Late at night, in the slums of Lungmen.
A crimson figure moved through the streets.
A red hooded coat concealed most of his body and a black mask covered his face.
Only his eyes were exposed.
Some local thugs, noticing a stranger wandering through their territory had tried several times to step forward and cause trouble but were forced back just by his gaze.
That person was Shirou. After sending everyone from Penguin Logistics off to sleep, he quietly slipped out.
Well, it would be more accurate to say he left without disturbing anyone.
Although Shirou did not alert the others, someone still noticed his movements.
"Honestly, as expected of you. Scaring off thugs with just your eyes, even Texas has not pulled off something like that."
A voice filled with teasing came through the tiny earpiece hanging from Shirou's ear.
"Is it really okay for you to talk about Texas like that?"
Hearing that, Shirou muttered softly.
He had obtained this earpiece midway, from a drone carrying a box.
Seeing the Penguin Logistics logo on the box and how the drone hovered in front of him circling him twice he accepted it.
Inside were an earpiece and a mask.
The moment he turned on the earpiece, the Boss's voice blasted through, unleashing a barrage at him. Even now, his head was still buzzing.
The gist of it was:
"You are doing something with no profit again? You really think no one knows about that relief station of yours?"
"If I had not planned ahead, your name and face would already be plastered all over the slums!"
"I was praising you when I said you were naive, this is beyond that!"
"You run off acting alone without gathering intel and you do not even use the resources you have. Every move you made, including that relief station and that medical company, has been thoroughly investigated by Yith!"
"And you even know to wear a hood for this kind of thing so what about your face? Do you think pulling up a hood makes you unrecognizable? Do you think the people in the slums are fools?"
"Put on those two items right now and stay in contact with Yith!"
After that rapid-fire scolding ended, there was the sound of a door slamming and then Yith's voice came through:
"…Good evening, Shirou."
As someone who had always known what Shirou was doing and had been reporting it, Yith felt a bit awkward speaking directly to him.
What had been carefully concealed was just exposed by the Boss.
Thus, the current awkward situation.
"Good evening… and thanks for what you did earlier."
Recovering from the Boss's verbal onslaught, Shirou rubbed his temples. He had already grasped the general situation so he thanked Yith… from what he had heard, Yith had been helping conceal his identity.
"It is nothing, that is just a small matter. But do not meet the Boss for a while, he would probably strangle you on the spot. Also, put on the mask quickly. I checked just now and there is no one around."
Seeing that the conversation had opened up and the awkwardness had faded, Yith gave a few reminders.
"Got it…"
Shirou looked around to confirm no one was nearby, then pulled down his hood and put on the mask.
The mask fit around his neck and could be pulled up to cover his mouth and nose.
With the hood back up, only his hands and eyes were exposed.
He had not thought about the mask before. After all, this was his first time doing something like this and he was not exactly experienced.
"I will use the drone to scout. You just wander around the streets. Keep the call connected and do not speak too loudly."
Yith quickly assigned their roles.
"…Have you really been watching everything I have been doing lately?"
Watching the drone fly off, Shirou asked.
There was no deeper meaning in asking that, he was just genuinely impressed by Penguin Logistics intelligence network.
"…You came here tonight because you are worried that the recent disappearances of Infected in the slums might affect those Infected children, right?"
Instead of answering directly, Yith stated Shirou's purpose outright.
Compared to a direct answer, this was far more convincing.
"I understand. Though actually, I am not that worried about the children. There are people looking after them."
Hearing that, Shirou roughly understood.
However, Yith was only half right.
He was indeed concerned about the children getting involved but with Phal around, he felt reassured.
What truly concerned him was that if the Guard Department could not intervene, then he would go and check things out himself.
Originally, he had planned to find a place with a good vantage point and observe from there.
But before he could even find one, he got thoroughly scolded.
Truly unlucky.
"There are indeed quite a lot of people watching over that place."
Yith agreed with Shirou.
According to his investigation, on the surface there were Hoshiguma's former subordinates and behind the scenes there were also the Rat King's people.
Other similar operations in the slums did not have this level of backing. He did not know how Shirou had managed to get involved with both sides.
There were other so-called relief stations in the slums but many were just fronts for profit.
Yith could understand the connection with Hoshiguma, after all a certain young lady seemed interested in recruiting Shirou.
As for the Rat King… Yith guessed Shirou had somehow earned his favor without realizing it.
Even though his intelligence-gathering was strong, there were limits. The cameras could not see inside the Fuyuki Shop.
And without visibility, there was nothing to analyze.
It was not like he could divine information out of thin air.
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Shirou did not catch his implication.
"It is nothing. Turn right ahead, I just saw a few suspicious people gathering there."
Yith chose not to elaborate.
Those were people the Boss might be able to deal with but he certainly could not especially the Rat King's side.
Unless something went wrong with Shirou, he would not reveal such matters.
Of course, if Shirou asked directly, he would share some information. But given Shirou's personality… unless he came asking himself, he probably would not even think to.
"To the right?"
Hearing that, Shirou quickened his pace.
Even late at night, the slums still had scattered figures on the streets, people dressed in all sorts of unusual ways.
Their expressions were all unfriendly but none of them dared to step forward and cause trouble for Shirou.
At this hour, anyone wandering around here was either a fool or someone they could not afford to mess with. Earlier, a few had tried to stop Shirou but judging from his gaze, he clearly fell into the latter category. After that, very few people dared to approach him.
Even gang members did not want to get beaten up for no reason.
If the other party got serious, they might end up hospitalized for days.
On top of that, Shirou gradually increased his speed, making it impossible for some people to stop him even if they wanted to.
"Just a reminder, use your ability to stash some weapons on you first. That way, if you get attacked, pulling out a weapon will not look like it appeared out of nowhere. Also, do not use the ones you usually use."
Watching how quickly Shirou was moving through several camera feeds, Yith gave him a reminder.
After all, it would be a waste to ruin things at this stage after already dressing like this.
"Understood."
Following Yith's advice, Shirou found a relatively hidden spot and projected a Noble Phantasm he had never used here before.
The Durandal which is said to be able to cut through anything and never break.
In terms of design, it leaned more toward a Victorian style but that actually helped disguise his identity.
"Not bad. Do you see the people ahead?"
Seeing Shirou project an unfamiliar weapon and hide it under his coat, Yith commented.
That ability was incredibly convenient and combined with the different functions of each weapon Shirou could project, he was essentially a perfect all-rounder.
Close combat, long-range, breakthrough, suppression…he could adapt to anything depending on the situation.
"Is it those two people wearing flashy shirts?"
Following Yith's guidance, Shirou spotted two suspicious figures ahead.
"It is those two. As for what they are wearing, I have no idea, I cannot see that clearly from here."
Looking at the dark footage, Yith twitched slightly.
He had only noticed them through drones and surveillance cameras but due to the darkness he could not make out their clothing.
He already knew Shirou had excellent eyesight but this level of night vision…
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt. He decided to record it and report it to the Boss later.
It had been a while since he heard the Boss let out that indescribable penguin screech and this would be a good way to relieve some stress.
"Got it."
After locking onto the targets, Shirou kept a certain distance.
He was not worried about losing them. With his eyesight and Yith tracking through drones and cameras, it would be difficult for them to escape.
Yith was not focusing solely on those two either. His fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard as the screens in front of him switched constantly, all while maintaining communication with Shirou.
After all, those two might not be the actual targets. They were just suspicious and close to Shirou so he had him follow them first.
Anyone suspicious was marked and tracked through surveillance.
This kind of operation was only possible in the slums. If he tried this in the city even in the mid-tier district he would already be invited to the Guard Department for questioning.
At the moment, there were three suspicious groups in total, including the one Shirou was following.
He was helping Shirou partly because Shirou was part of Penguin Logistics and they still needed him as a reliable trump card.
The other reason was that Penguin Logistics also needed information. With Infected people disappearing one after another in the slums, it was impossible that no one would come looking for clues.
It was just that no one had offered a good enough price, otherwise they would have already sent people to investigate.
And now, Shirou had practically volunteered for free.
With Shirou handling combat, Yith only needed to provide support.
"Shirou, keep following those two. I need to focus on the other groups. Stay in contact."
Seeing no movement from the two, Yith decided to leave them to Shirou and shift his attention.
"Alright."
Shirou responded and continued tailing them.
After following them for a while, without Yith's support, Shirou focused entirely on the targets ahead.
Suddenly, the two in front broke into a run, catching Shirou off guard. After informing Yith, he immediately chased after them.
"It could be a trap. Be careful."
After receiving the update, Yith warned him while recalling the drone.
Operating discreetly had its downsides and if he had more drones, things would be much easier.
"A trap?"
The moment Shirou heard that, he sensed something was wrong. He stopped and rolled to the side.
In the next instant, a figure dropped from above, slashing down with a sword at the spot where Shirou had just been.
"Hmph, you are quite sharp."
Seeing her attack miss, the hooded figure swung her sword lightly.
"You are not bad either, do you only rely on ambushes to gain the upper hand?"
Shirou stood up and pulled out the Durandal from his coat.
Looking at the similarly hooded figure in front of him, his expression turned serious.
He had been just a step away from being hit.
The opponent had not come with the intent to kill, which was why he had not sensed her presence at first.
If he had not dodged… the sword would have only torn his coat.
"You have a sharp tongue. Let me see if your skills match your words."
The hooded figure did not get angry. She gripped the sword with both hands, raising it to her eyes with the tip pointing straight at Shirou.
She could sense that the sword in Shirou's hand was no ordinary weapon.
Someone wielding such a blade could not be simple.
She would have to get serious.
"You are welcome to try."
Shirou, however, was thinking something entirely different.
While the opponent was speaking, Yith had already told him to run.
He did not explain why but he was certain those two earlier were not the culprits.
Since Yith was so sure, Shirou had no intention of fighting.
This person was likely someone Yith knew.
Though he spoke harshly, Shirou had already planned his escape route.
Infusing mana into his body, he leaped upward, grabbed a pole and pulled himself onto the rooftop.
"Do not run!"
Seeing him flee right after talking tough, the hooded figure chased after him with her sword.
Shirou ran across the rooftops, while the hooded figure pursued him from below.