Simulator in Type-moon, Starting with becoming Morgan husband!

Chapter 108. Chaldea is in Danger

"..."

Ian hesitated for a moment. After confirming that he hadn't misheard, he spoke again:

"You mean the staff responsible for picking you up to Chaldea are all unconscious?"

"So you ended up piloting the helicopter?"

"Exactly! No matter how I think about it, I don't know how to fly!"

Lying on the bed, Fujimaru Ritsuka became agitated once again.

However, she immediately groaned in pain from the wounds on her body.

"It hurts, it hurts!"

She had no choice but to lower her voice a little.

"This should be my question to you guys!"

"Can anyone tell me why the people sent to pick me up ended up in such a bizarre state?"

"..."

As expected.

The situation was far from simple.

Fujimaru Ritsuka had been forced to be the pilot.

Realizing this, Ian sat down on the chair next to her bed.

"Even though this might bring back some unpleasant memories…"

"But Fujimaru Ritsuka, can you describe the situation in detail?"

"Eh?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka struggled to extend her hand.

"Then help me sit up, talking like this is uncomfortable."

"Alright."

Following her request, Ian grabbed Fujimaru Ritsuka's hand and helped her sit up, leaning against the headboard.

"Listen to me!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka, her forehead wrapped in layers of bandages, was visibly agitated.

Ian was certain that if she weren't so badly injured, she would be gesturing wildly by now.

"That day in the city center."

"Didn't I see a blood donation vehicle?!"

"Umu."

Ian knew that was a disguised checkpoint set up by Chaldea.

"And then what?"

"Then, there was a loudspeaker outside saying that if you donated blood once, you'd get a free carton of milk!"

"So you participated?"

"Of course!" Fujimaru Ritsuka's amber eyes gleamed with obvious hunger.

"A free carton of milk!"

"...Alright."

For the sake of hearing her recount the incident, Ian suppressed his urge to criticize.

"And then?"

"Then, a guy named…" Fujimaru Ritsuka tried to recall.

"Oh right, a guy named Andersen told me, 'You can come to a place called Chaldea, where there's a high-paying job that suits you.'"

"And you just went?" Ian was growing increasingly speechless.

"No." Fujimaru Ritsuka shook her head.

"It sounded too dangerous, of course, I didn't agree immediately. What if they harvested my kidney?!"

"Uh… I don't really get it. Then why did you end up going?"

"Because he later said that there were more than forty other people like me already at Chaldea!"

"..."

Alright.

Even though Ian didn't want to judge Fujimaru Ritsuka like this, he truly found her decision a bit idiot.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

"And then what happened?"

"After that, I boarded the helicopter heading here."

Fujimaru Ritsuka truthfully recounted her journey.

"At first, everyone was chatting lively."

"Then, I guess they got tired, so nobody talked anymore."

"And then—"

Fujimaru Ritsuka frowned.

"People started passing out one by one. First, the person sitting next to me, then the ones in front, and finally, even the pilot."

"..."

Ian pondered for a moment before asking,

"Before they collapsed, was there any sign?"

"A sign?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka shook her head.

"None!"

"If I had to say, it just felt like they suddenly fell asleep?! Because right before that, everyone was still talking about what they would do once they got to Chaldea!"

Easily deceived but outstanding in communication.

Ian gained a new level of understanding about Fujimaru Ritsuka.

But—

After hearing Fujimaru Ritsuka's account, Ian realized the situation was far different from what he had imagined.

"I see."

"Alright, Fujimaru Ritsuka, just rest for now. If anything happens, press the button next to your bed, and I'll come immediately."

"Got it~"

Leaving Fujimaru Ritsuka's room, Ian stepped outside and immediately saw Mashu and Mordred waiting for him.

"Senpai, how is she?!" The pink-haired girl approached, her face filled with worry.

"Other than feeling sore all over, nothing serious."

Ian patted Mashu's head.

"Didn't I already say? She only has multiple soft tissue injuries, a fractured hand, and a mild concussion. It's not life-threatening."

"Besides—"

"If you're so worried, why not just go in and visit her?"

"That's…"

Mashu glanced at the door beside her.

"I'm afraid too many people might make her feel pressured."

"You're way too kind, Mashu."

"So what exactly happened?" Mordred smirked, her face full of confusion.

"Master, did you ask why she ended up piloting the helicopter?"

"..."

Mordred's question was exactly what Mashu was wondering too.

Logically and emotionally, Fujimaru Ritsuka taking the pilot's seat at that moment was incredibly strange.

It was no surprise Mashu found it hard to understand.

Seeing both of them waiting expectantly, Ian didn't hesitate.

This wasn't something that needed to be hidden—after all, it was an accident, and sooner or later, everyone would find out.

"Mashu, Mordred."

"This is what happened."

Over the next few minutes, Ian recounted everything he had learned from Fujimaru Ritsuka to the two in front of him.

As he spoke, their expressions grew more and more astonished.

"This is…"

Mashu blinked her violet eyes in disbelief.

"Senpai, how could they just suddenly fall asleep like that?"

"Hmm… maybe they were too exhausted?" Mordred scratched her cheek, offering an answer.

"I've played so much before that I was completely drained."

"Then I started nodding off and eventually fell straight from a tree!"

"..."

Ian shook his head.

"I don't think that's it."

"Because according to Fujimaru Ritsuka, they didn't gradually feel sleepy—they 'suddenly fell asleep'."

"Mordred, do you understand the difference between the two?"

"That's…"

Mordred nodded.

"Yeah, that does sound different."

Listening to the conversation, Mashu rested her chin on her hand, lost in deep thought.

Suddenly, a possibility flashed through her mind.

But that possibility was so absurd that she hesitated to say it out loud.

Almost instinctively, Mashu turned to look at Ian, hoping to find some courage from his expression.

But she hadn't expected that when she looked at him, he had already been watching her.

Mashu's face instantly turned red.

She flusteredly muttered, "Senpai," then quickly lowered her head.

However, Ian didn't let their eye contact end there. He spoke up:

"Mashu."

"You've been thinking for so long—you must have something you want to say, right?"

"If you don't say it, wouldn't all that time just go to waste?"

"But—"

Mashu hesitated slightly.

"I feel like my thoughts are too ridiculous… Senpai might laugh at me…"

"There's nothing to laugh about."

Ian looked directly at Mashu.

"Whether something is ridiculous or not isn't for one person to decide."

"Only by saying it out loud and letting others evaluate it together can we determine its validity."

"Before that—"

"All speculations are just baseless theories."

"Mashu, I don't want to see you doubting yourself."

Ian's words gave the girl a great sense of encouragement.

She nodded, then spoke:

"Then, Senpai, I'll say my thoughts."

"Go ahead."

"I think this was caused by magecraft." Mashu directly stated her opinion.

"Ma… Magecraft?"

Mordred looked confused.

"Where would magecraft come from?"

"Umm… I don't know either."

"But—"

Mashu looked at Ian in front of her.

As long as he was here, she would have the courage she needed.

"If some kind of magecraft had been set up on the helicopter before takeoff…"

"Then it could have caused the current effect, right?"

"Setting up magecraft on a helicopter?"

The more Mordred listened, the more confused she became.

"From what was said earlier, wasn't this so-called helicopter used to pick up Fujimaru Ritsuka?"

"If that's the case, placing magecraft on it… wouldn't that mean someone was trying to kill her?"

"..."

"..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Mordred immediately realized something was off.

"Master, Mashu…"

"Could it be that someone actually wants to harm her?"

"..."

Ian was silent for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, based on our current reasoning, I'm leaning more towards Mashu's hypothesis."

"But it might need a slight adjustment."

"Rather than applying magecraft to the helicopter, it was likely applied to the people from Chaldea who were on board."

"Causing them to fall asleep at a specific time."

The reasoning wasn't hard to understand.

One person suddenly dozing off could be considered a coincidence.

But if everyone on the helicopter, including the pilot, fell into a deep sleep at the same time, then it was definitely not something simple.

A wide range, high precision.

Only magecraft could achieve something like that.

Moreover, since Fujimaru Ritsuka wasn't affected, instead of what Mashu had suggested— that magecraft was placed on the helicopter— a more reasonable explanation would be that the magecraft was applied to everyone except her.

But this led to another question—

"Why do this?!"

Mordred asked loudly.

"She's a chosen Master, just like my own Master!"

"If they killed her on the way, wouldn't that go completely against the original purpose? That wouldn't benefit anyone at all!"

Even Mordred could understand this, so of course, Ian and Mashu did too.

Ian had already considered this beforehand.

"It's very simple."

"Someone wanted to target her, but since Fujimaru Ritsuka never showed up, they had no choice but to try to kill her on her way here."

"However—"

"That person probably never expected Fujimaru Ritsuka to have such a strong will to survive… She clearly didn't understand how a helicopter worked, yet she still managed to persist and fly all the way to Chaldea's skies."

"It wasn't just because of her strong will to survive."

Mashu, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

"The efforts of Senpai and Mordred-san were also key factors in saving her."

"Maybe so." Ian gave a wry smile.

"But I still think that just being able to make use of the terrain like that is a kind of skill in itself."

"Not everyone would dare to attempt a landing in that situation."

"Wait, wait, wait!"

Mordred raised her hand, cutting off the seamless conversation between Ian and Mashu.

"You two, stop talking amongst yourselves and think about my feelings for a second!"

"Who the hell did this?! What do they gain from killing Fujimaru Ritsuka?! Besides, she was only chosen recently, wasn't she?!"

"Umu, if they were only targeting her, it really wouldn't make sense."

Ian looked at Mordred in front of him.

"But what if—"

"The real target was an entire group?"

"A group?" Mordred looked completely puzzled.

"That's right." Ian nodded.

"Think about it. If you wanted to eliminate an entire group of people—"

"But one person still hadn't appeared yet."

"Mordred, what would you do?"

"Of course, I'd find a way to take care of the remaining person! Otherwise, it'd leave a threat behind!"

The moment she said this, Mordred froze.

"Eh?"

"Doesn't this situation match exactly?"

"Master… Are you saying that someone is targeting all the Master candidates?"

"Seems like you're not incapable of reasoning, after all." Ian looked at Mordred and smiled.

Because the main target was all the Master candidates.

So even though Fujimaru Ritsuka hadn't arrived at Chaldea yet, the mastermind still had to find a way to eliminate her.

But perhaps they never imagined that her will to survive would be so strong—let alone that Ian would step in to help her without hesitation.

This was a storm that had already been set in motion.

And at its center was Ian.

Many things were quietly changing.

Just like how Candidate Master No. 49 ended up "saving" Candidate Master No. 48.

"This… This is bad!"

Mashu exclaimed in worry.

"If someone is targeting the Master candidates, doesn't that mean Ian-senpai is in danger too?!"

"That's right, Mashu, you're not wrong."

"From now on, being a Master candidate might just become a highly dangerous job."

"Senpai! Don't joke like that! This isn't funny at all!"

"No way!" Mashu lightly patted her own cheeks.

"I need to report this to the Director immediately!"

"We can't afford to lose even a single person in Chaldea!"

With that, the pink-haired girl hurriedly left.

"Father, I'll go check it out too!"

Mordred ran off right after her.

In an instant, only Ian remained standing in front of Fujimaru Ritsuka's hospital room.

Just as he was about to place his hand on the doorknob again, ready to open it and ask for more details—

That feeling returned—

It made his hand throb with pain.

But this time—

Ian heard a faint voice.

[Recommendation—]

[It's best not to open this door.]