After fastening his seatbelt, Shirou could feel everyone else's gaze on him.
"Seat… seatbelt!?"
Croissant tugged at the seatbelt by her side. It had been a long, long time since she had used one of these.
"What's wrong?"
Shirou did not understand their reactions. Before, he had not used one because he was squeezed in the middle and could not. Now that he could, putting it on was just a habit.
"It's nothing, we're just surprised that our car actually has seatbelts."
From the front seat, Exusiai put down her apple pie and started examining the seatbelt next to her.
"…?"
Watching the two of them study the seatbelts, Shirou turned his gaze toward Sora.
"Ahem… well, we often run into emergencies, so we rarely use seatbelts… you get it."
Sora gave a brief explanation.
After all, they often had to jump out of the car to fight and the Boss had already installed plenty of safety measures in the vehicle. Naturally, seatbelts had not been used in ages.
Besides, Texas' driving skills were excellent, accidents were rare. The last near-crash was when Shirou literally fell from the sky.
"I see."
Even though he said that, Shirou mentally put a big question mark on their concept of "safe driving."
"Do not worry about it, it's a small thing."
After fiddling with the seatbelt for a bit, Exusiai quickly lost interest and went back to eating her apple pie.
If she did not eat it now, it would get cold and they had be busy later.
As they talked, the vehicle had already left Lungmen.
"Whoa… so this is a mobile city?"
Looking back at the massive city behind them, Shirou was amazed.
Seeing it in books or videos was one thing, but witnessing it in person was something else entirely.
It was hard to imagine that such a massive city could carry so many people and buildings while moving to avoid catastrophes.
"Pretty shocking the first time you see it, right?"
Sora smiled from the side.
Her reaction back then had been just like Shirou's now.
"Yeah, it really is."
Shirou kept watching until Lungmen disappeared from view due to the angle, then finally turned his attention back inside.
Only to be met with teasing looks from the others.
"So, giant mechanical creations really are a man's romance, huh?"
Exusiai said while taking a bite of her apple pie.
"How about I make you a mini model when we get back? I will even give you a friendly price."
A certain "bread person" rubbed her fingers together with a suspiciously… sincere expression.
"…I will pass."
Shirou politely declined Croissant's sales pitch.
He did have a bit of interest in massive machines, but buying models was unnecessary.
Some things just could not be replaced by a model and besides he did not have space in his room.
"What a pity. By the way, did you not want to sit in the passenger seat? You could learn from Exusiai now, maybe you can take over that spot later."
Croissant shrugged and suggested.
The passenger seat was not easy and if Shirou could handle it, it would be a big help.
"Huh? Do you want this seat? Then you would better study hard! It is not an easy position!"
Exusiai had already finished her apple pie. Now she was holding a tablet displaying what looked like a map.
In front of her was a pair of binoculars for observing the road ahead.
"If I remember correctly, you mainly have to watch for wildlife, infected creatures, catastrophes, and enemies, right?"
Sora had learned a bit before but it did not go well, she got motion sickness using binoculars, so she was not suited for the role.
"More or less. Texas focuses on the immediate surroundings, while I watch the distant road conditions and adjust the route."
Exusiai lifted the tablet so Shirou could take a look.
It showed a map and a simple route plan. Shirou finally understood what she had been busy with yesterday.
Even Exusiai took her work seriously when it mattered.
Shirou almost felt like rewarding her with an apple pie.
Like a proud parent watching their child grow up.
"I think this route was planned by Yith, right?"
Croissant's next sentence instantly shattered Shirou's urge to bake her an apple pie.
"Even if Yith planned it, I still have to double-check. He just gathers information for us, we cannot rely on him for everything!"
Exusiai explained, taking the tablet back.
Completely unaware of what she had just lost, otherwise she would probably turn Croissant's horns into decorations.
Even if not apple pie, Shirou decided he could still make her some other dessert later.
"Out here, the main concerns are what Sora mentioned earlier but mostly wild animals and infected creatures. Many of them move in groups so you need to be careful. Just avoid them if possible."
Exusiai continued explaining while scanning the surroundings with her binoculars.
Shirou listened carefully.
In this area, she definitely had experience.
"Those do sound troublesome."
Thinking about how catastrophes worked in this world, Shirou felt they were even more dangerous than infected creatures.
"No, no, those are manageable. The real trouble is people! Things like hidden traps or ambushes nearby, you cannot see those coming."
Lowering her binoculars, Exusiai spoke seriously.
"Animals, catastrophes, Originium… none of those are the scariest."
"The scariest thing… is people."
Texas suddenly spoke from the driver's seat.