About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

"I don't like my family's business. Compared to the underworld, I'd rather be a racing driver or something like that... maybe."

"But then everything completely collapsed. My family was completely destroyed and slaughtered. The person who issued this order is now the leader of the Sicilian Gang."

Texas clenched her unbandaged hand into a fist. She thought she had forgotten the past, but when she recalled it to tell her story, she found that she still couldn't let go of the past.

"After my family was destroyed, the first person to find me was Lappland, the white-haired Luper you'd met once before. According to her, she was originally responsible for 'cleaning up' the mess, but I wasn't killed by her. Instead, she led me into the world of the Syracuse gang as a 'lone wolf'."

Texas closed his eyes slightly. Surprisingly, he did not feel disgusted during those crazy and chaotic days in Syracuse.

"In the end, I chose to leave Syracuse. I hope to abandon the past of the Lone Wolf, but whether it's Lapland or the Sicilian Gang—the blood of the past will never fade in my hands."

Texas looked at his palms with a self-deprecating expression.

"In order to survive, our hands are stained with the blood of others. I never consider myself a saint, but what matters most is why this blood was shed - if it was to protect others, I will have no complaints."

"—I feel like I said something pretentious and boring... I'm sorry."

After saying this, Orson paused, then rubbed his hair awkwardly.

"Protecting others... Orson."

Texas raised his head slightly and thought for a moment, then met the eyes of the young man in front of him.

"what happened?"

"Please pass me the pocky in your pocket."

Texas pointed with his chin at the chocolate bar in his clothes.

"Don't eat sweets like this during your recuperation period."

Unlike what was expected, Orson took out the pocky and kicked it into his pocket, saying something serious.

"..."

Texas glanced at Orson, the incredibly reliable teenager who sometimes seemed a little too reliable, almost like a male mother.

The nightmare from Syracuse came back to her, but unlike then, she was no longer the girl who could only hide in the closet and wait for the massacre to end. She was no longer a "lone wolf" who was frantically seeking death alone - but Texas, who held a sharp blade in her hand and had a "companion" in her.

After a while, the Guards and Exia arrived at the scene.

"Texas, are you okay?! I rushed back as soon as possible... Huh?"

Exia pushed open the door and saw Texas, whose stockings had become tattered for some reason and who was looking up at the sky with a Pocky in his mouth.

Next to Texas, Orson was muttering softly, "You can't eat it..." and reaching out to stop him but didn't dare to.

"0v0... this scene doesn't sound 'extremely urgent' at all!!"

The Archangel who rushed back without stopping immediately entered the overload mode.

After fooling around for a while, Exia and Orson were blasted out by Texas with sword rain all over their heads.

"What happened before, Orson?"

"Someone has obtained intelligence on Penguin Logistics and has launched an assassination attempt on Texas."

"Eh...it looks like this enemy is going to be tough."

Exia sighed softly, then put on a wicked smile and moved closer to Orson.

"So, did anything strange happen during the process~?"

"How is it possible?"

Orson responded indifferently, while Exiah made a "tsk" sound, but felt a little happy in his heart.

"Anyway, Texas is really cute, right? Especially those black stockings... But don't be tempted to touch them. Texas really hates having her legs touched. Should I say, her legs are sensitive?"

As Exiah spoke, he thought about the last time he was playing around with Texas and ended up being chased and bitten by Wolf Spirit.

Orson, who heard this, was stunned for a moment.

"Don't touch my thighs..."

Orson looked back at Texas, whose wound was being diagnosed and treated by the doctor who rushed over. To be more precise, he looked at Texas' slender calf, which he had torn open his stockings to bandage to stop the bleeding, and the bandage wrapped neatly on it.

I can only hope that she won't despise my bandaging skills.

------------

At the same time, in a room somewhere in the Longmen slums.

“Pfft…!? W-What are you doing, ‘Executioner’!?”

A gang member's chest was pierced by two strangely shaped long swords. He coughed up blood and questioned the white-haired Lupo girl in front of him in disbelief.

"Make no mistake, Sicilian. My relationship with you is merely mutually beneficial. I never claimed to be one of you."

Swish!

Lappland pulled out the sword and gently licked the blood flowing down the sword.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing you next time, Texas, and—Orson."

24. Penguin Photo Album

“Wuuuuuuuuuuu…”

In the Penguin Logistics office, Orson pushed open the door limply. He closed his eyes tightly and frowned, then staggered to the sofa in the office lounge area and dove in with a "puff".

"Drained..."

Orson grumbled softly, then turned over to lie down and rest for a while. However, a bright LED light immediately appeared in his field of vision - it was the Angel of Exiah.

"What's the matter, Orson? I see you were called out early this morning."

Exia asked curiously. It had been a day since the "hospital attack" incident, and the aftermath caused by the Sicilian Gang's pursuit of Texas had temporarily eased.

"The Imperial Guards asked me to cooperate with the investigation... I originally thought it would just be a statement, but I don't know if they got the hint, or maybe it's because of my status as a 'keeper whose address has expired for over 20 years' (Black Snake/Kolsil's credit), but I ended up getting surrounded and lectured by five or six people..."

Orson's face was filled with black lines when he thought back to his experience in the Guard Bureau. He was squeezed in the middle of a small dark room by five or six muscular men, and those men were poking his cheeks with all kinds of thick, black and hard objects (referring to batons).

Fortunately, he was rescued by a rich lady named Little Tiger who passed by, otherwise he would probably not be released now.

"Hey, those people in the Imperial Guard have been very sensitive lately. Compared to that, Orson... uh, well - have you had breakfast?"

Exia suddenly changed the subject and asked Orson using the classic Yan Country greeting method.

"Huh? Those people said I was full of suspicious points and was having an affair with Officer Chen, so they didn't even give me the pork chop rice..."

Orson complained in a low voice in dissatisfaction, but the Archangel next to him looked much happier after hearing it.

"That's great—no, no, no, I didn't really mean great. Anyway... I made some breakfast for everyone, and there's a portion for you too!"

The Archangel said this with some stammering, and then without saying anything, he dragged a pile of Orson from the sofa to the dining table, and took out a piece of mosaic paste from the thermal box beside him.

"This is?"

Orson took the knife and fork handed to him by Archangel, and was a little unsure whether the thing in front of him, which seemed to have been deleted from the data, was a biosolvent or vomit from the stomach of an animal.

"Well... I originally wanted to make apple pie, but halfway through the instructions I realized I read the wrong page and ended up making snail noodles. I didn't want to waste the apples, so I added some seasoning and ended up mistaking baking soda for salt... And when I put it in the oven, the temperature was a little..."

The more Excalibur explained, the smaller his voice became, and finally his entire body, along with the light bulb on his head, became dim.

"Thank you, Exia. I'm not a particularly good cook, but I can still manage to make something passable. If you don't mind, I can start with a simpler stew next time."

Orson tasted the periodic table of elements of the Angel's honey, then used soul regulation to prevent himself from fainting, and said with a forced smile.

"Really?! I want to sign up!"

Exia immediately raised his hand to express that he wanted to attend Orson's after-school lessons.

"Here you go, Orson."

While Orson was still struggling with the sacrifice summoned by the ancient god, Texas walked up to him and placed a can of coffee next to Orson.

“Texas?”

"A little caffeine now and then can be beneficial."

Texas' tone was still very calm, but this time her eyes would seriously meet Orson's during the conversation.

"Thank you, how is your injury?"

Orson took the coffee and asked about Texas' injuries with concern.

"It's okay. The boss found a shady doctor from somewhere. My injuries recovered quickly, although the doctor's treatment process..."

Texas stopped talking midway, his tail and ears drooping. It must not have been an experience worth remembering.

"That's good. Make sure you recover soon."

"Well"

In the face of Orson's sincere words, Texas still looked away, but ended up meeting the eyes of the Archangel next to him.

Exia first glanced at Texas meaningfully, then stared at him closely, finally revealing a meaningful smile that said, "I see, I understand you!"

At the same time, Croissant on the other side of the office crossed his legs and looked at the delicate atmosphere between the three people, then turned his head to look at Sora beside him.

"I always feel like something is wrong. Are Texas and Exia acting strange?"

Croissant whispered to Sora who was standing beside him.

"That's good, isn't it? It seems like Texas is a bit more cheerful than usual today."

As a little fangirl from Texas and the new idol of the Lupo tribe (?), Sora hasn't realized the seriousness of the situation yet.

"Anyway, I feel like something's not right. This Orson guy might actually be quite capable. I have to find a chance to snatch him away."

"Ahem, ahem—but, you want a croissant too?"

Sora was startled by Breadman's words.

"I have to find a chance to snatch him away and ask him to help me set up the stall—what's wrong?"

"Ah, well, nothing much."

Sora smiled awkwardly, not politely. If anyone at Penguin Logistics was the least interested in the opposite sex, Breadman would undoubtedly be the one.

"Is is looking for information from the Sicilian Gang, and the Royal Guards seem to be stepping up their investigation into this matter recently. All we can do now is be more cautious and try not to act alone in the future, Texas."

Back to the trio, Orson told them the information he got from the Guard Bureau and told Texas, whose injuries had not yet fully recovered, to be careful.

"I know that we will remain as a team for the following operations."

Texas nodded.

After a brief silence -

"By the way, Orson, are you free today?" "Orson, do you have anything else to deal with this afternoon?"

The voices of Texas and Exia overlapped, and both of them were stunned and looked at each other.

"Texas? Well, why don't you tell me first?" "Go ahead, Exia."

The voices overlapped again, and at this moment the two showed the high degree of tacit understanding they had in their daily combat.

"..." "..."

Perhaps because they were afraid of another collision, Texas and Exia chose to remain silent this time, waiting for the other to speak first.

Orson was caught in the middle and was a little confused. Just as the two of them were waiting for each other's next move -

"Is Orson here? I'm looking for him—you're here, so it's a good opportunity for you to come with me."

Miss Chen, a senior superintendent of the Guard Bureau, pushed the door open and saw Orson. She immediately reached out and pulled Orson out of the room.

“Ugh—” “…”

Looking at Orson's back as he was dragged out by Chen, Exiah laughed awkwardly and scratched his head, while Texas silently took out a Pocky and put it in his mouth.

"Should you consider selling hand-pulled pancakes..."

At the same time, the baker was still thinking about what to do at his stall next time.

25. Father-in-law No. Wei Laoer (wrong)

"Um...Officer Chen, what's the matter with calling me out all of a sudden?"