Ian is Preparing to Examine Fujimaru Ritsuka's Body

Thump—

Thump—

With several violent heartbeats, Ian found himself back in a place both familiar and strange.

This was Chaldea.

He was standing in front of the recovery room where Fujimaru Ritsuka was resting, preparing to go in and ask more questions about the helicopter crash she was in.

But at this moment, Ian felt like his head was about to split open.

Memories of the Heian period were constantly assaulting his nerves.

Among them was even the sensation of being stabbed through the chest by Minamoto no Raiko's blade.

Ian clutched his chest, a faint phantom pain lingering in his mind.

Having experienced similar events in Britain, he knew that what he had gone through was not some fleeting illusion, but a real history that had been etched into that era.

Did Raiko and the others live on as he had hoped?

The more Ian thought about it, the more concerned he became, and he temporarily abandoned his intention to enter Fujimaru Ritsuka's room again.

However, just as he was about to do so, a very clear shout came from inside the room.

"Who's standing outside my door without coming in?!"

It was Fujimaru Ritsuka's voice.

"..."

Ian knew he couldn't just walk away directly now.

He pondered for a moment, and finally pushed open the door, poked his head in, and said to her inside:

"It's me, Fujimaru Ritsuka-san."

"Eh?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked a little surprised.

"Didn't you just leave? Why are you back again?"

"Oh... I just have a few more things I wanted to ask you."

Ian glanced at the bandage on Fujimaru Ritsuka's forehead.

"But looking at it now, perhaps it would be better to talk about it later?"

"No need for that!" Fujimaru Ritsuka, leaning against the headboard, waved her hands repeatedly.

"I'm about to die of boredom! I'd love to have someone to chat with for a bit longer!"

"Ah, ouch ouch ouch..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka, having spoken with too much force, held her shoulder and gave Ian an awkward smile.

"Anyway, it's nothing."

"It's just a small injury, I'm the kind of person who could 'survive even if I were thrown back to ten thousand years ago in prehistoric times', so there's absolutely no problem!"

"Where did that strange evaluation come from?"

Ian was stupified by her words.

"Hehe, it's the result of a fortune-telling I learned from TV and did for myself!"

"..."

Although Ian had a slight urge to retort about Fujimaru Ritsuka's "fortune-telling"—why would there be a result accurate to ten thousand years ago in prehistoric times?—

he ultimately suppressed that thought.

He decided to go in.

The past was certainly important.

But the present was by no means something that could be casually discarded.

Chaldea was currently fraught with danger, and Ian naturally couldn't just sit idly by.

He walked to her bedside.

"Fujimaru Ritsuka-san, I..."

"Stop!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Fujimaru Ritsuka interrupted Ian.

"Um, can I ask for a small favor?"

"What favor?"

Ian looked at the red-haired girl before him.

"It's like—"

Fujimaru Ritsuka pointed at herself with one finger and at Ian with the other.

"When we talk, can we not use honorifics?"

"Although this formal way of speaking sounds very polite, I just feel so uncomfortable with it!"

Ian didn't really care about such things.

"Sure."

"Then how about I call you Ritsuka?"

"No problem~" Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled happily, "Then I'll call you Ian!"

Quite bold in making requests, and also super friendly without being shy around strangers.

Ian added this to his mental summary of his impression of Fujimaru Ritsuka.

He composed himself and focused his attention back on the current issue.

"Ritsuka, do you remember how you got on that helicopter?"

"How I got on that helicopter?"

"Yes," Ian nodded, "Or to put it another way, do you remember the entire process of getting on the helicopter?"

"Please try to recall as many details as possible."

"Huh?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka was taken aback for a moment, seemingly having barely understood Ian's meaning.

She pursed her lips, making a serious effort to recall.

"First of all—"

"It was that person named Anderson who led me to the top of a building."

"The helicopter was parked there."

"Was there anything unusual about that?" Ian pressed.

"Unusual?" Fujimaru Ritsuka scratched her cheek, "I didn't really feel anything unusual."

"Everyone seemed pretty normal."

"If I had to say—"

"If you had to say?"

"If I had to say, it's that the people on the helicopter all said Anderson could buy a new car anytime."

"He's so rich! And then, like I said before, everyone started passing out one after another, and then it was my turn to fly the helicopter."

"..."

Ian covered his face.

Okay.

He shouldn't have had too many illusions about her.

This was clearly Anderson acting as an intermediary to "sell" her, right?

Was she really still unaware of it?

But thinking about it carefully, it didn't seem that strange.

Being overly friendly often meant having very low guard against others, otherwise it would be impossible to open up one's heart.

"Um—"

Fujimaru Ritsuka asked cautiously.

"Why are you asking these questions?"

"Did something happen?"

"..."

Ian thought for a moment, and finally decided to tell her about the situation in Chaldea.

"Ritsuka, the thing is..."

A few minutes later.

Fujimaru Ritsuka learned about Ian and the others' conjectures.

Her mouth slightly widened, and she looked surprised.

"Wait a minute!"

"You're saying someone wants to kill me?!"

"Yes," Ian nodded, "Based on the preliminary findings, that seems to be the case."

"But that doesn't make sense!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked a little anxious.

"Anderson clearly told me it was a 'super high-paying job'! How could there be a risk to my life?"

"But he didn't say the job was safe, did he?"

"..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka's pupils dilated slightly for a moment.

At this moment, she had just realized she had been "tricked".

"But why would anyone want to kill me for no reason?!"

"The target isn't just you alone."

Ian said his analysis very calmly.

"To be more precise, all the 'Master candidates' who arrived here in different ways, just like you, could be targets."

"..."

The originally cheerful Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly had wide, blank eyes.

"Then..."

"Is it still too late for me to leave?"

"You can leave if you can, but I'm afraid you won't dare."

"Dare?"

"Hmm."

Ian's gaze fell on the bandage on Fujimaru Ritsuka's forehead.

That was proof of this incident.

"This is Antarctica."

"If you want to go out, you'll have to take another helicopter."

"..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly reacted.

She certainly wasn't wary, but that didn't mean she couldn't think.

Someone dared to sabotage the helicopter that brought them here, let alone one that was leaving?

"Then isn't this just me waiting to die?"

"I won't accept something like that!"

"Yes, I won't accept it either."

Ian looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka before him.

"That's why I'm here again."

"..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the man before her, hesitated for a long while, and then finally spoke:

"Are you here to save me?"

"Save you?"

Ian shook his head with a smile.

"I'm not that noble, I wouldn't take on the responsibility of saving people like that."

"The only one who can save you is yourself."

"..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka's expression became a little awkward.

Under such circumstances, self-rescue was undoubtedly equivalent to saying "please fend for yourself" to her.

But Ian's next sentence rekindled her hope.

"However, I think you are a partner worth cooperating with."

"So—"

The man reached out his hand towards Fujimaru Ritsuka.

"Let's work together, I'll do my best to protect you."

Ian was certainly not the kind of person who would make such a promise casually.

It was because he realized that the current environment in Chaldea was not as safe as he had imagined.

Then—

Rallying as many people as possible to form a network of mutual support was clearly safer than going it alone.

After all, once such a network was formed, someone would immediately know if he lost contact.

With this kind of guarantee, the real culprit would have concerns about taking action.

But at the same time, because he didn't know who exactly wanted to do such a thing, rallying people became somewhat dangerous in itself.

However, cooperating with Fujimaru Ritsuka before him wouldn't have such concerns—she was a living victim.

"This..."

Looking at the hand extended towards her, Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't consider the chain of relationships behind it at all.

She only felt that he was an incredibly kind person at this moment.

"I understand!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka firmly grasped Ian's hand.

"Please let me cooperate with you!"

"But speaking of which—"

The red-haired girl's voice softened a little.

"I don't know anything right now... I don't even understand why those people on the helicopter passed out."

"That was magecraft."

Ian explained.

"Only magecraft can do something like that."

"Magecraft?" Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked, "What's that?"

"..."

Ian sighed.

He increasingly felt that Fujimaru Ritsuka's heart wasn't just a little bit big.

She was probably tricked into coming to Chaldea with just the words "high hourly wage" without knowing anything, right?

But—

It wasn't a big deal anyway.

If she didn't know, she could learn.

Didn't he also start from zero?

People who could be chosen by Chaldea must have some talent, more or less.

He was like that;

Ophelia was like that;

Ian knew he had reason to believe that Fujimaru Ritsuka before him was also like that.

He intended to explain it to her.

"Magecraft, simply put, is a technique whose principles are known to many people."

"For example—"

Ian looked at the bandage on Fujimaru Ritsuka's forehead and used his "Memory Projection".

This was a type of magecraft he was good at.

It allowed him to use magical energy to replicate things from his memories.

Of course.

This replication wouldn't be exactly the same as the original, but rather a product born based on "the perception at that moment".

And as the number of uses increased, the effect would become worse and worse.

In an instant, a roll of bandage appeared out of thin air in Ian's hand.

Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had just arrived, had never seen such a thing before.

She looked at the thing in the man's hand, her eyes full of surprise.

"How did you do that?"

"Magecraft," Ian patiently explained.

"Humans know the principles of making bandage, and magecraft is a means of reproducing those principles."

"You can think of it as a tool that achieves the same goal as modern technology through different means."

"..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded as if she understood but didn't quite.

"Can I do something like that too?"

"..."

Ian recalled what Ophelia had told him.

Soon, he remembered a crucial concept—"Magic Circuits".

"Not necessarily."

"I'll have to check your Magic Circuits."

"This?!"

Upon hearing that there might be a chance, Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately perked up.

"Then how do we check them?"

"It's very simple, but also very embarrassing."

Ian looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka before him and said as calmly as possible.

"Take off your clothes, and I'll help you check your Magic Circuits."

"You..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka was about to say that Ian was being a pervert, but she noticed the incredibly serious look in his eyes.

She asked tentatively, "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Ian nodded.

"Have I said anything in jest to you so far?"

"However—"

The man noticed the blush on the girl's cheeks.

"I also know that this kind of thing sounds difficult to accept."

"If you're unwilling, just pretend I didn't say anything."

"..."

The initiative was suddenly back in Fujimaru Ritsuka's hands.

She looked at the man before her, hesitated for a long while, and then spoke again:

"Isn't there any other way?"

"Maybe there is, maybe there isn't," Ian replied.

"Forget it, if you're so concerned, then let's not check, lest I appear to have ulterior motives."

After saying these words, the man prepared to turn around and leave.

But at this moment, Fujimaru Ritsuka called him to a stop.

"Wait a minute!"

"About how long will this process take?"

"About ten minutes," Ian replied, relying on his memory.

"Ten minutes or so..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded thoughtfully, then seemed to have made an important decision.

"I understand."

"Please... examine me."

"Alright."

Ian sat down cleanly on the edge of Fujimaru Ritsuka's bed.

Frankly speaking, he really didn't have any ulterior motives—everything was just to confirm her Magic Circuits.

Click.

Click.

The buttons of her clothes were undone one after another.

Fujimaru Ritsuka's not-so-thick coat was placed on a chair beside her.

Then her skirt.

The knee-high socks that were thus revealed were also slowly taken off her legs, turning into small fluff balls hanging nearby.

Under the man's gaze, Fujimaru Ritsuka reached behind her back, preparing to unfasten a metal clasp somewhere.

Because she was overly nervous, she tried several times before finally succeeding.

And then.

The panties with a little bear pattern slipped down from between her legs.

All her defenses were finally removed.

The girl's figure was quite good, and the unadorned scene looked quite alluring.

Fujimaru Ritsuka subconsciously wanted to cover her sensitive areas, but she saw Ian's gaze.

It was a look that wanted to reproach, but also had to remain silent because the occasion wasn't quite right.

Recalling the oath of cooperation just now.

Fujimaru Ritsuka finally slowly moved her hand away and instead grabbed the bedsheet beside her.

She turned her face away, closed her eyes, curled up her legs, then slightly spread them apart again, creating a few wrinkles on the bedsheet.

That was clearly a sign allowing Ian to begin examining the Magic Circuits in her body.

But just as the man reached out his hand to touch the girl's chest, a shout came from outside the door.

It was Mordred's voice.

"Master, Mashu and I are back!"