After finishing his training and noting down the location of the training ground, Shirou prepared to head to the market, while the members of Penguin Logistics returned to the dorms to laze around.
Cough… calling it lazing around is not quite right, resting would be more accurate.
Originally, everyone planned to go with Shirou but after his persuasion they gave up.
His reasoning was simple: everyone worked hard normally, so if there was time to rest, they should take it and going back for a shower first would be good too.
The real reason however, was that Shirou was worried they might get into trouble at the market, since it was close to certain gang territories.
The lower districts or rather the slums were not places he wanted the Penguin Logistics crew to get near unless necessary. According to them and Texas, there were plenty of people there who often picked fights with them.
If it were a supermarket, he would not mind. Though they would probably grab tons of snacks and biscuits but since the boss would pay for it all, it did not matter.
As always: the boss is generous!
"I need to hurry. I asked Jaye to save me a batch of fresh goods."
After parting ways with the Penguin Logistics crew, Shirou checked the time and realized he was running late.
He remembered that Jaye had other work in the evening and he could not delay him.
Jaye, the seafood stall owner who looked rather fierce, had become someone Shirou frequently bought from after the previous thug incident. After multiple interactions, they had exchanged phone numbers. Jaye had said he would notify Shirou first if there were any good catches.
This arrangement benefited both sides, Shirou got quality goods and Jaye moved his stock.
Quickening his pace, Shirou soon arrived at the market.
Since it was already a bit late, some vendors were starting to pack up. Shirou hurried to Jaye's stall first.
"You are here? I thought you forgot."
Seeing Shirou rushing over, Jaye yawned.
He was just saying it casually, after several encounters he knew Shirou was very trustworthy. Once he agreed to something he rarely went back on it.
"Sorry, sorry. I got so busy I lost track of time."
Shirou apologized awkwardly. He had indeed been training quite seriously, so much so that he lost track of time.
By the time he snapped out of it, two hours had passed. Even the others from Penguin Logistics had already gotten tired and were waiting for him to finish.
They were originally going to head back together but Shirou had sent them off to rest.
"There are no worries. I kept your portion properly."
Jaye placed a cooler box on the table and let Shirou check the seafood inside.
As soon as it was opened, a chilly mist escaped, it was preserved with plenty of ice.
"I will take these then. Thanks."
After checking the fish or rather the creatures and finding no issues, Shirou asked Jaye to process them.
One reason he liked buying seafood here was the good reputation; another was that Jaye would handle the processing. Though Shirou could do it himself, it took too much time and when it came to butchering Jaye was simply better.
Given the same time, Shirou could not guarantee he could do a better job.
That said, the way the two interacted looked almost like they were dealing in something dangerous and the neighboring vendor nearly called the authorities.
If they did not know Jaye just looked intimidating, they might have actually called the Guard Department.
While Jaye was processing the fish, Shirou went to the nearby stall to buy other ingredients.
Due to the late hour, some vendors had already closed, but a few he frequented were still open, though they had fewer varieties of vegetables.
That was not much of a problem for Shirou, he knew how to cook them all.
"Hmm… I wonder if they will eat these."
Shirou crouched in front of the stall, looking at the remaining vegetables and thinking.
Just because he could cook did not mean others would accept everything. Take bitter melon for example, the four members of Penguin Logistics did not seem to like its taste.
So when choosing ingredients, Shirou tried to avoid vegetables with strong or unusual flavors.
He knew it was not an issue with his cooking. It was just that they simply did not like certain ingredients.
Though bitter melon was the most extreme case, generally if he served something, someone would eat it.
"Ah, sorry…"
Just as Shirou was deep in thought, he suddenly felt a bump. He quickly straightened himself and began to apologize but then noticed something was off.
The weight of his coat felt wrong.
After checking, he realized the wallet in his pocket was gone.
Since he had gone out for training, he had not brought his bag. Combined with slight fatigue and being lost in thought he had been successfully pickpocketed.
"Sorry, I will be back in a bit."
After informing the vegetable vendor and Jaye, Shirou immediately took off in pursuit.
Although the person wore a hood and moved quickly, Shirou had noticed the grappling hook on them. With such a distinctive feature and his eyesight catching up would not be difficult.
Besides Lungmen coins, the wallet also contained two IDs issued by the Emperor. The money did not matter but he had to get the IDs back.
He did not want to trouble his boss again.
"…Was that Little Rope?"
Jaye asked the nearby vendor.
"Yeah, it was her. I did not notice with the hood earlier otherwise I would have warned you. I only realized when I saw the grappling hook."
The vegetable vendor sighed, because of her he had lost a sale.
Next time he saw her, he would definitely give her a piece of his mind.
"Seriously…"
Shirou did not hear their conversation. He was fully focused on the chase, steadily closing the distance with his sharp eyesight.
The thief also seemed to realize she was being chased. Using her agility and grappling hook, she tried to leap onto a low rooftop to shake him off.
"Trace on—"
Seeing her hook latch onto the roof, Shirou understood her plan. He immediately projected a short blade and threw it.
Not at her but at the rope, cutting it cleanly.
"My grappling hook!"
Seeing the rope of her hook severed by a small knife, the hooded figure instantly lost composure.
That was her livelihood!
It had been reinforced, so how could it break so easily?!
Without the grappling hook, the hooded figure Rope was quickly caught by Shirou.
"Stealing is not good, you know? Please return my things."
Grabbing her shoulder, Shirou said.
Only after getting closer did Shirou realize… the other party seemed to be a child?
After all, she was quite short, not just compared to him but even shorter than everyone in Penguin Logistics.
About 150 cm tall, probably no more than 155 cm.
"…Tch… here, take it back."
Still wearing her hood, Rope handed Shirou his wallet.
Shirou took it and quickly checked inside, confirming everything was still there, especially the two most important IDs.
"Do not do this again. Take this, get something to eat and find a job."
Since the other party appeared to be just a child, Shirou had no intention of handing her over to the Guard Department.
He was currently in the lower city which was basically the slums. He had heard a bit about this place from Penguin Logistics. It was Lungmen's gray zone where most of the Infected and the poor gathered.
Gangs were everywhere and many people resorted to theft just to survive.
The child in front of him had probably done this out of hunger as well, so Shirou took out a few Lungmen coins, hoping to give her some breathing room so she could find work.
However, while Shirou's intentions were kind, her thoughts were very different.
"Hmph! Are you pretending to be nice so I will take your money, and then you can do dirty things to me? I am not that stupid!"
Although she clearly wanted the money, Rope refused to accept it.
Who knew if this guy had ulterior motives?
Men were all bad and if not for her being Infected, she might have already been used and discarded.
Once she accepted the money, the power dynamic would shift away from her so she was extremely cautious about this!
After all, someone had been tricked like that just a few days ago, so she was scared too.
"…You are overthinking it."
Shirou could not help but admire her imagination.
But it made sense, this was a place full of deceit and judging from her words, she was female. Her caution was only natural.
Since she refused, Shirou did not force her. As soon as he let go, she bolted away like a rabbit.
"She is fast runner."
Watching her disappear, Shirou did not bother chasing again.
He glanced around at the onlookers and sighed.
This was his first time truly entering the lower city, before he had only gone as far as the market.
Some things could only be understood after seeing them firsthand.
Dilapidated buildings, filthy surroundings, and both adults and children bearing black Originium crystals on their bodies.
Based on Shirou's understanding of Oripathy, such an environment would only worsen the condition for the Infected.
But often, there was no choice.
Treating Oripathy was extremely expensive and once infected one would have to spend huge amounts on treatment until death.
Even a moderately well-off family could be dragged into ruin because of it.
"…Let's head back to Jaye first."
Shaking his head, Shirou pushed those thoughts aside. This was not the first time he had pondered the issue of the Infected.
Though the slums were not pleasant, they were still better than Ursus.
At least here, there was no freezing blizzard to endure, nor constant threats of someone coming to kill you.
Besides, his current situation made it difficult for him to truly help the Infected.
That was why he had chosen to read books about Oripathy.
At the very least, he needed to understand it before he could help.
Thinking as he walked, Shirou soon returned to Jaye's seafood stall.
"You got your wallet back?"
Jaye asked upon seeing him return.
"Yeah."
Shirou took out his wallet and paid.
"That is impressive, you actually caught Little Rope."
Jaye looked surprised.
Rope was quite skilled, especially in the slums yet Shirou still managed to catch her.
No wonder Officer Hoshiguma had specifically told him to keep an eye on Shirou, he really had some ability.
"You know her?"
From Jaye's tone, Shirou guessed he was familiar with the pickpocket. Rope?
What a strange name, Shirou silently thought.
"She's a regular at the Guard Department and she often operates in this area. Sorry I did not notice earlier."
Jaye briefly explained and apologized.
After all, he knew she was around and yet still let her succeed.
If Shirou had not chased her down, the money probably would not have been recovered, even though other items might still have been retrievable.
"It is fine. I was careless. I will be more careful next time."
Shirou did not blame Jaye, it was his own lack of caution that gave her the opportunity.
He had already decided that next time he came here, he would bring his bag to minimize the chances of this happening again.
"Since you managed to catch her she probably will not target you again but it is still better to stay careful."
Jaye warned him. The area had not been very peaceful lately, it was filled with frequent troublemakers.
Between being chased by thugs last time and pickpocketed this time, Shirou's luck was clearly not great.
"Can you tell me more about her?"
Seeing that Jaye seemed to know a lot about Rope, Shirou asked out of curiosity.
"Have you taken an interest in her? That would not be good for Officer Swire!"
Jaye looked concerned as he reminded him.
He remembered Shirou had once come with Swire and they seemed quite close.
Now that Shirou showed interest in Rope, Jaye could not help but worry.
After all, Shirou was a valuable customer and he always bought in bulk!
If something happened to him, that would be bad.
"Why bring up Swire?"
Shirou tilted his head in confusion.
"Nothing… as for Little Rope…"
Seeing Shirou's reaction, Jaye roughly understood his relationship with Swire.
Shirou looked harmless and kind, he was probably the one being pursued rather than the other way around.
But that was not his concern. As a commoner, it was best not to pry and he did not want to mysteriously disappear from Lungmen.
Jaye then shared what he knew about Rope.
In short, she was a child who could not find proper work due to being Infected, so she survived by stealing and eventually became a regular at the Guard Department.
According to her, life in the Guard Department prison was not bad, there were three meals a day but there was also "ideological education" otherwise, she might have just settled there permanently.
"…If you see her again, give this to her for me. I broke her rope earlier."
After hearing her story, Shirou took out some Lungmen coins and handed them to Jaye, asking him to pass them along if he saw her.
After all, he had destroyed her grappling hook, the very tool she relied on to survive.
If this were his previous world, he would have properly disciplined her and handed her over to the police.
But here…
Call it being overly kind or hypocritical but he knew this was not entirely right.
Yet on this land, there were countless infected children like her.
She was just doing whatever she could to survive.
"Alright, I will give it to her."
Jaye accepted the money without asking questions.
He had seen many people like Shirou but most only talked. Those who actually acted like him were rare.
Jaye felt Shirou might get along well with Chen but unlike Shirou she was more strict. If it were her, Rope would definitely have been sent to the Guard Department for "delicious meals" and ideological education.
"Thanks."
Shirou had been worried Jaye might question him, but seeing that he did not, he relaxed.
As for whether Jaye might pocket the money?
Come on, he was someone Officer Hoshiguma knew. Shirou trusted her judgment.