At the side, Hoshiguma felt that what Chen said also applied to her. After all, when the two of them sparred, she also focused mostly on defense.
Her excellent self-control stopped her from immediately rushing in to join Shirou in a two-on-one against Chen but she planned to politely ask Chen for some pointers after their spar.
As for Shirou, he also found that line strangely familiar.
Texas seemed to have said something similar before.
What was wrong with defense? Was defense a mistake?
Every single one of them had such strong physical abilities. One had overwhelming strength and another was incredibly fast.
Without using magecraft, of course he could only defend passively.
After several exchanges, Chen stepped back, creating some distance from Shirou.
She was the attacking type. If she kept up that kind of offense, it would consume a lot of stamina. She needed to adjust her rhythm and breathing.
"Is that all?"
Seeing her retreat to widen the gap, Shirou did not rush to counterattack. Instead, he smiled slightly and spoke.
He still remembered how arrogant she had been while attacking earlier.
He had learned this from Croissant and Exusiai, that after provoking the opponent—
"…"
Chen had no intention of replying. She had figured it out now. Shirou was the type to return verbal jabs with double the intensity.
The first time, when she launched a sneak attack and got verbally countered, she let it go. After all, even she would have some temper if attacked.
The second time, she had only used verbal provocation as a tactic, yet he escalated it into outright taunting?
Chen felt she really could not reconcile the current Shirou with the one who had been helping everyone run errands just moments ago.
The difference was far too great.
Taking up her stance again, Chen charged forward once more.
She had only intended to test his abilities, yet it still fell a bit short.
Without using any special techniques, she felt that in a short time she would not be able to break through his defense.
Even so, she had no intention of using them.
Right now, she felt that she had been provoked enough to get a little heated. She was worried that if she used her techniques, she might not be able to hold back.
From initially thinking that such techniques should not be used against allies, to now worrying about losing control—
Who knew what she had just gone through.
"Tch, Chen is really going at it hard."
After seeing that Shirou could exchange several moves with Chen, Hoshiguma was no longer as intensely focused as before.
Now she was simply enjoying their spar.
Yes, enjoying it.
After watching so many amateurs flail at each other, Shirou and Chen's sparring looked like a clash between experts.
Even if most people could not understand it, that did not stop them from finding the scene extremely exciting.
For those who could understand, it became clear that the person sparring with Officer Chen was no simple character.
At least for Hoshiguma, her impression of Shirou had now changed.
She did not expect him to be such a capable fighter. It seemed that Phal was not exaggerating when he said Shirou could knock out troublemaking thugs with one punch each.
Her hands were itching a little. After Chen finished, she might jump in for a round as well.
Deal with Chen first, then have a match with Shirou. It was perfect.
The training swords in their hands continuously clashed, producing sharp metallic sounds that drew others in the training ground to watch.
Before long, a large crowd had gathered nearby, cheering for Chen.
After all, she was a well-known figure in the Guard Department. Supporting one of their own was only natural.
That said, there were also some cheering for Shirou, mostly those who were familiar with Chen.
As the saying goes, no discord, no concord. They had all gotten to know her after being beaten by her under the pretense of sparring.
However, these people were only a minority. The vast majority were still cheering for Chen.
"This is… a bit of pressure."
Shirou gripped his sword with both hands, firmly blocking Chen's latest downward strike.
The surrounding gazes made him slightly uncomfortable, but the speed of his swings did not slow in the slightest.
After all, he was often watched during archery competitions. This level of attention would not distract him.
However, the cheers from outside the ring did affect him to some extent.
They drowned out the sounds of Chen's movements, forcing him to focus more to track her actions.
"Your resistance to pressure is lacking!"
Seeing that Shirou had finally stopped talking back, Chen slowed her offense.
She wanted to end this spar.
Her stamina had been consumed quite a bit. She still had work later, and there was no telling whether there would be a mission in the afternoon. She did not want to exhaust herself here.
As for winning or losing, she did not care.
"Is this really about handling pressure?"
Shirou felt a bit helpless at Chen's words.
He did not expect her to be this talkative.
Right now, aside from the considerable stamina he had spent, both of his hands were slightly numb.
Even though it looked like he had deflected every single attack, part of the force still traveled through the blade into his arms.
The main issue was that the quality of the training sword was not great, and on top of that, her attacks were getting heavier with each strike.
This made Shirou start to wonder if it was because of his affiliation with Penguin Logistics that she had marked him and was hitting this hard.
This was supposed to be sparring! Not a life-and-death battle!
Shirou felt bitter inside, but he did not say it out loud.
Instead of complaining, it was better to focus on blocking a few more strikes. Chen seemed to have gotten serious, and he had no intention of getting hit.
Taking even one hit would probably leave him savoring a deep, aching pain.
"Shall we stop here?"
After assessing her stamina, Chen felt that today's spar had truly been exhausting. It was time to end it.
Sparring with Shirou was even more tiring than sparring with Hoshiguma. At least Hoshiguma was not as slippery and elusive as Shirou.
When Hoshiguma defended, a few attacks would still slip through, but Shirou was the type who could block almost every single move.
Combined with the verbal provocation, Chen had genuinely worked up a bit of temper just now.
Still, she recognized that part of it was her own issue, so she held herself back.
"Mm, let us leave it at that."
Seeing her withdraw, Shirou also let out a sigh of relief.
He had been dragged into this in the first place, so being able to step away safely was the best outcome.
He had no intention of defeating her and becoming famous in one go. He just wanted to quietly be a newbie at the Guard Department for a few days and repay the favor he owed Wei Yenwu.
It was better to keep a low profile.
"Impressive. I did not expect you to go evenly with Chen."
Seeing the spar end, Hoshiguma clapped her hands and said.
By "evenly matched," she meant purely in terms of swordsmanship fundamentals. Neither of them had used Originium Arts just now; it was a contest of pure technique.
If Originium Arts were involved, even Hoshiguma could not say who would win.
A battle was never decided just by saying who would win.
Timing, location, and human factors all played crucial roles. Only when someone's strength reached a certain overwhelming level could victory be guaranteed.
"That is thanks to Officer Chen matching her level to mine."
Shirou did not sound proud. Instead, he said that Chen had adjusted herself to spar with him.
In other words, she had been holding back.
After all, there were several moments where he noticed Chen forcibly changing the trajectory of her attacks.
If that was not holding back, then what was?
Moreover, from Exusiai, he had heard that she once cut through a vault with a single strike, though that was likely due to Originium Arts.
However, after noticing the other sword at her waist, Shirou understood what she had used to cut through the vault.
Unfortunately, that sword contained Originium-related materials, so he could not project it.
At most, he could only sense a faint danger from it.
Shirou clearly understood that if Chen drew that sword, then without using magecraft or projection, he would not be able to hold out.
It could be said that since arriving in Terra, it was the most peculiar sword he had ever seen.
A pity that it contained Originium and he had no way to project it.
Right now, he could not project Originium. In the future, it was probably still unlikely but nothing was absolute.
That was a conclusion Shirou had reached after seeing multiple sets of memories and through his own experiences.
"You do not need to be so modest."
Hearing Shirou's words, Chen shook her head.
Although she had not gone all out, she knew Shirou had not either.
Someone capable of drawing that bow and performing long-range sniping should not have strength limited to just this level.
Though, it might also be due to Originium Arts.
"Exactly. Modesty is good, but too much of it is not. Have some confidence."
Hoshiguma patted Shirou on the shoulder, then turned to Chen and asked:
"Another round?"
"…? No. There is still work later. Using too much stamina would not be good."
Caught off guard by the sudden invitation, Chen hesitated briefly before refusing.
"It will not consume much stamina. It will be over quickly."
Hoshiguma clenched her fists slightly, producing a series of crackling sounds.
She still remembered Chen's earlier comments about defense.
"No, really, there is no need. I will go take care of something first. You can show Shirou around a bit more."
Seeing Hoshiguma like that, Chen chose to make a quick exit.
"Tch, she ran off pretty fast."
Watching Chen leave decisively, Hoshiguma did not bother chasing after her.
There would be plenty of time and opportunities later anyway.
"…"
At this moment, Shirou felt that the image Chen had previously built up had somewhat collapsed.
He had thought she was the cold and aloof type, but it seemed she had an unexpectedly different side as well.
"What is it? Are you till not satisfied? Do you want to spar a bit?"
Noticing Shirou's complicated expression, Hoshiguma asked.
After watching such an exciting match, her hands were still itching for a fight.
"…No, my hands are still numb."
To make sure Hoshiguma believed him, Shirou even held out both hands for her to see.
They were numb, though not too seriously.
Still, Shirou deliberately shook them a few times, creating the impression that they were extremely numb.
Do not ask. If you ask, it is something he picked up from Penguin Logistics.
"Alright, what a pity."
Seeing that Shirou had no intention of sparring, Hoshiguma could only give up.
"Next time for sure."
Seeing Hoshiguma looking a bit disappointed, Shirou tried to reassure her.
As for next time, that would be a problem for his future self.
Anyway, causing trouble for his future self was nothing new.
"By the way, does your Guard Department have its own swordsmanship? I noticed most people are using the same style. Although Officer Chen's swordsmanship is somewhat different, there are still clear similarities."
After the conversation paused, Shirou looked around at the others sparring nearby and asked a question he had been wanting to ask.
"The Guard Department does have its own system, but it only lays the foundation. If you want to specialize further, it depends on individual effort."
Leading Shirou toward a resting area, Hoshiguma explained.
And not just swordsmanship. Wrestling, crossbows, and other skills were also taught at a basic level. If someone wanted to go deeper, they would need to learn from others or find their own way to improve.
"I see."
Shirou found this explanation quite reasonable.
Lay the groundwork, then rely on personal effort to improve. That made perfect sense.
After all, there were too many people in the Guard Department. If everyone had to be taught hand-in-hand, it would be exhausting, and the results might not even be good.
In the end, it depended on whether the individual was willing to put in the effort.
At the very least, he could tell that Officer Chen's fundamentals were extremely good. She must have trained for a very long time.
"You should work hard. Chen seems to think quite highly of you."
Seeing how seriously Shirou was engaging with everything related to the Guard Department, Hoshiguma suddenly said.
"…Why does it feel more like retaliation to me?"
Recalling what had just happened, Shirou felt his interpretation might be more likely.
He knew that Penguin Logistics and the Guard Department did not get along.
As for what kind of conflict existed between Officer Chen and Wei Yenwu, he had no idea.
And it was not something he needed to know.
"That possibility cannot be ruled out, but personally, I feel that she does think highly of you."
Hoshiguma had considered that possibility as well.
But if it were truly retaliation, Chen would not make it so obvious.
Rather, she would not bother with something like that. If she really disliked someone, she would just curse them out directly until they questioned their life choices.
Missy was a perfect example.
Back then, just the incident of taking the wrong bag was enough for Chen to lecture Missy every time she saw her.
It had gotten a bit better now, since quite some time had passed.
Though occasionally, she would still bring it up to tease Missy.
"Think highly of me?"
Shirou was puzzled by Hoshiguma's guess.
He had only met Officer Chen a few times in total, so how had he suddenly earned her approval?
But he felt like he had seen her somewhere before.
The starting stance of her swordsmanship, and those horns on her head…
Was it the Hooded person?
Shirou felt like he had discovered something astonishing.
If that were the case, then many things would make sense.
He was not familiar with officer Chen but he had seen the chivalrous Hooded person several times, even worked with her before.
But the head of the Lungmen Guard's Inspecters was actually investigating a case in the slums alone at night?
That was truly dedicated, Shirou could only admire her.
However, this was just a guess. Shirou would not just go up and ask, it would be awkward if it was not her.