Rope sat down on the chair. After sprinting all the way here, she was indeed a bit tired. More importantly, the job benefits Jaye mentioned sounded too good, it had food and lodging included. Even without pay, that alone would already be amazing.
After all, even the Guard Department's prison provided food and lodging… the only downside was the ideological education. If not for that, she would happily live there every day!
"The boss is right in front of you, you talk to him yourself."
Seeing a customer arrive, Jaye immediately handed Rope over to Shirou to handle.
He was not worried that she would run away. With such generous conditions, as long as the job was not too dangerous Rope would definitely accept it.
"Huh? The boss?"
Rope looked at Shirou beside her and froze for a moment.
"It is fine, I am not in a hurry. We can wait until Jaye finishes… By the way, have you eaten lunch?"
Seeing her hesitation, Shirou thought she might not be used to talking to strangers so he decided to wait until Jaye returned before continuing.
It was normal for infected children to distrust others so Shirou did not mind.
He still had some rice balls left in the lunchbox, so he gently pushed it toward her, trying to communicate in a friendly way.
"Then I will wait for Jaye and I have not eaten yet."
Rope shook her head. Waiting for Jaye was obviously better for her, so she did not refuse.
As for the lunchbox… she had just seen Jaye eating quite happily. It should be fine, right?
"Do not be shy, Jaye and I have already eaten."
Shirou nudged the lunchbox closer and poured her a cup of tea.
"Then I will not hold back."
In the end, appetite won over caution. Rope grabbed a rice ball and took a big bite.
Delicious.
That was her first thought. Forgive her lack of vocabulary, she could not think of any other way to describe it.
She finished one in just a few bites, almost choking. Grabbing the tea Shirou poured, she gulped it down and finally felt better.
"Take it slow, no one is going to steal it from you."
Seeing how hurriedly she ate, Shirou found it a bit amusing and poured her another cup of tea.
"Phew… did you… make this?"
After the second cup, Rope felt much better. She usually only ate once a day and she did not expect to get such a good free lunch today.
She had only meant to make small talk to ease the awkwardness, but then realized that she did not even know his name.
That made things very awkward.
"Just call me Shirou. And yes, I made the rice balls."
Noticing her embarrassment, Shirou introduced himself simply.
This kind of start felt nice. Thinking about it, most of the people he met in Lungmen had not been through normal introductions.
Picked up off the street, met in a fire, encountered during an arrest… it seemed only Jaye had been a normal acquaintance. This pattern of social interaction was honestly hard to describe.
Even then, he only got familiar with Jaye because of reporting to Hoshiguma.
"Just call me Rope. Jaye said you provide three meals and lodging, is that true?"
With the boost from good food, Rope felt Shirou was not as scary as she first thought and started talking more naturally.
"That is right."
Seeing her open up, Shirou finally relaxed.
Talking to someone on guard required a lot of care and he was worried he might accidentally say something wrong.
But now it seemed fine. Once again, he could not help but marvel at the power of food.
"What kind of work is it? Where will I live? And will you cook all three meals?!"
Rope fired off all her questions at once. The first two mattered, but her real focus was clearly on the last one.
She had done all kinds of exhausting jobs before and lived in terrible housing, so no matter how bad those were, she could endure it.
Her only real wish was to eat something good.
"Uh… let's take it one at a time. The job is…"
Faced with her excitement, Shirou gestured for her to calm down and began explaining the general idea.
It was still just a concept, but the work itself probably would not change much.
While Shirou explained the job and benefits, Jaye who had finished working picked up his phone to send a message.
The recipient was Hoshiguma.
After all, since she had asked him to keep an eye on Shirou, he had to inform her if Shirou planned to act in the slums.
Moreover, doing something like this would inevitably attract attention from the gangs, since it would interfere with some of their interests.
Jaye did not really understand gang matters. Despite his many strange nicknames, one even calling him the "Controller of Lungmen's Underworld" he was really just a civilian.
After briefly explaining Shirou's plan and sending it to Hoshiguma, Jaye put away his phone and walked back.
He also wanted another rice ball but just as he arrived, Shirou had finished explaining and Rope was… criticizing him.
"Are you an idiot?"
After hearing everything, that was Rope's first reaction.
In her view, only idiots would do something so thankless.
"I guess… maybe… yeah?"
Shirou knew his actions looked foolish to others, but hearing it said so bluntly still felt a bit awkward.
"But someone like that… you do not actually dislike him, right, Rope?"
Seeing her complain, Jaye grabbed another rice ball with his freshly washed hands and spoke.
"Ugh… I guess I do not hate it."
Called out so directly, Rope replied awkwardly.
She had just reacted out of habit. After surviving so long in the slums, she was not used to such sudden kindness.
But as Jaye said, she did not actually dislike people like that.
"So, Rope… will you take the job?"
Shirou asked.
If she did not want to, he would not force her.
"I will take it! There's no way I would pass up a job this good! No one better try to take it from me!"
Rope slammed the table and stood up.
This was easily the best job she had ever seen and Shirou even said he would give her an extra 1,000 Lungmen coins each month as allowance!
That was 1,000! Her entire savings probably did not even reach that amount!
"Looks like it is settled"
Jaye, chewing on a rice ball, watched the scene and figured things were pretty much decided.
Shirou now had his answer and manpower too. The rest would take time anyway.
After all, Jaye himself was busy with the seafood stall in the morning and fish ball stall at night while occasionally acting as Hoshiguma's informant.
He was a model citizen of Lungmen… aside from his somewhat intimidating face.
"Yeah, if Rope has no issues, then that's about it. I will have to trouble you with the rest, Jaye."
With things settled, Shirou let out a sigh of relief.
The hardest part had been finding a place in the slums but Jaye had already solved that, along with the manpower problem.
Originally, Shirou thought that hiring help would cost a large sum of Lungmen coins.
But it turned out to be far less than he expected. Being able to resolve things so smoothly was truly a relief.
"Hehe! Here is my contact info, just notify me when it is time to start work."
Rope left her phone number behind. Her phone was probably the most valuable thing she owned.
Even though it was an outdated model long abandoned by mainstream Lungmen, to Rope, it was still very expensive.
"…"
Looking at the slip of paper she handed over, Shirou quietly accepted it without saying anything.
The reason was simple, her handwriting was too messy and he could not read it.
He was already thinking of asking Jaye for it later. After all, Rope had been contacted through Jaye's phone.
"Shirou, are you going to eat the rest?"
Jaye pointed at the remaining rice balls.
"No, you can have them."
Shirou shook his head. He had already eaten one, just having something in his stomach was enough. The lunchbox had mainly been brought for Jaye anyway.
"Then give them to Rope. I do not think she is full yet."
Though a bit reluctant, Jaye knew Rope needed the food more than he did.
There would be chances to eat again later so there was no need to rush.
"Really?!"
Hearing that, Rope's eyes lit up.
She had only eaten two and still felt unsatisfied but she remembered to leave some for them.
But now Shirou said he would not eat and Jaye wanted to give the rest to her.
She had been way too lucky lately!
"If Jaye says so, then Rope, you can take them all."
Shirou had not expected Jaye to give everything to Rope, but it was a good idea, so he agreed.
"Alright, I will get something for you to pack the riceballs, the lunchbox belongs to Shirou."
With that, Jaye found a clean container for her to take them.
"Then I will get going!"
Holding the packed rice balls, Rope said cheerfully.
"Eat them soon, do not leave them until night."
"Be careful on your way back."
Shirou and Jaye watched as Rope happily left, carrying the rice balls in her hands.
"…I will get my phone, her handwriting really is messy."
After she walked off, Jaye said to Shirou.
He had seen the note earlier and it looked like a child's scribbles.
"Alright, thanks for the trouble."
"No problem, it is nothing."
After finishing things there, Shirou also bought some seafood from Jaye and picked up additional ingredients at the market.
On the way back to the dorm, he kept thinking about everything that happened today.
Strictly speaking, it was a bit impulsive, getting a bit of money and suddenly wanting to do something like this.
But after everything was settled, all he felt was a sense of relief.
As he walked slowly, he suddenly heard a voice from behind—
"Ah! A wild Shirou appeared!"
Turning around, he saw a Penguin Logistics vehicle and Exusiai popping her head out of the sunroof, pointing at him.
"Did you finish shopping?"
The car pulled up beside him, and Texas rolled down the window to ask.
"Yeah, I just finished. Are you guys heading back?"
Shirou lifted the bag in his hand.
"Then come back with us! Texas and I just finished a delivery and were heading back to the dorm anyway."
Exusiai slid down from the sunroof and leaned toward him from the passenger seat.
Glancing at the back seat, Shirou did not see the other two.
Usually, Sora and Croissant had their own things to do, so deliveries were mostly handled by Exusiai and Texas. Only occasionally would all four take on a big job together, Shirou knew that much.
"Then I will ride with you."
Opening the back door, he placed his things inside before sitting down. Getting a ride was definitely more comfortable.
"What's for dinner today?"
Leaning back from the passenger seat to peek into the bag, Exusiai asked curiously.
"Let me think… probably mapo tofu and salted meat patties?"
Shirou pretended to think before answering.
Of course, he was just trying to scare her.
"Whaaat… Shirou, are you trying to make me starve tonight?"
Exusiai's cheerful face immediately fell, those were two dishes she hated most.
"Sounds good. Might teach you a lesson."
Texas commented from the side.
"Ahhh! Texas, turn right here, I need to buy a couple of apple pies to calm myself down!"
Feeling bullied, Exusiai demanded a detour.
"Hurry up, Shirou bought meat."
Used to her antics, Texas turned the car.
At times like this, it was best to just go along with her. If she kept going, the only solution would be pulling out a sword to make her shut up.
"It will keep for a while, there is no rush."
Perhaps he had been influenced by then, Now Shirou had grown quite used to Penguin Logistics' dynamic.
Though, preferably, as long as he was not the one being targeted.
"Shirou, do not spoil Exusiai too much."
Texas sighed.
It was exactly because Shirou indulged Exusiai and Croissant that they kept teasing him.
"Hey now, Texas, you cannot say that. it is not spoiling, it is just that Shirou is kind-hearted."
Exusiai grinned. She knew very well that she and Croissant could act like this because Shirou tolerated them.
If it were Texas, they would probably have been thrown out the dorm window long ago.
"Do I really spoil her that much? I think it is fine… most of the time she is just joking anyway."
Shirou thought for a moment before replying.
While Exusiai and Croissant were a bit wild, they were still adults and knew their limits.
Though occasionally, their thoughtless remarks were a bit too stimulating for him, a still-developing teenager.
"Sigh… just look at yourself, Exusiai."
Texas sighed again. Compared to Shirou, Exusiai seemed rather… degenerate for someone who was supposed to be an angel.
"Do not talk, just feel it in your heart."
Exusiai said knowingly, fully aware of what her partner was thinking.
"?"
Not understanding at all, Shirou could only tilt his head in confusion.