Penguin Logistics, dormitory.
"Here it comes, here it comes—Crazy Thursday is here!"
Standing at the door, Exusiai shouted loudly while carrying a huge bag.
"Move, get inside."
Behind her, Texas gave Exusiai a light push and slipped in through the gap at the side.
"You are too wide, you are blocking the whole door."
Croissant bumped Exusiai with her head from behind.
"My back! Croissant, your horns stabbed me!"
Getting jabbed in the back by Croissant's horns, Exusiai felt like she had been poked clean through.
"…Hm? Shirou already cleaned everything up?"
Following the path Croissant cleared, Sora also stepped into the living room.
The place was already tidy. After the last fried-food party, Shirou had figured out they liked hanging out around the sofa, so this time he had placed a few small chairs beside it in advance.
"But where's Shirou?"
Exusiai set the bag on the table, looking around but not seeing him anywhere.
"What is it?"
Shirou walked out of the kitchen, he had just heard Exusiai calling him.
When he got back earlier, he bought some fruit. He had just cut and plated it and put it in the fridge, it was perfect for after the fried food something cold to cut through the grease.
"Just wanted to ask how your test went today."
Exusiai wore the expression of someone ready to enjoy some juicy gossip.
"Should be pretty good? Yits said he will send the detailed results later, I will show you then."
Shirou did not mind her curiosity after all, they were teammates.
"I've got high hopes for you!"
Croissant patted Shirou on the shoulder, giving him a thumbs-up.
"Go wash your hands."
Shirou brushed her hand away and told them to clean up while he neatly arranged all the fried food on the table.
By the time they came back, everything was set, with food laid out and drinks poured.
All they had to do was eat.
"Ah… this kind of life is way too comfortable."
Exusiai plopped into her seat, sighing at how spoiled she had become, then grabbed a sweet egg tart to start.
As a Sankta, treating sweets as a staple food was perfectly reasonable.
The others also found their spots and started eating.
Croissant and Texas immediately grabbed fried chicken and dug in, while Sora more modestly took some fries and a burger, that was enough for her.
Shirou's portion was similar to Sora's. The fried chicken could be left to the "meat trio."
The big "meat" on Croissant's shirt said it all about her love for meat.
"Ugh, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, why is Yith so slow?"
After demolishing most of the food, the group started chatting.
Exusiai took the lead in complaining, why were Shirou's results taking so long?
When they did their tests, results came out immediately!
Yith must be slacking!
"Are you really that eager to see Shirou's results?"
Texas gnawed on a chicken bone, sounding indifferent.
Well… she was only a little curious.
"Exusai is definitely worried someone's coming to steal her sniper position! She wants to suppress the competition early! Shirou, brave hero, quickly use your ultimate salted meat pie to defeat Exusiai!"
Croissant pointed dramatically at Exusiai, looking like she had seen through everything.
"Croissant… are you a demon?"
Even Sora could not take it anymore, making Exusiai eat salted meat pie was just cruel.
"A salty apple pie?"
Shirou offered a compromise.
"That's even worse than salted meat pie, strawberry mapo tofu, or pineapple pizza! Shirou, please do not create such dark cuisine!"
Exusiai could not hold it together anymore, desperately trying to preserve the pure image of Shirou.
"Do not worry, I will not."
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Shirou hurried to reassure her.
"Th-that apple pie…"
Exusiai looked at him with hopeful eyes.
"Next time for sure."
Seeing her push her luck, Shirou brushed her off again.
Ding—
Shirou's phone chimed. Among Penguin Logistics only his phone used such an old-fashioned ringtone.
According to him, he was just used to it.
"It's here, it's here! He's here! Is! My hero!"
Exusiai grabbed Shirou's phone, this was the moment she had been waiting for.
Then she scrolled down… and her expression turned strange.
"Why do you look like you just saw the Boss doing ballet? Let me see!"
Seeing her "confused old man on the subway" face, Croissant leaned over curiously.
"…Combat skill is Outstanding?"
Croissant's head filled with question marks.
Even their strongest fighters Exusiai and Texas only got Excellent. How did Shirou jump straight to Outstanding?
So TV was not lying, the real hidden experts are always chefs or janitors!
"???"
Texas and Sora also leaned in.
"Originium Arts adaptability is Defective… so Shirou, you got an Excellent rating purely through physical ability?"
Texas read through carefully. As one of the main combatants, she immediately understood how impressive that "Excellent" really was.
"Wait, doesn't Shirou have Originium Arts? Why is it marked as Defective?"
Sora was confused. She remembered Shirou hardening tissue paper before, that should count as Originium Arts, right?
"It's… a long story. Basically, I cannot activate Originium Arts units or staff."
Shirou explained from the side. He had tried again later, but it just did not work.
A staff in his hands was just a stick. Same with other Originium-based weapons Is gave him.
"Exusiai, stop spacing out and scroll down."
Croissant lifted Exusiai's dropped jaw and urged her on.
"Let's see… Suitable roles: Guard, Sniper, and Caster? We have a Caster now? We have a Caster!"
Exusiai cheered when she saw "Caster."
"And this evaluation…"
Compared to roles, Texas focused more on Is's written assessment.
Evaluation:
Shirou's ability, rather than Originium Arts, is better described as an unknown form of technique. For the sake of clarity, it will be referred to as "ability."
This ability allows both close-quarters and long-range combat. The subject also possesses extremely high combat awareness. During this simulation test, he eliminated all test machines including additional drones while sustaining almost no damage.
His ability is highly unique. However, because of this, he appears unable to activate staff or other Originium-based equipment.
That said, his own ability is more than sufficient to compensate for this weakness.
Further data has been classified. For access, contact Penguin Logistics.