Generally speaking, Shirou's method was a time-consuming and labor-intensive approach that yielded very few clues.
After all, the mercenaries were not fools.
In a snowy environment like this, they would certainly have their infected scouting creatures take indirect routes to avoid leaving obvious tracks.
However, the sheer number of infected creatures worked in Shirou's favor.
Moreover, he did not need to approach the tracks to inspect them. From a distance, he could already determine their general direction.
After spending some time examining them, he discovered that most of the tracks led toward the same area.
If the infected creatures had originally all appeared from the north, then Shirou could now roughly conclude that the enemy was positioned somewhere in a particular sector to the north.
Still, that only narrowed things down to a direction.
He could not determine an exact location.
After all, it was not as though he could simply fire arrows one after another into the distance until he hit something.
What if he struck an innocent traveler or a village?
Not to mention the enormous expenditure of magical energy and stamina.
Even though Shirou could now afford to be somewhat extravagant with his magical energy reserves, that did not mean he intended to waste them recklessly.
After relaying his findings to Nearl and Doctor, their conclusion was simple:
They would place additional traps and obstacles in that direction to hinder any enemy advance.
Launching a preemptive strike was out of the question.
Protecting the safety of the camp was the highest priority.
Going on the offensive could easily leave the camp understaffed and might even lead them straight into an enemy trap.
Shirou had no objections.
When it came to small-unit tactics or individual combat, he and the members of Penguin Logistics had their own methods.
But under the current circumstances...
It was better to follow the professionals.
Besides, Doctor's approach aligned closely with his own thinking.
Both prioritized the safety of the refugees and everyone else within the camp.
"This is such a pain... Can these people not just behave themselves for once? I am already busy enough as it is, okay? Sarkaz profanityColumbian profanityUrsus profanity"
This was the lament of a Doctor who had been working nonstop for an extended period without rest.
"Is Doctor okay?"
After helping Nearl finish coordinating the incoming support and delivering the information he had deduced, Shirou arrived to find the Doctor seemingly having a complete breakdown.
They were slumped over a temporary desk, continuously wailing as though their sanity had finally snapped.
The sight reminded him of Fuji-nee after a few drinks, complaining endlessly about her students, coworkers, superiors, and even her father.
The difference was that Fuji-nee would never unleash such a barrage of profanity.
Nor would she repeatedly slam her head against a desk in an attempt to determine whether the human skull or the tabletop was sturdier.
And also...
As expected of someone called Doctor.
They seemed to know profanities from all kinds of languages, including some exceptionally obscure ones.
At that moment, Shirou desperately wished he could disable his ability to understand the various languages spoken across Terra.
It would spare his ears from further contamination.
Unfortunately, he could not.
As Exusiai and Croissant often said:
When learning a new language, the easiest thing to pick up was always the profanity.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of Chief Chen, Swire, Hoshiguma, and the members of Penguin Logistics, Shirou had already been forced to master a considerable assortment of curses from Lungmen, Victoria, Laterano, Siracusa, and Higashi.
...
Actually, he had probably already known the ones from Higashi beforehand.
Sometimes he even found himself accidentally blurting them out without realizing it.
Still, after being thoroughly "educated" by Penguin Logistics and the Lungmen Guard Department, Shirou no longer paid much attention to it.
That did not mean he wanted to expand his collection of multilingual profanity any further.
As a result, he chose to ignore the Doctor entirely and turned toward Scout instead.
Nearly all of Rhodes Island's Elite Operators were gathered in the area.
Amiya, one of the people capable of making decisions, stood nearby with Nearl covering her ears to shield her from the verbal pollution.
Rosmontis was receiving similar protection from Ace.
Meanwhile, Blaze stood off to the side with a hand over her mouth, desperately trying not to laugh.
"It is fine. Doctor used to be like this in the old days. Honestly, seeing them like this actually reassures me more."
Faced with Shirou's question, Scout waved his hand dismissively.
The Doctor simply needed some time to vent.
Soon enough, they would pull themself together and get back to work.
"Really? Because Doctor does not exactly look reassuring right now."
Hearing Scout's explanation, Shirou suddenly felt as though he was watching the members of Penguin Logistics bickering with each other rather than attending a strategic meeting of Rhodes Island's Elite Operators.
Was this sort of behavior really acceptable in a situation like this?
As for Scout's mention of "the old days" and "now," Shirou found himself somewhat curious.
Still, he had no intention of asking further.
Doctor was currently suffering from amnesia.
Questioning them about such matters would be impolite.
As someone who had once suffered memory loss himself, Shirou felt he understood Doctor's situation quite well.
At least both of them had been fortunate.
He had encountered Penguin Logistics and found a place where he belonged.
And the Doctor had Rhodes Island—
"Yanese profanityLungmen profanity!"
The Doctor continued their relentless assault on the desk.
Shirou: "..."
Watching the Doctor continue their contest with the desk over which one was harder, Shirou could not help but feel that his own situation had been somewhat better.
Thinking about it, if he had arrived here only to immediately run into the Chernobog incident, he probably would not have handled it any better than the Doctor.
In fact, it might have been worse.
Back then, even using magical energy had been difficult for him.
His chances of surviving a disaster on that scale would have been practically nonexistent.
As for suddenly awakening some hidden power in a moment of crisis...
Shirou did not believe he possessed that kind of ability.
Magecraft was a brutally realistic profession.
Without opened Magic Circuits and sufficient magical energy, properly using magecraft was impossible.
Unless one was willing to burn away one's life.
"Haaah... Anyway, let's proceed according to the plan we just discussed. If those people really decide to attack, I am definitely going to recommend the game called stepping on landmines to them."
While Shirou was doing his best to avoid focusing on reality and listening to Doctor's endless stream of profanity, the battle between Doctor and the desk finally came to an end.
The outcome was obvious.
How could an ordinary person's head possibly compete with a desk?
Unless that person was Croissant.
When Croissant got stubborn, she truly gave everyone a headache.
"...Okay, I think I understand how their mind works now."
Hearing the Doctor's remark, Shirou quietly spoke to Scout beside him.
With the Doctor hidden beneath their hood and mask, Shirou could not see their expression.
However, judging from their tone, they seemed to be in a relatively good mood now.
After all, they were making jokes.
Granted, the "game" they were recommending involved real landmines.
At that moment, Shirou deeply regretted being able to understand such a terrible joke.
There was still snow outside.
The temperature was already unbelievably low.
Yet somehow the Doctor's joke made him feel as though it had dropped several more degrees.
"Congratulations. You are one step closer to becoming one of Rhodes Island's Elite Operators."
Seeing Shirou's pained expression, Scout gave him a thumbs-up and flashed a bright smile.
"This is not the kind of progress I need."
Ignoring Scout's grin, Shirou walked over to the table and examined the map and information the Doctor had just organized.
From the map, he could see that a considerable number of landmines, traps, and patrol teams had been deployed north of the camp.
The direction he had specifically identified was receiving especially heavy attention.
There was also intelligence regarding the enemy.
According to information provided by the Sarkaz mercenaries from Reunion, there was a high probability that the approaching mercenary force was also composed of Sarkaz.
If he remembered correctly, the people who had supplied that intelligence belonged to the same organization as the enemy.
The mercenary world was truly complicated.
He really could not understand how Nameless had ended up walking the path of a mercenary.
"We will leave the northern reconnaissance to you, Shirou. If you discover anything, use this communicator to contact me or the Doctor."
Now that the Doctor had returned to normal, Amiya had finally been freed from Nearl's ear-covering protection.
She took out a communicator and handed it to Shirou.
It was different from the one he normally used during combat.
This model required manually switching on the power, making it more suitable for long-term use.
Its other advantage was a much more stable communication channel.
All the settings had already been configured.
As long as Shirou flipped the switch, he would be connected directly to either Amiya's communicator or Doctor's.
Almost every patrol team assigned to the northern sector had one.
Elite Operators such as Ace carried them as well.
They were among the strategic supplies that had recently arrived with the reinforcements.
"Understood. Leave it to us."
After accepting the communicator and learning how to operate it, Shirou nodded and slipped it into the pocket on his chest.
"Then I will be counting on you and everyone at Penguin Logistics."
Amiya looked over his equipment one final time.
Only after confirming that he had everything he needed did she nod in satisfaction.
Because of the changes to his physique, Shirou had previously been wearing clothes he projected himself.
However, projected clothing always felt somewhat insubstantial.
It was fine as a temporary measure, but not something one wanted to rely on constantly.
Especially since Rhodes Island had equipped him with various pieces of tactical gear.
Potent suppressants, hemostatic medicine, bandages, and other medical supplies, most of which could not be projected by Shirou.
After all, Shirou himself had admitted that walking around empty-handed made him feel strangely out of place.
As a result, Amiya had equipped him according to the standards of a trainee medical operator.
As for explosives and weapons, she had not bothered giving him any.
After all, he could simply create those himself.
"Right. I will contact you if anything comes up."
Watching Amiya circle around him twice before finally nodding in satisfaction, Shirou's lips twitched slightly as he struggled to suppress a laugh.
Amiya's behavior simply did not match her appearance at all.
For a brief moment, Shirou felt as though he could finally understand why Blaze enjoyed teasing Amiya so much.
Understanding it was one thing.
Actually doing it was another.
Compared to seeing this sort of "interesting" reaction, he much preferred seeing people smile because they were happy or content.
So he decided to leave that particular responsibility to Blaze.
After walking out of the tent, Shirou spotted the members of Penguin Logistics crouching around a campfire, warming themselves.
"Do you still have enough cards left in your hands? Hahaha! Victory belongs to Exusiai!"
The moment he stepped outside, he saw Exusiai throw a playing card dramatically toward Croissant and loudly declare her victory, drawing the attention of many people in the camp.
"Guh... I have to admit that at this moment, you are stronger! Another round!"
After being taunted directly by Exusiai, Croissant resigned herself to gathering up the cards and immediately demanded a rematch.
Shirou: "..."
Was it just his imagination?
Those two lines sounded strangely familiar.
"Stop playing around. Time to get to work."
After spacing out for a moment, Shirou realized that Croissant had already dealt the cards and was preparing to begin another game.
He quickly stepped forward to remind them.
"Huh? We are starting work already? What a shame. I was planning to win a week's worth of apple pies!"
Hearing Shirou's voice, Exusiai immediately tossed her cards back into the pile and flashed a smug grin.
The expression caused both Croissant and Texas to clench their fists.
"Then how about finishing this round first?"
Seeing how insufferably smug Exusiai looked, Shirou could more or less imagine how unpleasant Croissant's and Texas's gaming experience had been.
Sora was probably doing a little better.
Or perhaps she simply had a better temper.
Still, Exusiai was being a little too arrogant at the moment, which was why Shirou proposed letting them finish the current game.
If he had not seen incorrectly, Exusiai's hand was actually terrible.
She seemed to know that as well, which explained why she had discarded her cards the instant he interrupted.
"Ahem... Work comes first. Did they not say enemies were coming? How can we waste time playing cards?"
The moment Shirou hit the mark, Exusiai immediately wiped the grin off her face and adopted a serious expression.
"Then hurry up and prepare your equipment. Do not make Sora and Texas do it for you again."
Shirou could not help finding her reaction amusing and urged her to get moving.
The rest of them, himself included, did not have much to prepare.
Or rather, everyone's weapons and equipment were already kept close at hand.
Exusiai, however, still needed to organize her etched ammunition and explosives.
Most of it was usually prepared in advance.
The problem was that every battlefield and strategy was different.
The amount of ammunition and explosives one could carry was limited.
Depending on the mission, the ratio between etched rounds and explosives would vary.
For this operation, after learning from Shirou that their primary duty would be patrol work and that Rhodes Island had already handled most of the trap deployment, Exusiai decided to bring only etched ammunition.
As for explosives?
Sorry, that was not happening.
Not only had Rhodes Island already deployed plenty of explosives, carrying more herself could potentially trigger dangerous chain reactions.
Besides, with Shirou around, she did not need to bring her own explosives.
If the need arose, she could always borrow some from him.
Come to think of it...
Sword-shaped explosives were pretty cool, were they not?
And so, Shirou and the members of Penguin Logistics formed a temporary patrol squad.
Most of the time, they would find a relatively tall tree and place Shirou at the top so he could scan the surrounding area for anything suspicious.
If he found nothing, he would climb down, they would find another tree of similar height, and then place him up there again.
Their strategy emphasized comprehensive reconnaissance.
No clue, no matter how small, would be overlooked.
Hm?
If Shirou was busy, what were the members of Penguin Logistics doing?
They were playing cards beneath the tree—
Cough.
No, that was incorrect.
They were standing guard for Shirou while he kept watch from above.