[FDJ] Chapter 14: Spiritron Transfer

It has been three days since the semi-isolated days began. Except for Dr. Roman, no one else has entered Suzuki Yuki's dormitory. Apart from undergoing regular physical examinations and being bombarded with questions by Dr. Roman, Suzuki has had no chance to communicate with anyone.

The book "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" that Kirschtaria gave him is carefully perused by Suzuki, but this old book is more suitable for collection purposes. After tearing a page, to avoid further damaging this precious old book, he resorts to using his personal computer and other books to pass the time.

On the fifth day since Suzuki was awakened, he opened the cabin door as usual and received a food box placed at the doorstep. It contains bread, milk, rice, hamburgers, and various other items, which will serve as his meals for the day. Not to mention going to the cafeteria, if he dares to take three steps outside the dormitory, at least two guards will "escort" him back inside.

Around 9 a.m., Dr. Roman arrives on time and rings the doorbell. Since the day before yesterday, he has merely been going through the motion of scanning Suzuki's physical data, and even the number of questions asked has decreased.

"What did you have for breakfast, Yuki?" Dr. Roman's mental state doesn't seem to be good. Suzuki recalls him mentioning the new game he ordered arrived at Chaldea during yesterday's examination.

"Three pieces of bread and a carton of milk," Suzuki points to the only trash bin in the dormitory, right next to the cabin door, where Dr. Roman can see the milk packaging without having to walk over.

"You have a good appetite. Did you finish a liter of milk? Should I have the logistics department send an extra portion every day starting tomorrow?"

"No, I just thought it would be a waste to throw it away if I didn't finish it."

Upon hearing Suzuki's reply, Dr. Roman visibly pauses. He has never seen anyone in Chaldea being frugal with these freely distributed food and supplies. "Why do you feel that way? Can't the food be wasted?"

Suzuki can't quite explain it either, but when he opened the box in the morning and saw the fresh milk, he felt like he hadn't had any for almost a week. That's why he chose the milk and the soft bread.

Without receiving a response from Suzuki, Dr. Roman shifted the topic. "An hour ago, the Director asked me to bring you to her after finishing today's routine examination."

"Are we going to go through the same...?" Suzuki, though unable to resist, recalls the ordeal from three days ago, and he has developed a resistance to it. If possible, this time he will seek help from Kirschtaria, the most influential magus among the Crypters. At the moment, he can only think of him as someone who can assist him.

"Don't be nervous. The Director has changed her plans in the past few days. She only invited the magi from Atlas to inspect the Spiritron Transfer Calculation Device, and it's not as terrifying as you imagine." Dr. Roman's words couldn't completely alleviate Suzuki's fear, but they had some effect. Dr. Roman couldn't understand why the Director had become even more impatient since the Spiritron Transfer experiment a week ago. She even intervened in management matters, which she usually didn't concern herself with, only focusing on Master's training.

It was just a typical failure. The massive Spiritron Transfer Calculation Device had often experienced malfunctions in the past, requiring repeated repairs and calibrations. This time, the instrument itself didn't report any errors, which made Suzuki Yuki, the only successful subject of the Spiritron Transfer, suspicious.

Dr. Roman scanned Suzuki's body data more than 30 times, but each time he found no issues. From his professional perspective, the problem shouldn't lie within the person.

"Do we have to go now?"

"If you think you're ready, we can go to the control room. She's waiting there."

Suzuki was accustomed to following orders. He roughly tidied his hair in front of the mirror. Unlike Dr. Roman's ponytail, his hairstyle was plain and unremarkable, with short black hair. He continued to wear the uniform issued by Chaldea, which had a slight enhancement to the wearer's magical power but was otherwise indistinguishable from ordinary clothing.

Suzuki's phone was also the model issued by the organization. However, in this gathering place of magi, such modern communication devices were of no use. The development department preferred to focus its efforts on creating agile footwear and knee guards capable of instantly hardening to withstand projectiles, rather than wasting time on such "modern toys."

After putting a notepad and pen in his jacket pocket, Suzuki, prepared and ready, followed Dr. Roman out of his dormitory. With Dr. Roman leading the way this time, the guards stationed outside the cabin did not stop them. Suzuki finally realized that there were eight guards stationed outside his dormitory, not just at the cabin door, but also two on each side of the corridor, with one guard patrolling each side.

Even though Suzuki walked away with Dr. Roman, those guards showed no signs of leaving, as if they were waiting for him to return to his "cage."

Others they encountered on the way didn't dare to approach them, immediately avoiding them as if to avoid trouble.

"Suzuki Yuki? Dr. Roman? Are you also going to the control room?" Before reaching their destination, someone coincidentally entered the elevator with them.

The person was dressed stylishly, with glasses shining brightly, and had a pair of suspicious pointed ears. Suzuki vaguely remembered that he was called the "werewolf" by everyone in Chaldea.

"What a coincidence! I'm also going to the control room. Suzuki Yuki, congratulations on becoming a member of our Group A. After this incident is resolved, Kirschtaria will hold a welcome party for you." In the less than 30 seconds it took for the elevator to ascend, the person greeted Suzuki Yuki proactively. When the elevator stopped, he stood in front of the elevator door. "Oh, this was supposed to be kept a secret. I can never keep secrets."

"Mr. Beryl, could you please step out quickly? Colleagues are waiting to take the elevator outside." Dr. Roman's attitude towards this Crypter wasn't friendly, and the latter quickly apologized to the people outside while hurrying forward.

"Suzuki Yuki, please pretend that you don't know anything and attend the meeting. Kirschtaria is extremely difficult to deal with when he gets serious."

Suzuki remained silent throughout, guided by a primal instinct that made him keep his distance from the man named Beryl, a relationship similar to that of a sheep and a wolf.

Before Suzuki noticed, Dr. Roman deliberately took two slow steps and quietly reached behind him to remove the bug attached to him by Beryl. It was only the size of a grain of rice, clearly violating Chaldea's regulations by bringing a Level 1 prohibited item without authorization.

The control room was bustling with nearly 200 people working at their respective positions. Olga Marie, who was relatively short in stature, became aware of the situation and immediately put down her command work, running towards the entrance.

"Dr. Roman, you're so slow! It's almost 11 o'clock!"

"But it's only 10:25."

The other person completely ignored Dr. Roman's explanation and took two steps forward, facing Suzuki Yuki directly. "You seem to be in better spirits than three days ago. Come with me now. Dr. Roman can go back."

"Suzuki's physical condition is not good. He can't engage in strenuous activity right now..."

Under the warning gaze of Olga Marie, Dr. Roman didn't protest any further. Now, apart from Kirschtaria, no one could control the hot-tempered Miss Director.

"I don't need him to run or undergo heavy training. If you're worried, you can come with us."

Suzuki followed Olga Marie to the center of the control room. The spacious area resembled a square, and looking up, one could see the simulated Earth environment model, Chaldea, as well as the near-future observation lens, Sheba, which constantly monitored Chaldea. It could be said that this entire set of equipment was the most crucial within Chaldea.

The azure-colored spherical model was slowly rotating, and if Suzuki possessed the vision of a Servant or magical enhancement of his sight, he would be able to see the shapes of the continents on the sphere.

"It was here that the Crypters underwent Spiritron Transfer that day. All 47 attempts failed, except for you, Suzuki Yuki, who succeeded. Can you tell us where you went during the three days after the transfer?"

Olga Marie, in the most straightforward manner, asked Suzuki Yuki. It seemed that she had concluded that the problem lay with Suzuki. Dr. Roman had been hinting at this question before, as even touching upon this topic slightly could cause Suzuki a headache.

As expected, as soon as Suzuki began to recall, he was hit with a severe headache. The illusion of a great fire appeared before his eyes once again, the destroyed city named Fuyuki, the Holy Grail War that had already ended, with no witnessing of its beginning and no arrival at its conclusion. He had merely experienced an insignificant segment of it.

"Fire, burning... It started from the harbor..."

Suzuki muttered some words, clutching his head and crouching down. Even with his eyes closed, he could still see the unquenchable flames. But no matter how much Dr. Roman called out to him, he couldn't calm down.

"What's wrong with him? Fire? Where is the fire? Is there a fire here?" Olga Marie, the director, found it absurd. She didn't care about Suzuki's expression of pain at all.

Seeing that Suzuki's condition wasn't improving, Dr. Roman quickly instructed the administrative staff around to hold Suzuki down. He opened a portable case and took out a sedative. Suzuki cooperatively accepted the injection of the medication, but when he opened his eyes, he could still only see the illusion of fire, and the people in front of him were becoming blurry.

"Yuki! Yuki!" Dr. Roman repeatedly checked the time on his watch. When the sedative should have taken effect, Suzuki was still writhing in pain, clutching his head. "Don't be afraid, there's no fire here."

"No, the great fire in Fuyuki City won't be extinguished."

"Fuyuki City?" Olga Marie, upon hearing those words, immediately stepped closer, grabbing Suzuki's hand and shaking it forcefully. "Did you undergo Spiritron Transfer to Fuyuki City? The Fuyuki City where the Holy Grail War took place in 2004? Why is it burning there? What exactly happened there?"

Dr. Roman suddenly became angry and pulled Olga Marie's hand away, shouting at her, "Are you only satisfied if you drive Suzuki Yuki to his death? He's the only one left now!"

"I..." Olga Marie stood dumbfounded in place, not knowing what to do. Dr. Roman's scolding temporarily calmed her down.

And at that moment, Suzuki vanished before the eyes of a dozen people.

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