In the past, she would also stand up for others but only if something happened right in front of her. Acting just because someone seemed suspicious, like trying to catch them based on instinct alone, was something she would never have done before.
Sigh. She must have been influenced by Shirou.
Still, it was not exactly a bad thing. At least, Exusiai felt pretty good about herself right now.
"Hey, do not pin everything on someone else!"
Hearing Exusiai blame Shirou, Croissant complained.
Meanwhile, Texas, who had taken over the task of catching the suspect since Exusiai could not enter the crowd due to her halo, was swiftly weaving through the mass of people.
Although suddenly having extra work to do put her in a slightly bad mood, it was still a good thing overall. Texas did not want to dampen Exusiai's enthusiasm for doing something right.
It was far better than her usual antics.
"Is he over there?"
Heading in the direction Exusiai had pointed, Texas caught sight of a red-haired Vouivre in the distance.
That should be the one.
As she got closer, she could also pick up the faint smell of blood.
Most of it was masked by perfume and sweat from the crowd, but it was still there.
And… that hairstyle looked a bit familiar.
Probably just her imagination.
Pushing that thought aside, Texas made her way toward him.
The closer she got, the clearer the scent of blood became.
But that was not important, Texas had trusted Exusiai's judgment from the start. The smell was just helping her confirm it.
Fresh blood and treated blood, she could tell the difference.
"Hm… that guy looks suspicious."
Meanwhile, the "target" himself…Shirou…was observing a nearby Caprinae, trying to figure out how to squeeze his way closer.
Then, he suddenly felt someone grab his right shoulder.
"?"
He turned his head toward the hand on his shoulder. In a place this noisy, speaking directly might not even be heard.
As he turned, a familiar pair of black wolf ears came into view.
Then those familiar blue-and-orange eyes.
"What are you up to, wandering around like this?"
Even in the dim lighting, Texas could clearly see the issue with his clothes. To someone experienced like her, it was obvious he had not properly cleaned himself before coming back to act again.
Sloppy.
"Huh? I am working?"
Faced with her questioning, Shirou looked confused. He had never seen Texas make an expression like this before and he had completely forgotten about his disguise, answering her honestly.
"Wandering through the crowd is your job?"
Texas's expression darkened further.
This was Sora's concert. She did not want anything to go wrong and affect her teammate's performance.
At the same time, her grip on his shoulder tightened, applying more and more force.
She was trying to make him give in.
But no matter how much strength she used, his expression did not change at all.
That surprised her.
"…Texas, what are you doing?"
Noticing the increasing pressure on his shoulder, Shirou finally asked.
The holy shroud beneath his clothes prevented pain, but being gripped that tightly was still uncomfortable.
"You know me?"
Hearing him call her name, Texas frowned deeply, her grip tightening even more.
Their interaction was subtle enough that no one in the packed concert noticed.
Even those nearby were focused entirely on the stage, at most assuming the two simply knew each other.
If anything, it looked like a woman catching a man fooling around especially with that flashy floral shirt and sunglasses. He looked like a seasoned troublemaker.
It might have been an interesting scene but the next performer was about to come on stage.
When the spotlight fell on Sora, the entire crowd erupted into cheers. Some people even began wildly waving their glow sticks.
This was exactly why Shirou always paused his work when Sora was performing.
No matter how skilled he was, he could not avoid a sea of flailing arms.
He might not even get through the crowd before getting smacked around.
And Texas, with one hand still gripping Shirou and most of her attention focused on him, was caught off guard by the sudden surge of the crowd…
and got knocked off balance.
"Hey, careful."
Seeing her being pushed over, Shirou reached out and steadied her.
It was not too surprising. After all, even Shirou had been quite startled by that kind of scene at first.
All he could say was, when fans got excited about their idol… it was genuinely terrifying.
"…Shirou?"
Because he had reached out to steady her, his sunglasses slipped slightly, allowing Texas to see his eyes.
Those familiar lightning-shaped eyebrows, and those… gentle—no, copper pupils.
Was that not Shirou himself?
"Hm? You did not come because you found me?"
Seeing Texas's surprised expression, Shirou felt confused.
If she was not looking for him, then why approach him?
"Cough… Exusiai said there was a very suspicious red-haired Vouivre and wanted to catch him herself, but her halo makes it inconvenient to move through the crowd, so I came instead."
Realizing this had all been a misunderstanding, even someone as composed as Texas could not hide the awkwardness on her face.
The "criminal" she thought she had found turned out to be someone she knew, someone currently working for the Guard Department.
Double the embarrassment.
For a moment, Texas even had the urge to drag Exusiai onto the concert stage and hang her up as part of the lighting effects.
But that embarrassment was quickly replaced by another.
Because of how Shirou had caught her earlier, their current posture was… a bit off.
Taking advantage of the fact that he had not noticed, Texas quickly steadied herself and casually pulled out a Pocky stick, biting into it to calm down.
"I see."
Hearing her explanation, Shirou suddenly understood.
No wonder her expression earlier had been so strange, she had mistaken him for a criminal.
Then again… did he really look that suspicious?
Strange clothes, odd sunglasses, constantly moving through the crowd…
Well, yes. He did look suspicious.
"Forget that for now. What is with the blood on you? Are you injured?"
Coming back to her senses, Texas remembered the smell of blood on him and reached out, intending to check for injuries.
She was starting to realize something was off about this concert.
First, MSR had hired Blacksteel Worldwide at great expense.
Then, the heavy deployment from the Lungmen Guard Department.
And now Shirou was still on duty with blood on his clothes.
Putting all these clues together, Texas realized the concert had likely been targeted.
"I am fine. It is someone else's blood… the situation is not great right now, go back to Exusiai and Croissant and take care of yourselves and Sora. The Guard Department is already handling it, so it should be resolved soon."
Seeing Texas about to check him, Shirou quickly stopped her.
If she actually started inspecting him here, they would probably both get kicked out.
After confirming that most people's attention was still on the stage, Shirou leaned slightly closer and spoke softly into her ear.
Revealing work details was not ideal, but he wanted the Penguin Logistics members to at least have some awareness.
He still had Guard Department duties to handle and could not stay to watch over them.
Besides, Penguin Logistics did not really need that much worrying.
The fights they had been through might rival or even exceed the number of parties they had thrown.
As long as they had some warning and were not caught off guard, that was enough.
"…Understood. Stay safe."
Texas frowned slightly, as if she wanted to say more.
But remembering that this was his job, she held back.
If Shirou was willing to share even this much, it meant the situation was serious.
She could not interfere with official work but she would not get in the way either.
"Do not worry. I will resolve it quickly."
After a brief thought, Shirou took off his sunglasses and casually placed them on Texas's face. They might get in the way of what he needed to do next.
Then he moved back into the crowd, heading toward the Caprinae he had previously targeted.
"…"
Watching him squeeze closer to someone and lightly touch them, Texas noticed faint glowing lines on his hand.
That was what appeared when Shirou used his abilities.
After a brief contact, he immediately left without lingering.
Soon after, a group of people subtly gathered around that individual, gradually pushing them toward the outer edge of the crowd.
…That was certainly a new one.
A rather unique method of apprehending someone.
Once Shirou disappeared from sight, Texas turned and headed back to where Exusiai and Croissant were.
"Huh? Did you deal with the guy?"
Seeing Texas return with sunglasses on her face, Exusiai immediately assumed the suspect had been taken down, and the sunglasses were the "loot drop."
"Idiot."
Hearing that, Texas remembered her double dose of embarrassment from earlier and promptly kicked Exusiai in the shin.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Texas, what are you doing?! That really hurts!"
Clutching the spot where she had been kicked, Exusiai complained loudly.
"Texas, what was that for?"
Seeing her suddenly lash out, Croissant quickly stepped back a couple of paces, afraid she might get kicked next.
Even if it would not hurt much for her, no one wanted to get kicked for no reason.
"That person was Shirou."
Texas replied bluntly.
The moment they heard that, Exusiai and Croissant immediately understood why Texas had kicked her.
If it were them, they would have done the same to whoever gave them wrong information.
"Guard Department work?"
Exusiai no longer cared about her leg and quickly asked.
"Yeah. Stay alert. This concert… is not as simple as it looks."
Texas nodded, already holding the hilt of an Originium lightblade in her left hand.
"I knew it… it feels like every one of Sora's concerts has some kind of crisis. Last time it was an obsessed fan, right?"
Croissant sighed as she set her backpack down.
She had originally planned to set up a stall nearby after the concert, but it seemed that would not be happening now.
She could not help but complain that every concert came with its own trouble.
Most of the time, it was fan-related.
"...Sigh. I just hope nothing big happens. Lungmen has been chaotic enough lately."
Exusiai sounded helpless.
There had been too many incidents in Lungmen recently. They did not even need Shirou to tell them, the news alone made it obvious.
She liked lively atmospheres, but not this kind.
She wanted the kind where everyone was just happy.
"You get used to it, right?"
Texas said calmly.
After that, the three of them lost interest in the performance, shifting most of their attention to watching their surroundings.
Meanwhile, after apprehending one Caprinae infected individual, Shirou did not find any more suspicious people.
That Caprinae was not an accomplice, he was a registered infected resident of Lungmen. He had simply gone to the restroom earlier, which was why Shirou had not caught him at first.
"I wonder how things are going outside…"
Leaning against a wall again, Shirou performed another scan of the building to confirm there were no abnormalities before taking a short rest.
The situation was tense, but rest was still necessary.
Otherwise, if something serious happened and he lacked strength or magical energy, that would be far worse.
This was something the others had emphasized to him.
Right now, they needed his extraordinary archery skills. Any of them could collapse from exhaustion but not him.
That did place some pressure on him, but given the circumstances, he understood.
Even while "resting," his eyes never stopped moving.
Then the communicator on his chest began vibrating repeatedly.
That meant someone was urgently trying to contact him.
Stepping aside, Shirou answered:
"This is Shirou."
"Shirou! We have confirmed it, there are five masterminds and all of them are infected Ursus!"
The voice of Swire came through the communicator.
Even though Shirou instinctively held it away from his ear, it was still loud.