This matter did not spread very far. After all, everyone in the Guard Department knew that a certain someone named Shirou could not handle hearing about these things. To avoid suction-cup arrows mysteriously flying out from nowhere and sticking into their heads, everyone became exceptionally cautious whenever discussing it.
As for Chen later forcing the entire Guard Department into a brutal round of overtime work, that was another matter entirely.
In any case, none of that had anything to do with Shirou anymore after he rode away from the Guard Department on his bicycle.
People familiar with Shirou could all clearly sense the changes in him.
Whether it was the people from the Guard Department, the office staff, or the workers at Fuyuki Shop, everyone had noticeably felt Shirou's change.
Especially the members of Penguin Logistics, who were cared for by Shirou in their daily lives every single day.
However, since the weather happened to be changing recently, everyone simply attributed Shirou's changes to the seasonal shift.
After all, winter had arrived, so it really was time to wear more clothes and pay attention to staying warm.
Worth mentioning was that this year, Lungmen had moved somewhat farther north in order to avoid catastrophe routes, so many people were looking forward to possibly seeing snowfall within the city.
When it came to watching unusual events unfold, the people of Lungmen all shared similar opinions, so most of them were eagerly anticipating snowy days.
Unfortunately, Shirou had long since become immune to snow. In fact, he almost wished Lungmen would not snow at all.
Snow certainly was beautiful and fun, but once it started interfering with daily life, people would immediately wish for a blazing sun to melt all of it away.
Still, with the current temperatures, it would be difficult for Lungmen to actually see snowfall, so Shirou was not overly concerned.
Besides, if it really snowed, he could always project a shovel and clear the roads himself.
Looking out the window, Shirou continuously thought about how to deal with these sorts of situations if they actually happened.
At the moment, he was watching the shop in place of Rope. The store had also started selling products geared toward keeping warm, and for the people in the slums, these were all valuable goods, so sales were quite decent.
Fuyuki Shop had taken another step closer toward expansion.
"The hot water is here!"
Meanwhile, Rope appeared wearing a thick purple coat, bundled up like a rice dumpling while hopping over with a kettle of freshly boiled water in hand toward the cashier counter.
"Careful not to burn yourself."
Taking the hot water, Shirou brewed a cup of hot tea while casually reminding her.
"Okaaay~~!"
After accepting the cup, Rope blew on it symbolically a couple of times before immediately taking a sip.
Drinking hot tea on a cold day really did feel incredibly comfortable.
"Hiss—fuh… hah…"
Then Rope suddenly widened her eyes, quickly slammed the cup onto the table, and began inhaling cold air repeatedly through her mouth.
"That is why I told you to be careful."
Watching Rope's reaction, Shirou found it somewhat amusing.
Sometimes things did not feel hot upon entering the mouth, but the moment they went down the throat, one realized how scalding they actually were, leaving the throat and stomach feeling uncomfortable.
This was simply what happened when someone drank too quickly. It happened often during cold weather, and even in air-conditioned rooms while eating hot food.
Do not ask Shirou how he knew this. Back at the dormitory, he constantly saw everyone eating too quickly before blowing frantically on their mouths afterward, so he had already grown accustomed to it.
Fortunately, because the weather itself was cool, Rope felt much better after taking several deep breaths. However, she also seemed to realize how embarrassing she had looked just now, so she shrank entirely into her oversized coat, leaving only her face visible as she stared at the steaming tea cup.
"…I did not burn myself."
After quite a long while, Rope finally spoke.
"I know you did not burn yourself. Want some bean cake? Jaye specially brought these for all of you."
Looking at her stubborn expression, Shirou cooperated with her act while taking out a bean cake and placing it before her.
"Yes, thank you."
From the very moment Shirou picked up the bean cake, Rope's eyes seemed practically glued to it, refusing to move away even slightly.
Her eyes sparkled with unmistakable longing.
Holding out both hands carefully, Rope accepted the bean cake from Shirou. She first smelled it before finally opening her mouth and taking a small bite.
It was very sweet. The instant it entered her mouth, it melted apart immediately. The sandy texture continuously released the fragrance of mung beans along with an intense sweetness, causing Rope to eagerly take another bite right away.
One bite, two bites, three bites later, the entire bean cake vanished into Rope's stomach.
Afterward, she took another sip of hot tea. The tea instantly diluted the lingering sweetness, filling Rope with confidence and making her feel like she could eat ten more.
"At most, two more. The rest have to be shared with everyone else."
Noticing Rope's expression, Shirou took out two additional bean cakes, placed them onto a napkin, and wrapped them up carefully.
Eating too many overly sweet things was not good. If Minmin found out, Shirou definitely would not escape a lengthy lecture.
"Alright!"
Rope had no objections at all. She simply slowed down considerably while eating, clearly intending to savor them slowly.
Still, eating sweets and drinking tea alone became boring quickly, and the chilly weather made people feel lazy and unwilling to think too much. Since both her hands were occupied by snacks and tea, Rope simply started chatting with Shirou instead.
From everyday trivial matters to the children at Fuyuki Shop, then to Phal, Jaye, Lin Yuhsia, and others, Rope talked nonstop while Shirou quietly listened.
"Hehe, the coats Teacher Lin Yuhsia gave us are super warm! Everyone loves them!"
As she spoke, Rope jumped down from her chair and spun around in place so Shirou could clearly see the coat she was wearing.
All Shirou could say was that Lin Yuhsia had been extremely thoughtful. Beyond warmth, she had also considered appearance and individual preferences. After all, she had personally taught every single child there, so she personally selected each coat herself.
In this regard, Shirou felt thoroughly outclassed. Compared to a half-baked caretaker like himself, Lin Yuhsia seemed to understand the children at the shop far better.
There was nothing that could really be done about it. Shirou was not particularly clever, and he could not provide much help when it came to management or teaching, so naturally there was a bit more distance between him and the children in those areas.
Fortunately, however, the children did not dislike him because of it. Rope was already the tenth person to show off their coat in front of him.
"It suits you very well."
This was the tenth time Shirou had said those words, though he genuinely meant them every single time.
After all, Lin Yuhsia had excellent taste.
The dark purple coat matched Rope's purple hair extremely well, and considering her role in gathering intelligence, darker purple tones were also more suitable for moving around unnoticed in the shadows.
Shirou reasonably suspected that Lin Yuhsia had already considered all of that when specifically choosing this color.
Otherwise, perhaps purple and white would have looked even better?
No… wait.
At that thought, Shirou recalled the kinds of clothes Rope usually wore.
Most of them tended to be darker colors anyway, so her preference for dark purple made perfect sense.
"Hmph hmph! Of course it does!"
After hearing Shirou's praise, Rope placed both hands on her hips and spoke with a proud expression.
She personally loved this coat very much as well. Combined with the little rabbit badge attached to it, she practically wanted to wear it every single day.
After basking proudly for a moment, Rope suddenly realized she had been standing barefoot on the cold floor the entire time. Feeling the chill spreading through the soles of her feet, she hurriedly jumped back onto the chair and curled herself into a little ball once again.
Shirou saw all of this clearly, and the corners of his mouth curled upward slightly.
"Guh…"
Rope already felt embarrassed enough after making a fool of herself, but seeing Shirou smile only made her feel even more awkward. This time, she did not even intend to show her face anymore and directly buried her entire body inside the oversized coat.
However, after a few seconds, she seemed to think of something and cautiously poked her head back out, only to discover that Shirou was no longer at his seat.
She looked left and right, but there was no sign of Shirou anywhere in the shop.
Just as Rope was about to put on her shoes and search for him, she saw him walking out from the kitchen area carrying a stack of towels she had never seen before.
"These are warm. Wipe your hands first, then place them on your feet. It should help you feel better."
Shirou stuffed the towels into Rope's hands before calmly returning to his seat and refilling his tea.
"…Um, Shirou, can I ask you something?"
Feeling the warmth radiating from the towels in her hands, Rope obediently wiped her hands before placing the towels over her feet. Combined with her slightly flushed face, she looked extremely cozy.
"Of course. What do you want to ask?"
Shirou did not refuse her question.
"Have you had something on your mind lately? It feels like you have been caring about people a little too much recently… although it feels really nice, I still cannot help wondering whether something happened to you."
After Shirou agreed, Rope immediately blurted out all of her doubts in one breath.
"It is not—"
Shirou originally intended to deny it, but before he could even finish saying the first word, Rope interrupted him directly.
"I am very good at reading people, you know? Lying is bad, remember? You were the one who said that yourself!"
Perhaps because she worked in intelligence gathering, combined with growing up in the slums, Rope was especially sensitive to changes in people.
It was precisely that sensitivity that had helped her escape danger countless times and avoid innumerable crises.
She was absolutely certain Shirou had something troubling him, so the instant he tried to deny it, she immediately cut him off.
Normally, she would not press someone this persistently, but this sudden increase in concern toward everyone around him…
It was worrying.
Even though Shirou had always played this sort of caretaker role, she still felt concerned.
Although she had never personally encountered such a situation before, she had heard of similar cases.
Shirou: "..."
How had this suddenly turned into an interrogation session?
What exactly happened while he was in the kitchen warming up towels?
Still, seeing Rope's serious expression, Shirou eventually gave up on trying to brush it off. After thinking for a moment, he replied:
"It is nothing special. I have just been thinking about the future, I guess?"
"The future?"
A question mark practically appeared above Rope's head after hearing his answer.
That explanation felt far too vague.
"Yeah. Things like what I should do from here onward. You need a goal first before you can really find the motivation to act, right?"
Seeing that Rope seemed willing to accept the explanation, Shirou naturally continued the conversation along that line.
"I see! So Shirou, are you thinking about what your dream is? Like wanting to become a qualified mo— cough cough, a qualified housekeeper, which is why you have been caring so much about everyone?"
After listening to Shirou's explanation, Rope suddenly looked enlightened.
Although she accidentally said the wrong thing midway and immediately sensed the dangerous look in Shirou's eyes, she corrected herself with lightning speed and narrowly escaped disaster.
"A dream, huh? That is still a little far away."
Ignoring Rope's slip of the tongue, Shirou smiled helplessly.
"I have just been thinking about whether the weather is going to get colder over the next few days."
Calling it "thinking about dreams" really was far too grandiose.
He had merely been wondering what to do if the weather became even colder in the coming days, or if it started snowing.
It was nothing more than an ordinary everyday concern, nowhere near lofty enough to be called a dream.
"I see. But why do you seem so resistant to the topic of dreams, Shirou?"
Realizing that she had apparently misunderstood what he meant, Rope looked somewhat embarrassed.
However, she quickly remembered that when Shirou had said dreams felt far away, the expression on his face had looked rather unnatural, almost as though he was resisting the topic itself.
But immediately after asking the question, Rope hurriedly covered her mouth, already regretting that she had brought it up.
"It is nothing that cannot be talked about. I just feel that kind of ideal is a little too dazzling. Focusing on the present is not such a bad thing either."
Looking at Rope covering her mouth, Shirou found it somewhat amusing. Only after taking another sip of tea did he slowly explain his thoughts.
There were simply too many things occupying his mind, which made him somewhat hesitant whenever he acted.
On top of that, he was unfamiliar with both the people and the place here. He was afraid that pursuing some grand ideal might end up destroying the life he currently had.
"Hmm... I actually have the same kind of problem. How about we exchange thoughts about it?"
After hearing Shirou's words, Rope pinched her chin for a long while, clearly debating whether she should pry deeper into this side of Shirou.
After thinking for quite some time, she finally decided she wanted to understand him better. Still, she could not just make Shirou speak alone. She had to show some sincerity herself as well.
Coincidentally, she also had a similar problem. It was likewise a dazzling dream, yet something else kept preventing her from achieving it.
"You know, I have been struggling to survive in the slums since I was very young, so I have always longed for the life of an ordinary girl. At first, I thought it was impossible because of money... but now I realize there is an even more important problem."
Unlike her usual carefree tone, Rope spoke very slowly.
To Shirou, it felt as though Rope was digging up something she least wanted to face.
Although he wanted to stop her, Rope refused his concern and instead reluctantly pulled down the sleeve of her coat.
"Ordinary girls... do not have something like this on their bodies."
As Rope lowered her sleeve, the Originium crystal was revealed.
Under the light, that hateful stone briefly glimmered.