Shirou Emiya Stands on Terra Chapter 15

His pants and backpack also had to be thrown away. Like his jacket, they were full of holes and unusable.

However, Shirou seemed to recall seeing people walking around in ripped pants.

"Hmm... I probably wouldn't suit that look, would I?"

Shirou thought about how he'd look in ripped pants and dismissed the idea within about ten seconds.

He rinsed his jacket a little. Even though it was no longer wearable, he could still keep it.

After all, it was one of the few things Shirou had that reminded him of his past.

Knock knock.

"Is Shirou-san there?"

Sora's voice came from outside the door. Shirou placed his jacket in the sun to dry and immediately went to open it.

"Sora? Why are you back so early?"

Shirou opened the door and let Sora in.

When nothing special was going on, the few of them would gather here, so Shirou was used to it.

The rooms upstairs were more like simple places to sleep for Penguin Logistics and the others. This place, however, had more of a homey atmosphere.

The tradeoff was that strange things had gradually started to accumulate here. Fortunately, thanks to Shirou's strong insistence and diligent daily tidying, nothing too unbearable for a young man had appeared yet.

Even so, living with a group of girls every day, especially ones who were quite attractive, still made Shirou a little uncomfortable at times.

However, the mess they made and their boisterous personalities usually made any other feelings disappear before they could even take root.

All that was left was the urge to hit them.

Every time this urge surfaced, Shirou would remind himself that they had saved him, and that he was hired to take care of them.

"My work finished early, so I came back to handle some documents. Texas and the others should be back later."

Sora hurried into the living room, sat in her usual spot, and picked up a file, preparing to start her paperwork.

"Thanks for your hard work. I'll put your coffee here."

Seeing Sora busy, Shirou made a cup of coffee and placed it beside her.

The coffee machine was brought down from upstairs by Texas. Shirou had spent a long time figuring out how to use it and had even looked up how to make coffee.

Thanks to that, he was now the best at making coffee within Penguin Logistics.

"Thank you. Speaking of which, Shirou, did you just get back?"

Sora picked up the coffee and took a sip. Shirou had added a little milk, so the coffee wasn't too bitter or too hot.

After drinking the coffee, Sora noticed that Shirou's attire was slightly different from that morning.

"Yeah, I went to buy today's groceries. We're having a feast for dinner tonight."

Shirou sat down opposite Sora and drank the ice water he'd taken from the refrigerator.

"Really? Then I'm really looking forward to it!"

Hearing that dinner would be a feast, Sora's heart, which had been somewhat worn down by work, instantly felt revitalized.

Although she liked both of her current jobs, liking them didn't mean she didn't get tired. She still got tired when it was time to be tired.

The meals Shirou made were like daily healing tonics for her.

"I'm glad you're looking forward to it. For lunch, I'll just make something simple. Sora, you haven't eaten yet, have you?"

Seeing Sora's eyes suddenly light up made Shirou happy too.

After all, who wouldn't be happy when their cooking was so well-received?

"No, not yet."

Sora shook her head vigorously, her twin ponytails swaying.

Shirou nodded and went to the kitchen.

"There should still be some dumplings Croissant brought back the other day..."

Shirou looked in the refrigerator and decided that lunch would be the leftover frozen dumplings.

However, he didn't plan on boiling them. He'd had them boiled yesterday, so this time he wanted to try pan-frying them.

Taking out the dumplings, a non-stick pan, and flour, Shirou began preparing lunch.

First, he mixed the flour and water in a 1:1.5 ratio.

It was okay to use a little more water. He adjusted the amount based on how many dumplings he was cooking.

After adding oil to the non-stick pan, he swirled it to distribute the oil evenly. Once the oil was slightly hot, he added the dumplings.

Shirou arranged them slightly so they would look neat when served.

After about two minutes, he poured the flour-water mixture around the outer edge of the dumplings, covering about one-fifth of their height.

Then, he covered the pan and waited for the water to evaporate, using low heat during this time.

"Soy sauce, cutlery..."

During the lull, Shirou took out two plates and small bowls for the dipping sauce.

About six minutes later, Shirou checked the pan. The contents had reduced nicely, and the flour-water mixture had formed a beautiful crust.

"I'll add a bit more water and let it steam."

Shirou shook the pan to prevent the dumplings from sticking, assessing that they still seemed undercooked. He added a small amount of water, then covered the pan again.

After a short while, Shirou opened the lid, confirmed they were cooked, and then turned the heat to medium to evaporate the excess moisture.

He then used a spatula to divide the entire pan of pan-fried dumplings in half, placing them onto the plates with the browned side facing up.

And so, it was done. Shirou picked up the two plates and walked out of the kitchen.

"Just a simple lunch. These are the dumplings Croissant brought back a few days ago."

Shirou walked out with the plates. Sora had already tidied up the table while Shirou was getting the tableware.

After all, it would be terrible if food got on the documents. And facing such a comforting meal, how could work possibly ruin it!

"Dumplings? But I thought I heard frying just now?"

Sora tilted her head slightly in confusion. She had definitely heard the distinct sound of oil and water interacting, and the smell wafting from the plates Shirou was holding didn't seem like dumplings either.

"Since we had them yesterday, I decided to try a different method today."

Shirou placed Sora's plate in front of her, and she finally saw what their lunch looked like.

"Pan-fried dumplings?"

In Sora's memory, dumplings were only ever boiled.

"Mhm, pan-fried. The seasoning is just soy sauce. If you want it spicy, Croissant seems to have a special chili sauce in the fridge."

Shirou used his chopsticks to press down on the golden-brown crust between the dumplings, separating them.

Seeing this, Sora mimicked Shirou, separating the dumplings and dipping the top half into the soy sauce.

With a satisfying crunch, a wave of pure happiness washed over her.

19 Title

The dumplings Croissant brought back were already delicious on their own. The golden, crispy skin, combined with the aroma of oil, elevated them to a whole new level!

It made Sora consider whether she should get some of Croissant's special spicy sauce.

It would surely be fragrant.

"What's wrong? Don't you like it?"

Seeing Sora looking as if she were contemplating the meaning of life, Shirou thought she didn't enjoy the lunch.

"No, no! It's just so delicious that I was thinking about adding some spice... oof."

Before Sora could finish, she put down her chopsticks and covered her mouth. She had spoken too quickly and bitten her tongue.

"Are you okay? I can get the chili sauce for you if you want."

Seeing Sora bite her tongue, Shirou gave her a glass of water and went to the kitchen to retrieve the chili sauce that Croissant particularly liked.

"Hmm... I remember it being really spicy. Maybe just a little bit would be enough?"

Shirou recalled being fed a dumpling coated in this sauce by Croissant during yesterday's dumpling party. He had genuinely thought his tongue was about to disappear.

Shirou poured a small amount of chili sauce into Sora's dipping bowl and stirred it in.

He himself was useless. After what happened yesterday, he was still a bit scared.

It wasn't that he was afraid of spicy food, but rather of this particular chili sauce.

"Hiss..."

Recalling the consequences of accidentally consuming it yesterday, Shirou gasped and hurried outside to hand the dipping bowl to Sora.

"Hm?"

Sora looked at the dipping bowl Shirou thrust at her, wondering why he had suddenly become so flustered.

"Ahem... Be careful, that stuff is really spicy."

Sensing that Sora had noticed his odd behavior, Shirou coughed awkwardly and said.

"Pfft—Hahahaha."

After hearing Shirou's words, Sora remembered how Shirou had been tricked into eating a dumpling dipped in this chili sauce yesterday and had rushed into the kitchen, overwhelmed by the spice.

It was the first time Sora had seen Shirou make such an expression. Of course, this awkward look today was also a first.

Although they hadn't known each other for long, Shirou had essentially been taking care of them for nearly a month. Sora had mostly seen him as a housekeeper who looked after them, prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, and even cleaned and washed their clothes.

Yes, before this, Sora had only seen Shirou interacting with them as a housekeeper. She rarely saw him like this.

But it also had to do with her own interaction habits. She couldn't get as close to people as quickly as the others, especially since Shirou sometimes exuded an aura that kept others at a distance.

"I'm not afraid of spicy food! It's just that Croissant's chili sauce is exceptionally spicy!"

Seeing Sora burst into laughter, Shirou couldn't hold back.

But he forgot that adding words like "but" or "just" after a negation made it sound even more like he was deliberately trying to cover something up.

"It's not that... puff, wait for me."

Seeing Shirou try his best to refute, Sora felt that the current Shirou was actually easier to get close to.

Sora always felt that Shirou was very similar to Texas, always appearing indifferent, only revealing his true self at specific times or to specific people.

"Damn it... for dinner, we'll have croissants! I'll go to the supermarket to buy them later!"

Seeing Shirou's heartbroken decision to make croissants cannibalize themselves, Sora couldn't stop laughing.

A big meal? Not happening.

"Hoo... I'm just surprised that you're actually this kind of person, Shirou."

Hearing that Croissant's dinner might turn into croissants because of her, Sora felt she should try to salvage the situation a little.

"Me? My personality? What's wrong?"

Shirou didn't notice, after all, he had always interacted with people this way.

"How should I put it? I feel like your personality is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, right? You still show a gentle side to people you don't know well, but they still feel a sense of distance. It's better to get along with you like this now."

Sora thought for a moment and organized her thoughts about Shirou.

"I feel like someone has said something similar before...?"

Shirou thought for a moment; it seemed someone had said something similar to him before.

It seemed to be... Ichijou?

He was one of the few people he knew well at school, and also the student council president.

"Ah! But I don't mean for you to change, Shirou. Just go at your own pace. You're still recovering, after all, so there's no need to rush."

Hearing Shirou's muttering, Sora remembered Shirou's current situation and quickly added.

In the eyes of Penguin Logistics and the others, Shirou now carried titles such as the mysterious person who fell from the sky, an amnesiac, a knife fanatic, a natural dark humorist... and so on. These were all titles they had casually discussed while delivering goods, and there was one title that everyone unanimously agreed on.