It had been more than two months, nearly three since the operation to rescue the Doctor.
During that time, Shirou had been recuperating in Lungmen, only returning to his previous routine not long ago.
Calling it "recuperation" was not entirely accurate.
In reality, he had simply been spending his time hanging out with all of his friends in Lungmen.
Penguin Logistics, especially during the New Year holiday, had completely gone wild. Every single day featured a different party with a different theme and venue.
All Shirou could say was that his Boss really knew how to have fun.
Unfortunately, he did not drink alcohol.
Aside from joining in a little at the beginning, he usually ended up taking care of everyone after they drank themselves unconscious.
Still, that suited him just fine.
At least, it did for Shirou.
Being able to watch everyone gather together and enjoy themselves was enough.
As for cleaning up afterward...
Well, he still had Yith to help him.
The carefree days only lasted through the New Year holiday, however.
Once the holidays ended, they had to deal with the enormous backlog of deliveries that had piled up.
As for Shirou, after sacrificing a motorcycle during the previous delivery mission, Emperor mercilessly reassigned him to his original position.
It gave Shirou the feeling that he had returned to when he first arrived in Lungmen last year, simply taking care of the four girls while gradually familiarizing himself with this unfamiliar land.
After maintaining that pace of recovery for some time, he now looked almost exactly the same as before.
The only noticeable difference was that he had grown a little taller and more muscular.
Unfortunately, that left Exusiai feeling extremely resentful.
Too bad she could no longer beat the upgraded Demon King Shirou.
She had no choice but to give up.
After all, when he could stop all of her punches and kicks simply by holding her head back with one hand...
How was she supposed to fight that?
It was not until recently, when Wei Yenwu personally visited Emperor and requested that Shirou continue serving as Officer Chen's sparring partner for swordsmanship training, that Shirou resumed his daily routine of running between home, the Guard Department, and the slums.
However, before he could fully settle back into that lifestyle, Rhodes Island arrived with another commission.
This time, the commission specifically requested Shirou.
Emperor was naturally aware of that, since the request had passed through him before reaching Shirou.
"...Uh... We are going to Columbia? Seriously? Should there not be someone better suited for this?"
Looking at the people seated before him Amiya, the Doctor, Blaze, and Rosmontis as well as the documents spread across the table, Shirou's face was filled with confusion.
More than anything, he simply did not understand why they had chosen him.
From what Shirou knew, Columbia was nothing like Ursus.
Instead of chaos, it was a nation known for order and stability.
Many wealthy people lived there, so public security was naturally excellent.
In such a peaceful place, there was very little he could contribute.
It would make much more sense to recruit operators who had actually lived in Columbia before.
For example, Saria would be an excellent choice.
If he remembered correctly, she was originally from Columbia.
Her connections there far surpassed his own.
She was also a formidable fighter.
And she was much smarter than he was.
So why had they come to him?
Surely they were not taking him along on an all-expenses-paid vacation?
"Ms. Saria has matters of her own to deal with. Besides, the person we are trying to approach this time has had conflicts with her before, so she would not be a suitable choice. As for why we chose you, Shirou, it is because you have a significant advantage over the other operators when it comes to communicating across different languages."
Amiya answered his question with complete seriousness, even explaining exactly why he had been selected.
"Languages? Uh... All right, I understand."
Only then did Shirou remember that he really did possess an enormous advantage in that area.
After all, that knowledge had been directly implanted into his mind by the Holy Grail.
While other people needed years of study before they could communicate fluently with foreigners, he had simply been handed that ability from the beginning.
It really was rather absurd.
That said, he had never actually told anyone about it.
They had probably noticed while he was on Rhodes Island, seeing how naturally he communicated with people from different regions.
"So it is only me? What about everyone else from Penguin Logistics?"
Having accepted the explanation, Shirou picked up the documents on the table and skimmed through them.
Compared to the commission to Chernobog last time, this mission was remarkably simple.
To put it in Shirou's own words:
Find a way to establish contact with the target of this mission and persuade them to cooperate with Rhodes Island.
It was a commission that suited him very poorly.
After all, he was not exactly gifted when it came to persuasion.
Fortunately, that responsibility belonged to the Doctor.
Shirou only needed to act as everyone's interpreter while doubling as a bodyguard.
It could be considered an exceptionally easy assignment.
Still, judging from the paperwork...
He seemed to be the only one from Penguin Logistics participating.
At least, he could not find any mention of the others.
"We originally wanted to commission all of Penguin Logistics, but Emperor would not agree."
Hearing Shirou's question, Amiya smiled helplessly as she explained.
"I understand."
Thinking about the distance between Lungmen and Columbia, Shirou immediately figured everything out.
If everyone from Penguin Logistics were sent on a business trip to Columbia, then Boss would once again be left all alone in Lungmen for a month or two.
The previous month-long mission to Chernobog had already cost Rhodes Island dearly before Emperor finally agreed.
This time, they had neither enough intelligence nor enough bargaining chips to convince that penguin a second time.
Even so, Shirou understood that Emperor had only agreed to the previous mission because Rhodes Island possessed a great deal of information related to him personally.
That cooperation had been, in large part, for his sake.
This time, however, it was simply an ordinary business commission.
Naturally, they could not expect Penguin Logistics to dispatch the entire company again.
There was another reason as well.
In just a few months, Penguin Logistics would be heading to Siesta for their annual vacation.
Before then, none of them could afford to take an extended leave, or they would never finish catching up on their workload in time.
Otherwise, their vacation might disappear altogether.
So, realistically, Shirou really was the only person Penguin Logistics could spare.
"The core members of this operation will be myself, Amiya, and Ace. With you included, that makes four people. Your primary responsibility, along with Ace's, will be protecting Amiya and me. If I am unavailable and a language barrier arises, you will also serve as the interpreter and intermediary."
After confirming that Shirou had no further questions, the Doctor took over the task briefing from Amiya.
The contents were basically the same as the documents Shirou had just read, only much more concise.
After several months, the Doctor's condition was visibly much better than it had been back in Chernobog. At the very least, they no longer became short of breath after speaking only a few sentences.
However, Shirou noticed something else.
He glanced at Blaze, who was sitting nearby, and then at Rosmontis, who was quietly enjoying a cookie beside her, before asking,
"Rosmontis and Blaze are not coming?"
Hearing her name, Rosmontis looked up for a moment, but Blaze gently patted her head and explained,
"We are coming too. We just have a different mission to carry out. Most of the time we will not be moving together with your group. If anything happens, the Doctor and Ace will provide support as quickly as possible. When that happens, we will be counting on you to look after the little rabbit."
"I see. Understood."
Seeing everyone else nod, Shirou did not ask any further questions.
The arrangement made perfect sense.
There was nothing to criticize about it.
After all, many operations required a certain degree of secrecy. The fewer people who knew about specific objectives, the better.
So Shirou did not press the issue.
"What do you think?"
After watching Shirou silently flip through the documents for quite some time, the Doctor finally asked.
Truthfully, they could complete this Columbia operation without him.
For some reason, however, Kal'tsit had suddenly proposed bringing Shirou along, and the majority of the leadership had agreed.
The Doctor herself had been among them.
"It does not seem like there will be any major problems. When do we leave?"
After organizing the information in his mind and confirming that nothing in this operation exceeded his capabilities, Shirou finally agreed.
He was not worried that Rhodes Island would try to deceive him.
Instead, what concerned him more was whether joining the mission would end up slowing everyone else down.
Setting aside the combat ability granted by his Magecraft, he was merely an ordinary person who had not even finished high school.
At most, he knew more about Oripathy than the average person and possessed a certain degree of resistance to the dangers posed by Originium.
Because of that last advantage, he could indeed take on many dangerous tasks.
Unfortunately, he lacked the experience, expertise, and technical knowledge needed to truly make use of that advantage.
While recuperating over the past few months, he had tried learning some of the related fields.
But...
He simply could not.
Unlike acquiring a basic understanding of Oripathy, advancing further required a substantial foundation in mathematics.
That was knowledge he simply did not possess.
Even trying to cram it all would require an enormous investment of time and effort.
For him, it was not a realistic path.
Setting those "advantages" aside, Shirou still believed he could contribute enough to this mission.
That was why he agreed.
If he could not be of any help, then he would rather stay in Lungmen.
At least most of the work at the Guard Department was something he could genuinely assist with.
"Tomorrow, the schedule is fairly tight and Columbia is very far from Lungmen. Even aboard the Bad Guy, it will still take several days."
Only after hearing Shirou's answer did the Doctor finally let out a sigh of relief.
Doctor did not know why Kal'tsit had insisted on bringing Shirou to Columbia.
As far as the Doctor was concerned, they simply felt an overwhelming sense of security whenever they were working alongside him.
Perhaps it was because, during the Chernobog operation shortly after Doctor had awakened, Shirou's strength had left such a profound impression on them.
Now that Doctor had to travel somewhere completely unfamiliar to negotiate with strangers, they honestly felt somewhat uneasy if Amiya and the others were not by their side.
This was practically the perfect team.
Shirou on Doctor's left.
Amiya on Doctor's right.
Blaze, Rosmontis, and Ace standing behind them.
This overwhelming sense of security...
There was simply too much of it.
"Then I will head back and get everything ready. Are you all staying in Lungmen tonight, or are you returning to Rhodes Island to prepare?"
After confirming the departure time, Shirou stood up, ready to return home to pack his belongings and let everyone else know about his upcoming trip.
Then he suddenly remembered something and asked about their plans for the evening.
"Our luggage and tactical equipment are already aboard the Bad Guy. We will be staying here for the night. Unless, Shirou, you were planning to show us around Lungmen?"
Ace picked up the conversation.
"Hmm... That should not be a problem. I will invite everyone from Penguin Logistics too. That way they probably will not give me a hard time tonight."
After thinking about it for a moment, Shirou found Ace's suggestion rather appealing.
If he simply went home and announced that he would be "traveling on business" to Columbia for a while, everyone's reaction would undoubtedly be dramatic.
He could already picture Exusiai and Croissant rolling around on the floor, complaining that they worked diligently every single day, so why was he the only one who got to go out and have fun?
Just imagining it gave him a headache.
Ace's suggestion had unexpectedly opened up a new solution.
There was almost nothing that could not be solved by taking everyone out for a meal.
If there was...
Then it simply meant there was no apple pie.
Buy one, and the problem would disappear.
There was no need to bake it himself.
Buying one outside would be enough.
"Heh. I thought you ruled Penguin Logistics with an iron fist, Shirou. Turns out you are not much different from me."
After hearing Shirou's explanation, combined with her previous impressions of Penguin Logistics, Blaze immediately understood why he had said that.
After all, she had to engage in the same kind of battle of wits with Rhodes Island's Elite Operators all the time.
Terra was such a vast world, yet even Shirou struggled with the exact same problem she did!
"Calling it 'ruling with an iron fist' is a bit of an exaggeration. If I am the only one going to Columbia, everyone else still has to keep working. I am just worried that they will feel it is unfair."
Seeing that Blaze seemed to have developed yet another strange impression of him, Shirou hurriedly explained.
Otherwise, he was afraid that before long, rumors would start spreading around Rhodes Island that he wielded immense power in Lungmen or something equally ridiculous.
It would not even be the first time.
For some unknown reason, there had previously been a rumor on Rhodes Island claiming that his signature opening move was summoning hundreds of swords and detonating them point-blank in his opponent's face.
Had Amiya and several others not stepped in to explain things, the Engineering Department at Rhodes Island would probably have come knocking on his door.
Whether it was the Engineering Department or Nian, these people all seemed to hold anything that had been "crafted" in especially high regard.
If something broke through normal use, they might grumble a little.
But if someone deliberately treated it like a bomb and blew it up...
Then they would have a great many things to say.
"That is true. If I saw Misery or Mechanist sitting around doing nothing, I would probably find some work for them too."
After hearing Shirou's explanation, Blaze immediately put herself in his shoes and completely understood.
After all, she was exactly the same kind of person.
"Wait... So the last time you came to me asking for assignments for those two, it was just because you could not stand seeing them idle?"
The Doctor suddenly seemed to recall something and looked at Blaze with a puzzled expression.
"Uh... Ehehe."
Realizing that one of her previous misdeeds had been exposed, Blaze tried to laugh it off with an innocent smile.
Unfortunately, no one present fell for it.
Still, since it was hardly a serious offense, nobody could really criticize her over it.
At most, they all made a mental note to be careful.
If they ever had free time and happened to run into Blaze, they had better find something to occupy themselves with immediately.
Otherwise, there was a very good chance that their workload would suddenly increase.
Of course, those were the thoughts of the Doctor and Ace.
After all, Shirou was merely cooperating with Rhodes Island and, under normal circumstances, never allowed himself to remain idle anyway.
As for Amiya and Rosmontis, the situation was even simpler.
If either of them happened to have free time, Blaze would be far too busy doting on them and showering them with affection.
Why would she go out of her way to find extra work for the two of them?