Chapter 148

Luckily, I asked her, otherwise she probably would have eaten a round of food and gotten a stomachache, then started to doubt her cooking skills, and finally decided to give up cooking altogether.

That being said, her definition of cooking was limited to frying or boiling eggs.

She made it herself; nothing beats the convenience and deliciousness of eating out.

And you don't even have to wash the dishes.

As for now, eating out has to be moved aside, and Shirou's lunch is the best in the world.

Of course, some restaurants are delicious when you dine in, but that's mostly because of the good ingredients and the chef's skill.

Shirou uses the simplest ingredients to create a variety of flavors.

These two cannot be compared, since eating these things is very much a matter of personal preference.

"Right? This is a very authentic omelet."

Seeing that Swire had confirmed her preference for the omelet, Hoshiguma said.

It was as if she had made the omelet herself.

"Really? I'll have one too."

Hearing his partner and friend say this, Chen also picked up his chopsticks.

Then Shirou saw his bento box being divided up by the three of them.

"Ah... that feels good, I have motivation again this afternoon."

Having eaten and drunk her Swire, Swire reclined in her chair, looking quite content.

"Sorry, I ate too much by accident. I'll go make some tea."

Hoshiguma's face was full of apology, after all, Emiya had barely touched the food in the Shirou, and the three of them had finished it off.

This made her a little embarrassed, so she decided to take out the tea leaves that her former underlings had given her as a token of respect and brew some tea.

"Okay, thank you."

Shirou was already used to this.

After all, everyone at Penguin Logistics is a foodie.

As for the tea... it's not bad, it's better than plain water.

"..."

On the other side, Chen looked at the empty bento box with a complicated expression.

The more you understand Shirou, the more you realize... isn't he excessively omnipotent?

In combat, it can attack from a distance or engage in melee.

In daily life, they can cook and are willing to work hard without complaint.

Moreover, he has a much better temper. Unlike her and that certain Chashu Cat are prone to exploding at the slightest touch, Shirou may seem difficult to get along with, but after getting to know him, you'll find that he has a relatively good personality, just like Hoshiguma.

How did Penguin Logistics manage to acquire someone like Shirou?

On this point, Chen gradually aligned himself with Swire.

After all, who wouldn't want a responsible, capable, and hardworking subordinate?

As for its dubious origin... it has Wei Yanwu's endorsement.

Although she didn't have a good impression of that guy, she couldn't deny his abilities and methods.

Even if there were only the slightest possibility, the other side would not allow anyone to enter and wreak havoc on the Knights of the Round Table.

It's a pity it was only a short internship period; otherwise, Chen would probably have considered giving it more serious training.

However, as things stand now, there's not much need to train them; they can be used as immediate combat troops.

This did alleviate some of the work pressure on her side.

We need to find a way to remind the other party not to set off fireworks. It's fun to blow up fireworks in the Slums, but the air pressure generated by the explosion can shatter some of the surrounding buildings and windows.

These are paid for by the Knights of the Round Table.

If this happened in the city...

Hiss—I reckon the Knights of the Round Table will be dragging us down to our wits' end.

"Hmm? Chen, what's wrong?"

Seemingly noticing the complicated expression on Chen's face, Shirou asked while tidying up the plates and bento boxes.

After all, the expression on the other person's face was probably something like... "You did a great job, but please don't do it anymore?"

148 Exusiai would actually say something like that!

The day at the Knights of the Round Table passed quickly. There were several field assignments, but it wasn't Shirou's turn to go.

Not only did he not go, but his superiors Hoshiguma and Chen also did not go.

And he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that the two of them seemed to care about him, the intern, too much.

After Swire at noon, many strange rumors began to circulate in the Knights of the Round Table that afternoon.

For example, what:

The untold secret between Sir Swire and the mysterious intern from Penguin Logistics.

Why are Sir Hoshiguma and Chen so concerned about an intern? Are they grooming a successor, or is it simply to spite Swire next door?

Why does Chen always look at that intern with such a complicated expression?

Is it a distortion of human nature, or a moral...?

The rest was too long for Shirou to remember.

He didn't know whether human nature was twisted or not, but he knew that those who were spreading these words had been physically twisted by Chen.

Although it is unknown where the rumor originated, all those who discussed it were caught by Chen.

Whether it was people talking about her, Hoshiguma, or even Swire, they were all sent by her to clean the toilets on the first and second floors.

Having spent almost half the morning running around handling documents, Shirou naturally knew that the first and second floors were the most crowded.

Besides the staff of the Knights of the Round Table, there were many other people who came to handle matters.

With more people, naturally there are more toilets... well, anyway, Shirou is now choosing toilets on at least the third floor or above.

This was a piece of knowledge shared with him by people on the first or second floor, who said they reminded him because they thought he was a good person.

I took a look when I passed by, and it was indeed the case.

Shirou could only offer three seconds of silence on behalf of those who used to clean the first and second-floor toilets.

After a moment of silence, Shirou took the information Chen and Hoshiguma had given him and prepared to leave the Knights of the Round Table.

It was time to leave work, and before leaving, Chen gave Shirou some more materials to review.

Shirou felt he had seen enough information today, but he couldn't refuse it.

Putting aside the fact that he himself couldn't refuse such a request, Chen didn't just print out a bunch of stuff for him to read. Hoshiguma had said that these were all simplified versions that Chen had compiled in his spare time. Once he had read them once, Shirou's internship wouldn't have any major problems.

Shirou could only accept the gift with gratitude and begin making arrangements for the night.

However, upon reaching the first floor of the Knights of the Round Table, Shirou noticed that the expressions on the faces of the people there seemed somewhat... subtle?

This piqued Shirou's curiosity. Following the gazes of the crowd, Shirou saw the Penguin Logistics truck parked outside.

Oh! It's Penguin Logistics! That's alright then.

He remembered that the group had said in the morning that they would come to pick him up in the afternoon. He thought they were just saying it casually, but they actually came.

They arrived so early.

Meanwhile, the people inside the car outside seemed to have spotted Shirou as well, flashing their headlights briefly to let him know they were there.

"... Please bring a regular coat afterwards."

Looking at his own Knights of the Round Table uniform jacket, Shirou felt that walking over like this would be a bit too conspicuous.

However, he only had another Penguin Logistics jacket in his bag, and it felt a bit strange to just take it out and put it on.

As for Projection clothes... forget it. There are too many people around, and besides, I only felt something was off; it's not like I need to use Projection for that.

"Shirou, over here, over here!"

Seemingly worried that Shirou hadn't noticed them, or perhaps having other thoughts, Exusiai practically leaned out of the car window and waved and shouted at Shirou.

Shirou could only quicken his pace to prevent Exusiai from falling out of the car.

Although it might not be that serious, seeing how excited the Exusiai, Shirou was genuinely worried that she might accidentally fall out.

"I heard you, quickly shrink yourself inside."

Shirou stepped forward, first pushing Exusiai's body back slightly, then casually opened the back door and sat down.

There were only Texas and Exusiai in the car, and since they weren't working, Shirou didn't try to take the passenger seat.

"How did today go? Did the Knights of the Round Table give you any trouble?"

As soon as he got into the car, Texas, with a Pocky stick in his mouth, asked Shirou.

The reason for asking this is quite simple: Shirou has a lot of information on him.

While asking the questions, Texas started the car and drove away.

Exusiai, standing to the side, made a face at the window, but Shirou didn't notice.

Shirou didn't notice, but Swire, who had just come out from outside, saw it clearly.

She'd made a mental note of this! She couldn't let him get a chance to catch anyone from Penguin Logistics again! Shirou was currently interning at the Knights of the Round Table! Believe it or not, she'd make Shirou take statements from those Penguin Logistics people!

While Swire was struggling without a guard, Texas had already driven away from the Knights of the Round Table.

She naturally noticed her partner's little tricks, but since it was within the scope of their initial discussion, she pretended not to see them.

After a heated discussion, they devised a complete set of guidelines for Shirou's internship at the Knights of the Round Table.

One of the most important things is to never give the Knights of the Round Table any leverage over you.

Otherwise, they would have missed several meals during those days.

Although Exusiai behave appropriately.

Probably?

If I wasn't mistaken, Officer Swire's gaze was rather piercing.

Forget it, I'll just focus on what Shirou has to say.

"Today went pretty smoothly, and the people from the Knights of the Round Table were all very nice."

Shirou didn't think much of it and shared what had happened at the Knights of the Round Table that day.

He said this, and the two of them listened.

My first thought was that the Knights of the Round Table must have ulterior motives; why were the Penguin Logistics employees being treated so well after they got in?

Something's definitely fishy!

As frequent visitors to the Knights of the Round Table in the past, not to mention Exusiai, even Texas is very clear about the Knights of the Round Table's attitude towards Penguin Logistics.

Especially considering that Shirou was wearing the Penguin Logistics jacket in the morning, it's intriguing that the Knights of the Round Table still maintained this attitude.

Although they didn't make Shirou wear it, Shirou just grabbed it casually.

"Fine."

"Exusiai in front," she said with a kind expression.

Hearing that Shirou's evaluation of the Knights of the Round Table was quite positive, Exusiai knew it was time to start the next plan.

"Um."

Texas, who was standing nearby, didn't comment much, but simply nodded in response to indicate that she had heard him.

She believes in letting things take their natural course; as long as the Knights of the Round Table doesn't take any drastic actions, she won't have any objections.

As for what constitutes a major move... that's up to her.

"Oh, right, Texas, could you please turn right? I need to go to the supermarket."