After finishing his time at the Guard Department that morning, Shirou had no intention of staying for lunch.
He had eaten enough cafeteria-style meals over the past few days and wanted a change of pace.
Mainly because the Guard Department cafeteria simply did not have as much variety as the cafeteria at Rhodes Island. The food at Fuyuki Shop was honestly tastier as well.
And it had been quite a while since he last went there. He wondered whether Phal had led the children astray by now.
Although saying that was somewhat rude, Phal genuinely looked like the type who could easily become a bad influence on children.
Still, his nature was not bad. At the very least, he was sincerely devoted when it came to helping the children.
Pushing open the door again after such a long time, Shirou felt rather nostalgic.
Quite a few products on the shelves had changed. They had probably been sold and replaced with new stock.
The purple mochi and pink Mickey Mouse on top of the register...
Wait.
Pink Mouse?
"Why is Miss Lin Yuhsia here?"
The moment he saw Lin Yuhsia sitting across from Rope inside the store, Shirou immediately walked in and flipped the sign from Open to Closed.
That night, she had clearly held considerable influence within the slums. Shirou had no intention of gambling on whether someone might see Lin Yuhsia here and start wondering what connection she had to this place.
In Shirou's understanding, gangs only operated with a few predictable methods, so he remained extremely cautious.
Especially since most of the people here were children.
"I heard you would be coming by today. Are your injuries alright now?"
Setting down the teacup in her hand, Lin Yuhsia asked while also showing concern for Shirou's condition.
At the moment, he looked fine on the surface, but that was all she could tell. She actually had something she wanted to ask Shirou to help with afterward, and if he were injured, there would be no point continuing the discussion.
She had no desire to force an injured person into work.
"There is no major problem with my health..."
Faced with Lin Yuhsia's concern, Shirou appeared somewhat uncomfortable.
Before, their relationship had only been that of buyer and seller, but now that he knew the influence she wielded in the slums was anything but small, the contrast left him unable to adapt.
At the same time, he remained carefully on guard against her, uncertain about her purpose for coming here.
"Relax. I only came to make a deal with you."
Seeing his reaction, Lin Yuhsia did not pay it much mind.
She had seen this kind of situation countless times and had long since grown used to it.
Her identity as the Rat King's daughter had exposed her to all kinds of reactions.
Fear, wariness, caution, anxiety...
"Rope, go rest in the back first. I will watch the shop."
After hearing her out, Shirou thought for a moment before sending Rope to the back room.
For now, he would at least hear what she had to say. After all, no matter what, the shop was located inside the slums.
As for whether he would agree afterward, that would depend on the situation. In the end, he would be the one making the decision.
"Miss Lin does not hold any hostility toward us, so do not worry."
As she passed by Shirou, Rope left behind those words.
As someone who had once survived in Lungmen by gathering intelligence, combined with the contents of their conversation just now, Rope could roughly guess Lin Yuhsia's identity.
She had never met her before, but she had heard enough rumors. A Zalak, someone with considerable standing in the slums...
Once those two clues were put together, the answer was practically written on her face. If Rope still could not figure it out after that, she would have died on the streets of the slums long ago.
"Yeah. Get some proper rest."
Taking the opportunity to rub Rope's head a little, Shirou relaxed slightly.
Since Lin Yuhsia had earned Rope's trust, then perhaps he could trust her a little as well.
Rope was extremely wary of strangers, after all. Even Shirou himself had been treated that way at first. If not for Jaye acting as a mediator between them, perhaps they would never have built the friendship they had today.
"You all really are close."
Only after Shirou sat down in the seat Rope had occupied moments earlier did Lin Yuhsia finally speak again.
She had observed this place for a long time.
Especially its founder, the red-haired young man sitting before her now: Shirou.
At first, she thought he was just like those people from before who tried to build up their own power base. But after observing him over a long period of time, she realized Shirou had simply taken in homeless children out of pure sincerity, then established a cooperative relationship with Rhodes Island to provide treatment for everyone.
He had even nurtured hobbies for some of the children. In the area of repairing equipment and appliances, this place had become somewhat well known within the district.
Though the main reason she noticed him in the first place was because her old man had begun paying attention to the place before she did.
"Because I am their guardian?"
Pouring himself a cup of water, Shirou answered.
For some reason, he had the feeling this conversation would take a long time, so he decided to drink some water first to calm himself down.
"...Well, that is not exactly wrong."
After hearing Shirou's response, Lin Yuhsia froze for several seconds before finally replying.
Earlier, his instincts during combat had seemed excellent, had they not? So why did he completely fall apart the moment the setting changed?
Fortunately, Rope had already gone to the back room. Otherwise, hearing that statement probably would have made her want to punch him.
"Then, Miss Lin Yuhsia, what exactly is this deal you mentioned?"
For some reason, she was suddenly looking at him with a strange expression, but Shirou still remembered what she had said at the beginning.
He really had no idea what kind of deal she wanted to discuss with him. It did not feel like he possessed anything particularly valuable...
Combat ability?
No matter how he thought about it, that seemed to be the only thing remotely worth mentioning. Surely she was not asking him to cook an entire table full of food, right?
"It is related to what happened after the inhibitor incident... I want to uproot this entire chain of operations within the slums, but there are some places where it is difficult for me to act directly."
Seeing him bring the topic back up, Lin Yuhsia straightened her posture and directly stated the main reason for her visit.
"I understand. You want me to wipe them out?"
As expected, she needed his combat ability!
After all, aside from that, he really did not seem to have anything especially outstanding.
"No... though calling it extermination is not exactly wrong either. I am simply lacking manpower on my side."
Hearing Shirou's words, Lin Yuhsia originally wanted to correct him and say it was assistance, suppression, or support.
But honestly, calling it extermination was not entirely inaccurate, so in the end she chose not to correct him.
Still, she had originally assumed he was the gentler type... unexpectedly, he was rather aggressive.
"Understood... then what are you offering in return?"
Shirou also wanted this matter dealt with properly.
If you did not pull out the roots, the weeds would simply grow back in the spring wind.
The previous operation had only arrested the people directly responsible for the transactions along with a small number of related individuals. But Lin Yuhsia clearly already possessed additional intelligence regarding the matter.
As for whether she truly lacked manpower and that was why she came to him... Shirou did not really care.
Because he also wanted to completely eliminate every person and thing connected to it. Only then would the children be safe. Only then would the infected in the slums be safe.
Still, since she called it a deal, Shirou wanted to see what she intended to offer.
Although he was not short on money, having extra savings for emergencies was never a bad thing, especially with so many children living in the shop.
"Education. As far as I know, the children you have taken in do not really have access to proper education, right? Most of it comes from you and a few informed individuals teaching them whenever you happen to have spare time, and even then the level is fairly limited."
This was the condition Lin Yuhsia arrived at after careful consideration.
According to the information she had gathered, Shirou did not seem to pursue anything in particular. The only things he truly cared about were these children, along with Penguin Logistics and the Guard Department.
That was why she chose to approach him from this angle.
"...Alright. Then it is settled."
Faced with such a condition, Shirou genuinely had no reason to refuse.
It was even better than what he had originally imagined.
The only thing he wondered about was when exactly the fact that he had taken in these children became exposed to her... though after thinking about it, there was no point dwelling on it. The matter had only been superficially concealed in the first place. Anyone who investigated slightly or paid a bit more attention would notice.
Since she had earned Rope's trust, and since Chief Chen and Swire both knew her as well, and everything she did was aimed at eliminating the "bad guys," Shirou did not feel there was much to worry about.
"Hm? You accepted just like that?"
Seeing Shirou agree so readily, Lin Yuhsia looked puzzled.
Normally, should there not have been some negotiation first? Something that forced her side to provide even more?
After all, she was the one asking for help.
Although she had already been providing some living supplies to this place, that was something she volunteered to do herself, so she had not specifically mentioned it.
If Shirou had used this opportunity to request financial assistance or additional support, she would still have accepted.
After all, there were so many people living here. Food expenses alone were already enormous.
She had mentally prepared herself to lose a substantial amount in this negotiation.
And yet... it was over already?
"Uh... then could I trouble you to provide teaching materials as well?"
Faced with Lin Yuhsia's confusion, Shirou honestly was not sure whether he had asked for too little.
According to what Yith had told him, as long as you did not feel like you were losing out in a deal, then there was no problem with it.
The request she proposed aligned with what he himself wanted to do, and the conditions she offered were exactly what he currently needed, so Shirou did not think he was losing anything at all. If anything, he felt he had profited quite a bit.
Though her reaction...
"That is already included. Did you never think about asking for more living supplies or daily necessities?"
Realizing she had momentarily lost composure, Lin Yuhsia straightened her posture again as she spoke.
How should she put this...
The fact that this guy had not been completely exploited by the boss of Penguin Logistics and Wei Yenwu was honestly a miracle of luck.
Or perhaps he simply had not realized he was being overworked in the first place?
"As long as we have enough in those areas, it is fine. If we truly need something, someone will mention it. Besides, what you are doing is also helping eliminate harm for the people, right? Helping out a bit is no big deal."
It was not that Shirou had failed to think of those things. He simply did not see the need.
Aside from a certain unidentified individual who delivered a batch of daily necessities every month, their other expenses were generally not that high.
After all, everyone here had their own skills, and part of the money they earned would also be pooled together under Rope's management.
"..."
Looking at Shirou's expression, Lin Yuhsia found herself somewhat convinced by him.
She just felt a little guilty about it... later, she would add more daily necessities to the supplies she sent over. Otherwise, her conscience would not rest easy.
This guy was a little too pure-hearted.
In truth, it was not as though she genuinely lacked manpower. If she made use of her father's connections, she could definitely gather a group to assist her.
But she did not want to do that. Combined with seeing Shirou participate in the Guard Department operation that night, she ended up entertaining this idea instead.
And now the whole thing felt as though she had hired some incredible expert with embarrassingly low pay.
Shirou himself clearly did not mind, but she did! And he had even said all those noble-sounding things!
At this moment, Lin Yuhsia was suffering from intense inner turmoil, but in Shirou's eyes, she merely appeared deep in thought. She even picked up the steaming tea and downed it in one gulp.
She really looked reliable. As expected of someone trying to eliminate evil for the people!
In Shirou's mind, his opinion of Lin Yuhsia had risen considerably.
After all, very few people were willing to do this kind of thing. It was exhausting, thankless work, and could even get you targeted in return.
He originally thought she was just some gang boss's daughter.
Was she not actually a genuinely good person?
"Then let us settle it like this. I will explain the rough details."
Only after pondering for quite some time did Lin Yuhsia come back to her senses. She then glanced toward both the front entrance and the back door.
One had the Closed sign hanging on it, while the other was tightly shut. There was little need to worry about the upcoming conversation leaking out.
Lin Yuhsia explained things concisely. This time, what they intended to exterminate... or rather eliminate... was a small factory.
Its main purpose was producing low-quality inhibitors and selling them throughout the slums of Lungmen.
Originally, there had not been much of a problem. Although the inhibitors were poor in quality, they were cheap enough that people still bought them.
However, at some unknown point, the already terrible quality became even worse. Sometimes they were practically selling bottles filled with water.
If not for the previous incident causing her to pay closer attention to the matter, she never would have discovered this.
If that were the only issue, there would not have been any need to destroy the entire operation. A warning and forcing them to clean up their act and return to previous standards would have been acceptable.
But according to the intelligence she gathered, the factory had apparently entered into cooperation with the people from the previous incident and was preparing to produce inhibitors harmful to the infected.
Since they had already chosen to commit evil first, then they could hardly blame others for taking action against them.
As for why she did not want to borrow manpower from her father, the reason was simple. After learning about this matter, her father had shown no intention of acting immediately.
She simply could not understand it. With evidence this solid, what exactly were they still waiting for?
"Hm... it should not be too difficult. Aside from me, will there be anyone else?"
After listening for a bit, Shirou quickly formed an idea. This operation was mainly an assault mission, and the intelligence was already very thorough, so there should not be any major problems.
The only unknown was how many people would be involved.
"It will just be you and me."
Lin Yuhsia answered with a completely serious expression.
Shirou: "?"
Surely he had not heard that correctly. Just to make absolutely certain, Shirou asked again.
"Um... how many people did you say?"
"Two people. Just you and me."
Seeing Shirou's confused expression, Lin Yuhsia roughly understood what he was worried about. Originally, if Shirou had not been available, she would have found another way to gather manpower. But now, this was enough.
Rather, she could have handled it herself in the first place. Bringing extra people was simply for insurance.
"You really are bold."
After confirming that he had heard correctly, Shirou let out a sigh.
Still... it was not really a major issue. After all, the primary objective was destroying the operation itself. Suppressing everyone else was only secondary.
There... probably would not be any problems, right?
Crossing his arms over his chest, Shirou began thinking about the matter with extreme caution.