Seeing everyone relax, Shirou also let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Looks like they really care about whether someone's infected… he thought.
But in reality, what the Penguin Logistics group worried about was that if Shirou was infected and refused treatment, that would be a serious problem.
Meanwhile, Shirou assumed they were concerned about the identity of the infected itself.
After all from what he found, that was the common view across this land.
The infected were like ticking time bombs able to die at any moment and become new sources of infection.
Even the crystals on their bodies could spread the disease if touched carelessly.
And once someone became infected, they would need medication for the rest of their life.
The cost of treatment and medicine was extremely high, which in turn created even more problems.
"That's great! This way you will not have to bear the cost of treatment."
Sora was genuinely happy seeing the result.
"Yeah, treating Oripathy is basically a bottomless pit."
Croissant voiced her thoughts.
"…Huh? You are not afraid of the infected?"
Shirou noticed their concern seemed to be about treatment costs rather than fear.
"Of course we are worried you can not afford it! Treating Oripathy is expensive."
Exusiai sprawled across the sofa as she spoke.
"Yeah, and you still owe the boss money, don't you?"
Texas added.
Hearing that, Shirou froze for a moment then relaxed.
In a world where most people feared the infected, he had been lucky enough to meet such a good group of people.
From books and the internet, he had mostly seen fear and discrimination. Only a few people truly tried to understand and interact with the infected rationally.
His impression of them changed completely.
He had thought they were just carefree and chaotic like Taiga but they had this side to them too.
"Then I will go make breakfast."
Shirou stood up—
—and was immediately stopped.
"We already made it! It just needs to be heated, you wait here a bit!"
Croissant rushed into the kitchen.
"Take a rest for the next couple of days. You are in worse shape than when we first found you."
Texas handed him a glass of water.
"Is it really that bad…"
Shirou thought about it.
…Yeah, it kind of was.
Before, it had just been soreness. Now, even slight movement caused pain and even numbness.
If he did not know it was his magic circuits, he probably would not be this calm.
"Anyway, rest for the next two days. No—just… two days."
Exusiai hesitated midway.
Two days felt long… maybe one day?
But after glancing at Shirou's unsteady movements, she decided to endure it.
She would survive on apple pie for two days!
"And you basically never rest properly, right? Not your usual 'reading when you are free' kind of rest, I mean actual relaxation."
Sora pointed at him.
"I know you are catching up on knowledge, but you still need to unwind. If a string stays tense all the time, it will snap."
"…Got it."
Seeing how firm they were, Shirou gave up resisting.
"Here it comes!"
Croissant returned with a large plate holding five grilled sandwiches.
"One each!"
She handed them out one by one, Shirou received his last.
The moment she passed it to him, Shirou felt something was off.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing him hesitate, Croissant tried to push the sandwich into his hand.
"No, I'll take this one instead."
Shirou reached past and grabbed the last sandwich from the plate.
"Eh?! That one's mine!"
Croissant could not stop him and could only watch helplessly.
"What's wrong? Are they not all the same?"
Sora bit into hers, it tasted especially good since everyone made it together.
"Croissant… do not tell me…"
Texas narrowed her eyes, seeing through everything. But since Shirou had already avoided it, she did not pursue it further.
"…Hm?"
Exusiai had already finished hers and was drinking milk while watching.
"Croissant, go on—eat it."
Shirou said calmly.
From the moment he sensed something off, avoided it, and saw Croissant's reaction he was certain something was wrong.
Combining yesterday's teasing and the chili sauce incident from before—
That sandwich was definitely loaded with chili sauce.
"Guh… you evil Demon King Shirou… I, Croissant, will not lose!"
Croissant declared before taking a big bite.
Shirou clearly saw a certain red sauce inside.
So this breadhead really tried to mess with me!
"Croissant, you…"
Sora also saw the chili sauce but since Croissant was the one suffering, she could only say: deserved.
"There is no saving her."
Exusiai added mercilessly.
She really did not understand, why challenge Shirou? Would it not be better to just enjoy the food?
"Eat slowly. I will get you some milk to balance it out, or your stomach's going to suffer."
In the end, Shirou softened. He went to the kitchen and poured a large glass of milk for Croissant.
At that level of spiciness, her stomach would not survive otherwise.
"…Such kindness… Shirou, are you an angel?"
Seeing him worry about her and even bring her milk, Croissant instantly lost all will to oppose him again.
"I'm not a Sankta, you know?"
Shirou took a bite of the sandwich. It had cooled a bit, but the texture was interesting, maybe worth adding to the menu.
He also planned to study some new kitchen tools over the next couple of days to expand the menu.
"That's not what I meant… I mean, you are just a really good person."
Croissant corrected herself, especially since Exusiai was right there.
"Pfft—what was that? Did the spice fry your brain?"
Exusiai burst out laughing.
"Agreed."
Texas nodded.
"Croissant, did you not get enough sleep?"
Sora added another jab.
The three of them were still holding a grudge for being dragged out of bed before sunrise.
Even if Shirou's situation had come up afterward, annoyance was still annoyance.
"Hey, do not bully honest people!"
After chugging a large gulp of beast milk, Croissant fired back.
A legendary 1v3 battle unfolded right before Shirou's eyes.