"Hmm? I remember a few housewives chatting over there, and I just happened to overhear it."
Shirou, who was still thinking about what groceries to buy, snapped back to reality and pointed at the vegetable stall nearby.
"...Housewives?"
Swire doubted whether her ears were playing tricks on her.
Did she just hear the word housewives?
"Yeah, they were chatting pretty loudly at the time, and I just happened to overhear while I was picking out vegetables."
Thinking for a moment, Shirou felt the need to clarify that he hadn't been eavesdropping, but rather that the other party had been so loud that he couldn't help hearing.
"Wait, let me process this."
Rubbing her little head, Swire felt first shocked, then doubtful, and finally felt like there was nothing wrong with it at all when faced with this kind of information channel.
Information obtained from such grassroots conversations was the most authentic, but if they were just housewives... she estimated that she would still have to filter out a lot of messages.
"Then I'll head over for a bit first, call me if anything comes up."
Watching Swire fall into deep thought, Shirou said a word and went off to pick vegetables.
Because Penguin Logistics only had Sora who ate a lot of vegetables, Shirou simply picked out what Sora liked directly. As for the other three who liked bread, snacks, and Pocky, as long as he prepared enough meat, they could eat very happily.
It was one thing for a Lupo to eat meat, and it seemed logical enough for a Dolypod to eat meat, but was there really no problem with that Sarkaz eating meat?
"No, no, Sora is also a Lupo but she loves vegetables, so you can't judge habits by race."
Shaking his head, Shirou shook off those impolite thoughts in his mind, checked out quickly, and left, taking less than a few minutes back and forth.
Swire, standing off to the side, watched as Shirou smoothly walked in to pick vegetables, bargain, and pay, full of question marks the whole time.
How was Shirou so different from the Penguin Logistics she had imagined, and yet his life was so grounded?
"How are you so practiced at this?"
Seeing Shirou walk over carrying a large bag of vegetables, Swire asked.
"Practiced? What's practiced?"
Shirou, not quite understanding what Swire meant, wore a puzzled expression.
"Nothing, do you usually come here to buy things?"
Realizing she had lost her composure somewhat, Swire changed her phrasing.
"Normally I still go to the supermarket nearby. Exusiai and the others said it's not as safe here, told me not to come alone."
"Usually go to the supermarket... don't come alone..."
With his combat strength perceived as rather low in the eyes of Penguin Logistics, combined with that just-now smooth vegetable-buying routine, Swire detected a hint of something amiss.
Had she perhaps imagined Shirou as a bit too strong?
Based on currently known information, Shirou's combat prowess did not seem to be looked upon favorably among Penguin Logistics, and even coming near the slums alone was judged as dangerous. That time at Dagu Mall also seemed to have been prevented from causing greater harm only because the Knights of the Round Table intervened.
In other words, Shirou might just be an ordinary person who was a bit reckless?
And she had overestimated Shirou's combat strength, leading him to a dangerous place?
Watching Swire appear to be deep in thought, Shirou didn't step forward to disturb her, instead taking a quick glance at the surrounding people before heading straight to the seafood stall to pick out fish.
"You're here? The catch today is pretty good, feel free to take a look."
The boss gave a yawn and greeted Shirou.
"Yeah, the fish last time was pretty good, this time I happened to come with someone, so I'm buying some more to take back."
While picking out the fish, Shirou chatted casually with the boss.
"Hmm... girlfriend?"
Glancing at the person Shirou had mentioned, the boss asked.
He didn't recognize Swire, as Swire was dressed somewhat plainly right now and was wearing a large hat.
"No, she's... just a friend."
Originally wanting to say she was from the Knights of the Round Table, but thinking of the few gazes he had felt moments ago, Shirou changed his words to say she was a friend.
"I get it, I get it, I'll count it a bit cheaper for you today."
Seeing Shirou's hesitation, the boss took the few fish from Shirou's hands and expertly gutted and cleaned them.
Faced with the boss's words, Shirou only wore a wry smile and didn't over-explain.
"Shirou, why did you run over here?"
Swire, having recovered her senses, originally wanted to ask Shirou some questions directly, but finding that Shirou was already gone, she looked around before finally locating him in front of the seafood stall.
"Buying fish, the boss here is pretty nice, and the fish is very fresh."
Holding up the newly acquired large bag of fish, Shirou introduced it to Swire.
Only, if he knew that a single piece of clothing on Swire could cover the food expenses of everyone in Penguin Logistics for two months, he probably wouldn't have introduced it quite like this.
"I wonder what brings you here today?"
Seeing Swire's face up close, the boss also recognized who the other party was.
After all, he usually received care from Officer Hoshiguma, so naturally he could recognize who Swire was, he just didn't know why she would appear here.
"Mmm... nothing, just accompanying him out to buy groceries. Shirou, we should go."
Seeing the boss, Swire was startled for a moment. The man looked like a ruthless character, and coupled with the bloody knife in his hand, Swire almost pulled out her handcuffs to arrest him on the spot.
Slightly calming down, Swire used Shirou as a shield and subsequently grabbed Shirou's hand to leave this place.
39 Shocking a little tigress for a whole year
Shirou, being pulled along by Swire, didn't struggle and let her pull him along, but still politely asked for the reason:
"What's wrong, walking in such a hurry."
"Don't you think that boss looked a bit wrong?"
After pulling Shirou a short distance away, Swire said in a low voice.
"The boss?"
Turning his head to look back at the seafood stall boss, although the distance was quite far, Shirou could still see that the boss seemed to keep looking in their direction, with an expression on his face that looked more like worry.
"I already felt an uncomfortable sensation right there just now, plus that boss was acting weird. I almost wanted to pull out my handcuffs to arrest him on the spot. Hiss—I still feel a chill down my spine right now."
Swire rubbed her arms as she walked, and Swire's words made Shirou realize that not only had he felt those strange gazes earlier, but Swire had felt them too, meaning he wasn't just being overly sensitive.
However, the gazes hadn't decreased with their departure from that place, so Swire's theory that the boss was problematic could be dismissed.
Still, Shirou didn't tell Swire, because last time they had also walked a good distance away before the sensation of being watched and the malice disappeared. This time, they probably had to walk far away too for that sense of being watched to vanish.
Only, whether it was his imagination or not, Shirou always felt that the malice he felt this time was obviously much thicker than the last. If last time it was just muddy sewage, this time it felt somewhat as thick as mud.
At this, Shirou felt a bit ominous; he hoped this was just his imagination.
"Speaking of which, what do you do at Penguin Logistics?"
Far away from the market, Swire felt a bit safer psychologically and asked the question she had wanted to ask Shirou just moments earlier.
She had already simulated in her mind that Shirou was either a newcomer among Penguin Logistics' armed personnel or a logistician in charge of paperwork.
Yet Shirou's answer almost made her trip on the road.
"I'm responsible for taking care of everyone else at Penguin Logistics. If I really have to say... consider me a househusband?"
Thinking a bit about his usual work content, Shirou replied. As for the new work arrangement his boss had given him, it wasn't clear yet, so there was no need to mention it.
"Housewife...? No, househusband?"
Calculate as she might, Swire had never calculated that Shirou worked as a househusband at Penguin Logistics. In her astonishment, she even blurted out a slip of the tongue.
Shocking a little tigress for a whole year!
"The boss said so. My usual job is taking care of everyone at Penguin Logistics, tidying up the rooms, and taking care of their three meals."
Though unaware of why Swire was so surprised, Shirou still explained it properly to Swire.
"...No wonder you're so practiced at it."
Thinking for a long time, Swire didn't know what she should say.
"???"
So what exactly was he practiced at? Could she finish her sentences?
Lately, Shirou was starting to find this habit of speaking in halves rather grating.
Before Shirou could even be disgusted by this behavior of leaving sentences unfinished, he sensed something was wrong and slowed his pace to lean close to Swire's side.
"Mmm? What is it?"
Seeing Shirou suddenly lean close to her side, Swire asked.
Along the way just now, Shirou had basically maintained a distance from her, so why was he suddenly crowding close now?
When things go against the norm, there must be a demon afoot. Either Shirou's eyes were finally working well, or Shirou had sensed something amiss.
Based on Shirou's previous reactions to her, Swire unhesitatingly chose the latter.
"I feel like someone's using something to aim at us."
Since what he sensed came from behind, Shirou was actually walking slightly behind Swire. Because their heights were similar—or rather, Shirou was slightly taller—Shirou leaned directly close to the ears on top of Swire's head to speak.
"Whoa, don't blow air in my ear."
Covering her right ear, Swire wore an angry expression as she spoke to Shirou.
Shirou froze for a moment, failing to react to why her reaction was like this, but still obediently put some distance between himself and Swire.
Actually, Swire wasn't angry; she was just doing it to avoid letting the clues be discovered.
If it really was as Shirou said, with someone watching her and Shirou, then Shirou's behavior just now would have been way too obvious.
So Swire simply turned Shirou's previous behavior into wanting to tease her. Although it was still somewhat unnatural, at least it could muddle through.
Supposedly?
Clearly, things didn't go as smoothly as Swire had imagined.
Shirou reached out, grabbed Swire, and pulled her to the side. The very next second, a crossbow bolt pierced into the exact spot where the two of them had been standing.
"Fight! They're fighting!"
The surrounding people and vendors saw this scene and each expertly found places to hide.
However, Shirou could still see them revealing a pair of eyes, looking curiously at the battle situation over here.
"Longmen Curses, stop looking, hurry up and hide."
Looking at the curious gazes of the surrounding people, Swire cursed angrily, then pulled Shirou to find other cover.
She regretted it to the extreme right now—how could they have encountered an attack just like this?
"Here."
Shirou casually flipped over an empty table and then hid behind the table with Swire.
"A table? You don't even need bows or crossbows, someone coming over to throw a rock could smash this piece of junk to pieces!"
Faced with Shirou choosing to use a table as cover, Swire could be certain that this guy definitely had very little combat experience.
How could he expect a table to block attacks? And it was even made of plastic!
She could smash this broken table to pieces with a single punch!
"Trace on!
Basic structure, understood.
Composition material, understood.
Reinforcement, complete."
Shirou placed his hands on the bottom of the table and rapidly reinforced it.
Choosing the table as cover was simply because it was nearby. Choosing other cover instead would have easily dragged other innocent people into it.
Before you continue