In the morning, at the Lungmen Guard Department office.
After finishing his sniper training session, Shirou followed his usual routine and stopped by Chen's office to see whether she was busy.
If she was, he would help out with small tasks like pouring tea, running errands, finding something to do. If not, then it was time for sparring.
These days, Chen had noticeably more breathing room during their sparring sessions compared to before.
With enough accumulated combat experience, the body naturally adapts.
Besides, Chen already had excellent combat experience and outstanding technique. The reason Shirou could easily hold an edge over her was because he had once projected Chi Xiao, giving him a certain level of understanding of her swordsmanship.
Combined with the various skills he gained through projection, it was not difficult for him to assemble a tailored style specifically to counter her.
That was, in fact, one of the core combat approaches of projection magecraft, creating weapons or techniques that directly counter the opponent.
The reason Chen now had more room during sparring was simple: she had already begun to grasp and adapt to that style.
Which was exactly what Shirou wanted.
Being able to handle techniques designed to counter you was, in itself, significant progress.
Once Chen fully adapted, Shirou planned to introduce a new style for sparring depending on the situation.
At this point, honestly, he could already report back to Wei Yenwu and wrap up his work with the Guard Department.
But Shirou simply felt that this kind of life was not bad.
After all, he was not doing this with a "job" mindset to begin with. Having worked with Chen multiple times, she was one of the few people he was familiar with in Lungmen.
"You are here, Shirou? Give me a moment…I will be done soon."
Hearing the office door open, Chen glanced over out of habit before returning to her paperwork. Still, she greeted him briefly upon recognizing him.
"There is no rush."
Seeing everyone in the office busy at work, Shirou did not say much. He set his things down and went to find something else to do.
He did not help with paperwork. Those documents contained many internal matters that were not publicly disclosed, so he sensibly avoided offering assistance there.
Instead, he handled small, almost trivial tasks.
While his contributions did not directly affect work progress, they helped everyone stay in a good mood.
From the perspective of the Guard Department staff, ever since Shirou started doing this, the break room snacks were always replenished and with different flavors every day.
Tea leaves, coffee grounds, instant drinks, supplies never fell below the number of staff members and were always neatly arranged, making it easy to find whatever one wanted.
Even the water dispenser was spotless, so no one had to worry about it affecting the taste of their drinks.
And on days like today, when Shirou was not too busy, people could even enjoy hand-brewed coffee or tea made by a professional.
That feeling of being taken care of was simply excellent.
"Much appreciated."
Taking the coffee Shirou handed over, Hoshiguma spoke.
The cup she used was one from a set she had previously bought from Shirou.
"It is nothing. Everyone is keeping things running well."
After finishing up, Shirou found a seat and sat down.
At first, he had simply wanted to avoid sitting idle while waiting for Chen. Not only would that pressure her, but it also left him feeling restless.
After all, it would not look right for him to pull out his phone and relax while everyone else was working.
Given Chen's personality, she would probably just throw him out.
"Sigh… Chen will take a while. Get some rest. The sniper unit has been performing exceptionally well lately and the higher-ups are very satisfied."
After hearing Shirou, Hoshiguma sighed, glanced at the pile of documents still on Chen's desk, and then mentioned the sniper unit.
Shirou had played a major role in their improvement.
It was not that the unit lacked professional instructors but most focused on practical combat scenarios.
Someone like Shirou who could immediately identify a person's flaws upon first meeting them was extremely rare. This time, Wei Yenwu had truly found a gem.
"They are all working hard. Improvement is only natural… By the way, has the drill been finalized?"
As he spoke, Shirou suddenly noticed something off about Hoshiguma's expression and quickly changed the subject.
He was not sure what he had said wrong but once he switched topics, that subtle sense of danger disappeared.
The reason he brought up the drill was because Penguin Logistics had been actively discussing how to maximize their "harassment" of the Guard Department.
Lethal and harmful weapons were banned, sure but stink bombs and chili launchers might still be allowed.
Listening to those ideas, Shirou had even considered advising the Guard Department to cancel the drill altogether.
Why would they choose Penguin Logistics as their opponent?
"It should be announced in a few days."
Since Hoshiguma was handling this matter, she knew the details well.
Things had just started calming down recently, there was finally some breathing room and now the higher-ups had decided to organize a drill to "strengthen combat awareness."
Creating work out of nothing.
And they did not choose just any opponent, they specifically named Penguin Logistics.
Personally chosen by Wei Yenwu.
The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became.
She took a sip of coffee to steady herself.
On the surface, Hoshiguma looked calm. But internally, she had already greeted those superiors many times over in both Lungmen slang and Higashi dialect.
It was not just her, Chen and Missy were the same.
But venting like this was all they could do. Orders from above still had to be followed.
"I see…"
Watching Hoshiguma, Shirou hesitated, wondering whether he should leak some of Penguin Logistics' planned tricks. At the very least, maybe more rules could be added so the Guard Department would not suffer too badly.
He knew people on both sides, yet the two sides were practically at odds. Being caught in the middle felt especially painful.
"Hmm… judging by that look, they are already plotting something, right? Do not worry too much. As long as there are no casualties, it is fine."
Noticing Shirou's expression and the fact he suddenly brought up the topic, Hoshiguma easily guessed that Penguin Logistics had already come up with plenty of ways to mess with the Guard Department.
That was expected. In real combat, enemies would use such tactics too.
As long as the weapons were not overly lethal, it would be acceptable. They would also arrange referees to determine elimination conditions.
"That is good to hear."
Shirou let out a sigh of relief.
"But you are the tricky one," Hoshiguma added. "Your abilities and attack range are practically overwhelming compared to ordinary people."
"Huh? I have to participate too?"
Shirou was surprised. Both he and the rest of Penguin Logistics had assumed he would just watch this exercise.
If he joined in, Penguin Logistics would definitely go wild. He could already imagine them tying all sorts of strange things to his arrows.
"Of course. You are part of Penguin Logistics too, are you not?"
Hoshiguma waved her hand casually, clearly enjoying the situation.
The higher-ups were still trying to "balance" Shirou's role, but whether they succeeded or not did not matter much. The ones who would suffer would definitely be Chen and Missy.
She, meanwhile, could just play the role of a heavy defender and enjoy the show.
"…That is true."
"That is all I know. Also, remind Penguin Logistics not to go too far. If they really anger Chen and the others, you might get 'special treatment' on the streets of Lungmen later."
In the end, Hoshiguma decided to help lighten the burden for both sides by having Shirou pass along the message.
Otherwise, if things got too out of hand, the one who would suffer most would be Shirou, the one stuck in between.
And honestly, that might be exactly what Penguin Logistics wanted. After all, many people in the Guard Department had their eyes on Shirou from the very beginning.
He had good temperament, strong ability, hardworking, eager to learn… his only issue was that his ambitions did not seem to lie here.
Neither she nor Chen intended to force the matter. Even Missy, who used to try recruiting him constantly, had stopped bringing it up for some reason.
Then again, Penguin Logistics' concerns made sense.
After all… Shirou handled most of their daily life now. If he got poached, Texas's team would be in serious trouble.
Hoshiguma suddenly figured out something that had puzzled her for a long time.
At the same time, she remembered a gift someone had given her recently.
She wondered whether Shirou could prepare it. Probably yes.
So far, she had never seen him fail at cooking anything as long as it was not overly complicated. And what she had in mind was not difficult.
The main issue was that she herself did not have the time.
Before she could bring it up, Chen suddenly spoke:
"You two seem to be having fun chatting. I am still here, you know. Talking behind my back like that? Have you finished your work yet?"
Looking up at them, Chen's gaze was sharp.
It would have been even more intimidating if not for the heavy dark circles under her eyes.
"Cough… of course it is mostly done! And I was not badmouthing you, I was trying to reduce your workload!"
Realizing the person in question was right there, Hoshiguma coughed awkwardly and took a sip of tea, pretending to be calm.
"Then help me handle these."
Without hesitation, Chen placed half of her documents onto Hoshiguma's desk.
"Wait… Chen, what is this?"
Hoshiguma stared at the pile. If she remembered correctly, Chen usually disliked delegating important tasks.
Even without checking, those looked like fairly critical documents.
"I have other things to take care of."
With that, Chen grabbed Shirou by the collar and dragged him out.
"..."
Watching Shirou get dragged away with a confused expression, Hoshiguma almost laughed until she looked at the documents on her desk.
Sigh… she had just finished rushing her work so she could chat for a bit, and now she had even more piled on.
That was rough.
Out in the hallway, Chen released her grip, so there was no scene of her dragging Shirou along the entire corridor.
Part of it was a small bit of revenge against Hoshiguma for talking behind her back.
The other reason was that she wanted to move around a bit.
After sitting in the office all morning reviewing documents, she felt stiff.
"Is this really okay? Work should come first, right?"
Glancing back at the office where Hoshiguma now looked troubled, Shirou asked.
"I will review things again this afternoon. I trust Hoshiguma to handle it. She has been in the Guard Department longer than I have. And it is perfectly reasonable for a superior to assign work to subordinates, is it not?"
Walking down the hallway, Chen rubbed her shoulders and neck as she spoke.
And just like that, Shirou witnessed what it looked like when a rather ruthless superior squeezed her subordinate for labor.
"Well… I am not very good at that sort of thing. Since it has come to this, I will leave it to you. By the way, Chen, you are already quite familiar with the current sparring style, right? I am thinking of planning another set of sword techniques for training. What do you think?"
At this point, Shirou did not dwell on it further. Since Chen had her own arrangements, there was no problem.
He also brought up his idea and asked for her opinion.
"…It is not the same one from last time, right?"
After thinking for a moment, Chen looked a bit concerned that Shirou might use that same style again.
It was not that it was bad, it was just that the combat style… was not very suitable.
"Which one? Oh, that one? No, not that but it is somewhat similar. This one focuses more on offense, but it will not be as all-out as last time."
At first, Shirou did not realize which style Chen meant, but the only unusual one he had used before was the technique derived from "Nameless."
This time, he had modified it based on that foundation, just without going all-in on relentless attacks.
After all, the focus was sparring, not defeating or killing the opponent.
"That is fine then. That kind of fighting style does not suit you. You should use it less… I honestly do not know where you even learned that."
After hearing his explanation, Chen let out a small sigh of relief and could not help but complain.
"I have quite a few ways of learning, you know. As long as I project something, I can roughly grasp it. Or… should we try a spar using Chi Xiao swordsmanship against itself?"
Hearing Chen's complaint, Shirou did not bother explaining further. Instead, he casually proposed something he knew she would absolutely refuse.
"I will pass on that."
Chen's reason was simple. Shirou had learned Chi Xiao swordsmanship and combined with his wide range of techniques, he wielded it just as well if not more smoothly than she did.
In fact, she strongly suspected that if Shirou ever replicated the version used by Wei Yenwu… she did not even want to imagine it.
In short, she had no intention of making things harder for herself.
At least not until her own mastery of Chi Xiao swordsmanship improved.