Early January, Rhodes Island.
Nearly a week had passed since the Chernobog operation. During this period, Shirou had remained on Rhodes Island undergoing examinations and treatment.
The good news was that, just as Ansel had concluded earlier, Shirou's condition was very easy to resolve. A few days of rest were enough for him to recover completely.
The bad news was that his physical capabilities had increased significantly compared to before the Chernobog expedition. Because of these sudden changes, Shirou had spent quite some time adapting to everyday life with his new body.
And the reason this counted as bad news was because Warfarin and a group of medical operators had become extremely interested in the changes.
Combined with Shirou's weakened condition over the past few days, a series of plans targeting him had quietly emerged.
The results were predictable. Although everyone had labeled him as "weak," escaping the pursuit of these people was still effortless.
The matter was eventually reported to Kal'tsit by Amiya. Shirou did not know how it had been dealt with, only that the deck had been unusually lively that day, especially with a certain white-haired vampire hanging upside down.
Other than that, there was probably no more bad news... right?
"Shirou! Save me!"
Doctor, sitting behind thier desk, stretched out a hand toward Shirou as he happened to pass by the office, desperately calling for salvation.
"I cannot save you from this. I cannot even understand these things."
Even though his mind wanted to ignore Doctor, his body honestly pushed open the office door and walked inside. Looking at the papers spread across the desk, he shook his head.
These were different from the documents he had dealt with at the camp before. At least he had understood those, even if he had not known how to solve them.
These papers, however, were filled with professional terminology and plans concerning Rhodes Island's future.
This was already beyond the understanding of someone who had not even graduated from high school.
He might have been able to offer some opinions regarding Originium, but even then, his knowledge could not compare with people like Ansel or Hibiscus, much less Doctor.
Despite being in an amnesiac state, Doctor only needed a few glances to memorize most things and could even infer additional information from them.
Watching this, Shirou and the members of Penguin Logistics could only sigh. People truly could not be compared with one another.
"You can save me in other ways. For example, bring me some food, snacks, or cookies."
Hearing Shirou's refusal, Doctor knew they could not force him.
After all, people pushed to their limits could do anything—
Except higher mathematics.
That saying fit Shirou and the current situation perfectly.
"Uh... but Doctor Kal'tsit said no, did she not? She even designed a dietary plan for you."
After hearing Doctor's request, Shirou hesitated before trying to reject her gently.
Kal'tsit had been visibly irritable these past few days. Otherwise, she would not have hung half the medical department from the deck. Under normal circumstances, she would only punish the ringleaders.
As for the source of her bad mood...
Shirou guessed it was Doctor sitting in front of him.
If he remembered correctly, Kal'tsit had originally belonged to the faction opposed to rescuing Doctor. The only reason she was still observing rather than acting was because of Doctor's amnesia.
Most elite operators felt the same, with only a few exceptions like Blaze, who had joined Rhodes Island only two or three years ago.
From Shirou's perspective, Doctor he knew was actually a good person.
Aside from occasionally saying strange things, they were always willing to help operators with their problems, joining them in seeking solutions, and when disputes arose, they could usually provide compromises acceptable to both sides.
Overall, Doctor a very kind and easygoing person.
Perhaps too easygoing at times. They would fool around with certain operators and inevitably be caught by Amiya and Kal'tsit and dragged back to the office to continue working.
Thinking about it, Shirou suddenly felt that Doctor and Yith would probably get along quite well.
"Sugar! I need sugar! People die without sugar!"
After hearing Shirou's response, Doctor finally broke down.
Doing work that required constant thinking without being allowed any sugar was simply torture!
At this rate, they would collapse sooner or later!
"Sigh, all right, all right. Doctor, stop with the theatrics. I will go check the cafeteria later and see whether there are any ingredients available. I cannot guarantee sugar, though. That stuff is tightly controlled on Rhodes Island."
Seeing Doctor's appearance, Shirou could only sigh helplessly.
He could distinguish between a real breakdown and a fake one.
Doctor was simply unable to tolerate having two out of three meals replaced by nutritional meals and the remaining one personally prescribed by Kal'tsit.
They were merely venting like a child.
He understood both sides.
One side was a doctor treating a patient and setting rules for their health.
The other side was the patient, who felt misunderstood and was forced to comply.
Although such a regimen was certainly good for the body, mentally it was exhausting.
And Doctor had spent the past few days drowning in work, which naturally only worsened their mental state.
Even Exusiai or Croissant would not have lasted under such pressure.
Even Texas would probably not endure three days.
And without Pocky, she might not survive half a day.
"Thank you so much. If not for you, Shirou, I do not even know how I would keep living."
Upon hearing his answer, Doctor raised a hand and wiped away tears from the corner of their eyes.
They had only been venting the frustrations of being worked to the bone.
They had not expected Shirou to actually agree.
It gave Doctor a feeling that was unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar and warm.
Doctor could not imagine who else could save them in their current state if Shirou were not around.
"Doctor, you are underestimating yourself. If you were really pushed to the limit, you would definitely come up with something. Getting me involved just happens to require less brainpower."
Listening to Doctor's words, Shirou could not help teasing them.
Shirou knew Doctor's abilities very well. If they really wanted to, they could absolutely find a way to secretly get whatever food they wanted without Amiya or Kal'tsit noticing.
Yet they had not done so.
Perhaps they simply did not want to, or perhaps they were too lazy to expend that much effort for the sake of a meal.
In Shirou's eyes, it was obviously the latter.
"Hehe."
Seeing their thoughts exposed, Doctor scratched their head and laughed awkwardly.
"Anyway, I will take care of the food. You should focus on finishing your work. That way, even if you get caught, you can at least explain things to Amiya and Doctor Kal'tsit."
Doctor's reaction had been exactly what Shirou expected.
He saw through many things very clearly, but most of the time he simply did not bother dwelling on details.
Worrying about everything was exhausting. Since he had both the time and the energy, and because he had seen how hard Doctor had been working recently, he was naturally willing to help with something this small.
If it were Blaze...
Well, she had been having a rough time lately too. Scout had devised an entire training regimen that blended into everyday life, mainly aimed at correcting her overly carefree habits.
She had settled down considerably recently. Forget visiting Rosmontis or Amiya, she barely even touched alcohol anymore. She looked pitiful.
Better to use another example.
If it were Exusiai or Croissant, he would definitely reject their snack requests without mercy.
After leaving Doctor's office, Shirou did not head straight to the cafeteria. Instead, he continued with his original errand.
"What was I about to do again...? Doctor distracted me so much I forgot."
As he walked down the corridor, he tried to recall his destination.
"Oh right, I was going to see Talulah."
After walking a bit farther and seeing several people dressed in Reunion uniforms without masks passing by, Shirou finally remembered.
More accurately, Talulah had something she wanted from him. However, she and the other Reunion leaders were still undergoing treatment and examinations, so they could not move around freely, leaving him to make the trip.
Remembering his destination, Shirou quickened his pace toward Talulah's room.
"Shirou? You came earlier than I expected. Please wait a moment."
After knocking and receiving permission, he entered. Talulah was writing something with pen and paper. She only glanced up briefly before lowering her head again.
"Are you writing a letter?"
Though there was some distance between them, Shirou could clearly see the envelope on her desk.
"Yes. I would like to trouble you with delivering it to... Chen Hui-chieh."
As she wrote, Talulah answered his question. However, she paused slightly before saying the name and looked up at him.
She knew he was acquainted with Wei Yenwu and had encountered Chi Xiao, but she was not sure whether he knew her half-sister, Chen Hui-chieh.
If he did not, that was fine too. She could simply ask him to have Wei Yenwu pass it along.
Though, in that case, the letter would most likely be opened and inspected first.
"Chen Hui-chieh...? That name sounds familiar."
Upon hearing the name, Shirou fell into thought once again.
Unlike before, when he had forgotten where he was going, this name felt genuinely familiar. Yet after digging through most of his memories, he still could not remember knowing anyone by that name.
Normally, hearing a person's name would immediately bring their face to mind, or seeing their face would remind one of their name.
But Shirou was stuck in the awkward situation of recognizing the name while failing to remember who it belonged to.
"She is Wei—"
Seeing him thinking so hard, Talulah assumed that he probably did not know Hui-chieh and was about to suggest giving the letter to Wei Yenwu instead, but Shirou interrupted her.
"Wait, that is Officer Chen's real name! I am so used to calling her Officer Chen that it slipped my mind."
Shirou suddenly slapped his right fist into his left palm, an expression of realization appearing on his face.
He rarely used her full name, and it was difficult to associate "Chen Hui-chieh" with "Officer Chen," which was why it had taken him a moment.
Fortunately, his brain had finally connected the two.
"Over... Chen? Hui-chieh joined the Guard Department?"
Hearing that familiar title, Talulah first looked surprised before revealing a smile filled with relief.
"Uh, yes. She is currently the leader of the Special Inspection Unit."
At this point, Shirou could tell that Talulah knew Officer Chen very well.
Otherwise, she would not have shown the kind of warm, relieved smile usually seen on an elder's face.
"That is good. Since you know Hui-chieh, this becomes easy. Please deliver this letter to her."
Realizing she had lost her composure, Talulah quickly straightened herself and lowered her head, continuing to write while explaining her request.
"Deliver a letter? No problem."
After understanding why she had called him over, Shirou breathed a sigh of relief.
He had thought she had something important to discuss.
And it was just this?
Delivering letters was Penguin Logistics' specialty. If Talulah wanted, they could even take her back to Lungmen and arrange a face-to-face meeting.
Though, considering Talulah's current status, if Penguin Logistics really accepted the job of escorting her back to Lungmen, things would probably become extremely troublesome.