Morning, Penguin Logistics dorm.
Today was payday. Early in the morning, Shirou saw that everyone at Penguin Logistics had gotten up unusually early, gathering around the table with their phones in hand.
They looked exactly like a bunch of internet-addicted kids huddled together.
"Shirou, you are here? Come count the salaries with us."
Seeing Shirou walk out of the kitchen, Croissant waved him over.
"Salary? Is it today?"
Shirou had thought it would be later. After all, before the end of the month, he expected to see people lamenting over empty wallets.
That was how Fuji-nee usually was, sometimes she would even drag him out to find daily-pay part-time jobs.
He did not expect the pay to come this early.
"Yep. If there is no major mission, salaries get paid around this time. It depends on how many jobs we took this month!"
Exusiai clenched her fist as she spoke. Today's number determined how many apple pies she could eat this month!
Right now, all she hoped for was enough salary to afford apple pies…that was all she needed!
After all, the cost of etched ammunition was being deducted from this month's pay, and with the added expenses for explosives, she was not expecting much anymore!
As for meals? She would just leave that to Shirou!
"It is based on the number of jobs taken? Then it probably does not have much to do with me, right?"
Hearing that salary depended on job count, Shirou felt his pay probably wouldn't be very high.
After all, his work mainly involved taking care of meals and maintaining the dorm, occasionally accompanying them on longer trips, it was definitely not comparable to the four who actively took missions.
"That is fine, it is just for fun anyway. The ones with the most jobs are definitely Texas and Exusiai. Croissant and I have other work too, so we take fewer jobs."
Sora explained that gathering like this to check salaries was mostly just for fun and also a way to see who slacked off the most this month.
Though it would definitely be her and Croissant with fewer jobs, since she had idol work and Croissant had her stall business.
"Yeah, yeah, come on."
Croissant stepped forward and pulled Shirou over.
"Stop pulling, I can walk myself."
Looking at everyone's enthusiasm, Shirou knew he was definitely joining this strange little game.
Well, might as well. Penguin Logistics was a team and if he did not participate in these group activities, it would feel a bit off.
After stepping forward, Shirou noticed a problem.
"How do I check it?"
Having only used his phone for basic communication since getting it, Shirou had no idea how to check his salary.
"..."
His single sentence made everyone fall silent.
They had forgotten that Shirou was not very good with this kind of thing.
But it was an easy fix, just install Penguin Logistics' internal app.
The app was mainly used for grabbing jobs and posting internal updates. Since Shirou's main work didn't overlap much with theirs and other matters were usually handled by Yith and the four members he had never downloaded it.
Definitely not because he did not understand it and did not need it for daily use!
"That should do it."
After helping him set everything up, Texas handed the phone back to Shirou.
Strictly speaking, Shirou belonged to Texas's Penguin Logistics team, so some verification had to go through her. It was fastest for her to handle it.
"Uh… this looks… pretty trendy?"
Taking the phone from Texas, Shirou stared at the screen, a bit at a loss.
After thinking for a while, the only word he could come up with was "trendy."
The design looked great, if you did not think about the functions.
But he could not understand it.
Shirou felt like he was becoming more like Rin, completely lost when facing high-tech devices.
"Tap here, then here, and you are good. You can explore the rest on your own."
Seeing his predicament, Sora stepped in to help.
She tapped a few times on the screen, and his display now matched the others'.
"Thanks."
Watching himself need help just to use a phone, Shirou felt he really needed to spend some time learning how to use it properly.
"No problem. Later, we will all press this together to see it."
Sora pointed at the screen.
Meanwhile, Exusiai and Croissant watched the scene and quietly whispered:
"Hey, does this not look like a kid teaching their parents how to use a phone?"
"Hiss… now that you mention it, I can totally see it."
After hearing Croissant, Exusiai instantly imagined it and found it disturbingly accurate.
"I think you two are asking for trouble."
Watching them, Texas silently stepped aside, making sure she would not be mistaken as their accomplice.
"Hm? What are you guys doing?"
After finishing her explanation, Sora looked up and saw Texas subtly distancing herself from Exusiai and Croissant, completely confused.
"Nothing, nothing. Since you are ready, let's start! Put your phones on the table, then count to three and press together!"
Croissant waved it off and quickly explained the rules.
No way she would let Shirou hear what she just said, otherwise they might not get any meat for the next few days!
Eating vegetarian was fine, she could accept that. What she feared most was Shirou only serving Croissant bread.
"Got it."
Shirou placed his phone on the table as instructed.
"Alright! Three!"
Croissant immediately said "three" and pressed the button. The others followed instantly.
"Huh? What about one and two?!"
Before Shirou could react, everyone had already pressed it, and he hurriedly followed.
"Do not worry about it, small stuff."
Exusiai was already used to this kind of thing, it was not important.
What mattered now was checking everyone's results. This little game was something they looked forward to every month.
After all, this was Penguin Logistics, fun was what mattered.
The screens on the table updated. They first looked at Texas and Exusiai—the two who worked tirelessly taking jobs, then Croissant and Sora, and finally Shirou.
"52,000, 30,000, 33,000, 27,000, 10,000… yep, as expected, Texas got the most again. Same as usual then!"
Croissant quickly tallied the numbers and confirmed Texas had the highest salary.
After all, she and Exusiai took the most jobs. But because of various deductions, Exusiai often earned less, leaving Texas as the frequent "salary champion" of Penguin Logistics.
As for Croissant's "same as usual," it simply meant the winner would treat everyone to drinks after work, it was just a small gesture.
After all, the champion earned the most.
"Nice! The boss did not dock my salary to nothing!"
Originally prepared to have her salary completely deducted, Exusiai was overjoyed when she saw she still had 30,000 left, she was practically about to pounce on Texas beside her.
"Looks like I can finally afford that thing I had my eye on."
Texas, on the other hand, was much calmer. This month's pay was on the higher side probably because they had taken on several dangerous jobs, which added extra bonuses.
"Hm? Shirou, your number… is it not a bit strange?"
Sora noticed something off and leaned in closer to carefully examine Shirou's phone screen.
Seeing her reaction, the other three also crowded over, squeezing Shirou out of the way.
"???"
Shirou, who got pushed aside, looked completely confused, he had still been looking at everyone else's screens!
"Lungmen profanity Am I seeing this right? Is that 100,000?"
Croissant picked up the phone and stared at it from different angles, as if trying to confirm whether she was hallucinating.
That was 100,000! Equivalent to two months of Texas working diligently!
Equivalent to more than three months of her own salary.
"No, I need to ask."
Exusiai grabbed her phone and directly called Yith.
If it was a mistake, that would be troublesome and they needed to report it.
But if it was not a mistake… then for the next month, she was definitely going to cling tightly to Shirou for food!
"Put it on speaker."
Texas said.
"Is it really that serious?"
Seeing how excited Exusiai and Croissant were, Shirou asked Sora, who had also been pushed aside.
"It depends. There was a similar case before and the outcome was pretty bad. But the boss and Yith are easier to talk to, so they would probably just deduct it from future pay. Either way, it is best to confirm."
Sora explained briefly.
There had been a case where the company mistakenly paid someone extra. The person thought it was a bonus and spent it all only to later find out it was an error. Supposedly, they had to work for months without pay to make up for it.
When working away from home, it's always better to be cautious.
But at Penguin Logistics, it was probably just a matter of reporting it, it was most likely just an accidental overpayment.
"I see."
After hearing Sora's explanation, Shirou understood why everyone was so nervous.
Though in his mind, a large portion of that money would probably go toward their future food expenses anyway.
"Shh—"
Exusiai turned on speaker mode and signaled everyone to be quiet.
"This is Yith. How can I help you?"
After the call connected, Yith's voice came through. Even early in the morning, his tone remained as friendly as ever.
"Um… is there something off about Shirou's salary?"
Exusiai got straight to the point.
"Shirou's salary? Let me check… No, there are no issues. It is 100,000."
"Seriously…"
Exusiai had already decided that she was going to cling to Shirou for food this entire month! That way, she could spend her own money on games!
Awesome!
"Um… does that 100,000 include our upcoming food expenses?"
Shirou asked cautiously, since it concerned everyone's meals.
"No. This is purely your salary. The boss added it specially. Food expenses will still be paid from the usual card."
Yith replied.
"But… is that not a bit too much?"
Even though more money was good, Shirou did not feel his workload justified that amount. After all, everyone else worked so hard and did not earn nearly as much.
"…This is what the boss said: 'Unless it's a critical situation, we will not be deploying Shirou.'"
Hearing his question, Yith mimicked the boss's tone.
"What does that mean?"
Shirou did not understand.
Could they not just say things plainly instead of speaking in riddles?
"Ahem—it means the boss highly values your combat ability."
Yith quickly rephrased it more directly.
"Combat ability… I understand."
Hearing that, Shirou recalled what the boss had told him during their last gathering. Aside from his housekeeping salary, the rest was likely payment for protecting everyone.
Though it still felt like a lot but since it came from the boss, it should be fine.
"Good. If there are no more questions, I will get back to work."
After confirming that Shirou understood, Yith asked.
What Yith did not mention was that with Shirou's abilities, he could earn even more elsewhere.
That was why the boss paid extra, partly to keep him and partly because he saw him as worth investing in.
"There are no more questions."
Texas looked around to confirm no one else had questions, then answered.
After the call ended, Shirou immediately sensed something was wrong and took a few steps back.
The next second, Exusiai and Croissant lunged at where he had just been standing.
"Boss, carry me!"
Croissant tried to secure some "investment."
"And take care of me too!"
Exusiai aimed to secure her food supply for the next month.
Unfortunately, both of them missed and collided into each other.
"You two…"
Watching their shameless behavior, even Texas felt embarrassed for them.
"Just ignore them."
Sora stepped between them and Shirou.
She knew Shirou was kind and if Exusiai and Croissant played pitiful, they might actually be able to borrow money from him. Before, it did not matter since he did not have much money.
But now it was different, he had a large sum and he did not usually spend much. Naturally, the two had set their sights on him.
"Cut it out, you two. And Shirou, do not lend them any money."
Seeing the situation, Texas stopped them and specifically warned Shirou.
After all, Exusiai and Croissant were n'o truly poor.
One spent heavily on guns and wanted to acquire more, leaving her constantly short on cash.
The other wanted to expand her stall business, but sometimes ended up losing money.
In the past, Texas and Sora might have helped them financially.
But now, with meals covered by the boss and cooked by Shirou, the two only wanted to borrow money to live more comfortably.
"Yeah, I understand."
Shirou nodded.
Though in his view, Exusiai and Croissant were mostly just joking around. Even so, he would not lend money lightly.
After all, he had plans ahead that required money and this amount was enough to support his idea.