That night, Shirou sat on a small chair he had projected himself, holding a ladle as he slowly stirred the soup simmering in the pot before him.
Most of the ingredients had been brought over by Exusiai and the others.
Originally, he had only planned to throw something simple together and make a bit of hot soup. Coincidentally, after finishing his work, he happened to run into the four of them frantically struggling in the kitchen.
When he saw that their cooking skills had deteriorated to the point where they had forgotten to peel the potatoes, Shirou had no choice but to take over.
After all, getting food poisoning right before a battle would be disastrous.
Besides, he needed something else to focus on and clear his mind.
The ingredients were rather limited, so Shirou did not make anything complicated.
Instead, just like when he had been delivering goods in Ursus before, he decided to make a stew-like soup.
Potatoes, meat, and various vegetables were all tossed together into one large pot.
He could not guarantee that it would taste amazing, but it was certainly better than chewing on dry rations.
At least, that was true for the four members of Penguin Logistics.
Once the ingredients had been prepared, all that remained was letting the soup simmer.
At that stage, Shirou told the four of them to go take care of their own business while he watched over the pot alone.
Although he slowly stirred the soup and kept his eyes on its contents, most of his attention was elsewhere.
At this stage, all he really had to do was make sure everything cooked through and did not burn.
It required very little concentration.
That was why he had become distracted.
He was thinking about what Doctor had said.
After he answered her question, she had not actually given him an answer.
Instead, she had simply said:
"Just focus on doing what we can. Do not overthink it."
Then she had sent him away.
It felt as though she had said nothing.
And yet she had said everything.
Countless clues lay scattered before him like pieces of a puzzle, waiting to be assembled.
Why had the Black Snake used the infected to seize the mobile city of Chernobog?
Why had most of the upper echelons of Chronobog learned of the plan beforehand and fled overnight?
Why were the Ursus Emperor Blades and military involved?
And then there were Doctor's words.
Most importantly, before he left Lungmen, Wei Yenwu had told him about Black Snake.
And Chernobog happened to be very close to Lungmen—
"No matter how I think about it, that cannot be it, right? Even if Chernobog really were aimed at Lungmen, Lungmen is a mobile city too. It should be able to move out of the way."
At that point, even Shirou felt the idea sounded absurd.
Using the infected to seize a mobile city.
Then setting their sights on him or rather, on his Magecraft.
After achieving their objective through the mobile city, they could simply shift all the blame onto the infected and walk away as the greatest beneficiaries.
As the thought formed in his mind, Shirou unconsciously tightened his grip.
Crack.
The handle of the ladle shattered in his hand.
"..."
Fortunately, it had been a projected item.
The moment it broke, it dissolved into particles.
Shirou immediately projected another ladle and resumed stirring the soup.
"Smells so good..."
Once the soup had reached a boil and all the ingredients were fully cooked, its aroma drifted through the air.
Apparently, it had attracted someone's attention.
The voice was very quiet, but in the relative stillness of the night, Shirou heard it clearly.
This was not the first time something like this had happened.
A similar incident had occurred a few days earlier.
Back then, however, it had been Rhodes Island's soup.
After distributing it to the operators, nearly all of the leftovers had gone to the refugees.
The area where Shirou was currently stationed was relatively isolated within the camp.
Doctor had specifically assigned him this location.
Anyone wandering around here was probably not an ordinary refugee.
More likely, they were from Rhodes Island or Reunion.
Turning toward the source of the voice, Shirou finally got a clear look at the person.
She had short blonde hair and was carrying what looked suspiciously like a bank vault door in her hand.
She was hiding behind a distant tree while staring in his direction.
He did not recognize her.
However, her clothes looked oddly familiar.
A uniform?
A student?
After hesitating for a moment, Shirou raised a hand and beckoned her over.
Perhaps she had gotten lost.
He could not leave his post to escort her anywhere, so calling her over seemed simpler.
The winds blowing through Ursus at night were bitterly cold.
Considering she was only wearing a student uniform and a jacket, it would not hurt to let her warm herself by the fire.
Especially since she was a young woman.
While Shirou generally trusted the people in the camp, it was still necessary to account for unexpected situations.
As for whether he should share some of the soup with her...
That was another question entirely.
He would wait until Texas and the others returned before deciding.
The stew still needed more time to simmer anyway. Potatoes tasted much better when they were cooked until soft and tender.
The girl hesitated at first, but after noticing the Rhodes Island jacket Shirou was wearing, she finally carried the massive door over.
"Sit down and warm yourself by the fire. Did you get lost?"
Reaching behind himself, Shirou pulled out a projected chair and pointed to the spot across from him.
"No, I just smelled the food and..."
Halfway through her reply, the girl suddenly realized how that sounded and hurriedly covered her mouth.
"My name is Shirou. What is yours?"
Seeing her sit there with her mouth covered and embarrassment written all over her face, Shirou simply chuckled and smoothly changed the subject.
"My name is Lada!"
Relieved that the awkward topic had been skipped, Lada quickly lowered her hand and answered.
She also accepted the chair Shirou offered and obediently sat down opposite him.
Although she was not particularly afraid of the cold, sitting this close to the campfire felt wonderfully comfortable.
A prime seat like this was not easy to get.
If possible, she would have loved to call everyone else over as well.
Unfortunately, this was someone else's space.
The fact that he had invited her over at all was already generous enough.
She could not ask for more.
"Are you here by yourself?"
Watching her enjoy the warmth by the fire, Shirou felt reassured that inviting her over had been the right decision.
Still, there were certain questions that needed to be asked.
That way, when Texas and the others returned, he could ask them to escort Lada back.
"No! Lada came with my big sisters!"
Lada immediately shook her head.
"...Then where are your sisters?"
Although she had answered his question right away, Shirou still felt somewhat helpless.
This child was far too honest.
A complete stranger asked her something, and she answered without hesitation.
It made Shirou feel as though he were tricking her somehow, leaving him with a strange sense of guilt.
"Ah! I need to find them!"
After looking around in every direction, Lada finally seemed to realize that she was currently alone.
She had originally come out to collect rations and food.
Then the smell from this direction had completely distracted her.
If she returned too late, everyone else would end up going hungry.
With that realization, Lada jumped to her feet and grabbed the giant vault door, preparing to leave.
"Just stay here for now. Once my companions return, they can take you back. It is not safe for you to be wandering around alone."
Seeing how eager she was to rush off, Shirou tried to stop her.
The moment he finished speaking, however, he sensed a pair of eyes watching him.
Frowning slightly, he looked in the direction of the gaze.
"Um... I am worried they might be concerned about me. Thank you for your kindness! But you do not need to worry about me! I am really strong!"
Lada completely failed to notice Shirou's reaction.
Her mind was focused entirely on getting back as quickly as possible.
To prove her point, she even lifted the giant vault door in her hands and waved it around.
"They are definitely worried about you. In fact, they already came looking for you."
After hearing her explanation and spotting two approaching figures, Shirou immediately understood the source of the gaze.
"Huh? Why are you here!?"
Lada put down the vault door and followed Shirou's line of sight.
There, she saw two familiar figures.
Watching her panic, Shirou could not help finding the situation amusing.
The tension he had been carrying gradually eased.
This was different from being with Penguin Logistics or Rhodes Island.
Simply seeing a child acting carefree and innocent was enough to relax him.
The same could be said for Amiya and Rosmontis.
The difference was that those two had experienced far too much in their lives.
It was rare to see them so carefree.
The members of Penguin Logistics were certainly carefree enough.
But...
As the person who looked after much of their daily life, Shirou knew them a little too well.
Whenever he saw their bright, carefree smiles, he could not help wondering whether there was an enormous mess waiting for him to clean up afterward.
The more he thought about it, the more painful it became.
"Hey! I suggest you do not get any funny ideas, old man!"
A brown-haired Ursus girl stepped forward and immediately pulled Lada behind her.
Then she fixed Shirou with a deeply suspicious and openly disdainful glare.
"..."
To be honest, the look had little effect on Shirou.
He had seen people glare at him with far more contempt and hostility than that.
Being called an old man for the first time however made Shirou feel as if an arrow shot through him.
He did not think he looked that old...
Wait, perhaps it was because of his white hair, caused by magical backlash, that made him seem older?
But there were plenty of white-haired people in Terra.
Not even counting Lungmen, he had seen several white-haired people around the camp just today.
Yes, that had to be it.
It was definitely the hair.
In the brief instant after being called an old man, Shirou thought through countless possibilities before ultimately deciding that magical backlash was to blame.
"...Sonya, were you not watching the entire time? This gentleman did not do anything from beginning to end."
The blue-haired Ursus girl standing nearby grabbed hold of the somewhat irritable Sonya and tried to calm her down.
"I am fine, Sister Sonya! This gentleman is really nice. He only invited me over to warm myself by the fire because I got lost!"
Lada also hurried forward to speak on Shirou's behalf.
She was genuinely worried that Sonya might swing the stick she had somehow acquired and smack him with it.
That was not an impossible scenario.
Ever since Lada had met Sonya, that was usually how she dealt with suspicious-looking people.
Then again, they had not known each other for very long.
They had only met after the disaster in Chernobog, when everyone had been gathered together and sheltered inside a school.
That was when she had first met Sonya and Anna.
"And how do you know what he is really thinking? And you, Lada! How many times have I told you there are bad people everywhere around here? Why would you run off to a place like this by yourself?"
After being persuaded by both girls, Sonya's temper eased somewhat.
More importantly, she had noticed the Rhodes Island logo on Shirou's jacket.
As one of the refugees under Rhodes Island's protection, she understood her situation.
If not for the organization called Rhodes Island, she and the others would probably still be lying helplessly inside that school.
They had been there at the scene.
They had personally watched that red-haired Rhodes Island operator split apart a Catastrophe.
Naturally, she held a certain degree of goodwill toward other members of Rhodes Island as well.
That goodwill only extended as far as giving them the benefit of the doubt however, if Shirou did anything inappropriate, she fully intended to teach him the might of General Winter.
"Ugh... I am sorry. I should not have followed the smell of food over here."
After being scolded by Sonya, Lada immediately lowered her head and admitted her mistake.
"Sigh. It is fine. As long as you are safe."
Looking at Lada's bowed head, Sonya found herself unable to say anything harsher.
Her tone softened considerably.
As though she had not been the one calling Shirou an old man just moments ago.
"Uh... would you like a bowl?"
Having quietly witnessed the touching display of sisterly affection, Shirou waited until Lada looked slightly less upset before finally speaking.
He could simply give up his own portion.
Whether he ate or not did not really matter.
As long as he had enough rations to avoid starving, he would be fine.
"!"
Lada's eyes immediately lit up.
Then she seemed to remember something and nervously looked toward her two older sisters.
Both of them were staring at Shirou as though he were an extremely suspicious individual.
"Ahem. What I mean is... the camp should have issued rations to you, right? You can trade those with me."
Feeling those suspicious gazes fixed upon him, Shirou immediately revised his wording.
Giving things away for free really did sound suspicious.
An exchange, however, was a different matter entirely.
For some reason, Shirou increasingly felt as though he was becoming more suspicious by the day.
At this rate, would the moment he returned to the Lungmen Guard Department be the moment he got arrested?
"Hmm... that would be acceptable. Lada and I will stay here. Sonya, could you go bring over the bag where we stored our rations?"
Sonya and Anna exchanged a glance.
Then Anna stepped forward to handle the negotiation.
Accepting food without giving anything in return was not right.
Even the meat soup they had received from the camp earlier had only been given after they had contributed labor.
It had been something they earned through their own efforts.
Trading rations for meat soup might seem somewhat foolish.
But Anna understood very well that it was an expression of kindness.
Just like the kind-hearted people she had met in the past.
People willing to give to others even when they received very little in return.
Or sometimes nothing at all.