Chapter 230

Through the blurry reflection on the silver handcuffs, though still somewhat indistinct, one could be certain that the man was wearing a rather contemptuous smile.

Then, a sense of loss came over me.

"Ha—"

Inside the dormitory, Shirou sat on the sofa with his eyes wide open.

"Hmm? Are you awake? Shirou, are you alright? Did you have a nightmare?"

Sora, who was standing nearby, was Shirou with a small fan. Seeing that he still seemed a little shaken, she showed him some concern.

"... Is it empty?"

Looking at the empty space beside him, Shirou opened his mouth for a long while before finally speaking.

This is reality; what I just had was just a nightmare.

Compared to seeing himself bathed in Black Mud, this nightmare felt more like an ordinary dream.

The content is just a bit overwhelming.

"Um, are you alright?"

Seeing Shirou's unusual behavior, Shirou figured he might have overworked himself yesterday.

After all, he didn't even go back to his own room; he just fell asleep on the dormitory floor.

The four of them were lying neatly on the sofa, even with blankets on.

"It's okay, what time is it?"

After wiping his face, Shirou calmed down a little.

I guess Isv was what Is said that made me overthink, which is why I had this nightmare.

It's perfectly reasonable to put all the blame on Isv.

"It's seven in the morning, Texas and the others are making breakfast in the kitchen."

Despite Shirou saying he was fine, Sora didn't believe him.

Shirou's condition just now was not quite right; she had never seen anyone make low moaning sounds when having a nightmare.

And just now, I could faintly hear an electric crackling sound emanating from Shirou's body...

Although they really wanted to wake him up, unfortunately, even with Exusiai and Croissant working together at full speed, they couldn't wake Shirou up.

After nearly an hour of effort, Shirou's condition improved slightly, and the group gave up on waking him up. They sent Sora to take care of him, while the others went to the kitchen.

Given Shirou's current state, they dared not let him into the kitchen.

"... Them? Breakfast?"

After hearing what Sora said, Shirou thought a lot.

The refrigerator was piled high with apples that others had given me, plus Exusiai was there...

Today's breakfast looks like it's going to be quite an ordeal.

Hopefully, Texas and Croissant can find a way to stop this guy who looks like an angel but is actually Apple Pie devil.

After the initial shock, Shirou realized that he was lying on the sofa.

If I remember correctly... when he got back to the dorm yesterday, he just threw them all onto the sofa, right?

Since he didn't have the guts to take them back to their rooms, he ultimately chose this compromise.

Anyway, it's not like none of them haven't slept on the sofa before.

But after that, it seems he kicked someone's foot and fell flat on his face.

And then he just fell asleep like that?

Recalling my last memory before falling asleep, although it was a bit bizarre, at least I managed to figure out the current situation.

He was probably carried up by a few people who woke up earlier than him.

"It should take a while longer, why don't you go and freshen up first, Shirou?"

Listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen, I could vaguely hear Texas shooing the two away and the sound of a cleaver hitting the cutting board. It would probably be a while before it was ready to be served.

It wouldn't be bad to let Shirou take this time to freshen up and calm down.

The other person seemed to have not showered when they came back yesterday; being all sticky like that must have been uncomfortable for them.

"Okay... I'm also grateful for your help, thank you."

After being reminded by Sora, Shirou realized that he was even wearing a Knights of the Round Table jacket, so he accepted Sora's suggestion.

It spent quite a while in the sewer, so I don't know if it picked up any smell.

This sofa and blanket probably need to be washed again.

Hopefully, no one smelled anything unpleasant, especially Sora and Texas, who have a keen sense of smell.

He stood up and walked back to his room. Before closing the door, Shirou spoke to Sora.

"No, Shirou, you usually take care of us more, don't you?"

Kong Hui replied, tidying up the small fans.

"Yes, let's go check on them. If possible, stop Exusiai. I think I smell Apple Pie."

Upon hearing Sora's words, Shirou nodded.

Then he pointed in the direction of the kitchen and said.

"Ah! Now that you mention it, I can smell it too!"

After Shirou's reminder, Sora finally caught a whiff of Apple Pie in the air and rushed into the kitchen.

Not just Shirou, she also didn't want to have Apple Pie for breakfast so early in the morning.

"Really..."

Hearing the noisy sounds from the kitchen, Shirou slowly closed the door.

After washing up and changing into comfortable clothes, the dining table was already laden with food, and everyone was sitting down to enjoy breakfast.

It's a very simple meal: fried eggs and fried meat, plus a glass of iced milk tea.

There was an Apple Pie in front of Exusiai, though.

"Ah! Shirou. You must have had a hard night last night."

Seeing Shirou emerge in a different outfit, Exusiai waved to him.

"It was indeed quite tough in every sense of the word. If you hadn't gotten so drunk yesterday, I would have had it much easier."

After walking to his seat, Shirou complained about the behavior of the others yesterday, and then took a sip of milk tea.

It's Exusiai flavor, and it's especially sweet.

"It's because you didn't take us with you yesterday, Shirou! We had no choice but to go by ourselves!"

Croissant, standing nearby, offered an excuse for getting completely drunk.

"Kong and I were dragged into drinking by them."

Texas, on the other hand, directly took Sora and left the battlefield, ruthlessly abandoning Exusiai and Croissant to face Shirou, the big boss.

Texas!?

Seeing her most trusted teammate abandon her in an instant, Exusiai showed an expression of disbelief, and the half-eaten Apple Pie in her hand fell back onto the plate.

"Exactly, Exusiai and the others dragged me and Texas out, and Croissant even tricked me into revealing information. They're so mean."

Kong, who was standing nearby, delivered the finishing blow.

"Null!?"

Seeing that even the only two consciences of Penguin Logistics had betrayed him at this moment, Croissant felt that something terrible was about to happen.

Another conscience is brewing with emotion right now: what if I chop them up?

"I'll settle the score with you later, let's eat first."

Shirou didn't want to dwell on this matter too much, since it Isv who was exhausted anyway.

Seeing that Exusiai and Croissant had settled down and were eating breakfast, Shirou glanced at the messages sent while he was asleep.

I was supposed to check it as soon as I woke up, but today was a bit special, so I checked it while eating.

"Hmm..."

Looking at the message from Amiya at the top, Shirou couldn't help but sigh that Rhodes Island was truly exploiting child labor.

What time is it? Amiya is already up and working?

Judging from their appearance, they seem to be only about fourteen years old.

Oh, he's only a few years older than the other person, so he's not really qualified to say that.

Shaking his head to clear the strange thoughts, Shirou opened Amiya's message:

"You worked hard last night, Shirou. I hope you got a good rest today. Also, it seems there has been progress with the Knights of the Round Table. Rhodes Island will send someone to negotiate with the Knights of the Round Table. The Knights of the Round Table Shirou contact you to attend. I hope you can find some time to talk to us Shirou that."

After reading Amiya's message, Shirou replied with a sticker that said "No problem," and then scrolled down a bit.

The mission progress notification from Chen... Amiya just mentioned this, but the message seems to be asking Shirou to go to the Knights of the Round Table this afternoon.

That was a bit too fast, wasn't it? I thought these people would be stubborn for a while.

So they've already confessed in just a few hours?

The next message was that Shirou had to submit his medical report by the end of the week, or else they would have to take coercive measures to send him to the hospital for a checkup.

His lips twitched slightly. Although he knew that Chen was concerned about his health, he still felt that it was more like a threat.

It's probably just your imagination... Don't overthink it.

There was no further information, so Shirou put away his phone.

Thinking about the medical check-up and Amiya's invitation to visit Rhodes Island, Shirou spoke up:

"Speaking of which, it seems Rhodes Island is considering inviting me to visit them."

Rhodes Island?

Texas's ears twitched.

"Invite?"

Kong blinked and said.

"Shall we go take a look over there?"

Exusiai frowned, realizing that things were not so simple.

"Is it some kind of scam? Like they're trying to lure you there, Shirou, and then take you away?"

Croissant put down the piece of meat in her hand and seriously considered the possibility.

"You're overthinking it. They're a... a pharmaceutical company. Why would they do something like that?"

Upon hearing Croissant's speculation, Shirou made a sarcastic remark.

Why use two questions?

Having noticed the grammatical error in Shirou's words, Exusiai felt her intuition was correct!

This matter is definitely not that simple!

"That's your misconception. I didn't mean anything by it. I was just asking for your opinions. If you want, you can ask the boss for leave to go there. I heard that the medical facilities there are quite good, and they are willing to do a free physical examination for us."

Shirou would definitely not reveal that Rhodes Island was a place with a group of mercenaries and that they employed child laborers, as that would only cause unnecessary misunderstandings among the group.

Therefore, Shirou used the excuse that Rhodes Island was willing to help with the medical examination.

"I remember Rhodes Island is something you've always had contact with, Shirou? I think you stayed in the hospital there for a few days last time too?"

After thinking for a long time, Texas remembered where she had seen the name Rhodes Island before.

Last time, Shirou was forced to stay in the hospital for a few days; it seems like that place is Rhodes Island.

They're partners of Rhine Lab International, and the people there seem pretty good, so there shouldn't be any major problems...?

But why a physical examination?