"Oh? So you plan to 'polish' me with your so-called goodwill?"
Hearing Shirou's words, Lappland interlaced her fingers and rested them on the table, wearing a rather subtle smile.
"If that is how you want to see it, there is no problem with that."
What might seem like a mocking smile to others did not bother Shirou at all.
He had encountered far harsher tones before.
He picked up his chopsticks and sampled a few dishes. He had only heard about this place before and had never actually eaten here.
Phal and the children had said the owner was kind and that the food was cheap and delicious.
From the looks of it, they were right. It really was quite good.
"What a boring person."
Seeing that he remained unfazed, Lappland dropped her smile and started eating again.
She only believed half of what Shirou said. Anyone could say nice things but how many could actually follow through?
Still, his behavior was already quite impressive. Shirou was one of the few people who could sit calmly and chat with her.
That, in itself, puzzled her.
There was something indescribably strange about him.
When she had lashed out at others under the guise of retaliation, he did not show fear.
When she questioned him with harsh words, he did not show displeasure.
And when her Oripathy flared up, he immediately went to get an expensive inhibitor for her.
Could it be…?
But he did not look interested in her at all. His gaze and expression were completely normal.
Perhaps he simply saw her as someone weak who needed help.
With Lappland falling silent and Shirou tactfully refraining from interrupting her thoughts, most of the food on the table was gradually cleared.
Of that, seventy percent was eaten by Lappland. Thinking while eating, she ended up consuming quite a lot without realizing it.
As for Shirou, he just sampled each dish, only eating more of the ones he found particularly interesting.
"Pack the rest up for Texas. Let her know I am waiting here for her as well."
Looking at the table, now more than half empty, Lappland felt a bit too full.
As expected, one should not get distracted while eating, or it is easy to overeat.
She signaled the owner to pack the remaining food and said this to Shirou.
"I will tell her. As for what Texas thinks, I have no idea."
Seeing her attitude, Shirou sighed helplessly.
Lappland seemed to have a certain level of obsession with Texas, perhaps even bordering on fixation.
She could not go three sentences without mentioning Texas and her tone would become noticeably more excited whenever she did.
That was a bit unsettling.
"That is enough. Hmm… Shirou, right? I will call you that. Your personality is a bit boring but you are actually a pretty decent person."
Lappland did not dwell on his last remark. What Texas thought did not matter. No matter what, she would find her.
After paying, she gave Shirou a simple evaluation.
Her first impression of him had been somewhat odd but now he seemed fairly decent.
Compared to how most people looked at her with wariness, fear and avoidance, Shirou's reaction was exceptionally good.
"Uh… thanks, I guess?"
Now holding yet another large bag of food and not quite catching the odd nuance in her words, Shirou thought for a moment before replying.
"Pfft—hahahaha… So polite, huh? Not bad!"
Hearing his thanks, Lappland suddenly burst into laughter.
Compared to her earlier laughs, this one sounded more genuine.
"Hm?"
Seeing her laugh so hard, Shirou tilted his head slightly in confusion.
He had to admit, he really did not understand what she was laughing at.
Had she been insulting him just now?
He did not catch it at all.
"No, it is nothing. Do not worry about it. I will get going now. Hopefully we will meet again."
After laughing for quite a while, Lappland wiped the tears from her eyes and said this.
"…Wait."
Just as she turned to leave, Shirou suddenly called out to her.
"What is it? Changed your mind about telling me something about Texas? I would not mind having another cup of coffee."
Hearing him call out, Lappland stopped and turned back toward him.
"That is not it. But this is for you."
Shirou shook his head and took out the Pocky that Texas had given him earlier from his bag.
He did not know the exact relationship between the two but since she had treated Texas and the others from Penguin Logistics to a meal, he felt it would be wrong not to give something in return.
Pocky seemed to hold special meaning for Texas. Perhaps it did for Lappland as well.
With that thought, he handed it to her.
"This is… Texas's?"
Looking at the Pocky in Shirou's hand, Lappland caught that familiar scent.
She knew Texas liked this kind of snack very much after all, she had been the one to give it to Texas in the first place.
But she did not expect that one day she would be the one being "fed."
"…I just bought it from a roadside shop."
Seeing her call out Texas's name just from the Pocky, Shirou felt a chill run down his spine.
This was a bit much, was it not? Sure, it was given by Texas but it was not to the extent that seeing Pocky would immediately make someone think of her, right?
Had Pocky become bound to Texas somehow?
Well… when he thought about it, Pocky really did make him think of Texas first and she went through at least three boxes a day. If not for her intense training, she might have had trouble even walking by now.
"I can tell. But your lying skills have improved. If only you did not hesitate so long while speaking. As for the snack… I will take it."
Lappland sneered at Shirou's lie and slipped the Pocky into her pocket.
Then she turned around and left without looking back.
"Are Lupos' noses really that sensitive… or is it just her?"
Watching her leave, Shirou muttered a few complaints about her in his mind.
Though he usually appeared calm and easygoing, being verbally provoked like that still annoyed him. He simply hid it well and vented through other means.
Often, it was not that people lacked a temper, they just had different ways to release negative emotions.
For Shirou, that meant verbal complaints.
And beyond that, he would also rely on training and exercise to numb himself, something he had done during the period after Kiritsugu's death.
Carrying a large bag of groceries, Shirou stepped out of the shop and looked around.
Lappland was nowhere to be seen and the slum streets were as lively as usual.
Before leaving, he deliberately circled back to where those people had collapsed earlier. They were gone, leaving behind only faint traces of cleaned-up blood.
If he had not looked carefully, he might not have noticed anything at all.
Whoever handled it had done a thorough job.
After confirming they were no longer there, Shirou did not linger and headed straight back to the dorm.
The weather was unbearably hot and if he did not refrigerate the food soon, it would spoil quickly.
Besides, he did not have anything else to do, so he might as well go back and read.
The trip back was uneventful.
After putting everything into the fridge, Shirou checked the contents. Combined with what he bought today, there was more than enough for dinner.
"Hmm… a little past two? They should be back in about an hour."
Stepping out of the kitchen, he checked the time. Exusiai and the others usually returned between three and five, so that estimate seemed about right.
He picked up a book on Oripathy that he had gotten from Snowsant, put on the Lupo-style headphones gifted by everyone at Penguin Logistics and began reading again.
Recently, because of his work at the Guard Department, he had not spent much time on these books. Now he finally had a chance to catch up.
He did not expect to be able to cure Oripathy but at the very least, he wanted to understand it.
The knowledge he had gained proved useful today as he had quickly recognized that Lappland's Oripathy was acting up.
He could identify those symptoms. That was a good start.
It gave him a bit more confidence to continue studying.
Though… his progress was still slow and he was only halfway through the first book.
Shirou lost track of time while reading. It was not until he heard the front door open that he stopped.
"You are back?"
Taking off his headphones, he rubbed his ears slightly. They were convenient but they did press a bit too tightly.
Still, that level of discomfort was acceptable as long as he did not wear them too long.
"Tch, Shirou, why are you back so early? And you are even reading."
Seeing Shirou in the living room with that thick book, Croissant clicked her tongue.
You are supposed to be on break! Do you even understand what a break is?
If she had a day off, she would have spent it lying around doing absolutely nothing.
Meanwhile, Shirou had to be forced into relaxing before he even resembled someone on break.
What kind of workaholic was this?
"I had nothing to do, so I came back. A break is for doing things you usually do not have time for, right?"
Checking the time, Shirou realized he had been reading for nearly two hours, no wonder his head felt a bit sore. He closed the book and replied.
"Seriously… try to relax a bit, will you?"
Still complaining, Croissant headed toward the changing room.
"Compared to working at the Guard Department this is relaxing."
Shirou replied, taking the Penguin Logistics jacket she had taken off and placing it into the laundry basket.
Later, he would wash their uniforms first, then the clothes he bought today.
Although the others did not really mind, Shirou still carefully separated his clothes from theirs when doing the laundry.
Except for underwear…those, he always had them take care of themselves.
That said, they would occasionally get lazy. Shirou could not just leave things as they were, so he ended up washing them anyway.
He even had the feeling that this had been happening more frequently lately.
He could not tell whether they were doing it on purpose.
"Well, what you said makes sense… but have you ever tried just zoning out and spending a whole day doing nothing?"
Thinking back to how hectic things looked every time she went to the Guard Department, Croissant felt Shirou's reasoning was understandable.
Still, she and the others and even the three from the Guard Department felt that Shirou should take a proper day off. The kind where he did not think about anything at all.
"Zoning out? I think I will pass. I am used to this pace now. If I suddenly change it, I would probably feel uncomfortable."
Hearing her suggestion, Shirou shook his head.
He understood their concern but whenever he had free time, his mind would wander.
So he could not and did not want to be idle. He needed to keep himself occupied.
After all… he was not truly a resident of this land.
Perhaps one day, just like a Servant, he might dissolve into magical particles and disappear.
Every time he thought about that, a sense of unease crept in.
"…Alright. As long as you think it is fine. Just do not ruin your health. Your body is your capital!"
Croissant tried to put herself in Shirou's shoes but quickly realized she had no idea what he was thinking.
She could not relate at all.
So she gave up, offered him a bit of encouragement and went off to take a shower.
"…"
Watching her go through a sequence of thinking, confusion, determination, sudden realization and then complete resignation, Shirou could practically read her entire thought process.
"Since Croissant is back, Exusiai and Texas should not be far behind. I wonder how Sora's rehearsal is going."
Putting away his book and headphones, Shirou figured it was time to heat up the food.
If he waited too long, it would cut into their rest time later.
"Oh? We are eating takeout today?"
After a quick rinse, Croissant came out with slightly damp hair and immediately caught the scent of Lungmen-style cuisine.
This did not smell like Shirou's cooking, so she guessed it was takeout.
Peeking into the kitchen confirmed her suspicion.
"It was treated by someone. You do not mind that it was made by an infected person, right?"
Seeing her poke her head in, Shirou explained briefly and asked.