Chapter 124

He immediately and quickly hung up the call, giving Shirou no chance to call for help, and then hacked into Sora's video feed. He picked up some popcorn and waited for the exciting moment to come.

"..."

Hearing the beeping sound from the other end of the earpiece, Shirou knew there was no turning back.

He, Shirou Emiya, is Magus, or rather, Magus, the housekeeper of Penguin Logistics, and the founder of Fuyuki Store who helped homeless infected children. Just now, he faced his inner fears and rushed into a fire to save people.

There were only four of them, was he scared!?

"We need to have a serious talk," Texas said expressionlessly.

Well, he might be a little scared.

"Knew."

With things having come to this point, Shirou gave up the struggle.

Putting aside whether he can escape with his almost broken body, if he wants to sleep in the dormitory again, he'll have to rely on a few people this time.

Supported by Croissant and Exusiai, Shirou was carried to the sofa.

Or rather, he was dragged onto the sofa.

Shirou was already slightly taller than the others, and he had grown even taller over the past few months, so he was basically being dragged along.

Shirou sat alone on the small sofa, while Texas, Exusiai, and Croissant sat on the large sofa opposite him, all three of them looking quite friendly.

The phone on the table was still in the middle of a video call, and Kong's expression was quite friendly.

Is it a unique tacit understanding among them? Even though they couldn't see the other three people, they made similar expressions and gestures.

"What are you standing there for? Speak up!"

After a moment of stalemate, Croissant couldn't help but speak first.

"...?"

Shirou expressed his confusion upon hearing Croissant's words.

There's been practically no conversation since we came in.

What should he say?

I'm very sorry, but will the food, desserts, and drinks be doubled for the next few days?

At this moment, Shirou's mind was basically a mess, and he didn't have the energy to think much about the current situation.

"Sigh... I'm going to make some coffee, do you guys want some?"

Judging from Shirou's current state, Texas understood that he must be extremely exhausted, to the point that his brain had completely shut down.

To be honest, this matter isn't really that serious; it's just that Shirou went out at night.

I can understand why someone might feel uneasy and want to go for a night stroll.

They had just been awakened by the sudden explosion and checked the news, where they saw that somewhat familiar figure jumping from a high-rise building.

The coats covering the two hostages also turned into blue specks of light and disappeared after a while.

In addition, Shirou was not in his dormitory at that time.

All the evidence points to Shirou going out at night to do something extremely dangerous.

"Yes, do you have time?"

Realizing that Texas intended to give Shirou some time to rest, Exusiai patted the phone on the table and said.

"Why don't you just send it over already!"

He spoke in a rather resentful tone.

"Hehe, I'll bring it to you in a couple of days, since I have a holiday."

Exusiai chuckled as she spoke.

"Take me with you, I want to see where I can set up a stall."

Croissant tried to join the conversation, wanting to first see which places were suitable for setting up a stall.

Another thing is to develop an escape route.

"I'm not going to speak to the Knights of the Round Table on your behalf this time, okay?"

Upon hearing that Croissant was trying to set up a stall, I gave her a heads-up.

"It's okay, it's okay, you have to believe I can get away!"

Croissant patted his chest with a confident expression.

"Coffee."

While Shirou listened quietly to the conversation between the three, Texas carried a tray with several cups of hot coffee on it.

It's a coffee ball containing espresso. You can brew it with hot water to make black coffee, or you can dissolve it with rum to make coffee milk.

Shirou.

Shirou paused for a moment, then looked at the coffee in front of him.

Steam was rising from above, which was created by pouring hot water over it.

The Texas version not only lacked steam, but its color was also slightly lighter, clearly indicating it was made with ice cream milk.

If Shirou remembers correctly, this... seems to be quite bitter.

Is this considered retaliation?

Thinking this, Shirou picked up the coffee in front of him and took a big gulp.

The bitter taste of coffee immediately energized Shirou.

"Since you've already drunk the coffee, Mr. Shirou, please tell me the truth."

Seeing the ferocious expression on Shirou after drinking his coffee, Croissant didn't give him a chance to catch his breath and immediately asked him a question.

It's not that Shirou is hiding something from them that makes them uncomfortable.

Instead, they need to determine whether Shirou's "abnormal" behavior over the past month or so is due to these very actions.

Although Shirou always says he's fine, you can still see that Shirou occasionally looks tired.

Although it's not as serious as what just happened.

"Well... it's not really anything serious..."

Shirou briefly explained why he went out at night.

From learning about the missing infected individuals to preparing to investigate, and then being found out by the boss, he teamed up with Isv.

Many details were omitted, and the simplest explanation was used to make it clear to the group why he was going out that night.

"There are still disappearances happening in the Slums... We didn't notice."

Listening to Shirou's explanation, Exusiai thought for a moment and realized that she didn't seem to have heard any rumors about it.

She often delivers goods to the Slums.

"That's normal. Unless you specifically inquire about this kind of information, you generally won't come into contact with it."

Besides setting up a stall, there were also Croissant selling small pieces of information. I had heard about this before, but after reporting it to the owner, I didn't pay any more attention to it.

The main problem is that we can't get any further information.

"So that's why you went out at night? Just to help others?"

Judging from Shirou's expression, Texas guessed that there were still some things the other party hadn't said explicitly.

However, since we already know why Shirou went out at night, we won't ask any more questions.

That's the purpose...

"Uh-huh."

Seeing that the others seemed to have taken his words to heart, Shirou nodded.

"Hmm... Shirou, you always seem to be doing dangerous things, don't you? You rushed into the fire to save people before."

The person in the video seems to remember that Shirou had done something similar before, and even lost his own coat, which was burned with a large hole.

While it's good to want to help others, it's not so good to end up hurting yourself.

Moreover... I feel that if Shirou continues like this, sooner or later he will...

Hmm? What will happen?

After thinking for a moment, I realized I just couldn't remember.

I guess it's not good for thinking at night?

"Hiss... I think I understand why Sir Swire wanted to poach you. Shirou, you better not let the other two find out! Otherwise, we won't be able to protect you!"

Upon hearing about Shirou's impressive record, Exusiai suddenly understood why Swire wanted to recruit Shirou.

It wasn't to spite them, nor was it for the food.

Emiya's appearance perfectly matches the general public's impression of the Knights of the Round Table Shirou!

"The other two?"

Shirou was puzzled.

"You're talking about Chen and Officer Hoshiguma, right?"

Croissant added from the side.

"Oh, them!"

After hearing Croissant's words, Shirou thought for a moment.

Of the three, it seems like he's the only one who's not very familiar with Chen?

No... they came to the store to make a purchase just two days ago.

So, does that mean he actually knows all three of them?

However, it's better not to bring it up. Shirou felt that if he said it, he might have difficulty going out in the future.

As for Is, who had everything under control, Isv was already looking forward to that scene.

He wasn't worried about Shirou being poached; Shirou was a rather stubborn person, and at most he would just help the Knights of the Round Table with odd jobs.

"Don't overthink it, but you should let me know before you go out at night. Just post it in the group chat."

Texas wasn't so concerned about this matter; if Shirou had a better option, she would offer her sincere blessings.

However, it would be better not to leave if possible. She seems quite used to this kind of life where she can have food to eat when she wakes up in the morning and when she comes back from work in the afternoon.

Unlike the feeling of being taken care of in my family before, the key point is that there are other people here.

At least when you're feeling down, there are a few people left to keep you in the bottom tier.

"OK."

That's not a problem; Shirou has no reason to refuse.

He knew he was in the wrong, and he was willing to agree to any request as long as it wasn't too unreasonable.

After all, everyone is concerned about his health, right?

The main reason is that he really wants to sleep right now. Even if Exusiai asked him to make Apple Pie, he would probably agree.

So, it's over?

Seeing that Shirou was quite cooperative, Croissant asked.

She thought she could find a way to get something out of Shirou and pressure him into confessing.

For example, scratching an itch or stuffing chili sauce into Shirou's mouth.

"We've asked enough questions, and it's about time, isn't it?"

Exusiai checked the time; it was almost three o'clock.

If they don't go to sleep soon, they'll be driving while fatigued tomorrow, which is bad for their health and skin.

"I'm almost done here. I have two more hours to catch up on sleep. I have to get up at 5 a. m. for rehearsal."

Kong's already short sleep time has become even shorter, and he can only pray that he can hold on to the heavy rehearsal work tomorrow.