Inside the room, Shirou, Sora and Croissant were tidying up.
"Sorry about this… This used to be my daughter's room. It has not been used for a long time," the elderly woman said apologetically.
"It's no problem. Letting us use the room is already more than enough," Shirou replied, wiping his hands and tossing the rag into the bucket.
They only needed to clean the floor. The bed and cabinets would not be used and they would just lay out bedding on the floor and sleep in their sleeping bags.
Shirou handled most of the cleaning, while Sora and Croissant casually checked for anything suspicious, they were pretending to wipe things down while actually inspecting.
After parking the car nearby, Exusiai and Texas brought up sleeping bags and daily supplies, joining the inspection.
This kind of thing was not Shirou's expertise, so he left it to the Penguin Logistics crew.
His job was simply to prepare a clean place for everyone to sleep.
"Wow… as expected of Shirou."
After confirming there were no major issues, Exusiai turned around and saw that Shirou had already laid out all four sleeping bags neatly.
"Shirou, what about yours?"
Sharp-eyed Texas noticed the sleeping bag in Shirou's hands and that he did not seem to be placing it down.
"I will sleep outside. Someone should stay outside, right?"
Shirou pointed at the closed door.
Logically and morally, he felt he should sleep outside.
Sharing a room with four girls might sound great but he did not need that right now.
So he came up with an excuse.
"Hm? Shirou, are you shy? No need, we are teammates!" Croissant slung an arm around his neck, teasing him.
They did not mind him staying in the room at all, they knew what kind of person he was.
"Do not worry. The room is big enough," Texas added.
"Exactly! It is freezing outside!" Exusiai joined in, forming a perfect combo with Croissant, one on each side, hooking onto Shirou's neck.
"No. Thanks!"
Shirou ducked down, slipped out of their grasp, grabbed his sleeping bag and quickly fled the room.
"…Do you guys actually want him to stay? If you tease him like that, anyone would leave," Sora said, lightly tapping her forehead.
"Half and half, I guess. Is it not fun seeing Shirou get flustered? Besides, I do not think he even sees us as girls anymore. We dress pretty lightly at the dorm and he never even looks," Exusiai said with a grin.
"…You think maybe he does not look because he knows we dress lightly?" Croissant said after thinking for a moment.
At first, Shirou would blush at the sight of them wearing less. But later on, the moment he sensed anything off he would immediately look away and busy himself with something else.
Rather than getting used to it, it was more like Shirou was fighting in his own way.
Hearing that, Exusiai froze.
"Yeah, that is probably it. Shirou is actually very considerate. When he first joined us for long-distance runs, he even thought it was inappropriate and went to discuss it with Texas," Sora added.
She remembered that Shirou had only accepted the job after talking things through with her.
Exusiai's expression gradually turned worse.
"You are just too dense," Texas delivered the final blow.
Exusiai collapsed peacefully into her sleeping bag.
She had always thought Shirou was just indifferent to them, which was why she felt comfortable teasing him like that.
Now she just felt… socially dead.
Oh great Laterano above… can I go back in time and shoot myself?
"So that's you for you…" Sora sighed, not sure what to say.
When she was being playful, she went all out. But when embarrassment hit, she wished she could disappear.
"I'm not listening, I'm not listening."
To escape reality, Exusiai put on an eye mask, crawled into her sleeping bag, curled up and covered her ears.
Their sleeping bags could be zipped individually or connected together, they were good for solo or group sleeping.
The only issue was the glowing halo above Exusiai's head, meaning anyone sleeping near her needed an eye mask or they risked being woken up halfway by the light.
The others found her reaction amusing. After all, they were not the ones experiencing social death, they were usually more careful.
After finishing up and placing their weapons within reach, they all slipped into their sleeping bags.
Dinner had already been handled in the car, so they were not too hungry but if Shirou made something, they would gladly leave the warmth to eat.
As for Shirou, after greeting the woman, he placed his sleeping bag in the living room before stepping outside.
"...It is quite different from Lungmen."
Only now did he have the time to properly observe the village.
It was not large and even without enhancing his vision he could clearly see the fence at the edge.
Perhaps because it was late, the lights were not as bright as when they first arrived.
Compared to Lungmen, which stayed brightly lit even at night, this place had a quiet peaceful atmosphere.
After a moment, Shirou found a spot by the door and sat down.
Without the overwhelming lights of a big city, the stars above were especially bright.
It reminded him of the times he used to sit outside his home, watching the night sky.
He had considered climbing onto the vehicle roof, but figured Texas probably had the anti-theft system on. Triggering it might make noise and disturb everyone.
So he stayed by the door instead.
The buildings here were low anyway, he could still see the sky perfectly.
It had been over a month.
For the first time, Shirou allowed himself to stop thinking and simply empty his mind.
He had been afraid.
An unknown land, unknown civilization, unknown people, everything here was unfamiliar.
So he kept himself busy, using tasks to numb that fear.
Fortunately, Penguin Logistics had such a lively atmosphere that it often helped him relax.
After a month… he realized he was not as afraid anymore.