Under Snowsant's somewhat insistent but not overly forceful request, Shirou finally left his name and phone number before being allowed to leave.
"It's really great that no one got hurt…"
Seeing that Snowy was safe, Shirou felt that his earlier impulsive action was not so bad after all.
At least the outcome was good.
Carrying his shopping bag and enduring the suspicious looks from others, Shirou returned to the dorm.
After putting everything into the fridge, he took a shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes.
"These are all unusable now… I really liked that coat too. Too bad I can not buy it here anymore."
Looking at the tattered coat, Shirou could only reluctantly discard it.
The pants and backpack had to go as well—like the coat, they were full of holes and no longer usable.
Though… he had seen people walking around wearing ripped pants before.
"…I probably do not suit that, huh?"
He imagined himself wearing ripped jeans for about ten seconds and then firmly rejected the idea.
He rinsed the coat briefly. Even though he could not wear it anymore, he could still keep it.
After all, it was one of the few things that helped him remember his past.
Knock knock.
"Shirou, are you in?"
Sora's voice came from outside. Shirou hung the coat out to dry in the sun and went to open the door.
"Sora? You're back early."
He opened the door and let her in.
When they had time, everyone usually gathered here, so Shirou had gotten used to it.
The upstairs rooms were more like sleeping quarters for Penguin Logistics—this place felt more like home.
Of course, the trade-off was that all sorts of random items had started piling up here. Thankfully, thanks to Shirou's strict standards and daily cleaning, nothing too… questionable had appeared yet.
Even so, being around a group of girls every day, especially fairly attractive ones—still made Shirou a bit uncomfortable at times.
But whenever he saw the mess they made or their chaotic personalities, any other thoughts disappeared.
All that remained… was the urge to smack someone.
Whenever that feeling arose, Shirou reminded himself: they had saved him, and he was hired to take care of them.
"I finished my work early today, so I came back to handle some documents. Texas and the others will probably be back later."
Sora hurried into the living room, sat in her usual spot, and started working on paperwork.
"Good work. I made some coffee, here."
Seeing how busy she was, Shirou placed a cup of coffee beside her.
The coffee machine had been brought down from upstairs by Texas. Shirou had spent quite some time figuring it out and even looked up how to brew coffee properly.
Thanks to that, he was now the best coffee maker in Penguin Logistics.
"Thanks. By the way, did you just get back?"
Sora took a sip. Shirou had added some milk, so it was not too bitter or too hot.
After drinking, she noticed his outfit looked different from earlier.
"Yeah. I went out to buy ingredients. Dinner's going to be pretty lavish tonight."
Shirou sat across from her, drinking cold water from the fridge.
"Really? I am looking forward to it!"
At the mention of a hearty dinner, Sora's tired expression instantly brightened.
She loved both of her jobs but liking something did not mean it was not tiring.
Shirou's cooking had basically become her daily source of comfort.
"I'm glad you like it. For lunch, I'll just make something simple, you have not eaten yet, right?"
Seeing her eyes light up, Shirou felt a bit happy himself.
After all, who would not be happy when their cooking was appreciated?
"Not yet, not yet."
Sora shook her head energetically, her twin ponytails bouncing along.
Shirou nodded and headed to the kitchen.
'Croissant brought back some dumplings a couple of days ago… there should still be some left.'
After checking the fridge, he decided lunch would be the leftover frozen dumplings.
But instead of boiling them like yesterday, he decided to try pan-frying them this time.
Taking out the dumplings, a non-stick pan, and some flour, Shirou began preparing lunch.
First, he mixed a flour-water slurry at a 1:1.5 ratio.
A bit more water was fine, it depended on how many dumplings he planned to cook.
He added oil to the pan and tilted it to coat evenly. Once it heated slightly, he placed the dumplings in.
He arranged them neatly so they would look better when served.
After about two minutes, he poured the slurry around the dumplings—just enough to cover about one-fifth of their height.
Then he covered the pan and let it cook on low heat until the water evaporated.
"Soy sauce, utensils…"
While waiting, Shirou prepared plates and dipping bowls for two.
About six minutes later, he checked the pan. The liquid had dried, forming a beautiful crispy layer.
"Let's add a bit more water and steam them a little."
He gently shook the pan to prevent sticking and judged that the dumplings were not fully cooked yet, so he added a bit more water and covered it again.
After a short while, he opened the lid, confirmed they were cooked through, then turned the heat to medium to evaporate the remaining moisture.
Finally, he used a spatula to divide the dumplings into two portions and plated them—crispy side up.
Done.
Carrying the plates, Shirou walked out of the kitchen.
"Let's keep lunch simple, it's the dumplings Croissant brought back."
By the time he came out, Sora had already cleared the table when he brought out the utensils earlier.
After all, getting food on paperwork would be a disaster—and how could work ruin such a comforting meal?
"Dumplings? But I heard frying sounds just now…"
Sora tilted her head slightly. She clearly heard the sizzling sound of oil and water and the aroma did not smell like boiled dumplings.
"Well, we had them boiled yesterday, so I changed the method today."
Shirou placed her portion in front of her, revealing the dish.
"Pan-fried dumplings?"
In Sora's memory, dumplings were only ever boiled.
"Yep. Just soy sauce for dipping. If you want something spicy, Croissant put a special chili sauce in the fridge."
Shirou used his chopsticks to press down on the crispy golden layer, separating the dumplings.
Sora followed his example, splitting them apart and dipping one into soy sauce.
Crunch.
With that first bite, a wave of happiness spread instantly.