"Did I not already say this? I am no longer doing newbie work at the Guard Department. I am there as an external instructor from Penguin Logistics. If nothing happens, I am not even required to be on duty. And even if I agreed to it myself, Officer Chen and the others would not allow it."
Faced with Minmin's somewhat excessive concern, Shirou waved his hand dismissively.
Ever since she saw his test results, she said similar things every time she met him.
"Haha… it is just a professional habit. Whenever I see someone like you, I feel the need to say something."
Letting out an awkward laugh, Minmin explained.
After all, from her perspective, Shirou already had a "record."
Although it was due to his work at the Guard Department, after understanding the situation, she realized that the main reason was that Shirou cared too much about others' safety and placed himself in the most dangerous situations.
It was not that this was wrong, but at the time, there were clearly other Guard Department personnel present. Yet Shirou still took everything upon himself.
As if he was afraid others might get hurt.
Minmin had seen people like this on Rhodes Island before and they were frequent visitors to the medical department.
She had grown used to giving them the same reminder every time.
"It is fine. So, do you still need to draw blood this time?"
Noticing her awkwardness, Shirou shifted the topic.
Every time he came here, it was either for a blood draw or on the way to one. He was starting to suspect that if research kept progressing like this, the day they asked for more than just blood might not be far off.
Helping others was a good thing.
But imagining that scenario still made a chill run down his spine.
"Let me think… we only drew blood two days ago. We should evaluate your condition first. This time, it is mainly a message from Rhodes Island's main landship for you."
Hearing him, Minmin paused to consider. Drawing blood again after just two days might be a bit taxing.
But given Shirou's unusually robust health which was healthy almost to an unbelievable degree, she felt that a slightly higher frequency might still be acceptable.
Even so, proper evaluation was necessary. She understood well enough not to push things too far.
"That could have been sent to my phone, right?"
He had thought it was something urgent, given all the missed calls.
But this?
Was there really anything that could not be sent through a phone?
After some time, Shirou had grown quite accustomed to using one.
It was not that he had become overly attached, he had simply learned enough to understand how to use it properly.
And after switching to a newer model, it felt like entering a whole new world.
His previous phone could practically be considered outdated compared to his current one both in functionality and hardware.
Still, Shirou remained disciplined, unlike Exusiai or Croissant who seemed practically glued to their devices.
"It is a video! Do you know how long it would take to send something like that?"
Minmin felt slightly offended, as if her intelligence had been questioned.
Of course she knew phones could be used but if it were that simple, she would not have called him over.
The video was long.
"I see. Is it very long?"
Shirou did not mind much. He would have passed by here anyway. He had just been worried earlier, thinking it was something urgent.
Originally, he wanted to ask whether the video contained a lot of technical jargon. Medical professionals tended to use many specialized terms that he could not understand.
That impression mostly came from the way Minmin spoke.
And also from a certain doctor known to someone he knew.
Listening to them often gave him a headache, which was why he wanted to prepare himself mentally.
But he quickly felt that asking directly might come across poorly, especially since Minmin herself often used such terminology.
So he changed the question to ask about the length instead. As long as it was not too long, he could probably stay awake.
"I do not know. I have not watched it. It is for you, not for me."
Leading him into the office, Minmin answered.
"…Alright."
Unable to gauge what to expect, Shirou felt it might be a good idea to have a cup of coffee to stay alert.
After all, he had just finished sparring with Officer Chen, which had taken some energy.
As he entered the office, he greeted familiar faces along the way and asked the children helping out to prepare his portion of lunch.
He would likely be spending noon here today.
Soon, he was brought into an office room, where several medical operators usually handled work or rested when they were free.
"We will watch it here. Use my computer."
Holding a USB drive, Minmin plugged it into the nearby computer.
Very quickly, the video appeared on the screen.
Its title was "Amiya.MP4."
The name felt a bit strange to Shirou, but he did not think much of it.
Soon, the screen displayed… a young girl.
"Who is this…?"
Pointing at the young girl on the screen who appeared to be a Cautus Shirou asked, even though he already had a guess.
The reason he said "appeared to be" was because her coloring reminded him of another species, but that would have been a bit rude to say out loud, so he held back.
"This is Amiya! Shirou, haven't you always said you wanted to meet her? I did not expect this video to be recorded by Amiya herself!"
The moment she saw the person on screen, Minmin became visibly energized.
She had assumed it would be someone from the medical department, but she did not expect Amiya to appear personally.
And the key point was that this was recorded by Amiya herself!
Amiya!
That was Amiya, the leader of Rhodes Island! Practically her boss!
"…"
Looking at Minmin's excited reaction, then back at the paused image of Amiya—
She looked quite young, around fourteen or fifteen years old.
Combined with Rosmontis…
Did Rhodes Island employ a bit too many children?
Just as Shirou was considering whether he should inform the Guard Department to keep a closer eye on Rhodes Island, Minmin had already started playing the video.
"Ahem… does everything look alright?"
On screen, Amiya took a sip of water, then nervously asked toward the camera.
She was probably asking the person filming.
"You look perfect right now!"
The person behind the camera replied. Shirou recognized the voice, it was Blaze.
"Then I will begin… wait! Blaze, when did you start recording!? Did that part just now get recorded? Pause! Pause!"
After confirming things were fine, Amiya adjusted her clothes and prepared to start seriously only to realize the camera had already been recording.
Remembering her earlier nervousness might have been captured, she hurriedly tried to get Blaze to stop.
"It is fine, it is fine! Compared to being overly serious, I think Emiya would prefer this kind of relaxed atmosphere. Just keep going!"
As she spoke, the camera pulled back slightly, dodging Amiya's attempt to block it.
"Uu…"
Letting out a soft whimper, Amiya realized this video was no longer going to turn out as she had planned.
She had originally wanted to present herself as a proper leader of Rhodes Island, but now she looked more like a child instead.
But there was nothing she could do, after all Blaze was behind the camera.
Quickly composing herself, Amiya spoke again:
"My apologies for letting you see such an awkward side of me, Mr. Emiya. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Amiya, the leader of Rhodes Island. Thanks to the blood samples you provided, we have made some progress in our research on Originium. Although the breakthrough is small, it is still a meaningful first step."
At that moment, the screen shook slightly, and Shirou saw a hand pull away the note Amiya had placed on the table.
"…Blaze!"
Lowering her voice, Amiya called out.
After the screen steadied, she continued:
"Um… aside from the reports from Miss Minmin, I have also heard about you from Rosmontis and Blaze. I understand what you have done in the Lungmen slums. I believe Rhodes Island could further cooperate with you. If the opportunity arises, I hope to meet you in person when I visit Lungmen."
After finishing, Amiya let out a small sigh of relief.
"Tch… did you memorize the whole script?"
Off-screen, Blaze complained. Then a pair of black feline ears appeared on screen, followed by her face.
"Ah!"
Her face suddenly filled the entire frame. Noticing this, she stepped back and sat down beside Amiya.
"That note was just in case I forgot my lines. Good thing nothing went wrong, or it would have been embarrassing."
Amiya spoke softly, but it was clearly recorded though she did not seem to notice.
Meanwhile, Blaze grinned and said loudly:
"Yo! Long time no see! Rosmontis really misses you, but she is not on Rhodes Island right now, so we could not bring her in. You are not disappointed, right?"
Then she made an exaggerated gesture, pointing both hands toward Amiya.
"Even though there is no kitty this time, we have a bunny! Her name is Amiya. Does not it sound kind of like 'Emiya'? Even Rosmontis mixes up your names sometimes!"
In contrast to Blaze's laughter, Amiya looked flustered.
"U-um, anyway! I will contact you through the Lungmen office when the time comes! Let us talk more next time!"
Suddenly, Amiya lunged toward the camera and the screen went black.
"Hey, hey! I was not finished yet!"
Blaze's voice could still be heard, though muffled, likely because the camera had been covered.
"There will be plenty of chances to talk in person later! Time to get back to work!"
After Amiya said that, there was a click and the video ended.
"…The people at Rhodes Island are really full of energy."
That was Shirou's first thought after finishing the video.
It was not as strict and serious as he had imagined and in fact it might have been a bit too lively.
Still, he did not dislike it.
To some extent, he had been influenced by everyone at Penguin Logistics. Compared to rigid, formal settings, he now preferred a more relaxed atmosphere like this.
"Hm?"
After a while with no response from Minmin, Shirou turned to look at her.
She was staring at the now-black screen with a blissful expression, even muttering things like "so cute."
Shirou quietly took a few steps back, worried that whatever that was might be contagious.
Considering things like employing children, the unusual atmosphere, and how Blaze always seemed eager to cling to Rosmontis…
Rhodes Island should be fine… right? It was a pharmaceutical company, after all… right?
If anything, compared to a medical company or even a paramilitary group, it felt more like…
Well, never mind. That was something organizations like the Guard Department should worry about, not an ordinary person like him.
As long as it was a legitimate company doing good, that was enough.
The rest was not something he needed to concern himself with.
After quite some time, Minmin seemed to realize her earlier behavior might have been inappropriate. She quickly wiped the corner of her mouth.
Then she noticed Shirou standing more than ten meters away, looking at her with clear suspicion.
"Wait, Shirou, listen to my expla…I mean, my defense…no, my explanation!"
After stumbling over her words, and seeing him take another step back, she hurriedly tried to clarify.
"No, it is fine. I am not interested in your personal preferences. It is just that your expression earlier was a bit concerning, so I kept my distance."
Seeing how eager she was to explain, Shirou raised a hand to stop her.
"I am telling you, it is a misunderstanding! It is just rare to see Amiya like that!"
Following behind him, Minmin kept trying to justify herself.
Their destination was the blood collection area. Since Shirou's blood needed to be preserved properly, Rhodes Island had previously brought in specialized equipment.
The blood drawn would be immediately transferred into refrigerated storage, allowing it to last longer.
Even with professional equipment, blood would still deteriorate over time, so ideally, it would be better if Shirou could go directly to Rhodes Island.
However, considering that Shirou belonged to Penguin Logistics and was now half-affiliated with the Guard Department, Minmin felt that recruiting him would be extremely difficult.
As for Shirou, while listening to Minmin's increasingly questionable explanations, he wondered whether he should just send her to Officer Chen so she could explain how questionable her behavior had been.
After thinking it over, he decided against it.
Minmin usually took good care of them.
At most, he would just remind Rope and the others at the shop later to keep an eye on her.