Chapter 167

Shirou planned to soak it first and then rub it by hand, at least to remove the surface dirt before throwing it into the washing machine.

Shirou was familiar with these procedures and even bought relevant stain removal products.

"Will it smell bad? I think it's okay."

Exusiai grabbed her own collar and sniffed it, then grabbed Texas's collar and sniffed it, but unfortunately she couldn't smell anything. The smell of the feast in front of them overpowered the smell on their bodies.

"That's not the smell... no, it's definitely a bit pungent."

Seeing Exusiai's expression, Texas had a few black lines appear on her forehead, and casually pushed the other's head back.

Although Exusiai n't smell it, she could still smell it, but she deliberately avoided mentioning it.

"Hmm? What are you guys talking about?"

Shirou emerged from the bathroom with his hands slightly wet. He wiped his hands with a tissue and asked a question.

As soon as he came out, he saw Texas pushing Exusiai away with a look of disgust, so he became a little curious.

"It's nothing. Texas said she smelled something that made her uncomfortable, but I didn't smell anything."

"Exusiai said after being pushed back."

"An unpleasant smell...? Oh, I see."

Upon hearing Exusiai's words, Shirou was slightly puzzled, but after seeing the somewhat restless Lupo ears on Texas's head, he seemed to understand something.

"Shirou, do you know the reason? Tell me! Tell me!"

Croissant loves watching a good show, said excitedly.

Emiya's playful nature was on full display, and even Exusiai and Texas looked at Shirou with curiosity.

Texas, in particular, was especially curious about what that was.

"Hmm... This concerns Texas's private affairs, so we need to ask for her opinion first."

Seeing the curious looks in their eyes, Shirou didn't intend to say it directly.

After all, this is Texas's personal matter, and it's not a good thing to bring it up to satisfy other people's curiosity.

Simply put, you need to confirm with the person in question first, and only if they feel there's no problem should you see if they're willing to tell you.

"My private matter?"

Upon hearing what Shirou said, Texas sensed that things were definitely not going well.

Aside from Penguin Logistics, she didn't know anyone else in Lungmen, which means... it was one of those people from the past?

That shouldn't be happening!

No! Could it be that guy?

Suddenly, Texas thought of Lupo, who had long silver hair, and only she would relentlessly pursue her.

With a sense of doubt, Texas asked:

Is it Lappland?

"Um."

Seeing Texas's somewhat unpleasant expression, Shirou was glad he hadn't said anything carelessly. It seemed their relationship was indeed unusual, and there might be some story behind it.

"So it really was her..."

After receiving a clear answer, Texas suddenly lost interest in the food in front of him, leaned back in his chair, and looked at him with a complicated expression.

Has her past already caught up with us?

"..."

Seeing Texas's appearance, Exusiai and Croissant lost their initial interest in watching the spectacle. After exchanging a glance, Exusiai broke the awkward silence.

"Where did you meet that Lappland... Shirou?"

Although Exusiai felt that this person shouldn't be mentioned anymore, she couldn't leave it unanswered without finding out the details.

After all, that Texas is the kind of ruthless person who wouldn't even blink if he accidentally broke the boss's treasured vinyl record.

The fact that he's showing such a shocked and bewildered expression means that the situation is really serious.

"Uh... in the Slums. When I saw her, she was being chased, and then she led her men toward me."

After glancing in the direction of Texas and receiving a nod from the other party indicating that he should continue, Shirou briefly explained how the two met.

"... Wasn't it a rather strange encounter?"

Croissant listened to the story of how Lappland and Shirou met, and she felt it was all a bit fantastical.

Shouldn't it normally be something you stumble upon by chance, and then the item gets lost?

Shirou, for example, dropped himself so they could pick him up – that's the right way to start!

"Shirou, are you alright?"

After thinking about Lappland's appearance during the battle, Texas stood up and walked towards Shirou, circling around him to carefully observe whether he had any injuries.

She smelled mostly of food and detergent, but she could still faintly smell Lappland's scent.

The two did have contact, and judging from Shirou's words... that was something only Lappland could do.

It has a very similar style to the other person.

"It's alright, you're the one who's alright, aren't you?"

Seeing that Texas seemed to be a little better, Shirou inquired about her condition just now.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about something. But did Lappland do anything to you?"

Seeing that the three people present seemed very worried about her, Texas shook her head and explained why she had been stunned just now.

It just happened so suddenly that she wasn't mentally prepared.

She has a good mental fortitude and quickly adjusted her state of mind. After all, it was just Lappland catching up, which wasn't a big problem.

Now she's more worried about Shirou, who had contact with Lappland. According to what Shirou just said, he seems to have seen Lappland fighting.

Lappland is very different when she is fighting compared to when she is not fighting. When she is not fighting, although she is quite polite, there is some sharpness in her words, but at most she can only hurt people's feelings.

But Lappland is different when she's in battle; she's a complete battle maniac who doesn't care about her surroundings when she's fighting.

Although she didn't need to worry about Shirou's skills, it was still possible that Shirou might accidentally get hurt because he mistook her for a comrade.

"No, not really. She just treated me to a meal and we chatted for a bit, although I mostly heard her calling out 'Texas ~ Texas ~'."

After confirming that Texas was in good mental condition, Shirou was relieved and said in a teasing tone.

"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect that?"

Upon hearing Shirou mimic Lappland's tone of voice, Croissant playfully teased Texas.

Half of it was cooperation, and the other half was genuine. Although Zhu had sensed from the beginning that the other three people in Penguin Logistics seemed to be getting along too well, she never expected that Texas would have such good friends in the past!

It would be really interesting to tell Sora about it.

Now that Shirou has arrived, Shirou is the one in charge. There's no way around it; the person in charge has to appease him to avoid having to live on bread alone.

Moreover, Croissant doesn't want to go back to a life of eating bread all the time.

In addition, Shirou took good care of them and didn't have any strange ideas. Moreover, he was particularly easy to tease, so they naturally became familiar with each other.

Leaving aside Shirou's superhuman combat abilities, let's just look at it from the perspective of a housekeeper and friend.

"Texas is really popular! But I'm not bad either! Everyone came out to see me off when I left Laterano!"

Exusiai nodded in deep agreement.

"Really?"

Hearing Exusiai say that, the three of them were somewhat incredulous.

"Really! I still remember the banners celebrating my trip to Lungmen!"

Exusiai nodded vigorously, trying to convince everyone that she was right.

"Celebrating your arrival at Lungmen? I get it now, they're not seeing you off, they're celebrating your departure, right?"

Croissant connected these words and events, piecing together the true situation.

Considering that Exusiai bombed the school several times and that parts of Laterano were affected, Croissant felt that her suggestion was more likely.

"Uh-huh."

Shirou and Texas, who were standing nearby, also seemed to favor this answer.

"Hey! You guys have gone too far!"

Seeing how distrustful the three of them were, Exusiai felt a little hurt.

Even though, although, it might really be as Croissant said, we can't just bring it up directly!

You should be more tactful in your speech!

As Exusiai charged toward the three with a cushion from the sofa in her hand, the somewhat gloomy atmosphere from before vanished.

At least for now, Texas isn't thinking too much about Lappland; instead, they're trying to use Croissant as a shield.

There's Apple Pie in the fridge!

Shirou, on the other hand, brought out Apple Pie.

Dealing with Exusiai is very simple; Apple Pie can take care of it directly.

"Hmph! I'll spare you for now!"

Upon hearing that there was Apple Pie in the refrigerator, Exusiai stopped what she was doing, threw the cushion back onto the sofa, and rushed into the kitchen.

"They're too easy to appease!"

From the Shirou mentioned Apple Pie to Exusiai rushing into the kitchen, less than five seconds had passed.

Croissant, who was watching this scene from the side Croissant complained about Exusiai.

If it were her... she could definitely last ten seconds!

"This is just a joke, Exusiai is just playing around too."

Shirou picked up the cushion that Exusiai had carelessly tossed aside, patted it, and then put it back.

Although he always said that the Penguin Logistics guys could be appeased with food, that only applied to those guys. If he tried to do that outside, he'd probably get hit with a few Etched Ammunition, a lightsaber, or a hammer and a stick, right?

"...Thanks."

Recalling what had just happened, Texas suddenly said.

Shirou said that because he wanted to stop her from thinking about those things, and Exusiai and Croissant were quite cooperative with Shirou.

Although Exusiai certainly didn't expect those words to have this effect, she does feel less heavy-hearted now.

Although her past will eventually catch up with her, she still has the present and everyone at Penguin Logistics.

"No, hurry up and eat. Although I don't know about your relationship with Lappland, don't dwell on bad memories."

Seeing Texas's expression, Shirou and Croissant gave each other a Croissant fist bump; their teamwork was quite good.

At the same time, he offered Texas some simple words of comfort.

Shirou knew that Texas would be able to come out soon, even without the three of them distracting her.

He knew that there was a difference between someone struggling to escape from a bad past and someone pulling you out of a bad past.

"Yes, I know. As for Lappland... I'll sort out my thoughts before facing her."

Texas nodded, indicating that she understood.

She wants to continue living the life she has now, so she will find a way to overcome her past.

Lappland is just the first stop.

"That's good."

Seeing that Texas had returned to her usual self, Shirou wasn't sure if she had actually listened to what he said.

All they can do is offer empty words.

Everyone has things they don't want to talk about, even someone as optimistic as Exusiai has her own worries.

Isv had previously let slip that Exusiai left Laterano to find someone, and that person was currently working a long-term overseas assignment at Penguin Logistics.