After returning to the dormitory, Shirou briefly handled the ingredients before starting to cook, all while thinking over the events of the day.
"I only just returned to Lungmen... so why does it feel like there are suddenly so many things happening?"
Quietly complaining about the matters involving the Guard Department and the slums, Shirou felt utterly helpless.
He felt as though he had only been gone for a few days, yet Lungmen had completely changed.
However, most of these incidents pointed toward one direction.
The infected of Lungmen.
And once he thought more deeply about it from that angle, Shirou quickly understood the reason.
"Reunion Movement..."
Letting out a sigh, Shirou muttered to himself.
The first time he encountered this organization had been during his initial mission in a border village of Ursus. That Elafia woman named Alina had even tried inviting him to join them.
What she said at the time had honestly been rather appealing to him.
It was just that back then, he still had Penguin Logistics to look after, so he refused.
Truthfully speaking... Shirou did not really believe that the people causing trouble in Lungmen were genuinely connected to the Reunion Movement.
At the very least, he did not think Alina had lied to him. The ideals she spoke of and the things they were doing had all been genuine.
Which made the possibilities rather clear.
One possibility was that the troublemakers were merely using the name of the Reunion Movement to provoke hatred toward the organization.
Another possibility was that the Reunion Movement had split into two factions. One faction used methods like Alina described, while the other consisted of reckless extremists like the ones who stormed into Lungmen causing chaos.
And the third possibility...
The Reunion Movement might have undergone a massive transformation during this period, changing from an organization that helped the infected into a terrorist group.
Shirou had no idea which answer was correct. There were suspicious points everywhere no matter which possibility he considered.
And besides, this sort of analysis was not really his specialty.
"I wonder whether Yith has any intelligence regarding this."
Seasoning, stir-frying, plating.
Shirou decisively abandoned the topic.
There were professionals for this kind of thing. He did not need to trouble himself over it.
The only thing he really needed to worry about was how much dinner he should prepare tonight.
Of course, there was also the deal Lin Yuhsia proposed. That was something he personally agreed to, so he could not very well trouble Yith with it.
At most, he would only ask about Lin Yuhsia's background.
In fact, he had already sent a message asking about it earlier. Shirou estimated he would receive an answer around the time dinner was finished.
Click—
The sound of the front door opening echoed through the room.
Hearing it, Shirou immediately knew someone had returned.
Perfect timing. Dinner was basically done, so he could ask them to help carry the dishes out.
Thinking that, Shirou poked his head out, preparing to call for them.
Then he saw four people sitting there in chairs, all staring at him with extremely "friendly" expressions.
Shirou: "?"
The moment he saw those unusually kind smiles, Shirou immediately sensed something was wrong.
The last time they looked at him like this... should have been when he accepted work from the Guard Department.
So this time...
Had they somehow discovered the work he accepted in the slums?
But he had only mentioned it to Yith.
Could it be...
Yith!?
Just as Shirou realized this horrifying possibility, Sora raised her phone.
And on the screen was Yith.
"Shirou, my apologies. They said that if I did not tell them about your situation, they would create trouble for me. I do not want to work overtime."
Yith's tone on the screen was completely calm, but Shirou could still clearly sense his desperate desire to avoid overtime.
But did he really have to sell him out just like that?
At least warn him first! Give him some mental preparation!
Yith! You scheming bastard!
"...Stay strong."
Looking at Shirou's current expression through the video call, those were the only words Yith could offer before the call abruptly ended.
Truthfully, he should have done this a long time ago. It was only because of professional ethics that he had not proactively exposed Shirou before.
But now that these four had started keeping watch, and the boss himself ordered him to cooperate, selling Shirou out came with absolutely zero pressure.
As for now?
He still had to put on a bit of an act. Appearances needed to be maintained, after all.
Especially since he still had overtime work waiting for him later to rush out intelligence reports for Shirou.
And afterward, there would probably be many situations requiring Shirou's assistance, especially regarding matters involving Rhodes Island.
As for the intelligence regarding Miss Lin, there was no way he could provide everything in full detail. Still, simply knowing what she had been investigating recently was enough to roughly infer what she intended to do.
Honestly, it was bold.
But it also fit that person's style perfectly.
Though that person normally would not seek outside assistance.
No doubt Miss Lin's father was already fully aware of her plans. After all, he was the Gray Lin, the Rat King of Lungmen's slums.
Did he intend to let his daughter gain experience while keeping things under control?
A nice thought.
Unfortunately for him, the boss had been engaging in very "friendly discussions" with the man since earlier. The speed of his rap-like insults had already reached an impressive rhythm.
The deal Shirou negotiated was one transaction.
The negotiation happening on their side was also a transaction.
After all, once the other four learned Shirou had accepted such dangerous work, there was no way they would simply sit still and do nothing.
The boss would definitely handle the matter properly.
And as for Yith, all he needed to do now was work overtime and hurry to compile the intelligence reports.
"…Eat first? It is all ready."
On the other side, after watching the screen in his empty hand go completely black, Shirou could only force out a strained smile as he spoke.
Now that things had come to this… he could only face it!
Hang in there, Shirou! You can do this!
"Mm."
Several people nodded, then stood up one after another and went to the kitchen to help bring out the dishes.
"Well, uh, Shirou! It is not like we were deliberately trying to monitor you or anything. It is just that you know your condition has not been great lately, so we had to trouble Yith."
After helping bring today's dinner to the table, Exusiai was the first to speak.
"We just did not expect it to happen so quickly, and for it to be connected to gangs in the slums."
Texas added from the side. Her expression looked about the same as usual, but her gaze… carried a hint of hostility.
That was only natural. Shirou had been causing far too much trouble lately.
If it were small scuffles like what Exusiai or Croissant got into, that would be one thing. But every time Shirou got involved in something, it turned into a major incident.
And he was always the only one who ended up getting hurt, never considering that others were worried about him.
"Ahem… well, I only finalized the deal with them this afternoon."
Shirou had indeed not planned to tell them about this. He just did not expect to get completely backstabbed.
After all, the beneficiaries of this deal had nothing to do with Penguin Logistics, so bringing it up would have seemed strange.
"Mm-hmm, go on, I am listening. Whether it goes in is one thing, whether I understand it is another."
Croissant responded while eating, nodding along. The word "perfunctory" might as well have been written across her face.
"We were really worried, you know?"
Sora, on the other hand, was different. As an idol, her control over her expression was impeccable.
One look was enough for Shirou to tell that she was very angry.
"…Sorry."
In the end, Shirou gave in.
Once, twice, three times… he had repeated this kind of situation many times before.
Only this time, he was caught before anything even began.
"If something like this happens again, tell us, okay?"
Hearing his apology, Sora's expression softened a little.
At least he had taken a step back, so there was no need for things to remain tense.
Shirou was not the type to talk much about his own affairs, but Sora knew that as long as it was agreed upon beforehand, he would generally keep his promises.
Of course, he had to agree first. That was why she had pretended to be angry earlier, to get him to promise.
This was where her usual obedient and well-behaved image came in handy. Showing genuine anger like this was usually enough to deter him.
Exusiai or Croissant might have been able to do it too, but it would have been harder for them.
Even if they got angry, Shirou would likely treat it as part of their usual banter and brush it off with some food or a few promises.
Texas was not suited for this either, though her earlier hostile gaze had certainly helped.
All things considered, if they wanted Shirou to agree, it had to be her.
And now, everything was going just as she expected. Shirou really was quite accommodating toward them in this regard.
Yet she had used that kindness to make him accept their terms. It felt a little underhanded.
Still, it did not matter. At least this way, Shirou would not get hurt somewhere they could not see.
The last time, when facing that catastrophe… the Shirou she saw then felt unfamiliar.
There had been nothing in his eyes but the disaster itself. Even with his body already covered in wounds, he still forced himself to stand and crush it.
Most importantly, the look in his eyes at that time had been frightening.
Sora did not fully understand what Shirou meant by magus, magecraft, or the Holy Grail War, but she was certain of one thing: they had to stay by his side. Otherwise, one day he would…
She did not dare to think further. Just recalling that fleeting image from a past dream made her feel suffocated.
That was not the end Shirou should reach.
Even if it had only been a dream, and she had already forgotten many details, she still remembered that its ending had not been a happy one.
For an observer, it certainly was not a good ending, though he had still been smiling at the very end.
Unfortunately, Sora only retained a vague memory of that dream and did not remember that particular detail.
"Yeah. If something like that happens again, I will let you all know."
Seeing Sora's expression ease, Shirou finally let out a breath of relief.
As for that promise… he would keep it.
It made him clearly realize that he was not alone.
Maybe this was not so bad, slowly integrating into this land and becoming a part of it.
Rather than treating himself as an outsider.
Now, in Lungmen, on Rhodes Island, here… he had come to know many people, and he had done many things.
In addition to the traces left behind by those two people, it made him even more certain of one thing.
Even if he were to exit the stage like a Servant, he would still have left something behind.
Like a bubble being popped, at worst it simply turns into soapy water scattered across the ground, right?
At least he would have left something of his own behind. As for what comes after… he would think about that later.
This time, Shirou thought about many things.
Crack—
A faint sound rang out, but the laughter at the dinner table drowned it out, and Shirou did not notice.
With Shirou's promise, the others no longer pursued the matter.
In the end, they were only worrying from the standpoint of friends and comrades. The fact that Shirou was willing to make such a promise was already enough; they could not ask for more.
"By the way, Shirou, what kind of job did you take this time? Another patrol of the slums?"
After eating and cleaning up, Exusiai lounged halfway across the sofa and asked.
They had only learned from Yith that Shirou had taken on another private job, and that it was related to gangs in the slums. Yith had not said anything more.
Now that everything had been laid out, Exusiai felt it was necessary to properly understand what strange job Shirou had taken this time.
Besides, she had been holding herself back from asking Shirou to lend her his gun to play with, and then he went and took on another job without saying a word!
It was really too much!
"No. Remember the substandard inhibitor incident from a while back? This time, the task is to destroy the factory preparing to produce those inferior inhibitors."
After thinking for a moment, Shirou decided to give a general outline of the deal.
In any case, if they could not get answers from him, they could still get them from Yith.
Besides, he had just promised them. It would not be good to go back on his word so quickly.
Still, he tried to downplay the danger as much as possible, what could involve encountering enemies became merely destroying factory equipment.
"Oh… no wonder you took the job."
Hearing this, Croissant immediately put down her controller and joined the conversation.
After all, Exusiai was not playing with her, and playing alone was not much fun.
"So there are good people among the gangs too!"
Sora, having returned to her usual demeanor, expressed her thoughts. In the eyes of Lungmen's citizens, the slums were associated with evil especially the gangs that gathered there and disrupted order.
But it was not fair to paint everyone with the same brush. She had heard that Officer Hoshiguma had once been part of a slum gang.
Moreover, from some of Penguin Logistics' intelligence, they could confirm that most of the order in the slums was actually maintained by the gangs.
While it was not comparable to Lungmen's city center, it was still far better than completely lawless areas.
"But this is a transaction between you, right? What kind of condition did they offer to attract you?"
Texas, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke. She recalled that Yith had initially said Shirou had taken on a deal with a slum gang.
Shirou had very few material desires, so Texas was curious what kind of condition could have appealed to him.
On second thought… given Shirou's personality, he would probably have helped even without any reward.
Only after asking did Texas realize that Shirou was actually quite easy to persuade…
"Nothing much. They promised to teach the children how to read and write."
Shirou's answer confirmed that her guess had been correct.
Honestly…