This examination process was far more tedious than Shirou had expected. He was not sure whether it was because his own condition had too many variables, or if this was simply how thorough Rhodes Island's procedures were.
Still, he followed their instructions, moving from one machine to another.
After lying through device after device, his expression gradually became numb.
At first, it had felt somewhat novel, but there was a limit to that.
There were at least a dozen machines. Spending over ten minutes on each meant the process had already stretched close to an hour and a half.
At the very least, it was fortunate that the others had been sent off to do something else. Waiting outside the entire time would have been unbearably boring.
"Hmm… there is not much difference compared to a normal person. And Shirou's data looks very healthy. So far, there are no major issues. Next, we should go to the psychological evaluation room."
Following along and recording the data with Kal'tsit, Amiya compared the results with what she had seen before. Even without being an expert, she could tell Shirou's numbers were excellent.
"Psychological evaluation? That is not necessary, is it?"
Hearing that, Shirou thought for a moment before declining.
He felt fine as he was. There was no need for something like that.
He was still somewhat resistant to it.
"It is just a simple assessment of mental health. Many operators have done it."
Seeing his hesitation, Amiya explained gently.
Many people reacted negatively to the idea of psychological evaluation, so she knew how to reassure them.
As she said, it was simply an assessment.
Maintaining a healthy and positive mindset was also important for recovery.
Moreover, Rhodes Island operators often encountered difficult situations during missions, so regular psychological evaluations were necessary.
"…Alright."
After hearing that, Shirou did not resist further.
After all, there was no need to make himself an exception.
"The detailed data will be ready later. It will be given to you along with the comprehensive test results."
Seeing how attentive Amiya was toward Shirou, Kal'tsit decided not to accompany them further.
She was busy. Taking this much time was already rare.
"There is more testing?"
After enduring the previous hour and a half, Shirou truly did not want to hear the word "test" again.
"It is just the standard evaluation before being registered as an operator. You have done something similar with Penguin Logistics. It is mainly to assess combat ability so Rhodes Island can assign tasks more effectively."
Seeing Shirou's clear reluctance, Amiya could not help but smile as she explained.
"Before that, I would like to speak with Shirou briefly. Amiya, please step outside."
Looking at Shirou, Kal'tsit suddenly remembered something she needed to ask him.
However, it was something that required Amiya to leave first.
"Understood. I will wait outside."
Amiya did not question her at all. She gathered the documents and terminal needed for later and stepped out, even closing the door behind her.
"… "
Now changed back into his Penguin Logistics uniform, Shirou stood there, feeling somewhat awkward as Kal'tsit continued looking at the data on her terminal.
After all, she had been wary of him the entire time.
And it was not just ordinary caution, he could clearly feel the level of danger emanating from her.
Back in the meeting room, when he had confronted her, the sense of danger from her had been even stronger than when Chen had once swung her blade at him.
"Relax. As long as you are not a threat to Rhodes Island or to Amiya, I will not do anything to you."
Noticing his discomfort, Kal'tsit spoke.
At this moment, Shirou did not look like the so-called "final line of defense" of Penguin Logistics at all, rather he looked just like an ordinary young man.
Someone who could feel awkward over small things, and who could go along with his companions' antics.
As she said, as long as he posed no threat, there was no reason to make him an enemy.
Setting aside her own need for his cooperation, even that brief moment in the meeting room had made her reassess his danger level upward.
There was no need for Rhodes Island to oppose him. In fact, they shared many similar ideals.
"…Understood. Then, Doctor Kal'tsit, what did you want to discuss with me?"
Hearing her words and sensing a trace of goodwill, Shirou suppressed his awkwardness and asked.
She had just said his data was fine… so it was probably not about his health.
Then what was it?
Surely not venting frustration because she did not get along with that "other him"?
Even if, strictly speaking, that person was also Emiya Shirou, Shirou had no intention of taking responsibility for someone else's mess.
He had only seen fragments of that person's memories.
He did not truly understand what kind of person that version was.
But one thing seemed certain—
They probably would not get along.
In short, let us place Archer on the upper level for now, since they have not met him before.
By the way, at the very bottom are the King of Heroes and that priest.
"It is just some questions related to magecraft. After all, it is quite an interesting concept, is it not?"
Without any unnecessary small talk, Kal'tsit directly opened the topic.
Magicians… or what Nameless called "mages" or magus none of that really mattered. What mattered was the energy they consumed to use magecraft.
That is, the so-called magical energy.
The people of this land do not possess magical energy within their bodies, yet Nameless still formed a contract with Amiya and relied on her to remain active here.
And Amiya, who has no magical energy, uses the Originium generated by her Oripathy to sustain his activity.
The principle is unknown, but after forming the contract, the fusion rate between Amiya's body cells and Originium has indeed decreased.
Decreased, not merely slowed.
Originally, according to Kal'tsit's estimates, Amiya's Originium assimilation rate should have reached 17 percent or even higher by now, but instead it remains in the single digits.
And the price she paid was merely a red tattoo appearing on her right hand.
However, things were not as optimistic on the other side. According to him, the magical energy converted from Originium is impure. In other words, it is usable, but it damages his Spirit Origin.
As a result, golden patterns began to appear across his body and eventually he turned into particles of magical light and dissipated.
What Kal'tsit wanted to ask was very simple: did Shirou know that he could convert Originium into magical energy?
If he knew, then it would be necessary to explain the worst-case scenario to him.
If he did not know, that would be even better. She would agree with Amiya and the others who knew the truth to never mention it.
After all, Shirou was not like Nameless, who required magical energy from others to function. Moreover, when he wore examination clothes, there were no visible injuries on his body.
So this time, Kal'tsit only intended to probe his thoughts from the side.
"Magecraft? What aspect do you want to understand? To be honest, I do not really understand the underlying principles either. Compared to typical mages, my father and I are more like outliers who simply use magecraft as a tool…"
After hearing that she wanted to understand the concept of magical energy, Shirou found it understandable.
Having already encountered curious individuals like Yith, he was no longer intimidated by such people.
"Mages, right? I know that term. What I want to know is how you obtain magical energy here."
Before Shirou could finish speaking, Kal'tsit interrupted him.
Amiya was still waiting outside, and she did not want to keep her waiting too long.
"Obtain magical energy? If I remember correctly… it should be converting life force into magical energy through magic circuits?"
He took back his earlier thought. Someone like Kal'tsit was still someone to be wary of.
Her perpetually calm demeanor made Shirou feel like he was facing a school teacher.
And this situation felt like a teacher questioning him about what he had learned.
"Life force? So you are exchanging your lifespan for magical energy?"
Kal'tsit frowned slightly at his answer.
If he was fighting by consuming his own life, then she would need to reconsider how to handle him.
"It is not that serious. It recovers after some rest."
Seeing her frown, Shirou quickly added an explanation.
Like a student rushing to clarify after giving an unsatisfactory answer.
Fortunately, she seemed satisfied with the addition, and her expression relaxed.
"I see. Then I roughly understand. Aside from converting your own life force, are there other ways for you to obtain magical energy?"
Her expression eased, and she recorded the detail on her terminal before asking the main question.
"Other methods? If you form a connection with another magician, it seems you can draw from them. Other than that, I am not too sure."
After thinking for a moment, Shirou only recalled some memories from the gate of replenishing magical energy through bodily fluids, and some kind of ritual Rin once used.
However, the former was too broad, and he did not know whether it would even work with people from Terra, so he had never tried it.
Besides, drinking someone else's blood felt extremely strange. Unless absolutely necessary, he had no intention of attempting it.
As for the latter, he truly did not understand the mechanism.
"A connection? Forming a contract?"
Hearing the key term, Kal'tsit pressed further.
"You could say that, but I do not know how to perform such a ritual."
Shirou nodded, deliberately avoiding mentioning the other method of obtaining magical energy.
He was afraid she might ask him to drink someone else's blood.
After being interrogated by Yith before, he had become extremely cautious in situations like this.
"I understand. Then one final question: have you ever had anything unusual appear on your body in the past?"
Confirming that Shirou was not lying, or rather had no intention of lying, Kal'tsit recorded the information and asked her final question.
At the same time, she had already begun considering how to explain things to Amiya.
"Something unusual…?"
Faced with this question, Shirou did not immediately understand what she meant.
"Patterns, tattoos, things like that. The operator Nameless seems to have developed many golden patterns on his body due to the so-called Spirit Origin issue. Although you are different from him, there is still some connection, so I will record it just to be safe."
Using Nameless as a convenient cover, Kal'tsit gave a brief explanation.
Sometimes, hiding something does not require concealing it completely. Guiding the other party into a different misunderstanding can also be an effective way to obscure the truth.
"Hmm… patterns? I think I have had something like that before, but they were very faint black lines. They disappeared on their own after a while. Now that you mention it, it does seem like it is possible to directly obtain magical energy from Originium."
After hearing the explanation, Shirou thought for a moment.
He remembered this clearly, because afterward Archer had told him that they could draw magical energy from Originium, though it came with certain risks.
Since then, he had tried to avoid direct contact with Originium. Even the projected sword Chixiao had been left sitting in his room, gathering dust.
If Officer Chen found out, she would probably come at him with the real Chixiao and cut him down.
"…So you have tried it?"
Hearing his answer, Kal'tsit's eyes narrowed slightly, carrying a dangerous edge.
Such an important detail, and he had not mentioned it earlier?
"It was just a small accident that time, so I came into contact with it. But the experience was not pleasant, so I did not try it again afterward."
This time, he did not mention Archer. Shirou really did not want to continue a one-on-one conversation like this.
The way her eyes narrowed put immense pressure on him.
He felt that if he brought up Archer, she would definitely press further.
And what he said was true. Even now, he had not made any serious attempts to interact with or study Originium. After all, Rhodes Island was hoping to research something from his blood. It would be troublesome if his own curiosity turned him into an infected person.
"Then do not experiment recklessly. Originium is very dangerous."
Staring at him with narrowed eyes, Kal'tsit warned him.
"I understand that much. Please rest assured."
Hearing the warning, Shirou nodded obediently.
"Then I have no further questions. When you go out later, do not tell anyone about what we just discussed."
After finishing the questioning, Kal'tsit turned her attention back to her terminal and signaled that he could leave.
"…Alright."
Seeing how abruptly she dismissed him, Shirou felt a sense of relief.
He really should have kept Amiya with him earlier.
Just as he opened the door and saw Amiya outside, busy with her terminal, Kal'tsit suddenly called out to him from behind:
"Although it is a bit late to say this, welcome to Rhodes Island. Have Amiya show you around more. I hope you will like it here."
"I will."
Turning back, Shirou saw Kal'tsit still facing away from him, focused on recording data, as if those words had not come from her at all.
But he knew clearly that it was not his imagination. Even Amiya outside looked somewhat surprised as she glanced inside at Kal'tsit.
Out of politeness, Shirou gave a brief reply, then closed the door behind him.