After returning to the Guard Department, Shirou felt especially tired.
On one hand, talking with Wei Yenwu had been quite stressful. On the other hand, he had learned a bit too much today.
Right now, his head was buzzing and his whole body felt off.
There was both good news and bad news.
The good news was that he was not the only transmigrator.
The bad news was that he seemed to be the only one left.
"Hm? Officer Ch'en and the others did not come back with you?"
A nearby Guard Department member noticed Shirou sitting at his desk and, seeing that his two superiors had not returned with him, stepped forward to ask.
"They seem to have other matters to discuss, so I came back first. It is a good chance to handle some of the backlog."
Hearing someone address him, Shirou quickly adjusted his state and patted the small stack of documents in front of him.
Since he usually spent most of his time at the shooting range teaching others, Hoshiguma had specifically placed related documents here for him.
That said, most of the reviewing was still handled by her and Ch'en. What Shirou had were just basic materials that required a quick review.
Things involving budgets, personnel, equipment and so on were not something he would touch.
"I see. Thanks."
After learning where their superior had gone, the person did not ask further. They stuck a note on the document in hand, placed it on Ch'en's desk and went back to work.
"Sigh…"
Opening his drawer, Shirou saw the energy drinks that Hoshiguma had generously provided. He took one out.
He had not expected to actually drink them when he first received them.
But it was still only morning and there was more than half a day of work left. He had seen busy people drink these, so he figured he might as well try.
Maybe it would help.
Taking a sip, the first thing he felt was the sharp sting of carbonation, followed by a strange sweetness that was hard to describe.
Perhaps it was just psychological but he did feel a bit more energized.
Still, he had not had carbonated drinks in a long time, so it felt a bit unfamiliar.
"Maybe I should just drink coffee instead?"
Looking at the half-finished energy drink, Shirou set it aside and considered making coffee.
He knew a bit about coffee, after all Texas and Sora both liked it and there was a dedicated coffee machine in the dorm.
But coffee was not the main point. He quickly pushed the thought aside and focused on his work.
It was not until about ten minutes before lunch that Shirou finally finished all the documents.
He felt completely drained.
"Ugh…"
Sitting in his office chair, Shirou stretched his stiff body.
The stack of documents he had handled was only a small portion taken from what Ch'en and Hoshiguma had to deal with, yet he was already exhausted.
That made him admire their professionalism even more.
Still, he did not feel discouraged. He understood that everyone had different strengths.
For example, a certain angel might not be great at most cooking but her desserts were truly excellent.
Even though she claimed only her apple pie met her standards, Shirou found every dessert she made perfectly fine and in fact it was better than his own desserts.
The main issue was that she was lazy and rarely cooked unless she felt like it.
And when she did, the portions were usually small.
"Did you finally snapped out of it? Here, take these too. You can handle them in the afternoon."
Hoshiguma, who had already returned and resumed her work, spoke up after hearing movement from Shirou.
She had come back about half an hour ago but Shirou had been so focused that he did not notice her or Ch'en.
Seeing how serious he was, they had not disturbed him.
Now that he seemed done, she immediately handed him more work.
Having an assistant to offload tasks onto felt great.
"…Why is there still so much?"
Just when Shirou thought he could relax a bit in the afternoon, seeing the newly piled stack of documents made his expression collapse as he voiced a question from the depths of his soul.
This stack was twice as thick as the one he had just finished.
"Director Wei just said that the Guard Department needs to strengthen security from now on. So Ch'en, Missy and I will be busier for a while. We will be distributing some of our workload. Even though you are just a newbie, you have been doing quite well and I have high hopes for you."
Having distributed the work, Hoshiguma was in a great mood. With lunchtime approaching, she took a moment to sip tea while explaining the situation.
Even her teacup was one Shirou had projected with a rather yakuza-style design.
"Strengthen security? Is it related to what just happened?"
Hearing her explanation, Shirou stopped worrying about the workload. He could deal with that later. What interested him more was the mention of increased security.
"It if in a way related to that. The information we received points to someone who may pose a threat to Lungmen. And according to that data, you happened to be someone Director Wei suspected, which is why he tested you earlier."
Compared to Shirou, Hoshiguma knew exactly what could and could not be said. After organizing her words, she explained the situation briefly.
Wei Yenwu had also instructed them to maintain good relations with Shirou. His combat ability was top-tier and even if he was not part of the Guard Department, it was beneficial to stay on good terms.
"A threat to Lungmen…"
Shirou murmured.
Thinking back to his conversation with Wei Yenwu, the man had shown particular wariness toward the "Black Snake," Koschei. Shirou felt the two might be connected.
"Do not overthink it. Focus on your work first. Also, the Guard Department recently received a security request from Monster Siren Records. I will assign you to it when the time comes."
Seeing Shirou getting caught up in his thoughts, Hoshiguma changed the topic.
There was no use overthinking such matters. They could only strengthen their defenses but daily work still had to continue.
She remembered that Penguin Logistics' Sora was an idol under Monster Siren Records and around this time every year, there would be a concert requiring security support from the Guard Department. She usually assigned diligent workers to it as a kind of break.
This time, she planned to send Shirou. Since he knew people there, it might make things easier.
Besides, she knew Shirou barely gave himself any rest. He was constantly busy—either with Penguin Logistics, helping in the slums, or now working at the Guard Department.
In that regard, he was even more concerning than Ch'en. At least Ch'en knew when to work and when to relax.
Shirou, on the other hand, was like a gear that was constantly turning and never stopping.
"Monster Siren Records…?"
Hearing this unfamiliar term, Shirou looked puzzled.
It sounded like something he had heard before…
"Pfft, do you seriously not pay attention to your own people? You do not know that Miss Sora is a famous idol under Monster Siren Records?"
Seeing Shirou's blank expression, Hoshiguma could not help but laugh.
"I only know that she has an idol career but I have not looked into it that deeply…"
Shirou replied awkwardly. He really only knew that Sora was an idol but he paid more attention to Sora as a person rather than her background.
To him, she was not an idol but a member of Penguin Logistics and someone he looked after. No matter what her identity was, it made no difference to him.
"Hey, are you two slacking off a bit too much?"
Ch'en, who was working nearby, finally could not take it anymore. It was fine when they were discussing work earlier but openly chatting about idol careers now was going too far.
She was right there working.
Hearing Ch'en's reprimand, not only did Hoshiguma and Shirou immediately get back to work but even the others who had been quietly slacking while waiting for lunch also hurried to look busy.
After a few more minutes, lunchtime finally arrived.
As the clock struck twelve, everyone in the office stopped what they were doing.
What do you do when your superior is extremely hardworking?
You can only work just as hard alongside them.
Ch'en also set down the materials Wei Yenwu had just sent and rubbed her temples.
Right now, she only felt a headache coming on. The materials he sent were entirely handwritten, filled with unclear and overly subjective descriptions.
Things like "a pillar of light piercing the heaven" or "petals capable of blocking all attacks"…
Who could make sense of that?
"Old Ch'en, do not stress yourself too much. Director Wei said we just need to strengthen our defenses a bit. Do not push yourself too hard."
Seeing her partner under pressure, Hoshiguma stepped forward to offer some reassurance.
At this point, she was more certain than ever that both Ch'en and Shirou were the type to shoulder everything themselves.
The difference was that Ch'en did it for the sake of improving Lungmen.
But what about Shirou?
Was it simply a desire to help others?
Thinking of the small shop in the slums, Hoshiguma wondered.
If that were the case… then Shirou might actually be even more dangerous than Ch'en.
"I know. What is bothering me is not that but this handwritten report."
Understanding Hoshiguma's concern, Ch'en picked up the copied manuscript.
"…Are these effects exaggerated?"
Hoshiguma was familiar with the document but had not had time to read it earlier. Now that she skimmed it, it felt absurd.
"I think so too. But that does not mean it is impossible. We have seen plenty of things we could not understand before, have we not?"
Ch'en agreed with her partner but she had personally witnessed Shirou unleash an attack and whether it was called an arrow or a sword that produced an effect comparable to a massive Originium explosive.
No, even such an explosive might not fully replicate what he had done.
"That is true. Shirou seems to know about the things in this report. I will find time to ask him."
Convinced, Hoshiguma nodded, then skillfully grabbed a lunchbox from the side and placed it on Ch'en's desk.
"There is no need. I plan to memorize it first, then ask him."
Ch'en knew Shirou was connected to this report. After all, she had seen the black-and-white twin blades and the swords mentioned.
Even that spiral-shaped sword was listed there.
Still, she preferred to review and remember the contents first before asking him.
That was good practice and questions asked with preparation yielded better answers.
"Hm? Are you looking for me?"
Shirou, who had been quietly eating nearby, heard his name mentioned and walked over with his lunchbox.
Although eating while walking was not a good habit, the busy pace of the Guard Department had made him give up on that principle.
At least there was still time to eat now. When things got really busy, there would not even be time for a proper meal, it would just be quick bites to stave off hunger.
After glancing at the manuscript, Shirou understood why they had mentioned him.
"You should not rely on this too much. It was likely written based on external observations, so there are some inaccuracies."
Unlike with Wei Yenwu, Shirou was less guarded with the two of them and casually pointed out some obvious errors.
For example, the black-and-white twin blades Kanshou and Bakuya could not directly control their flight paths. Instead, they relied on mutual attraction to create complex trajectories that restricted or even eliminated enemies.
Some things were easy to understand in theory but difficult to defend against in practice.
For instance, Ch'en and Hoshiguma did not know that after throwing one pair of blades, Shirou could instantly project another pair, even chaining them into a lethal combination.
It was not that he did not want to say that, it was simply that he forgot.
There was just too much to explain.
"Hm… so based on that, Shirou, you have a combat style that combines close-range fighting with archery?"
Listening to his explanation, Hoshiguma imagined him fighting at close range with the twin blades, then creating distance, throwing them as a distraction and following up with a bow attack.
That was just unfair, how was anyone supposed to deal with that?
As for why Shirou knew so much, Ch'en and Hoshiguma simply assumed he shared the same origins as the subject of the report. Similar Originium Arts were not uncommon.
"Yes, that is correct."
Shirou nodded.
Though for him, at close range, the bow was more for suppression than offense.
"I think I understand… Are there any other issues?"
Ch'en listened more carefully. Since Shirou seemed capable of using all the abilities described, she needed to understand them as a field commander.
On second thought… perhaps she would not need to command at all. In future incidents, just letting Shirou fire a few shots might solve everything.
The title of "tactical terminator" was truly well deserved.
Still, they could not rely too heavily on Shirou's abilities. Otherwise, the rest of the Guard Department would lack combat experience.
Ch'en understood this well. While she often fought personally, she also made sure to give others opportunities to gain experience whenever possible.