Chapter 85
Shirou sighed, "The blocking medicine is really expensive. Buying just a few doses cost more than 10,000 Lungmen Dollars."
You should know that an average person might not even earn 10,000 Lungmen Dollars a month, but they can spend it all by buying just a few servings here.
Of all the people, the one who is most seriously ill is probably Ansuo. A little girl who often follows Ansuo has told Shirou that Ansuo has recently shown signs of having Oripathy.
"Generally speaking, medication is not given... Shirou, is it really worth it for you to do this?"
Although the same question had been asked before, that was based on the premise that Shirou simply provided food and lodging.
If it escalates to the point of administering medication, that's a different story. Once word gets out, Shirou will be under immense pressure, and he might even put himself in danger.
People who have gone mad are terrifying, and even seasoned veterans would find infected people who have gone mad troublesome.
"There's no question of whether it's worth it or not; I just wanted to do it."
Shirou shrugged and replied that he preferred to act first rather than overthink and hesitate.
The money problem is easy to solve; he still has a small amount of savings for emergencies.
"You should know what you're doing, but you need to be careful when using the medicine and try not to let anyone else know."
Seeing that the other party's attitude remained unchanged, Jie couldn't offer any advice, but simply reminded Shirou.
"Don't worry, I'll make them take the medicine without them noticing." Shirou had, of course, considered this.
"... If I hadn't known you were talking about PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis), I would have reported it to the Knights of the Round Table."
Seeing Shirou's confident demeanor, Jie complained.
Those who don't know the background would probably have the same thought as Zi when they hear Shirou say this.
"???"
Shirou was completely unaware that there was anything wrong with what he had just said.
"It's nothing. A few burly men have come again. You go and deal with them."
Seeing that Shirou didn't react, Jie found it somewhat amusing.
Then he saw several people carrying things coming over from outside. He recognized them; they were all people Hoshiguma knew.
Hoshiguma had originally asked the others to look after this area, but for some reason they suddenly walked in and started helping.
"Oh, then you should rest for a bit."
Following Jie's gaze, Shirou saw several people carrying furniture outside. He told Jie to wait a moment while he went to deal with the situation there.
"Thank you for your hard work. Just leave these here. Let me check the situation first."
Seeing the large cabinet being carried by the group, Shirou told them to put it down and check its condition.
It's too big, and if there are problems after moving in, it would be too much trouble to move it out again.
To onlookers, Shirou was carefully inspecting the cabinet.
But that was just a ruse; Shirou's hand was actually on the cabinet, performing Magecraft.
After confirming that there were no problems with the internal structure of the cabinet, Shirou helped the group move the cabinet inside.
"This is the last one."
The leading Oni man wiped his sweat and said.
They had originally just been watching from the sidelines, but seeing Shirou carrying furniture around with the children under the blazing sun, they felt a little bad and decided to step in.
The reason was perfectly legitimate: that Jie had introduced them to help.
"Thank you for your hard work, helping out in this sweltering heat."
After looking around and making sure that all the necessary furniture was available, Shirou took out several bottles of ice water from the small refrigerator at the back and gave them to the group.
"No problem, we're used to this level of heat."
The Oni man forced a smile onto his somewhat menacing face, then seemed to realize how frightening he looked and quickly withdrew it.
The others traveling with him chuckled upon seeing the Oni man's appearance. They were then each given a beating by the Oni man, who then handed Shirou a note saying:
"We all live around here, so feel free to contact us if you have any questions."
"OK."
Shirou accepted the note; after all, the other party had shown goodwill, so there was no reason for him not to accept it.
I'll figure out how to cook a nice meal later to thank them for their help today.
After seeing the others off, Shirou stood at the shop entrance, looking at the somewhat empty shop. Shirou knew very well that there would be a lot of things to do next.
But after hearing the children's laughter inside, Shirou thought it was quite nice.
He is content as long as it is a very small thing that helps others.
102 Fuyuki Store
Morning, Lungmen, Fuyuki Store.
"Ah! It's finally all sorted out!"
After placing the last item on the shelf, he Ansuo rubbed his aching back.
The children around them also found a place to rest; they had been busy all day putting all the goods on the shelves.
These goods were all acquired by Shirou after a long period of deliberation. The vast majority of them were everyday items. However, what Ansuo couldn't understand was why teacups with the same appearance and material had different prices.
When she asked Shirou, she only received an embarrassed reply that things would return to normal once the store stabilized.
Besides teacups, some kettles, bowls, plates, and the like also have the same problem.
However, seeing that Shirou was unwilling to talk about it, she didn't ask any further and just assumed that Shirou had obtained a defective product through some channel.
As for the origin of the Fuyuki Store, it was changed by Shirou. Originally, everyone wanted to use Emiya, which is the Lungmen dialect translation of Shirou, as the shop name, but he felt it was a bit awkward, so in the end, the name Fuyuki was used.
After taking it, Ansuo seemed to hear Shirou mutter, "Now we can't use gas."
This statement still leaves Ansuo, but she hasn't asked about it.
She wouldn't ask anything Shirou didn't tell her. The food and lodging he provided were already enough for her. She would only ask about things related to them, because knowing too much might not be a good thing.
At least that's the case in the Slums.
"All done? My food's cooked too."
Shirou's voice came from the other side. As the door opened, a rich aroma instantly filled the entire shop, making the children, who had been busy all day, and Ansuo feel a little hungry.
The first floor of the Fuyuki Store is divided into two parts. One side is the store area where Ansuo and the others are currently located. After everyone's efforts, this area can be considered a fairly tidy store.
On the other side is the kitchen. It seems that this area used to be a restaurant, which is why it has a fairly large kitchen and storefront.
After the renovation, the kitchen area became a regular kitchen, but with a very large table.
Shirou has been coming over to cook some meals whenever he has free time at noon these past few days, but due to the number of people and economic considerations, Shirou usually just cooks some thick soup to eat with bread.
Adding some vegetables to the soup makes it less jarring when cooked. You can cook a big pot at once so that several people can reheat it and eat it in the evening.
These were all deducted from his reserve fund, and he still has some left, enough to last until next month.
"Today's soup is made with Scale Beast. Your Uncle Jie brought a lot of Scale Beast over as an extra treat for you. Remember to bring plenty next time you see him."
Shirou plate after plate with thick soup and handed it to the children, telling them to take their places with the soup.
Since it was a large group, everyone had to wait for Ansuo to call for dinner before they would start eating.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Seeing Ansuo had managed to subdue everyone so completely, Shirou was quite impressed.
They were quite mischievous for the first few days, but look how well-behaved they are now!
As for the story about the child being hung from the second floor while he was buying groceries at the market, he pretended not to hear it.
"Hey-hey."
Ansuo, who was praised, revealed a smug expression. Her life these days was like paradise to her.
It's not just her; it's the same for everyone.
Having food and shelter is enough to make me happy.
Some people just can't control their hands and brains and always want to do dangerous things, so she used a hook to hook a few naughty ones, and the effect was very remarkable.
The only problem is that she's a rather mischievous kid and can't control herself; before she knows it, she's already got her wallet.
Fortunately, I haven't been going out recently, so the only people I've been able to reach are Shirou, Yoshi, and A-Xing occasionally comes to help.
A-Xing is the Oni man who came to help move furniture a few days ago. He seems to live on the second floor across the street and often comes to the shop to help with some physical labor.
"Yo, dinner's ready?"
Some people even come to freeload lunch.
A tall, Oni man stood at the kitchen doorway, sporting a hearty smile, though he looked somewhat terrifying.
The children were used to it; after all, no one could be as ruthless as Zi, and they were immune to it.
Everyone continued to enjoy their lunch, taking bites of soup and bread.
"A-Xing, you're here again today?"
Seeing the outgoing and friendly A-Xing, Shirou wasn't too surprised.
Aside from bringing a large group of people with him on the first day, A-Xing always came alone afterward. He seemed to really like children, but his tall and fierce aura made it difficult for children to get close to him.
Once you get to know them, you'll find they're actually a very easy person to get along with, though they do have a bit of a tendency to snatch food.
They're the kind of guys who come attracted by the scent.
"Of course, as usual, I've brought some good stuff."
As he spoke, A-Xing took out a large bag of snacks and cookies from behind him.
When they saw the snacks and cookies, the children were clearly excited, even Ansuo seemed a little excited.
"Let's put it aside for now and have it as an afternoon snack."
After glancing at the snacks and cookies in the bag, Shirou determined that they could be kept for a short time, so he told A-Xing to put the things aside and then let him fill a bowl with soup himself.
Shirou gave his share of bread to the other person.
Thanks.
A-Xing accepted the bread from Shirou without hesitation.
A-Xing dipped a piece of bread in the thick soup and took a bite.
The aroma of the bread, mixed with the rich scent of milk, instantly relieved his fatigue from the day.
After drinking a few more sips of the rich soup, the Scale Beast Meat inside was also very flavorful, and I felt my whole body warm up.
"Waaah..."
Seeing A-Xing finish his food in no time, Ansuo, who had only eaten a few bites, began to wonder if the guy had been starving for days.
Oh wait, I just came here yesterday, so never mind.
"I just checked, is the shop sure this is how it's supposed to be? Wouldn't it be better if you just cooked whatever pot you wanted to sell?"
After eating and drinking his fill, A-Xing asked Shirou in a low voice.
"The pre-construction work is too complicated; the store mainly just gives them something to do."
Shirou simply shook his head at A-Xing's words, while pointing with his hand.
"That's true, I don't know if these daily necessities can cover the expenses."
Looking at Shirou's expression, A-Xing immediately understood that he had simply oversimplified things.
You can't blame him; he's not the type to think things through. But he can understand after a little prompting and immediately changed the subject.
He remembered that Ansuo nearby, had very sharp ears.
"That's not a problem..."
Speaking of Shirou, I feel a little guilty because some of the merchandise inside is Projection.
However, this only applies to bowls and plates. These types of products won't disappear unless they're dropped, and even if they are dropped, they won't shatter. They're practically a household essential.
Shirou himself still felt a little guilty, so the Projection prices of bowls, plates, teacups, kettles, and the like were only half.