Dinner time, Penguin Logistics dorm, at the dining table.
Looking at the table full of delicious dishes, Exusiai had absolutely no appetite. It was not because there was anything she disliked, nor because she had stuffed herself with apple pie.
Under Shirou's "firm warning"—ahem, request, if Exusiai dared to fill up on apple pie before meals she would not be seeing any apple pie for the next few days.
If she got caught, the punishment period would be doubled, and all three meals would be replaced with vegetable salads.
Having personally experienced Shirou's "methods," Exusiai knew he would absolutely follow through, so she behaved.
What? Just sneak food from outside?
She wished she could! But her three teammates would act as Shirou's informants. If they caught her breaking the rules, they would get bonus desserts—such a devious system!
Back to the point: Exusiai truly had no appetite right now. Even with perfectly roasted beast meat giving off a buttery aroma, and creamy soup releasing a rich fragrance…
Well, okay, she was still a little tempted.
The real reason she had no appetite was Shirou's expression, it did not look good.
She could not quite describe it, but simply put… it was like someone recalling their cringey teenage past and still being unable to let it go.
…Wait, did serious Shirou have a chuuni past too?
That sparked her curiosity but that could wait. The priority now was figuring out what was wrong with him.
Under the table, Exusiai lightly nudged Croissant with her foot.
"Mm?"
With her mouth full of rice, Croissant looked down, then up at Exusiai, who subtly gestured toward Shirou.
Croissant glanced at Shirou, then calmly lowered her head and took another sip of soup.
She had no reaction whatsoever.
"I am saying, do you not think something is off?"
Seeing her indifferent attitude, Exusiai leaned closer and whispered.
"When I cannot sell anything, I look like that too. Why did I not see you worrying about me then?"
Croissant obviously knew what Exusiai meant but could this not wait until after dinner?
Letting Mama Emiya's food get cold was a grave sin!
Besides, she understood Shirou had a good personality, so people naturally worried when he looked troubled.
Back when she had her own worries, no one cared, though admittedly, that was partly her own fault.
"So… is it because of money? I think the salary gets paid around now."
Analyzing Croissant's words, Exusiai came to a conclusion.
All of Shirou's expenses so far came from the Emperor's loan and he used it mainly for everyone's meals.
If it were her, she would also worry about her finances, it affected daily life.
…Wait, she ate Shirou's food every day. Maybe she did not need to worry?
…Wait, no! She still had not paid off her etched ammunition!
She was doomed this month!
Realizing this, Exusiai suddenly felt she did not have the luxury to worry about Shirou, she did not even know if she could afford unlimited apple pie anymore.
No matter how delicious Shirou's cooking was, he refused to make apple pie.
So unfair!
Turning grief into appetite, Exusiai picked up her chopsticks and started devouring the meal.
"..."
Shirou watched as Exusiai went from not eating, to whispering with Croissant, to suddenly having an epiphany and angrily eating.
Something felt off but since it was Exusiai, it somehow made sense.
If it were Texas or Sora acting like this, he would be more concerned.
As for Exusiai and Croissant… as long as it lasted more than two days, he might worry.
Probably.
At this moment, Shirou had no idea his mood was affecting everyone else.
After finishing his meal, he moved to clean up as usual but he was firmly pushed back into his seat by the team.
"Shirou, you just rest! Leave the dishes to us!"
Sora said while gathering plates.
"Yeah, you look tired. We will handle it."
Croissant added, carrying the dishes.
Meanwhile, Texas and Exusiai wiped the table.
"…Thanks?"
Watching the suddenly diligent Penguin Logistics, Shirou felt something was off.
Normally, they would just flop onto the sofa after eating.
Why were they so hardworking all of a sudden?
He thought about it… got confused… then gave up and checked his phone.
It is not like they were doing anything bad, maybe they just felt like helping today.
He saw that Snowsant had replied to his earlier question about a book. Her straightforward explanation cleared up some of his confusion.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen—
After locking the door, Exusiai started a secret Penguin Logistics meeting while washing dishes.
Meeting Topic: What's wrong with Shirou
Location: Kitchen
Participants: Texas, Exusiai, Croissant, Sora
"Alright, what do you all think about Shirou tonight?"
Exusiai opened the discussion while scrubbing plates.
"I am not sure. But he was fine at the training ground, so something must have happened after we split up."
Sora said while drying dishes.
She had noticed earlier but did not want to directly ask. Everyone had things they wanted to keep to themselves.
Even carefree people like Exusiai and Croissant had their own reasons, Exusiai joined to chase someone, Croissant… for money.
"Is this not overthinking? Maybe he just read something and got philosophical."
Croissant complained.
People feel down sometimes, it is normal. Why treat it like a crisis?
But then—
"…Wait."
What if Shirou stopped cooking?
That is a disaster.
"I take it back. We must face this seriously. Texas, your thoughts?"
Croissant instantly turned serious.
"…None."
Texas, dragged into this meeting, had not fully processed things yet.
From her perspective, Shirou was probably just tired since he had been training nonstop.
Also, maybe dealing with Exusiai and Croissant's constant antics was mentally exhausting.
Honestly, Shirou was too tolerant. If it were her, she would have punched them into silence already.
"What if he ran out of money buying ingredients?"
Exusiai proposed.
"That is possible. I am like that at the end of the month too."
Croissant immediately agreed, they were the biggest spenders.
Texas and Sora, on the other hand, managed money well, especially Sora who had her idol career.
"I remember Shirou said the boss covers food expenses… So maybe he wants to buy something?"
Sora suggested.
"Ah."
Texas suddenly remembered, Shirou had mentioned wanting to buy headphones earlier.
"Texas, did you think of something?"
Exusiai quickly noticed her reaction.
"Shirou mentioned this morning that he wanted to buy a pair of headphones."
Texas did not bother hiding it and said it directly, after all it was not anything important.
She figured Shirou was probably getting fed up with the noise while reading. On top of that, the books he had been reading lately were quite technical, so wanting headphones made perfect sense.
Back when she bought hers, it was because Exusiai and Croissant were just too noisy when they got going. Plus, she liked listening to music herself.
"A pair of headphones, huh… the good ones are pretty expensive."
Sora nodded in realization.
She was not deeply familiar with the market, but she knew enough, cheap ones were really cheap but not durable and the expensive ones were truly pricey but they had great features.
A month ago, Texas had considered buying new ones but Shirou repaired her old pair, so she did not go through with it.
Otherwise, Texas would have had a lot fewer Pocky sticks last month.
"…How about we pool our salaries and buy one together?"
After thinking it over, Exusiai made a suggestion.
"I think that works."
"Mm."
"Same here."
Everyone agreed immediately.
That alone showed how well-liked Shirou was within Penguin Logistics.
After all, who would dislike a caring "househusband-type" guy who looked after you and cooked all your meals?
The discussion quickly shifted from Shirou himself to what kind of headphones they should buy.
"Let us get a good one."
Exusiai proposed.
"Preferably one that is comfortable for long use since he reads for a long time."
Sora added.
"I remember seeing some models before…"
Texas began recalling some good options.
Since it was a group gift, spending a bit more did not matter.
"How about… those Feline-style headphones that are really popular in Lungmen lately?"
As they discussed, Croissant brought up a trendy option.
They had cat-like ears, flashy lighting effects and most importantly, cat-like ears. Reviews were also very good.
Most importantly… cat ears.
Croissant really wanted to see Shirou wearing them. Just imagining it was already amusing.
"???"
The other three stared at her in confusion.
Who would give that kind of uniquely styled headphones as a gift?
"…Let's keep that as a backup. If we stay here any longer, it will get suspicious. I will make a group chat later and we will discuss it there."
Finding Croissant's idea a bit strange, Exusiai decided to wrap up the meeting.
Partly because they had been in the kitchen too long.
And partly because… after hearing Croissant's idea, she could not help imagining Shirou wearing cat-ear headphones.
It sounded kind of fun.
If not for her remaining sense of reason, she might have actually sided with Croissant.
"Alright, let's do that."
Checking the time Texas agreed, it had indeed been a while and she was getting tired.
The group left the kitchen and saw Shirou sitting at the table, writing something with a pen. Hearing the door, he looked up.
"Are you done? I bought pudding earlier and put it in the fridge. You did not sneak any, right?"
Seeing them come out, Shirou did not suspect anything.
After all, chatting while doing dishes could easily take time.
Though the locked kitchen door was a bit odd maybe they were just trying not to disturb him.
Anyway, Penguin Logistics had been acting unusual today, so he did not think too much about it. He just reminded them about the pudding.
"Pudding!"
At the mention of sweets, Exusiai immediately rushed back into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
Sure enough there were five puddings, one for each of them.
Shirou's reminder was clearly meant for her to bring them out.
Dessert after work always tasted better.
Looking at how kind Shirou was, Exusiai silently resolved—
She would make sure to pick a really good pair of headphones for him.