"Shirou, what did you even do?"
Ignoring Exusiai and Croissant's antics, Sora waved at Shirou and asked.
Compared to the other three, Sora still felt a bit uneasy about being inside the Guard Department.
Though, after coming here a few more times, she had gradually gotten used to it.
"Nothing really. I saw your car downstairs, so I came up."
Shirou covered his face, he really did not want to admit he knew these people.
Just look at Exusiai and Croissant, treating the Guard Department like their own home. Texas was sitting off to the side chewing on a Pocky stick. Even Sora, who was supposedly the only normal one, was now greeting him just like Exusiai and Croissant.
Now that he thought about it, Swire's suggestion earlier did not sound too bad after all…
"Enough chatting, finish your statements."
An Guard Department officer tapped the table, pulling Penguin Logistics' attention back.
With their hyper personalities, even writing a report was difficult and now their focus had completely drifted again.
When on earth would he be able to get off work?!
"Sorry for the later trouble."
Hoshiguma patted Shirou on the shoulder.
She did not dislike Penguin Logistics' behavior, but she could already imagine Shirou being stuck between Swire and Penguin Logistics in the future.
Just thinking about it made her feel like it would go great with a drink.
"…?"
Clearly, Shirou did not catch the hidden meaning behind her words. He could only tilt his head in confusion.
"You will understand later."
After playing the role of a cryptic teaser for once, Hoshiguma found it surprisingly fun. No wonder so many people liked acting mysterious.
"???"
For the Nth time today, Shirou was baffled by vague hints. He wanted to curse out loud, but his good manners held him back.
Meanwhile, Swire could not be bothered to talk much more with Penguin Logistics. She planned to jot down a simple record of the incident and deal with it properly the next day.
But before leaving, she suddenly thought of something amusing, she wanted to mess with Penguin Logistics a bit.
"Hey Shirou like I said ,if you cannot stay with Penguin Logistics anymore, you can always come and join the Guard Department."
The moment Swire said that, the noisy Penguin Logistics group instantly fell silent.
The four of them looked at each other, then rushed to finish their statements at full speed, slammed the papers onto the table, dashed over, hoisted Shirou up and ran.
"Bye-bye, see you never!"
Before leaving, Exusiai made a face at Swire.
Everyone in the office watched as Shirou got kidnapped right under their noses. Some even felt like they had seen this exact scene before.
"Missy, you really poked a penguin nest this time."
Looking at the now-vanished Penguin Logistics crew, Hoshiguma sighed.
"I did not expect it to work this well."
Swire had only meant to tease them by trying to poach Shirou, but the effect was far better than expected, maybe too good. She could only hope Shirou would be fine.
As for Shirou? He had already been stuffed into Penguin Logistics' car.
"Shirou, listen to me, do not trust those Guard Department people! Penguin Logistics has amazing benefits, seriously! Do not fall for them!"
The moment they got into the car, Croissant launched into a long rant about how great, awesome and unbeatable Penguin Logistics was, while dismissing the Guard Department as completely inferior.
"Exactly! Working there means 996 schedules, tons of overtime, and dealing with your boss's mood every day! We do not have those problems at Penguin Logistics!"
Exusiai added from the side.
"Uh… yeah… the Guard Department is really exhausting!"
Not knowing what else to say, Sora chimed in with that.
As for Texas…
She had already stepped on the gas and driven away. If she were not worried about speeding and getting dragged back by the Guard Department, she would have floored it completely.
Shirou was squeezed between Sora and Croissant holding the groceries, while the three of them kept praising Penguin Logistics nonstop.
Only after they calmed down a bit did Shirou finally speak:
"Do not worry, I am not planning to leave."
His words immediately made them stop.
"Really?"
Exusiai asked cautiously, afraid he might leave Penguin Logistics.
"Really. My current identity in Lungmen was given to me by the Boss. You are overthinking it."
To reassure them, Shirou emphasized that even living in Lungmen was thanks to the Emperor so there was no way he would leave.
Besides, if the Guard Department found out about his situation, he might just end up in jail, they would basically get free credit.
"Yeah… that makes sense."
After calming down, the group thought about what Shirou said.
It really checked out. The main issue was that Swire's earlier comment had triggered them.
Plus, from their usual interactions, Shirou was more serious and disciplined, if anything his style was closer to the Guard Department.
That was why they panicked.
This was clearly a provocation from the Guard Department toward Penguin Logistics!
They absolutely could not lose "Mama Emiya"! That would be the end of them!
This life of never having to think about what to eat, having someone cook every day, getting snacks and late-night meals from time to time was too good!
No matter what, they had to make sure Shirou stayed with Penguin Logistics.
"But Shirou, why were you with Swire and Hoshiguma earlier?"
Now that she had calmed down, Sora suddenly remembered that Shirou had come in together with them.
"Oh, that. I ran into Swire while exercising this morning, and she asked me to take her…"
Shirou briefly explained what happened today, and also mentioned the incident at the Mall a few days ago.
"…So you have been through that much lately?"
After hearing everything, Exusiai sighed in amazement.
If Shirou had not told her, she would not have known about the mall incident.
Trouble rarely happened at the Mall and he had just been unlucky enough to run into it.
"I remember you also ran into a fire not long ago, right?"
Sora added, recalling that one of Shirou's coats had been burned away.
"Isn't that pretty normal?"
Croissant, who was used to street fights every few days, did not think it was strange at all.
"Idiot. Shirou is not like us, he is not going into dangerous areas or delivering risky goods."
Texas sighed and corrected her.
Only then did Croissant realize, this did not even include the fact that Shirou had been picked up by them in the first place!
It had only been a month! For an average Lungmen citizen, the things Shirou experienced in one month might take one or two years to happen once.
"Shirou, maybe you should get an exorcism or something?"
Croissant asked seriously.
"No need."
Shirou chopped her on the head with a hand strike.
That said… he had run into a lot of things lately.
Hopefully things would be peaceful and smooth from now on.