quickly, Amiya could not be bothered to look for them.
Leaving Penguin Logistics aside, Rosmontis was with Blaze. Once they remembered that terminals existed and could be used to contact people, they would naturally find Shirou.
And if that did not work...
The operators being driven crazy by the noise would probably step in, stop the group, and bring them directly to Doctor themselves.
That was what Amiya had thought.
Yet when she actually saw the members of Penguin Logistics and Blaze already hard at work in Reunion's camp, she could not help but admire their efficiency.
But where was Shirou?
Why could she only see Exusiai, Texas, Croissant, and Blaze moving medical supplies around?
And where were Sora and Rosmontis?
"Oh! Amiya, you all took way too long! Shirou is busy inside."
Spotting Amiya's group from a distance, Exusiai handed the medical supplies she was carrying over to Croissant before calling out to them.
"Is he all right?"
Following the direction Exusiai pointed, Amiya could vaguely make out a tall figure helping to set up a new tent.
That was probably Shirou.
After all, she could see him carrying Rosmontis on his shoulders while she secured a layer of cloth over the tent as a roof covering. Sora was helping nearby as well.
Winter nights in Ursus often brought snowfall. Without additional support structures, accumulated snow could easily collapse a tent.
"Tch, hard to say. Overall, he is probably fine. His appearance has just changed quite a bit."
At Amiya's question, Exusiai clicked her tongue before answering.
"His appearance?"
Amiya could clearly sense the shift in Exusiai's emotions.
There had been surprise, confusion, and concern.
But above all, there was relief.
That alone eased Amiya's worries considerably.
Still, she found herself curious about what Exusiai meant by a change in Shirou's appearance.