After Shirou finished off all the visible infected creatures and those attacking the village, he climbed down from the top of the vehicle, tidied himself up a bit, and got back inside.
His magical energy was already low and after a long time of sniping in the snow his eyes felt extremely strained.
Sitting down, Shirou raised a hand and rubbed his eye sockets trying to ease the discomfort.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Croissant spoke from outside the vehicle. Having been in close contact with self-destructing infected creatures for a long time, she was now cleaning her clothes and weapons.
Texas nearby was doing the same. Both of them had used Originium inhibitors, minimizing the risk of infection.
"No, you all worked hard too."
Shirou leaned back against the seat with his eyes closed and replied.
This time, he was truly exhausted. But he had also seen another side of everyone in Penguin Logistics.
You could say they had grown closer, after all they had fought together.
Still, it was hard to connect their current battle-ready selves with how they usually acted.
"Waaah… I have used up all my ammo! My wallet is doomed!"
Exusiai was slumped back in her seat not from exhaustion like Shirou, but because she had nearly used up all the etched ammunition she brought.
Although the boss would subsidize part of it, she would still have to pay out of pocket.
Her wallet, which she had carefully built up this month was about to face its greatest disaster ever.
She could not accept it!
"Shirou! Can you project some etched…I mean, just kidding, please spare me!"
Before she could finish, Exusiai felt something pressed against her halo and instantly switched to rapid-fire pleading at a speed rivaling Boss's rap.
In reality, Shirou had only picked up an empty staff. But Exusiai, still remembering the earlier barrage of swords, naturally assumed he was pointing a blade at her halo.
She had considered removing the halo before but that method seemed too violent, and she was afraid of pain.
Hearing her plea, Shirou withdrew the staff.
Yes… this was the usual Exusiai.
"Exusiai, you…"
Sora looked at her teammate with a complicated expression as she instantly backed down.
Ever since Shirou arrived, she had seen Croissant and Exusiai get shut down like this quite often.
Honestly, she would not mind seeing it happen more. Watching Shirou deal with them felt like watching parents use tricks to handle naughty kids in online videos.
Croissant and Exusiai were basically completely under Shirou's control!
…Well, joking aside, the two were mostly just messing around with him.
…Probably?
Thinking about their usual behavior, Sora was not so sure anymore.
"I am back! It is freezing out there!"
After finishing up, Croissant opened the door and jumped into the vehicle, enjoying the warmth inside.
"Time to go."
Texas sat in the driver's seat and spoke.
"This delivery really was full of trouble."
As the vehicle started moving, Exusiai reflected on everything that had happened.
Being chased was normal, so that was fine. The weather was bad, but at least it was not a Catastrophe. The villagers were nice. It was just that final wave of Infused Glacial Originium Slug that almost wiped them out.
If not for that last part, this delivery might have actually been easy.
Honestly, fighting those slugs was more exhausting than fighting people.
Exploding enemies were just disgusting.
"I agree. Those Casters were awful."
Croissant nodded, cursing the Casters who controlled the infected creatures.
Even though they were already pinned to trees, it did not stop her from ranting.
"But why would those Casters attack the village?"
Sora suddenly raised the question.
"…That is hard to say."
Croissant thought about it but could not come up with an answer.
"Maybe it has something to do with that… "Renuion Movement' in the village?"
Exusiai clapped her hands, feeling like she figured it out.
"It's called Reunion."
Texas corrected her from the driver's seat.
"Ah right, Reunion. They were probably targeting them."
Only then did Exusiai remember the correct name of the infected organization.
"Good thing we did not let Shirou join… huh, why is he not saying anything?"
Just as Croissant was feeling relieved they had stopped Shirou from joining such a dangerous group, she suddenly noticed something off.
Shirou had not said a word.
Normally, he would have already chimed in with a sarcastic remark.
Turning around, she saw him resting with his eyes closed.
He was still holding the staff he had borrowed from Sora earlier, he had forgotten to return it.
"…Looks like he is really exhausted."
Croissant lowered her voice.
That made sense. After sniping the creatures and Casters, his condition had already looked bad, and he still forced himself to launch another round of attacks.
Pushing himself like that… sooner or later something would snap.
…Wait, why was she thinking like that?
Was she not supposed to be the carefree, fun-loving type?
Scratching her head, she concluded that she had grown as a person, thinking more deeply now.
Yeah. She would reward herself with a good meal when they got back.
"It is pretty rare to see Shirou this defenseless."
From the passenger seat, Exusiai turned to look at his sleeping face.
Her first thought was not to cover him with a blanket—
—but to pull out her phone and start taking pictures.
Blankets could wait.
If he woke up, she would miss the chance!
The mischievous angel rapidly tapped the shutter button, taking photos from multiple angles. Later, she planned to store them on her computer along with all kinds of Penguin Logistics "black history" photos.
That collection already included:
Texas staring at a Pocky stick and a cat meme with a life-questioning expression
Croissant getting arrested after setting up a stall at Sora's concert
Sora trying on an oversized mascot costume
Heh heh heh… collecting embarrassing photos was just too fun!
"This Exusiai's gone bad… how about we throw her out?"
Seeing her sinister grin while snapping photos, Croissant felt she was beyond saving.
"Mm…"
Sora hesitated.
But just then, the vehicle hit a rock under the snow and jolted.
Her thoughts were interrupted—
Because the sleeping Shirou, shaken by the movement, tilted toward her…
…and leaned onto her shoulder.