"Scout, what is wrong?"
Hearing the movement through the earpiece, the bearded man with sunglasses quickly asked about his condition.
"…No, it is nothing."
Just now, when their eyes met, Scout thought for a moment that he had seen wrong. But after taking a closer look, he confirmed that the other party really was looking at him.
He had even raised a hand in greeting.
Scout was observing through a sniper scope, yet that person had looked back at him with the naked eye?
He was supposed to be in concealment.
The more he thought about it, the more unsettling it felt.
"How can you throw a girl to the ground when you have only met her for the second time? That hurts!"
On the other side, Blaze was trying to have a serious talk with Shirou about life and ideals. Thankfully, Amiya and Rosmontis were symbolically holding her back, preventing anything strange from happening.
Yes…symbolically.
Blaze still understood the situation they were in.
"I have never seen a girl jump from such a height without any form of cushioning."
Shirou retorted, then pressed his communicator and turned slightly.
"The situation here is resolved. I will head over shortly."
"I am glad you still remember you are on a mission."
After his report, Chen's somewhat resentful voice came through the earpiece.
The reason was simple, Shirou had not muted his communicator earlier, so they had heard part of that conversation.
She and Hoshiguma were staking out here, while Shirou was over there chatting quite happily?
If he were still under her supervision as an newbie, she would have made him write a two-thousand-word self-reflection.
As for now?
The fact that he still remembered he was on a mission was already good enough.
"How could I forget? Do not worry, I will head over as soon as I finish here."
Hearing her tone, Shirou who had worked under her before knew she was already a bit annoyed. She was likely holding back only because of their current position.
If she started scolding out loud, this carefully planned operation would probably be ruined on the spot.
Suppressing the urge to complain, Shirou tried his best to calm her down.
"You should better hurry. The other side seems ready to move and tell those people to stay put! I will have a proper talk with them later.?"
Feeling Shirou's sincerity, Chen did not pursue the earlier matter further but that leniency applied only to him.
As for the ones who caused this situation, none of them would get away. Later, they would all receive a proper session of Guard Department "education."
Minimum three hours.
"Yikes…"
Hearing that, Shirou silently offered a moment of sympathy for the five members of Rhodes Island.
He had seen Chen scold people before. He could only hope that Amiya and Rosmontis would not be too frightened.
"Chen said you should stay here. After our operation is over, she will come talk to you."
After ending the communication, Shirou thoughtfully turned off his communicator and relayed the message.
He turned of the communicator because he was worried they might say something inappropriate and provoke Chen again, making things worse.
This was about as much as he could do to help.
"So it really is the Guard Department… I remember you were with Penguin Logistics, right? Why are you working for them now? Is the pay at Penguin Logistics that bad?"
After hearing Shirou's explanation, Blaze and the others still had no idea what kind of situation they were about to walk into. They were more curious about why Shirou had switched sides.
From what they knew, Penguin Logistics and the Guard Department did not exactly get along. Yet the last time they saw him, he was in a Penguin Logistics uniform, and now he was wearing the Guard Department's.
"It is because of… a small issue with my boss. Anyway, just stay here and do not act recklessly. Chen does not recognize Rhodes Island's insignia or personnel so she might treat you as accomplices."
Halfway through, Shirou stopped himself. Speaking ill of someone behind their back was not a good idea especially when that person was effectively his superior.
So he decisively changed the subject.
"Understood. We will stay here."
After hearing him, Amiya nodded.
They had acted this time mainly because the Rhodes Island office in Lungmen had obtained relevant intelligence. After reporting it to the Guard Department and receiving no follow-up, they decided to handle it themselves.
And also, to meet Shirou along the way.
Now that they knew the Guard Department was already taking action, they would not interfere further.
"Go on! Tomorrow, let us set a time to have a drink and chat."
Blaze gave a big grin and patted Shirou on the back.
"I do not drink—"
Before he could finish, Shirou's eyes suddenly widened.
As he turned around, a black blade appeared in his hand and was immediately thrown.
The pitch-black blade spun rapidly through the air. After smashing a drone, it did not stop and it continued forward and finally embedded itself into a distant wall.
"That is… a caster drone?"
Looking at the scattered wreckage, the bearded man immediately recognized what it was.
This was no joke. Every shot it fired was a Originium arts attack even grazing it would leave someone in serious pain for quite a while.
Why would something like this appear here?
"Ace! Scout!"
Without hesitation, Amiya called out their names.
Both were highly experienced in combat. The moment they were called, they knew exactly what to do.
Ace raised his shield, protecting everyone behind him, while Scout, from afar, checked for additional targets through his scope.
Amiya, Rosmontis, and Blaze stayed close together, minimizing their exposed area so Ace would not have to spread his attention too thin.
Everyone remained on high alert. The alley fell into a tense silence.
Bzzzz—
A faint sound reached Shirou's ears.
"Drones ahead and behind and thier numbers are not low!"
Judging by the sound, Shirou determined that drones were approaching from both ends of the alley.
Relatively speaking, the numbers were not high, there were only a few dozen.
Pressing his communicator, several phantom swords appeared behind him. They left streaks of blue light as they shot toward one end of the alley.
Since Ace was already guarding the other side with his shield, Shirou decided to prioritize clearing the rear.
Boom boom boom boom—
A series of explosions erupted. The drones in the rear were destroyed before they could even enter firing range.
"That is… way too cool!"
Seeing Shirou's combat style for the first time, Blaze was completely amazed.
Just a wave of his hand, and weapons appeared on their own, locked onto targets, and attacked…it was unbelievably cool.
If Amiya had not jabbed her sharply in the side to snap her back to reality, she might have forgotten they were under attack.
Loosing focus on the battlefield as an elite operator would have been far too careless.
By the time Shirou finished clearing his side, Scout had already taken down the drones on the other end one by one.
Unlike Shirou's instant annihilation, Scout's attacks were steady and methodical.
Boom—boom—boom—
"How is this considered 'not many'?!"
Complaining as he fired, Scout continued sniping the caster drones.
With a solid vantage point and no interference, his shots were precise and effective.
It might not have looked as flashy, but as long as the enemies were eliminated, that was what mattered.
"Shirou, what is happening on your side?"
Hearing the explosions through the communicator, Chen quickly asked.
"It seems my position has been exposed. I was just targeted by drones. Stay alert on your end as well."
Calmly analyzing the situation, Shirou felt it was more likely that he himself had been discovered.
After all, his record of working with the Guard Department could be traced by anyone who looked into it.
As for whether Blaze standing in a high position had given them away… that possibility could not be ruled out, but Shirou leaned toward himself being the cause.
"Understood… if necessary, bring those people with you. They may have been targeted as well."
As an experienced commander, Chen immediately grasped the situation.
Considering Shirou seemed familiar with them, she did not want to make things difficult for him. She directly authorized him to move together with the others.
It also served as indirect protection for them as she had no idea how capable they were, but with Shirou around, they would be much safer.
"Understood."
After hearing her instructions, Shirou acknowledged.
"Mr. Shirou… are you alright?"
Just as he finished speaking with Chen, Amiya's worried voice came from behind.
"I am fine. More importantly, were you all startled?"
Turning around, Shirou shook his head.
He had acted the moment he sensed danger, and with his range advantage, he had destroyed the drones quickly so he was unharmed.
Compared to himself, he was more concerned about whether Amiya and Rosmontis had been frightened.
"We are fine."
Amiya shook her head in response.
As the nominal leader of Rhodes Island, what just happened was only a minor incident. For an elite operator like Rosmontis, even more so.
"Is that so? You were not scared, right?"
Hearing Amiya's response, Shirou turned to look at Rosmontis beside her and asked.
In return, he got a rapid shake of her head, like a rattling drum.
Alright, it seemed his worries were unnecessary.
Watching her reaction, Shirou thought to himself.
Both of them were quite mature but he did not think that was a good thing. What kind of pressure did they have to endure to become this mature at such a young age?
He did not know. It only left him with a faint sense of melancholy.
"What are you planning to do next? Stay here, or move with me? We do not know whether they are targeting you or us."
Glancing at the time and noticing that the deal was getting closer, Shirou directly asked Amiya.
Based on what they had just shown, he believed they had no problem defending themselves.
And bringing them along was not a bad option. If they were capable, that meant five more fighters. If not, then he would simply fulfill his responsibility to protect them.
Either way worked for him.
"…We will move with you. Do you want me to hand over the command to you?"
After thinking for a moment, Amiya said.
"No need. Just prioritize your own safety."
Shirou refused immediately, without hesitation.
Let him command others in battle?
No way.
If he were the one planning the operation, it would probably be even more reckless than Chen and Hoshiguma's original plan.
Fighting alone and fighting as a team were completely different.
Alone, he only had to worry about himself. In a team, things became much more complicated.
With good coordination, one plus one could be greater than two. But if coordination was poor, even ten people against one might end in total defeat.
"Understood."
Amiya nodded.
"Then please take care of us. My name is Ace."
Ace, who had been listening to the conversation, stepped forward and extended his right hand after they finished.
Although Amiya was the squad leader, as the adult in the team, he could not leave everything to her.
A certain amount of pressure helped people grow but too much would crush them.
"Just call me Shirou. Are we waiting for your other teammate, or will he catch up on his own?"
Shaking his hand briefly, Shirou asked.
"Mr. Scout will make his own way to us. We can move out now."
Amiya replied. Scout needed to find a suitable sniping position, so moving together was not convenient for him.
"Alright, then let us go. Stay behind me."
After confirming their decision, Shirou prepared to move toward the operation site.
There was not much time left and if they delayed any longer, the fight might already begin.
Originally, it had only been him, Chen, and Hoshiguma. Now, with Rhodes Island joining, their manpower was slightly better.
Although the Guard Department still had reinforcements on standby, they were too far away. A lot could happen in the time it took for them to arrive.
After the earlier attack, Shirou's vigilance had reached its peak. At the slightest disturbance, he would stop and carefully observe before proceeding.
If he were alone, he might have simply activated his magical outfit and rushed straight to the destination.
But now there were others behind him.
Since he had brought them along, he wanted to keep them as safe as possible.