Shirou Emiya Stands Upon Terra Chapter 32

At the end, under the well-intentioned invitations of Hoshiguma and Swire, Shirou gave up on the idea of walking back to the dormitory and got into the Knights of the Round Table's car.

Shirou hadn't expected the second time he rode in a Knights of the Round Table vehicle would be under such circumstances.

"You don't need to worry about those people; I'll handle things on my end," Swire said as she drove.

Aside from those who were injured and needed treatment, who were sent to the hospital separately, everyone else was escorted in another car.

She, Hoshiguma, and Shirou were in one car, with Hoshiguma in the passenger seat and her large shield in the back seat with Shirou.

"Alright, I'll trouble you with this, Sir Swire." Shirou nodded obediently. He didn't have many thoughts about this unexpected turn of events, considering it just a farce. It was best to leave such matters to the professionals.

"Just call me Swire. We're not in a superior-subordinate relationship, but don't call me Miss Swire! My surname isn't Swire! Make sure to clarify this with those people at Penguin Logistics when you get back!" Seeing Shirou's continued awkwardness, Swire decided to emulate Hoshiguma's approach to interacting with him.

"Understood. I'll make sure to clarify with them when I get back." Faced with Swire's strong correction regarding her name, Shirou understood that she seemed quite particular about it. Therefore, he would properly deal with Exusiai when he returned.

"Hmph, that's good then! Speaking of which, Hoshiguma, who is Jie you were talking about?" Swire, driving, couldn't stay idle and started making small talk.

"Hmm? You should have interacted with him before. He's the owner of that seafood stall. He looks fierce, but he's actually just a normal person," Hoshiguma replied, picking up the conversation.

"Longmen Curses, really? When I met him, I thought he was the mastermind," Swire exclaimed, nearly crashing the steering wheel upon learning the seafood stall owner's true nature. She felt she had been shocked by too many things today, and it would be difficult for anything else to surprise her for a while.

"Haha, indeed. Jie often gets misunderstood because of his appearance, but those who interact with him regularly understand that he's just a bit intimidating in looks," Hoshiguma said with a laugh, having anticipated Swire's reaction. She then introduced many of Jie's past "black history" moments caused by his appearance. She had initially approached him after hearing these rumors and, after observing him for a long time, confirmed that he was indeed just a normal person. Swire could only say that people truly can't be judged by their appearance.

"Shirou, where are your swords?" Hoshiguma noticed through the rearview mirror that the black and white dual swords Shirou had been holding earlier had disappeared. The size of those swords shouldn't have allowed them to be hidden on his person, and Shirou's shopping bag couldn't hold them either. This made Hoshiguma curious, as she had arrived later and hadn't seen where Shirou had produced the swords from.

"It's probably Originium Arts?" Swire said. Casually inquiring about someone's Originium Arts was impolite, but Hoshiguma was likely just asking where Shirou's swords were, so Swire offered a slight hint about Originium Arts.

"Yes, it's Originium Arts." Shirou didn't mention Projection Magic, mainly because it was difficult to explain. Furthermore, even the people at Penguin Logistics didn't know, so he had no reason to explain it in detail to others. If he were to discuss trustworthiness, no one currently could compare to Penguin Logistics and the others. While magic wasn't something to be hidden, Shirou wouldn't just blurt out all his affairs if no one asked.

"That's really convenient, being able to get weapons just like that." Originium Arts were quite plausible, so Hoshiguma didn't pay it much mind. The Originium Arts on this continent were myriad and strange, and she had seen special Originium Arts before.

"If I had that kind of ability, I wouldn't have been so pathetic today." Thinking about her disheveled state today, Swire felt annoyed! She, a senior inspector of the Longmen Knights of the Round Table, was chased by a bunch of thugs! However, even after witnessing Shirou's Originium Arts firsthand, Swire still found it quite incredible. Especially after picking up the dual swords, Shirou seemed like a completely different person, which also made her very curious.

"Ahaha..." Faced with their remarks, Shirou could only offer an awkward laugh.

This ride, under Shirou's somewhat awkward state, continued until they reached the Knights of the Round Table.

"...Missy, weren't you supposed to take Shirou back?" Hoshiguma turned to ask Swire as she looked at the familiar building of the Longmen Knights of the Round Table.

"Cough... I was just dropping you off on the way, wasn't I?" Swire only then remembered that she was supposed to take Shirou back. She had been thinking about other things along the way and had forgotten.

"It's fine, I can walk back. It's not far from here..."

Shirou Emiya politely declined Swire's invitation to her residence, preparing to walk back on his own.

Pushing open the door, Shirou saw a familiar vehicle parked to the side after he got out of his car. He began to wonder if this was the dormitory for Penguin Logistics or the Knights of the Round Table.

"Yo, looks like Penguin Logistics got nabbed again. Why don't you take them back with you, Shirou?"

Seeing Shirou's stunned expression, Hoshiguma also noticed the Penguin Logistics vehicle. Without a doubt, she knew Penguin Logistics had been caught again and were likely at the Knights of the Round Table giving their statements.

"Oh? Penguin Logistics is here too? Then Shirou, you can take them back with you. Just make sure you don't end up like them in the future!"

Seeing Penguin Logistics brought in again, Swire abandoned her plan to escort Shirou back.

She had originally intended to forcefully pull Shirou into her car for a good chat about the wonders of the Knights of the Round Table. Now, it seemed unnecessary.

She could only hope for another chance in the future. This sort of thing required a gradual approach.

"I never thought I'd be the one to bail people out of the police station one day."

Rubbing his temples, Shirou knew this day would come as soon as he learned Penguin Logistics were frequent visitors to the Knights of the Round Table.

He just hadn't expected it to happen so quickly and suddenly.

Following Swire, who had parked her car, and Hoshiguma, who was holding a large shield, into the Knights of the Round Table, Shirou quickly spotted the group who treated the Knights of the Round Table like their own home.

"Shirou, you got caught too?"

Seeing Shirou arrive with Swire and Hoshiguma, Exusiai greeted him.

"Excellent! Shirou, you've truly embraced the spirit of Penguin Logistics!"

Not knowing why, Croissant also became fired up.

"Longmen Curses! Can you please channel this pointless spirit into something more meaningful?"

Seeing Croissant's passionate outburst, Swire couldn't help but curse.

It also solidified Swire's resolve to find a way to bring Shirou over, lest he be assimilated into this strange atmosphere.

44 Penguin Logistics is so great, top-notch!

"Shirou, what did you do?"

Ignoring Exusiai and Croissant's antics, Sora waved at Shirou and asked.

Compared to the other three, Sora still felt a little uncomfortable about being brought into the Knights of the Round Table.

Although she was gradually getting used to it with each subsequent visit.

"I didn't do anything. I just saw your car downstairs and came up."

Shirou covered his face. He really didn't want to admit he knew these people.

Exusiai and Croissant were treating the Knights of the Round Table like their own home. Texas was sitting to the side, chewing on a Pocky. The only one who seemed somewhat normal, Sora, was even imitating Exusiai and greeting him.

Now that he thought about it, Swire's suggestion seemed pretty good, didn't it?

"Stop chatting and finish your statements quickly."

A staff member from the Knights of the Round Table tapped the table, shifting the attention of the Penguin Logistics members back.

Their lively personalities made even filling out a statement difficult, and now their attention was suddenly diverted.

When would he ever get off work!

"I'll have to trouble you with this later."

Hoshiguma patted Shirou's shoulder.

She didn't particularly dislike Penguin Logistics' behavior, but that didn't stop her from already picturing Shirou caught between Swire and Penguin Logistics from now on.

Just thinking about it made Hoshiguma feel like she had a good drink.

"...?"

It was clear that Shirou couldn't understand the hidden meaning in Hoshiguma's words. He could only tilt his head in confusion.

"You'll understand later."

After experiencing being a riddle-speaker, Hoshiguma felt it was fantastic! No wonder so many people enjoyed being riddle-speakers.

"???"

For the Nth time today, Shirou, who had been mystified, wanted to curse out loud, but his good upbringing allowed him to hold back.

Meanwhile, Swire was too lazy to say anything more to the Penguin Logistics group and planned to simply record the incident for now and deal with it during work hours tomorrow.

However, before leaving, Swire suddenly thought of an interesting idea to play a trick on Penguin Logistics.

"Shirou, like I said, if you can't stay with Penguin Logistics, you can always come to our Knights of the Round Table, okay?"

As Swire's words fell, the noisy Penguin Logistics members instantly fell silent.

The four of them looked at each other, then put all their effort into finishing their statements. They slammed the statements onto the table, rushed over, hoisted Shirou up, and left.

"Bye-bye, see you next time."

Before leaving, Exusiai made a face at Swire.

The entire office watched as Shirou was kidnapped right before their eyes. Some of them felt the scene was eerily familiar.

"Missy, you've really stirred up the Penguin Logistics nest."

Hoshiguma said, watching Penguin Logistics disappear into the distance.

"I didn't expect it to work so well."

Swire had originally intended to poach Shirou Emiya in front of the others to provoke them, but the effect was surprisingly good, perhaps a little too good. She could only pray that Shirou Emiya was alright.

As for Shirou Emiya? He was currently being shoved into a car by the members of Penguin Logistics.

"Shirou Emiya, let me tell you, don't trust those people from the Knights of the Round Table! We at Penguin Logistics have great benefits, don't believe them!"

As soon as they got into the car, Croissant launched into a long explanation to Shirou Emiya about how wonderful and great Penguin Logistics was, and how the Knights of the Round Table were nothing compared to them.

"Exactly, exactly! They have 996 work hours every day, tons of overtime, and they have to deal with their superiors' moods! Penguin Logistics doesn't have any of those problems!"

Exusiai chimed in.

"Uh... um... the Knights of the Round Table are really tiring!"

Sora, unable to think of anything else to say, offered this.

And Texas?

She had already stepped on the gas and driven away from the Knights of the Round Table. If she wasn't worried about getting caught by the Knights of the Round Table again for speeding, she would have floored it.

Shirou Emiya was sandwiched between Sora and Croissant, holding the groceries he'd only half-bought today, as the three of them continued to talk about how great Penguin Logistics was.

After they finally quieted down a bit, Shirou Emiya said:

"Don't worry, I don't have any plans to."

Shirou Emiya's words finally made them stop.

"Really not?"

Exusiai asked cautiously, afraid that Shirou Emiya would leave Penguin Logistics.