"Books? What books?"
Hearing that Shirou came to borrow books, Swire grew curious.
As for the meals she was holding for others? Who cares about those two, missing one meal will not kill them.
She could just say the shop was crowded and there was a line.
Swire was still annoyed about losing a small game and being forced to come out personally to buy food. Luckily, she happened to run into Shirou here.
This was someone she wanted to recruit! She needed to interact with him more.
"Some materials related to Oripathy."
Shirou replied. After all, she was from the Guard Department, and Penguin Logistics often interacted with them so he needed to maintain a friendly relationship.
They might deal with each other often in the future. Who knows, maybe one day he would end up in their custody or need to get Texas and the others out from their hands.
"Oripathy-related? You are interested in it?"
Having successfully opened a topic, Swire continued chatting.
Shirou went along with it for a bit. Aside from his heavy bag, he was not in a hurry anyway.
Besides, he had a decent impression of Swire. Her status as a good senior officer in the Guard Department gave her quite a few bonus points in his eyes.
Though she did seem a bit mischievous, often saying things that could be easily misunderstood.
But at least for now, his impression of her was good.
Yes—for now. If she kept this up a few more times, he was not so sure.
"You are really diligent, Shirou."
After chatting for a while and learning why he was interested in Oripathy, Swire found him increasingly likable.
"It's nothing. I just happen to have some free time."
Shirou did not get carried away by the praise.
But that very attitude made Swire want to recruit him even more.
Someone who constantly improves himself, with good ideals and a positive personality, who would not like that?
He was just a bit young. Twenty was honestly still quite young. Give him a few more years and if he did not go astray he would definitely be an excellent talent! With proper training, he could become a core of the Guard Department!
The only concern was whether he would be led astray by staying at Penguin Logistics.
But for now, he seemed fine. At least he still reads books to improve himself.
Thinking about the four people in Penguin Logistics, one reckless driver, one demolition expert, one illegally running a stall and only Sora, the idol who somehow joined them, seemed somewhat normal… though even her personality seemed to be drifting.
All she could say was: Penguin Logistics really ruins people.
"Ah… it is already this late."
After a stretch of conversation, Swire realized more than twenty minutes had passed.
If she delayed any longer and lunch break ended, the food in her hands would turn into afternoon tea and she would definitely get complaints from "Noodle Dragon" and Hoshiguma.
"You should go ahead and get back to work. I need to prepare dinner too."
Seeing that Swire seemed busy, Shirou said he also needed to get going and told her not to worry about him.
"Dinner, huh… Shirou, are you good at cooking?"
Only then did Swire remember that Shirou's position at Penguin Logistics was… a housekeeper?
She had been too busy earlier to think about it, but now that he mentioned dinner, it came back to her.
"I guess I am okay?"
Shirou thought for a moment. He was still learning Lungmen-style cooking, but everyone at Penguin Logistics seemed to like it, so it should be decent.
"Then make one for me sometime! I have not had a homemade bento in ages!"
Swire said with a meaningful smile.
Start from small details, slowly build trust, and then recruit him in one go!
That was her "thousand-layer strategy"!
"That is no problem. Do you have anything you particularly like?"
Shirou did not refuse. At most, he would bring something next time he returned books to Snowsant or passed by the Guard Department.
"I can eat anything, do not worry!"
After thinking for a moment, she realized she was not picky. If anything, she liked char siu rice, but since she was the one making the request, it would not be appropriate to demand specific dishes.
She decided to leave it all to Chef Shirou.
"Then I will bring it when I get the chance. I will let you know beforehand. I will get going now."
With that, Shirou said goodbye and left.
If he stayed any longer, he felt like Swire would keep talking and extend the conversation.
It would not be good to disrupt her work.
Shirou could not help but admire her social skills, she always had another topic ready.
People like that put a bit of pressure on him, especially given her status.
Ordinary civilians usually felt that way when talking to police.
"…It is already this late. If I do not hurry back, this will really become afternoon tea."
After parting ways with Shirou, Swire checked the time and rushed toward the Guard Department.
"Ah… I was originally going to talk to him about those guys from last time…"
Halfway there, she remembered why she approached him in the first place.
She wanted to explain that the previous attack by those thugs was a personal matter and would not happen again.
Also, her intuition was right, someone seemed to be manipulating things behind the scenes.
But that had nothing to do with Shirou. It was just one of the many cases she needed to investigate.
Planning to use it as a conversation starter next time, she quickened her pace back to the Guard Department.
Waiting for her would be the double assault of a hungry dragon and a hungry oni.
"Haa… I am exhausted."
After hauling a large pile of books and groceries back to the dorm, Shirou rubbed his sore shoulder.
He'd spent too long chatting with Swire. If he went back to the dorm first and then to the supermarket, he might miss dinner time so he had no choice but to carry everything with him while shopping.
He made it in time, but carrying books and groceries together was inconvenient.
After stretching a bit, Shirou began preparing dinner.
Cooking was the only time he did not overthink things, he could focus completely on the ingredients in front of him.
As he busied himself in the kitchen, the members of Penguin Logistics gradually gathered in the living room, finding their usual spots.
They typically returned home, took showers, changed clothes and then came downstairs.
"Hm? What are these?"
Croissant noticed the large bag off to the side. Taking a quick look, she realized it was filled with professional books.
Basically the kind of stuff she had no interest in understanding.
She found it strange that such things would appear in Penguin Logistics, so she called the others over to ask about it.
"They are probably Shirou's. A few days ago he said he would buy some books when he got paid."
Texas remembered that Shirou had mentioned this earlier.
She just did not expect him to buy this many.
"Shirou, Shirou! Can we take a look at those books?"
Exusiai was more straightforward and she rushed straight into the kitchen to ask Shirou, who was busy cooking.
"The books? Just do not dirty or damage them, they are borrowed."
Only then did Shirou remember he had not put them in his room yet. He did not mind letting them take a look but reminded them to be careful.
Although Snowsant had intended to give the books to him, Shirou had checked their prices and they were quite expensive. He planned to read them carefully, preserve them well, and return them later.
Though that would probably take a while. These were not simple books you could finish in a couple of days.
"Do not worry! You can trust me!"
With permission granted, Exusiai immediately left the kitchen.
Her words made Shirou's mouth twitch slightly.
It was precisely because it was Exusiai that he was worried. Just to be safe, Shirou set down what he was doing and leaned out of the kitchen:
"Those books are not mine so do not dirty or damage them!"
"I will keep an eye on Croissant and Exusiai!"
Sora immediately understood who Shirou was worried about and promised to watch the two most likely troublemakers.
"Why me and Exusiai?!"
Croissant protested, feeling targeted.
"Exactly!"
Exusiai chimed in as she sat down.
"Do you two not have any self-awareness?"
Texas knew exactly what Shirou was worried about, she had seen similar situations many times before.
To make sure the two would not mess around, she added:
"I took a quick look and they are all about Oripathy. You would not be interested."
Although Texas could not understand them either, she could tell from the titles what kind of books they were.
After that spoiler, the two immediately lost interest.
Exusiai had originally thought they were cookbooks so she was ready to order dishes straight from them.
Turns out they were serious academic books. Boring.
As for why Shirou wanted to read them, everyone was a bit curious but no one planned to pry. Digging into someone's reasons just to satisfy curiosity could be annoying.
They simply treated it as Shirou's personal hobby.
"Then let's move these books to Shirou's room. Heave-ho!"
Croissant rolled up her sleeves, this kind of physical work was her specialty.
"Woohoo!"
Exusiai enthusiastically applauded and cheered her on.
Amid the lively chatter, Shirou brought the dishes to the table.
Everyone had their own portion, and he had adjusted the flavors to suit each person's tastes so they all ate happily.
"Mm… by the way, Shirou, aren't there three empty rooms here?"
After swallowing her last bite, Exusiai asked.
"Yeah. Why?"
Shirou did not understand why she suddenly brought it up.
Aside from his own room, there were indeed three empty ones. He even cleaned them occasionally.
Each room was a suite, with its own bathroom and toilet.
The upstairs layout was similar, it was perfect for four people to each have their own room.
"Well… you see, every time we come back, we have to go upstairs to shower and change, then come back down and after eating we go back up again. Is that not kind of troublesome?"
Exusiai rubbed her hands as she spoke. The other three from Penguin Logistics also turned their attention over.
This was currently their biggest issue, having to go up and down all the time.
So they came up with a plan: turn one of the empty rooms here into a changing room. That way, they could come back from work, shower and change here directly—
And even leave their clothes for Shirou to wash. Perfect!
After much "discussion" (and probably some chaotic decision-making), Exusiai was chosen to talk to Shirou about it.
"You want to sleep here? That is not okay."
Hearing her explanation, Shirou thought they wanted to move downstairs.
That was absolutely not acceptable. Who knew if they would wander out half-asleep wearing something inappropriate?
"No, no! We are just borrowing a room as a changing room!"
Seeing the misunderstanding, Exusiai hurriedly clarified.
Though Shirou's idea was tempting, there were not enough rooms anyway , normally everyone still needed their own private space.
"A changing room?"
Shirou still did not quite get it but as long as they were not sleeping there, it was fine.
Thinking back to how Rin looked when half-asleep… if Penguin Logistics were like that too, it would be a disaster.
Just imagining it made him feel uneasy.
"It just means we will use one empty room to store clothes, and shower and change here when we come back."
Seeing Exusiai getting flustered, Sora helped explain.
"That is fine. Which room do you want? Need help?"
It was not a big request. After all, this place technically belonged to Penguin Logistics and he was just staying here. As long as it was not excessive, he was fine with it.
A changing room… it was kind of like lockers at a part-time job, right?
"No need, no need, we will handle it ourselves."
Croissant declined his offer.
After all… well, you know. Even if they trusted Shirou, it was still better to avoid awkward situations.
"Alright, let me know when you are done setting it up."
Though he did not understand why he was refused, Shirou did not think much of it.
At that moment, he did not realize the "seriousness" of the situation. Instead, he heard a ding from the kitchen and went to take a chocolate cake out of the oven.
"Oh… is this made from that chocolate?"
Texas, the original owner of the chocolate ingredients, asked.
The aroma was very similar to the chocolate she had.
"Cake?"
Exusiai looked at the cake, which did not quite match her expectations, feeling confused.
But after three seconds, she gave up thinking.
Rather than wondering about it, it was better to grab more onto her plate!