And so, the matter was settled. Rather than saying that the members of Penguin Logistics were assisting Shirou, it would be more accurate to say that their mission from the very beginning was different from his.
Their role was to act as external support and extraction personnel, while Shirou's role was that of a rescuer in case the operation failed. If any unexpected incident occurred during the mission, Shirou would very likely be required to intervene personally.
So rather than assistants, were they actually there to keep an eye on Shirou?
In any case, after distributing intelligence regarding Ursus and Chernobog from recent days, everyone dispersed and returned to their rooms to rest with the documents in hand.
Shirou casually flipped through his own copy. Most of the information consisted of precautions related to Chernobog.
The main focus was on the kinds of people they might encounter if they came into conflict with Chernobog's official forces.
Among the documents, what caught Shirou's attention the most was a tightly sealed file envelope that Yith had asked Texas to pass specifically to him.
"…For me?"
Seeing his own name written on it, Shirou understood that Yith had intentionally slipped it in for him.
The others probably knew about it as well, but none of them asked about it. After all, when it came to working at Penguin Logistics, they were all veterans who were already very familiar with the procedures.
Opening the envelope, he found only a few sheets of paper inside. There were not even any pictures, only handwritten notes.
"Black Snake Koschei…"
After a quick glance, Shirou immediately caught the key term.
He was very familiar with that name. After all, he had been targeted by the man for quite some time recently, and Wei Yenwu had even stabbed directly at his emotional wounds while warning him about the Black Snake.
In addition, the leader of Reunion Movement, Talulah, seemed to be Koschei's adopted daughter.
Thinking of this, Shirou quickly continued reading through the documents. Most of it described matters related to Koschei.
At the same time, Shirou finally understood why Wei Yenwu had been so wary of the man. Long ago, Koschei had secretly controlled Lungmen from the shadows, only to be stopped and expelled by Wei Yenwu and the Rat King.
Twenty years ago, he returned once more and declared war against Wei Yenwu, but he failed again. However, Talulah was taken away by him during that period.
Behind this section was a small block of crossed-out writing. Perhaps Yith had made a mistake while writing it?
Shirou did not know. The lines had been scratched over so heavily that the paper was almost torn through, making it impossible to make out what had originally been written. He could only continue reading.
There were rumors that Koschei possessed Originium Arts related to the soul, allowing him to continue living by repeatedly seizing other people's bodies. That was also the origin of the title "The Undying Black Snake."
However, the claim sounded too fantastical. Most people did not believe the rumor, and only people like Wei Yenwu, who had directly opposed him, were truly concerned about it.
Yet it seemed that this rumor had already been proven true. Even after Koschei had supposedly died long ago, the title of the Black Snake once again spread among the infected of the northern tundras of Ursus three years earlier.
"Being targeted by someone like this is seriously troublesome."
After putting down the information regarding Koschei, Shirou felt a headache coming on.
Koschei had already been troublesome enough to begin with, but after seeing the complete intelligence file Yith had gathered, Shirou realized that the man was far more troublesome than he had imagined.
"Body-snatching… soul-related Originium Arts? I wonder if Rule Breaker would work against something like that?"
The thought crossed his mind briefly, but Shirou quickly rejected it.
After all, using an anti-magic Noble Phantasm against Originium Arts sounded completely absurd.
Still, three years ago, the northern tundras of Ursus…
That had definitely been that guy's doing. Otherwise, why would Koschei suddenly target him for no reason?
Thinking about how he had been smashed in the face by a problem flying out of nowhere made Shirou increasingly irritated.
Still, all he could do was stew in silent frustration. After organizing the information he already knew, he continued reading.
"This is… the Emperor Blades?"
Turning to the next page, the first thing Shirou saw was a large hand-drawn sketch. It depicted a person wearing strange black armor covered in numerous tubes and pipes. The appearance alone was unsettling.
From Yith's written descriptions, it was clear that compared to Koschei, he was even more concerned about warning Shirou regarding the Emperor Blades.
Koschei had changed bodies before, meaning his combat ability was unknown and likely affected. Under such circumstances, he would probably rely on his old connections to gather manpower. Among those forces, the most dangerous were these so-called Emperor's Blades.
They were the strongest combat force within Ursus, though that was not the most important issue for Shirou.
The truly troublesome part was what existed inside their armor.
Yith did not explain in detail what it was. He only wrote that if Shirou ever encountered them, he should avoid damaging their armor, or rather, their combat suits.
If the thing sealed inside them ever lost control or leaked out, the surrounding land could very well remain covered in evil corruption for a very long time. Never mind the people facing it directly at close range, such as Shirou and the others.
"…This is ridiculous."
After finishing Yith's handwritten report, Shirou stayed silent for a moment before finally voicing his complaint.
Still, it was not entirely impossible to understand. Originium Arts were already absurdly versatile, so the existence of bizarre abilities like this was not particularly unreasonable.
Yith had not written down any further details. He only emphasized that if Shirou encountered them, he should run immediately. Even if battle became unavoidable, the best option was to stall them while searching for an opportunity to escape. Under no circumstances should their combat suits be destroyed.
Based on Shirou's understanding of Yith, these were probably special warnings written specifically for him.
All he could say was that the man had worked hard.
After memorizing the information, Shirou followed the instructions written in the report. Using magical energy, he shredded the documents into tiny fragments. Half of them were flushed down the toilet, while the other half were thrown into the trash.
After being torn apart by magical energy, the paper fragments had already become finer than grains of salt. By disposing of them separately, Shirou could be reasonably certain that the information would never leak out.
After finishing all of that, Shirou no longer had the mood to continue reviewing the remaining intelligence. He washed up, completed his daily training routine, and prepared to sleep.
At present, there was no need for him to worry too much. Yith had already said that the chances of encountering such enemies were very small. The intelligence had only been given to him as a precaution.
Over the following days, Shirou lived peacefully as though he had already forgotten about the matter entirely.
And after the schedule had finally been confirmed that day, arranging future plans became much easier for him.
Because the biggest problem… no, the biggest difficulty… no, rather, the combined day of Exusiai's birthday and Christmas Eve…
It seemed they would not be able to make it back to Lungmen in time after all.
Since they were not going to make it back in time anyway, there was no point preparing things in Lungmen. It was not as though they could bring a huge pile of ingredients with them to Rhodes Island during the mission.
After all, the equipment carried by the four of them already took up a lot of space, and preserving fresh ingredients would also be a problem.
"Big brother! Big Sister Exusiai's apple pie smells so good!"
Just as Shirou was thinking about these matters, a little girl suddenly jumped in front of him, grabbed his hand, and spoke excitedly.
The Originium crystals on the back of her hand already explained many things.
"Big Sister Exusiai really is good at making desserts. This is one of the specialties that Laterano people excel at! Hurry and go line up so you can enjoy some too."
Reaching out, Shirou gently rubbed the little girl's head while smiling softly at her.
At that moment, Shirou was helping watch the store at the Fuyuki Shop, while the members of Penguin Logistics were fooling around with the children in the kitchen area behind him.
Rope had also been dragged over there, meaning nobody was left to watch the shop. Shirou felt that losing a day's worth of business would hurt quite a bit, so he had taken responsibility for staying at the counter.
That said, ever since he sat down there, it seemed like not a single customer had entered the store.
Although he really did not want to think about it this way, it somehow felt as though whenever he was around… the store's business became particularly bad.
Aside from a few customers who came under the excuse of shopping but were actually there to see him, there hardly seemed to be any real customers.
No, no, no. Maybe the timing was just bad. It was already close to closing time, so having no customers was completely normal. Usually, he also came during lunch break hours.
It was perfectly normal for there to be no customers during those two periods!
"Whoa, Shirou, you are really good with kids!"
Croissant poked her head out from the side, apparently searching for the little girl who had secretly run out, and spoke teasingly.
Look at how gentle Shirou was with children!
Yet when dealing with them, he used knife chops or suction-cup arrows. Truly cruel!
"This is something that is only natural."
Not noticing the teasing tone in Croissant's voice, Shirou nodded very seriously in response.
If he had just turned his gaze toward her, he would have noticed the mischievous grin plastered across her face.
"Come on! I will take you to find Big Sister Exusiai~"
But the brave Croissant was not about to stop just because Shirou failed to notice her teasing. She reached out toward the little girl, offering to take her to Exusiai.
She even deliberately emphasized the words "Big Sister Exusiai," dragging out the ending dramatically.
"Croissant?"
At this point, Shirou naturally realized that she was making fun of him.
In response, he raised his right hand. At first, he made a chopping gesture, but after noticing the little girl standing in front of Croissant, he changed it into a motion as though gripping something.
"Eh, eh, eh! You cannot hit people in front of children! Even pranks are not allowed! The kids will learn bad habits!"
Seeing Shirou's movement, Croissant hurriedly picked up the little girl and flashed a huge smile while speaking to him.
"..."
After hearing her words, Shirou finally lowered his hand, though the smile on his face remained unchanged.
He was beginning to regret bringing Croissant here.
Exusiai was fine. Ever since arriving, she had thrown herself wholeheartedly into the kitchen, focusing entirely on making apple pies and other desserts. As for Texas and Sora, they were also reassuringly reliable.
Only the croissant-horned girl standing before him caused him concern.
More specifically, he was worried that she would be a bad influence on the children.
Sigh. Truly exhausting.
"Then I will head back inside first! Little Rope said that if there are no customers, it is fine to close the shop early instead of staying here alone the whole time."
Seeing Shirou give up resisting, Croissant felt that she had achieved victory in this confrontation.
As for whether she would be retaliated against afterward?
It did not matter! Winning once in the present was already enough to make her happy for quite a while. Future problems could be left for her future self to worry about!
As she carried the little girl toward the kitchen, Croissant also relayed what Rope had said earlier.
"Got it."
Waving his hand dismissively to shoo her away, Shirou sat there for a little while longer. Only after confirming that there truly were no customers did he finally give up and flip the sign at the entrance to "Closed."
Before he could even begin tidying the shop, a group of children suddenly rushed out and surrounded him, then shoved him straight into the kitchen.
The enormous table was covered from end to end with desserts, making Shirou's eyelids twitch violently.
After all, Exusiai had said she would only make "a little"…
But how was this "a little"? This was more like "an absurd amount"!
"Shirou, you are here! Everyone said they would wait for you to cut the cake before they start eating, so hurry and make the first slice!"
Seeing Shirou being escorted in by a crowd of children, Exusiai handed him a cake knife and said with a smile.
"Alright."
Looking at Exusiai wearing an apron with cream smeared across her face, Shirou originally wanted to say something.
However, seeing how excited all the children were, he hesitated before ultimately deciding not to ruin the atmosphere. Instead, he silently recorded the matter in his mental notebook, planning to deal with both Exusiai and Croissant after they returned home.
Taking the cake knife, Shirou cleanly and efficiently divided the cake into more than ten pieces. The sizes were somewhat uneven, but at least everyone would get to taste some.
A little cake was enough anyway. After all, Exusiai had made all sorts of desserts, especially her favorite apple pie, of which she had baked three whole pies.
After finishing the cutting and helping distribute the portions to everyone, Shirou grabbed three apple pies with different styles of crust and quietly slipped away toward Texas and Sora.
As for the reason…
The destructive power created when children and desserts collided together seemed a little too overwhelming.
Even the two older kids joined the scramble for desserts, leaving the three people over here covered in metaphorical black lines of exasperation.
"Want some?"
Shirou held up a plate piled with apple pie as he asked.
Although he knew the two of them each had their own preferred flavors, Exusiai's apple pie was simply too good, so he had only brought apple pie.
There was the very traditional kind, and also the kind that focused more on the crust.
There was even the sort of single-serving apple pie sold in shops, the kind Shirou used to specially bring back during deliveries a long time ago.
Back then, when Exusiai said she wanted to learn how to make them, he had thought she was only joking. He never expected her to actually succeed.
It could only be said that when it came to apple pie, her determination far surpassed that of ordinary people.
"Thank you."
The two of them each took a slice and started enjoying it.
"How about I go get something to drink too?"
Looking at the slightly exhausted expressions on their faces, as well as the various fairy tale books scattered nearby and the already emptied cups of water, Shirou could roughly guess what Texas and Sora had just gone through.
He had experienced it himself before. After telling stories until his throat was dry, he still did not dare drink water, because the eager looks in the children's eyes whenever they wanted the story to continue were simply too hard to refuse.
"Yes, please."
Only after hearing Shirou's words did the two nod. Then they glanced at the large amount of desserts on the distant table, hesitated for a moment, and added:
"Do you have milk tea?"
"Yes. Everything was prepared."
After saying that, Shirou walked over and opened the refrigerator. Inside were iced black tea and condensed milk, which he took out and brought over.
"Eh! Shirou! I want milk tea too!"
"And me! I want some too!"
The moment Exusiai and Croissant saw the black tea and condensed milk in Shirou's hands, they hurried over one after another, followed by a crowd of eager gazes.
"...Fine."
What else could Shirou say at that point? He could only make it for them.
As for any ingredients that ran short, he would simply have the two older sisters go buy more. Consider it a tiny bit of payback for what had happened earlier.