"Ah! Just as expected, we were firmly rejected by their side."
On the street outside Airut company Company, Doctor stretched and let out a sigh.
Although Doctor had expected this outcome from the beginning, actually being rejected was still discouraging. Especially since every point the other party raised struck directly at Rhodes Island's weaknesses, leaving them with no good way to refute them.
"Now we can only hope everything goes smoothly on Shirou's side. If he can persuade Mr. Marlin, then this partnership still has a good chance of succeeding."
Walking beside Doctor, Amiya pursed her lips as she spoke.
She was disappointed by their failure as well, but this was something she had already prepared herself for, so she quickly adjusted her mindset.
After all, Marlin Airut was the true owner of Airut Company. As long as they could meet him and convince him, there was still a real opportunity for this partnership to happen.
The prerequisite, however, was that Shirou's mission proceeded smoothly.
His task was far more difficult than theirs, but Amiya still believed that Shirou could handle everything.
As long as he was there, there was always an inexplicable sense of reassurance.
That was Amiya's own opinion.
However, she believed that anyone who had worked alongside Shirou would probably feel the same way.
"At this point, the tournament should already be over. Shirou and the others are probably waiting for us back at the branch office. Let us head back and ask him directly," Ace, who was walking behind the two of them, said.
They had departed at almost the same time as Shirou.
The only difference was that after arriving at Airut Company, they had spent a long time waiting before finally meeting the person in charge. Afterward, they had spent even more time discussing and negotiating with them.
Altogether, nearly six hours had passed.
Based on Ace's understanding of the tournament's rules, Shirou's side should have finished long ago.
At the very least, he should already have reached the finals, or more accurately, the final table.
Even so, Ace was not optimistic about Shirou making it that far.
In his opinion, the young man was still a little too straightforward. His thoughts were simply too easy to read.
He might have been able to rely on luck during the early rounds, but everyone at the final table would be veterans among veterans.
Defeating players like them would not be an easy task.
"I hope Shirou has already prepared a delicious meal for us by the time we get back. Otherwise, I will have to eat instant noodles tonight."
The moment they heard they were heading back to find Shirou, Doctor immediately clasped their hands together and began praying.
Although they had eaten dinner earlier, the many hours of work had long since digested it.
Doctor was extremely hungry now.
At this hour in Columbia, the only places still open were either bars or twenty-four-hour fast-food restaurants.
Amiya would absolutely never allow them to go to either of those places.
As a result, Doctor had already lowered the expectations to instant noodles.
Instant noodles, a wonderful food that could be stored easily and prepared anytime with nothing more than hot water, had accompanied Doctor through countless difficult nights.
"Then let us contact the branch office first."
Faced with Doctor's completely shameless threat, what else could little Amiya do?
Naturally, she gave in.
Of course, she was not planning to trouble Shirou with preparing food. Instead, she intended to ask the staff at the branch office to get something ready.
Even if instant noodles really were the only option available, they could at least add eggs, meat, and vegetables to make the meal nutritionally balanced.
With that, she took out her terminal and contacted the Rhodes Island branch office.
The reason she did not contact Shirou directly was because there was no urgency, and he was very likely still busy. It would not be good to interrupt him.
After the call connected, Amiya briefly informed them that they were on their way back.
For some reason, she had the strange feeling that the person on the other end of the terminal seemed somewhat... absent-minded.
They were not nearly as sharp as usual.
She had to repeat herself twice before they finally remembered to write it down.
"What is wrong?"
Noticing the puzzled expression on Amiya's face after she put away her terminal, Doctor asked.
"Nothing. It is probably just because it is late and they are tired. The person at the branch office seemed a little distracted during the conversation."
Amiya shook her head, attributing it to exhaustion from the late hour.
"They have also been under a lot of pressure gathering intelligence recently, have they not? If this deal goes through, they will probably be the happiest of all. After all, everyone at the branch office worked very hard to collect all of this information."
Ace spoke up on behalf of the branch office staff.
Even though he knew Amiya and Doctor would not blame them over something like this, it was still important to explain the situation clearly and avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.
"Ah! Ace, now that you mention it, I feel even guiltier about failing to close the deal!"
Doctor let out a dramatic wail, successfully drawing both of their attention away and steering the conversation in another direction.
The cry sounded so genuine that both Ace and Amiya could clearly sense their anxiety, and they immediately began comforting Doctor.
Thus, while the two of them continued reassuring Doctor along the way, they soon returned to Rhodes Island's Columbia branch office.
The lights in the front lobby had already been turned off.
However, through the glass entrance doors, they could still see that the lights in the offices farther inside were on.
The silence was almost unsettling.
Even after Amiya pushed open the door, she did not hear a single sound.
Instead, waves of delicious aromas drifted toward them.
"Dinner is ready? You actually started without waiting for me!"
The moment Doctor smelled the food, they dashed inside in an instant.
There was no sign whatsoever that this was the same person who had been comforted the entire way back.
Amiya: "..."
So all of those comforting words were worth less than a single meal right in front of them?
"Come on in. You should eat something as well."
Ace, standing outside the door, smiled wryly when he saw the speechless look on Amiya's face. Still, he had to admit that Doctor's condition was much better than it had been earlier.
It had just cost him quite a bit of emotional energy.
"Mm."
Hearing Ace's words, Amiya obediently nodded and made her way toward the office at the back with small, quick steps.
Behind her, Ace closed the door, locked it, and pulled down the rolling shutter, completely sealing the office off from the outside world. A mere glass window was nowhere near enough to keep out the dangers of Columbia at night.
Afterward, he followed the two of them into the office.
The moment he stepped inside, he saw the table covered with takeout food. Doctor was eating with great enthusiasm, while Amiya had only taken a small portion and was quietly savoring it.
If one ignored their appearances, it would have been easy to think that Amiya was the older one, while Doctor was the child who had yet to grow up.
"What happened to all of you?"
Shifting his gaze away from Doctor and Amiya, Ace looked toward the office staff, who all seemed to have lost their souls.
It was not just the office personnel. Even the four members of Blacksteel Worldwide, Liskarm, Franka, Jessica, and Vanilla were in the same dazed state.
Come to think of it, if the Blacksteel team had returned, then Shirou should have come back as well. Why was he nowhere to be seen?
"They are fine. They are just a little absent-minded. As for the reason, I do not know either. But Doctor said it was nothing serious."
After swallowing the food in her mouth, Amiya explained everyone's condition.
The moment she entered earlier, she had realized something was wrong. She had asked what had happened, but no one could give her a proper answer. They had simply stood there blankly holding their terminals, so she had used a little of her Originium Arts.
From what her Arts revealed, Amiya could tell that they were merely distracted by something. As for what that something was, she had no way of knowing.
She would have to wait until they came back to their senses.
The main thing was that the situation was not serious. Although she was worried about them, Doctor had assured her that everyone was fine. They needed to fill their stomachs first so they would have the energy to work afterward, which was why she had helped herself to a little food.
"You really are taking this in stride... I will ask Shirou instead. Do either of you know where he is?"
After hearing Amiya's explanation, Ace could only marvel at how unconcerned Doctor was.
What if someone had launched a surprise attack?
They could not relax this much simply because Shirou was around.
Left with little choice, Ace turned to the others and asked where Shirou was.
Although everyone was still absent-minded, Liskarm raised a hand and pointed toward the room in the back. The meaning could not have been any clearer.
Ace: "..."
There were simply too many things to comment on. He did not even know where to begin.
In any case, he would ask Shirou what had happened. Shirou certainly knew the whole story.
Ace headed toward the back, instinctively assuming Shirou would be in the kitchen. However, when he got there, he found that the kitchen was empty.
"In the room?"
If Shirou was not in the kitchen, then he had to be in one of the rooms.
This operation required them to stay overnight, so the office staff had already arranged accommodations. Ace and Shirou were sharing one room, while Doctor and Amiya shared another.
Rooms had even been prepared for Blaze and Rosmontis. If necessary, they could move in immediately.
As he approached the room, Ace noticed that the door was slightly open, and faint sounds were coming from inside.
Unless something unexpected had happened, Shirou was probably in there.
"I am coming in."
After politely knocking twice, Ace pushed the door open.
Then he... froze.
In front of Shirou were two suitcases, both packed to the brim with Columbia dollars.
At a glance, Ace estimated that they contained the equivalent of at least three or four million Lungmen dollars.
As for Shirou himself, he was staring at the two suitcases with an expression full of conflicted emotions, as though he had no idea what to do with this unexpected fortune.
The sight made Ace want to hit someone.
"Oh, Ace. You are back? Did everything go well?"
Hearing someone enter, Shirou turned around. The conflicted look on his face vanished without a trace, and he promptly closed both suitcases.
"Yes. We finished handling everything and came back. The others are acting rather strangely, so I wanted to ask you what happened... and also, what is the story behind all that money?"
Ace quickly recovered from his surprise and explained why he had come. After a brief hesitation, he also admitted his curiosity about the origin of the two suitcases full of cash.
"Ahaha... Both of those questions have rather complicated answers."
At Ace's inquiry, Shirou scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Then he took out his terminal and opened a photograph.
The picture showed Shirou dressed in a suit, a collared shirt, and a long overcoat, standing beside the primary target of Rhodes Island's operation—
Marin Airut.
Ace's attention was clearly not on why Shirou had a photo with the man. Instead, it was fixed on the large white object that Shirou and Marin were holding together.
If he remembered correctly, was that not the prize awarded to the champion of the Columbia Poker Tournament?
One million Columbia dollars... Converted to Lungmen dollars, that was more than seven million, nearly twice what he had estimated just now...
Hm? Wait a second?
The money was with Shirou, which meant the Columbia Poker champion was...
At that realization, Ace suddenly straightened his back, reached up to remove his sunglasses, and narrowed his eyes as he studied Shirou, the terminal in his hand, and the two suitcases beside him.
In that instant, Ace understood everything.
No, seriously, if you were this amazing, you should have said something! That just made everything he had taught Shirou that afternoon look ridiculous.
The moment he remembered spending the afternoon teaching Shirou some of his own tips and experience, Ace could only feel embarrassed.
"Do not look at me like that. I was surprised too. Maybe it was because I happened to be rather lucky today?"
Being stared at like that by Ace, Shirou calmly explained himself.
Why was Shirou able to remain so composed?
The reason was simple: practice.
He had already explained the whole story twice to the Blacksteel employees and the office staff. By now, he was quite experienced at it.
As for the truth?
That really was the truth.
Otherwise, there was no way he could have defeated Marin Airut's full house in the final round with an even stronger four of a kind.
It really had come down to pure luck.
They had both gone all-in with three of a kind at the start of the showdown, but Shirou had completed the stronger hand while Marin had fallen just short.
Fortunately, Marin was not the sort of person to hold grudges over such things. Otherwise, Shirou would have effectively smashed the bridge between them and destroyed any possibility of future cooperation.
Ace: "..."
Having not witnessed the match himself, he could not tell whether Shirou was genuinely telling the truth or simply being humble in an infuriating way.
It did not stop his mind from slowly shutting down.
There were simply too many things to complain about. He did not even know where to begin.
At that moment, Ace suddenly understood why the Blacksteel members and the office staff outside had all looked the way they did.
If it had been him, he would have been dumbfounded too.
"Anyway, let us go— Ow!"
After piecing everything together, Ace decided that he could not be the only one to suffer this shock. He was determined to drag Shirou over to broaden Doctor's horizons as well.
Unfortunately, in his haste, he spun around and slammed headfirst into the doorframe.
"Are you all right?"
The impact was so loud that even Shirou winced.
Walking over, he could clearly see a bright red mark on Ace's forehead. The wooden doorframe that had somehow managed to injure Ace had not come out of the collision much better either. A crack had been smashed into it.
That alone showed just how hard Ace had hit it.
Fortunately, it had been wood instead of metal. Otherwise, the noise would have been even louder.
"I-I am... fine."
Holding his sunglasses in one hand while rubbing his forehead with the other, Ace looked thoroughly embarrassed.
His mind had been completely occupied with bringing this "good news" to Doctor, so he had forgotten to watch where he was going and charged straight into the doorframe.
Thankfully, the only witness was Shirou. Otherwise, once they returned, he would have had to accept a mission overnight just to escape Rhodes Island.
After recovering somewhat, Ace headed back with Shirou to find Doctor.
However, his expression had already become identical to those of the Blacksteel members and the office staff.
Although Ace possessed exceptional mental fortitude as an elite operator, everything that had happened was simply too unreal.
It made him wonder whether he was still dreaming or had fallen victim to some Originium Art.
Yet the throbbing pain in his forehead from colliding with the doorframe kept reminding him that this was, without question, reality.
That was more than seven million Lungmen dollars.
Shirou had gone out with five hundred thousand and come back with fourteen times that amount.
The main purpose of this trip had been to let Amiya, Shirou, and Doctor relax in Columbia, which was why they had been given an operational budget as high as five hundred thousand Lungmen dollars.
Under normal circumstances, no operation would ever receive that much spending money. Hardly anyone else would have dared approve such a budget. Fortunately, Doctor had both the authority and the capability to do so, along with a perfectly valid reason.
Therefore, aside from the original five hundred thousand, all the additional money counted as Shirou's unexpected personal earnings, to be spent however he wished.
Even after deducting the original operational funds, there were still six and a half million Lungmen dollars left.
That was still an enormous sum.
So... yes.
Ace's brain still could not quite process it.
Disbelief.
Understanding.
Acceptance.
Ace felt that those three words perfectly described his current state.
The only coherent thought remaining in his head was that he had to bring Shirou over to Doctor so that they and Amiya could experience this shock as well.
After all, Rhodes Island was one united family. They could not leave Doctor and Amiya out of this! If possible, it would be even better if Blaze and Rosmontis found out too!
Doctor, Amiya: "?"
Inside the office, Doctor asked with a puzzled expression,
"So, let me get this straight. You are saying that you successfully made contact with Mr. Marin, earned far more goodwill from him than expected, and even arranged for him to personally meet with us in a few days to discuss a partnership?"
From the moment Ace had returned wearing that vacant, enlightened expression, along with the obvious swelling on his forehead, Doctor had known something major had happened.
Although seeing Ace without his sunglasses was surprising in itself, the news about Shirou was clearly far more shocking.
"No, why does that sound so strange coming from you? Why are you describing it in terms of 'goodwill points'?"
Hearing Doctor's wording, Shirou could not help pointing out the issue.
What he had not expected was that the next sentence would leave him even more speechless.
"Then why else would Marin suddenly agree to discuss cooperation with us? Was it not because you sold your looks?" Doctor asked.
Shirou had only mentioned the outcome after arriving. He had not yet explained how he had met Marin.
Meanwhile, Doctor's imagination had already gone into overdrive.
For the sake of Rhodes Island successfully securing a partnership, Shirou had gone alone and...
"..."
Without saying a word, Shirou simply smiled, reached out, and rested his right hand on Doctor's head.
"Shirou?"
"I think you have been working too hard these past few days. Your brain is clearly not functioning properly anymore. Coincidentally, I learned a few emergency treatment techniques from Gavial, so let me help you with that."
Before Doctor could react, all five of Shirou's fingers tightened, firmly gripping both the head and the hood.
Technique Supervisor—Gavial.
According to the instructor herself, when there was nothing else at hand, this method worked wonders on particularly uncooperative patients.
Training Partners—"Human Fluorescent Light" and "Croissant Girl."
Both victims complained that it hurt every single time, yet they never learned their lesson and kept teasing him anyway, allowing Shirou to steadily refine his technique.
The result—
Applying the smallest amount of force necessary to make someone's scalp go numb with pain. That way, they would suffer without actually being injured, while still thoroughly understanding that they had done something wrong.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! Let go! Let go! I was wrong! I really was wrong!"
Doctor grabbed Shirou's hand with both of theirs and cried out in agony.
Naturally, it hurt.
After all, Shirou's thumb and little finger were pressing directly against both sides of the forehead and the temples.
That area was already extremely sensitive. Even light pressure could produce obvious pain.
Sometimes, while working, Doctor would gently massage their temples to stay awake. Even that caused a faint soreness.
Shirou, however, was pressing down with all his strength.
It felt as though their head were splitting apart.
There was no better way to describe the current condition.
"Stop making things up. If you want to know what happened, let Ace explain it to you."
Of course, Shirou was not some bloodthirsty Sarkaz intent on killing Doctor. Once he felt they had suffered enough, he let go.
The temples were a very fragile area.
Besides, Doctor was nowhere near as physically sturdy as his two regular "training partners." A few seconds of pain was more than enough.
After that little incident, Shirou handed over the responsibility of explaining everything to Ace.
As for himself, he poured a glass of water, walked over to the table, and picked out some of the crispier food before casually popping it into his mouth.
He had already explained the whole story two or three times. It was exhausting and he was afraid that Doctor would say something ridiculous again and tempt him into grabbing their head once more.
Even if he managed to restrain himself...
He would only be bottling it up.
It was better to let Ace handle it.
At least Ace was not personally involved.
That meant he would not suddenly resort to physical discipline because of Doctor's nonsense.
Doctor and Amiya: "...?"
Switching fully into work mode, Ace quickly organized his thoughts and explained the entire sequence of events to Doctor and Amiya in the simplest and most efficient way possible.
Even so, the story itself was so unbelievable that both of them stared at him in complete disbelief.
The others, hearing it all over again, could only twitch at the corners of their mouths.
The reason was simple.
Ace's explanation was far too straightforward.
"Shirou won the tournament championship and received several million in prize money. Because of that, he earned Mr. Marin's recognition. In a few days, Mr. Marin is expected to meet with us personally to discuss cooperation."
Just a few short sentences perfectly summarized Shirou's achievement that day.
Shirou himself had worried about all sorts of details while explaining it.
Ace, on the other hand, had no such concerns.
He simply stated the facts as plainly as possible until everyone understood.
"How... how much did you say?"
After several moments, Doctor finally processed one critical detail.
Doctor's voice even cracked.
Several million!
Even after subtracting the initial five hundred thousand Lungmen dollars that had been allocated as the operation's budget, there would still be millions left to spend freely. Besides, a tournament that required a five hundred thousand Lungmen dollar entry fee would never have such a small prize pool. The winnings had to be several times greater than that.
Good heavens!
That was equivalent to several months of Rhodes Island's net income!
With that kind of money, Rhodes Island's financial pressure could be eased tremendously.
Doctor would not have to work overtime every single day anymore!
They could even stockpile mountains of instant noodles!
Of course, all of that remained nothing more than wishful thinking inside Doctor's head.
"Converted to Lungmen dollars, it is about seven million," Ace replied.
"Father! I am your long-lost child!"
Doctor instantly dashed over, hugged Shirou's leg, and shouted dramatically.
Thinking about it was one thing.
Actually trying it was another.
Who knew?
Maybe it would work.
"Doctor!" Amiya exclaimed.
Amiya's eyes widened even further when she saw Doctor drop to the knees so smoothly.
Although Doctor's image had gradually been falling apart over the past few days, the scene before her almost made her black out.
Ace said nothing.
He simply reached over and gently patted Amiya on the shoulder.
Shirou: "..."
Did I squeeze Doctor's head so hard that I made them stupid?
That should not be possible!
I really did not use that much force!
When dealing with Croissant and Exusiai, I could even lift both of them off the ground.
While Shirou's mind briefly stalled, Doctor's brain was working at full speed.
Why was Shirou not reacting?
Was it because calling him "Father" did not feel appropriate?
Now that Doctor thought about it, they agreed.
That title really did not suit Shirou.
After all—
Shirou was the kind of man who could be the mother!
"Mom!" Doctor cried out with heartfelt emotion.
"Columbian profanity! Shirou, calm down! If that punch lands, Doctor is going to die!"
The instant Doctor spoke, Shirou was the first to react.
A split second later, Ace rushed forward and grabbed him.
Hearing that particular word had made Shirou's fist start itching.
He suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to punch something as hard as he could.
As for Ace, years of experience as a Defender had allowed him to judge that Shirou's punch contained at least half of his full strength, so he hurried to stop him.
If that punch landed on Ace or any other operator, they would probably be fine.
If it landed on Doctor...
They would not be.
Fortunately, Shirou had not enhanced himself with Originium Arts.
Otherwise, Ace would not even have had the chance to stop him.
"Do not worry! I learned plenty from Gavial!"
Even while being restrained, Shirou kept one fist raised high.
He knew perfectly well how physically fragile Doctor was.
Originally, he had only intended to slam his fist into the table to frighten then.
Now that someone had stopped him...
He might as well scare them a little more.
He knew exactly what Doctor feared most.
The Medical Department.
Most of the people there were individuals Doctor absolutely did not dare provoke.
There was no need to mention Kal'tsit.
Hibiscus and Gavial had also left considerable psychological scars on Doctor.
The former...
Those who knew, knew.
As for the latter, her brutally direct methods of anesthesia had made Doctor avoid her whenever possible.
Especially after Shirou had already used Gavial's "treatment" once just now.
Doctor became even more terrified and immediately hid behind the sofa where Amiya was sitting, only poking the head out to cautiously watch Shirou.
Everyone else burst into laughter at the sight.
It was as though none of them had been standing around in a daze just moments earlier.
After all, seeing Shirou this angry...
Was a very rare occurrence.
Granted, there were certain trigger words that could produce this reaction.
But aside from Franka, nobody present would probably dare say them.
And even if they did, they would have to take one of Shirou's punches afterward.
No matter how they looked at it, that trade was not worth it.
All they could say was...
Thank you, Doctor, for giving them such an entertaining show.
Thank you, Doctor!
All hail Doctor!
As for Shirou's astonishing accomplishments?
They could think about those later.
Watching the spectacle came first.
"...It really is lively."
Looking at Doctor hiding behind her, then at Shirou, who was talking about punching someone despite being calmer than anyone else in the room, Amiya quietly murmured to herself, too softly for anyone else to hear.
She did not dislike this atmosphere.
She believed Shirou felt the same way.
Perhaps...
This had been Dr. Kal'tsit's intention all along.
Then again...
The outcome had probably exceeded even Dr. Kal'tsit's expectations.
Not only had Shirou completed the mission, he had also earned an unbelievable amount of money.
At the very least, one thing was certain.
Their trip to Columbia could now truly become a vacation.
Their original operational budget of five hundred thousand Lungmen dollars had already been more than enough.
As long as Doctor did not spend recklessly, they would have no financial worries.
Just that morning, they had still been wondering how they were going to get through the next few days.
Doctor had even started looking up free activities.
Recovering their operational funds had truly saved them.
After all the joking and commotion died down, everyone except Amiya, Doctor, Shirou, and the four Blacksteel operators returned to their rooms.
After all, it was already very late.
The office still had to open for business the next day.
"So... you really will not consider lending me some?"
Having regained composure, Doctor still had not given up.
They wanted to borrow a little money from Shirou.
At least this time they spoke like a normal person.
Doctor refrained from saying anything else that would make everyone else question reality.
"I do not really mind lending it... but after we get back, I will probably hand this money over to Dr. Kal'tsit. There is not really anything I need to spend it on."
Shirou had already given some thought to what should be done with the prize money.
Keeping it for himself was out of the question.
After all, the original stake had not come from his own pocket.
If he kept it, it would never sit right with him.
Most of it would naturally be returned to Rhodes Island.
At most, he would set aside a portion to buy souvenirs for everyone back in Lungmen.
The shop also needed an emergency reserve fund.
Although Phal and Rope had both insisted that he did not need to subsidize the shop with his salary...
Using part of his tournament winnings instead should be perfectly acceptable.
Given the personalities of the people at the shop, they probably would not let him do that a second time. Then again, Shirou doubted he would ever gamble like this again, so there would not be a next time anyway.
"Seriously? You are just going to give away that much money?"
Hearing Shirou's answer, Franka's eyes went wide.
Good grief!
If she had that much money, she would have already applied for leave and started traveling all over the world!
So how was Shirou's first instinct to hand it all over to someone else?
"Actually, Shirou, you do not need to worry so much. Doctor was the one who decided to let you use those five hundred thousand Lungmen dollars in the first place. Now that you have returned the original amount, the rest of the money is naturally yours to do with as you please."
Ace could tell what Shirou was concerned about and spoke up.
He knew that Shirou's decision would greatly ease Rhodes Island's financial burden.
However, out of their personal friendship, he still chose to persuade him otherwise.
"Umm..."
Amiya puffed out her cheeks, clearly struggling with herself. After a brief, pitiful whimper, she finally nodded in agreement with Ace.
"Ace is right. Shirou, you should spend this money on yourself."
With that money, Rhodes Island's financial situation would improve dramatically.
But Shirou could also use it to do the things he himself wanted.
"...All right. I will listen to you."
Seeing how insistent they were, Shirou could only give in.
The feeling was rather strange.
He wanted to give the money to Rhodes Island.
Yet the two people taking the lead in persuading him not to were both senior members of Rhodes Island itself.
Still, Shirou understood where they were coming from.
No one would ever complain about having too much money.
There were plenty of things he wanted to buy as well.
The problem was...
He could not stop worrying.
He worried about everyone at the shop.
He worried about everyone at Rhodes Island.
Between his salaries from Penguin Logistics and the Lungmen Guard Department, and after deducting his monthly personal expenses, Shirou had actually managed to save a respectable amount of money.
He had carefully put away all the bonuses he earned from business trips with Penguin Logistics and from solving cases with the Guard Department.
Compared to this prize money, it was certainly not much.
But it was enough.
Unless the Boss suddenly decided to start charging rent for the dormitories and making everyone pay for their own meals, Shirou genuinely could not imagine a situation where he would fail to save money.
...At least in his own case.
The others at Penguin Logistics had rather strong material desires.
Compared to them, he was much more restrained.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that whenever he wanted something, his first thought was always whether Projection Magecraft could simply reproduce it.
In any case, he decided to go along with Amiya and the others for now.
After all, they had already said that how he spent the money was entirely his own decision.
"So... could you lend me a little?"
Only after the conversation had finally died down did Doctor speak again.
Everything they had been discussing had felt far beyond to them.
If it had been them, Doctor would have stuffed every last cent into their own pocket and immediately gone on a shopping spree.
Of course, that was never going to happen.
If they really did end up with that much money, Kal'tsit would probably come knocking on the door with Mon3tr for a very long "heart-to-heart" conversation.
So their wish was actually quite modest.
Doctor simply wanted to buy plenty of snacks to take back to Rhodes Island, giving themselves something to look forward to after enduring Hibiscus's nutritional meals.
"If it is just food, can you not simply use the operational budget?"
Shirou looked at Doctor in confusion.
The request was something they should have been able to handle themself.
There was no reason to borrow money.
"Ahem. The things I want to buy are... a little excessive. Besides, every expense from the operational budget has to be recorded. If I buy everything with that money, it will all be confiscated as soon as I get back."
Doctor coughed twice before explaining.
"I see..."
Shirou found nothing strange about that explanation.
"So?"
Seeing Shirou beginning to waver, Doctor pressed her advantage.
"If Amiya agrees, then I will lend it to you."
With a faint smile, Shirou immediately tossed the difficult decision over to Amiya.
If he refused to lend them the money, it was not as though Doctor wanted to buy anything strange.
They just wanted snacks and biscuits.
On the other hand, if he did lend them the money...
Doctor's diet was currently being supervised by Dr. Kal'tsit and the rest of the Medical Department.
If he knowingly gave them money to buy piles of junk food, he would effectively be undermining all of their efforts.
So...
Better to leave the decision to Amiya.
After all, when it came to matters like this, neither he nor Ace could stop Doctor nearly as effectively as a single sentence from the little bunny.
"Huh?"
Doctor was completely thrown off by Shirou's sudden change of direction.
For a moment, they could only let out a confused noise.
Then they understood what he meant.
Turning toward Amiya, Doctor stared at her with hopeful, pleading eyes.
"Doctor, the results from your physical examination a few days ago were only barely within the acceptable range! We still need to observe you for a while!"
Facing Doctor's pleading gaze, Amiya rejected without hesitation.
"Eating a few snacks once in a while is fine."
"But eating them every single day is absolutely not."
"Otherwise, Dr. Kal'tsit will only impose even stricter dietary restrictions on you."
Amiya was not being heartless.
Doctor already had plenty of "secret channels" around Rhodes Island for getting her hands on snacks and biscuits.
If they were allowed to buy even more to take back, the health indicators that had only recently recovered would almost certainly fall right back down again.
If that happened, Doctor really would end up with every meal under strict supervision.
To prevent that future from becoming reality, it was better to keep them on a tight leash now.
"Sigh... My dream of endless snacks and biscuits..."
Seeing Amiya reject her with perfectly sound reasoning, Doctor let out a helpless cry of despair.
"I can already picture it."
Ace casually twisted the knife a little deeper.
"It is all right, Doctor. You can still enjoy everything in front of you right now, can you not?"
Hearing Doctor's lament, Shirou could not help feeling a little sorry for them and reminded Doctor to make the most of the present.
There might not be any snacks or biscuits...
But there was still this late-night feast.
"Sniff... As expected, Shirou is always so kind to me! Everyone else just bullies me!"
Doctor's eyes filled with tears, and at that moment their expression bore an uncanny resemblance to Jessica's.
After suffering the double blow dealt by her little bunny and Big Brother Ace, hearing Shirou offer even a few comforting words moved them deeply.
At times like this, Shirou really was the one to count on.
In that emotional state, Doctor almost let another slip of the tongue escape.
Remembering what had happened after uttering those two words earlier, Doctor hurriedly corrected it.
Although the correction sounded rather forced, Shirou did not notice.
Safe. Safe.
Shirou: "..."
Now even Shirou felt a little awkward listening to Doctor.
It was as though the person who had squeezed their head one-handed and nearly chased after them with a punch a few moments ago had not been him.
Still...
He decided to let them say whatever they wanted.
He had already experienced much more embarrassing things than this.
Exusiai and Croissant had long since raised his tolerance for awkwardness to absurd levels.
At this point, the most it could do was give him goosebumps for a moment before he ignored it completely.
Overall, today's events would probably stay in Shirou's memory for quite some time.
Though...
He sincerely hoped there would never be a second time.
Playing cards really was not his specialty.
This victory had been nothing more than a stroke of luck.
Then again...
That hope was probably unrealistic.
Shirou could already picture Emperor hearing about today's events from Yith, then dragging everyone at Penguin Logistics—including Shirou himself—into yet another card game.
Just imagining that scene was enough to terrify him.
Looking at the group in front of him, who had all returned to chatting, eating, and drinking as though nothing had happened, Shirou silently thought to himself.
Meanwhile, at Rhodes Island's Medical Department...
Kal'tsit's office.
"Kal'tsit! Kal'tsit! You will never believe how explosive the telegram from Columbia is!"
Closure came running all the way to Kal'tsit's office and burst through the door while shouting.
"Closure, you should know that the patients in the ward are already asleep at this hour. You were speaking far too loudly just now. You will disturb their rest."
Kal'tsit raised her head from the documents she had been processing and fixed Closure with an utterly expressionless stare.
With Doctor and Amiya away, all of their work had naturally fallen onto Kal'tsit.
And now Closure had come to interrupt it...
It seemed Kal'tsit had just found herself an assistant for the remainder of the evening.
"Well... this news is just that incredible! The moment I found out, I came straight to you!"
Completely unfazed by Kal'tsit's stare, Closure waved the stack of documents in her hand, clearly hoping to divert Kal'tsit's attention.
"...Go on. What kind of news could make you forget something as basic as keeping your voice down? If this turns out to be something trivial, I would not mind having you help me deal with all of this extra work."
Kal'tsit's eyes settled on the documents in Closure's hand before she spoke.
Ordinary matters would never make Closure behave like this.
That meant it had to be something important.
For that reason, Kal'tsit was willing to spare a few moments to listen.
"Huh? Ahem. It is about Doctor and the others! Just read it yourself!"
Closure froze for a second after hearing Kal'tsit's words.
Then she slapped the documents onto Kal'tsit's desk and immediately prepared to make her escape.
Good grief.
Helping Kal'tsit with all that work?
That would be the death of her.
"Mon3tr, close the door."
Picking up the documents Closure had thrown onto the desk, Kal'tsit simultaneously ordered Mon3tr to block the doorway.
"Hey! That is not fair! How can you bring Mon3tr into this?"
Seeing the enormous creature suddenly appear in front of the exit, Closure turned around and immediately accused Kal'tsit of playing dirty.
Naturally, Kal'tsit paid no attention to the complaint.
She simply sipped her coffee while carefully reading through the report.
"Rosmontis and Blaze have successfully made contact with the Melander Foundation. Rosmontis's mission is progressing smoothly..."
That much was within Kal'tsit's expectations.
The entire reason Rosmontis had been sent to Columbia was to visit the Melander Foundation.
Although it carried some risk, it had been Rosmontis's own decision.
"Doctor used the entire operational budget to have Shirou participate in the Columbia Poker Tournament in order to make contact with Marin Airut? It seems I will need to have a proper conversation with Doctor after they returns."
The second report immediately caused Kal'tsit to frown.
Only Doctor would dare use operational funds in such a manner.
Anyone else would simply follow her instructions.
No.
She could not allow Doctor to continue treating operational funds so irresponsibly.
Those funds had been intended to let the group enjoy their trip.
They certainly had not been meant to be squandered like this.
"...Shirou won the Columbia Poker Tournament, becoming the champion? He earned more than seven million Lungmen dollars and successfully established contact with Marin Airut?"
After quickly scanning the remainder of the report, Kal'tsit paused for a moment before finally identifying the key point of the third piece of news.
"The problem is... that point is far too significant."
The revelation hit Kal'tsit like a sledgehammer, making her already weary mind feel even more muddled.
The whole situation was simply...
Bizarre.
"So this is the 'bombshell' news you were talking about?"
Setting the report down, Kal'tsit swallowed her coffee with some difficulty and rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to compose herself.
"Come on, you have to admit you were shocked the moment you read it!"
It was rare to see Kal'tsit react like this. Closure folded her arms with an utterly self-righteous expression.
At this moment, she no longer feared the mountain of paperwork waiting for her.
Because...
She had successfully collected a "Kal'tsit shocked" reaction image!
Paperwork was easy enough to deal with.
A shocked expression from Kal'tsit, however, was a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence.
How could she possibly choose wrong?
The only pity was that Kal'tsit had not actually sprayed her coffee everywhere.
That would have made the moment even more perfect.
Oh well.
Getting the reaction at all was already a huge win.
She should not get greedy.
Kal'tsit: "..."
Knowing Closure as well as she did, Kal'tsit was certain the Sarkaz engineer was up to no good.
Promptly delivering updates about Doctor and Amiya's group was not something she could criticize.
Nor could she blame Closure for including a report that happened to leave its reader utterly bewildered.
What annoyed Kal'tsit was Closure's obvious enjoyment of the spectacle.
For that reason alone, Kal'tsit ultimately decided to keep her behind to help process the remaining paperwork.
There really was no one else available.
The clearance level required to read these documents was quite high.
Besides herself, Doctor, and Amiya, only Closure and the other veterans from the Babel era were authorized to access them.
Everyone else was already busy.
Unlike Closure, who apparently had enough free time to snatch someone else's task just to deliver a few documents.
Thus...
Closure obtained both a priceless "Kal'tsit shocked" reaction image...
And an enormous pile of paperwork.
As far as Closure was concerned, the outcome was painful.
But absolutely worth it.
Unfortunately for her, Kal'tsit added one more condition.
Closure would be assisting with the paperwork until Doctor, Amiya, and the others returned.
"This is exploitation! I still have work to do in the Engineering Department!"
Closure immediately protested.
"Have you not been spending the past few days hiding in your little shop while leaving all of your actual work to your subordinates?"
Kal'tsit calmly shot down the excuse.
"I... I was providing a valuable service to everyone!"
Closure desperately searched for a justification.
"If I remember correctly, your little shop recently received quite a shipment of new merchandise. I also seem to recall that some of those items are not exactly authorized to circulate within Rhodes Island. Perhaps I should..."
Kal'tsit opened a drawer, took out another thick stack of documents, and dropped them heavily onto the desk.
"I love paperwork! I love working! Please, entrust all of these documents to me! I will make absolutely certain everything is handled properly!"
Tears of anguish streamed down Closure's face as she lunged forward and snatched the files off Kal'tsit's desk.
She never should have said another word.
Now things had only gotten worse.
Her workload had multiplied again and again.
For the next several days, she would probably have no chance to open her little shop at all.
Instead...
She was going to drown in paperwork.