Shirou Emiya Stands on Terra

"Croissant, you're not still mad about Shirou using you as dinner last night, are you? Are you planning to stuff tomorrow's breakfast with chili sauce?"

Sora pondered for a moment. Croissant's sudden uncharacteristic behavior, coupled with remembering what Shirou did last night, made her certain that Croissant was planning some kind of prank on Shirou.

For example, making an exquisite breakfast, then filling it with a generous amount of special chili sauce.

"How... how could that be? Sora, you have to believe me!"

Croissant's scheme was instantly exposed, and her tone became uncertain.

"If you're going to do something bad, don't drag us down with you! What if we only have instant noodles left for all our meals from now on!"

Exusiai, being the first person Shirou had "dealt with," naturally knew what Mama Emiya was like when she got serious.

She didn't want to hide and eat apple pie again anytime soon! Moreover, her wallet had only started to gain weight after Shirou began handling their meals. After all, how could those seductive temptresses outside compare to Mama Emiya's cooking!

"Agreed..."

Texas voiced her opinion, then closed her eyes to rest again.

"Besides, Shirou was just teasing you. Didn't you end up eating your fill later?"

Sora delivered the final blow, completely crushing Croissant's plan to prank Shirou.

"Waaah... Fine, but since we're already up, let's make breakfast for Shirou."

Croissant had actually woken up halfway through the night, thought about it more, and gotten up early to come up with this plan.

But since her companions feared Shirou's wicked methods, she could only give up.

"That's fine, but do we have the ingredients? Shirou basically only buys enough for the day now. The fridge is mostly filled with drinks."

Exusiai thought about it. She probably couldn't fall back asleep now anyway. It would be better to agree to Croissant's plan and try to butter up Shirou to see if he could make more desserts.

That candied sweet potato from last time was pretty good.

"I remember there are eggs, cheese, and toast. We can probably make a baked cheese and egg dish?"

Croissant recalled the ingredients she saw when she opened the fridge to get drinks yesterday.

"You mean sprinkling cheese on a slice of bread, topping it with a beaten egg, and then putting it straight into the oven?"

Exusiai looked down on Croissant. This level of cooking was something anyone with hands could do, wasn't it?

"There should be meat from the Lactate Beasts. We can make sandwiches?"

Sora remembered Shirou mentioning yesterday that breakfast today would be sandwiches.

Shirou's breakfasts were usually easy to predict; they were mostly things that were convenient to grab, like sandwiches, burgers, or rice balls. This also led to them sleeping later and later, since they could just grab breakfast and go, eating it directly in the car. Occasionally, there would even be bento boxes or snacks to take with them.

"We make sandwiches for them, and we make sandwiches back for them?"

Croissant sarcastically commented on the recursive nature of the plan.

"What else can we do? You're the one who suggested it."

Exusiai spread her hands, giving up on thinking.

"How about making pressed sandwiches? Didn't you bring back a panini press a while ago, Croissant?"

Sora thought for a long time before remembering the strange machine Croissant had brought back ages ago.

The machine had heating elements on the bottom and could be closed like a book. When a sandwich was placed inside, it would make the toast crispy and seal the edges.

The downside was that cleaning it was a hassle. After a few uses, they had put it away, as buying breakfast outside was faster and more convenient.

"I think I do! Let me see if it's still here."

Upon hearing Sora's words, Croissant immediately jogged into their dorm's kitchen. Since some of their things had been moved downstairs for Shirou's use, Croissant quickly found the machine in the somewhat empty kitchen.

"Oh, is this it? I remember putting apple pie filling between toast also made it quite delicious."

Exusiai also remembered the machine after taking a look. They had put all sorts of things between the bread back then, and it was great, but the problem was how difficult it was to clean.

"Then let's go with this."

Texas, after dozing for nearly half an hour more, finally perked up a bit and directly chose the plan.

"So, the question is, who's going to make it?"

Croissant looked at the people present. In terms of ordinary cooking skills, she and Texas were the only ones who could make edible, albeit not particularly delicious, food.

Exusiai, that weirdo who only excelled at apple pie, was an exception, and Sora basically couldn't cook.

And back then, she had only put things like jam between the bread, never trying to stuff it with meat, eggs, or cheese. Now, if she had to do it suddenly, she wouldn't be able to.

"Season the eggs and Lactate Beast meat, cook them, then put them in with the cheese and press it?"

Texas thought for a moment about the cooking process and how to prepare the ingredients. The meat definitely needed to be cooked. If they just put it in raw, they'd have to choose between burnt toast and raw meat. The eggs also might not cook through, so cooking both first was the safest bet.

The cheese just needed to be heated slightly, so it could be added right before pressing.

"Yeah, Texas's idea sounds reliable."

Sora agreed with Texas's method. That way, at least they could be sure it was cooked and edible.

She had watched a cooking show once where the chef had a memorable reaction to being served raw meat.

"Colombian expletive, this Lactate Beast meat is so raw! It's so raw, it ate the lettuce inside!"

She was a little worried that Shirou would also smash the food with his hands and say something like that if he ate raw food.

"Huh? Why does this feel a bit… exciting?"

Sora's thoughts gradually drifted away.

"Then let's do it this way. Let's keep it quiet. Shirou should wake up around six."

Having decided what to do and roughly how to do it, Penguin Logistics' breakfast shop was open for business!

The group first tiptoed downstairs, and Texas unlocked the door with her key.

"No one's here. The target should still be asleep. Over."

Croissant peeked inside, confirming that all the lights were off.

"Roger that. Please tread lightly when entering and don't talk."

Exusiai also peeked in, illuminating the living room with the halo on her head. The group entered the kitchen with the help of Exusiai's halo.

"Arrived at the target location. Over."

Sora struck a pose to conclude their successful stealth operation.

"Let's turn on the lights first, then look for the seasonings."

Texas, bringing up the rear, closed the door and directed everyone's actions.

"Roger that, I'll get the seasonings!"

Exusiai, who had been using the kitchen to make apple pie, pulled out a drawer filled with all sorts of seasonings. She took out the salt, pepper, and sugar and placed them on the table.

"Nen-jie, why are you taking the sugar?"

Croissant asked as she watched Exusiai take out a large jar of sugar.

"I should be asking you, what are you doing with that chili sauce in your hand!"

Sora crossed her arms and looked at the chili sauce in Croissant's hand.

"Ahem, it's for me to eat."

"Then wait until you're making your portion to take it. I'm taking it now."

Sora put the chili jar back in the refrigerator.

"Darn it..."

Croissant clenched her fists, looking disappointed.

Just a little more, just a little more, and she could have carried out her grand plan.

"Texas, keep an eye on Croissant later. Don't let her succeed."

Sora whispered to Texas, as Texas and Croissant would be the ones handling the ingredients later.

"Mhm, don't worry. I don't want to eat instant noodles."

After saying that, Texas's eyes sharpened considerably, sending a chill down Croissant's back as she had been planning something mischievous.

"Alright, the machine still works."

Exusiai, who was testing the machine, was completely unaware that her team was already falling apart over chili sauce.

Texas wagged her tail and looked at the ingredients in front of her, deciding to start with the meat.

"Sora, help me crack the eggs and mix them with a little Lactate."

Texas handed the egg-cracking task to Sora while she began processing the meat from the beast.

Because of the machine, they usually didn't pack too much inside to avoid situations where it couldn't be pressed down or would spray out.

So Texas cut the meat a little smaller than the machine would have, and the thickness was about half that of a slice of toast.

She sprinkled on some salt and a little pepper and pan-fried it.

Then she took it out and set it aside, poured the eggs into the frying pan, and stirred them constantly. Once the shape solidified, they could be taken out. Because a little Lactate was added, there was a slight milky aroma.

"Wow, Texas, you're very skilled."

Exusiai, who was not helping at all from behind, praised her good friend's cooking skills.

"It's just at the level where it's edible. Croissant, are you done over there?"

Texas picked up two plates and asked Croissant.

"Just waiting for the meat and eggs."

Croissant pointed to the toast already spread with butter and the cheese.

Sora had been watching Croissant the whole time, so Croissant hadn't done anything out of the ordinary and had just prepared the items obediently.

Spreading butter on the toast prevented it from absorbing too much moisture from the meat, which would make the toast less crispy, and it also enhanced the flavor.

"Sora, you and Exusiai do it together."

Texas let go and handed the final steps to the two of them.

Sora and Exusiai stepped forward and assembled the sandwiches in the order of toast, cheese, meat, egg, cheese, toast.

This step isn't difficult, as long as you don't get too greedy and stuff too much filling inside.

"Go wake up our protagonist!"

Exusiai reminded her teammate to go get the protagonist while she was preparing to fold the second one.

After all, the baking time wouldn't be too long; it would be ready in no time.

"I'll go with Croissant."

Texas washed her hands and then grabbed Croissant, who was trying to open the refrigerator, and walked out.

"Let me just add a little, just a little!"

Croissant let out a wail before being dragged away by Texas.

"Honestly."

Seeing Texas drag Croissant away, Sora finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had been watching Croissant's actions the whole time and had finally thwarted the ketchup conspiracy.

"Hmph, let's add some sugar. Sweetness is king, after all."

"...Stop right there!"

It seemed she still had to stop the sugar conspiracy.

Meanwhile, Texas dragged Croissant to Emiya's door before letting go.

"Ouch, Texas, be careful! You'll break my horns!"

Suddenly released, Croissant almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, her reflexes were good, and she managed to avoid hitting the ground with a strange pose.

"If they break, take them to the boss to use as a microphone stand."

Texas said coldly. After all, Croissant was the culprit behind her sleep deprivation, and for an extremely ridiculous reason. If her subsequent proposal hadn't been approved, Texas would have definitely shown the certain cow what she was like when she got serious.

"Forget it, the boss is more suited for heavy metal style."

Croissant stood up and patted her hands.