In the end, just as Hoshiguma was about to grab a fourth piece, Swire finally ended the "meeh meeh war," rushed back to her seat, and snatched the lunchbox behind her.
"Did I not say two pieces?! Why did you take more?!"
"Sorry, sorry. The scene just now was too good" Hoshiguma waved it off casually. Watching the chaos, Penguin Logistics on one side and dragon-vs-tiger on the other had been very entertaining.
"You…"
Swire had a lot she wanted to say to Hoshiguma, but she held it back.
"Mmm, it is pretty tasty."
From behind, Chen casually took a piece and bit into it. She had not eaten all day either, and now that Swire had conveniently brought the food right in front of her… perfect timing.
Overall, it tasted great, it was just a bit cold. It would have been crispier fresh out of the fryer.
Still, somehow it tasted even better knowing it came from Swire's box.
"Ahhh! You damn dragon, are you stealing my food?!"
Realizing she was being attacked from both sides, Swire hurriedly hugged the lunchbox to her chest. She was now under siege from front and back.
"…Is it always like this here?"
Watching the scene unfold, Shirou turned to Exusiai and asked. He had expected something like this, but still was the Guard Department not supposed to be a serious place? These three "big shots" did not seem that different from Penguin Logistics…
"It is only like this when there is no work. When they are on duty, they are actually very serious."
Sora explained, since Exusiai and Croissant were too busy enjoying the show. Scenes like this, watching the Guard Department's top three fight over food were rare.
Also, Sora felt the need to salvage Shirou's impression of the Guard Department. Otherwise, he might just think Lungmen was full of weird people.
"…Yeah, I kind of get it."
Thinking back to how Swire had grilled him before, Shirou understood. Work is work, personal time is personal time, they were serious when needed and relaxed otherwise.
Even if Swire and Hoshiguma looked ridiculous now, he remembered clearly how serious they were on the job.
"…If there is nothing else, we will head out?"
Texas finally spoke up. After a long day of work, being chased, and then lectured by Chen, all she wanted now was a shower and bed.
"Chen, are you done over there?" Hoshiguma asked.
"More or less. You can go. And do not come back."
Chen waved them off, clearly hoping not to see them again even though everyone knew that was unrealistic.
"Let's keep in touch."
Swire waved at Shirou. She already had a plan forming, she had to get that char siu rice.
"Meeeeh meeeeh meeeeh!"
Croissant and Exusiai jumped in front of Shirou, blocking Swire. They had not forgotten that this woman had ulterior motives!
"…Have they been assimilated?"
Shirou muttered.
Watching the two bleat like sheep, he felt it was time to leave before he started doing it too.
And with that, he was dragged—no, practically carried out by the others.
"So that is the one you have got your eye on?" Chen asked after they left.
Now that Shirou was gone, she could finally ask what she had been curious about.
"Did you not read the file? Why are you asking me?" Swire clicked her tongue.
She was still annoyed that her recruitment plan had already been exposed by Hoshiguma.
Chen only knew the basics from reports, but Swire and Hoshiguma had actually met and talked with him.
"Hmm… you have quite the temper. Hurry up and finish your work."
Chen did not press further. Whether talent or informant, as long as he was not a problem, that was enough.
Though if even Hoshiguma approved of him, he was probably fine.
"Yeah yeah, get out already."
Swire started shooing people away, she wanted to finish up quickly… and then properly enjoy the remaining fried pieces.
"Chen, Missy… honestly…"
Hoshiguma sighed. Without Penguin Logistics around, the chaos felt incomplete.
Still it was not a total loss, now she knew where to find great drinking snacks: Shirou.
Too bad he did not drink. Otherwise, she could just get him drunk and drag him into the Guard Department.
Meanwhile, in the Penguin Logistics car—
"…The wind is a bit strong."
Shirou had finally won the front passenger seat from Exusiai.
But… the experience was not great.
"Ahhh! The Guard Department went too far! They just removed all our windows?!"
Exusiai wailed from the back seat.
The windshield was still there, but the side and rear windows had been removed for "evidence collection."
She was convinced this was retaliation.
"Just endure it…ptui ptui! Something flew into my mouth!"
Croissant started speaking, only to immediately regret it as something got blown straight in.
"It cannot be helped, There are still crossbow bolts stuck in the frame. At least the Guard Department knew we needed the car, so they just removed the windows instead of taking the whole thing…"
"…otherwise they would have taken the whole car. Then we would not even be able to drive it back."
Sora, sitting on the left side did not have that problem, her window was still intact. The only issue was the strong wind blowing in from the right, forcing her to hold up her jacket to block it, just in case she ended up like Croissant.
"So, we go straight back?" Texas asked from the driver's seat.
She had no such issues, her window was fine and the wind was blowing toward the back anyway.
But she clearly remembered that their dinner had already "fallen into the tiger's mouth." If they went straight back now, would there even be anything left to eat?
At this point, she could only hope there were still some instant noodles left upstairs.
Ever since Shirou arrived, Penguin Logistics had not restocked instant noodles. And with Croissant occasionally cooking some late at night when she got hungry… who knew if there were any left.
"Yeah, let's head straight back. We can just reheat the food a bit and eat it. I originally thought you guys would be back at the dorm by the time I finished cooking… I did not expect things to turn out like this."
Shirou, in the passenger seat handed a cloth to Croissant in the back so she could block the wind.
"What?! So you were lying to us just now, Shirou? That is evil!"
Croissant immediately realized she had been tricked earlier and when she remembered what she did at the Guard Department…
Damn it! She was going to eat all of it to heal her wounded heart!
"Haha…"
Shirou laughed awkwardly.
He had intended to keep scaring them a bit longer, making them think there was no food left but after seeing the condition of the car, he gave up.
Using explosives must have been due to the emergency, so it could not be helped.
At least from what Hoshiguma said, Penguin Logistics did pay attention to where they used explosives. Only the criminals and half a road in Lungmen got damaged.
"Then let's just go back. We will let Yith handle the car later."
Knowing there was food waiting back at the dorm instantly lifted Texas's mood.
After returning, the first thing everyone did was wash up. After a full day of work and that sandstorm ride back they were all a mess.
Shirou, however, was not in much of a hurry. Sitting in the front had spared him most of the dust.
He went to re-fry the previously prepared fried beasts. Since they had not been sitting out too long and had not absorbed much moisture, a quick second fry was enough.
As for the noisy chatter coming from the changing room, Shirou took a deep breath, closed the kitchen door, and focused on cooking.
The re-fried pieces were not quite as good as fresh out of the fryer, but they were still far better than cold food.
With a simple vegetable garnish, a large plate of fried pieces was placed on the table and instantly, all four members of Penguin Logistics lit up.
Even Sora, who did not usually like fried food, looked very interested.
"Whoa! This aroma! This juice! This is amazing!"
Croissant skewered a piece and bit in, completely blissful.
Her favorite food plus Shirou's cooking, this was beyond 1 + 1 = 2. Right now, nothing else existed in her mind except this plate of fried goodness.
"Croissant, you are exaggerating a bit…"
Even Shirou found it a bit much. This was not some gourmet anime, did she really need to react like that?
"Well… it is Croissant."
Sora said casually, taking a bite herself. Not as dramatic as Croissant but Shirou could clearly see the satisfied expression on her face.
Meanwhile, Exusiai and Texas were already fighting over the food. If not for fear of Shirou scolding them, they might have just pounced on the plate.
"…Well, this is nice too."
Seeing everyone enjoy it, Shirou stopped overthinking. He did not even bother joining the fight, there were still marinated drumsticks in the fridge anyway. If he was not full later, he could just fry more.
After eating their fill, everyone leaned back in their chairs, satisfied.
"Ah… Shirou, you really can do everything. Even fried food tastes this good."
Exusiai patted her stomach, it definitely felt bigger now.
At this rate, she would become a "chubby angel."
"Agreed."
Texas nodded. Everything was great though she felt something was missing… it would have been perfect with bones to gnaw on.
"Croissant, where is 'That'?"
Sora, who had more self-control and had not overeaten, reminded her about the gift.
She was really curious, what kind of headphones had Croissant picked?
"Here, here!"
Snapping out of her food coma, Croissant pulled out a gift box from under her chair.
"Hmm? Is it someone's birthday?"
Seeing the wrapped box, Shirou's first thought was that it was someone's birthday.
"It is no one's birthday. We all chipped in to buy this for you."
Croissant placed the gift box in front of Shirou with a serious expression.
She could not wait to see him wearing the headphones!
"It is…For me?"
Shirou looked confused.
His birthday was coming up but he had not told anyone here about it.
"You seemed a bit troubled lately, and also, this is to thank you for taking care of us. So we pooled money to get it! …Though Croissant went ahead and bought it first."
Exusiai explained, while making sure to emphasize Croissant's "solo move", just in case something went wrong so she could shift the blame.
She still had not forgotten how all her research got completely invalidated.
"I see… then, thank you."
Shirou nodded, finally understanding.
"Go on, open it. See if it fits."
Texas handed him a pair of scissors. Not that he necessarily needed them but it was about ceremony.
And ceremony was important.
"Alright."
Taking the scissors, Shirou carefully opened the package.
A dark red box and inside were matching dark red headphones.
Croissant had chosen them based on his hair color, thinking it would suit him better.
But Shirou still felt something was… off.
"…Lupo headphones?"
"CROISSANT!!!"
Exusiai screamed the moment she saw them.
Sora tried not to laugh.
And the culprit, Croissant, was already caught by Texas with no chance of escape.