9 a.m., Rhodes Island's Lungmen branch.
This place was originally meant only for Infected patients seeking treatment. But thanks to a certain well-connected individual, the number of people coming and going had noticeably increased.
And now, that very person was about to leave.
"Yo! Everyone thanks for taking care of Shirou these past few days. Here are some apple pies!"
Holding three homemade apple pies and handing them to one of the operators, Exusiai said cheerfully.
These were not specially prepared. She had simply misjudged the ingredient quantities after not shopping for a while and ended up making too many.
But as long as she did not say anything, no one would know.
She really knew how to handle people.
"…."
Beside her, Texas could more or less guess what she was thinking, but she did not bother exposing her.
Even if it started as an accident, in the end Exusiai did share the pies.
Though with that amount, Exusiai could usually finish them herself—
Oh. Shirou was back. Then she probably could not.
Realizing this, Texas slowed down her pace of eating her Pocky.
Having eaten takeout for the past two days had left her slightly irritated.
"Alright! Shirou, let us go!"
On the other side, Croissant grabbed Shirou and started dragging him toward the vehicle.
"Do not pull me, my clothes will tear and why are you so excited?"
Caught off guard, Shirou had no choice but to keep up to avoid ruining the relatively new clothes he had just bought.
"It is fine! You have spare clothes anyway, right? And even if you do not have any spares, you can just make a new set yourself, can you not?"
Croissant waved off his concern.
Clothes? Those were things you replaced all the time.
As someone who stood at the front lines with a shield and hammer, torn clothes were practically routine.
As for why she was so excited…
"The boss said we are having a party at his bar this afternoon! There is a ton of his private liquor collection there! And it has been a while since our last big party so I am really looking forward to it!"
"If the boss hears you talking about his liquor like that, he will probably turn your horns into mug handles."
Just listening to her, Shirou could tell how much Croissant was fixated on the boss's collection and the party itself.
Since he joined, he had attended quite a few small gatherings, but large parties? Maybe once or twice.
He did not remember clearly. He was not particularly interested in parties.
And more importantly, he did not drink.
He was the odd one out in Penguin Logistics.
"Compared to Exusiai getting hung from the ceiling as a decorative light, I think mine sounds better, right?"
Taking Shirou's jab in stride, Croissant dragged Exusiai into it as well.
Though the comparison was a bit strange.
"I think both are pretty bad. You two should not make the boss angry. I am hoping he is in a good mood today so he brings out more drinks and food!"
Exusiai chimed in as she joined them, having just finished handing out the apple pies.
While doing so, she had also chatted with those interested in desserts, even promoting a few shops and sharing some preparation tips.
When it came to sweets, she was still slightly ahead of Shirou.
Though he was catching up quickly, many desserts were already within his grasp.
"On that front, the boss will not be stingy. But by your standards… you might be a bit disappointed."
After signing a few autographs, Sora also joined the conversation.
There had been quite a few requests, though most were from Rhodes Island operators wanting to bring them back for acquaintances.
Sora did not know much about Rhodes Island and most of what she knew came from Shirou.
The others, however, had at least heard of it.
Though different from Shirou's description of it as a pharmaceutical company, what Croissant, Exusiai, and Texas had heard was more about its combat strength.
From Penguin Logistics' understanding, Rhodes Island once had a small elite squad responsible for extremely difficult missions, with an astonishing success rate.
Some of the toughest missions included infiltrating Ursus to extract targets or snatching experimental subjects from Columbia. The easier ones were too many to count, fighting Originium creatures, taking down dangerous bounty hunters, and so on.
Exusiai knew about it because the core member of that squad specialized in firearms and guns.
Texas knew because Exusiai had talked about it nonstop during that period.
As for Croissant, she simply collected information out of habit, hoping to sell it someday for a good price.
Unfortunately, that squad had ceased operations about half a year ago, rendering her information worthless.
Still, that was how the business went. She complained a bit, then tightened her belt and moved on.
"Do we look like the kind of people who chase expensive things?"
Hearing Sora's comment, Croissant felt like she had been labeled with something odd.
Exusiai nodded in agreement.
"Not really. You just do not have the money to buy them, so you mooch off other people instead, right?"
After thinking a bit about the way Croissant and Exusiai usually spent money, Shirou came to a simple conclusion: both of them belonged to the type that enjoyed enriching their material lives.
That was not necessarily a bad thing. Considering the nature of their work and their environment, Shirou's own frugal, save-every-penny mindset was not really suitable for them.
For them, money could always be earned again. If spending it in the moment could buy happiness, they would not hesitate.
Croissant was slightly better off, since she at least had a side business with her stall.
As for Exusiai… most of her money probably went into paying for the damages she caused.
Thankfully, the boss did not charge her the full amount. Otherwise, she might already be Penguin Logistics' biggest debtor.
In short, based on their spending habits, Shirou was certain they would not spend money on luxury goods.
Or rather, they simply did not have the money for it.
"Tch…looks like you have recovered really well. Please have mercy and stop talking!"
Hearing Shirou's remark, Exusiai and Croissant both felt as if they had been stabbed in the heart.
But the fact that Shirou had the mood to make such remarks meant that what happened earlier had truly passed.
At that time, when he wore that outfit and held the sword, his expression had been more serious than ever before.
That was why, considering everything, they had forced him to stay in bed for two full days.
Now it seemed his recovery was indeed excellent, his sharp tongue alone had already shattered their mental defenses.
After the two quieted down, the Penguin Logistics group got into the car and left, leaving behind the staff at the branch, who were now pondering what to do for lunch.
Along the way, the others kept asking Shirou questions, while he answered them one by one.
Earlier, because there were other people in the ward, they had held back some of their questions. But now that it was just them in the car, there were no such concerns.
The first topic, of course, was the sword.
After all, it belonged to Chen, and both Sora and Texas had witnessed her embarrassing mistake of misidentifying her own weapon.
Shirou's answer was the same as before: it had just worked somehow. As for replicating it, he had no idea how.
He would need to study the projected version of the sword more thoroughly after returning.
"Hmm… Shirou, was the food over there really that good?"
Sitting behind the front passenger seat, Exusiai noticed a subtle change.
Shirou seemed… taller?
Before, she would only see a small patch of red hair. But today, much more of his head was visible.
"The food? It was alright. I cooked most of it. Compared to what we usually eat, it might actually be a bit inferior?"
Not knowing why she suddenly asked that, Shirou still answered honestly.
"It feels like you got taller."
Reaching out to pat his head and comparing his posture to before, Exusiai came to that conclusion.
She felt deeply wronged. Why was Shirou still growing taller?
"Did I?"
Unlike other changes, height was not something one could notice immediately, so Shirou himself had no idea.
After all, people did not suddenly realize they had grown taller. It was usually something noticed gradually over time.
"Definitely! Before, when you sat in the front seat, only a tiny bit of your head showed. Now more than half of it is visible!"
Ruffling his hair, Exusiai complained.
They both had red hair so why?
She used to joke about being his older sister, but now, as Shirou kept growing, she did not even dare to say that anymore.
He was almost as tall as her halo.
"Wow… I did not know you cared this much about height."
Watching Exusiai's frustrated reaction, Croissant realized this was the first time she had seen her care about something other than wanting to remove her halo to sleep properly.
A wish was called a wish precisely because it was difficult to achieve.
If it could be achieved, it would be called a goal.
"I did not care before! Everyone was about the same height, so there was nothing to care about. But now Shirou is suddenly shooting up, raising the average height of Penguin Logistics!"
As she spoke, Exusiai stopped what she was doing and leaned back into her seat.
Thinking about it carefully, she was not alone.
Even if Shirou was raising the average, the four of them were still all below it together so that was fine.
Now the only outlier was Shirou.
"?"
Shirou had not even processed the sudden "attack" before Exusiai had already calmed down.
Seeing her look completely at peace, he began to feel that what Issei once said was absolutely correct. women's emotions really did fluctuate unpredictably.
"Do not mind her. That is her way of being friendly."
Seeing the confusion written all over Shirou's face, Texas figured he needed some clarification.
"Ahem… that is not true. I genuinely think Shirou has betrayed all of us who are under one-seventy."
Hearing her partner's words, Exusiai coughed twice and tried to defend herself.
As for that weak excuse, Texas did not respond at all. She simply took the Pocky handed over by Sora, put it in her mouth, and continued driving.
"Ugh… I am hurt! I need apple pie to heal my wounded heart!"
Seeing Texas ignore her, Exusiai let out a dramatic wail.
"You did not save any?"
Sora asked, puzzled.
If she remembered correctly, Exusiai had handed out quite a lot of apple pies earlier. Did she really not keep even one for herself?
"I already ate some this morning… and I figured there would be a party later, so I gave the rest away…"
Sora's simple question instantly crushed Exusiai's spirit. She awkwardly tapped her fingers together as she explained.
"Should I say… that really is just like you?"
Covering her face, Croissant felt this was very Exusiai.
Though she really did not want to admit they were teammates.
"Mm."
The other three nodded silently, agreeing with Croissant.
"What do you mean! I really am hurt, okay? The kind that will not heal without apple pie made by Shirou!"
Feeling ganged up on, Exusiai grew even more miserable.
Before, she had just been joking. Now she really felt wounded.
"You are still not giving up on that?"
Croissant could not help but comment.
Once or twice would have been one thing, but Shirou had almost always refused Exusiai's requests to make apple pie. His reasoning was always the same: Exusiai already made it very well, so there was no need for him to learn it, he would be better off putting that effort into other desserts.
No one believed that explanation.
Anyone could tell he just did not want to get stuck as an endless apple pie machine for Exusiai.
Croissant could practically predict his usual response, something like "maybe next time" or "we will see," a polite refusal.
"Apple pie? That is not a problem."
Shirou's reply, however, completely caught everyone off guard.
What on earth? Had Exusiai secretly brainwashed him while ruffling his hair earlier?
Even Exusiai herself stared at her hands, wondering if she had some undiscovered Originium Art.
Even Texas, who was driving, briefly considered turning the car around and sending Shirou back to the hospital for further observation.
"Why is everyone so quiet?"
As the car suddenly fell silent, Shirou turned around and saw three pairs of concerned eyes staring at him from the back seat.
Shirou: "???"
"No, it is nothing. It is just that usually you would firmly refuse to make apple pie. Why did you suddenly agree today?"
Exusiai asked, confused.
"…Sigh. I just felt like it. But since you are reacting like this, then forget it."
After a brief pause, Shirou spoke with a slightly regretful expression.
"Huh? No, do not do that! Shirou, hurry and make apple pie to heal my wounded heart!"
Exusiai felt like she had just fallen straight from heaven into the abyss.
"We will talk about it later."
Looking at her reaction, Shirou finally got his revenge for having his hair messed up earlier.
Meanwhile, in the driver's seat, Texas frowned slightly and glanced at Shirou and Exusiai bickering through the rearview mirror.
Everything seemed as it always was and Penguin Logistics had returned to its usual rhythm.
And yet… she could not shake the feeling that something was just a little off.