Shirou Emiya Stands Upon the Continent of Terra Chapter 40

Croissant arranged Sora's seat as well. Since Sora was a Heavyweight and had to disembark the vehicle immediately in case of danger, she usually sat by the door.

"No problem,"

Sora had no objections to Croissant's arrangement.

The group got into the car, waiting for Exusiai to arrive with her apple pie.

The car's interior was quite spacious. The back seat could accommodate at least four people, so the scenario Shirou had worried about didn't happen, which put his mind at ease.

He sat behind the driver's seat. Exusiai usually occupied the front passenger seat, and Croissant sat behind Exusiai. This way, in case of an emergency, Texas and Croissant would handle the left and right flanks respectively, Exusiai would provide support from the rear, and Sora would assist with Originium Arts.

Now, with Shirou, who was nominally a Guard, Sniper, and Caster, on board, the configuration of Penguin Logistics' Texas squad was quite complete, with offensive support on either side.

"Sorry, sorry, I just warmed up the apple pie a bit. Do you guys want some?"

After a long wait, Exusiai finally arrived, a little late, with her apple pie.

"No, you should keep it for yourself. Sora, can you get me a pack of Pocky?"

Texas, who had started the car, refused Exusiai's apple pie offer and asked Sora in the back seat for a pack of Pocky.

As soon as the car started, Shirou's first instinct was to put on his seatbelt.

Then, he felt several pairs of eyes on him.

56 Mobile City

With his seatbelt fastened, Shirou felt the gazes of the others.

"S-seatbelt!?"

Croissant tugged at the seatbelt in her position. She hadn't used one of these in a very, very long time.

"What's wrong?"

Shirou was confused by their stares. He couldn't use it before because he was squeezed in the middle, but now that he could, Shirou naturally put it on; it was a habitual action.

"Nothing, we're just surprised that our car actually has seatbelts."

Exusiai in the front seat put down her apple pie and examined the seatbelt beside her.

"…?"

Watching the two of them studying the seatbelt, Shirou turned his gaze to Sora.

"Ahem… Because we often encounter emergencies, we naturally don't use seatbelts much… You understand."

Sora offered a brief explanation.

They often had to jump out of the car to fight, and the boss had equipped the car with full safety features, so seatbelts hadn't been used in a long time.

Besides, Texas's driving skills were superb; it was hard for anything to go wrong. The only time they almost flipped over recently was due to the impact caused by Shirou falling from the sky.

"I understand."

Although he said he understood, Shirou still put a big question mark over their safety driving concepts.

"Don't mind it, don't mind it, it's just a small issue."

After studying the seatbelt for a bit, Exusiai quickly lost interest in it and picked up her apple pie to enjoy.

If she didn't eat it now, it would be less tasty when it cooled down, and she'd be busy soon anyway.

As their conversation continued, the car had already departed from Longmen.

"Whoa… Is this a mobile city?"

Looking back at the massive city, Shirou exclaimed in amazement.

The shock he felt seeing it in person was different from what he had seen in books and videos.

It was hard to imagine how such a city could support so many people and buildings while moving and evading Catastrophes.

"It's definitely shocking the first time you see it, right?"

Sora, standing beside him, said this as she watched Shirou's amazed expression.

When she first saw it, her reaction was similar to Shirou's now.

"Yeah, it's quite breathtaking."

Shirou looked at it a few more times. Only when he could no longer see Longmen due to blind spots did Shirou turn his attention back from the window.

He was then met with teasing glances from the other three.

"As expected, massive mechanical structures are a man's romance?"

Exusiai said, taking a bite of her apple pie.

"How about I get you a small model when we get back? I can give you a friendship price?"

A certain bread-man rubbed his fingers together, looking devious... no, sincere.

"...No, thank you."

Shirou politely declined the bread-man's sales pitch in response to their teasing.

He did have a slight interest in such massive machinery, but buying a model was out of the question.

Some things models can't replicate, and besides, there's no room in his room for them.

"What a shame. By the way, Shirou, didn't you want to sit in the co-pilot seat? Why not learn from Exusiai now and try to get it next time?"

Seeing Shirou refuse, Croissant didn't mind. However, she still suggested that Shirou learn from Exusiai now, mentioning that the co-pilot seat was quite tiring. If Shirou was interested and could handle it, it would be a good thing for Exusiai.

"Hm? Shirou, you want to sit here? Then you'll have to study hard! This seat isn't easy to handle!"

In the co-pilot seat, Exusiai had already finished the apple pie she was holding and was now looking at a tablet, which seemed to display a map.

In front of Exusiai, a telescope was also placed, which would be used to observe the road conditions ahead.

"I remember the main things to watch out for are creatures living in the wild, infected creatures, Catastrophes, and enemies?"

Sora had studied a little before, but the results weren't ideal. She easily got dizzy when using the telescope; this was a personal physical issue, so she could only say she wasn't destined for that role.

"More or less. After all, Texas needs to pay attention to the surrounding road conditions, while I'm usually responsible for observing distant road conditions and adjusting the route."

She held up the tablet, letting Shirou get a brief look at the screen.

It was a map with a simple route plan. Only then did Shirou understand what Exusiai had been busy with yesterday.

It could only be said that even Exusiai worked diligently when she was on the job.

Seeing this made Shirou want to bake her an apple pie as a reward.

It was just like proud parents watching their child achieve something.

"I remember Isv planned this, right?"

Croissant's next sentence shattered Shirou's desire to bake an apple pie.

"Although Isv planned the route, I still have to cross-reference it. Isv just collects relevant information for us; we can't rely on Isv for everything!"

Exusiai explained in response to Croissant's words and put the tablet away.

If she had known what she had just missed, she would have definitely made Croissant's horns into decorative items.

Though there was no apple pie, giving her some other dessert would still be fine, Shirou thought to himself.

"When we're out, the main concerns are what Sora just mentioned, but it's mainly about creatures and infected creatures. Wild areas often have groups of them, so you have to be a bit careful and just go around them."

Exusiai explained simply.

She was happy to have someone take over, as there was a lot to pay attention to in this position. A single mistake could cause the entire vehicle to flip.

In short, the pressure was quite high. If she could find someone to take shifts, it would be much easier.

Unfortunately, Sora wasn't good with the telescope, and Croissant was too carefree.

Texas was okay, but she had to drive, so in the end, Exusiai had to step up.

"Creatures and infected creatures in wild groups?"

Shirou had some impression of this. Different places had different creatures, but it seemed Originium Slugs were the most common.

Occasionally, there were other creatures, but they were only likely to be found in places with water and food.

"Yes, Catastrophes are more widespread – tornadoes, meteorites, earthquakes, etc. They're basically unavoidable."

While looking around with the telescope, Exusiai spoke to Shirou, who listened intently.

Exusiai had some experience in this regard.

"These are indeed more troublesome."

After thinking about how Catastrophes formed on this land, Shirou felt that Catastrophes were indeed more troublesome than infected creatures.

"No, no, no, these are all easy to deal with. The more troublesome ones are people! Setting up unseen obstacles, or ambushing nearby. These are basically undetectable."

Exusiai said with a sigh, putting down the telescope.

"Animals, Catastrophes, Originium, none of that is the most terrifying. The most terrifying thing is people."

Texas, who was in the driver's seat, suddenly spoke.

57 Reinforcement Magic

"The most terrifying thing is people?"

Hearing Texas's words, Shirou thought for a moment.

A certain priest who was obsessed with pleasure, a certain fat guy who claimed all the world's treasures were his... Golden Flash, Archer who wanted to kill his past self, and then there was Caster, Rider, Shinji, Illya...

"Yes, humans are indeed terrifying."

Shirou said after finishing his thoughts.

"What were you just thinking about? Your expression isn't very good."

Sora, who was beside him, had originally wanted to lighten the mood, worried that the topic was too serious. But then she saw Shirou's face become extremely solemn after saying that people were the most terrifying.

"It's nothing, just thinking about some unpleasant things."

Rubbing his temples, Shirou's head ached just thinking about those strange people.

Just as Rin said, those who become mages are usually not normal people.

He wasn't quite normal himself either.

"Don't dwell on the unpleasant things. People should just live happily!"

Croissant reached from the back seat and tossed a bottle of soda to Shirou.

Shirou caught the soda tossed by Croissant. It was still a bit cold, likely having been in the incubator just moments before.

"Indeed, don't overthink it. If anyone dares to come, I'll give them a taste of my hail of bullets."

Exusiai made a gun gesture with her hand as she spoke, and then asked Croissant for a bottle of soda.

She only mentioned it briefly. After all, compared to the avoidable Infected creatures and Catastrophes, humans were the biggest variable. Exusiai didn't want Shirou to lose his life by trusting others.

Texas, standing nearby, brought up the topic because she sensed that Shirou tended to harbor a certain degree of goodwill towards others. After all, besides Isv, she was the only one responsible for his assessment back then.

It wasn't that such a disposition was bad, but she couldn't help but worry.

This land was so dangerous, it was difficult to accommodate someone like Shirou who showed kindness to others.

One wrong move and he might just get stabbed in the back. She had seen many people like him in the past.

However, since he had taken care of her now, Texas felt she should offer a reminder.

But it seemed Shirou had already gone through relevant experiences, so she didn't need to say any more.

Saying more would only be rubbing salt in the wound; such experiences were usually not pleasant.

"You two are always so happy."

Seeing how cheerful Exusiai and Croissant always were, Shirou felt his mood lift considerably.

"Maintaining a cheerful mood is one of Penguin Logistics' core principles, Shirou. You should learn from us."

Exusiai crushed the empty soda bottle and tossed it into a nearby trash bag, then continued, "Where were we? Ah, yes, Catastrophes, Infected creatures, and the malice of others. These are the three situations we most frequently encounter."