Shirou Emiya Stands on Terra

Texas thought for a moment and gave an answer.

"Why is it a question? But red..."

Shirou Emiya recalled a certain red figure, not the one he disliked, but the figure of a certain black-haired girl.

"Why are you asking about colors? Shirou, are you giving Texas a gift?"

Exusiai placed her hand on Texas's shoulder and then peeked her head out from the other side.

"Shirou is giving Texas a gift!?"

Sora behind them let out an unintelligible shriek.

"A gift? What is it, what is it?"

Croissant leaned in curiously.

"It's not a gift, I'm just going to wrap the headphone cable with some cord, like this."

Shirou rummaged through the drawers on the desk and found the prototype from the afternoon.

A disposable chopstick was wrapped with white cord, and it was hard to see any signs of knotting.

"You're going to wrap cord around the headphone cable?"

Texas looked at the cord on the chopstick. It seemed to have been wrapped using a special technique and then fixed with fire.

She just didn't quite understand the point of it.

"Besides aesthetics, it also prevents pulling. This cord is quite sturdy."

Shirou picked up a cord and pulled on it, demonstrating its strength.

"It's not too much trouble, is it?"

Texas didn't particularly care about appearances, but she wouldn't mind if it looked better, as long as it wasn't too much trouble for others.

"It should take about half an hour."

After getting Texas's approval, Shirou took out red cord and began wrapping it around the headphone cable.

"You're quite skilled... Shirou, what exactly did you do before?"

Exusiai watched Shirou skillfully wrap the cord, and then remembered that Shirou had amnesia.

Even after losing his memory, he was still perfect at cleaning, cooking, and repairing appliances, and now he seemed quite skilled with cords.

"Hm? I guess I was a student?"

Shirou replied to Exusiai's question while wrapping the cord.

"A student, then you're quite young."

Croissant plopped down on Shirou's bed.

"It's good to be young."

Sora also found a place to sit.

"I graduated many years ago too."

Exusiai also sat down.

"Exusiai, did you actually get a graduation certificate?"

Texas delivered a sharp jab.

"As long as I think I graduated, then I graduated!"

Exusiai retaliated! At the same time, she pulled Texas to sit next to her.

"No, no, no, what you have is called dropping out..."

Shirou, who had been listening to their conversation, stopped his hands when he heard Exusiai's words and turned his head to retort.

Then he saw all four of them sitting on his bed. He was stunned for a moment before slowly turning back to continue wrapping the cord.

The scene he had just witnessed seemed a bit too stimulating for Shirou.

"Oh? Shirou, you're quite pure! Have you never had a girlfriend?"

Seeing Shirou's reaction, Exusiai couldn't help but tease him by leaning in close.

"Cough... That's none of your business, is it?"

Shirou was taken aback by Exusiai's remark.

"Don't be shy, tell big sister here about it."

Exusiai grinned mischievously and continued to tease Shirou.

Shirou focused on braiding the cord, not intending to pay attention to Exusiai.

At the same time, he mentally decided on red bean pastries for Exusiai in the coming days... no, savory meat pies!

Apple pie? Nope! Not even any dessert!

14 Pure

Several days had passed since Shirou repaired the headphones and returned them to Texas.

Meanwhile, Exusiai hadn't seen any apple pies in her meals for several days, realizing her mistake and surrendering to the evil Great Demon King Shirou.

She could have bought apple pies for herself, but Shirou always found excuses to take them away and give them to others.

When others didn't eat them, he'd eat them himself!

The evil Demon King Shirou had deprived her of her apple pies!

So, she decided to sincerely apologize to Shirou.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have teased you. Please give me back my apple pie!"

Exusiai apologized to Shirou, who was tidying up, with a look of utmost sincerity.

"Hmm... what should I do?"

Shirou deliberately drew out the end of his sentence, looking as if he were seriously contemplating.

"I'll wash the dishes for dinner for the next week!"

Exusiai raised her right hand, her expression earnest.

"Alright, I accept your apology."

Shirou's lips curved slightly, satisfied with Exusiai's flustered reaction.

In truth, he wasn't pushing her too hard; he had only slightly reduced Exusiai's intake of sweets.

He hadn't expected that the Sarkaz seemed to truly consider desserts as their lifeblood. After he confiscated her apple pies a few times, Exusiai couldn't hold back anymore.

Having received Shirou's forgiveness, Exusiai immediately grabbed her backpack and rushed out the door.

"Then I'm off to make a delivery!"

Watching Exusiai disappear, Shirou sighed and closed the door.

The others had all gone out to work. Exusiai had specifically stayed behind to apologize and beg Shirou to spare her apple pies.

Basically, without any major orders, Penguin Logistics relied on their speed to grab jobs, as the more they grabbed, the more money they made.

While they mainly competed against Texas, Exusiai, and Croissant, Sora seemed to have other endeavors, so she approached it more casually.

Croissant also had her own stall to manage, but Shirou had seen her merchandise when he passed by her stall.

Hmm... how to put it? It was a bit hard to describe.

Could a solar-powered flashlight that couldn't store electricity really sell?

"But I'm also in debt right now... the boss still hasn't contacted me."

Watching everyone work hard to earn money, Shirou worried about his own debt.

He hadn't worried before because he had bigger problems to solve. Now that most of them were resolved, he was starting to feel the pressure of his debt.

Another reason was that he had been covering the meals for the Penguin Logistics members for a while, and a significant portion of the money was gone. While he wasn't completely broke yet, Shirou was still a bit worried about not having enough for food expenses.

Shirou had already asked Texas to contact the Emperor yesterday, hoping that the boss would provide funding for everyone's meals. Otherwise, he would have to consider some cheaper ingredients.

"Speaking of which, my living room has turned into a staff cafeteria..."

While cleaning up the remnants of breakfast, Shirou mused.

He didn't dislike this feeling. After all, Sister Fujie and Sakura often ate at his place in the past, so he was quite used to it.

"If only Croissant and Exusiai weren't so hyperactive like Texas or Sora."

Thinking of Sister Fujie reminded him of her lively personality. Thinking of her lively personality reminded him that Penguin Logistics members were all top-notch when it came to being energetic, especially Croissant and Exusiai.

Ring ring ring... Ring ring ring...

The phone in Shirou's pocket rang. Wiping his hands, Shirou answered the call.

"Hello? This is Shirou."

Shirou asked tentatively. This was the first time he had received a call here, and it didn't display who was calling.

"Kid, I didn't expect you to start working so early? What's up? Are you out of money?"

The Emperor's voice came through the phone. Shirou could faintly hear the sound of bass-heavy music.

"Well... I still have more than half the money. I just wanted to ask if the food expenses for everyone are covered by the budget."

Shirou organized his thoughts before speaking directly. After all, it was a conversation between an employee and the boss, and his reason for requesting funds was quite legitimate, so he had no reason to feel guilty.

As for his salary, he didn't mention it. It was fine even if he didn't get paid; being provided with food and lodging in a strange place was already something he was very grateful for.

"That's it?"

The Emperor's confused voice came from the other end of the phone. He thought Shirou was going to ask him for money, but he only asked if he could apply for funds.

This guy's desire for material possessions is too low!

After Texas's notification, the Emperor had done a little research into Shirou's shopping history and his activities over the past few days. He discovered that Shirou had spent most of his money on food, and the vast majority of it were on supermarket specials. He had even gotten friendly with some housewives and obtained quite a bit of ingredients.

What kind of housewife is this? Why did Penguin Logistics get such a normal, ordinary person?

This is not Penguin Logistics at all!

No, if I'm going to take care of those silly girls, it's better to find a normal person.

Thinking this, the Emperor finally calmed down.

"This is the only issue for now. If there are any other problems, I'll contact you again, boss. Can I call this number?"

Shirou responded politely.

"Don't be so formal, that's not how Penguin Logistics operates. Also, I've investigated your recent activities, and you are indeed a qualified housekeeper."

The Emperor, tired of Shirou's politeness, cut him off.

"Uh... Thank you?"

Shirou, praised as a qualified housekeeper, didn't know what else to say, so he just thanked him.

"In any case, don't worry about the funding, it will be provided. Also, the previous payment won't be deducted from your account; consider it my joining gift. Congratulations on officially joining Penguin Logistics."

The Emperor had already ruled out the possibility of Shirou being a spy from another organization. After all, sending someone as naive as him would be too foolish.

However, he didn't fully trust Shirou either. Necessary precautions were still in place, and he would gradually involve Shirou in other aspects of Penguin Logistics' work.

Even if he wasn't good at fighting, being in logistics was fine too.

The Emperor picked up his glass of red wine and took a sip.

"Hmm? Didn't I join a while ago?"

Hearing the Emperor's welcome, Shirou's first thought was about how he had woken up a few days ago, been dragged into Penguin Logistics by a penguin, and even had a welcome banquet. He hadn't realized that wasn't real?

"Cough, cough, cough... Kid, you... never mind. Isv will give you the card later. Funds will be deposited monthly. Don't let anyone else go hungry. I'm busy now."

After hanging up the phone, the Emperor patted his chest to relieve the discomfort from choking.

He had to take back his earlier words. Shirou wasn't naive at all; he was simply simple-minded.