After Yith confird that all the drones had been destroyed, there was nothing left for Shirou to do.
What remained would be handled by the hooded person and their team. Although Shirou did not know who they were, he could at least confirm they were from the Guard Departnt.
Right now, however, he was a bit panicked.
Because just now… that person seed to have called out his na.
That ant the other party might already know who he was. And he had just set off a massive "firework" over Lungn. Even though Yith had given permission, he could vaguely recall hearing a scream of despair through the earpiece.
Shirou felt like he should run.
But his sense of responsibility kept him rooted in place, watching the hooded person and their team carry out the assault.
Only after confirming that they had successfully captured the target did he finally relax and start seriously considering escape routes.
"Shirou, ti to get out."
Just as he hesitated, Yith suddenly spoke.
"Uh… the na…"
Hearing that, Shirou instinctively wanted to point out that Yith had let his na slip but then realized it probably did not matter anymore.
"I already cut the channel. They caught the target so they do not need us anymore. Now we just wait for the Guard Departnt to get useful intel."
Although Yith had already guessed that the other side had learned Shirou's identity, he chose not to say it outright, leaving Shirou a shred of deniability.
Let him cling to that illusion for a little longer until Chen personally cos knocking and shatters it.
Yith was not a demon… but Shirou's earlier stunt had already guaranteed several days of overti for him.
Sure, he had said it was fine to make so noise but he ant a little.
And Shirou had demonstrated what "a little" ant on an entirely different scale.
Sure, it felt great in the mont…but now they had to deal with the aftermath.
Yith internally condemned Shirou's irresponsibility while outwardly urging him to hurry and leave. If Lungn's major factions ca knocking, Shirou would be in trouble.
At least if he got back now, Penguin Logistics could help shoulder the pressure. The Boss had probably already noticed…though never stated outright, Yith knew the Boss was extrely protective of his people.
The type to scold you verbally while quietly cleaning up your ss.
"Got it… but where should I run?"
After confirming things, Shirou realized he could no longer hear the hooded person. Yith had indeed cut the communication.
"Where? Back to the dorm, obviously! Stop standing there, if others find you, you are in trouble."
Yith was already thinking about properly introducing Shirou to Lungn's major factions.
Shirou might not stir up trouble like the Texas team, but with that kind of presence, he was practically a walking spotlight.
After that explosion, his na would definitely spread among Lungn's major powers.
Although the biggest players had already made contact.
Even Lungn's ruler had sent people to observe or more accurately to monitor Shirou.
That likely started around the ti Shirou t Chen. Yith could only complain internally about how excessive that level of attention was.
Sending the Black Raincoats over sothing like this? That was beyond overprotective.
And now… the Black Raincoat tailing Shirou was probably the biggest problem. If they ca knocking, it would not be easy to refuse.
They needed to leave before the other side reacted.
Otherwise, soone as straightforward as Shirou would be chewed up and spit out without even leaving bones behind.
"Okay."
Even though Shirou did not fully understand, he followed Yith's instructions.
As usual, he took a shortcut—jumping down from a high building.
Most people's attention had been drawn to the massive explosion caused by the Broken Phantasm. This area was practically empty.
Everyone had run off to watch the spectacle. Shirou could not help but reflect on how much Lungn's people loved a good show.
Even in the middle of the night, they would flock to anything exciting.
After landing, Shirou imdiately headed toward the city as instructed.
On the way, he slipped into an alley like usual, dispelled his projection, and then reerged.
"Yith, how much useful intel do you think we got this ti? Could we directly catch the mastermind?"
After walking a while, Shirou asked.
The operation had gone smoothly overall, but the impact of that Broken Phantasm had been significant.
From what he saw, at least all the windows in that area had been shattered.
But… there had been no other choice.
If he had not wiped out most of the weapon drone swarm in one strike, letting them scatter and attack randomly would have been far more dangerous.
So he had simply chosen the option that would likely result in fewer injuries.
"No idea. Maybe that guy was just a decoy. Intelligence work is not sothing you can just 'figure out and it works.' Every operation should be approached with the expectation that you might gain nothing at all even after putting in a huge amount of effort."
While preparing a simplified report of what just happened to send to the Boss, Yith took a mont to answer Shirou's question.
He had always been reminding Shirou not to rush things when it ca to intelligence gathering.
But from the looks of it, compared to gathering intel, Shirou cared more about the safety of others.
If he kept acting like this, he would never beco an excellent intelligence operative.
That said, it was not a bad thing either. After witnessing that "firework," Yith felt it was better for Shirou to remain kind, at least it reduced the risk of other problems arising.
He definitely did not want to wake up one day to find half of Lungn gone.
"You are right. I was too impatient."
After hearing Yith's long explanation, Shirou adjusted his mindset slightly.
"Being impatient just ans you care a lot about this matter. Look on the bright side, ever since you started investigating, the number of missing people has dropped significantly. And now we might have new progress. It may not be enough to wipe them all out, but it is still a solid step forward."
Through the earpiece, Yith could hear the disappointnt in Shirou's tone.
After thinking for a mont, he decided to refra things for him.
After all, any situation could be viewed from a pessimistic or an optimistic perspective, it all depended on the individual.
Previously, since he was teaching, Yith usually used more pessimistic examples because they were easier to rember.
"If that is the case, then that is good."
Shirou could tell Yith was trying to comfort him, but what he said did make sense.
As expected of soone experienced in society, he could easily present the sa situation from two completely different angles.
"…"
Just as Shirou was about to leave the slum area, he suddenly felt sothing strange.
It seed like soone was following him.
And not just one person but there were quite a few.
Were they targeting him?
He did not sense any obvious hostility but he could not rule it out either.
Thinking this, Shirou instinctively reached for his hood only to grab empty air, rembering he was wearing a Penguin Logistics jacket.
"Tch."
Clicking his tongue, Shirou pretended to rub his shoulder and continued walking as before.
Yith had taught him that if you were being followed, the first thing was not to panic.
Once you panicked, things could go wrong easily. Stay calm, and start assessing what tools you had to fight back.
As for that part, Shirou could skip it entirely. As long as he had magical energy, he had plenty of ways to respond…long-range, close combat, offense, defense.
But he had no intention of fighting. He was not a battle maniac. If a fight could be avoided, then it should be avoided.
So his plan was simple, when he reached the next corner, he would use reinforcent magecraft to shake off whoever was behind him.
Acting normal, Shirou walked to the next turn. The mont he rounded the corner, he activated reinforcent and sprinted at full speed.
"Hm? Shirou, are you being chased?"
Hearing the strong wind noise from Shirou's side, Yith stopped what he was doing and pulled up nearby surveillance feeds.
"I just felt like soone was following . I think I have shaken them off now."
After running a certain distance, that strange feeling disappeared.
Ever since coming to this world, it felt like he had gained so subtle new instincts…
Looking around, Shirou pondered.
Whether it was sensing hostility or this heightened awareness, if his body had not felt perfectly fine, he might have suspected sothing strange had fused into him.
"Soone was chasing you…"
Hearing this, Yith quickly reviewed the footage from earlier.
There was nothing unusual, it just showed Shirou walking alone.
Switching to the current feed and adjusting the angle from the last stretch Shirou had walked, three or four shadowy figures suddenly appeared.
They were distant and blurry and most people would probably overlook them entirely.
But Yith was not most people.
He knew exactly what those figures were.
They were the Black Raincoats who had been tailing Shirou.
In the footage, one of them pointed in the direction Shirou had left, then pointed upward before they all withdrew.
"Sigh… explosions feel great in the mont, but they lead to overti hell."
Those gestures were simple enough…soone above wanted to see Shirou.
And above the Black Raincoats was Lungn's ruler.
A very cautious individual. For soone like Shirou who was powerful yet with an unclear background, they would likely take a firm approach.
Still, with Penguin Logistics acting as a shield, things probably would not get too bad.
"Hm? Why did you suddenly say that? More overti again? You seem to work overti a lot… how about I bring you a lunchbox in a couple of days?"
The very culprit behind Yith's recent overti casually asked.
"…Yes. Anything is fine. I eat everything."
After hesitating for a while, Yith decided not to argue with Shirou about the overti anymore.
Since people were already coming after him, Shirou would soon be joining him in the ranks of the suffering anyway.
Yith knew very well that Shirou absolutely hated people who spoke in riddles.
And coincidentally, the person looking for him was exactly the kind who spoke in nothing but riddles.
Thinking this way, Yith felt much better.
As long as he could spread his suffering to others, his own burden would feel lighter.
"Alright. Want to prepare a portion for the Boss too?"
During Yith's brief silence, Shirou had the distinct feeling that the man had already co up with so way to ss with him.
Faced with such a chaos-loving individual, Shirou decided to return the favor.
Kotomine style ultra-spicy Mapo Tofu, it was decided.
Well he was just saying. He did not actually have the exact recipe, but he could make sothing similar. Rin had made it before, after all.
Out of courtesy, he also asked about the Boss's portion.
From what he rembered, Yith worked quite close to the Boss.
"Make it together. Just prepare sothing that pairs well with alcohol."
Knowing that the Boss was listening in on the conversation, Yith did not refuse.
At worst, he would be the one to bear the consequences.
He was already used to being flooded with ssages from Exusiai, Croissant, and Sora, recently mostly about Shirou's cooking.
Texas was the only reasonable one, she rarely sent anything unless she really liked it.
Compared to the others spamming nonstop, Texas had only sent a dozen or so photos and most of them were desserts, especially chocolate-based ones.
"…Alcohol?"
The mont Shirou heard that word, he felt a bit troubled.
He did not drink. But here, drinking seed to be the norm.
Even the people at Penguin Logistics would drink during parties.
He did not mind others drinking, just do not make him drink.
It was just that… the way they acted after drinking…
It was a bit ssy.
Better not think about it. After witnessing it a few tis, Shirou had beco even more determined to stay away from alcohol.
"No pressure. Just keep it simple."
Hearing the hesitation in Shirou's tone, Yith added that reassurance.
"I will do my best."
Shirou thought for a mont. There was sothing similar to salmon, perfect for cooking.
And since the Boss was a penguin… he probably liked fish, right?
In Shirou's mind, zoo animals were usually fed fish.
So… it should be the sa here, right?
At that mont, the rational part of his brain told him not to compare animals from his world to those here.
But his thoughts stubbornly continued making the connection anyway.
"…Good luck."
Seeing Shirou like this, Yith decided to offer so verbal encouragent.
That simple "good luck" carried a lot of aning, it was about the lunchbox, the overti Shirou caused and the riddle-speaking person coming for him.
He could only hope Shirou would not be crushed by what was coming next.
"Hm? Oh, okay."
Shirou still had no idea what that "good luck" truly implied.
If he had known, he probably would have added strawberries into Yith's Mapo Tofu.
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