After the group became larger, there was no longer any need to constantly worry about being attacked while moving.
With dedicated personnel operating drones to scout ahead, compared to the tense and cautious advance from earlier, it now felt more like taking a walk.
…At the very least, the current atmosphere certainly resembled a leisurely stroll.
"You really are not considering learning how to use a gunstaff? I recommend sniper gunstaffs, you know?"
Ever since Shirou mentioned that he could not use gunstaffs, Scout had been continuously promoting the greatness of guns, especially sniper models.
Long attack range, no need to pursue rapid fire and as long as one underwent systematic training and possessed excellent eyesight, it was enough.
If the Scout from earlier during the operation gave the impression of being a calm and reliable support sniper, then the current Scout was more like the rapid-fire gun in Exusiai's hands.
His words fired out in a nonstop barrage, fast and noisy.
Right now, Scout talking to Shirou was roughly equivalent to Exusiai unloading her Guardian gun at full firepower against a heavily armored defender holding a shield.
The shots landed, but they dealt little damage.
That was more or less Shirou's current state of mind.
He could hear everything, but he was not very interested.
Under the same conditions, he would rather just use a bow. It was smoother, more convenient, and he already had combat tactics built around it.
Could a sniper gunstaff hit a target three kilometers away? Could it really do that?
Ahem… sorry. He had been influenced by Lappland's style of speaking.
"At the moment, I am not considering it… I really cannot activate Originium Arts."
Putting on a polite expression, Shirou rejected Scout's sales pitch.
He knew exactly how to refuse this type of enthusiastic salesman.
"I see. What a pity."
Only after Shirou repeatedly emphasized that he could not activate Originium Arts did Scout finally calm down.
Mainly because the gazes from Amiya and Rosmontis nearby were rather piercing, and because the hands from Ace and Blaze pressing on his shoulders were starting to hurt.
Although his earlier behavior had been somewhat exaggerated, was it not perfectly normal to want to recruit a promising talent as a sniper?
Places that required Scout to use a scope could be seen by Shirou with the naked eye. Someone at the level of a human telescope would be wasted if he did not use a gun.
And besides, guns were good. Using guns meant not needing to charge into the front lines. Just look at Shirou's reckless behavior earlier. If he used guns instead, would he not be much safer?
So could those two please let go of his shoulders already? It really hurt!
"Sorry about that. Whenever he sees someone talented, he always recommends they use guns."
After confirming that Scout had finally abandoned his recruiting attempts, Ace released his grip and explained the situation to Shirou.
"But this also means he thinks highly of you. Once this operation is over, how about coming to Rhodes Island for a checkup? The medical systems aboard the landship are very comprehensive."
Blaze added from the side.
"...I remember that during the previous cooperation, the people from the Guard Department mentioned that Shirou's archery skills were extremely impressive? Like being able to accurately shoot targets from a kilometer away."
Listening to the conversation, Franka quietly asked Liskarm beside her.
If she remembered correctly, among the small bits of gossip she heard from the Guard Department personnel before, Shirou had stood out quite a bit, so her impression of him was rather deep.
For example, his cooking was extremely good. The three leaders of the Guard Department each received their own lunchbox every noon, and Shirou would sometimes prepare another lunchbox filled with side dishes for everyone to share.
Or how Shirou single-handedly raised the performance of the entire sniper division, along with his own almost frightening shooting results.
Looking at it this way, Shirou actually seemed rather impressive.
"I think I heard something like that too."
Hearing Franka mention it, Liskarm finally remembered those rumors from the Guard Department.
Still, they were only rumors. Neither of them had seen it personally.
If it were precision sniping with a sniper gunstaff, that would still be understandable. But with a longbow, it sounded somewhat exaggerated.
As a member of Blacksteel Worldwide, an organization that popularized compact firearms, Liskarm was naturally more familiar with guns.
She knew about Shirou's swordsmanship because she had witnessed it herself.
However, she had never seen him use a bow, so she could not really comment on that.
"My, my. I wonder what would happen if we told Amiya and the others about this~?"
As a born troublemaker, Franka was already eager to witness Scout's awkward reaction.
Naturally, she was immediately stopped by another elbow strike from Liskarm.
Jessica and Vanilla beside them were already completely accustomed to the behavior of their two seniors.
Meanwhile, after hearing Blaze's invitation, Shirou simply replied politely:
"If there is an opportunity someday…"
If he remembered correctly, Rhodes Island's landship was located quite far from Lungmen. If he made a round trip there and back, the dormitory would probably turn into a garbage dump.
It was not that Shirou doubted the self-care abilities of the people in the dormitory. It was just that after several months of him taking care of them, their life skills seemed to have declined sharply.
There were especially two certain individuals whose self-care abilities had practically dropped into negative numbers. The fact that he was not naming them already counted as his final show of respect.
"…Still, if there is an opportunity, I really hope you can come take a look."
After listening to the conversation, Amiya spoke softly from the side.
Once Amiya had said that much… Shirou decided he would ask everyone at Penguin Logistics about it first.
Compared to the carefree Blaze, Amiya's words naturally carried more credibility.
At this point, Shirou had already categorized Blaze as one of the problem children.
In contrast, because Amiya carried the responsibilities of both squad leader and Rhodes Island's leader, her speech and behavior were much more mature.
Still, he did not immediately agree to her request. He only said that he would go back and discuss it with the others first.
If nobody wanted to go, then he would just have to think of a way to politely refuse.
After all, it was not some urgent matter. Physical examinations could also be done through Penguin Logistics or the Rhodes Island Lungmen branch office. There was no real need to leave Lungmen and travel such a long distance for it.
Besides, no matter how one looked at it, Rhodes Island was still just a landship. The medical facilities onboard probably could not be that extensive, right?
…No, perhaps he could not say that for certain either. The medical facilities at the branch office already looked quite advanced. According to Minmin, the equipment there was only a small portion of what Rhodes Island's main ship had.
She had even recommended that Shirou bring Rope along to visit Rhodes Island sometime.
Thinking about that, Shirou's focus shifted away from whether the ship's medical facilities were sufficient and toward wondering just how massive Rhodes Island actually was.
A gigantic mobile medical landship?
When he thought about it that way, he suddenly became genuinely interested in Rhodes Island.
He would ask everyone once he got back. Maybe they would all be interested too.
With that cheerful atmosphere, the Rhodes Island squad arrived at the location Swire had arranged.
"Hm… if we had not pried the information out of those people, we probably never would have found this place."
The first thing they did upon arriving was arrange everyone's positions. Unlike the earlier assault, this time they were blocking the exits.
Simply put, the enemy had used explosives to block them earlier, and now Rhodes Island was the one blocking the enemy instead.
Meanwhile, Ace looked around at the nearby residences and voiced his thoughts.
Although the streets here could still hardly be called clean and tidy, it was obvious that people maintained the area and actually lived here.
The lights still on inside some of the houses said enough already.
No one would have imagined that the enemy would choose the sewers beneath a populated residential district for their transaction site.
Fortunately, this was a narrow alley. Otherwise, ordinary civilians would probably report them to the Guard Department after seeing a group of heavily armed people gathered together.
"This is what people call hiding in plain sight, right? Ace, Miss Liskarm, please keep your shields ready and stay alert at all times. Blaze and Miss Franka, please also be prepared to move at a moment's notice."
After arranging everyone's positions, Amiya began assigning tasks.
Even though telling Defenders to keep their shields ready and telling Guards to stay prepared for immediate combat were basic battlefield common sense that everyone present already understood, Amiya still gave the orders anyway.
In combat, even the slightest carelessness could cause the entire operation to fail, or worse, result in casualties. There was absolutely no room for complacency.
"Mr. Shirou… please patrol the surrounding area together with Vanilla and Jessica. If the Guard Department needs to reassign you, then head over immediately."
When mentioning Shirou, Amiya paused briefly and did not force a specific assignment onto him.
After all, when Swire had handed Shirou over to their squad, she had specifically mentioned this matter.
Although the Guard Department hoped Shirou would properly rest after this operation, if things became too troublesome, they would still call on him.
That was also why she had arranged for Shirou to move together with the Rhodes Island squad and positioned them above ground.
She only hoped things would not escalate to that point.
"Alright, then I will head up to the rooftop first. Miss Jessica, Miss Vanilla, please keep watch around the area."
After receiving Amiya's instructions, Shirou nodded to show he understood and left ground surveillance to Vanilla and Jessica.
Mainly because they were unfamiliar with each other. Moving together would just feel awkward and inconvenient.
It would be better for him to operate alone from higher ground.
"Understood. In that case, coordinate with Mr. Scout."
Amiya accepted Shirou's suggestion.
Afterward, Shirou picked a nearby building and swiftly climbed to the top with practiced movements.
Ever since operating in the slums, Shirou felt that his wall-climbing skills had improved quite a bit.
Though somehow, that realization felt a little strange.
"He is hardcore. He climbed up there barehanded. Without equipment or proper footholds, I would have needed to take the stairs."
Watching Shirou skillfully scale the building, everyone in Rhodes Island looked bewildered.
Blaze even gave her own evaluation of his actions.
"No, no, no, that is weird, right? Is he not supposed to be a member of the Guard Department? Is it really okay for him to be this good at climbing walls?"
Hearing Blaze praise him, Franka immediately complained.
"Maybe it is part of the Guard Department's mandatory training?"
Liskarm seriously considered the possibility.
"…You do realize I can hear all of this, right?"
Standing on the rooftop with the wind blowing around him, Shirou replied speechlessly. They were connected through communications right now. Did they really think he could not hear them?
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Go back to keeping watch. We will continue with our work here."
Once the person involved personally voiced his complaint, everyone immediately dropped the topic.
Especially Franka, who had been the most enthusiastic in teasing him.
"Seriously… Scout, can you see me from over there?"
Listening to the communications channel finally quiet down, though the people below still seemed to be chatting among themselves, Shirou guessed they had muted their microphones.
Which was fine by him. After listening to Scout promote the greatness of guns the entire way here, having some peace and quiet sounded nice.
Before that, however, they still needed to confirm each other's positions.
"I can see you. I am at your two o'clock direction."
Scout replied calmly, sounding completely different from how he had been earlier.
"Two o'clock… got it, I see you now."
Shirou raised his hand to roughly orient himself and quickly located the two o'clock direction, spotting Scout's figure atop another building not too far away.
"I am currently concealed, you know… Shirou, are you really not considering it?"
Seeing Shirou pinpoint his location immediately and even wave at him, Scout's desire to recruit him flared up once more.
"Maybe next time. Mission first."
And just like that, Shirou extinguished it again.
After the two of them briefly divided the surveillance areas between themselves, Shirou's communicator finally became quiet.
Standing atop the rooftop, Shirou let the cold wind blow over him.
The replacement Guard Department tactical coat he had changed into fluttered violently in the gusts.
"..."
He actually understood that Chen and the others were genuinely worried about his condition. It was just that being singled out for special treatment did not feel particularly good.
Still, he could understand why they were worried, so he cooperated with them anyway.
Everyone at Rhodes Island had also been quite welcoming, so he did not feel especially uncomfortable there.
Even Scout, who had spent the entire time enthusiastically promoting firearms, honestly made some valid points in Shirou's opinion.
Without taking magecraft into account, firearms really were useful weapons.
Convenient, fast, and sufficiently lethal.
However, once magecraft entered the equation, firearms started to feel somewhat lacking.
And besides… based on those memories, he probably could project certain guns if he wanted to.
But just as he had said earlier, firearms simply did not fit with his combat style and tactics.
Still, according to Exusiai, there were people in Laterano who attached short blades onto their guns so they could also fight at close range.
Weapons like that were called… gunblades? Or swordguns?
Whatever, it was not important. A normal gun already did not mesh with his tactics, so a gunblade definitely would not either.
That thing did not exactly look easy to use.
Although…
It did look pretty cool.
Ignoring practicality for a moment, Shirou felt it might actually be worth taking inspiration from.