Shirou stood in front of the monitor going over the results.
"There is no doubt about it. Oripathy is the result of the rampant mana in the form of Originium interacting with unawakened prana circuits inside people."
Rin was overlooking the three specimens they had- one small mineral of Originium after a Catastrophe, one fragment collected from infected, and one refined ore used to power technology. On the other side of the table was a single gem from her own stockpile.
All four brimmed with power at different levels but proved one thing.
"These Catastrophes are the violent discharge of Originium when condensed beyond a threshold. The question is how ambient mana became so volatile?"
"It's not about density." Shirou tapped another monitor showing the molecular structure of Originium. "Something else is making the mana particularly turbulent. Refining them stabilizes for use, but it doesn't take away the volatility inside them. Possibly why this world is so reliant on it despite the negative effects on their people."
"Tsk. Awakening prana circuits is one thing, but to do so violently upon contact with raw Originium just spells death. It's like going from 0 to 100 immediately. The body just can't handle the stress." Rin groaned.
Watching so-called "Originium Arts" users made Rin pull on her hair. New infected rampantly using their awakened abilities from the get-go burned themselves out. Infected civilians were safer, but their latent circuits were still producing unstable prana and leaking out through their bodies in the form of Originium crystals. The best method was to manage the volatile energy by training the body to adapt without overexerting.
It was a delicate process to balance the amount of Oripathy in the body. Too little use and it will burden the body, too much and the Originium begins to destabilize. It doesn't help that activated circuits require ambient mana in the form of Originium to produce prana. Od doesn't balance the volatile energy coming in.
"Something is wrong with this world. What kind of past event could trigger such a change?" Shirou mumbled quietly.
"Or it might be the natural way of things in this world. This is Terra, not Earth."
Zelretch had dropped the two of them into another dimension again. Rin wasn't sure if it was a prank or not, but the Wizard Marshal wasn't so petty as to do it without reason. His time was important.
Perhaps this was a test then?
"Rin, we're opening soon."
Sakura appeared from the workshop's doorway.
"Yeah, yeah. Shirou, can you start tracing some gems? We're getting low on stock again."
Shirou quietly started creating batches of gems. Normally the materialized objects would require his energy to counter the erosion of being "illegitimate" objects, but that didn't happen on Terra.
Terra was another planet, therefore Gaia's influence didn't exist here.
Not only that, but the traced objects were constructed with a combination of Od and Originium-related properties from the atmosphere. Essentially, Shirou was converting one substance into another, making them technically count as legitimate objects.
Rin walked from the basement to the front of their small clinic and peered through the shutters. It was 7 am and a long line of infected people had already queued up. As usual, all of them were there for treatment. A so-called "miracle" by the masses of infected when the two opened a small clinic in Chernobog.
"Rin, everything's ready." The voice of Shirou came from the hallway.
Sakura positioned herself at the receptionist's desk. Shirou arrived holding the first crate of gems. Rin flicked the closed sign on the clinic door.
The Fuyuki Clinic was open.
"What?"
Talulah frowned.
"A clinic has opened up in Chernobog. Rumors say they can treat Oripathy, though not completely."
"How long?"
"About a month now."
The young man in front of her stayed silent as Talulah absorbed the information.
A month is a long time. News must've spread far and wide through the infected population judging from the drop in recruits.
After all, desperation pushed the infected to join the Reunion Movement. If Oripathy could be treated, then they would flock away from the Reunion instead.
"What do the infected have to gain from this? Assuming this is not a hoax, many people have tried fooling the infected."
"I've been working with scouts to collect information and the public outlook is good. They do treat Oripathy. They prioritize the worst cases and the infected come back clean. Most of them lose the Originium crystals growing on their body plus they receive Originium fragments after the operation to help them recuperate financially."
"All that, for free?"
"Even more. Non-profit organizations in Chernobog have received an increase in donations- an extremely large bump compared to previous years. No doubt connected to the opening of this new clinic."
"A benefactor then. One willing to throw this much money into helping the infected in Chernobog."
This was bad. Had the Reunion been found out? To target the masses now meant that angering the infected populace would be less effective.
"Have you tried scouting them yourself?"
"They're not your ordinary civilians."
"Explain."
The man's expression turned grim.
"They found me before I could get close."
.
.
.
It was night, the perfect opportunity to scope out the seemingly harmless clinic and its inhabitants. The city of Chernobog was quiet, preparing to enter its slumber.
But not for him.
He stood on the roof across the clinic.
His sharp eyesight- a result of his profession as a sniper- watched the man leave the premises with a large box. The auburn-haired man looked up and down the empty street.
His earpiece buzzed.
"Sir, we've been compromised."
Compromised?
"What do you mean?"
Another voiced out his status.
"He's spotted me."
"I'm not on the rooftops with the others but we've just made eye contact. That's three of us."
Something was wrong. His men weren't rookies, they were experienced veterans. For all of them to be detected even with his Arts rendering them invisible meant that their target had…
He looked down again. Sure enough, the man was staring right at his position.
His eyes were glowing.
.
.
.
"They have some sort of detection Arts. I brought a small scouting party and we were all found."
Talulah stayed quiet.
Although the possibility was low, information-gathering Arts were prized for the Reunion. It was this particular reason why his ability to deny information with invisibility made him the most important member of his squad.
He waited while his leader organized her thoughts. It wasn't easy to consider such a wild factor like this. They would have to approach the problem with caution if they wanted to succeed.
"Contact our commanders. We're meeting tomorrow."
His reply was a small nod.
"Dismissed."
Rin leaned against the doorframe after closing the clinic.
It was 6 pm, closing time.
"Shirou, I'm starting to hate you for suggesting this idea."
"S-sorry, all those people needed help and you wanted research material. I was hitting two birds with one stone."
The idea was simple, but extremely complex in execution.
Oripathy took on the form of ore and crystals on objects and people. From the perspective of magi, they were just sources of condensed ambient mana. Rin, an expert in jewelcraft, could simply transfer the energy from one medium to another.
That was where Shirou's materialized gems came in.
They were literally transferring Oripathy from people into reinforced gems. Reinforced Originium gems that were highly sought after. For every person they treated, they received a handful of Originium. They exchanged the crystals for cash and returned a small fraction to the patient on Shirou's insistence, but the majority stayed with them. Rin, Sakura, and Shirou split the yield between them. Rin used hers for research and funds, while most of Sakura and Shirou's went into donations- keeping a small amount for their own needs.
Shirou had picked up on the art of manipulating cash flow a few years back. Now, it was one of the necessary skills he would need in Terra if they were to avoid attracting attention.
Something which they had already tossed away when Rin got outnumbered during the vote. Sakura and Shirou couldn't sit by and watch the infected suffer.
"Onee-san, storage is full again. Senpai and I will need to distribute the Originium tonight."
"I thought we agreed to wait a week? Those spies are still watching us."
"We also need to buy groceries." Shirou added.
"Shirou, I know you're just looking for a chance to get in contact with them. I trust Sakura not to let you do something stupid."
Shirou sweatdropped while Sakura giggled.
The truth was that they all knew the whereabouts of each spy. They used the funds from selling Originium to purchase other properties around the clinic under anonymous accounts. Rin and Sakura worked to set up the large bounded field surrounding the clinic while Shirou used his to purchase other "optional locations" cough safehouses with weapon stockpiles just in case they didn't like the clinic cough cough needed an escape.
Sakura and Rin quickly caught on and forced Shirou to limit the amount of locations and firepower he was amassing.
Apparently, his old man's contacts reached out to Shirou when he picked up mercenary work and were quick to teach him his father's preferences in the business.
Unexpectedly, Shirou could've been mistaken as Kiritsugu's son by blood judging from how quick he picked up on his old man's methods- although not as violent nor as merciless.
"I mean, Senpai's idea is not bad. Our Originium treatment is surely their focus. We could find out about their intentions that way."
"Shirou, what's your take?"
"I don't trust them. They are professionals from what I've glimpsed. I traced their equipment and they are the worst kind of attention we could've gotten."
Rin and Sakura frowned.
"Explain."
"They're radical extremists. They fight governments."
"Senpai…you're not telling us everything." Sakura smiled…too sweetly.
Shirou started sweating. Rin and Sakura had long since broken down his mannerisms and could spot his lie from a mile away.
"I may have tried to scare them off once."
Rin's mouth twitched.
"I did it to protect you girls."
That was a lame excuse. Shirou knew that the two girls were perfectly capable of protecting themselves.
Rin joined Sakura in smiling at him.
I'm so dead.
Shirou was indeed so dead.
.
.
.
A few hours later, the duo were ready to leave.
"Sakura, make sure Shirou doesn't make trouble."
"It's not like I do it on purpose!"
"Senpai, you attract trouble."
To sell the Originium, Shirou scouted multiple black market clients in Chernobog after the clinic opened. Illegal channels were the only method available to them since selling Originium directly to enterprises would trigger a race to locate their source.
Rin and Sakura were confident in their bounded field, but Shirou didn't want to risk it.
At least black market clients wouldn't question their methods. Plus, have a vested interest to establish a good partnership for continued supply.
Normally, Shirou would be handling the transactions alone. The appearance of revolutionary agents in the area forced Rin to reconsider the arrangement. Sakura was now accompanying Shirou to keep him in check. It may have been a decade since the Holy Grail War, but the twenty-seven-year-old Magus Killer was still as impulsive when it came to certain matters.
Rin did not want to have to deal with assassinations happening behind her back. Or at least, without her knowing until after. Shirou wasn't the naive heroic young boy he once was. The real world had tempered him enough to change his perspective.
It still did not stop him from doing his damned hardest if the right buttons were pushed.
God damn it, Saber. Why must you leave us with this problem?!
She and Sakura could barely keep the boy down.
Rin sighed while holding her head.
"Make sure to pick up groceries before you return. I'll be handling the clinic alone until you come back."
"Anything you want in particular Onee-san?"
"I'm not familiar enough with the food in this world yet. Besides, we have Shirou. Now shoo, off with you two." Rin waved her hand dismissively at them.
Kal'tsit blinked.
"Can you repeat that?"
The informant on the other side coughed.
"A new clinic opened in Chernobog giving free Oripathy treatment. Actual treatment. Infected people at the point of exploding have returned with their symptoms back to stage one."
What?
"You've seen it yourself?"
"I haven't, but the number of infected seeking treatment in the hospitals have dropped a lot. The infected masses are on a mad dash to locate them."
Kal'tsit would've considered it another fake miracle rumor if not for her contact's insistence. The fact he was the one to initiate the call after confirming the information meant that it was of utmost importance for her to be informed.
"I need names and a location."
"The clinic is operated by two girls and a boy. It's near the southwest slums with no specific street. The name is Fuyuki Clinic."
Kal'tsit mentally noted down the details. Rhodes Island was already planning for an extraction operation on the city in a few months. She could make a quick visit under the pretext of seeing the current situation in the metropolis.
Amiya would disagree though. The little Cautus would prefer to hide their interest in Chernobog until the operation, thereby eliminating unnecessary complications. But those risks were already expected. The Reunion had been confirmed active in the city and Rhodes Island informants highlighted the undercurrents of the infected populace. No doubt, the revolutionary movement also had plans in place.
Seeing the city on her own would give Kal'tsit a better understanding of the situation in Chernobog.
She'll have to keep the visit a secret then.
"Thank you, a bonus will be sent to your account shortly." Kal'tsit navigated the sea of accounts she had on a separate screen and chose one she hadn't used recently.
"It has been a pleasure doing business with you."
The call terminated.
Kal'tsit stood from the desk inside her office.
She needed to reorganize her schedule.
"You have called us?"
FrostNova, leader of the famed Yeti Squadron, inquired.
The Reunion Commanders were busy with preparations, but for their leader to assemble them together this urgently worried her.
Faust, Commander of the Phantom Crossbowmen.
Mephisto, The Singer.
Patriot, their strongest commander, second in strength only to Talulah.
Skullshaterrer, The Grenadier.
At the head of the table sat Talulah, The Dragon, leader of the Reunion Movement, seeking to end all injustice to the infected.
The atmosphere was tense to say the least, aside from Mephisto who continued to carry his upbeat but unhinged personality everywhere.
"A new problem has arised. A rumored Oripathy clinic capable of treatment has appeared in Chernobog. Faust-" Talulah nodded in the teen's direction. "has confirmed that the clinic is indeed able to cure Oripathy to a certain degree."
The assembled commanders absorbed the information with different expressions.
"I presume we are here for our opinions on the matter." Patriot confirmed.
"I will follow your idea…great leader." Skullshatterer voiced quietly.
"I will state my opinion last. I wish to hear yours." Talulah looked at her commanders.
"We don't have enough information yet." FrostNova frowned. "I will have to abstain until I learn more about them."
"I second her opinion." Patriot grunted.
Only two commanders left.
Mephisto leaned back while holding his head.
"I say we kill them! No doubt they would be abusing the infected by lording such medicine over them. If they truly cared about us, then they would've released the medicine to the world. As it is, they're the only clinic in this city- or even the entire world, who are capable of treating Oripathy."
"They aren't."
They all looked at the last commander.
"Eh? Faust? You've met them?" Mephisto turned to his long-time friend.
Faust closed his eyes.
"I've spied on them with my team for a few days now. We've also trailed the treated patients. All of them have the same answers. The people handling the Fuyuki Clinic are good. Free treatment, and they also receive some money to help them get back on their feet. Older patients have already received a few jobs because their infection was considered small."
Patriot's eyes sharpened.
"Sounds too good to be true. What else do you know?"
"They're not to be taken lightly. They know that I have been keeping an eye on them. They haven't left the clinic for a few days until today."
FrostNova and Patriot exchanged glances.
"They're not…taking advantage of infected?" Skullshatterer asked.
"Not as far as I know. We're already asked about a hundred patients. My soldiers are beginning to want to visit."
Faust had secretly been doing so. A few had already gone to receive medication. He personally chose the members whose Oripathy had reached critical stages with orders under a "scouting mission" to have themselves treated. Once they came back, more and more of his men had been seeking permission once the news spread.
Faust promised them that they would get their chances. He explained to his soldiers that if many of them started recovering quickly, then other Reunion members would notice. Then it would be impossible for all of them to be treated if the entire organization swamped the clinic.
He was a rebel, but that did not mean that Faust was a bad person. He cared about his soldiers and wished to cause as little harm as possible to them and civilians alike. As it was, the civilians needed the treatment more than the Reunion did.
And so, the Phantom Crossbowmen stayed silent. Others even opted to continue acting like they were sick to keep the secret.
Faust trusted them, and they in return trusted him.
"If possible, I want to talk to them."
The commanders froze.
"...would you share your thoughts then?" Talulah hummed.
"I wish to try to recruit them to our cause, or at least, build a connection. Making enemies out of them now will only hurt us."
Silence was the response Faust received from the others.
It was FrostNova who responded first.
"I approve." She gave her fellow commander a nod then turned to their leader. "Talulah, this sounds like a great opportunity for the Reunion."
"You have my permission to meet with them. Inform us once you do and we will meet again."
Talulah knew how crucial of a resource this would be. If the clinic was pro-Reunion, then imagine the numbers of infected that would flock to them. Even if they weren't, then kidnapping them was another option. Though if her commanders wish to maintain a good relationship with the clinic, then she wouldn't mind either.
After all, Chernobog will become theirs soon enough.
The clinic will thank them for the protection from the incoming Catastrophe.
Shirou reached into his reality marble and pulled out the last suitcase of Originium crystals.
On Rin's insistence, Shirou looked for other ways to utilize his reality marble. Research on the topic was banned in the Clocktower, but research on space expansion and storage were one of the most advanced fields in the association- simply because of how efficient and useful they were.
Rin wasn't going to let rules stop her from abusing unlimited storage space and resources. It was all too easy to use her apprenticeship under Zelretch as an excuse. Nobody wouldn't try to pry into that reason to avoid the attention of the Wizard Marshal.
"Senpai, there's been some changes."
Shirou raised an eyebrow at Sakura while she read the message off his phone.
"Our last client has his employer with him."
"It would've happened sooner or later. The amount of Originium we've been selling to each client is large judging from their reactions."
Shirou had carefully vetted many of their clients. He discontinued transactions with questionable ones and retained those who stayed professional. Trusting people in a black market was impossible, but to learn their interests allows you to trust in their motives. Actions spoke louder than words.
"We're still going."
"Are you sure?" Sakura didn't like the idea of meeting superiors. It mean that they were attracting attention- attention they didn't want.
"If I don't like what I see, then we'll just find another client. But meeting his employer allows us to build connections."
"Okay…"
Shirou opened the door as they left the motel room he rented. The pair had changed disguises multiple times in the last few hours to keep their cover and kept moving to different locations that Shirou deemed secure. Sakura was learning more and more of the preparations he had in place when it came to dealing with unknown parties.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the agreed location.
Sakura gulped.
The meeting place was a high-class restaurant in the business district of Chernobog. No wonder Shirou had them both disguised in suits. From another perspective, they both looked like your everyday office workers- though ones working at a high-end company.
"Is this normal? Your last few clients were different."
"No it isn't. We met somewhere more off the grid until today. Since he was determined to schedule our next meeting here, I can only assume that there were external influences at play. I already planned ahead just in case we were meeting someone higher up in the underworld."
No doubt those plans would come handy tonight.
"Hello, may I help you?" The woman in a dress greeted them in front of the restaurant.
"Reservation for Long Yan. We're his guests, Muramasa and Meltryllis."
Sakura nodded along with Shirou's chosen names. They were part of the cover he prepared ever since the trio were dropped off into this world.
"Right this way please." The reservation agent nodded while one of the guards opened the glass door behind her. "Allow me to lead you to your reservation."
The two magi followed the demure lady into the restaurant. They were led down a hallway deeper into the establishment where the private rooms were held. Some were filled, denoted by the closed soundproof doors Shirou scanned. Empty rooms were left open, with some being cleaned by staff.
"Here you are, please call us if you require us." The woman bowed as Shirou and Sakura entered. They closed the door behind them, looking at the two men inside the room.
"Client Long Yan…and his…?" Shirou began.
"Dao, please call me Dao." The superior smiled while reaching out with his hand. Shirou extended his and accepted the invitation to shake hands.
"This is my colleague, Meltryllis. New to the business and I am showing her around. I hope you do not find any problems with it?"
"Of course not! In fact, I'm surprised such a beautiful lady like you would end up in this kind of business." The aged superior laughed.
Shirou could understand him. It was easy to assume that beauties like Sakura would be picked up as trophy wives or land themselves into professions that paid a premium for them. For her to follow him around while dealing Originium was sure to gain some suspicion.
If only Rin and Sakura didn't make life troublesome for him, Shirou inwardly sighed.
Sakura wisely stayed silent. Only nodding and smiling at the comment.
Good, all the talking must be left to Shirou alone.
"Right. So Mister Dao, what brings you here today?"
"My boss-" Long Yan spoke before being interrupted.
"How about we dine while we discuss matters? It's lunch and I'm sure everyone is famished."
Shirou nodded along.
"That would be lovely, Mr. Dao."
He forced himself to ignore the lustful gaze the man was shooting at Sakura. So, the pervert thought he could easily hire her? Well, Shirou would make sure to distance himself from this client after this meeting.
Dao ordered a deluge of food, no doubt showing off his money. Shirou acted cordial and friendly, playing along with the man. He wasn't the only one, as Long Yan was also keeping up with the conversation, talking about recent events going on in Chernobog.
Shirou quickly picked up on some information.
"Mr. Dao…you're not from Chernobog are you?"
The man was not as aware of events in Chernobog unlike Shirou was. He was informed enough to pass from a casual standpoint, but for a black market superior, it seemed as if he wasn't paying much attention to the overall status of the city.
"Heh, I'm based in Lungmen just checking out our agents in Chernobog."
Lungmen? The closest city to Chernobog right now then.
It made sense. Whatever Lungmen organization Dao was working for would've had to do business in Chernobog because they were within close range of each other.
And seeing how he was invested enough to check out an Originium dealer…
"Mr. Dao…is Lungmen interested in purchasing…more Originium?" Sakura meekly asked.
Shirou blinked. That wasn't part of the plan. He had already removed this client from his list of contacts once this transaction was over. No way was he letting this pervert anywhere close to Sakura.
"Oh? You could tell I see. Muramasa, I think you can leave your negotiations to Meltryllis in the future. She's very delightful." Dao grinned after sipping on the red wine he purchased.
Long Yan stayed quiet as he nibbled on his food, watching the events take place. He had taken a step back once his superior decided to conduct the meeting.
"Well, we're selling a kilogram for 210k Lungmen Dollars. How much does Mr. Dao want? We cannot provide huge quantities because our Originium deposit is small." Sakura politely informs him.
"How about we bump it up to two kilograms? I'll even purchase it at market price."
100 grams of raw Originium costs 18k LMD- without transportation and other costs on top. A kilogram, 180k LMD. Market price would usually settle around 250k per kilogram. They were already earning money without even having to build an Originium mine, nor did they have to add fees.
For Dao to consider even purchasing two kilograms at market price wasn't exactly ideal for businessmen unless…
Shirou glanced at Sakura.
She was willing to play the game.
"We can provide 2 kilograms, we'll sell for 450k LMD."
50k LMD below market price for 2 kilograms were still good. It was a small amount really, not enough to drag attention from the big corporations.
"How kind of you, Ms. Meltryllis. You've just made my day!" The man flashed her a smile.
Sakura returned it with a small one.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Dao."
Shirou and Sakura stayed around for a while to talk a bit more before leaving. All the while, Dao made his attempts on Sakura obvious.
It was only after a certain distance away from the restaurant that Shirou questioned Sakura's decision.
"Sakura…are you sure you want to do this? You've caught Dao's interest."
"I want to help you too…"
"We have enough Originium being sold. You didn't have to use yourself to bargain a higher price like that."
"I wanted to learn. So far, me and Onee-san have had to rely on you. We're not as experienced nor skilled in approaching the system here. Rin is only good in the Clocktower and magus politics, I'm only good at my craft, but none of those translate to dealing with technology and connections like you do."
Shirou went over Sakura's words.
"Just make sure you inform me and Rin about it okay? I'll help you, but that wouldn't matter if she kills me for it."
Let's just say that ever since reuniting with Sakura, Rin has become fiercely protective of her sister.
Sakura Matou smiled, already picturing how Rin would grill Shirou for her decision.
.
.
.
It took them a few more hours to deposit the cash in several banks. Shirou arranged for the money to be filtered slowly to other accounts. For extra precaution, arrangements were made to move them at different dates. Aside from Rin's share and the small savings account Shirou and Sakura kept, most of the money went to donations for non-profit organizations helping Oripathy victims.
A small form of assistance- against the unending suffering that the infected experienced.
Finally, after one busy night and day, Shirou and Sakura finally got around to buying the groceries. By the time they returned to the clinic, it was sunset.
"Is it just me or is the line organized?" Shirou blinked.
The line yesterday was already long, but the line today seemed twice that. Normally, such queues would've devolved into chaos without anyone managing the people. So it came as a surprise to Shirou when he spotted a number of people keeping the line organized.
It's just been one month and it was getting harder and harder to manage the incoming patients.
"Senpai?"
Shirou recognized the teen walking towards them.
He put on a smile.
"I see you've finally stopped hiding. Thank you for assisting the Fuyuki Clinic. We were beginning to have trouble with the influx of patients."
Sakura eyed the younger man who stopped a few meters from them.
"We really can't hide from you, can we? Even the men I sent for treatment said you personally watched over the procedure compared to others."
"For security purposes, I assure you."
"Yet, you still allowed them to be treated."
Sakura watched the exchange.
Shirou cut to the chase.
"We're not here to help the Reunion, Faust."
Faust, Commander of the Phantom Crossbowmen, kept his face straight despite the shiver that ran down his back.
How did he find out?
"I would just like to speak with all of you."
Author's Note
The Originium to Lungmen Dollar conversion rate I used here are based on the in-game values.
1 Originium = 180 Orundum - 18,000 LMD for 100 grams (I presume)
Originium causes Oripathy like crazy and Oripathy causes death so the prices are equally crazy. The world is just insanely reliant on Originium that people literally die just to supply cities. Lots of depression and overall tragedy really.
I got dragged into this game by friends and now I'm here adding another headache to my already inconsistent schedule between three works. I'm going to regret this heavily.