After Chen, Swire, and the others arrived, the meeting officially began.
As always, it was serious.
As always, it was painful.
At least, for Shirou, occasions like this were extremely painful.
The essence of this meeting was a post-operation review.
Normally, Shirou's role did not require him to think too deeply about these things, but this time they had been operating with reduced manpower...
No, he had to pull himself together.
Look at Amiya beside him. She was listening very seriously!
As the older one here, he absolutely could not collapse first!
After one section of the meeting finally ended—
"Good work."
Hoshiguma brought over several bottles of water as consolation for Shirou.
Seeing his lifeless expression, Hoshiguma only found it amusing.
Still, Shirou really was not in good condition.
Normally, he would at least pretend to look like he was listening.
Even though he usually did not actually absorb anything.
That much was understandable.
After all, Shirou had not seemed to be in the best state recently, and Swire had apparently mentioned it before as well.
"Thanks..."
Weakly accepting the bottle Hoshiguma handed him, Shirou tilted his head back and immediately drank more than half of it.
Even though he wanted to stay focused, his brain simply could not keep up!
The information up there was far too complicated!
Data such as the financial losses caused by the operation, how much funding the Guard Department had spent during the mission, and countless other figures.
Why were they making things difficult for a high school student!?
He had not even finished high school yet, so why was he being forced to read such complicated data!?
Although his mind was filled with frantic complaints, Shirou's facial expression did not change in the slightest.
"Hmm...?"
While ordinary people probably would not notice, Amiya could still sense that the Shirou sitting beside her was currently filled with extremely complicated emotions.
How should she put it...
It resembled the way Blaze looked whenever she was forced to read books or documents.
That feeling where someone inwardly resisted, yet due to reality had no choice but to force themselves to absorb the knowledge.
Although Shirou was not nearly as exaggerated as Blaze, the complexity of the emotions in his heart was actually far greater.
Honestly, it was rather interesting.
"Is something wrong?"
Kal'tsit, who had been helping Amiya make sense of some of the more difficult data, naturally noticed her unusual behavior immediately.
Then she realized Amiya seemed to be looking toward Shirou's side.
In response, Kal'tsit's eyes narrowed slightly.
She first glanced at the specially designed fingerless glove on Amiya's right hand, then looked toward Shirou before sighing softly and taking another terminal out from her pocket, placing it onto the table.
The contents inside would be useful later.
Leaving Amiya a little time to rest, Kal'tsit went to prepare the materials they would use during negotiations with Lungmen later.
"This is your first time participating in such an intense post-operation review meeting, right?"
After seeing Shirou finish his water and recover slightly, Hoshiguma began chatting away.
Mainly because Chen and Swire were still discussing the results of the operation in detail with the higher-ups of the Guard Department, so Hoshiguma currently had nothing to do.
Normally, at times like this, she would stay beside Chen and follow along.
Mostly because everyone she knew in the meeting room was usually very busy during moments like these.
But today was different.
Shirou was here.
This was not slacking off.
This was caring about a friend's mental health!
Could they not see that Shirou looked mentally exhausted right now?
Of course, she had not only brought water for Shirou.
She had also brought some for the four people from Rhodes Island and Blacksteel Worldwide.
"If possible, I hope there will not be a next time..."
Although Shirou said that, the documents in front of him were already filled with highlighted sections.
Areas he did not understand had even been marked with question marks at the side, clearly intending to ask someone about them later.
Just not now.
Right now, his brain needed a quiet environment far away from all these bizarre numbers and statistics.
He did not want his brain to suffer any more impacts for the time being.
Otherwise, he genuinely felt he might go insane.
"Hmm... that will probably be difficult. You are working through the cooperation channel between Penguin Logistics and the Guard Department now. As long as you participate in operations, you will definitely have to attend meetings like this."
Looking at Shirou's dead-eyed stare, Hoshiguma smilingly delivered another critical hit.
Lying and saying he would not have to participate would be unrealistic.
She might as well just make Shirou face reality directly.
Even though he verbally complained about not wanting to participate, the sheer number of markings on the documents showed that he really was trying his best.
"...Sigh. I guess you are right."
After hearing Hoshiguma's words, Shirou sighed and accepted reality.
Looking on the bright side, at least he had always maintained a habit of studying, so he would not completely fail to adapt.
Although he had not even finished reading half of the professional books he borrowed from Snowsant yet...
At the very least, he would not run into the problem of abandoning studying for a long time, then suddenly picking up a book again only to realize he could not read any of it anymore.
Still... this was so strange.
His actual job was supposed to be a housekeeper, right?
Whatever, whatever.
The boss paid him quite well.
It was just studying, right?
He would study!
"Speaking of which... Shirou, are you pretty close with the people from Rhodes Island? You all seemed to be chatting quite happily this morning."
Seeing that Shirou clearly did not want to continue discussing the topic of studying, Hoshiguma directly changed the subject for him, lowering her voice slightly as she asked.
She already knew that Shirou had some level of cooperation with Rhodes Island's Lungmen branch office.
She had even gathered a bit of information about it herself. Aside from a few things worth complaining about, there were not really any major issues.
Still, Shirou got along with these non-branch-office members way too well, did he not?
Although Shirou was naturally approachable, based on the timing of when they arrived in Lungmen, they had only been there for two days.
And yesterday, she and the others had been overwhelmingly busy preparing for the operation alongside him.
Which meant that Shirou somehow managed to build good relationships with those people during the short amount of time they interacted while on the mission?
What kind of terrifying social monster was this?
"Ah? That? Maybe because after the operation yesterday, they dragged me along for late-night snacks? I guess we probably got along better around then?"
The topic changed rather abruptly, but Shirou was perfectly happy about that and immediately answered her question.
"Late-night snacks? I thought you did not eat those. We invited you before, but you never came."
Hearing that, Hoshiguma narrowed her eyes at Shirou.
Previously, after work, they occasionally gathered for late-night meals together.
Shirou had never joined even once.
He always said he did not have the habit of eating late-night snacks, and that if the people from Penguin Logistics found out, it would definitely become troublesome.
And yet now he turned around and went out for late-night food with other people?
What, did he think Chen's sword was not sharp enough?
Or that Swire's meteor hammer was not heavy enough?
Or perhaps her shield was not big enough?
"I was forcibly dragged there..."
Looking at Hoshiguma's somewhat dangerous expression, Shirou chose to answer honestly.
Right now only Hoshiguma was here.
If she went and told the other two, he would probably have to endure the death stares of at least two people.
Chen probably would not care that much.
But Swire definitely would.
"Understood. So Shirou likes it rough. I will remember that."
There was no way Hoshiguma would let Shirou off so easily.
Once today's meeting ended, they absolutely had to go eat late-night snacks together.
The kind where they physically dragged Shirou along.
Interactions during work and interactions around a dining table were completely different.
Some people only truly relaxed while eating together.
Of course, if alcohol was involved, people relaxed even more.
"I absolutely do not."
Shirou immediately denied Hoshiguma's strange interpretation.
"Um... Miss Hoshiguma? Is it alright if I call you that?"
After Hoshiguma and Shirou reached a pause in their conversation, Amiya finally raised her hand and spoke up.
"Of course. You are Amiya, right? Is there something you wanted to ask?"
Faced with Amiya's sudden question, Hoshiguma showed no sign of resistance whatsoever.
After all, who could reject a cute child asking a question?
When she first learned that Amiya was the squad leader for Rhodes Island during this operation, she had been so shocked that her oni mask nearly fell onto the floor.
"Well... I wanted to understand what kind of cooperative relationship Shirou has with the Guard Department."
After meeting Hoshiguma's gaze, Amiya finally truly felt just how enormous the woman was.
Even with Shirou sitting between them, it did not obstruct Amiya's direct view of Hoshiguma's face at all.
She really was incredibly tall.
"That? I do not know every detail, but I think it is mainly direct cooperation with Penguin Logistics. Why do you ask?"
Although she did not know why Amiya wanted to know that, Hoshiguma still kindly answered the question.
"So it is through Penguin Logistics... it is nothing, nothing. I was just curious. I accidentally overheard the two of you talking earlier. I am really sorry."
After getting her answer, Amiya quietly muttered to herself before suddenly realizing she had technically been eavesdropping on Hoshiguma and Shirou's conversation.
Although she had overheard it unintentionally, it still was not very polite.
"It is fine. It is not anything particularly important."
Hoshiguma did not think it was a big deal at all.
If someone heard it, then they heard it.
It was not an important conversation anyway.
It was mostly just casual chatting between acquaintances.
If it actually had been an important topic...
Well, worst case scenario, she could always give someone some physical amnesia instead!
That was one of her specialties.
"It is really fine. We were just chatting to pass the time. But Amiya, did you actually understand all of what was discussed during the meeting earlier?"
To stop Amiya from worrying too much, Shirou also stepped in to reassure her, while casually asking what she thought about the meeting.
"Hm? It was all pretty simple and easy to understand though?"
Amiya delivered the words of a true top student.
Still, she was telling the truth.
She had encountered even more complicated data before.
After doing paperwork for so long, understanding these kinds of things naturally became easy for her.
Moreover, with Doctor Kal'tsit guiding them from the side, there naturally were not too many problems.
"…I see."
After hearing Amiya speak, Shirou glanced at the documents on his desk.
He felt like he was rather embarrassing.
People really could not stand being compared with one another.
"Hm?"
Amiya did not know why Shirou's mood had shifted from relaxed and cheerful to this awkward atmosphere.
Even without using her emotion sensing, she could feel the awkward aura radiating from him.
"Hahaha… It is fine, Shirou. Everyone has things they are not good at. If there is something you do not understand, you can just learn it little by little. That is still better than doing nothing, is it not?"
Seeing how shaken Shirou looked, Hoshiguma immediately understood what he was thinking.
"What are you all talking about? Why does Shirou look like he has completely lost the will to live?"
Suddenly, Swire's voice came from behind Hoshiguma.
"Missy, you finished dealing with things over there?"
Hoshiguma looked somewhat surprised when she saw Swire free herself from the meeting.
After all, Chen was still busy, so why was Swire the only one finished already?
"I am not the one leading the operation anyway. The rest can be left to that rice noodle dragon. This meeting is basically over. The higher-ups do not want too much involvement with the slums. They want to close the case just like this."
Swire pulled over a chair and sat down as she spoke.
Although the main force these past few days had been Hoshiguma, Chen, and Shirou, she had also helped a great deal behind the scenes.
She had even worked overtime yesterday.
"Wait… what do you mean by closing the case just like this? Does that mean they are not planning to keep investigating the other leads?"
Hearing Swire's words, Shirou immediately snapped out of his existential crisis.
If he remembered correctly, they had already identified the other people involved before this. They just lacked the crucial evidence needed to arrest them.
So from the way Swire described it now, the Lungmen Guard Department was planning to close the case directly?
They had not even arrested everyone yet!
"It is exactly what you think. The people above do not want to spend the effort gathering evidence to catch the ones behind the scenes. They said the time cost is too high. As long as the masterminds are caught, that is enough."
Leaning back in her chair, Swire spoke irritably.
Every time the Guard Department got involved with the lower city, or rather the slums, their attitude was always extremely vague and half-hearted.
Just like a scumbag who clearly does not like someone, yet still refuses to let go completely.
"How could this happen…"
Hearing Swire's words, Amiya's mood instantly sank.
Although she had already expected something like this, actually facing it still felt disheartening.
Still, it was far better than the worst-case scenario she had imagined. At the very least, those opinions only came from part of the people involved. There were still some who had not given up.
"They even prepared traps in advance! Those explosives destroyed that entire area! And they are just going to let it go?"
Shirou could not accept this outcome.
After struggling so hard to finally catch the culprits, they now wanted to close the case with a single excuse about costs?
"Calm down. Old Chen definitely is not going to give up. It is just impossible to know how much she can fight for."
Seeing Shirou suddenly become so emotional, Hoshiguma shifted slightly, placing herself between Shirou and the higher-ups.
Fortunately, Chen also had a fiery temper and was currently drawing everyone's attention, so none of them noticed Shirou.
Otherwise, things would become troublesome.
Still, this was the first time she had seen Shirou so emotional…
And in that regard, he really was a lot like Chen.
What a pity that he belonged to Penguin Logistics.