Chapter 84

Ultimately, this is a minor matter that won't cause any significant disruption within Penguin Logistics.

If Shirou had suddenly announced that he was going to take two days off, the reaction from the crowd might have been even more intense.

"By the way, Shirou, have your memories returned? You just used your side's code word, did you remember something?"

After making sure that all the necessary instructions had been given, Kong asked.

She remembered that Shirou had just said that the gas explosion was a code word from his side, so Sora wondered if Shirou had remembered something.

"That's only part of it; I still haven't remembered the more important parts."

Shirou wasn't lying about this; he genuinely didn't know why he lost his memory. The only thing he was certain of was that it was related to the Holy Grail War he had participated in.

Unfortunately, he had no memory of the Holy Grail War, only a small part of it that he had suddenly dreamed about.

"That's a good thing then. Do you remember what you used to do?"

Sora was very curious about what Shirou had done before to develop such unique abilities and combat skills.

"Just an ordinary student, whose main job every day is going to school."

"Oh... I see."

Sora then asked a few more questions, none of them were very in-depth; they were just simple questions about Shirou.

She was worried that asking some in-depth questions might confuse or trouble Shirou.

Texas, propping her head up with her hand and munching on a Pocky stick, listened quietly to their conversation.

Croissant and Exusiai also ran to the side to prepare for a game competition.

Another day for Penguin Logistics has passed peacefully.

101 Unconscious persecution is the most terrifying.

"That's almost done."

In a spacious room, Shirou, dressed in a light white shirt, was assembling the iron frame in front of him with tools.

"You've worked hard! Have some water."

Looking somewhat dejected Ansuo handed a glass of water to Shirou.

Meanwhile, several children who looked quite young were helping to assemble the items.

Thanks, how's the situation over there?

Shirou took the water and turned to look in the other direction to check the situation.

Several men with fierce-looking faces walked in carrying a large object. Apart from the leader, who was a member of the Oni, the others were members of the Feline and Ursus Clan.

"Put it here?"

The leading Oni man, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, asked while holding a long table in his hand.

"Just put it over there, thank you for your help."

After glancing at the long table in their hands, Shirou confirmed its contents and then had them put it down.

He seemed to be someone Jie knew. Although he looked fierce, he seemed like a nice person.

She is very hardworking and also very considerate of the children's feelings.

Even though he had a cigarette in his mouth, it wasn't lit. He said it wasn't a good place to smoke, especially with children around, but he was still a bit addicted, so he just kept it in his mouth.

After putting down the table and straightening it, the group left.

"Sister Ansuo, everything here is clean!"

A little brown-haired Feline girl walked up to Ansuo with a rag and said something.

"Wow, that was fast! Let's continue working on this side."

Ansuo picked up the cleaning tools and led some children toward the long table that had just been put down.

"I need to speed things up on my end too."

Seeing how diligently the others were working, Shirou began assembling the next iron frame.

This is the house that Shirou rented. It's very clean after the landlord cleaned it up, but Shirou will have to do the work of furnishing it himself.

The iron frame that Shirou is currently assembling is for the first-floor shop to use for displaying merchandise, as is the long table that was just moved in.

With everyone's efforts, the once empty room gradually began to resemble a shop.

Aside from the men who looked rather fierce, the only people currently helping out are the children doing some simple tasks.

Sweeping, mopping, wiping tables, and assembling furniture together, the second-floor space was kept quite clean, and everyone was very obedient.

There were about several dozen children, all of whom were brought by Ansuo.

With the help of Zi and Hoshiguma, and Ansuo her own intelligence network, she first made a list of homeless children and then went to find them one by one.

People who have lived in the Slums naturally wouldn't believe in such a windfall, so only a few children who truly couldn't survive in the Slums had no choice but to believe in Ansuo.

Anyway, they have nothing left to lose.

A large portion of them already knew Ansuo, since they were all children from the Slums.

Ansuo informed Shirou and Yoshi about these matters, and Yoshi would compile a list and upload it to Hoshiguma.

"How's the progress?"

A very lazy voice came from the shop entrance, and Shirou, who was finishing up, also saw the other party.

The children seemed quite afraid of each other, so the other party didn't seem inclined to come in.

He didn't react at all when facing those fierce-looking men, so why is he suddenly afraid of Jie? Aren't they all supposed to look terrifying?

Shirou was completely baffled and could only go out to find Zi on his own.

"Why are you here? Where's your stall?"

Shirou asked curiously about Jie's sudden arrival, since Jie should usually be busy with his seafood stall at this time.

"We're packing up now. I'll bring you some food. You all looked so busy coming and going when I was setting up my stall."

As he spoke, Jie shook the bag in his hand.

It contained some loose food, which, if Shirou remembered correctly, seemed to be food sold in the market.

"Thank you so much for your help. Would you like to come in and have a seat?"

Seeing that the other party had just finished packing up their stall and was still carrying a bunch of food, Shirou asked.

Although the children inside seemed afraid of the monsters, it was only because of their appearance; they were fine after getting to know them a few times.

At least that's what Shirou knows.

"Um..."

Thinking about how scared the children inside had looked, Jie hesitated for a moment.

"Could you do me a favor while you're at it?"

Knowing what Ja was worried about Shirou pointed to the iron frame that hadn't been assembled yet.

"... Alright then."

Since Shirou has said so, Jie has no choice but to accept it.

While assembling the iron frame, Shirou and Zi chatted, letting Ansuo take the bag of food to share with the others.

"The children all seem very well-behaved."

Thinking about how everyone had looked at him timidly just now, Jie felt that this year's children were quite well-behaved.

"Are you sure it wasn't your fierce appearance that suppressed them?"

"Isn't that a really hurtful thing to say?"

"You'll understand my thoughts if you come and take care of them for two days."

"Then forget it, I can't get along with kids."

Hearing Shirou's words, Jie could roughly guess what Shirou had been thinking these past few days.

He's too busy to participate right now; he has to set up a fish ball stall in the park later.

"It's a pity, if you were to take care of those children, they would probably all become very obedient."

Shirou felt it was a pity that Yoshi had rejected him. If Yoshi had really come to take care of the children, he could have made them obedient in just one day.

"I knew you were planning this. Are they usually that mischievous?"

"It's alright, but I didn't expect taking care of a child to be so tiring. It would probably have been more troublesome without Ansuo's help."

"Indeed, Little Ansuo is quite serious."

Looking at Ansuo standing with the other children, acting like an older sister, Jie found it hard to connect the Ansuo of the past with the Ansuo of the present.

Compared to the past when he constantly struggled to survive, Ansuo wears a smile on his face much more often.

It still looks a bit fake, though.

"Yes, he took care of most of the work. He could finish everything in no time. He was very efficient..." Shirou paused for a moment, then said with a helpless expression, "But he still hasn't changed his old habits. He often takes my things when I'm not looking."

"Haha... After all, it's a long-standing habit. Let's find a way to gradually correct it."

Faced with this situation, Jie was at a loss.

"They'll return it to me right away, but that's not a long-term solution; we need to think of something..."

Shirou thought for a moment, and then came up with a good idea.

"Or should I make her eat what I cook every time she takes it?"

This move was inspired by his own experience with Exusiai and Croissant, but compared to the two, Ansuo is not as picky about food, and his greatest pleasure right now is eating his cooking.

So Shirou thought that if Ansuo committed the same offense again, he would make her eat the food he cooked, and the same would be done for other people who committed the same offense.

Perfect!

"Are you a demon?"

Seeing how satisfied Shirou was with the plan he had proposed, Zi's perception of Shirou began to crumble.

He went from a righteous and philanthropic man to a righteous but cunning and scheming young man.

"We have to find a way to manage this, right?"

Shirou didn't care at all about the fact that Je had given himself the title of "demon".

After all, Croissant has already given him the title of "Great Demon King".

"You're right. I hope Little Ansuo won't break down after hearing that."

Shirou's explanation successfully convinced Ziya, although the process was somewhat cruel, it was all for the sake of Ansuo what he wanted.

Ansuo's pickpocketing skills were almost ingrained in his body; even an unconscious passerby would find one or two valuables.

"It's not that I'm not feeding her, I'm just making her cook for herself."

Upon hearing what Zi said, Shirou felt that his reputation had been damaged.

"Your kind of unconscious persecution is the most terrifying. By the way, do you all usually sleep on the second floor?"

Jie decided to change the subject, feeling that if they continued talking, Shirou would come up with more ways to persecute Ansuo.

He was still innocent and didn't want to hear so many terrible things.

"Huh? They're all sleeping on the floor on the second floor, that's right."

Shirou didn't pay much attention to this awkward topic of transition; it was just a casual chat during the process of assembling the shelf.

Jie has helped with a lot of things here, so it's only natural that he cares about these things.

"It seems like the upstairs has wooden floors... so there shouldn't be any problem. Do you have enough money left over?"

"There's still some left after buying the medicine, which is enough."

"Medicine? Oripathy blocker? You even bought that?"

When he heard that Shirou had even prepared all the medicine, Zi was stunned. The blocking medicine was really expensive. Even a slightly wealthy family could go bankrupt if someone was infected with Oripathy because of the medicine.

"We didn't buy too many; we can only give them to the more severely affected individuals for now."