Chapter 204

"Okay, is there anything else that needs combing?"

After combing his tail all around, Shirou removed the hair from the comb and asked a question.

"No, it's very good."

Despite some reluctance, Texas had no intention of letting Shirou continue to groom her.

There will be plenty of opportunities later.

As for now...

It's time to deal with those two people who keep taking pictures with their phones, and the croissant.

Although Sora also took a picture, Texas only thought that the other party was more interested in Shirou's grooming skills.

But the other two were different; the camera focused on her most of the time, and one of the "third wheels" even asked her how she felt.

Several times, the emotions I had carefully cultivated were interrupted!

He shall be executed!

"Run!"

Seeing Texas's dark expression, Croissant immediately realized what was going on and secretly slipped her phone into Sora's hand as she passed by.

As for giving Sister Neng a hand?

No, after all, either she or Nengjie would be the one being chased, and she wouldn't show any teammate camaraderie by carrying the other person away.

Although it's still a life-or-death situation, if I get caught now, I'll just get a beating at most!

Better to die for your fellow Daoist than for this humble monk! Sorry, Sister Neng!

"Gah?"

Before Exusiai could react, she saw Texas's hand on her shoulder Croissant ran off into the distance.

"Is there anything you'd like to say?"

Texas gently shook her neck and turned her right hand slightly a few times before asking.

"Um... um, a little gentler?"

Exusiai tried to break free, discovered that she had no way to break free from the other's right hand and could only beg for mercy with a mournful face.

"It won't hurt, don't worry."

After saying Texas used a melee-style hold, directly lifting Exusiai up.

"It hurts, it hurts!"

"... Really."

Seeing the two of them, Shirou made no attempt to stop them.

After all, it was obviously just a joke; Texas simply chose a pose that could restrain a person without harming them.

So he simply made a casual comment about Exusiai behavior.

As for Croissant? No rush. Texas won't let anyone go; it's just a matter of time.

"By the way, isn't that Croissant's phone?"

Watching the wrestling match between Exusiai and Texas, and seeing Exusiai's clothes become somewhat disheveled from the struggle, Shirou hurriedly turned his head and began tidying up the grooming tools.

While wiping his comb, Shirou noticed that Sora seemed to be busy with something, holding two phones. One was Sora's own, and the other looked like Croissant's.

"Oh? Yes, it's the Croissant she left behind. I'll hold it for her."

Sora, who was suddenly called up by Shirou, was taken aback for a moment, and then said.

"But you can't just open someone else's phone. It's not good to snoop on other people's privacy."

Shirou just felt that Sora's behavior was a bit suspicious, but despite the suspicion, he still trusted Sora quite a bit, so he didn't pursue it too much.

I just told Kong not to look at other people's phones without permission.

"Okay, I'll help you!"

Upon hearing Shirou's words, Sora tapped Croissant's phone a few times before putting all her phones away and then came over to help Shirou pack his things.

"Thanks. By the way... I don't think I've seen you brush your fur much. Do you want me to?"

As Sora put everything back in its proper place, Shirou also noticed Sora's tail.

After all, he had just combed Texas's hair, Shirou felt that if he didn't comb Sora's hair, it would be a bit of a neglect to her.

At the very least, you should ask politely.

"Huh? Me? I don't need to brush my fur. The company has clear guidelines on how to maintain it."

For a moment, Sora was very interested, but she quickly found another reason to refuse Shirou.

"Hmm? Being an idol must be really tough."

Shirou had no doubt about what Sora said; he simply sighed at the difficulties idols faced.

As a caregiver, Shirou naturally understands the difficulties faced by idols in the void.

To maintain a good figure, one cannot eat too much, and may even need to eat healthy meals or go on a diet when necessary.

There are also requirements for clothing and appearance.

I never expected that even grooming my own tail would have requirements.

What a tough job!

"Hahaha... Yeah, it's really tough."

Hearing Shirou's words, Sora could roughly guess what he was thinking, but she couldn't say it out loud, so she could only respond with a forced smile.

Stop chatting! Help me!

Exusiai was being held up by Texas, pounded on the floor and pleaded for help from the two of them.

All they got in return was Texas's increasing pressure and Sora and Shirou's indifference.

193 Hoshiguma says he's exhausted.

The whole incident was just an unexpected little everyday occurrence. The only thing that bothered Shirou was that Texas would harass him with her tail every few days.

Exusiai, as always, fearlessly comes up to harass Texas, only to be counter-killed in the process.

It's just like how he's always being threatened with bacon pies by Shirou, but he still manages to jump out every time.

However, the new weapon, the Green Apple Pie, is still powerful; at least Exusiai will still be afraid of it.

The other person had once considered that a sweet and sour one would also work, but after Shirou said he would find a particularly sour green apple, they completely gave up.

Aside from that, it did not have any impact on Shirou's life.

Shirou seems unusually busy today.

Shirou was seen carrying a stack of documents and a cup of coffee, which he placed on the table.

At that moment, he felt as if he had returned to the time when he worked in the Knights of the Round Table.

Oh, so he's working for the Knights of the Round Table now? That's alright then.

"I'm sorry to trouble you with these matters."

Chen, who was looking at the documents, took a sip of coffee and then spoke to Shirou and Hoshiguma, while rubbing his throbbing head.

She had been busy all day and finally got off work, but she was still working. Even she would get tired.

But there's nothing we can do about it; nobody in the Knights of the Round Table really wants to touch the Slums.

Without a legitimate reason or the authority granted by his superiors, Chen had no choice but to work overtime to investigate the Slums.

Just like last time.

However, finding outside help is still an option. After weighing the options, Chen brought in Hoshiguma, who was familiar with the gang structure, and Shirou, who had previous experience working with them.

As for Swire's Chashu Cat?

Sorry, we're really not that close.

Although I really want to say this, the truth is that the other party's abilities are indeed not enough to provide much help in this area. It would be better to let her rest well and do more work tomorrow so that she and Hoshiguma will have less of a burden.

The reason why Hoshiguma and Shirou were chosen to go together this time is that the objective is much clearer this time, unlike last time when all we knew was that a terrible incident had occurred.

Now that the perpetrator's exact actions have been confirmed, there's no need to spend a lot of time investigating like last time.

It just takes a little time to determine the time and place and plan the ambush.

After all, you need evidence to arrest people, and it would be best to take advantage of this ambush to catch everyone in one fell swoop.

The main problem is manpower! Without manpower, you have to arrange everything yourself and take charge of all the actions.

Fortunately, she had Hoshiguma and Shirou to help her, otherwise she would have been even busier.

Besides, who would bring homemade pastries and brewed coffee from coffee beans if they were alone?

"No, after all, we had already agreed on it back then."

Shirou handed his coffee to Hoshiguma and said with a wry smile.

It's not that I felt bad about being captured and forced into hard labor, but the main reason I came here was simply...

"As expected, Director Wei is really impressive! He even calculates things from the smallest details."

Hearing Shirou's words and accepting the coffee he offered, Hoshiguma recalled the scene from this morning.

To put it simply...

It's basically about a penguin who found himself tricked by an old dragon, so the red-haired gentleman had to go out and find work.

"I'd rather just say it outright, otherwise I'm a little worried that the boss will eventually get so angry he'll die."

With a sigh, Shirou sat down at his desk and began organizing the documents he needed to review.

"Ha, the Emperor was so angry that he ate the documents he had signed last time, but it turned out that they were just copies made by Director Wei."

Hoshiguma added details about what happened this morning.

Several people were present at the time, and after Hoshiguma reminded them, that memory fragment was brought back to mind.

"I find it amazing that the Penguin Logistics guy didn't go up and have a 1v1 with Director Wei."

While chatting, Chen looked at the documents in front of him.

Normally, Chen would be the first to stop this behavior.

Now, let's be more casual. If we don't come up with some topics, she'll probably fall asleep by now.

"Stop talking... By the way, all these gangs are names I've never heard of. Are they newly formed?"

As the victim of the standoff between a certain penguin and a certain dragon, Shirou said, "Stop talking, it's getting more and more painful."

Pointing to some unfamiliar gang names on the document, Shirou asked.

He only asked that question to change the subject.

"Hmm... I guess so? After all, there are only a few who are somewhat famous,"

After looking at what Shirou was pointing to, Hoshiguma said she had no recollection of it.

After all, gangs are like that... it's normal for them to be destroyed within a few days of being established.

So apart from a few older ones, most gangs don't bother to remember their names.

It's actually faster to remember people's names and faces.

"I understand. So what we can confirm now is that these people are selling unregulated PEPs on the side, right? The kind of PEPs that can actually make infected people more sick after they've been given them."

Actually, Shirou was just changing the subject; the name of the gang didn't really matter.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that he basically didn't know any of those gangs.

After all, we don't usually have much social interaction.

The main reason I'm here now is because I was entrusted by Inspector Chen, and also because I can't stand by and watch this matter unfold.

He knew that there were substandard blocking agents in the Slums, but those were just diluted with water, and they still had a therapeutic effect, and they were sold at a much lower price.