The matter with Exusiai did not distract Shirou for long. Right now, he was busy thinking about the information Archer had given him.
That guy already spoke in a roundabout, cryptic way to begin with, and after coming here that problem seemed to have gotten even worse.
It was giving him a headache…
"Have faith in my own path… I already have that idea… what idea do I even have? Does wanting all these riddlers to just get lost count?"
Even though that was what Shirou was thinking, after being bombarded with so many riddles, his resistance to them had become quite high.
Looking on the bright side, at least the other party had said the answer lay within himself. That meant he did not need to search elsewhere. After all, when other people spoke in riddles, he usually did not even know where the answer was supposed to be.
But the problem was… he truly had no idea what the other party meant.
Setting aside those ridiculous and joking thoughts, Shirou felt it might be related to the Infected.
Should he continue helping the Infected like this? That would be simple enough. Or did the other party mean for him to walk his own path and become a protector of the Infected?
But if it were only that, there would be no need to speak in such a convoluted way, right?
Or was there a deeper meaning?
As he kept thinking, Shirou clutched his head and rubbed it repeatedly. His already poor mood was becoming even worse because of all this.
"Tch… is the workload at the Guard Department really that intense? Shirou has been pushed into this state."
Off to the side, the three who were pretending to play games were actually paying close attention to Shirou's condition. Croissant quietly asked the others.
At this moment, Sora was communicating with them through a video call on her phone. Today was the last bit of free time she had managed to squeeze out. After this, she would have to focus entirely on her work, to the point that she might not even have time to rest.
For the sake of her idol career, she was working very hard.
They had started worrying about Shirou's mental state quite a while ago.
Strictly speaking, their concern began the moment he received that message. The Guard Department letting someone off early definitely had some kind of intention behind it.
In a workplace that wished it could use one person as if they were several, suddenly letting someone leave early had to mean something was wrong.
Coupled with Shirou's current abnormal behavior, they became even more certain of it.
"What should we do?"
Seeing that Shirou seemed very troubled, Exusiai quietly asked her teammates.
"Give him some space first?"
After thinking for a moment, Texas offered her idea. Whenever she had worries, she preferred to calm down alone before dealing with them.
Maybe that would work for Shirou too?
"Or throw a lively party?"
Compared to Texas, Croissant did not really understand this kind of thing. But as long as things got lively, people could forget their troubles, so maybe a party would help.
"While the party idea is tempting, this time I agree with Texas. Shirou does not seem like the type who would get hyped normally, and in this state, it is even less likely."
Listening to the two suggestions, Exusiai crossed her arms and thought seriously for once.
In the end, she felt Texas's idea might be better.
"I think so too."
On the other end of the video call, Sora, lying on her bed in loose pajamas, voiced her opinion as well.
"Then we give him some space first, and prepare a party at the same time?"
Hearing the reasons for rejecting her idea, Croissant felt the two proposals could be carried out together.
Once Shirou recovered a bit, they could throw a party to sweep away the gloom. It sounded quite reasonable.
Besides, it had been a long time since they held a proper party. Not the usual small gatherings, but a large one.
A feast. Drinks. Music.
Just thinking about it made her feel nostalgic.
"That works."
Hearing Croissant's suggestion, Exusiai nodded quickly.
She was also one of the party enthusiasts. She had only held back earlier due to the situation.
Now that there was a win-win solution, she had no reason to object.
Freedom in apple pie was not far away.
Watching the two of them rapidly make arrangements, Texas and Sora both showed helpless expressions.
Were they not discussing Shirou's problem just now? How did it suddenly turn into a party?
Well, it was not really a big issue anyway.
"Do not forget about me. I still need a few more days to finish my work."
Seeing how enthusiastically the two were planning, and that they had even set the date on the day she finished work, Sora immediately protested.
How did it feel like she had been sidelined after only being away from Penguin Logistics for a few days? Do not forget her.
At least leave a day or two so she could wrap up her work properly before celebrating.
Hearing Sora's words, the two finally remembered that she was not with them at the moment, so they adjusted the date. It was only a small issue.
While their side was bustling with discussion, Shirou also made a bit of progress.
He decided to stop thinking about that troublesome matter for now and focus on what was in front of him.
For example, matters related to Penguin Logistics, the Guard Department, and the slums.
As for everything else, he would set it aside for the time being.
"At the very least, I will wait until my newbie work at the Guard Department ends and I actually have some free time before thinking about it again."
"Hm?"
Taking off his headphones, Shirou heard some noisy chatter coming from the side.
Exusiai, Croissant, and Texas seemed to be discussing something.
He could vaguely make out words like "party."
Speaking of parties, Penguin Logistics really did love throwing them.
And most of them were held for rather strange reasons.
For example, when he first joined, that had counted as a party.
Even when the boss summoned them, it was done under the pretense of a party.
Sometimes Shirou wondered if Penguin Logistics might as well just rename itself to "Penguin Party."
Every few days, they would find a way to throw some kind of small gathering.
Still, it was not a bad thing. The work at Penguin Logistics could be quite stifling, so doing something else helped ease the tension.
At the very least, it was not a bad habit, just a way to vent emotions.
It was just a party. It would be even better if they drank a little less alcohol. While none of them would get completely drunk and cause a scene or throw up everywhere, drinking too much was still not ideal.
Shirou was rather conservative when it came to alcohol, and he often got teased for it.
Even Hoshiguma from the Guard Department had once teased him about his habit of not drinking at all.
He was not sure if he had misheard back then, but he vaguely recalled her saying that this would make it harder to "friendly persuade" him into joining the Guard Department.
He must have heard that wrong, probably.
Could it be that someone other than Swire wanted him to join the Guard Department?
That seemed unlikely. If it were the more enthusiastic members of the sniper team, he might be able to understand, but for others, it did not quite make sense to him.
Aside from fieldwork, he handled everything else terribly. Most of what he did were small miscellaneous tasks, like cleaning the office, organizing the pantry, and sorting documents.
Oh, and the bento he made seemed to be quite popular in the office.
The reason for that was simple. Some people noticed that both Ch'en and Hoshiguma would often go to Shirou to get lunchboxes, which made them curious. One day, someone finally gathered the courage to approach Shirou and asked if they could have a bite.
Shirou had been very generous and simply gave them a piece of meat.
It was char siu he had learned to make through online tutorials. Although it had cooled down and the texture was slightly worse, the marination had turned out very well.
At least, that certain "char siu-loving cat" who specifically requested it had been very satisfied.
After that, more and more people came because of its reputation. Fortunately, under the watchful gazes of Ch'en and Hoshiguma, only those in the same office were allowed this privilege.
How should he put it… it felt a bit like going back to his high school days.
The moment he opened his lunchbox, a group of people would gather with chopsticks, trying to grab a piece. In the end, he had no choice but to eat at the student council room, and while he was at it, help Issei repair equipment needed for club activities.
And eating at the student council room also meant he could drink freshly brewed hot tea.
Thinking about it, Shirou suddenly felt a bit thirsty. He stood up, planning to make himself some tea.
There was tea in the dormitory, though it was just tea bags.
Still, Shirou was not particularly picky. It was all going into his stomach anyway, as long as the taste was not too far off, it was fine.
"Ah! Shirou, I want some too!"
While enthusiastically discussing what to prepare for the day, Croissant noticed Shirou holding a tea bag and called out to him.
"Black tea? Milk tea?"
Shirou did not show any displeasure. Instead, he slowly poured hot water over the tea bag while asking.
Unlike his preference for green tea, the others at Penguin Logistics were more used to coffee, black tea, and milk tea made with condensed milk.
To be fair, Exusiai was actually quite good at making milk tea, though she tended to add a bit too much sugar.
"Hot milk tea, thanks."
"And me, I want one too!"
"…I would like a cup as well."
"Ah! I want some too! It has been so long since I have had anything sweet!"
After Croissant placed her order, Exusiai and Texas followed suit.
At the same time, Shirou also heard Sora's wail from the call.
It really did sound quite pitiful. Shirou could tell how much Sora loved sweets, but for the sake of her concert, she had to make sure she could still fit into her outfit, so she had no choice but to say goodbye to her favorite treats for the time being.
"Then I will make a cake when Sora comes back."
After thinking for a moment, Shirou realized it had indeed been quite a while since he last saw Sora, and he found himself missing the days when she was around.
Compared to Croissant and Exusiai, who were always messing with him, Sora was practically an angel.
Not only did she not tease him, she would even help him out from time to time.
"Really? I am looking forward to it!"
Just hearing the word "cake" was enough for Sora to start imagining what flavor she wanted.
Plain cream sounded nice… but considering Texas and Shirou's preferences, perhaps chocolate or coffee cake would be better.
"Please look forward to it."
Taking the heated condensed milk out of the microwave, Shirou mixed it with tea at a ratio of one part milk to two parts tea.
This made the milk flavor richer, which suited Penguin Logistics, since most of them preferred a stronger milk taste.
After placing the milk tea on the table in front of the sofa, Shirou greeted the others and prepared to return to his room to rest.
A lot had happened today. Although he had gotten some rest in the afternoon, that dream had prevented him from recovering much mentally.
He carried a cup of hot tea into his room, set it on the table beside him, and sat on the floor.
His daily routine before sleep: magic training.
First analysis, then reinforcement, and finally projection.
Even when he was exhausted, Shirou would still insist on completing at least one cycle of each before going to sleep.
With this routine he increased his proficiency and his progress was significant.
The precision and speed of his projections had improved, far better than when he had first arrived.
The speed at which he could project other Noble Phantasms had also increased considerably. Unfortunately, he still had no idea how to deploy Unlimited Blade Works.
However, after Archer's guidance, Shirou roughly understood why he could not activate it.
Unlimited Blade Works was a Reality Marble, a magecraft that is closest to Magic.
It was also the only thing Emiya Shirou truly possessed.
As for why he could not deploy it, Shirou guessed it was because he still had not clearly defined what he truly wanted.
Still, if he continued working toward Archer's version of Unlimited Blade Works as a goal, he might be able to deploy it in a few years.
That said, whether he could use it or not did not really matter for now. At least at present, there were no enemies that required Unlimited Blade Works to deal with.
At least, for now.
However, mastering another skill would give him more confidence when facing future situations, so he still hoped to learn it as soon as possible.
At the same time, he knew this was not something he could rush. His current rate of progress was already quite good.
After a few simple training cycles, Shirou finally stopped when he felt a dull ache in his head.
He drank the now slightly cooled tea in one go, then began preparing for the next day. Once everything was in order, he would go to rest.
There was not much to prepare, just the usual check to make sure he had not forgotten anything.
"Holy shroud…"
While organizing his bag, Shirou noticed the holy shroud inside.
When the weather was colder, he would wear it around his neck, but in this kind of hot, stuffy weather, that was no longer possible.
So it usually stayed in his bag now. When he was at work, he would keep it in the pocket of his Guard Department coat, which had fairly large pockets.
However, for upcoming operations, he would probably need to find another way to carry it.
The pockets on the clothes Hoshiguma had given him were quite small. They were fine for things like a phone or wallet, but anything larger would feel cramped.
"…I will just wrap it around my right arm like before."
After thinking for a moment, Shirou decided to wear it that way during missions. It had originally been his habit anyway, he only changed it after Swire suggested alternative ways to carry it.
After all, if the cloth ever got too far away, it would suddenly reappear in his hand. It was the kind of thing he could not throw away even if he wanted to.