These matters did not affect Shirou's schedule too much afterward.
It was just that his mental state was not great, so he ended up being checked on for quite a while.
That morning, he was practically pinned to the sofa by the other four and forced to rest, while they handled cleaning up the kitchen.
And when he was acting as an instructor at the Guard Department, every time he switched to a new trainee, someone would ask whether his mental condition was alright.
"Do I really look that bad right now?"
At noon, Shirou handed the lunchboxes he made that morning to Chen and Hoshiguma.
Of course, he did not forget Swire's portion, though she was in the office next door and would probably come over later.
Compared to Shirou, Chen and Hoshiguma were not in good condition either. Even though they tried to hide it, the heavy fatigue and dark circles under their eyes could not escape Shirou's almost bug-like perception.
Simply put, all three of them looked pretty rough.
"Did you not sleep well last night? Were you kept up all night by those people from Penguin Logistics?"
Near lunch break, Hoshiguma, who had been pushing through work all morning, finally had time to relax. She yawned as she asked.
Even though she had sent the operation plan early the previous night, she had still stayed up with Chen refining the details afterward.
She was tired, but not as exhausted as she originally expected, it was still within a tolerable range.
But Shirou, who had gone back early, somehow looked even more tired than they did.
Two pairs of dark-circled eyes stared at him, questioning his very soul.
"No I just had a nightmare."
Scratching his head, Shirou answered under their gaze.
"A nightmare causing you to lose sleep…? That sounds like something only kids would say."
Hearing his answer, Chen could not help but comment.
At his age, still losing sleep over a nightmare?
But then again, everyone had memories they would rather not revisit. Maybe Shirou was the same.
So she only teased him lightly and did not press further.
After all, aside from looking like he had not slept well, there was nothing seriously wrong with him.
Just that he seemed quite different from his usual self, which was why people were paying so much attention.
But there was no need to point that out and make him worry.
"I do not want that either! By the way, are you planning to skip today's sparring session? Be careful, I might report you to Chief Wei for skipping without reason."
After pushing back at Chen's teasing, Shirou casually asked.
The sparring session that was supposed to happen in the morning had been delayed for various reasons.
He had not planned to bring it up, but since Chen had started it, he decided to return the favor.
After all, in a sense, he could be considered her short-term instructor.
"Guh…let's do it after I take a nap."
Caught off guard by Shirou's sudden counter, Chen responded reluctantly.
First, she was exhausted.
Second, there was a lot of work at the Guard Department.
And she still needed to find time in the evening to investigate the inhibitor case.
Most importantly, sparring with Shirou required full concentration. Otherwise, she would just end up getting beaten one-sidedly.
Facing someone who knew the weaknesses in her swordsmanship and could switch to different styles each time was incredibly difficult.
But the advantage was also clear, her understanding of her own swordsmanship had deepened.
But the downside was how mentally exhausting it was.
"Let us just skip it for today."
Seeing her condition, Shirou said.
He had only been half-serious anyway. He was not a demon. Chen clearly was not in good shape, and if he forced a sparring session and then something urgent came up in the afternoon, it would be a problem.
"That would be for the best."
Hearing that, Chen let out a sigh of relief.
"That is rare. Old Chen, you were completely suppressed this time, huh?"
Watching the exchange and Chen's defeat, Hoshiguma laughed.
It was great entertainment.
Just watching that scene, she had already eaten more than half her lunch.
"I cannot help it. Shirou has Chief Wei as his trump card."
Facing Hoshiguma's teasing, Chen shrugged helplessly.
For casual conversations like this, it was better to keep things light. She did not want everything to be overly serious.
"You all seem to be having fun. How did yesterday's investigation go?"
At a table where all three looked mentally drained, finally someone in good condition arrived.
Swire pulled out the chair next to Shirou and sat down directly.
She was aware that the others had gone off to investigate another case without her, but there was not much she could contribute anyway, so she did not go.
Arguments were one thing and work was another, she could clearly separate the two.
More importantly, someone had to stay behind at the Guard Department in the morning. Just looking at the heavy makeup that still could not hide Chen and Hoshiguma's dark circles, it was obvious how exhausted they were.
That was also why, for once, she did not immediately start arguing with Chen the moment she arrived.
"Pretty good. I have already submitted the data and evidence. Now we are just waiting for Chief Wei's response."
Like Swire, Chen was not in the mood to argue either.
Mainly because she was tired.
"That is quite impressive. Getting this much done in one night."
Opening her lunchbox, Swire nodded as she spoke.
"It is thanks to Shirou finding a lot of useful information, and Penguin Logistics' intelligence is seriously top-tier. When I saw all that organized data this morning, you have no idea how moved I was."
Hoshiguma added from the side.
Seeing the neatly compiled and categorized information Shirou had sent over that morning, she felt for the first time that Penguin Logistics was actually quite reliable.
They might cause trouble for the Guard Department from time to time, but in moments like this, they were dependable.
"I heard Yith worked overnight… I hope he is alright."
On this point, Shirou felt it was necessary to thank Yith.
Even though he had already said it was not necessary, Yith still pulled an all-nighter reviewing surveillance footage and organizing all that information.
Thanks to Yith, he was truly admirable.
Though the fees he charged was not small and Chen and Hoshiguma could reimburse it so it was fine.
"Penguin Logistics, huh…?"
Listening to their conversation, Swire began to consider whether she should cooperate with Penguin Logistics.
"Yith usually does not take this kind of commission."
Seeing that she seemed interested, Shirou carefully reminded her.
He was not worried about money, Swire was far wealthier than he had imagined, with most of it coming from her own investments.
What he worried about was whether Yith might end up overworking himself to death chasing money.
And for external clients, Yith would not handle things this thoroughly anyway, usually he would just do basic data collection before handing it over.
"That is a shame."
Swire was not discouraged, just slightly regretful.
She liked her job, but she was not going to pour her own money into it unconditionally.
After finishing their meals, the three excluding Swire returned to their spots to catch up on sleep.
Shirou's old desk from his newbie work was still empty, so he decided to rest there for a bit, then handle things in the afternoon before heading to the slums.
"Why does it feel like I am even busier now than during my newbie work…?"
As he lay down, planning out the rest of his schedule, the thought suddenly crossed his mind.
He did not really feel like sleeping. It was just that so many people had commented on how bad his condition looked that he figured he should rest a bit.
If it were just one or two people, that would be one thing but earlier, almost everyone who recognized him had checked in on him.
That was not a good sign.
It was probably because the shock he experienced that morning had been too great.
Which was understandable, anyone would be shaken by seeing something that disturbing.
As he kept thinking, he ended up not falling asleep at all, even after work hours had resumed.
"..."
Shirou felt a bit hopeless, but still got up to deal with what needed to be done.
First was the operation plan Chen and Hoshiguma had worked on overnight. He had a simplified version on his phone, which he had only skimmed earlier.
After arriving in the morning, he had been dragged straight into the training range, leaving him no time to read it.
Now that he had some free time, he decided to go through it properly.
If he remembered correctly, the original plan had been something like rushing in during the deal, suppressing the suspects, and making arrests.
Of course, in reality, it would not be that simple but that was how he understood it.
Compared to that initial version, the current plan was far more complex.
It included phases like early operation, mid-phase, and final suppression.
Though the earlier stages had little to do with him, his assignment was only the final suppression.
As long as he confirmed the time, location, and the suspects' appearances, and avoided harming innocent civilians, that would be enough.
"You are pretty serious about this. Is there anything you do not understand?"
After watching him for a while, Hoshiguma came over, handing him a chilled canned coffee.
"No. My part is not that complicated."
Shirou accepted the coffee without hesitation.
Although Hoshiguma brought it over, the coffee was actually one Shirou had stocked in the office fridge earlier for everyone, so there was no reason to refuse.
"It may look simple, but you are carrying the heaviest responsibility. There are many things you need to pay attention to. When it comes to actually carrying it out, it is far beyond what these few sheets of paper can describe. Do not always treat your role as unimportant."
After hearing Shirou's response, Hoshiguma thought for a moment before speaking.
She was not trying to add psychological pressure on him, but rather to make him understand what kind of responsibility he was taking on.
After spending some time with him, she had noticed that Shirou often placed himself in a very low position.
Occasionally being humble was reasonable.
But Shirou constantly downplayed himself, thinking that what he did was insignificant and that the credit belonged to others.
That was not good.
Hoshiguma wanted him to recognize the weight of his responsibilities, what he had accomplished, and the credit he deserved.
Constantly suppressing and diminishing oneself would eventually lead to losing oneself.
A bit of recognition, a bit of praise, a bit of encouragement and even something as small as a thank-you card could help people like him see themselves more clearly.
"I understand what you are saying. It is still within a manageable range."
After listening, Shirou nodded.
He did not catch the deeper meaning behind her words. He simply thought she was reminding him to be careful and not make mistakes.
"…Do your best."
Looking at him, Hoshiguma gave him a firm slap on the back before walking away.
"???"
The sudden hit startled Shirou.
Although his current physical condition was not as fragile as before, it still hurt a bit.
After all, from what he had heard from people familiar with Hoshiguma, she was strong enough to lift a car.
Blowing one up or cutting it apart was one thing, but lifting it… he himself could probably only manage a very small car.
And apparently, she could do it quite easily, which likely was not even her limit.
"Did you make Hoshiguma angry?"
Hearing the noise, Chen came over to check.
"No?"
Shirou shook his head in confusion.
"That is strange…"
Chen also became puzzled.
From what she knew, both Shirou and Hoshiguma were not the type to argue easily, and it was rare for either of them to get angry.
Unable to figure it out, the two of them dropped the matter and returned to work.
After finishing everything he needed to do, Shirou prepared to leave. He planned to return to the Guard Department around four or five in the afternoon for the evening investigation.
This trip to the slums was not only to check on the Fuyuki shop, but also to inspect the inhibitors there.
Even though they were purchased from legitimate stores, given the recent incident, he felt it would not hurt to check.
Better to be prepared than to be caught off guard.
He also wanted to talk to Rope about the process of buying inhibitors in the slum alleys.
He was not sure whether she had personally done it before, but even if not, her background as a former information broker should provide useful insights.
"Hm? Shirou, are you heading out?"
In the hallway, Swire, who was returning to the office, noticed Shirou with his bag and greeted him.
"Yeah. It is about time I go check on the kids."
Shirou nodded without hiding it.
"The kids? Hmm… never mind that. Did you not look in a mirror after your nap? Your hair is a mess."
Swire was probably one of the few people Shirou knew who did not know what he did in the slums.
But she did not pry into things she did not know. Right now, what concerned her more was his messy hair from napping.
As she spoke, she took out a small mirror from her bag, ready to show him his current appearance.
"Ah! It is fine, I will just fix it quickly! I am in a bit of a hurry! If there is nothing else, I will head out first!"
Seeing the mirror, Shirou quickly ran his hands through his hair and hurried off.
"...Huh?"
Swire was left standing there, still holding the mirror.