Chapter 234

"I'm sorry... I acted impulsively."

With Swire and Hoshiguma's encouragement, Shirou's emotions stabilized somewhat.

After all, Hoshiguma was right. Chen, who was behind her, was having a heated discussion with those higher-ups, and he was practically Longmen Curses.

"It's okay, I understand how you feel. If I didn't have to put up with those people's attitudes later, I might have just smashed it down."

Swire was quite understanding of Shirou's anger.

Unfortunately, she can't act impulsively... at least not now.

Those people's concerns were not wrong. The Knights of the Round Table was already short-handed. The huge Lungmen needed the Knights of the Round Table to maintain order. Letting them act so recklessly as they did last night was already the biggest concession they could make.

Moreover... there are probably people with inside information involved behind the scenes.

This time, too much intelligence about their mission was exposed.

If the original plan had been followed, and Bratty Dragon, Hoshiguma, and Shirou had been left to take on the attack alone, the explosives inside would have forced them to take a few days off.

Or rather, Swire, who had seen the replay, witnessed the explosion immediately after Shirou rushed in.

In other words, Shirou was blown up almost face-to-face, but afterwards he looked completely unharmed.

This physical ability is even more outrageous than Hoshiguma's!

This time it was just luck, but what about next time?

Will Shirou be this lucky next time? Will they be this lucky again?

Keep in mind that Shirou just took a direct hit from Originium Bomb in his face last time! To be this lucky twice in a row is already a miracle!

Moreover, in the Slums, the Knights of the Round Table has never been a monolithic entity.

She was well aware of this, but that was precisely why Swire felt frustrated.

This won't be easy to explain to the pineapple mouse...

Ugh! I'm getting angrier and angrier the more I think about it. I'm going to call up Bratty Dragon and Hoshiguma to go for a drink!

Drink to your heart's content!

"In every sense of the word, Swire, you are the most dangerous one."

Hearing Swire's resentful complaints, seeing the expression on her face, and considering her position...

Shirou reasonably suspected that if given the chance, Swire would definitely act without hesitation.

This is a grudge that's been building up for a long time!

You should know that at most he just wanted to use Imaginary Break.

I agree with that...

Hoshiguma, who often mediates these kinds of issues, nodded.

"It seems like everyone in the Knights of the Round Table has it tough..."

Amiya, who was listening to the conversation between the three, began to have a more vivid image of the Knights of the Round Table in her mind.

I initially thought they were just a group of people guarding the daily safety of Lungmen, but I never expected them to have this side to them!

It was quite interesting; it felt like I was back on Rhodes Island.

"Chashu Cat! Slacking off? Aren't you going to come and help?"

Just as Swire was about to continue speaking, Chen, who had already finished a heated discussion with other senior executives, realized that Swire had slipped away to slack off.

Even Hoshiguma is one!

Don't these two people have any conscience leaving her to work alone?

"Yes, yes, halftime is over? Shall we begin the second half of the meeting now?"

Looking at the three women, Shirou, and the Rhodes Island crew remaining in the meeting room, Swire knew that the second half of the meeting was about to begin.

If the first half of the meeting was merely to inform the upper echelons of the Knights of the Round Table about the situation and to compile information...

The second half of the meeting will then be a review session.

The target of the review is, of course... Rhodes Island!

How could a civilian organization act so arbitrarily in Lungmen? Although it was out of goodwill and they cooperated quite well after being caught by Shirou, they were also scolded by the Bratty Dragon afterward.

However, the necessary procedures still need to be followed.

Even now, as partners, this remains true.

Of course, Mr. Shirou also couldn't escape the need for self-reflection.

Isn't that brave?

It was one thing that we were blown up by a trap, but that was something no one expected.

But how come when you blocked people later, you brought them all down from above?

There are safer methods!

Well, I heard that the other side threw out a smoke bomb first, and Shirou only dealt with it directly out of concern.

That outfit—a black bodysuit with a single red armband that looks quite unconventional—seems to offer solid defensive capabilities.

What intrigued the three of them was why there was protection even outside the clothing.

What kind of Originium Arts is this?

Unfortunately, they couldn't figure it out, and even Shirou himself didn't quite understand it.

According to him, he suddenly learned it in a flash, and he didn't really understand the underlying principle.

The shooting instruction level is comparable to that of the Sarkaz.

"Tsk tsk... It's a good thing we came, otherwise we wouldn't have known that Shirou would be so ruthless that he wouldn't even care about himself."

When the second half of the meeting begins, everyone else outside can come in.

Penguin Logistics, primarily based in Texas, sat directly behind Shirou. Whenever Chen, Swire, Hoshiguma, or the Rhodes Island team pointed out Shirou's problems, they would stare at Shirou's back with kind eyes.

Exusiai nearby, even added insult to injury.

"..."

Experiencing this scene, which resembled a public execution, Shirou felt that his luck might not be so good today.

It must all be the fault of that nightmare!

I had such a terrible dream this morning! How can I possibly have a good day?!

"Um... does Shirou often do this?"

Amiya, who had already finished saying what she needed to say, approached Penguin Logistics and asked a question.

This is Penguin Logistics! Penguin Logistics is just as famous in Lungmen as the Knights of the Round Table, at least according to the intelligence obtained from Rhodes Island.

This is a logistics company with a 100% job completion rate! Although what happens to the employers who don't complete their work is quite intriguing.

But this didn't stop Amiya from trying to get information from Penguin Logistics... cough cough, I mean, to ask for intelligence.

Even without using her abilities, Amiya could sense that Shirou was feeling quite awkward.

After all, being surrounded and scolded by a group of people would be embarrassing for anyone.

...except for a small number of ethnic groups?

Amiya has also encountered people who show no remorse, who say they won't do it again but actually do it again.

Seeing that the three members of the Knights of the Round Table were going all out, Amiya became curious, so she went to ask the Penguin Logistics team to which Shirou belonged.

After all, there are very few records about Shirou. From the information they have, all they know is that Shirou was a caretaker of the Penguin Logistics Texas Group. After that, he established the Fuyuki Store to take in infected people from the Slums, and he cooperated with Rhodes Island's Lungmen office after finding a lost Rosemary.

After that, he seemed to have intervened in an incident targeting infected people in Slums, and later got involved with the Knights of the Round Table, and then interned at the Knights of the Round Table.

Then came the attack on the Reunion Movement, an infected thug organization. They probably had the most detailed information about this incident, since the members of Rhine Lab International were there at the time.

Everyone at Rhine Lab International had a pretty good first impression of Shirou and thought he would be a great fit for Rhodes Island.

If a cooperative relationship can be established, they would definitely be an excellent partner!

Adding to that a little bit of her own selfish motives, Amiya is now quite diligent in gathering information about Shirou.

"Hmm... we don't know about that, but a long time ago, it seems like Shirou rushed into a fire to save people? Thinking about it, it seems like Shirou has had this problem for a very long time."

Sora answered Amiya's question with great enthusiasm.

The fire incident happened quite a long time ago. She only found out about it when she happened to return to the dormitory early and saw that Shirou's usual coat was damaged. Although she only found out about it later, she was instructed to cover it up at the time.

And judging from how carefully Shirou put that coat away afterward, he must have cherished it quite a bit, right?

While trying to save someone, he accidentally damaged his cherished coat... Although it might seem like a small thing to others, it was not so to Sora.

It's important to know that Shirou rushed into the scene after hearing cries for help, even though he knew the fire was dangerous.

Risking one's own safety to save others sounds heroic, but for those who know the people involved, it's more about worry, isn't it?

They are like that, and so are the people in the Knights of the Round Table; it's rare for the two sides to agree on this point.

"I see..."

Amiya nodded thoughtfully, having gained new information.

"Little bunny, are you curious about Shirou?"

Seeing Exusiai Amiya seemed quite concerned about Shirou's affairs, Exusiai asked a question.

She had noticed this earlier; Amiya seemed to care quite a bit about Shirou.

However, she didn't pay too much attention to it, after all, Amiya was just a child!

It's understandable that children are curious about someone like Shirou who has cool abilities; after all, she was the same way at first.

"Ah... um, everyone at the office has a lot of positive things to say about Shirou, and Shirou... is a bit like someone I knew before."

Amiya was taken aback for a moment when Exusiai asked her this question, but she quickly responded and answered it.

As he spoke, his eyes drifted to the back of his gloved right hand.

From the connection between the gloves and the coat, one can vaguely see the presence of Originium. An uninformed person might think that Amiya wore them to conceal the Originium crystals.

Actually, that's not it. It's just to cover up other things. I only carry it when I go out, since red tattoos are quite conspicuous.

Furthermore, she didn't want anything on her right hand to get hurt, and gloves could provide some protection.

"Oh, is that so? Come on, I have some good stuff to share with you."

Upon hearing Amiya's words, a multitude of thoughts flashed through Exusiai's mind.

For example, tell Shirou about this and see his reaction.

Or perhaps it should be reported to Chen for handling.

Or... share the great pictures she has and get Amiya to join the Shirou team!

If you agree with our Mama Emiya theory, then you are one of us!

Welcome, fellow traveler!

"Don't lead the children astray."

Texas, seeing Exusiai's ill-intentioned look, gave her a warning.

The guy next to him just now, Feline, didn't look like someone to mess with. If we anger him... we can only pray that Exusiai is alright.

"Hey, don't worry about what I do. I'm just showing the little bunny my carefully curated Shirou image library!"

Faced with her partner's reminder, Exusiai gave a thumbs up to indicate that it was no problem.

The photos she has are absolutely innocent and will not have any negative impact on children!

"If Shirou finds out what you did, Nozomi, he'll be eating bacon pies for the next few years."

Upon hearing Exusiai's words, Croissant truly couldn't hold back anymore.

It's just a good thing it wasn't her, both from the perspective of the victim and the perpetrator.

If it's the former, she'll chase Exusiai down the street and smash her phone; if it's the latter...

She could already see the ruthless cruelty in Shirou's benevolent smile.

Wait, there seems to be a picture of her in there too? Should we just take action now and deal with her?