A few days had passed since the car accident. Aside from maintaining his daily routine, Shirou also took time to understand the current situation.
Of course, he also continued training the A4 Reserve Team. Whether they had improved or not, Shirou was not entirely sure, but judging by their expressions, they seemed quite satisfied with their progress.
He had even specially prepared nutritious meals for them at the office.
Naturally, not the kind made by Hibiscus, but meals made by Shirou himself using nutritious vegetables and poultry.
The taste was somewhat inferior compared to his usual cooking, but without comparison, there was no harm.
Compared to the "nutritional meals" next door, Shirou's version was already quite delicious.
After all, unlike Jessica's shooting training, most of the training here was physical, which consumed more energy. Without Rhodes Island's cafeteria, this was the only way to supplement them.
Of course, Shirou's meals tasted better but were slightly less nutritious, so each had its pros and cons.
With more time and effort spent here, something had to give. The Fuyuki Shop had once again been left in the care of Phal, Rope, and the others.
As most of the children had learned how to support themselves, the Fuyuki Shop now felt more like a dormitory just one where the residents were somewhat more united.
Rope had also been taking in people in moderation. At this point, the place could function normally even without Shirou.
This was exactly the outcome Shirou had hoped for.
Of course, he could not let Rope and the others know that, or they would definitely pin him to the ground and refuse to let him leave.
Thinking this, Shirou glanced at Rope, who was currently working hard on math homework given by Lin Yuhsia.
With just a quick look, Shirou could already spot several obvious mistakes. Combined with her rapid writing speed, he suspected she was using the classic student technique of scribbling random answers.
"Do it properly."
With a swift chop to her head, Shirou reprimanded her.
"Ugh… I am so sick of math!"
Rope cried out in protest after being struck, but it had no effect. The cold-hearted Mr. Shirou simply circled a few questions and told her to keep working.
How cruel!
"It is not just you doing it. The others have homework too. And I am busy here as well. You are not alone!"
While supervising Rope's homework, Shirou was not idle himself. He was organizing the information Yith had sent him specifically the portion he had asked for.
Yith would not casually give him sensitive information. If this honest man ever got angry, Lungmen might fall into chaos.
After all, as an information broker, it was only natural to possess things that even the upper echelons of Lungmen would be wary of.
At this moment, Shirou was looking through recent events in the slums, everything from minor scuffles to gang leaders harboring dangerous intentions.
It could only be said that gang members had rather complicated thoughts. According to Yith, giving this information to the Guard Department would be useless. If he really wanted things handled properly, he should just pass it to Lin Yuhsia.
Although he did not fully understand why, Shirou followed the advice and sent all the information Yith allowed him to share over to Lin Yuhsia.
The rest, he kept to himself.
Lin Yuhsia: "?"
Half an hour after sending the information, she replied with a question mark, followed by a typing indicator.
Lin Yuhsia: "These matters are quite troublesome. I did not expect these people to have such intentions… thanks. I will handle it over the next few days."
"No problem. This was all organized by Yith. I am still investigating what happened earlier."
Even though she already knew, Shirou still mentioned the source of the information.
He respected proper attribution. Claiming it as his own would not be right.
After a brief exchange, Shirou began to understand why Yith had sent him so much information.
Like assembling a puzzle, the more pieces and clues he gathered, the clearer the picture became.
"So, Lin Yuhsia, you also suspect that another infected group is acting under the name of Reunion?"
Thinking this, Shirou typed his question.
He had considered this possibility before, but it had never seemed very realistic. After all, all clues pointed to Reunion stirring trouble in the slums. Even Yith had only suspected it.
Now that Lin Yuhsia also suspected it, the likelihood became much higher. Compared to his own intuition-based judgment, her and Yith's opinions were far more valuable.
"First, it is too obvious. When these people act, it is as if they are trying to engrave the word 'Reunion' on their faces. You should have noticed that too."
"Second, these individuals do not seem to belong to the same group as the infected we previously contacted or those who have contacted the office. My informant has already made contact, and one of them is the hooded person we met before. This suggests the two groups are not closely related."
"Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that there are both moderates and radicals within the same organization, one trying to settle in the slums, the other aiming to disrupt Lungmen."
Lin Yuhsia sent several messages in quick succession, explaining her thoughts.
Many of her points aligned with Shirou's own thinking, though he had not been as certain.
However, her progress seemed incredibly fast… it had only been a few days, yet she had already figured out so much.
While he was still struggling to determine what to believe, she had already reached the enemy's core and uncovered their secrets.
"…I think so too."
At this point, Shirou had nothing more to add and could only fall back on Croissant's usual phrase.
"I will let you know if there are further developments. I will also handle these people appropriately."
Seeing his reply, Lin Yuhsia sensed his awkwardness and gave him an easy way out.
She also had her own work to do. Recently, she had been teaching children every morning, so her other tasks had to be postponed.
However, thanks to their earlier cooperation in eliminating several troublesome figures, her workload had been greatly reduced though now a new group had emerged.
"Alright, I will trouble you then."
Seeing that message, Shirou did not say much. He simply assumed that she was busy with something.
Most people he knew seemed quite busy. Conversations often ended after just a few lines before they rushed off to handle something else.
In comparison, he, who was often idle, seemed rather out of place… come to think of it, what exactly was his main job again?
It seemed to be… a housekeeper?
Spending all his time dealing with these matters, Shirou had almost forgotten his actual occupation.
Perhaps it was time to do what his main job entailed… recently, he had figured out what those decorations around Lungmen were for.
Remembrance Day, it was a holiday established by the living to commemorate the dead.
On this day, Lungmen would become unusually lively, as if telling those who had passed on that everyone was doing well.
In some ways, it resembled the Halloween he knew… though only slightly.
However, both Remembrance Day and Halloween shared one thing in common: candy.
Candy, though… was a bit troublesome. Shirou was not very familiar with places in Lungmen that specifically sold sweets.
Supermarkets had some, but Penguin Logistics had probably grown tired of those. He wanted to find something more special, like unique candies or biscuits, for a sense of novelty.
The difficulty was that aside from supermarkets, he really could not find other places selling candy.
Preferably, he wanted to find a shop that made handmade sweets.
Maybe he should ask Rope later.
Putting down his phone, Shirou began thinking about what to prepare for this Remembrance Day.
A roasted poultry feast? That felt more like something for Christmas… maybe a pumpkin-themed meal?
But someone did not seem to like pumpkin, so perhaps not.
Hmm… maybe he could make pizza himself? Pizza baked in a projected stone oven had received high praise from Lappland.
Though Shirou suspected that after suffering through so much pizza toast, even a normal pizza would deeply move Lappland.
Still, that was fine. It was worth considering. Occasionally making high-calorie food was not a bad idea, especially since he could control the ingredients.
"I am done!"
Just as Shirou was thinking about this, Rope finally finished her homework. Under his sharp supervision, she had properly worked through every problem.
Though her poor brain had suffered for it.
"Let me see… you can do it after all. Keep this up next time."
Hearing her voice, Shirou snapped out of his pizza-filled thoughts. After a quick check and confirming there were no major issues, he released her from her suffering.
She immediately turned into a "purple mochi" again, slumping over the counter.
This was exactly why Shirou had been watching her so closely. The moment she had nothing to do, she would slack off.
Now that she had finished everything, there was nothing he could criticize, so he let her be.
"I have a question. Rope, do you know any candy shops in Lungmen that sell handmade sweets?"
Seeing her completely unmotivated expression, Shirou quietly put away the snack he had planned to reward her with, though he still needed to ask his question.
"A candy shop?"
Hearing this, Rope looked at him with a puzzled expression.
As if to say: are you serious?
"Uh… what is wrong?"
Seeing her somewhat piercing gaze, Shirou wondered if he had said something wrong.
"No, nothing. If I remember correctly, Teacher Lin's family runs a candy shop. She sometimes brings sweets to reward students with good grades. I thought you knew."
Realizing Shirou truly did not know, Rope sighed helplessly.
As for why she sighed, only she knew.
Life was not easy. Even little rabbits had to sigh.
"…I will ask her later."
At that moment, Shirou felt quite embarrassed.
So it was someone he knew? No wonder Rope had looked at him like that.
And hearing this, he realized that Lin Yuhsia not only came to teach but also personally prepared rewards, which made him feel a bit apologetic.
On top of that, she had helped organize so much information for him, sparing him the headache. Shirou felt he should properly thank her.
"Looks like it is about time. Hurry and head to the office! Leave the shop to me!"
Seeing that it was getting late, Rope urged Shirou to move on to his next stop, the office.
Normally, she would be reluctant.
But considering that he had been sitting beside her the whole time, watching her do homework, she was now afraid he might suddenly pull out more assignments. She wanted him gone as soon as possible so she could attend to her own matters.
She still had her own small side business. She could not rely entirely on Shirou or Phal whenever something happened at the shop.
All things considered, she was practically a veteran employee here. Earning a little extra money to build her savings or to buy herself some accessories was not a bad thing.
It was just that her little side business was not something she could tell others about, especially Shirou. If he found out she was doing something dangerous, he would definitely stop her.
He was more like a mother than her actual mother.
Though she did not dislike that.
"Got it. Take care of things here."
Feeling Rope trying to shoo him away, Shirou felt a bit helpless.
Was he being disliked?
Well, fine. It was about time anyway and he really did need to head to his next stop. He had been quite busy lately… he just did not expect to be pushed away like this.
All of a sudden, he could understand what Taiga Fujimura once said: "When kids grow up, they stop listening."
At that moment, Shirou felt like he had aged several years in an instant. After giving Rope a few reminders, he slung his bag over his shoulder and prepared to leave.
"Be careful on the road. The slums have been pretty chaotic lately."
Noticing something off about him, Rope wondered if she had been too harsh, so she added that before he left.
Her voice was softer than usual, but it was more than enough for Shirou.
"Mm."
The previously expressionless Shirou showed a faint smile. He waved toward Rope inside and closed the door.
It was only a small gesture of concern, but it was enough.
He had only been a bit wistful about being pushed away, but that bit of care lifted his mood.
He had never asked for much. Even when helping others, he never expected any reward. As long as those he helped could smile, that was the best return he could ask for.
After walking a few steps, Shirou turned back to look at the shop.
It was something he had built on impulse, yet it had become a place many considered home.
Home, huh?
He wondered if his house back in Fuyuki still existed.