"That should be about done."
In an empty room, Shirou, wearing a light white shirt, was assembling a metal rack with tools in hand.
"Good work, Here have some water."
Looking a bit dusty herself, Rope handed him a cup of water.
Nearby, several younger children were also helping assemble things.
"Thanks. How is it going over there?"
Shirou took the water and turned to check on the situation.
A few rough-looking men walked in carrying a large table. Aside from the leader, who was an Oni, the rest were Feline and Ursus.
"Should we put it here?"
The Oni man, with an unlit cigarette in his mouth, asked while holding the long table.
"Yeah, just place it there. Thanks for the help."
After confirming, Shirou directed them where to put it.
They seemed to be acquaintances of Jaye. Despite their fierce looks, they were actually pretty decent people.
They worked diligently and were considerate of the children.
Even though the man had a cigarette in his mouth, it was not lit. He said it was not appropriate to smoke around kids but he still needed something to satisfy the urge.
After placing and aligning the table, the group headed out again.
"Big sis Rope, we have cleaned everything over here!"
A brown-haired Feline girl ran up with a rag to report.
"That was fast! Alright, let's move on to this side."
Rope picked up cleaning tools and led some of the children to the newly placed table.
"I should better pick up the pace too."
Seeing how hardworking everyone was, Shirou started assembling the next rack.
This was the house Shirou had rented. After the landlord cleaned it, it was already quite tidy but the furniture however, had to be handled by Shirou himself.
The metal racks he was assembling were for displaying goods in the shop downstairs. The long tables brought in earlier would serve the same purpose.
With everyone working together, the once-empty room was gradually starting to look like a proper shop.
Aside from those rough-looking men, the rest helping were children doing simple tasks.
Sweeping, mopping, wiping tables, assembling furniture together and even the second floor had been cleaned thoroughly. Everyone was obedient.
There were dozens of children, all brought here by Rope.
With the help of Jaye and Hoshiguma, along with Rope is own information network, she had first compiled a list of homeless children and then went to find them one by one.
Kids who survived in the slums would not easily believe in such a "gift from heaven," so only those who truly could not survive anymore chose to trust Rope.
After all, they had nothing left to lose.
More than half of them already knew Rope, after all they were all children from the same slums.
Rope had informed both Shirou and Jaye about all of this and Jaye would pass it along to Hoshiguma.
"How is the progress?"
Jaye's lazy voice came from the shop entrance. Shirou, who was finishing up, looked over and saw him.
The children seemed quite afraid of Jaye so he did not step inside.
Strangely, they had not reacted much to those fierce-looking men earlier, yet they were suddenly scared of Jaye. Were they not all intimidating-looking?
Shirou could not figure it out, so he stepped outside to talk to Jaye.
"What brings you here? What about your stall?"
He asked curiously, since Jaye would normally still be busy with his seafood stall at this hour.
"I closed up for today and also I brought some food for you guys too. I saw you all going back and forth earlier and it looked tiring."
Jaye shook the bag in his hand.
Inside were assorted snacks, likely bought from the market.
"Thanks, that is really considerate. Do you want to come in and sit?"
Shirou asked. Although the children were scared of Jaye is appearance, that kind of fear usually disappeared after a bit of familiarity.
At least, that is what Shirou believed.
"…Hmm."
Thinking about how scared the kids looked earlier, Jaye hesitated.
"Come help me out while you are at it."
Understanding his concern, Shirou pointed at the unassembled racks.
"…Alright."
Since Shirou insisted, Jaye agreed.
After having Rope distribute the food among everyone, Shirou and Jaye assembled racks together while chatting.
"The kids seem pretty well-behaved."
Thinking about how they had looked at him timidly earlier, Jaye felt this batch of kids were quite obedient.
"Are you sure it is not just your scary face keeping them in line?"
"Do you not think that is a bit harsh?"
"Take care of them for two days and you will understand what I mean."
"Yeah, I will pass. I am not good with kids."
Hearing that, Jaye could roughly imagine what Shirou had been going through these past few days.
He did not have time to get involved anyway, he still had to set up his fish ball stall later at the park.
"Shame. If you took care of them, they would probably all become obedient in no time."
Shirou said regretfully. With Jaye around, it would only take a day to get the kids completely in line.
"I knew you were thinking that. Are they usually that troublesome?"
"Not really. I just did not expect taking care of kids to be this exhausting. Without Rope helping, it would be even harder."
"Yeah, little Rope is pretty serious about this."
Watching Rope standing among the children like a big sister figure, Jaye found it hard to connect her current self with how she used to be.
Compared to the past when she struggled just to survive she now smiled much more.
Though, it still looked a bit forced.
"Yeah. She is handling most of the work. Turn your head for a second and everything is already done, she is super efficient…" Shirou paused, then sighed helplessly. "It is just that her old habits have not changed yet. She still sneaks things from me whenever I am not paying attention…"
"Ahaha… well, it is a habit she has had for a long time. She is probably trying to fix it little by little."
Faced with this situation, Jaye could not really do anything about it.
"She does return them right away, but this cannot go on forever. I need to come up with something…"
Shirou thought for a moment and came up with what he considered a pretty good idea.
"How about this, every time she takes something, I make her eat her own cooking?"
This idea came from how he dealt with Exusiai and Croissant before. Compared to those two, Rope was not picky about food and her biggest joy right now was eating what he cooked.
So Shirou figured that if Rope did it again, he would make her eat her own cooking. And the same rule would apply to anyone else who messed up.
Perfect!
"…Are you a demon?"
Seeing how satisfied Shirou looked with his own plan, Jaye's impression of him began to crumble.
From a righteous, kind-hearted good guy… into a righteous but scheming one.
"You have got to manage it somehow, right?"
Shirou did not care at all about being called a demon.
After all, Croissant had already dubbed him the "Great Demon King."
"When you put it that way… I just hope little Rope does not break down when she hears this."
Jaye was convinced, even if the method was a bit cruel, it was ultimately for Rope's sake.
Her pickpocketing skills were practically ingrained into her instincts. Even when just passing by someone unconsciously, she might end up grabbing a valuable item or two.
"I am not starving her or anything, I am just making her cook for herself."
Hearing Jaye's reaction, Shirou felt like his reputation was being unfairly damaged.
"It is precisely this kind of unintentional 'persecution' that is the scariest. By the way, will everyone usually sleep on the second floor?"
Jaye decided to change the subject. If they kept going, Shirou might come up with even more terrifying ideas.
He was still pure and he did not want to hear any more of this.
"Hm? Yeah, everyone sleeps upstairs on floor bedding."
Shirou did not mind the abrupt topic shift. They were just chatting while assembling racks anyway.
Jaye had helped out a lot here, so it was natural for him to care about these things.
"The upstairs has wooden flooring, right? Then it should be fine. Do you still have enough money left?"
"After buying the medicine, there is still some left. It is enough."
"Medicine? Do you mean Oripathy inhibitors? You even bought those?"
Hearing that Shirou had prepared medicine too, Jaye was stunned.
Those inhibitors were extremely expensive. Even relatively well-off families could go bankrupt buying them if someone got infected.
"I did not buy many, only enough for the more serious cases."
Shirou sighed. The inhibitors were truly costly, buying just a few doses had already cost over ten thousand Lungmen coins.
For many people, that was more than a month's salary and it was gone in an instant.
Among everyone, the most serious case was probably Rope. One of the girls who often stayed by her side had mentioned that Rope had recently started showing signs of Oripathy flare-ups.
"Normally, people would not even consider providing medication… Shirou, is this really worth it?"
Jaye asked again, even though he had brought it up before.
Back then, it was just about providing food and shelter. But medicine was a whole different level.
If word got out, the pressure on Shirou would increase drastically and it might even put him in danger.
People driven to desperation were terrifying. And infected individuals pushed to that point were even more dangerous, even seasoned fighters would find them troublesome.
"There is no 'worth it' or not. I just want to do it."
Shirou shrugged.
Rather than overthinking and hesitating, he preferred to act first.
Money could be solved later and he still had some savings for emergencies.
"As long as you know what you are doing. But be careful when using the medicine and try not to let it spread around."
Seeing Shirou's resolve had not changed, Jaye gave up trying to persuade him and simply reminded him.
"Do not worry. I will make sure they take it without noticing."
Shirou had already thought about that.
"…If I did not know you were talking about inhibitors, I would report you to the Guard Department."
Jaye could not help but comment.
Anyone hearing that without context would definitely misunderstand.
"???"
Shirou had no idea what was wrong with what he said.
"It is nothing. Those big guys outside are back, you should go take care of that."
Seeing Shirou in confusion, Jaye found it a bit amusing.
Then he noticed several men outside carrying more furniture. He recognized them, they were people Hoshiguma knew.
Originally, they were just supposed to keep an eye on things but for some reason they had jumped in to help directly.
"Alright, I will go handle it. You take a break."
Following Jaye's gaze, Shirou saw them and headed over.
"Thanks for the hard work. Just put those here, I will check them first."
Looking at the large cabinet they carried, Shirou asked them to set it down so he could inspect it.
It was too big, if something was wrong after moving it inside, it would be a hassle to carry it out again.
To outsiders, it looked like he was carefully checking the cabinet.
But in reality, it was just a cover and his hand was on it using magecraft to inspect its internal structure.
After confirming everything was fine, he helped them move it inside.
"That is the last one."
The Oni man in the lead wiped his sweat.
They had originally just been watching from the side. But seeing Shirou and a group of kids hauling furniture under the scorching sun made them feel bad so they stepped in to help.
Their excuse was simple, they said Jaye had sent them.
"Thanks for helping out in this heat."
After confirming all the necessary furniture was in place, Shirou took a few bottles of cold water from a small fridge in the back and handed them out.
"It is not a big deal. We are used to this kind of heat."
The Oni man forced a smile on his fierce-looking face and then quickly dropped it when he realized how intimidating it looked.
The others chuckled at him, only to get smacked on the head one by one. Then he handed Shirou a slip of paper.
"We live nearby. If anything comes up, contact us."
"Got it."
Shirou accepted it. There was no reason to refuse their goodwill.
He would find a chance later to cook a proper meal to thank them for their help today.
After seeing them off, Shirou stood at the shop entrance, looking at the still somewhat empty space.
He knew very well that there would be a lot more work ahead.
But hearing the children laughing inside, he felt that this was just fine.
Even if it was something small, being able to help others was enough to make him satisfied.
"Ah! Finally finished!"
After placing the last item onto the shelf, Rope rubbed her sore waist.
The children around her also found places to rest, they had spent the entire day putting all the goods onto the shelves.
These goods were something Shirou had carefully thought over before bringing in. Most of them were daily necessities. What puzzled Rope, however, was why cups that looked identical in appearance and material had completely different prices.
When she asked Shirou about it, he only gave an awkward smile and said things would return to normal after the shop stabilized.
It was not just the cups, the kettles, bowls, plates, and many similar items had the same issue.
Seeing that Shirou did not want to explain, she did not press further, she just assumed that they were defective goods he had obtained through some channel.
As for the name "Fuyuki Shop," it was chosen by Shirou. Originally, everyone wanted to directly use "Shirou" as the shop name after translating it into Lungmen language, but he felt it was a bit awkward, so they settled on "Fuyuki" instead.
However, after deciding the name, Rope seemed to hear him mutter, "Guess I cannot use gas explosions anymore."
To this day, she still did not understand what that meant but she did not ask.
If Shirou did not say something, she would not ask. Being given food and shelter was already more than enough. Unless it concerned them directly, knowing too much was not necessarily a good thing.
At least, that was how things worked in the slums.
"Are you all done? I have finished cooking over here too."
Shirou's voice came from the other side. As the door opened, a rich aroma instantly filled the entire shop, making both the children and Rope who had worked all day feel hungry.
The first floor of Fuyuki Shop was divided into two main sections.
One side was the shop area where Rope and the others were now. Thanks to everyone's efforts it had become a neat and proper storefront.
The other side was the kitchen. It used to be part of a restaurant so the kitchen and space were quite large.
After some modifications, the kitchen became more standard but it now had a very large table.
Over the past few days, whenever he had time at noon, Shirou would come cook. However, due to the number of people and budget constraints, he usually made thick soup with bread.
He would add vegetables into the soup so it would not feel too plain, cooking a large pot that could also be reheated for dinner.
All of this was paid from his reserve funds. There were still some funds left and they were enough to last until next month.
"Today's dish is scale-beast soup. Your Uncle Jaye brought quite a bit of meat for you as a treat. If you see him next time, make sure to thank him properly."
Shirou filled bowl after bowl of soup, handing them to the children and guiding them to sit down.
Since it was a large group, they had to wait for Rope to call the start of the meal before eating.
"Good work."
Seeing how well Rope managed the children, Shirou was impressed.
At the beginning, the kids were quite mischievous. Now look at them, they were so well-behaved!
As for the rumors he heard at the market about kids being hung from the second floor, he chose to pretend he had not heard anything.
"Hehe."
Rope showed a proud expression at the praise.
These past few days felt like heaven to her.
Not just for her but for everyone.
Having food and a place to stay was already enough to make them content.
Of course, some kids just could not control their hands or thoughts and tried to do risky things so she had hung a few of the more mischievous ones up with her rope. The results were very effective.
The only problem was… she herself was also a bit mischievous.
She could not control her own hands and before she knew it, she had already picked up somebody's wallet.
Fortunately, she had not gone out much recently, so her "targets" were limited to Shirou, Jaye, and occasionally Phal who came to help.
Phal was the Oni man who had helped move furniture a few days ago. He seemed to live on the second floor across the street and often came by to help with heavy work.
"Yo, is it lunchtime?"
…And to freeload meals.
A tall Oni man stood at the kitchen entrance with a bright smile, though it still looked a bit intimidating.
The children were already used to it. After all, no one looked scarier than Jaye, so they had built immunity.
Everyone continued eating, with one sip of soup and one bite of bread enjoying their meal.
"Phal, you are here again?"
Shirou was not surprised.
Aside from the first day when Phal brought many people, he had since come alone each time. He seemed to like children, though his imposing presence made it hard for them to approach.
Once you were familiar with him he was actually easy to get along with but he was just a bit fond of snatching food.
Another one drawn by the aroma.
"Of course. It is the same as usual and I brought some good stuff."
As he spoke, Phal pulled out a big bag of snacks and biscuits.
The children visibly perked up and even Rope looked a bit excited.
"Just leave it aside, we will have it as afternoon snacks."
After checking that the snacks could be stored for a while, Shirou told Phal to set them aside and helped him serve himself a bowl of soup.
He also gave him his portion of bread.
"Thanks."
Phal did not stand on ceremony.
Dipping the bread into the soup, he took a big bite.
The fragrance of the bread mixed with the rich, creamy soup instantly wiped away half a day is fatigue.
He took a few more sips, the scale-beast meat inside was well-seasoned, warming his whole body.
"Whoa…"
Watching Phal devour everything in no time, Rope who had barely taken a few bites began to wonder if he had not eaten for days.
…Wait, no. He had freeloaded just yesterday. Never mind.
"I just took a look earlier, are you really sticking with that shop setup? Would it not be better if you just sold your cooking?"
After eating his fill, Phal lowered his voice and asked Shirou.
"The prep work is too complicated. The shop is mainly to give them something to do."
Shirou shook his head and gestured toward his hands.
"I see… Not sure if these daily goods can cover expenses though."
Phal quickly understood, he had been oversimplifying things.
It was not his fault, he was not the type to think deeply about these matters. But with a bit of explanation, he got it and quickly changed the subject.
After all, he knew Rope had sharp ears.
"That part should be fine…"
Shirou said, though he felt a bit guilty.
Some of the goods were actually projections.
But only things like bowls and plates which were items that would not disappear unless completely destroyed. Even if they broke, they would not leave fragments.
In a way… they were practically perfect household items.