At noon, beside the stage in a certain building in Lungmen's city area.
"Hmm… it looks like there should not be any problems."
Wearing an outfit different from her usual one, Sora circled Shirou twice. Only after confirming everything was fine did she finally relax.
Although she had already gotten verbal confirmation from the others, she still could not feel at ease without seeing Shirou herself.
Who knew whether her teammates might have been bought off with just one good meal?
With Texas around, that probably would not happen, but Shirou's ability to win people over was quite something.
Last night's dinner had been so lavish that even Sora who normally had strong self-control when it came to food had practically drooled.
"Tsk tsk, Sora, do you distrust us that much?"
Off to the side, Exusiai held an apple pie she made herself and watched Sora circle around Shirou again and again as if she might strip him to check.
"So this is all our friendship is worth? That really hurts my feelings."
On the other side, Croissant wore a sorrowful expression. If she did not still have dessert in her mouth, someone might have believed her.
"Why did you two not go up and perform…?"
Looking at them, Shirou's face was full of helplessness.
With acting skills like that, why did they not join in earlier? When Sora was rehearsing, they should have gone up too.
The whole team could have debuted together.
"Them? It is better if they do not. One would probably blow up the stage, and the other would probably scam the fans. Neither is suitable for this."
Hearing Shirou's words, Texas responded coldly from the side.
The two of them had good fundamentals and if they really tried they might manage. But personality-wise… it was hard to say.
At present, the only ones who could keep those two in check were Texas herself, the boss's money tactics and Shirou's dark smile.
Shirou did not usually smile, much like her.
Whenever he did smile, it either meant something good had happened or that he was about to stir something up.
For her, it was usually the former. For Shirou, probably half and half.
When she and Sora saw Shirou smile, it usually meant he was in a good mood.
When Croissant and Exusiai saw him smile, it meant they were in trouble.
Though the "punishment" was never too harsh, at most it was just making the two feel uncomfortable for a bit.
Which was why the two of them always forgot the pain once it passed, only to feel uneasy again the next time Shirou smiled.
They were basically experts at getting themselves into trouble.
"Texas is right."
Sora nodded in agreement.
"That is too much!"
Exusiai and Croissant protested.
"Stop arguing. There are other people here so hurry up and eat."
Seeing the two of them about to reach toward Sora mischievously, Shirou gave a reminder.
To avoid suspicion, Shirou had decided they would gather in a place visible to others. Although being watched made things a bit uncomfortable, it could not be helped.
After all, he had seen plenty of cases on television and online about idols getting dragged into scandals.
Others might not care but Shirou felt that necessary precautions still had to be taken.
No one was going to catch them slipping.
It just meant that with so many eyes on them they could not relax as much during the meal.
This was also the first time Shirou had seen them eat in such a refined manner.
Which made him start considering whether it would be feasible to eat outside like this every meal.
Though he only thought about it briefly. It would be too troublesome in practice.
"Tsk, we should have found a private room to eat. I cannot relax like this."
Hearing Shirou, Exusiai noticed some people watching from afar and stopped what she was doing.
She would not care if it were somewhere else but this was Sora's workplace and no matter how much she wanted to fool around, she knew there had to be limits.
"If we did that, Shirou would have to stay outside alone, can you bear that, Exusiai?"
Croissant teased Exusiai. She often set up stalls outside concert venues, so she knew a bit about the entertainment industry.
Or rather, anyone who paid a little attention would understand this.
"True… the idol image really is a hassle."
Exusiai knew that too but she still wanted to complain a bit.
"Compared to other seniors and juniors, my situation is already quite lenient."
Although she agreed with them, Sora was still fairly content. As an idol, having this much freedom was already quite good.
"Anyway, enough of that. Shirou, are you going out again tonight?"
Sensing the topic drifting, Exusiai tossed the question back to Shirou.
"Hmm Me? Tonight? I will see how things go. If everything is fine on Yith's side, I will head out. I have mostly recovered since yesterday."
Caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic, Shirou paused for a moment before answering.
At the same time, he brought up his chat records with Yith and showed them to everyone, of course the things he showed were only within the scope Yith had allowed.
Though in truth, even without permission it would not make much difference. If Texas's group wanted to access that information, they could do so with a simple request.
Penguin Logistics was not like the rigid Guard Department where everything had to go through procedures.
Still, Shirou cared about this sort of thing, so he had asked in advance.
"Hmm… so when Yith is on duty, you have to be on duty too?"
Croissant thought about what Shirou had just said. It seemed that whenever Yith worked, Shirou would also have to work. So if… ahem, better not go down that route. After all, Yith had taken good care of them before.
Meanwhile, back at the Penguin Logistics office, Yith suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and began wondering whether he should accept Shirou's suggestion and try ordering some mapo tofu.
"I will still go even if Yith cannot manage. After all, he is only helping me and more than anything I am doing this because I want to resolve this matter myself."
Shirou shook his head as he spoke.
"You want to go by yourself…"
Hearing that, Sora's expression became somewhat complicated.
The others looked about the same.
"What? Is that strange?"
Seeing everyone's faces filled with mixed emotions, Shirou felt a bit uneasy.
That feeling of being seen through… what exactly was going on?
"No, helping others is a good thing, I do that a lot too. If I see someone about to do something bad, I will step in and stop them."
Exusiai said she also enjoyed doing that kind of thing.
"You mean pointing a gun at them?"
Texas immediately retorted. Exusiai was not lying but her methods were… questionable.
Have you ever seen someone point a gun at others and tell them not to do bad things? If it were the Guard Department, that would be one thing but Exusiai clearly was not a member of law enforcement.
To passersby, it might even look like she was the criminal instead.
"They are rubber bullets, so it is safe! SAFE!"
Exusiai tried to defend herself but it was not very convincing. Everyone present looked at her strangely, leaving her feeling defeated.
"Ugh… my heart is wounded! The kind that will not heal without apple pie!"
"Here you go."
Croissant handed her an apple pie, and Exusiai immediately revived at full health.
"Honestly… Shirou, do you need our help?"
Watching the two fool around, Texas felt her blood pressure rising and quickly steered the conversation back.
"For now, no. You have all been in Lungmen longer and often take action. People in the slums might recognize you, especially that halo above Exusiai's head."
Shirou declined Texas's offer.
Mainly because he did not want to trouble them. They had their own work to handle.
Also, they were somewhat well-known in Lungmen. It would be easy for them to be recognized and that could attract unwanted attention.
Even though any troublemakers would likely be dealt with by the boss or Yith before things escalated, Shirou had no intention of gambling with their lives.
Even if the probability was extremely small, he did not want to take that risk.
"…I understand. If you need anything, just let us know."
Seeing his stance, Texas did not insist further.
If it were her, she would probably make the same choice.
In these subtle details, she and Shirou were very similar.
"Yeah, I will."
If Shirou had to rank everyone in Penguin Logistics, Texas and Sora would definitely tie for first place.
The reason was simple: they did not cause trouble, they helped out and they offered advice.
Could Exusiai and Croissant do those things?
Yes, they could but not very often. And most of the time, those moments were overshadowed by everything else they did.
Yith was not even included in the ranking. That would be a devastating comparison.
"It feels like Shirou has been really busy… how about you stop making breakfast for a while?"
After thinking about his daily schedule, Sora made a suggestion.
"Sora, are you trying to ruin our wonderful mornings just because you have not been able to eat it lately?"
This immediately got Exusiai worked up, speaking without pause.
"…Of course not. I am just worried that Shirou is overworking himself by sleeping late and waking early every day."
Sora's gaze drifted slightly and she avoided Exusiai's eyes.
That reason Exusiai mentioned probably accounted for a tiny bit… just a tiny bit but mainly she was worried about Shirou.
"Your reasoning makes sense, but do not look away when you say it!"
Croissant joined in.
"Hmm…it is not a bad suggestion. But I will probably prepare things in advance at night. You can just heat them up in the morning."
Shirou found Sora's suggestion reasonable.
However, considering the feelings of the other food lovers, he chose a compromise.
He would prepare the food at night so they can reheat it in the morning.
Although this meant fewer dishes could be made, it would only be for a short while.
Yith had said the situation had already escalated significantly and the Guard Department had begun paying attention. It was likely that there would be results soon.
If the other party had continued operating in secret it might have taken longer for the Guard Department to intervene. But this time the incident had grown too large and attracted too much attention.
Normally, matters like this would either be resolved by the forces within the slums themselves or by some random good Samaritan.
"Hmm… let's go with Sora's plan, it is only for a while and once this is over we will make up for it with a big feast."
Hearing Shirou's alternative, Exusiai and Croissant exchanged a glance before agreeing.
It was just a few days without Shirou's homemade breakfasts and afternoon snacks… besides, there was still dinner.
They could simply make up for it during dinner!
Once they got through this period, wonderful mornings would be waiting for them again.
"Impressive."
Seeing the two of them manage to restrain their desires, Texas remarked with a hint of admiration.
They really had put in some effort.
"Alright, I will resolve this as soon as possible."
Shirou accepted their goodwill. His morning workload had been adjusted, though it was only temporarily but it did give him a bit more time to rest.
Even so, the care shown by others still felt a little heavy to him. But… he felt that this was actually quite nice.
After that, they chatted about a few other topics while watching Sora rehearse.
By evening, Sora finally finished a full day of practice and went out with the Penguin Logistics crew for a meal.
This time, however, Shirou did not join them.
Yith had just sent a message, he had found a suspected accomplice in the bombing incident.
Over the past two days Yith had not rested at all, he was constantly reviewing surveillance footage and drone recordings from around the scene.
At first, he had only been searching casually. After all, if the culprit did not show themselves then there was nothing to track. But since they had appeared, there would definitely be traces.
Yith had been searching for that tiny trace and he actually found it.
Among the crowd watching the commotion, there was one person who kept paying attention to other areas, which made them stand out.
After repeated investigation and analysis, Yith believed there was a ninety percent chance that this person was an accomplice.
Unfortunately, their face was not clearly visible. The hat was too obstructive.
"Can you figure out where they are hiding?"
Walking down the street, Shirou asked while holding his phone.
He was heading back to the dormitory to pick up his communication equipment, then he would go to the slums.
He also needed to sort out the current situation.
"I can analyze an approximate location, but I cannot pinpoint it exactly. There is not much equipment in that area for me to confirm further."
On the other end of the phone Yith explained briefly.
It was only by combining current and stored data that he had been able to get this far.
All of that data had already been backed up.
"Understood. Have you contacted that hooded person?"
Shirou did not press further. What Yith had achieved already relied heavily on years of experience in intelligence and logistics.
"Not yet. You contact them yourself. Did I not leave you a communicator? Just use that."
Hearing Shirou still refer to Chen as "the hooded person," Yith found it somewhat amusing.
Even though Shirou had excellent eyesight, he was still a bit inexperienced.
Such an obvious disguise and he had not figured it out.
Then again, maybe it was because they were not familiar with each other.
Although there was quite an age gap, their personalities and ways of handling things were very similar. They would probably get along.
Wait—why was he even worrying about Shirou's personal life?
Heh… it felt like there would be plenty of interesting developments to watch in the future. He even wondered if he could install something on Shirou to record it all.