"Eh… work?"
After they had nearly finished eating the desserts, the children began cleaning up the area.
As for Shirou and the four members of Penguin Logistics, they were forcefully told to just sit to the side. They even specifically sent Rope over to keep them company.
The result was that the little purple Cautus was completely at the mercy of the four Penguin Logistics members.
That phrasing sounded a bit strange. More accurately, the four of them were actually quite friendly toward Rope. Each of them interacted with her a little and casually chatted with her.
There were four people on Penguin Logistics' side, and they even had spare time to drink milk tea, but Rope had it rough. Under the endless verbal assault, Shirou felt like he could practically see stars spinning above her head.
So he tried to think of a topic to rescue Rope from the four of them… strictly speaking, it should have been three and a half people. After all, Texas only interacted with Rope briefly before returning to silence again, which fit her personality perfectly.
After thinking for a while, Shirou decided to tell Rope in advance that he might be rather busy in December. Besides pulling her out of the penguin nest, he also wanted to remind her that he might not have time to come over during December.
After hearing that, Rope froze for a few seconds before finally snapping back to attention and asking:
"Mm, it is work from Penguin Logistics and Rhodes Island."
Without hiding anything, Shirou honestly explained where he was going.
After all, there were four pairs of eyes staring at him from nearby. Judging by how well they had been chatting earlier, even if he did not say anything, Exusiai and Croissant would definitely sell him out immediately.
To prevent the two of them from causing trouble, Shirou directly killed off that possibility.
"Rhodes Island? This commission will not be dangerous, right?"
When she heard it was Rhodes Island, Rope's first impression of them was quite good. But since they were an organization that treated the infected, their commissions were definitely related to infected people as well.
Thinking about it that way, it sounded rather dangerous.
"…It should be fine. We are handling reception and support work."
His eyes shifted slightly, and Shirou decisively ignored the intelligence reports he had read a few days ago regarding the enemies they might encounter during the operation. He only mentioned that they were doing support work and would not actually enter the battlefield.
The four members of Penguin Logistics: "..."
Even though they knew Shirou was technically telling the truth, why did he sound so incredibly guilty?
Could it be that the information Yith had given Shirou included some strange warnings or troublesome individuals?
"Shirou, you really are terrible at lying."
Looking at Shirou's expression and listening to his tone, Rope realized he was trying to brush her off. So she turned toward the four people who had just been chatting with her so warmly, hoping to get an answer from them instead.
"Uh… Shirou is not wrong. This operation really is a support-type assignment."
Exusiai first glanced at Texas, then toward Shirou before finally speaking.
That was as far as she could go. Things like the operation location or mission objectives absolutely could not be discussed further.
It was not because they distrusted others, but because of professional ethics.
Besides, maintaining a certain level of caution outside was always best. Otherwise, you might not even realize when someone had set you up.
"..."
After hearing Exusiai's explanation, Rope fell silent.
Maybe… she really had misunderstood Shirou?
Thinking that, Rope decisively apologized to Shirou:
"Sorry, I overthought things!"
Facing Rope's apology, Shirou felt a little awkward, strangely burdened by guilt.
After all, he really did possess more information in his hands… the feeling was complicated.
But he could not reveal any of it. Yith had specifically emphasized that point.
So he could only put on an awkward yet polite smile and say:
"It is fine, it is fine. After all, I do have a criminal record for this kind of thing! Hahaha…"
He sounded as guilty as possible. Things would have been better if he had said nothing, but once he brought it up, the four Penguin Logistics members immediately sensed that something was off. They instinctively formed a circle, isolating themselves from everyone else.
"I think Shirou is hiding something. What do you all think?"
Croissant said.
"""Agreed."""
The other three nodded simultaneously.
"Shirou probably knows more details about the operation. But since the job has already been accepted, backing out now would be difficult."
Sora voiced her opinion from the side.
"After all, Shirou is pretty close with Rhodes Island… damn it! What kind of social monster is this guy? He knows so many people, and all of them trust him so much!"
Exusiai said, while also complaining about how absurdly broad Shirou's social circle was.
"Aren't we included in that too?"
After hearing Exusiai's complaint, Texas felt that something was off. It sounded like she had insulted them as well.
"We were the first ones to pick Shirou up, so we do not count!"
Exusiai shamelessly declared.
"Stop talking nonsense and discuss what we should do first."
Seeing the topic rapidly derailing, Sora hurriedly pulled the discussion back on track.
After hearing Sora's words, the other three nodded as well and began discussing why Shirou was acting so guilty.
Although the four of them had formed a small circle and were speaking quietly, combined with the noisy sounds of the children cleaning nearby…
Shirou could still hear everything clearly.
Rope, on the other hand, could not hear much at all. Watching Shirou's gaze drift toward Penguin Logistics from time to time, while the expression on his face gradually shifted from calm composure to visible awkwardness, she understood.
Shirou could hear their conversation perfectly clearly.
It was honestly absurd. After all, she practically made a living off her exceptional hearing, yet even she could only catch fragments of the conversation.
Meanwhile, Shirou seemed to have heard everything?
That was ridiculously overpowered.
Although she had never seen Shirou fight in person, judging from scattered footage online and how highly both the LGD and Rhodes Island regarded him, his strength was definitely formidable.
Well… actually, that did make sense.
Hearing was extremely important in combat, so Shirou having excellent hearing was perfectly reasonable.
If that was the case… maybe he could try learning intelligence-gathering techniques or something similar?
Thinking that, Rope suddenly imagined a scene in her head.
Shirou, dressed completely in black, sneaking into a location to eavesdrop on intelligence related to a target. Then, after accidentally getting discovered, he decisively eliminated the target on the spot.
As long as the target was dead, there was no need to gather mission intel anymore!
The image nearly made Rope burst out laughing, and she only barely managed to cover her mouth in time.
"Rope? Are you okay?"
Since Shirou could hear the Penguin Logistics discussion from afar, there was no way he would miss the sound Rope made right in front of him.
The group's topic had already drifted completely off track anyway. They had gone from discussing whether he knew additional information, to how absurdly broad his social circle was, and exactly how many people he knew.
It could only be said that Exusiai and Croissant were truly talented when it came to derailing conversations.
Even Texas and Sora had been dragged along with them.
After the topic had completely gone astray, Shirou happened to hear Rope's reaction and immediately ignored the others' discussion, turning his attention toward her instead.
"Cough cough… it is nothing. I just thought of something funny."
After coughing twice, Rope replied with a huge grin.
"As long as you are happy. It is fine to laugh out loud too."
Without any suspicion, Shirou accepted her explanation. Looking at the somewhat silly and innocent smile on her face, he felt rather content.
Not only Rope, but even the children cleaning nearby all wore smiles on their faces.
He was a very simple person.
As long as the people in front of him wore happy smiles, he himself could feel a trace of happiness from it.
Especially when those smiles existed because of his own efforts.
Thinking that, Shirou recalled the words Rope had once said to him that day.
"As long as you live happily, that is enough. Spend every day, every minute, every second happily. That is all you need."
As he spoke, a smile appeared on Shirou's face, and he reached out to rub her head.
Children only needed to spend every day happily. Troubles and worries could be left for the adults to handle.
"Huh?"
Rope looked utterly confused about why Shirou had suddenly become happier, but seeing him like this was nice enough already, so she did not ask for a reason.
As long as someone was in a good mood, the reason did not really matter.
"Eh, eh, eh! Shirou, what are you two talking about? Include me too!"
Just as the discussion circle had reached a deadlock, they all heard Shirou's voice and laughter.
That was actually quite rare.
Although Shirou was not as expressionless as Texas and certainly not incapable of smiling, he normally did not laugh this openly either.
So the moment they heard Shirou laugh, everyone immediately stopped discussing and turned around, intending to join whatever topic Shirou was involved in.
Because they were Penguin Logistics.
Wherever there was fun, they would dive straight toward it.
With Penguin Logistics joining in, the atmosphere around Shirou and Rope became lively again, even attracting the attention of many children who had already finished their chores.
As a result, Shirou and the others began taking turns reading storybooks to the children.
Among them, Sora was by far the best storyteller, so Shirou, Exusiai, Texas, and Croissant mostly assisted her.
Pouring tea to keep her throat comfortable was the bare minimum. Their main task was creating atmosphere in the background.
And with Shirou, the universal prop-maker, around, the effects were naturally excellent.
If there was truly any price to pay for it…
It was probably that after putting the children to bed, all five of them collapsed directly onto the dining table from exhaustion.
Exusiai and Croissant even looked like their souls had left their bodies.
For Sora, scenes like this were not particularly unusual, but physical exhaustion still caught up with her. After all, it was already very late.
Texas, meanwhile, was mentally exhausted more than anything else. Making her entertain children was honestly asking too much of her.
As for Shirou, his reason was very straightforward.
He had projected far too many things and consumed a large amount of mana.
"Ahaha… Shirou, you are really amazing. You actually managed to take care of so many children by yourself before."
After taking a sip of the water Rope handed her, Croissant finally seemed to recover her wandering soul somewhat. However, the confident smile she usually wore had completely disappeared.
The only thing she felt confident about now was that if she closed her eyes, she could immediately fall unconscious from sleep deprivation.
Though that was not particularly useful.
Compared to wanting sleep, what she really wanted to know was how Shirou had managed to care for all these children alone in the past.
"Uh… you just make sure they eat well, drink well, and sleep well?"
Shirou thought for a moment before answering.
In return, he received five subtle looks, including one from Rope.
"That answer is basically the same as saying nothing at all. Also, I feel like you are secretly mocking us!"
Exusiai was the first to jump up in protest.
"If Exusiai had not pointed it out, I honestly would not have noticed… though if you put it that way, there is not really anything wrong with it."
After being reminded by her, Shirou finally realized that this was indeed how he treated the Penguin Logistics members as well.
But since it was true, he might as well admit it outright!
After all, this was just the relaxing small-talk portion of the evening now. They could chat about whatever they wanted.
"Ahhh! You actually admitted it!"
Hearing Shirou acknowledge it personally, Exusiai pointed at him in accusation.
At times like this, he was supposed to deny it!
If he admitted it, did that not mean they were as easy to appease as little children?
If they were children, then what did that make Shirou? Their mom?
That was one line Exusiai absolutely did not dare say out loud. She knew that if she opened her mouth and said it, she would probably end up sleeping on the floor here tonight.
In response to Exusiai's accusation, Shirou simply gave an awkward yet polite smile.
Seeing that made Exusiai's hands itch with irritation. If she were not so exhausted and incapable of beating Shirou in a fight right now, she definitely would have marched over and taught him that redheads were not to be messed with.
"Forget it. Calm down. You cannot beat Shirou anyway."
As if she had seen through Exusiai's thoughts, Texas silently pulled out a Pocky stick and placed it into her mouth while dragging Exusiai back into her chair.
With Texas stopping her, Exusiai cooperatively sat back down.
It was absolutely not because she knew she could not beat Shirou. She was simply listening to her teammate's advice!
"So is it really just like what you said, Shirou? The secret to taking care of children?"
After Exusiai finally settled down, Sora curiously asked.
Although those things were important, the key point was probably one's mindset when dealing with children.
Children were very simple. As long as you treated them well, they would feel it.
As for badly raised brats who refused to listen… perhaps they could feel it too. As for what kind of attitude they would take afterward, Sora had no idea.
The worst troublemakers she had ever met were probably her own two teammates, and Shirou constantly had to discipline them.
"I do have a bit of experience taking care of people. My old man was not very good at daily life stuff, so I had to learn on my own. After enough time, I simply got used to it."
When speaking to Sora, Shirou's tone became slightly more serious.
After all, it was normal to speak differently depending on who you were talking to.
Sometimes he really was rather hypocritical like that.
"Whoa, Shirou, your adoptive father was not good at cleaning, laundry, or cooking? I thought you learned all that from him!"
After hearing Shirou's explanation, everyone became rather curious about his adoptive father.
From the bits and pieces Shirou had mentioned before, he seemed to respect his adoptive father deeply. Even though he brought him up often, they still did not have much of an impression of the man.
Originally, they had assumed Shirou became so skilled at housekeeping because of his adoptive father's influence.
Technically, the result was correct, but the process behind it seemed very different from what they had imagined.
"My old man rarely came home. Most of the time he was overseas. It was only after his health declined that he started staying home more often. He really did not have the time or ability to handle those things."
Seeing that the group seemed to have developed a strange impression of Kiritsugu, Shirou found it rather amusing.
The famous Magus Killer and self-proclaimed ally of justice was actually being imagined as some all-capable househusband?
"I see… sorry."
Realizing her curiosity might have brought up unpleasant memories for Shirou, Croissant hurriedly apologized.
"It is fine. It has already been a long time."
Shirou did not mind at all. But after noticing that nobody intended to continue speaking, he added:
"I started getting used to taking care of people around that time. As for this place, the ones mainly taking care of the children are Rope and Phal. Most of my time is actually spent taking care of you all instead."
"I see!"
After hearing Shirou personally admit that more of his attention was focused on them, everyone's mood visibly improved.
As for Rope…
She only felt that when Shirou said those words, he sounded strangely similar to someone comforting children who had just been upset.
It was probably just her imagination, right?
Tilting her head, Rope watched Shirou chatting with the four Penguin Logistics members and felt that something about the atmosphere was slightly off, though she could not quite explain what it was.
Still, it did not matter.
Listening to them talk about sides of Shirou she normally never got to see was already enjoyable enough.
Quickly discarding the thought, Rope simply continued listening quietly to their conversation.