After getting a grasp of Shirou's abilities or rather, the nature of his projection, the group finally had a rough understanding of his combat strength.
Well… rough was the key word.
In any case, since Shirou would mostly just be accompanying them on long-distance runs, it might be better to treat him not as regular combat power, but as a secret weapon.
"So the boss arranged things like this… is he planning to make Shirou Penguin Logistic's ultimate trump card? Like if we cannot win we just bomb everything?" Croissant started letting her imagination run wild after eating her fill.
Thinking back to that mushroom cloud earlier, she felt like she had at least ten thousand words' worth of thoughts to share.
No, ten thousand words probably still would not be enough to describe the awe she felt toward Shirou.
The Demon King Shirou was way too strong. She might as well give up struggling early. As long as she did not cross his bottom line he would not do anything to her anyway.
Super easy to deal with.
"I think that is very possible. With the boss's personality, there is no way he'd let Shirou keep being just a housekeeper," Exusiai agreed wholeheartedly.
"…Wait. Shirou, did you not tell the boss?" Sora suddenly realized something and turned to ask him.
She had noticed that unless they asked, Shirou would not bring things up himself. But if they did ask he would usually answer honestly.
"I did mention it… but I guess I did not explain it in detail?"
Thinking back, Shirou remembered that he had brought it up but probably not clearly enough so it got overlooked.
"You should just shoot one right in front of the boss. I guarantee he will max out your salary instantly!" Croissant mimicked drawing a bow.
"You would probably get dragged away by the Lungmen Guard Department first," Exusiai shot back. "Even my little explosives get me in trouble. If Shirou fires something like that in Lungmen the whole department's coming after him."
"No thanks. I think things are fine as they are," Shirou refused Croissant's suggestion. He had no intention of changing his current routine anytime soon.
"…Hmm. If Shirou gets promoted, does that not mean that we will not get to eat his cooking anymore?" Sora suddenly pointed out.
"…Oh no. That absolutely cannot be allowed," Croissant said, taking a deep breath as she resolved to prevent that future at all costs.
"I literally cannot imagine life without Shirou anymore. Going back to deciding what takeout to eat every day sounds like torture," Exusiai added, firmly on the same side.
"You two…" Texas glanced at her two teammates who had clearly been spoiled rotten.
Even though she secretly agreed, she still felt like they should at least pretend to support Shirou's promotion.
"Just kidding, just kidding!" Exusiai waved her hands quickly under Texas's unimpressed gaze.
"Keep your eyes on the road ahead," Texas cut in, ending the topic and assigning Exusiai something to do.
"Shirou, do you see anything?" Exusiai turned to ask. With Shirou around, she had little reason to use the binoculars unless necessary, they were too tiring and not even as accurate.
"Nothing so far. But it looks like it is snowing in the distance to the left."
Shirou shook his head. He had been keeping an eye on their surroundings the whole time. Perhaps because of the cold, there were not many infected creatures around.
From inside the vehicle, it was not obvious but Shirou could clearly see snow falling in the distance to the left. The temperature out there must be brutal.
"Snow? Yeah… I see it," Exusiai said after checking with the binoculars.
She cracked open the window slightly, and a gust of freezing wind immediately rushed in.
"Ahhh! Close it!" Croissant in the back seat got hit head-on by the cold air. Her coat was not even zipped, she was practically wearing just a tank top underneath.
"Sorry, sorry but we should probably speed up. It might start snowing here soon," Exusiai said casually before turning to Texas.
If it was already snowing nearby, it could easily reach them too. Light snow was fine, but heavy snowfall would be a problem.
"Mm." Texas responded and pressed the accelerator a bit further.
Though Shirou did not notice, the car was already moving very fast. Otherwise, they would not have reached the Ursus border from Lungmen in such a short time.
Mostly, it was because Texas drove very smoothly. Aside from earlier when they were being chased, Shirou had not felt the speed at all.
And just as Exusiai predicted, snow began to fall along their route. It started light, but as they got closer to the Ursus border, it gradually intensified.
"Is this really okay?" Shirou asked while helping Texas put on an extra coat.
Everyone else in the car had already bundled up and looked fairly composed.
"It's fine, it's fine. Turning back now would not help anyway. We might as well push to the destination, maybe we can even find a place to set up camp," Exusiai said calmly. She was used to this kind of situation.
At this point, it was a race: whether they would reach the village first or the snow would get too heavy for the vehicle to continue.
If they made it to the village first everything would be fine, they could find shelter and set up camp. If not… then they would just have to tough it out.
It was not the worst-case scenario anyway. At worst, they would spend a day inside the vehicle. With the supplies and the vehicle itself, they could manage.
The boss's equipment was always reliable.
"It is just snow there is nothing to worry about," Croissant declared bravely while quietly zipping her coat all the way up.
Even though it was warmer inside the vehicle than outside, with snow already falling, it was still far from comfortable.
"Brr… Shirou, are you not going to change into a thicker coat?" Sora asked, tugging her coat tighter.
"I am fine. If you are cold, you can wear mine."
For Shirou, the temperature was still tolerable. His jacket was enough.
But for the others it was clearly cold, he could see Sora shivering.
Before she could refuse, Shirou took the thick coat Sora had prepared for him earlier and draped it over her shoulders. Croissant immediately grabbed one side, and the two of them huddled together under it.