Afternoon, downtown Lungmen.
Dressed in casual clothes, Shirou walked down the street carrying two bags of items.
Earlier that morning, he had already stopped by Fuyuki Shop to check on Rope and the other children. During the month he had been away, Rope and Phal had done a pretty good job taking care of everyone.
This time, he did not see Lin Yuhsia. Instead, he met the teacher she had hired, along with several somewhat familiar children who were not actually from Fuyuki Shop.
According to Rope, Phal had intentionally gathered all the nearby children interested in studying. Since one student and a whole group required the same teacher anyway, they might as well maximize efficiency.
Lin Yuhsia knew about it as well and chose to turn a blind eye.
Naturally, everyone had plenty of questions about Shirou's changed appearance. However, the children's attention was quickly captured by the little trinkets he had bought from Rhodes Island, leaving him with only Rope and Phal to deal with.
One of them trusted him completely and accepted whatever explanation he gave, while the other simply did not care and instead wanted to compare physiques with him.
Unfortunately, after spending so long idling around at Fuyuki Shop, Phal's stomach had practically merged into one solid mass. The moment he realized that, he immediately gave up on the idea, spared himself further humiliation, and let Shirou leave.
Shirou had held back his laughter for quite a while before finally bursting out laughing after walking some distance away.
After leaving Fuyuki Shop, his next destination was the Lungmen Guard Department.
Besides greeting acquaintances like Officer Chen, Swire, and Hoshiguma, he also had a few souvenirs to give them.
Most importantly, he needed to deliver Talulah's letter, along with the videos and photographs she had recorded, to Officer Chen, Wie Yenwu's wife and... Wei Yenwu.
As for the relationships between them, Shirou only felt that they were complicated. He could clearly sense that Talulah's feelings toward Wei Yenwu were particularly complex. She had hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to write him a letter as well.
Another major reason for coming to the Guard Department was to personally thank Wei Yenwu. Without the information he had provided, Shirou would never have found countermeasures against the Emperor Blades so quickly.
There was also the matter of the Black Snake. Although his boss intended to sell those photographs to Wei Yenwu at a high price, he had still instructed Shirou to tell him about everything in person.
His boss had even said that Wei Yenwu was the one most qualified to know the truth. As for collecting the photographs themselves, he could bring his wallet to Penguin Logistics and buy them there.
The matter concerning Wei Yenwu was not urgent. Judging by his route, Shirou would pass through the Guard Department first, so he planned to stop there beforehand.
"Speaking of which, if Officer Chen finds out I blew up the projected Chi Xiao, will she grab the real one and start chasing me down with it?"
As soon as he thought about going to the Guard Department, Shirou remembered how he had used Chi Xiao as an arrow and detonated it with Broken Phantasm.
The results had been excellent, and the enemy had been defeated. Surely Officer Chen would not be that unreasonable... right?
Even Shirou could not say for certain. Although it had only been a projection, Officer Chen had enjoyed using that projected Chi Xiao back then.
After all, the genuine article was not something she could casually use. Later, considering that it was a product of Shirou's abilities, she had given it back and Shirou had properly stored it.
And then he had turned around and blown it up.
Thinking about it was rather awkward.
Still, what was done was done. There was no avoiding it now.
With that mindset, Shirou entered the Guard Department.
Thanks to the pass Wei Yenwu had given him before, he was able to move around freely despite not wearing a Guard Department uniform.
As for why he was not wearing either the Guard Department uniform or Penguin Logistics attire? It's because they no longer fit him.
Penguin Logistics did have a uniform in his size, but his boss had said he would prepare something even better for him. He only needed to make do for a few days.
Since his boss had said so, Shirou naturally respected his wishes. It was not much trouble anyway.
As for the Guard Department, after finishing his business today, he could probably explain the situation and get a new set. There were plenty of people taller and bigger than him in the department.
Upon entering the office, Shirou discovered that nobody was there.
"Hm... looks like everyone is in a meeting?"
Seeing that several desks still had equipment lying on them, Shirou guessed that everyone had gone to a meeting.
If they had been called out on duty, they would never have left their gear behind.
Officer Chen paid special attention to such things. After all, there had once been an incident where she grabbed the wrong bag and ended up confronting criminals with lipstick.
That incident had led to a long argument between her and Swire.
"Huh? This like pretty clean, was this organized today?"
Standing in front of his desk, Shirou looked somewhat surprised. It was obvious that it had been cleaned recently; water marks were still visible.
Someone from the Guard Department had probably seen him return yesterday and arranged for the desk to be cleaned today.
That was nice. It meant he would not have to spend extra time tidying up.
After setting the bags down, Shirou began organizing the souvenirs he had brought.
For Hoshiguma, he had brought a famous Ursus liquor known as "Water of Life" recommended by the Yeti Squadron. Since she enjoyed drinking, bringing a bottle seemed fitting.
Swire's gift was much simpler: some Ursus specialties and snacks bought from Rhodes Island. It was the thought that counted.
Judging from her usual tastes, aside from food, almost all of her hobbies were far beyond what Shirou's salary could support.
"As for Officer Chen... would only giving her Talulah's letter and those recordings be a bit too perfunctory?"
When it came time to sort out Officer Chen's gift, Shirou suddenly realized that aside from the letter and videos entrusted to him by Talulah, he had not prepared anything else.
At the time, he had thought that he already had something for Officer Chen, so he had only prepared souvenirs for the other two.
He had completely forgotten that delivering those things was originally a commission. Strictly speaking, they could not be considered souvenirs.
Which made the whole situation rather awkward.
"How about moving some of these over here?"
While Shirou was considering whether he should reassign part of Swire's souvenirs to Officer Chen, he completely failed to notice that someone had already entered the office.
"..."
The newcomer was none other than Swire.
She had originally come to deliver something to that "damn dragon," but upon arriving and finding the office empty, she remembered that Chen seemed to be in a meeting.
It was a large meeting, with practically everyone from the office called away. Strictly speaking, nobody should have been here right now.
Yet there sat someone casually occupying the office, dressed in civilian clothes.
This guy had some nerve!
Wearing non-Guard Department clothes inside that damn dragon's office?
If Chen saw this, she would definitely chew him out.
Of course, there was also the possibility that he was not a member of the Guard Department at all.
Thinking that, Swire approached to see exactly who this bold individual was.
If he was from the Guard Department, she admired his guts.
If not...
Then she would have to throw him out. This was still an office area, not somewhere anyone could wander into.
As she approached, she could vaguely hear him muttering about moving something over, while trying to recall whether anyone in the Guard Department matched his appearance.
The complete lack of racial features alone ruled out over ninety percent of people. On top of that, he was tall, broad, and had white hair...
There did not seem to be anyone like that in the Guard Department.
At least, there was nobody like that under that damn dragon's command.
People without racial traits were far too rare in Lungmen. If she had seen one before, she would definitely remember.
Still...
That back looked rather similar to Shirou's.
Only the build and hair color did not match.
"Hey! This is not a place where random people can just walk in, you know?"
Convinced that he was not one of Chen's subordinates, Swire decided she should handle the situation herself. Otherwise, once Chen lost her temper, Swire would inevitably suffer collateral damage.
"Huh? Oh! Right, okay... wait, no. This is my seat, isn't it?"
Still pondering whether to steal part of Swire's gift package, Shirou jumped at the sudden voice. He instinctively agreed before realizing something was off.
He was sitting at his own desk.
By any definition, he was hardly some random trespasser.
"The person who sits there does not have white hair! If you are going to impersonate someone, at least do your homework. You should leave on your own before I have Hoshiguma escort you out!"
Hearing him claim it was his seat, Swire mercilessly exposed his "lie."
From far away she had not recognized it, but now that she was closer, she immediately knew whose desk this was.
She came here every lunchtime before.
How could she possibly mistake it?
"Fine, I will leave."
Finally recognizing Swire's voice, Shirou realized she had failed to recognize him. A mischievous thought crossed his mind.
"I had planned to sit here a little longer and give these to everyone, but since that is not possible, I will leave first. Please help me pass the things on the table to Officer Chen and Hoshiguma. This one is yours."
After tidying up the desk, Shirou stood and placed Swire's share in her hands.
"Hm? Huh? What?"
As he turned around, question marks practically popped up over Swire's head.
Who was this?
Why did he look so familiar?
He knew that damn dragon and Hoshiguma?
He even brought them gifts?
And there was one for her too?
Wait!
After her brain struggled for several moments, Swire finally recognized the tall white-haired man before her.
Was this... Shirou?
"Shirou?"
She recognized him, but until he admitted it himself, she could not be sure.
The changes were simply too drastic.
"It is me. Remember to pass those on to them. This liquor is for Hoshiguma, and these letters are for Officer Chen—"
Before he could finish, Swire interrupted him.
"Wait! Sit back down first!"
As she recalled how she had just behaved, Swire wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and disappear.
Telling someone to their face that they were not themselves...
That was just too embarrassing.
"So I do not have to leave anymore?"
Seeing the obvious embarrassment on Swire's face, Shirou deliberately asked in an innocent tone.
"No! And why are you not wearing your Guard Department uniform? I thought some idiot had wandered in here causing trouble!"
Only after hearing him speak did Swire realize that Shirou had clearly been messing with her.
The smile on his face was barely contained.
At least suppress the corners of your mouth!
To keep herself from looking any more embarrassed, Swire hurriedly changed the subject.
"Your uniform?"
"It does not fit anymore. I came by today planning to pick up a couple of new sets while I was here."
Forced back into his seat and noticing that Swire's embarrassment was beginning to turn into irritation, Shirou abandoned any thoughts of teasing her further.
Pranks were fine in moderation.
Take them too far, and they would come back to bite you.
"So... what exactly happened to you?"
As soon as she asked, Swire realized she had asked a stupid question.
The answer was obvious just from looking at him.
Would it not be quicker to ask why he had become like this?
"Hmm... puberty?"
Faced with Swire's question, Shirou thought for a moment before answering.
Explaining everything that had happened in Ursus would be too troublesome, and it was not something suitable to share casually with others.
There were too many complicated things to explain.
Better to just muddle through.
"What kind of growth spurt changes your hair color?! That is the sort of excuse middle or high school students tell teachers! Who are you trying to fool?!"
Shirou's perfunctory attitude was so obvious that Swire immediately knew he was trying to brush her off.
"Uh... I dyed it?"
Enjoying Swire's shouting from point-blank range, Shirou could not help rubbing his ears.
"Hah?!"
Seeing that he was still trying to fool her, Swire planted her hands on her hips and put on the imposing demeanor she normally used at work, attempting to force him to come clean.
"Ahem. I overused my Arts. The doctor said I just need some rest for a while."
Faced with the forceful Swire, Shirou gave an awkward laugh and finally offered a simple explanation.
Overusing Arts did indeed damage the body, and his condition really had been caused by Projection Magecraft.
So, in a sense, he was not lying.
"Hmph! And you still tried to lie to me. But overusing Arts is serious business. Are you really okay?"
Seeing that Shirou had given in and honestly explained himself, Swire lowered her hands and casually pulled over a chair, sitting opposite him.
"If it were serious, the doctors would not have let me out."
Shrugging, Shirou used the doctors' words as a shield.
"That is true. I have been paying some attention to Rhodes Island recently. Overall, that pharmaceutical company seems pretty well-run. From what I have seen, they are not bad."
Hearing his answer, Swire felt it made sense.
Ever since learning about Rhodes Island, the pharmaceutical company specializing in treating the Infected, she had kept an eye on it.
Most of what she heard about them had been positive.
It was a company worth investing in.
And any pharmaceutical company that could earn such an evaluation from her certainly would not have careless doctors.
"Exactly."
Seeing that Swire had stopped pressing the issue, Shirou breathed a sigh of relief.
Compared to Rope and Phal, Swire was far harder to fool.
Perhaps that was because of her profession.
As members of the Guard Department, they all possessed a tendency to get to the bottom of things.
So now Shirou could only pray that Officer Chen and Hoshiguma would accept the same explanation.
Or perhaps he should leave before the two of them returned and come back after he had mostly recovered.
After all, he had already delivered the gifts...
Just as Shirou was considering the feasibility of making a strategic retreat, the office door was pushed open, accompanied by a loud accusation:
"Barbecue Cat! Why did you bring someone into my office?!"
It was Officer Chen's voice.
Hearing that she apparently had not recognized him either, Shirou looked up at the ceiling and let out a long sigh.
Could time not fast-forward a little?
He was starting to miss his red hair.