Listening to Exusiai's words, Shirou also had a rough idea.
Although it sounded simple, there was actually a lot to watch out for. For example, every group of infected creatures had different social habits, and natural disasters came in all sorts of forms. It was easy to talk about, but after actually starting, one might be completely clueless.
However, Shirou had an old hand like Exusiai to show him the ropes. As long as his aptitude wasn't too poor, he should occasionally be able to cover Exusiai's shift, or even replace her directly.
"Wanna try? I just saw a group of infected creatures, see if you can spot them."
Handing the binoculars to Shirou, Exusiai asked.
Thinking for a moment, Shirou did not take the binoculars.
He hadn't forgotten that he was a magus... No, strictly speaking, he should be a magic user.
Using magic as a convenient tool, nothing more.
Reinforcement Magic was quite a versatile type of magic, after all.
"Think the pressure is too high, afraid of messing up? Don't worry, guns jam sometimes too, we can handle it if anything goes wrong. Worst case, we walk back to Lungmen!"
Seeing that Shirou chose not to take the binoculars, Exusiai assumed the other person was worried they lacked the confidence to do well. She had been like that at first too; if there wasn't a single person in the team who could carry the weight, she wouldn't do it!
Exusiai's words were very nice. If Shirou really hadn't taken them because he lacked confidence, he might actually have been motivated. It was just that Shirou didn't choose the binoculars because he had something better to use.
Saying anything was less useful than actually taking action.
"Trace on."
Shirou said softly. This time he wasn't projecting, but using Reinforcement Magic to enhance his eyesight.
Opening his eyes again, the world in Shirou's view changed greatly.
Filtering out useless information, Shirou quickly locked onto two spots where infected creatures were gathered in groups.
One spot was about three kilometers away, and the other was just one kilometer away. The one Exusiai mentioned must have been that one.
"You mean about a kilometer away, slightly to the front right?"
Shirou asked, pointing to the front right.
"Huh?"
Exusiai, who was holding the binoculars and still planning to continue encouraging Shirou, frowned and sensed that something was wrong.
One kilometer to the front right... Praise Laterano, wasn't that seemingly the exact one she had just seen?
The effective range of these binoculars was a bit over two kilometers, and even she had barely managed to see it within two kilometers by using the binoculars. But what was up with Shirou? Naked eye view at one kilometer?
Longmen curses, she wanted to report someone for cheating.
"What's wrong? Did Shirou guess right?"
Watching Exusiai's expression go from a question mark to shock to wanting to report him, Croissant asked.
"That's the exact one I just planned to let him find with the binoculars. Shirou, your eyesight is way too overpowered! Do you usually use it to peek at other people?"
The slightly calmed Exusiai quickly thought of a strange way to use it, and one that wasn't even illegal; he could completely say he was just enjoying the scenery.
Tsk tsk tsk, no wonder Shirou didn't seem very interested in them, so that was how it was.
Exusiai felt she had seen the truth!
"I did not."
To Exusiai's wild speculation, the corners of Shirou's twitched slightly, and the dessert he had originally planned to bake for her was gone.
If Exusiai had just been somewhat normal, Shirou might have baked apple pies for her long ago.
"How enviable, being able to see so far."
Sora was somewhat envious, but it was just envy; after all, everyone had areas where they excelled.
"Putting that aside, how far can you see, Shirou?"
As for Shirou saying he wasn't peeking, Exusiai believed it, especially since Shirou didn't seem to lie much ordinarily.
What Exusiai was curious about now was just how far Shirou could see; she felt that one kilometer wasn't the other person's limit.
"Around three to four kilometers? There's another spot straight ahead."
Shirou thought for a moment. The way he was using his vision right now was all learned from Rin in the magecraft tower during his memories. Magic was still very useful in everyday life.
58 Binoculars? What trash!
"Straight ahead? Now that you mention it, there seems to be..."
Hearing Shirou say that, Exusiai hurriedly picked up the binoculars and looked straight ahead.
Searching for a bit, there indeed appeared to be suspected groups of infected creatures straight ahead, but the distance was still a bit far, so it wasn't very clear.
When the car drove a short distance further and the distance closed slightly, Exusiai confirmed that what Shirou had just said was not wrong—there were indeed infected creatures straight ahead, and she had Texas take a slight detour.
"Keep it up, Shirou, I'll leave the scouting to you."
Confirming it was safe, Exusiai prepared to slack off and directly put the binoculars away. With Shirou around, what need was there for any binoculars?
Binoculars that could see two kilometers? What trash!
Their family's Shirou could directly see four kilometers away!
"Sister Can, you're way too slacker-like, just completely quitting like that?"
Watching Exusiai directly hand the work over to Shirou, Croissant couldn't help but complain about such behavior.
"One's own work should still be done well."
Sora, on the side, spoke up to help.
"Agreed."
Texas delivered the final blow.
"Cough cough... Was I slacking? I call this putting the right person in the right position. It's not like you guys don't know how tiring it is to constantly use binoculars."
Exusiai felt that her teammates stopped cherishing her now that they had Shirou!
Shirou was just a bit better at cooking, could tidy up the house, and would occasionally use his own baking to treat everyone, acting just like a perfect girlfriend.
It seemed most things about him were better than her? Never mind, then.
"I don't mind, but you still need to tell me the other precautions."
Regarding Exusiai's mentality of wanting to slack off, Shirou felt there was no real problem, only asking Exusiai to first brief him on some issues he needed to watch out for.
"Shirou, you spoil Exusiai too much. She's going to turn into a useless person like this."
Sora, on the side, finally realized why her teammates were gradually degenerating—they were all being spoiled rotten by Shirou.
Originally they only slacked off while in the dorms, but now it had gradually spread into their work.
If this continued, Penguin Logistics was going to turn into Slacker Logistics, and everyone was going to slack off.
"Ah yes, yes, yes, I'm useless."
Slouched in the front passenger seat, Exusiai gave a thumbs up as she spoke.
However, Shirou's words still made Exusiai sit up straight and perk up.
Briefly passing on some insights to Shirou, Exusiai decided to base things primarily on the information provided by Shirou, while she would be responsible for verification.
That way her burden wouldn't be as heavy. Holding binoculars and looking around wasn't very comfortable anyway, especially when moving at high speeds.
"We don't need to worry about the back?"
Checking the front, left, and right without any particular discoveries, Shirou asked.
"The back? You have to be in this position to see it, though we don't usually use it."
Exusiai pointed to the sunroof above her. This position was specially opened for her; it stayed covered when nothing was happening, and if needed, the sunshade piece was removed and the window opened so she could shoot directly from up top.
Besides that, when being chased, she could use the sunroof to check the situation behind them, but normally it wasn't used much.
Managing the sunroof meant eating a bunch of sand and dust, and neither she nor the people inside the car would find that comfortable.
"Is that so... Then I'll just take a quick look from the window."
The main reason Shirou asked was because he had just felt malice coming from the rear.
Although he didn't know why he could sense malice upon coming here, after experiencing it a few times, Shirou was also fairly certain those malicious intents were only sensed by him when they were targeted at him.
Which meant they might have been targeted already.
"How earnest. As expected of Shirou."
Watching Shirou unbuckle his seatbelt and cautiously press against the window to look at the left-rear, Sora could only admire how Shirou seemed to take every single matter very seriously.
"Mhm, a person like Shirou should be able to do well no matter where he goes."
To Sora's words, Croissant completely agreed.
"Exusiai, it looks like someone's coming up on our left rear. Looks like over a dozen cars."
Shirou adjusted his angle. About a kilometer away to the left rear of the vehicle, several cars were following.
He wasn't sure if they were following them, but caution was advised nonetheless.
"What? Really?"
Hearing Shirou's words, Exusiai stopped slacking. Croissant and Sora also stopped chatting casually, each picking up their weapons and getting ready.
"I'll accelerate first. Shirou, keep watching. If they're still sticking close behind us, there's definitely a problem."
With that, Texas pressed the accelerator all the way down.
Racing like this was certainly exhilarating, but it wasn't very pleasant for the others inside the car.
However, it was an emergency now! Everyone else would just have to bear with it!
The people inside the car tightly grabbed whatever they could reach. Under such high-speed conditions, holding onto something made them feel a bit safer.
Even knowing it was safe, the fear was still there.
"Still following?"
After sprinting for a stretch, Exusiai asked.
"Though the distance has opened up a bit, the other side seems to have accelerated and caught up."
Shirou took a look, confirming that the other party appeared to be speeding directly toward them.
"Prepare for combat!"
Texas did not release the accelerator under her foot, but out on this great plain, being chased made them feel like prey.
And the ones chasing them from behind were the wolves of the plains.
What needed to be done now was either pull away to shake them off, or engage in battle when about to be caught.
There was quite a bit of stuff loaded in the back of the car, so compared to shaking them off, the possibility of being caught was much higher.
They had no choice but to let their teammates prepare for battle.
"Let me see if I can stall them. Texas, please keep the driving steady."
Shirou evaluated the situation. At around one kilometer, it was possible to shoot and pin down the opponent, and since there didn't seem to be any portable weapons exceeding a kilometer's range on their side, he should be considered quite safe.
The only thing to worry about was Texas suddenly jolting while driving and shaking him off the car.
"You can rest assured about my driving."
Texas bit down on a Pocky stick, without the slightest hesitation regarding Shirou's request.
Even if Shirou didn't manage it right, he would at most just get off the car and fight; it wasn't a huge problem.
Receiving Texas's nod of approval, Shirou opened the car window, grabbed the roof rack above, and pulled himself up onto the roof. Thanks to the fairly large window, Shirou was able to successfully make it onto the car roof.
Longmen curses, playing it this wild?
Watching Shirou's movements, Croissant felt entirely unwell.
The move looked cool, but doing that in the current high-speed environment really took a lot of nerve!
59 Using a sword as an arrow is too fantastical, isn't it?
Standing atop the roof, the Holy Shroud wrapped around his neck fluttered continuously in the wind.
Before you continue