After staying in the training ground for a while longer, Shirou left with Hoshiguma.
Once the initial novelty wore off, it became clear that there was not actually much to see there.
At least, that was how Shirou felt, though he did not show it too obviously.
The main reason was that Hoshiguma herself had gotten bored. The few people she could really spar with were not around today and sparring with others felt lacking in comparison, so she would rather not bother.
If she was going to fight, it had to be a satisfying fight.
"Given your skills, you will probably be brought along on field missions. Do you have any experience driving?"
While walking down the corridor, Hoshiguma suddenly asked.
She had been thinking about what kind of work to assign Shirou.
Since he was already here, he might as well contribute to the Guard Department.
However, considering that he was not good with paperwork and had no relevant experience, after much thought, Hoshiguma felt that his likely role would be joining them on field operations.
In simple terms, a combatant.
Fieldwork did not demand as much paperwork. What it required was combat ability and reconnaissance experience.
After all, reports afterward only needed to be written briefly unless something major happened.
For example, every time Chen used the blade at her waist, a report was basically unavoidable.
Though Chen herself had never intended to avoid writing reports. Whether big or small, her self-critique reports were always the most detailed.
"I can ride a bicycle."
Shirou answered, his tone filled with faint sorrow.
Previously, it was because he could not get past the fact that he was underage. Now, he had simply forgotten about it.
Mainly because he normally had nothing to do with cars or motorcycles. A bicycle was enough for his needs.
Within Penguin Logistics, there was Texas who was an experienced driver. Even if it was not Texas, Exusiai could take over.
This further reduced Shirou's need to learn how to drive and over time, he simply forgot about it.
Now that he thought about it, maybe he should find time to learn?
But then again, if he did not drive for a long time after learning, it might be a bit dangerous to suddenly start again.
"A bicycle…is not bad. It is healthy."
Hearing Shirou's answer, Hoshiguma fell silent for a moment before praising the benefits of cycling.
Whether he could drive was just a casual question anyway. There were also many operational terms Shirou still did not understand.
But since he was only a newbie, there was no need to demand too much.
His combat skills were enough to make up for his lack of familiarity with terminology.
After all, even members of the Guard Department sometimes got confused by their own jargon, so they would occasionally just speak plainly.
For example, when Chen gave orders, her words tended to be more straightforward.
"…I will make time to learn."
Sensing the hint of awkwardness in her silence, Shirou tilted his head up toward the ceiling and said.
It was just driving, right? He would learn it!
He would definitely need it someday. It would not be a waste to learn!
"Take it slow. There is no need to rush."
Seeing Shirou like this, Hoshiguma felt like laughing.
Ah, she used to tease Chen like this too. But Chen was no longer so easy to mess with.
Shirou, on the other hand, was young.
Hoshiguma felt that the coming days were going to be quite enjoyable.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Noticing Hoshiguma looking at him with a strange gaze, Shirou's first reaction was to check whether there was something odd on him.
After all, they had just finished sparring. It was possible that his clothes had torn somewhere he had not noticed.
"No, nothing. By the way, it is almost lunchtime, are you going to eat at the cafeteria?"
Watching Shirou check his clothes, Hoshiguma felt that he was even easier to tease than Chen used to be.
To keep herself from laughing out loud, she quickly changed the topic.
It was indeed close to lunchtime. Usually, people either ordered takeout or went to the Guard Department cafeteria.
The former was only for when one had the leisure. At noon, every restaurant was busy and by the time the food arrived, the lunch break might already be over.
As for the latter… since it was made for a large number of people, the taste could be inconsistent.
However, the advantages were large portions, fast service and low cost.
"I brought a lunchbox."
Hearing Hoshiguma's question, Shirou answered honestly.
If he said no, he might be dragged to the cafeteria.
Then his own lunch would go to waste, and he could not accept that.
"You brought a lunchbox… Did you make it yourself, or did someone else from Penguin Logistics make it?"
Hoshiguma suddenly recalled that Shirou's cooking skills seemed to be quite good.
Thanks to Jaye sharing his food and Rope running errands out of goodwill, she had tasted Shirou's handmade lunchboxes several times.
They were not so amazing that one would never forget them, but compared to other takeout, they were definitely quite delicious.
As for comparing them to the cafeteria?
Please do not compare a master-tier player to a bronze-tier one.
The lunchboxes Shirou made were a huge plus in her eyes, carrying a kind of hometown flavor.
If she could eat them freshly made, that would be even better.
However, considering that Shirou had work today and might not have that much time, Hoshiguma did not rule out the possibility that someone else from Penguin Logistics had made it.
If the members of Penguin Logistics heard that, they would probably burst out laughing.
Aside from Exusiai baking apple pie occasionally, they had not stepped into the kitchen for a long time. Forget boiling eggs or making instant noodles, they had not even turned on the stove.
They were basically half spoiled by now.
"I made it myself."
Shirou answered naturally. He had been asked this kind of question often back when he was still in school.
"Is getting up early like that is not tiring?"
Hoshiguma asked curiously.
Waking up early itself was not a problem for her but waking up early to prepare a lunchbox for work was something she simply could not do.
Her own cooking was worse than the cafeteria, and cooking itself was quite energy-consuming.
But then again, Shirou had been a housekeeper for Penguin Logistics for so long. He was probably already used to this kind of lifestyle.
Always either cooking or on the way to cooking, anyone would get good at it eventually.
"If you prepare the ingredients a day in advance, it is actually fine. The dishes are not too complicated either, it is just omelet rolls, fried meat-beast cutlets and some simple vegetables."
Once the topic turned to cooking, Shirou became much more at ease.
Earlier, Hoshiguma had been talking about Guard Department matters and it was mostly her speaking and him listening.
Now that they were talking about his home ground 'cooking', he had plenty to say.
After listing the contents of his lunchbox, Shirou was not sure if he was imagining it, but it felt like drool had appeared at the corner of Hoshiguma's mouth.
"Hiss, preparing ingredients a day in advance? That is still impressive. I have not had omelet rolls in a long time."
Hoshiguma felt bitter inside, but did not say it out loud.
They were just talking so why was he listing out the dishes?
Now she was craving it.
Omelet rolls… it had been quite a while since she last had them. She could barely remember the taste anymore.
With Shirou mentioning it, she suddenly felt a bit nostalgic for her hometown cuisine.
"Uh… how about we eat together later?"
Seeing Hoshiguma swallow, even someone as dense as Shirou could understand what she was thinking.
She was genuinely tempted.
Somehow, Hoshiguma reminded him of Issei in this regard, just mentioning food could bring tears of emotion.
At first, he had planned to share just some omelet rolls but considering how well she had taken care of him today, it seemed better to treat the entire lunchbox as a shared dish.
It did mean he would still have to eat outside food afterward, but it was just one meal, so he did not mind.
In the past, his lunchboxes were often fought over by everyone anyway.
If needed, he could make extra portions. After all, she had really been looking out for him.
"That is great."
Hoshiguma had not expected Shirou to be so generous.
And she had just been thinking about teasing him, compared to Shirou she felt almost a bit wicked.
Well, she could think about that after the meal.
Right now, she was actually starting to look forward to lunchtime…
Wait. Did she forget something?
Lunchtime meant everyone would have free time… and that was exactly when Chen and Swire often argued.
Swire! Shirou! Chen!
Laying out those three names, Hoshiguma finally remembered what she had forgotten.
Her phone messages, Swire had been spamming her earlier.
Even without seeing her today, Hoshiguma could imagine the resentment radiating off her.
After all, it was Swire who had first discovered Shirou. Yet today, he had arrived at the Guard Department… only to end up under her rival.
That was really frustrating.
"Shirou! Let us go to the cafeteria at noon, okay? Do not stay in the office."
After thinking it over, Hoshiguma said to him.
"I am fine with anything. Eating anywhere is fine."
Although a bit puzzled by the request, Shirou did not think much of it.
After all, to him it made no difference where he ate.
As the two chatted, they soon returned to the office.
The moment they pushed the door open, they saw Chen buried in her work.
"Have you finished looking around?"
She raised her head and asked toward the doorway.
"Mm."
Although Shirou suspected a connection between Chen and the hooded figure, he had no intention of asking directly.
Even if they really were the same person, knowing it would not help him.
Besides, he was certain that Yith knew the hooded figure's identity. Whether he knew or not did not really matter.
At most, it would just satisfy his curiosity.
It was better not to be too curious, curious people tended to die faster.
He had learned that from experience. Lancer's spear through his heart had truly hurt.
"Then sit down for now. I printed some materials. This afternoon, just go through Hoshiguma's copy and this one. Try to memorize them within these two days."
Chen pointed at Shirou's desk.
Following her gesture, Shirou looked over and saw the stack of documents on the table.
Two days… that might be a bit demanding, depending on the difficulty.
He flipped through them briefly. Most were basic precautions, fairly fundamental.
Compared to books about Oripathy, these were much simpler.
They were just a bit boring. Two days should be more than enough.
"Understood."
After confirming the difficulty, Shirou nodded, then sat down and began reading.
It was still working hours. He did not dare to just rest, at least he needed to look busy even if there were only a dozen minutes left before lunch break.
He had heard of this kind of workplace rule before.
"…"
Seeing that Shirou did not slack off and instead immediately started reading, Chen was quite satisfied.
Although she did not understand why Wei Yenwu had arranged for Shirou to come here, his conduct suited her very well.
Of course, she meant in terms of work.
He was strong, durable, not arrogant, obedient, and motivated, if even half of the Guard Department were like Shirou, Lungmen's crime rate would definitely drop sharply.
Ten minutes was enough for Shirou to skim through the entire stack, grasp the general content and plan his reading order.
Based on difficulty, he should finish Hoshiguma's materials first, then move on to Chen's.
As the noon break bell rang, Shirou closed the documents and prepared to take his lunchbox and head to the cafeteria with Hoshiguma.
As she had said earlier, going late meant long lines.
Before he could even pick up his lunchbox, he heard a voice filled with anger and resentment coming from the corridor.
"Chen!!"
The door was pushed open and Swire saw Shirou wearing a Guard Department jacket with a newbie badge.
Then she saw Chen, looking confused.
And finally, Hoshiguma, who wore an expression of "as expected."
"What is the matter?"
Chen had dealt with too many things today and had completely forgotten the connection between Swire and Shirou.
She also usually kept her phone on silent during work, she only checked it when she had time.
If something urgent came up, people would come find her directly at the Guard Department.
After all, her social circle in Lungmen was quite small.
"And you still dare ask what is the matter! Sneaking ahead and acting so justified, only you would do that!"
Seeing Chen act like she knew nothing, Swire was so angry her tail practically puffed up.
She had told her about this before! And now what?
This "Rice noodle Dragon" dared to steal her opportunity and still act like it was justified!
"Hm? You mean Shirou? That was arranged from above. It was not my doing."
Chen did not react at first. Only when Hoshiguma pointed toward Shirou did she remember that Swire had been quite invested in recruiting him.
She had even mentioned it to her before.
But this was not something she could be blamed for. It was an order from above and she had simply followed procedure.
"From above?"
Hearing that, Swire calmed down slightly.
Thinking about it carefully, that made sense. Even "Rice noodle Dragon" could not just ignore Guard Department rules and assign someone under her on her own.
So the only ones who could do this… were higher-ups.
And someone with that level of authority…Swire could only think of one person.
Sigh…
After Penguin Logistics, she had been the one to discover this hidden gem named Shirou.
Yet now he had been taken away and placed under her own rival.
People who shine will attract attention wherever they go.
Back then, she should have been more forceful.
Now, look what happened—snap, it's gone.
"It is something that could be easily found out by asking around. Do not act like I've cursed you out, okay? I could hear you yelling through the door."
Seeing Swire's momentum wane, Chen did not let the opportunity pass.
She was already in a bad mood, and this char siu cat actually dared to poke at her?
If she did not fight it out today, she would not be Chen!