As for the approaching armed groups and Ursus military forces, Doctor did not make any special arrangements.
If they were coming to assist with disaster relief efforts in Chernobog, that would naturally be the best outcome.
If they were coming after Reunion, the refugees of Chernobog, or even Rhodes Island...
Then they would have Shirou teach them exactly how harsh reality could be.
That was also Shirou's opinion.
When the time came, if necessary, he would first launch an attack from a distance as a warning, giving them a chance to back off.
If they insisted on advancing despite the warning, then Shirou would not hold back.
As for the Emperor Blades, if they really appeared then Doctor planned to gather the camp's strongest fighters and stall them long enough for Shirou to create an opportunity to strike.
If necessary, Doctor was even prepared to borrow personnel from Reunion.
For starters, there was the person capable of controlling the giant colossus and the three-meter-tall Sarkaz.
Just having those two on their side would greatly reduce the pressure they faced.
Not to mention Talulah herself and the other Reunion leaders.
Doctor had already asked Scout to relay the proposal.
Reunion certainly had intelligent people among its ranks. There was no reason they would reject a request that benefited them entirely.
After all, Rhodes Island could simply withdraw and leave Reunion to deal with the situation alone.
If anyone should be anxious, it was Reunion, not Rhodes Island.
Thinking about it that way, Doctor immediately felt much less pressure.
They even started wanting to crawl back into bed and take another nap.
Unfortunately, Amiya was no longer the considerate little rabbit she had been earlier.
The rabbit girl stacked a pile of neatly organized documents in front of Doctor and said:
"Doctor, you cannot rest yet. These files still need your approval. I have already unlocked the necessary permissions for you."
"Ah... ah?"
Looking at the stack of documents that they had originally dumped onto Amiya to handle, Doctor let out a confused sound.
Then she stammered for a while before producing another equally confused:
"Ah?"
Watching Doctor's expression evolve from complete bewilderment to acceptance of mortality itself, Shirou could only silently wish them strength.
The fact that Doctor had organized an operation of this scale showed just how much hope Rhodes Island placed in Doctor.
The only problem was that Doctor had lost their memories.
Yet despite that memory loss, the orderly state of the camp over the past two days was proof enough of their capabilities.
At this stage, all Amiya really needed to do was help Doctor become familiar with various workflows again.
Still...
This scene felt strangely familiar.
Was it not exactly how Fuji-nee reacted whenever she received a work call after drinking?
In any case, Shirou had no objections to Amiya dragging Doctor back to work.
If anything, he hoped Doctor would hurry up and start sharing Amiya's workload.
A fourteen-year-old's childhood should not be spent buried under endless responsibilities.
Even if she genuinely loved the work.
As for Doctor...
He did not know them very well.
But Doctor was an adult.
Good luck.
Someone had to shoulder these responsibilities.
And if the choice was between an adult and a child, even Croissant could answer that question correctly.
"Doctor, do your best!"
At that moment, Shirou had nothing meaningful to offer beyond verbal encouragement.
After waiting until the blizzard outside weakened slightly, he finally put on a Rhodes Island jacket and headed out.
He wanted to check on the Penguin Logistics members.
At the same time, he planned to help Amiya and Doctor inspect the camp for anyone injured by the storm or any tents that had collapsed or been damaged.
The tent assigned to Penguin Logistics was not particularly far away.
Considering their relationship with Rhodes Island, the logistics operators had even arranged a separate tent specifically for the four of them.
Long before he reached the tent, Shirou could already hear their laughter.
Shirou: "..."
At that moment, he suddenly remembered a phrase his teachers often used during his school days.
"I can hear you all the way from the staff room!"
He could practically hear those teachers shouting the words directly into his ears.
Still, seeing that none of the people outside seemed particularly bothered, Shirou chose not to comment.
Perhaps his hearing was simply too good, making them seem louder than they actually were.
The truth, however, was that Exusiai's and Croissant's laughter really was exceptionally penetrating.
The Rhodes Island operators working nearby had simply become accustomed to it.
Besides, this was nothing.
A little laughter was hardly worth mentioning.
"Ah! Shirou! You finally made it!"
The moment Shirou pushed open the tent flap, the inside instantly fell silent.
Then Exusiai launched herself off the bed and charged straight at him.
"Cut it out."
Watching the red unidentified lifeform sprinting toward him, Shirou casually extended his left arm and planted his palm firmly against her forehead.
The difference in arm length gave him an overwhelming advantage.
No matter how hard Exusiai tried, she could not get any closer.
She could only run in place desperately, trying to push forward.
Even stretching her arms out as far as possible, she could not so much as touch the edge of Shirou's coat.
"Ahhh! Cheating! That is totally cheating!"
The moment Exusiai became aware of the height difference between herself and Shirou, and of the situation she currently found herself in, she completely lost it.
She, Exusiai was 160 centimeters tall.
Including the halo above her head, she could claim to be 165 centimeters.
She had barely managed to hold the title of tallest member of Penguin Logistics until Shirou arrived and pushed her off the throne.
At first, the difference had only been half a head.
That was one thing.
But why had Shirou seemingly grown another half a head taller overnight, making him a full head taller than her?
Could people still in their growth period really do whatever they wanted?
Wait.
If she remembered correctly...
Archer was almost one and a half heads taller than her.
Which meant Shirou still had room to grow.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Exusiai experienced the cruelty of the world.
Giving up her struggle, she took a few steps backward and collapsed onto the bed.
The fact that someone else's starting point was already her finish line was simply too cruel.
Sigh.
She kind of missed the Shirou who had once been around the same height as the rest of them.
Shirou: "?"
Completely unable to understand Exusiai's thought process, Shirou could only stare at her in confusion.
Still, having one less person trying to tackle him headfirst certainly made things easier.
"Finished with everything over there, Shirou? Miss Blaze and the others told us you would probably be pretty busy from now on. There are a lot of things around the camp that will need your help. We were just discussing when you might finally have some free time."
Only after Exusiai had given up and flopped onto the bed did Sora wave at Shirou and greet him.
"I came to check on you all and inspect the camp for any problems... Though things really will get busier from now on. When the time comes, we will probably all be moving together."
Shirou casually waved back and explained why he had come.
When he reached the topic of future plans, however, he hesitated briefly before explaining the situation in full.
Everyone would be operating together eventually.
It was better to give them advance notice so they could prepare.
Rhodes Island personnel were not going to organize Penguin Logistics' weapons and equipment for them.
Things like that were best handled personally, or entrusted to someone familiar with the gear.
After all, on a battlefield, even a tiny mistake could be fatal.
"Ugh... What a pain."
After hearing the situation, Croissant felt as if her brain was beginning to itch.
These past few days were probably the wildest days Penguin Logistics had experienced all year.
First, they boarded an aircraft only to witness a mobile city disaster.
Then they got caught in a Catastrophe.
After that, magic somehow dragged them into Shirou's memories.
And now someone was telling them they might have to fight armed militants or even an actual army?
No, no.
Far too much had happened.
She had not even have time to clear out the old information in her head before more kept piling in.
At this point, her brain was practically full.
As a result, there were now two strange objects lying motionless on the beds.
One was a fluorescent light fixture.
The other was a croissant.
"Maybe this is not the best thing to say, but right now you are the only one here with relevant experience. We will leave the planning to you."
Texas, calmly chewing on a Pocky stick as usual remained perfectly composed.
After hearing the current situation, she decisively tossed the role of team leader onto Shirou's shoulders.
She could handle the relatively small-scale conflicts they encountered in Lungmen.
Professional military operations were another matter entirely.
If Shirou were not as absurdly powerful as he was, Texas would probably already be thinking about how to persuade Amiya and the others to retreat.
"Huh? ...All right."
Suddenly becoming responsible for Penguin Logistics' battlefield command, Shirou froze for a moment before accepting.
What puzzled him was Texas saying he had experience in this area.
Did he?
Or were they counting the Holy Grail War?
If that qualified as a war, then yes, he supposed he had experience.
Still, compared to the current situation, Shirou considered the Holy Grail War much more difficult.
Even if his current self entered the conflict, there were circumstances under which he still might not defeat the gatekeeping Assassin, Rider, or Caster.
Not to mention the Three Knight Classes, Berserker, and that golden show-off.
Every one of those Servants was terrifyingly powerful.
Compared to them, the enemies before him now seemed much simpler.
At the very least, he possessed methods capable of defeating them.
He would not be forced completely onto the defensive.
Even the most troublesome Emperor Blades only required careful handling to ensure they did not take allies down with them when they exploded.
Of course, all of this was merely theoretical.
Real battles involved far more variables than people imagined.
Victory could not be determined solely by firepower and destructive capability.
Besides, for both Shirou and Rhodes Island, defeating the enemy was not the most important objective.
Protecting the refugees and preventing the infected from falling into Ursus's hands mattered far more.
Everyone knew perfectly well how Ursus treated the infected.
"Anyway, that is the situation. Get yourselves prepared and remain on standby. There probably will not be any other assignments for a while."
After talking for a bit longer, Shirou prepared to leave.
"Are you going back out on patrol?"
Just as he turned around, Sora called out to him.
From the moment Shirou entered the tent until now, only about ten minutes had passed.
She felt he should rest a little longer...
But after stopping him, she suddenly found herself unsure how to put it into words.
"Shirou, do not put too much pressure on yourself! Make sure you get proper rest. Just look at yourself, your hair has already gone white while you are still so young."
The croissant lying on the bed rolled onto her side.
Seeing Sora's slightly awkward expression, Croissant immediately understood what she was trying to say.
Then, propping her head up with one hand, she spoke on Sora's behalf in an incredibly lazy-looking pose.
The problem was that what she said came out a little wrong.
It was probably because her brain had been overloaded with too much information recently. The words left her mouth before they ever passed through her brain.
Even Exusiai, who had been lying flat on the bed, immediately sat upright.
She looked at Croissant with an expression that practically screamed:
You are brave.
Of course, Texas, Sora, and the person involved, Shirou himself all turned to look at her as well.
Several seconds passed before Croissant finally realized she might have said something she should not have.
The hand supporting her head slipped, and she nearly slammed her face into the bed.
"...If I say it was an accident, Shirou, would you believe me?"
Under the gaze of all four people especially Shirou's stare, Croissant instantly snapped awake.
She jumped off the bed and stood at attention, desperately trying to salvage the situation.
"I understand. I understand."
Shirou looked at her with a gentle smile.
"It was an intentional accident, right?"
The moment he finished speaking, he swung a hand chop straight at her head.
Wanting him to rest came from a place of genuine concern.
Calling him a stress-ridden youth whose hair had turned white, however, was a different matter entirely.
And with Croissant's posture and tone just now, Shirou's irritation had risen several more levels.
For a moment, he had nearly been tempted to manually increase the size of her head.
Fortunately, he restrained himself and settled for a hand chop.
Otherwise, the next question would have been whether Croissant's head expanded first or her horns broke first.
"Do not worry. I already had a good rest earlier. I only came out now to check on you all and take on this assignment while I was at it."
The chop landed squarely on Croissant's head, and Shirou's irritation instantly dropped back to zero.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but he felt as though Croissant's head had somehow become even sturdier.
There was a strange sensation when he hit it.
Suppressing the urge to test it a second time, Shirou explained things a little further so everyone knew he had already rested enough.
Right now, he was essentially just out for a walk, getting some fresh air while checking in on them.
Of course, when explaining it, Shirou was not entirely honest.
He deliberately put the work part second and made it sound like an afterthought.
He had a feeling that if he told the truth, he would end up stuck here for much longer, so he quietly rearranged the order of events.
"I see. As long as you get some rest, that is fine. Then go take care of your work. We need to get our own preparations done as well."
Just as Shirou had expected, once everyone learned that he had already rested properly, they stopped worrying about him.
Instead, they promised to organize their equipment and prepare for the upcoming operation.
This is the art of communication.
Thank you for the guidance, Yith.