Chapter 125

"..."

While the four were discussing whether they should tidy up and go to sleep, Shirou's eyelids had already closed completely.

"Shhh."

Texas, noticing the commotion on Shirou's side, quickly signaled the others to be quiet.

"Did you fall asleep so suddenly?"

Seeing Shirou lying on his side, asleep on the sofa, Croissant asked softly.

"I guess he's really exhausted."

"Thinking about the news reports about Shirou's achievements, "Exusiai said.

"What do we do now? Let him continue sleeping here?"

"... Let's move to this sofa first. I'll hang up the video call now. Goodnight."

Texas thought for a moment and felt that it was not appropriate to just leave Shirou here, so she, Exusiai, and Croissant moved Shirou to the Shirou over here.

She didn't move to the room, mainly because there was still some distance, and she was afraid of waking Shirou.

The sofas at Penguin Logistics are very large, and they often slept on them before, so there was no problem.

131 Pink Zalara

Shirou slept very soundly; it was probably one of the few times he had slept so deeply since arriving here.

I woke up naturally after a long time, and I felt refreshed.

And I haven't had any strange dreams or seen any strange riddles.

"It's so good that I didn't have any strange dreams..."

Lying on the sofa, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, Shirou first remarked on how exceptionally good his sleep had been this time.

She sat up, and the coat she was wearing slipped off her body.

Judging from the style, it doesn't look like Emiya's Shirou; it looks more like a Texas coat.

His own coat was hanging on a chair nearby, and he was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday.

There was a simple breakfast and a note on the table; the breakfast was toast with an egg.

Shirou Madoka tore off the plastic wrap and took a bite.

The toast was a bit burnt, and the Fowlbeast eggs weren't seasoned enough.

There wasn't even any lettuce added.

It was still edible, though. With breakfast in one hand, Shirou looked at the note on the plate next to him.

"Breakfast is on the table. It's made with Croissant, and there's no chili sauce in it, so please enjoy it without worry."

"There's also a cup of Exusiai's special milk tea in the fridge. It might be very sweet, so be careful when you drink it."

"We've already contacted Isv, and we'll keep an eye on you for the next couple of days so you can get some rest."

Looking at the words on the note, Shirou felt a little uncomfortable being taken care of like this.

Is this what it feels like to go from being a caregiver to being cared for?

Seeing the way they were acting, Shirou felt a little uneasy.

It seems like it's been a long time since he's felt this way. Because of his father, he matured a bit earlier and handled many things on his own.

Although there are some things I can't handle myself, I'll still trouble Sister Fujie Teng.

"... Is it already this late?"

Before dwelling on past memories for too long, Shirou realized it was getting late.

He usually finishes his work by this time and then leaves.

After thinking for a moment, Shirou sent a message to Ansuo, indicating that he would arrive in the afternoon.

Let's take it slow this morning.

As Shirou thought this, he stood up from the sofa.

My body doesn't feel like it's about to fall apart like it did yesterday, but I can still feel some soreness.

It's like reliving the time when I first joined Penguin Logistics after a long absence.

I stretched a bit, cleaned up the mess left by the others after they made breakfast, then freshened up and changed my clothes.

After putting all the clothes into the washing machine, Shirou took out a milk tea specially made by Exusiai from the refrigerator and sat on the sofa, reflecting on the events of the past few days.

The kidnapping, the conversation between the Hooded Figure and Isv, the apartment explosion...

Having seen several fragments of his own memories, Shirou is no longer the naive young man he once was, and he can now discern certain things.

Things weren't as simple as Shirou had initially thought; he didn't believe that simply catching the kidnappers would solve everything.

There are other people behind the scenes controlling all of this.

Only when faced with such a colossal creature could Shirou feel his own insignificance.

The Emperor once said that his combat strength was quite good across the entire land, but he couldn't even do something as simple as this.

Powerless, helpless, and confused—these are the feelings Shirou currently experiences.

"What would your father do?"

At this moment, Shirou wondered how he would handle this situation if it were Kiritsugu Emiya.

In his own memory, Kiritsugu was a very remarkable person.

If it were Kiritsugu, what would happen?

Shirou thought of another memory, of Kiritsugu, who was completely different from the Kiritsugu in his own memory.

Perhaps they'll use a group of infected people as bait to lure out the mastermind?

But if we do that, those people will definitely...

"Haha, I can't do that."

Without thinking any further, Shirou gave a wry smile and mocked himself.

He couldn't bring himself to sacrifice a few to save the many; he wanted to take them all in one fell swoop.

Perhaps he's a very greedy person?

Thinking of this, Shirou picked up the milk tea specially made by Exusiai and took a sip.

This time, the milk tea wasn't as sweet as Shirou had imagined; Exusiai probably adjusted it to suit his taste.

At the same time, Shirou's phone rang.

Putting aside what I was thinking about, I glanced at the message and saw it was from Texas.

"Kong is very worried about your condition, but she can't come over, so we'll go visit her together tomorrow."

A very short sentence, very Texas -style.

"... Why think so much? Dad's not here."

Looking at the special milk tea in his hand and then at the messages on his phone, Shirou himself didn't understand why he wasn't feeling so depressed anymore.

It's not Kiritsugu Emiya here, it's Shirou Emiya; he just needs to act according to his own ideas.

Besides, he couldn't come up with a meticulous plan like his father.

It's easy to say, anyone can do it, but when it comes to actually making a plan, it feels incredibly difficult.

He's genuinely unfamiliar with this area.

He's okay at fighting or handling housework, but there's really nothing he can do about other things.

Haven't you read those books on Oripathy? You've been reading them for so long, but haven't you absorbed much of what you've learned?

Shirou sincerely hopes that one day he will see a sword or blade that can directly and physically solve Oripathy, so that he won't have to think about it so much.

"Alright, we've rested for so long, it's time to head out. We need to make sure everyone has a good meal today! And we also need to prepare a delicious bento for Kong tomorrow!"

Putting aside the trivial matters in his mind, Shirou began to plan what he should do next.

He has teammates; he just needs to do what he's supposed to do, and then he can just trust his teammates.

All we need to do is let Isv work a few more days of overtime!

Despite saying that, Shirou's true intention was not to cause trouble for others.

However, there's nothing that can be done now; all we can do is hope that the information exchange between Isv and the Hooded Figure will be effective.

"Wallet, shopping bag, backpack, coat, keys—I hope I haven't forgotten anything?"

Shirou checked his belongings. When he returned, he was in a bad mental state and didn't even know if he had left anything on the roadside.

If he were to recall yesterday's events now, the part he would remember most clearly is probably the part where he questioned his existence when he opened the door.

His memory after that was somewhat hazy, Shirou only hoped that he hadn't said anything strange back then.

However, I can vaguely remember that I was truly following my heart back then.

It doesn't count as long as he doesn't remember; it's a form of psychological victory.

"Let's not ride the bicycle today."

After assessing his physical condition, Shirou decided to give up cycling and walk instead.

Taking a walk after a long time, I treated it as a form of rehabilitation.

Along the way, the people in Lungmen City still wore smiles, and the atmosphere was full of joy, as if nothing had happened the night before.

That makes sense, since it didn't happen to someone close to you, it's normal not to pay much attention.

Only a few people who are particularly sensitive to this kind of thing would step forward to pay attention immediately, right?

"Fine."

Shirou thought this place was quite nice.

He enjoys seeing others happy and cheerful, with smiles on their faces.

After walking quite a distance, it was already past lunchtime when we arrived at the Fuyuki Store.

Pushing open the door, Shirou saw that besides Ansuo, there was also a pink-haired Zalara in the shop.

The other person is looking at the goods on the shelf.

"This seems to be the second Zalara I've seen here?"

Looking at those round ears, Shirou thought to himself.

The Elder Lin from last time was a very nice person; he came a few more times after that.

"Shirou, you're really late today."

Upon realizing that it wasn't a customer who had entered the store, but Shirou, Ansuo moved further onto the table, pressing most of his body against it and lying down.

If there hadn't been other people in the store, they probably would have started selling right away.

"You got up late today, have you eaten yet?"

Shirou skillfully walked around to the cashier, stuffed his backpack inside, and casually greeted Ansuo.

"I've eaten, but if I haven't, do you have anything good to eat for me?"

Seeing that Shirou's hands were empty, he Ansuo asked.

"No, you should eat less. You've gained quite a bit of weight recently."

Shirou waved his hands to indicate that he hadn't brought any food, and then pinched Ansuo's cheek.

She's gained a lot of weight since we first met.

"How can you say I'm fat? This is a sign of health! It shows that I have a balanced diet!"

Ansuo was unhappy when Shirou called her fat, so she moved her body back to avoid Shirou's hand.

"Yes, yes, your diet is very healthy."

Shirou said with a light laugh.