Defending the weak and upholding the right... Justice's companion, that actually sounded pretty nice, didn't it?
It's just that Penguin Logistics...
Just as Shirou hesitated, he heard the sound of a door opening and footsteps.
He turned his head to see the four members of Penguin Logistics sprinting toward his direction.
"Ahhhhh! I object!"
Exusiai shouted loudly. The members of Penguin Logistics revolted at Alina's poaching attempt.
Led by Exusiai charging in front, she first grabbed Shirou's body and retreated a few steps, then Croissant lifted Shirou's legs. The two of them directly carried Shirou back toward the direction of the house.
"Cough, cough. Miss Alina, we are extremely sorry, but something has come up on our end and we need to take Shirou away first."
Sora said to Alina.
Sora and Texas were responsible for negotiations here, while Exusiai and Croissant carried Shirou back. The division of labor among the four was extremely clear.
"Are you Shirou's companions?"
Watching the four of them in action, Alina did not feel angry at being interrupted; instead, she looked somewhat comforted.
"Though we don't know what your motives are, we won't let you near Shirou anymore."
Texas held a Originium sword hilt in her hand and remained on guard.
If it were the Longmen Knight Bureau, that would be one thing, and Texas wouldn't have had such a fierce reaction.
But the Reunion Movement was out of the question—there were still far too many suspicious points about this organization.
They were the ones who had found an amnesiac Shirou, and they had every reason to look after and protect him.
Even though he himself didn't seem to need protection and instead turned around to take care of them.
Yet Shirou's mind was still somewhat immature, and in this wasteland, he was easily exploited by people with ulterior motives.
"Don't be so tense. I only recruited Shirou because... he looks a lot like a friend of mine."
Seeing Sora and Texas on guard, Mephisto and Faust at the side also stepped in front of Alina to confront the two.
But Alina pulled the two behind her, indicating that she had no intention of being hostile toward them.
"Is that it?"
Texas lowered her guard slightly. The other party had already shown goodwill, so there was no need for her to keep pushing the issue.
"Mm, that's all."
Alina nodded, then continued:
"Shirou is very much like that friend of mine. If no one is there to accompany him, it's very easy for him to head toward extremes. Please pay close attention to this. If nothing else, I'll be leaving first."
With that, Alina left with Faust and Mephisto.
Watching the three of them depart, Texas and Sora were also a bit bewildered.
"Texas, did you understand what she meant?"
Sora asked Texas, as she didn't quite grasp the other's meaning.
If he had no one to accompany him, he would head toward extremes? Shirou?
Saying that Shirou conquered Lungmen with his cooking skills would probably be a lot more convincing.
"I don't get it."
Texas shook her head and then put her weapon away.
When the two returned inside the house, they saw Shirou sitting by the stove drinking water, alongside Exusiai and Croissant, who were kneeling on the ground reflecting on themselves.
"...Do we have to join them?"
Sora thought about it. Was Shirou likely punishing them for what just happened?
"You two just sit. The reason those two are kneeling is also because of what happened last night."
Looking at Texas and Sora, Shirou sighed and said.
"..."
Texas and Sora silently returned to their spots.
"Care to explain the reason?"
Placing his cup on the table, Shirou inquired.
Shirou, You're My Superhero!
After explanations and clarifications from everyone at Penguin Logistics, Shirou finally understood why the few of them had such a fierce reaction just now.
Asking Croissant and Exusiai to go find a seat and sit down, Shirou rubbed his still-aching head.
First he had Alina pitching the Reunion Movement, and then he had the Penguin Logistics situation to deal with. Shirou felt that the information he had taken in today was simply a bit too much, and it was still only morning.
After slightly organizing everyone's statements, Shirou more or less had a handle on the reasons why everyone had acted that way.
"Though it feels quite nice to be valued, abruptly interrupting other people's conversations is impolite behavior. Do you understand?"
Naturally, Shirou trusted everyone in Penguin Logistics. Thinking about it carefully, their reasoning was indeed sound—the Reunion Movement was an organization of dubious origin.
And the reason he had hesitated just then was because there was a familiar feeling about Alina, and the things she had said also made Shirou feel a certain yearning.
Yet it was merely hesitation. In the end, he probably still wouldn't have agreed to Alina; he still had a place he needed to return to.
It's just that this was a separate matter from interrupting a conversation, so what needed to be said and lectured still had to follow procedure.
"Gulp... That part was us acting on impulse. Sorry."
Texas sat up straight with an obedient look. The most impulsive one just then had been her; she had even drawn her weapon.
With Shirou looking stern, even Exusiai and Croissant didn't dare to act up anymore, obediently sitting in their chairs and waiting for Shirou's scolding.
Seeing Shirou like this, Sora also felt somewhat nervous. Although their starting point was good, their conduct had still been far too excessive.
"Sigh... Don't do this kind of thing again later. We'll let it go this time."
Seeing the remorseful expressions on their faces, Shirou found it hard to say anything further.
After all, even though everyone still had a bit of selfishness, the overall starting point was good.
In a situation like this, Shirou naturally couldn't find it in his heart to be harsh and find fault with them.
"Wahhhh, Shirou, you really are such a good person!"
Hearing Shirou's words, Exusiai broke down, and was only a dash away from rushing over to hug Shirou's thighs and wail.
This sense of tolerance reminded her of her parents back in Laterano; only parents would tolerate their children unconditionally like this.
However, Exusiai didn't rush over to hug Shirou's thighs and cry, but Croissant made her move instead.
"Shirou! My superhero! I'm willing to follow you forever."
Croissant hugged Shirou's leg and said this.
"Don't get your snot on my clothes! It's not easy to wash clothes out here!"
Faced with Croissant's offensive, Shirou desperately pushed the other's head outward to avoid getting snot smeared all over his clothes and pants.
Shirou didn't want to wear a set of clothes soaked in tears and snot, nor did he want to run down to the river to do laundry in this kind of weather!
Seeing Croissant make a move, Exusiai followed closely and hugged his other leg.
"Exusiai, don't join in on the mess at a time like this!"
Shirou was already struggling somewhat just dealing with Croissant, this superhuman-strength girl, and now there was an extra Exusiai! He couldn't quite handle it.
Watching Shirou battle Exusiai and Croissant, the slightly tense emotions that Texas and Sora had felt earlier also began to relax.
Once she relaxed, the two of them recalled the sentence Alina had spoken before leaving.
"If no one is there to accompany him, it's very easy for him to head toward extremes. Please pay close attention to this."
Looking at Shirou right now, Sora found it truly hard to imagine that such a Shirou would head toward extremes.
Texas, meanwhile, wore a pensive expression.
This also tied into her past, except that she had chosen her current life, together with everyone in Penguin Logistics.
Yet Texas understood that this kind of life wouldn't last too long; her past would catch up to her sooner or later.
Perhaps Shirou was the same way?
Watching Shirou break free from Exusiai and Croissant while constantly dodging the pair's onslaught, Texas thought to herself.
Neither Texas nor Sora had any intention of telling Shirou about this matter.
For one, it was merely advice from someone they had met for the first time.
And secondly... they were a team at Penguin Logistics. If Shirou really became the way Alina described, they wouldn't just stand by and ignore it either.
Right as the few of them were bantering and roughhousing, Madam Dalia returned.
"Oh? Is everyone awake? I managed to get some wild beast meat over here. I heard there are couriers staying at my place, so the Reunion Movement folks gave me a bit extra so I could treat you well."
Madam Dalia was holding meat tied up with rope, and the portion looked quite substantial.
"Mm... Meat."
Looking at the fresh meat before her, Croissant let out a sound expressing her desire for meat.
She hadn't eaten fresh meat in over a day!
She hadn't eaten meat cooked by Shirou in over a day!
Just looking at the meat in front of her, Croissant was already starting to imagine what kind of dish Shirou would make with this cut.
The other three weren't as crazy about meat as Croissant, especially Exusiai—meat of any kind fell far short of apple pie in her eyes.
Still, if it was cooked by Shirou, she wouldn't mind eating some.
"Yeah, but it's just meat. We'll probably only be able to make meat soup."
At the mention of this, Madam Dalia looked somewhat vexed. The weather lately was always snowing; though light, it still affected the harvest of certain crops. If the Reunion Movement people hadn't frequently distributed meat and food, the people in their village might have had no choice but to risk hunting.
Upon hearing that it was pure meat soup, the gazes of the Penguin Logistics members shifted unanimously toward Shirou, hoping that Shirou could use his exquisite culinary skills to cook that piece of meat and give it a good home.
Although in the outside world you should thank your lucky stars just to have something to eat, given the conditions, the few of them still hoped to eat a bit better.
"Hmm... I remember Isv preparing some non-perishable ingredients in the backseat?"
Meeting the gazes cast toward him, Shirou could only rack his brain for a solution.
Then he remembered that Isv seemed to have prepared some non-perishable ingredients in the backseat, such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, and daikon radishes.
"Ah! I remember there were! I'll go get them right now!"
Hearing Shirou's words, Exusiai and Croissant volunteered and dashed out.
"...,Remember to bring the seasonings!"
Watching the two charging around in a flurry, Shirou reminded them to bring the seasonings along as well.
"Are you going to cook this meat?"
Observing the actions and dialogue of the group, Dalia also understood that Shirou intended to cook the meat.
"Yeah, I'll decide based on what ingredients we have. Can I borrow the kitchen?"
Shirou constantly pondered how to make a dish out of these materials.
"No problem, feel free to use it. If you need anything else, I'll go borrow it."
Seeing Shirou deep in thought, Madam Dalia had no intention of declining. Back when she was teaching Shirou how to knit that morning, she had already sensed that the fellow seemed quite skilled in this sort of thing.
At best, whatever she cooked would only reach the level of filling bellies, so it was better to leave it to a professional.
69 Daikon Radish and Beast Meat Soup (Bounty Board is Open!)
"Hmm... Indeed, it's just these."
Looking at the small box of ingredients before him, Shirou rummaged through it slightly.
It was indeed much as Shirou had expected—mainly some non-perishable ingredients like daikon radishes, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, but the quantities were not large. After all, traveling outside mainly relied on dry rations; these were just meant to provide alternative options when camping and encamping in the wild.
Before you continue