Shirou and the Emperor sat across from each other at the table.
Shirou felt the atmosphere was unusually tense.
It was perfectly fine just a moment ago…
Was this some kind of special tension between a boss and a subordinate?
His mind wandered.
"Boss! We're back!"
The door burst open as Croissant walked in, carrying bags of food.
Behind her, Exusiai, Sora, and Texas were each holding other items.
"Whoa!!! Is this really that abandoned dump nobody ever bothered to clean?!"
Croissant rushed forward, dumped the food onto the table, then started wandering around the living room, even opening every door to check inside.
Shirou thought he heard some questionable wording—but decided it was better to ignore it.
"Wow, it's true… No wonder the boss wanted to eat here. Compared to our place, this is super clean," Sora said, joining in the exploration.
Texas placed the bag she was holding in front of Shirou and opened it for him.
"Daily necessities and a change of clothes. I wasn't sure about your size, so I bought something a bit larger."
"Thank you very much, Miss Texas."
Inside were toiletries, bath supplies, and a simple set of clothes.
"Just call me Texas. No need for formalities," she said, casually pulling out a stick of Pocky and biting it.
As for Exusiai? She had already joined the others in snooping around.
The Emperor rummaged through the items on the table, found a bottle of red wine and a glass, poured himself a drink, then said to the others:
"Stop wandering around and eat first. Let's treat this as a welcome party for our new member."
The moment they heard "new member," the three immediately rushed to the table.
Croissant and Exusiai quickly arranged the food, while Sora and Texas moved the non-food items aside.
Before Shirou could react, everything was ready.
Exusiai and Croissant each hooked an arm around his shoulders.
"Boss, boss! What's he here for? Did we finally get a proper caster to crush those shield guys?"
The two of them looked extremely excited.
"Nope. He's a housekeeper and he will be taking care of your daily lives."
The Emperor took a sip of wine and shattered their expectations.
"Housekeeper?"
"Take care of us?"
"Him?"
Exusiai, Croissant, and Sora all voiced their confusion.
Even Texas, though silent, looked puzzled.
The Emperor slammed his glass onto the table and pointed around.
"Look how clean this place is then think about your own!"
The room instantly fell silent.
Everyone looked away.
"W-Well… it's not messy! Just… a bit cluttered!"
—Exusiai's defense.
"Yeah! Some of my merchandise is there too!"
—Croissant's defense.
"My stuff is all in my room."
—Sora's explanation.
"As long as I can sit and lie down, it's fine."
—Texas's standard.
"..."
Even though Shirou had not seen their rooms yet, he could already feel that his future was going to be very busy.
"So, your great and handsome boss hired someone to take care of you. Shouldn't you thank me?"
"Boss! Our forever great boss!"
Exusiai and Croissant wiped away imaginary tears.
"Mm… nice to meet you then? You can call me Sora. Hehe, I finally have a junior now!"
Sora happily extended her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Sora-senpai."
Shirou shook it politely.
"Ah… being called 'senpai' makes me happy, but just call me Sora."
She smiled shyly.
"Just call me Texas."
Texas handed him a slice of pizza classic Siracusan style, simple cheese and tomato sauce.
"Alright, Texas."
Shirou took a bite and immediately felt someone pat his shoulder.
"You can call me Big Sis Croissant, you know?"
Croissant grinned.
"Just call her Croissant. Even our senior here don't ask for honorifics. And I'm Exusiai."
Exusiai shoved Croissant back into her seat and pointed to herself.
Shirou quickly memorized them:
Blonde with animal ears — Sora
Black-haired with animal ears — Texas
Orange-haired with horns — Croissant
Red-haired with halo — Exusiai
And the penguin with sunglasses and a gold chain…
That was the Emperor—his boss.
Honestly, aside from Texas and Sora, the rest did not seem very reliable.
"If you need anything, say it now. I'll have someone prepare it in the next few days. If you think of something later, tell them. For now, take it easy, you can start working in a week or two."
Seeing that Shirou was not intimidated by the group, the Emperor nodded in satisfaction and jumped off the chair.
"Uh… could I get some books?"
Shirou thought about it. There were many things he needed, but asking for everything at once didn't feel right.
But the Emperor seemed to see through him.
"Don't overthink it. I'll cover basic necessities and daily items. Given your situation, I'll also prepare some general knowledge books. You have forgotten a lot of common sense, right? For now, learn from them especially about Originium. Do not go and get infected with Oripathy. An infected employee is a hassle."
With that, the Emperor left.
Once he was gone, Croissant sighed dramatically.
"You just missed out on a fortune. If it were me, I'd squeeze the boss dry."
"No, no you're thinking too much. If you tried that, the boss would chop off your horns and use them as decorations."
Exusiai spoke from experience.
Back then, she had tried the same thing and ended up tied to the ceiling as a "light fixture."
The boss was simple:
Treat him politely, and he'd treat you well.
But try to take advantage of him and get caught?
He had plenty of ways to make you regret it.
"Don't corrupt the newbie!"
Sora tried to stop them from teaching Shirou bad habits.
"…Hah."
Texas poured herself a cup of hot coffee.
Watching Shirou being surrounded and overwhelmed and the others messing around a faint smile appeared on her lips.
She took a sip, quietly enjoying this noisy, yet warm everyday life.