Shirou chatted with the old man… or rather, Mr. Lin, for quite a while.
The name only came up after they had talked for some time. At first, Shirou did not know how to address him, so the man mentioned that his surname was Lin.
So Shirou addressed him as "Mr. Lin," and also introduced himself.
For some reason, when Shirou mentioned his own name, the old man chuckled, his hand rubbing the dragon head on his cane.
It is worth mentioning that Shirou used Lungmen language when saying his name, since many people of Mr. Lin's age were not very receptive to newer things.
Still, Shirou did not sense any ill intent. He assumed the old man had simply thought of something amusing.
Although the dragon-headed cane was well maintained, Shirou could tell that the dragon head itself was especially polished and shiny.
"Heh, young man, you have quite the skill."
Mr. Lin held a transparent cup in his hand. Inside was a brown liquid giving off a faint sweet aroma.
It was made from the leftover bits of what Shirou had prepared earlier. There were only two servings.
One was given to Rope and one to Mr. Lin and Shirou himself just drank water.
Seeing the two of them enjoying it so much made Shirou feel satisfied.
Though the resentful gazes coming from the door were starting to make him uncomfortable.
"Stop staring. You will get some at lunch."
It was Rope who noticed Shirou's discomfort and quickly identified the source of the problem.
Her solution was simple, she went over and shut the door.
Before closing it, she specifically told the others they would get some later, then locked it firmly.
Shirou did not know, but Rope did…what was happening here could not be spread too widely. It was already close to the limit as it was. Any more would cause trouble.
Life was not easy. Even a rabbit had to sigh.
"The children are quite lively."
Mr. Lin had naturally noticed the children. After all, they were his main reason for coming these past two days.
It seemed just as the reports said they were living quite well.
After living so long, he could easily tell whether people were living well or not.
With the primary objective confirmed, the secondary objective was right in front of him.
From what he saw, Shirou seemed like a straightforward young man who was kind-hearted and perhaps a bit naive. He answered whatever the old man asked, even though those were questions the old man already knew the answers to.
Actually, correction: at first glance, Shirou now looked a bit hard to approach. That hairstyle still carried a bit of a gang-like aura.
Whoever cut his hair like that… the photo version of him looked much better, did it not?
"Yeah, yeah."
Shirou laughed awkwardly.
He could answer questions about himself however he liked, but anything involving the true purpose of the Fuyuki shop could not be casually revealed.
"Alright… if there is nothing else, I will take my leave. I have bought what I needed, and I will not disturb you further."
Seeing that Shirou at least knew to keep certain things hidden, Mr. Lin did not press further.
More importantly, it was almost lunchtime, and he had no intention of eating out.
If he got back too late and missed lunch, his wife would scold him.
Before leaving, Mr. Lin finished his drink in one go, then took out a large-denomination Lungmen bill and placed it on the table.
"Please wait, you have not received your change yet."
Seeing the large bill, Rope panicked a little.
She was worried whether the register even had enough change.
"Consider it payment for the drink and a tip. I enjoyed our conversation."
Mr. Lin waved his hand, then left with the cup he bought and a small wrapped piece of winter melon block.
"What should we do?"
Rope looked to Shirou for help. This kind of situation had never happened before.
"Let us just accept it. Next time he comes, we can give him a discount."
Shirou hesitated for a moment before deciding to accept it.
Even though Mr. Lin used a cane, he walked quite fast. It would be impractical to chase him down the street just to return the money.
"…Alright."
Since her "boss" said so, Rope could only put the money into the register.
Outside the shop, as soon as Mr. Lin stepped out, someone approached to carry the bag for him.
"Be careful not to damage it. It is for a gift."
Mr. Lin reminded his subordinate.
"Yes, sir. Are you heading back now?"
The subordinate carefully held the bag as he asked.
"I have an appointment to eat lunch at home."
"Understood. Please get in the car."
"Mm."
Mr. Lin skillfully took his seat in the back, then took out a tissue to wipe his mouth.
He had drunk too quickly earlier, and some had stuck to his lips, leaving them sticky.
"There is no need to monitor that place anymore. Send a few people to take turns protecting it. Make sure it is done discreetly."
After wiping his mouth, Mr. Lin spoke and his demeanor was completely different from when he had been chatting with Shirou earlier.
At this moment, Mr. Lin's face carried a serious expression.
"Understood."
The subordinate driving the car carefully committed the instructions to memory, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.
After all, that was the Rat King of the slums, someone who once dominated the entire underground of Lungmen.
"Has he left?"
Meanwhile, across from the Fuyuki shop, on the second floor by a window, Phal watched the expensive-looking car drive away and finally let out a sigh of relief.
Who knew why such a big figure would come here for no reason and he came for two days in a row?
Although he did not recognize the man, after spending so long in this line of work, he had enough judgment to tell that the man was not someone to mess with.
He had already reported it to Sis Hoshiguna earlier and only got the response: "It is fine."
"Seriously… this feels like I picked up a hot potato."
Leaning against the window, Phal sighed. At first, he thought this job would be easy, but after the past few days, it felt like this place had already been noticed by someone.
He just did not know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Glancing at the time on his phone, it was almost noon. Time to go get lunch.
He had already prepared an apology for yesterday's incident with the steamed buns. A big bag of candy and biscuits should be enough to win over the children.
"Welcome…oh? I thought you were not coming today."
Hearing the bell at the door, Rope thought it was another customer, but it turned out to be Phal carrying a large bag of something.
"Hehe, after all, the good food is here. I brought candy and biscuits."
Phal lifted the bag in his hand as he spoke.
"Just go to the back yourself."
Seeing his expression, Rope felt uninterested and told him to head over on his own.
"What are we eating today?"
Phal obediently went straight to the kitchen. It was quite lively inside.
"You are late today. Come help me break these apart."
Seeing Phal enter, Shirou immediately put him to work without mercy.
After solidifying, the winter melon blocks had become quite hard. If not for the risk of smashing them into powder with too much force, Shirou would have already handled it himself.
If Phal were not here, Shirou would probably have projected a sharper blade to cut them.
But now that he had help, he did not need to use magecraft.
He felt that projecting weapons in front of children was not a good idea.
"Alright. So this is what you were busy with?"
Seeing Shirou still tinkering in the kitchen, Phal quickly set down his things and came over to help.
Working together, the two of them portioned everything out. Aside from a small portion for immediate use, the rest was sealed and stored in the fridge.
While they were busy, lunch was also ready.
Rice and several dishes, that was everyone's meal for today.
With Shirou around, the quality of lunch was always guaranteed.
After finishing lunch, Shirou explained to Rope how to dissolve the winter melon blocks before leaving.
The Oripathy inhibitors could only be bought during the day and only through specific channels.
Although they could be purchased elsewhere, they were still medicine and Shirou preferred to buy them through proper means.
Besides, the prices through other channels were… difficult to describe.
Currently, the more serious cases in the Fuyuki shop had already taken medication, arranged by Jaye, who had contacted a doctor he knew.
The doctor's name was something like… "A," if he remembered correctly.
Shirou had not met the doctor personally. He only heard about it from Rope.
Among everyone, Rope's condition was the worst. Although there were not many visible crystal formations on her skin, the internal situation was very severe.
When Shirou saw the X-ray image of Rope that Jaye sent him, his first thought was: Is this some kind of glass artwork?
Thinking back on it, he still felt a bit embarrassed.
If he had not reacted quickly, he might have actually said that out loud.
"Sigh… Oripathy… why does Oripathy even exist?"
On the streets of Lungmen, Shirou slowly pedaled his bicycle.
Whenever he thought about Oripathy, he would find himself muttering like this.
He was not sure whether he was lamenting the existence of the disease or his own helplessness in the face of it.
Perhaps both.
But in Terra, Originium was an extremely important resource so completely isolating it was impossible.
To put it bluntly, even the air contained Originium particles. Everyone had some amount of it in their body.
It was just that, for some people the amount was not enough to develop into Oripathy.
No matter how low the crystallization density in the blood, as long as the cell–Originium assimilation rate was greater than zero, that person was considered infected.
Thinking as he rode, Shirou soon arrived at his destination.
It was a rather inconspicuous small shop.
Since it was a shop selling inhibitors, if it were located somewhere too conspicuous, it would easily attract trouble from people who disliked the infected.
Only those who knew the right channels could purchase them.
Although Shirou could not help but feel that this setup seemed a bit like dealing in something illegal.
"Mr. Shirou, you are here. Buying inhibitors again?"
Inside the shop, the clerk was momentarily stunned when he saw Shirou, then recognized him.
There were not many people who came here to buy inhibitors, and someone like Shirou who bought in bulk was even rarer.
After all, most infected people tried their best to hide themselves.
But when Shirou first came, he had been wearing the uniform of Penguin Logistics so the clerk did not ask too many questions.
A courier was a high-risk profession. It was normal.
Carrying a few on hand for emergencies made perfect sense.
"Yeah, I will take three this time."
After checking the money in his pocket, Shirou decided to buy three.
The income from the Fuyuki shop was enough to cover everyone's food expenses but the cost of the inhibitors mostly came out of his own pocket.
"I will not repeat the usage instructions. Please be careful when using them."
The clerk skillfully took out three discreetly packaged items from under the counter and handed them over.
They were very mindful of privacy.
"Thank you."
After paying, Shirou put the items into his backpack and also picked up some additional medicine.
Mainly because the members of Penguin Logistics often got injured. If Yith did not keep track, the first aid kit would quickly run empty.
So Shirou had started taking over part of Yith's responsibilities. These small details were now handled by him, especially since he often came to the pharmacy anyway.
Just as Shirou was selecting common medicines and bandages, he suddenly felt someone tug on his clothes.
"Hm?"
Turning around, he saw who it was.
It was a white-haired Feline little girl. He had no idea why she was pulling on his clothes.
"What is it?"
Shirou crouched down so that he was at eye level with her.
After taking care of so many children, he had learned a few ways to interact with them.
First, crouch down like this so they would not feel nervous.
"Um… I got lost."
The little girl looked around, then hugged the terminal in her hands tightly.
"…I see. So you want me to help you find your mother?"
Looking at her, Shirou found it a bit amusing.
Hearing that, the girl shook her head.
"Not my mom. It is… Blaze."
"The person you came with?"
Shirou thought for a moment and asked.
"Mm-hmm."
The girl nodded.
"Then you should really go to the Guard Department… but never mind. Do you have any distinguishing features for the person you are looking for?"
Shirou could not help but remark that finding people should be left to the authorities but since the Guard Department was some distance away and he had already run into her, helping her out was no big deal.
"Um… a big black Feline?"
The girl tilted her head uncertainly.
"Do not phrase it like a question."
Shirou muttered, then paid for his items, told the clerk he would leave his bicycle here for a while and walked out with the girl.
"Mr. Shirou, be careful, the minimum is three years!"
Seeing Shirou leave with a little girl, the clerk called out a warning.
"…Sigh."
Shirou sighed, not bothering to argue.
Sometimes, arguing would not solve anything. It might even make things worse.
As long as his conscience was clear, that was enough.
"My name is Emiya. What is yours?"
Out on the street, Shirou crouched down again to talk to the girl. Out of habit, he used "Emiya" as his name.
"Amiya?"
The girl tilted her head.
"Your name is Amiya?"
Shirou tilted his head as well.
The girl shook her head.
"My name is Rosmontis."
At that moment, Shirou recalled the fear of taking care of troublesome children.
Not the level of the kids at the Fuyuki shop—
But the level of Exusiai and Croissant.